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(4.33/5)Isekai about a man reincarnated in a fantasy world with only vague memories from his previous life. Unlike many isekais he is reborn as a baby, and so this first volume primarily concerns his childhood and teenage years. Also unlike most isekais this story generally avoids the usual cliched wish-fulfilment premise or harem building antics, opting instead for something that's a little closer to a more traditional fantasy novel.
I found the story pretty engaging, and it certainly makes the most of it's limited cast and locations. The worldbuilding is effective and coherent, and the book did feel quite atmospheric at times thanks to the setting and the more unique artwork it has.
I did also find it quite tricky though. The vocabulary used here felt like a real step up from anything I've read previously, even when discounting the fantasy-specific terminology. As you might expect from this genre there are some quite detailed descriptions of magic, religious beliefs, weapons and fighting styles, but the first half of the book also has some lengthy passages of narration that involve a fair bit of logic and deduction that aren't always the easiest to follow. As such this felt to me a bit harder then the current L28 score, but certainly wouldn't discourage people around this level from having a go.
A Light Fantasy With a Complete Story
I've found that the story in many isekai light novels often don't begin until the last 100 pages of the first novel. And the overall plot doesn't kick off until at least volume three. This means hundred of pages of info dumps before anything really interesting happens.
最果てのパラディン, however, has a compelling story where the world is revealed slowly throughout the novel. It doesn't fall into other troupes that I've seen and really feels more like a western fantasy than a light novel.
It's a great read for advance JLPT N2 and N1 vocabulary and kanji, but without the classical grammar that tends to bog down a lot of Japanese literature like 鹿の王.