Publisher J-Novel Club is giving fans the perfect chance to catch up on several ongoing light novel and manga series for free! Fans only have until the end of October to dig into over 37 volumes of content. Try the first part of each volume for free, and buy the entire book or subscribe to J-Novel Club to read the rest!
Redefining the META at VRMMO Academy penned by author Hayaken takes readers through the school life of Ren Takashiro — an MMO-obsessed middle schooler gearing up to attend a high school where students are graded on their gaming skills. Once Ren gets a look at the class selection in his new school’s game world, however, he’s drawn to one dubbed the ‘biggest bummer’ of all. That’s fine for Ren, of course, because his goal is to redefine the game’s meta.
For something in the same vein as Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, there’s also an isekai light novel that has a modern civilian living anew in a pre-industrial world. Created by author Mizuumi Amakawa, Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village explores the life of Ash and town inhabitants, such as his friend Maika, who attempt to bring about the modern age sooner than later.
Does J-Novel Club have any free horror novels available for Halloween?
Along with a decent selection of fantasy titles, J-Novel Club has two horror light novels with several parts available for free until the end of the month.
Popular and long-running detective series from the ‘70s John Sinclair: Demon Hunter takes a Scotland Yard special agent through trials and tribulations to get to the bottom of supernatural cases. Broken into episodic parts penned by authors Gabriel Conroy and Jason Dark, each volume sees detective Sinclair facing off against demons, vampires, and all manner of stalkers in the night.
Ao Oni by author Kenji Kuroda begins with Shun, a high school programmer, pleasantly surprised to learn that his classmate Hiroshi is a fan of his online escape game. What begins as a lighthearted encounter, however, turns sour as the next time the two meet, they’ll be fighting to stay alive.
While more sci-fi than horror, author Iori Miyazawa’s Otherside Picnic has plenty of nightmarish events to make it a perfect read for Halloween. Struggling college student Sorawo Kamikoshi expected student loan debt to be the death of her, but when she wakes up in a mysterious world, she’ll need to rely on her new friend Toriko Nishina to evade the creatures that mean both of them harm.
What manga is available for free from J-Novel Club?
While J-Novel Club is mainly known as a light novel publisher, they also have several manga as part of their roster including Black Summoner and Ascendance of a Bookworm.
Those wanting to catch up on one of their manga releases can read the first chapter of all eight volumes of writer Fumi Arawi and artist Yukari Yagi’s Record of Wortenia War. High schooler and martial arts master Ryoma Mikoshiba has his life turned upside down when he’s summoned to a world where swords and sorcery reign supreme. Now, he’ll need to put his grandfather’s dubious training to the test to survive.
J-Novel Club’s monthly catch-up roster changes monthly so those who haven’t spied anything that piques their interest can always wait on the next line-up. With constant new releases such as My Next Life as a Villainess and In Another World With My Smartphone, there’s no shortage of light novels to choose from.