The Mask Maker

Information

Status

Hiatus

Year

2022

Author

Pakko

• Chapter 39 – The Progress
  Jun 24, 2022
• Chapter 38 – The Window
  Jun 17, 2022
• Chapter 37 – The Gloves
  Jun 10, 2022
• Chapter 36 – The Investigation
  Jun 3, 2022
• Chapter 35 – The Challenge
  May 27, 2022
• Chapter 34 – The Death
  May 20, 2022
• Chapter 33 – The Dinner
  May 14, 2022
• Chapter 32 – The New Start
  May 7, 2022
• Chapter 31 – The Aftermath
  Apr 27, 2022
• Chapter 30 – The HELP
  Apr 25, 2022
• Chapter 29 – The Deadman
  Apr 24, 2022
• Chapter 28 – The Missing Man
  Apr 23, 2022
• Chapter 27 – The Next Mission
  Apr 22, 2022
• Chapter 26 – The Negotiation
  Apr 21, 2022
• Chapter 25 – The ARGO
  Apr 21, 2022
• Chapter 24 – The Changes
  Apr 20, 2022
• Chapter 23 – The Police
  Apr 19, 2022
• Chapter 22 – The Truth
  Apr 18, 2022
• Chapter 21 – The Interview
  Apr 17, 2022
• Chapter 20 - The Old Legacy
  Apr 16, 2022

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• AtenburghRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  In a world full of overpowered isekais and always being the top dog of the world, The Mask Maker is a breath of fresh air to the genre. It follows the story of Jason, who gets rudely interrupted one day at university and teleported to a new world full of superheroes and supervillains, where he must then survive; but without any of the same superpowers he has to adapt to. Already a very fun start.
  Also, minor thing, but the story immediately gets massive points from me for having the isekai come for a reason, rather than being a generic truck-kun start. Petty, but important to me lol.
  The story is fun, fast-paced, and entertaining - minor spoilers but Jason doesn't just appear in a random new body, instead taking over the version of him in this split timeline. Therefore instead of just having to adapt to a new world, he also has to figure out who this version of him is and how he has to go about pretending to be them. The fights are also solid, and I enjoy the vague competition style that the superheroes and supervillains have.
  Style is good. Simple, describes everything it needs to while still letting the audience put in their own pieces, and has some good quips when it needs to. On the same vein, grammar is golden.
  Characters, when compared to the quality of the rest of this story, unfortunately are a bit lower - while I do appreciate not having five chapters of Jason freaking out about his isekai at the beginning of the story, it almost felt like he didn't have any reaction at all, immediately buying lunch and agreeing to go meet up with whoever was texting him. As he settles in this changed world he does develop more, and I like reading about him negotiating and trying to explain his costumes.
  Overall, I really enjoyed it! Has a lot of fun moments and the draw of having it be an alternative Earth that switched up in the 1600s instead of the 1900s is already a fun switch. Excited to read more.
• Banner CaygeonRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Just read through chapter 6 and this is an interesting take on the super hero genre. I'm newer to isekai and this was a neat intro to it. The story follows regular joe who is a provider to the superheros of his new world. It's interesting world development, the devices to catch up on this were really neat, and I love the attention to detail in examing every day things. Well done!
• Chaos JesterRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Mask Maker starts out with a lot of intrigue mixed with a lot of classic transmigration tropes. You are thrown into a world almost as quickly as Jason, who manages to take on the challenge with hardly a moment's hesitation. He takes the time to observe and learn, which is honestly refreshing in comparison to stories where the main character immediately starts making bad decisions.
  They style in and of itself has a strong slow burning atmosphere, which lends itself to the overall mystery and intrigue of the story. We observe the world through Jason's eyes and are able to make his observations along with him. Pacing works well (especially well during that mantle fight scene) and the world itself is a well done mix of technology and superheroes.
  There were some basic and common errors in grammar, especially via punctuation and typos. Nothing too atrocious, and nothing immersion breaking. On top of that, I have to factor in writeathon as this is being posted (and reviewed) during it, so a little bit of leniency is going to be needed in that regard.
  The story itself, as I previously mentioned, blends transmigration with mystery and superheros to make for an interesting tale. As I do these early reviews, only minor pieces of threads are starting, but it is clear that they will lead down a very interesting path that I can't wait to revisit.
  Jason himself, while respectable in his clear thinking and ability to adapt to his situation, plays off slightly stagnant in these early chapters. The saving grace here is the vibrancy and personalities of the surrounding cast, namely Rachel. The mantle fight would not have been nearly as good if Pakko hadn't managed to make Rachel and Tabitha well rounded characters, who's personalities are picked up on effortlessly.
  Overall, this is a fun story, and one that I will recommend especially if you like slower burn mysteries. Add in supers to the mix, and I'm going to be guessing we'll be wanting more than the currently planned thirth chapt
• DreameroftheUnknownRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  A very interesting take on the superhero genre, particularly because the main character isn't a hero who goes out to fight the villains! Instead, he's the person who makes the mask for their uniforms, which I think is wonderful supervision of the typical superhero genre.
  Style: It's pretty good, allowing the audience to see into the main character's mind. It's also very descriptive, letting the reader envision what's happening without too much trouble at all. One thing I will note however is that there several paragraphs that are a bit too long for my taste and kind of drag on, but that all boils down to preference.
  Story: As I mentioned earlier, it's a very interesting take on the superhero genre. A lot of this is because we see the world from the perspective of somebody whose job isn't to fight villians but to make the masks for the people who do fight villains. This allows us to focus on the more subtle aspects of the hero genre which we don't normally focus on and gives more opportunity for world-building. It's also a nice change of pace from the rapid combat that so many other superheroes stories have, giving us more time to relax. The idea of 'Legacy' being passed down in a trail of combat is also very intriguing to me, as is the aspect of the main character not being from the world the story is set in.
  Grammar: Pretty flawless. If there were any mistakes, they were small enough that they flew under my radar.
  Character: The main character, Jason, is a bit stiff and very logical. We don't know much about this past, and his lack of big reaction to the fact he's in a different world is eye-catching. I sense there's a lot of potential for his character, especially as he navigates his new life and the fact he's inside of a body people know. The side characters are a delight and add a lot of life to the story, along with giving an invaluable look at what the new world Jason found himself in is like.
  Overall: 5/5, would recommend.
• KobayashiRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I should preface this with I am an outsider to this genre; I usually don't really care for supers as it's not really palettable for me. However, Mask Maker gets a pass from me because the supers are a part of the world. I like the focus on the supplier and manufacturer side; the focus on the world under the mask. (heh, see what I did there?) It tickles the former mechanical engineer in me in that way.
  The style is nice how it focuses on applying logic and figuring out more about the world. A lot of isekai'd would freak out for a solid few chapters but Jason in a way seemlessly integrates into the world, hitting the ground running for the most part. It does have that slow-burn to it which I like. One thing I would do is that it kind of infodumps right off of the bat, giving you a lot of information that can cause the eyes to glaze over. To match the slow-burn pacing, I feel as though the information should be conveyed a touch slower, sort of peeling back the layers of the onion. However, when the story moves on to cool segments, it is a cool read. Going through the Mantle fight was definitely action packed and exciting and definitely not the outcome I was expecting.
  There are minor issues with grammar; mostly missed punctiation and the odd typo, but it gets a pass from me for that. I've done worse with chapters I've proofread several times over a few weeks.
  The overall story is very interesting. It kind of reminds me of the world of MHA, but with more focus on the backend of everything. As pointed out in the story; heroes have to get their supply from somewhere. I like the focus on trying to not only fit into this foreign world but also maintain a business and personal relationships and the foreshadowing about an even deeper part of this world is interesting.
  Character wise, the story was weird at first. Jason is kind of your average dude in my opinion, but his focus on applying logic while trying to keep a straight face is really interesting. I haven't gotten to dee
• S.N. KeirsteadRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  An isekai with humor! The story's main character is self-aware and familiar with the concept of "isekai" so expect self-referential humor and thoughts throughout the writing.
  Overall, a refreshing break from the multitude of system and LitRPG stories. Not to mention, it's even a departure form typical "chose to be great" superhero tales. The protaginst is essentially a crafter in a contemporary superhero world. Worth looking into for anyone wanting to try something different.
• emily_mccoshRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  It's been a loooooong time since I've read a supehero story, so I was pleasantly surprised to find one! This one's especially interesting since it's about a MC who isn't a super, but is the maskmaker for their uniforms.
  Style: Easy to read style and we get into the character's head and know his personality quickly. A few of the paragraphs were rather large, but that might just be a me thing after I've gotten used to hyper-short paragraphs elsewhere, so definitely don't let that deter you from reading! They're few and far between, anyway.
  Story: This is a fun take on supers where a change in our history brought our current world into different technology as well as, of course, superhumans. I don't think I've ever read/watched a superhero story where there was talk of supers in the past, so it was a cool add to the story to make it unique. Very cool!
  Grammar: Was pretty much perfect, if there were any typos I didn't notice.
  Character: I'm really enjoying how logical and methodical the MC is. He pretty much immdiately accepts his situatioon without freaking out or making stupid decisions. He uses his resources to learn as much about his world as possible and tries to bluff his way through conversations with people he's supposed to know but now has no memory of since he's in a new version of his world. Side characters are awesome as well and have their own personalities.
• Ren54Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  The story in book one was filled with drama, mystery and a few good fights.
  Jason finds mindself in another timeline that splits in the 1800s where super powers are found to be real and the him of that world made tools for the heros.
  The jason of the world he is in was missing for 2 days before he showed up. Left picking up the peices of the old Jssons life and finding out what happened was a fun read.
  I hope that book two can be just as good of a read.
  The Over all story is a good fish out of water style tale.
  The Chararters are well done and have you wondering like Jason tell the end. some have hidden agendas that I still want to know about and the heros can be fun with there own struggles and come off as Human, the teens mess up as the older people understand and do there best to protect the chararters well letting them grow.
  The story is again real good with some turns that you might see coming yet is still worth reading for yourself and enjoy. so I will not talk much about it to not ruin the plot that unfolds around Jason.
• IanFlatRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Strong opening--the contrast between 'another world' and 'college library' works v. well. I usually read the synopsis after the chapters, so it came as a surprise to me that the protagonist got shifted to another world … with a college library! But in a good way. (I was kind of expecting a dungeon/fantasy/similar.)
  Very much enjoyed how his research starts with the East India Trading Company, and how the background of supers in the world is explained clearly and economically.
  I can't tell if the protag's very chill response, considering, is because he's just that laconic, or because nobody wants to read a guy freaking out for 10 pages. It amused me, though, like when moments after he reads about the dynasties, he's like, 'welp, now I'm a bit hungry, I'm gonna grab lunch.' Also amusing: "I portal through worlds and I get no powers. This can’t be right."
  And that's a great hook as well. Cause readers know the protag is special in SOME way, so we want to read to find out what way that is, exactly.
  Interesting historical divergence. I found myself wondering about Native Americans, but that’s probably beyond the scope of this story …
  The texts are a great reveal, and ratchet up the tension--and give the protag a serious dilemma.
  The protag's almost entirely unruffled reaction to being in a different world makes him interesting--and a little unreliable. I wonder wtf is going on with him … which I enjoy! Same with his decision to take over the life of this alternate self, at least in terms of the job if not the schooling, instead of admitting everything (or some things!) to Rachel. Makes me wonder if he's got some kind of agenda …
  Interesting take on the superhero genre and an intriguing protagonist …
• KnightravenessRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  I feel in unfair to leave an advanced review until I have the time to read the whole thing, but several chapters in I already found myself contentedly amused.
  The author has a "Mona Lisa Smile" touch when it comes to prose. Not overtly flashy, but with a special touch of irony and humor sewn throughout.
  What should have been remarkable, like an "isekai" story, takes a refreshing run with this protagonist. He adapts so well, it makes the remarkable unremarkable, and then remarkable again, as his resourcefulness and research on his alternate world brings a rather fun twist. It makes the story more about discovery of his "past/present" in this universe rather than the one lost, keeping the focus on the here and now and just letting us enjoy this new situation.
  In another ironic twist, in a dimension of superheroes, our "hero" doesn't seem to be a superhero at all (so far?). That would be mundane, except that it makes him unique, and therefore a "super" in his own sense.
  I must refrain from projecting too much, but so far, I'm quite enjoying a fun spin on an adaptive-based slice of life. This is not a typical punch 'em Soop story, which is just another way it provides an unexpected take.
  Also, seeing "no capes" in Chapter 9 made my freaking day. XD