Fushisha no Deshi: Jashin no Fukyou wo Katte Naraku ni Otosareta Ore no Eiyuutan
Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed By the Gods and Dropped into the Abyss

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There are a handful of light novels I regularly buy and read immediately. Disciple of the Lich is one of them. I have read up to volume 4 of the books and each time, it just kept me engaged.

Story: It's a typical isekai with summoning rather than reincarnation (thank goodness! I am no huge fan of the deathification stuff). Our MC Kanata is summoned by the gods as an RPG plaything for their amusement. He refuses, gets smacked by them and banished to a dungeon with no chance of survival but by fate and luck, he meets Lunaere, a lich, who helps him out ... of boredom and he grinds to get stronger. It is generic but what really makes it so good is how well it is executed. The power scaling system is well done and when you see OP characters in this, you actually enjoy it because they likely had to work exceptionally hard to reach their level; especially Kanata. The actions is also really fun to read and the plot also holds on to the main premise of Kanata wanting to return home and stop the gods from abusing the world he is in now. Even with small subplots, they all feed into the main plot and never feel like filler. Best thing I enjoy is how the characters get stronger in this. The world building has a bit of eldritch horror mixed with isekai fantasy and it actually works well. One nitpick I have with worldbuilding is in terms of money. I wish these stories actually treated money like a serious part of the lore. Here, gold just starts to feel like copper when rewards for quests start climbing past a million gold but this is small mitpick.

Characters: These are stereotypical in a lot of ways but, as I said earlier, executed so well. Kanata is a plain highschool boy but not devoid of personality. Lunaere is an OP Lich and a tsundere but also such a great FMC that her own chapters and plots are fun to read. Pomera, Rosemonde and Philia a great supporting characters who compliment Kanata by both functioning a foils to his "Straight-man" persona and in-turn being the "Straight-men" to him. A few others are just there for a short time or don't get as much development as the core cast but they are still good additions to the plot.

Art: This may be the only area where I have issues with this series. The illustrations are very good, especially the cover at and colored early pages but for teh rest for the novels, they become sparse and what we do get doesn't usually depict the action or fight scenes too much or teh creatively described monsters and demons or locations. Not a huge deal if you are someone like me with a knack for imagination but it does feel lacking.

Overall, I really enjoy buying and reading this series. It's one of my favorites and it shows how to do an OP character so well.

Minor spoilers ahead for characters and plot. Also, it's been a while since I've read volumes 1-3, so most of this will be based off of volumes 4-5.

This series, in a sentence, is a feels-good isekai power fantasy-and if that's up your alley, then I would definitely recommend this series.

Characters:
Characters are more or less pretty generic. The main character has little personality outside of being a normal Japanese isekai protag, and lacking a lot of common sense because of his "perfectly normal" training arc. The white mage is similarly fairly generic, her quirkiest quirk being that she's a heavyweight (drinker). I know that ... I keep saying generic this and generic that, but I honestly don't know how else to describe them. Maybe one dimensional is better?
Regardless, this doesn't make their interactions any less fun to read. In a era of manga/anime/novels with so many big brain characters, each playing 5d chess with each other in every interaction, reading about these straightforward characters is relaxing. You have an easy time getting to know them, and quickly start to root for them in whatever chaotic situation they're in.
Of course, there are also some more complex characters (though they're still fairly simple, so don't go expecting too much). The lich that the protag first meets is always a great addition to any scene, and the innocent eldritch abomination adds another flavor of chaos.
Overall, characters by themselves are fairly flat, but when they interact, each person adds a layer of fun to the conversation that feels cozy, enjoyable, and substantial.

Plot:
The overarching plot is essentially just the protag trying not to die to the garbage god that summoned him into the isekai world. The god keeps throwing demon king tier enemies at him, but to no avail (because he's op). Things keep escalating until the group that are basically the keepers of the world start sending out members to hunt for him.
The plot is nothing exceptional, but it's definitely not bad either. Of course, battles are always pretty easy, since the protag is op. But, there are still fun little twists that spice things up, predictable they may be. Each volume also introduces new areas and, more importantly, new characters, which is what I personally look forward to most.
If you're looking for complicated, multi-layered plotlines, then this probably isn't for you.

Art:
This part is subjective, so I won't hold back in saying that I love the art. The colored pages and cover art are always gorgeous, and the character designs are appealing. The black and white pages are a bit lacking compared to the colored ones, mainly due to fewer details, textures, and backgrounds, but are still nice to look at. They're also well interspaced-sometimes there are too few drawings in light novels, and it's unsatisfying when you can't see a really cool or cute scene in picture form, but I haven't felt that way while reading this series.

Overall:
Disciple of the Lich isn't for everyone-heck, I'd argue that most people wouldn't like it. The combination of op protag, lack of tension, and simple plot just doesn't do it for lots of people. However, if you do like these things, or you just need a break from other high action high stakes series, and you just want to read silly turn-off-you-brain fun and to root for your favorite characters, then this series is a great place to get that. Happy reading~

Rating (enjoyment): 9/10

Light spoilers. Mind you I have read about 2 volumes before dropping it. (Originally on MAL, updated/extended on Anilist)

I went into this book not really expecting much. Most isekai/reincarnation stories haven't got the best record of having the strongest plot and worlds, this isn't an exception. This book is no different from any other terrible isekai story, it is a set in a fantasy world, with magic and dangerous monsters roaming about.

Flat, unoriginal world/plot.

This is basically what most people consider a "traditional fantasy world" with little to nothing unique. You have your "really dangerous dungeon" thing. I don't like this format. Many stories that use ... this format tend to fall flat in terms of the world building, they don't expand on: history, background - whatever. Not every isekai has this sort of issue, nor needs to world build that much. But this one is an issue. There's barely any instances off the world being described in some way. No countries, kingdoms, cities?? None come to mind.
Admittedly, I haven't read this light novel in a couple of months. But at least with other isekai, like Mushoku Tensei, I remember a majority of cities and countries... (and it's been well over a year) Well, whatever. There are a little "place names" It is just, "there's a big scary dungeon" or "there's a forest full of bandits" and "there is this really bad evil person, I am going to kill them." So in terms of world building/plot and developing it, I'll say it isn't good.

In terms of the start, it doesn't really stand out. It follows the premise of the main character somehow angers the gods and punishes them to be sent to the lowest point in the most dangerous dungeon. Why? Why this idea for a start? It just seems so generic. If you told me this opening I would have just laughed, that or name ten books with equally generic openings. Not to mention after about a couple of months time skip, the main character is suddenly 1000x stronger than he was going in. He's at a point where no one matches him, other than the lich girl. We see little to no development or growth in skill. Just doing some training with a girl that "hates" humans. Which leads too my second issue.
The characters are just such a bore.

Every character is 2 dimensional.

You've got this lich girl who hates humans - oh! But as it turns out - she doesn't! Fine, whatever. Although - the gods doesn't know? From my understanding they are omniscient? But maybe the gods in this world can't see everything - it's a nitpick from me anyway. My main issue is that she falls in love with him. It wouldn't be that bad if we actually got some half-decent interactions, but no. All the interactions we get between them is either her stalking him and being jealous (wow so unique) or her just training the guy in the dungeon. Maybe something happened off-screen, or maybe...

Maybe this lich girl is so excluded from society of other beings, such as humans and fellow liches, that when she ends up meeting this guy for the first time she ends up falling in love. She confuses friendship and just friendly conversation with love. Haha, just kidding. Also, why does she hate humans? Is it ever explained in the first two novels? No. Maybe it is done later, which is actually a fairly good idea. It builds mystery, although, if you wait too long, it can just seem like you forgot to mention it.

As the story progresses and the protagonist finally leaves the dungeon it follows a simple format; >There is someone bad who's doing harm >Kills them >Reward of some sort >Repeat. There is no moral dilemma/moment of clarity killing people. Just "oh wow he was bad i did good". No one, on this planet earth, could kill someone without any sort of feeling. Other then literally sociopaths or people who've grown accustomed to it. (Like police or something, they would probably still feel something).
The main protagonist shows no issues, no flaws, seemingly no ambitions. He goes around, saving everyone. He has no thoughts about his previews world, family, regrets - none. This is just... ugh really bad.
Conclusion

I feel like only certain type of people will enjoy this, the type if people that enjoy a nice, light-hearted power fantasy were the main character seemingly has no flaws or weaknesses.
I hate power fantasies: a person who can tackle every problem with their might. I don't mind strong protagonists, they are fine and I like a couple of them... I don't think I could ever enjoy this to the point I continue reading it.