Although this franchise is getting a second Anime adaptation relatively soon, I decided to switch over to the novels since the (lack of) quality on display in the earlier adaptation makes it doubtful any continuation will end up any good.
Happily, it seems the author is not one to pointlessly drag out their stories or cut corners. Less happily, it turns out that the content of the source material is pretty much the same as the content of the Anime. Meaning it’s a fairly stereotypical, if slightly more explicit, action-focused harem series with its one saving grace being not having an oblivious/indecisive protagonist. The Anime did leave out a number of things though, so I’m morbidly curious what the second season is going to do about Lily’s existence and the beastman city.
Comparisons aside the story advances at a pretty brisk clip until you reach the end, where there’s a pair of two-parters. The 9th and 10th books cover the clearing of the last labyrinth while doubling as something of a character study, while the 11th and (eventual) 12th are the main plotline’s action-heavy climax.
To be frank, I do not like the 11th book at all. Though the series as a whole has never given a shit about keeping consistent power levels, the constant stream of insanity present here goes well above and beyond what could be considered acceptable. It has no believability whatsoever, which robs what should be dramatic scenes of all tension. What the 6th novel pulled off this one unequivocally fails at.
Which means I have little hope the 12th (and presumably final) book will end the series well.