Duskbringer: A LitRPG Adventure

My Best Friend is an Eldritch Horror #3

by Actus

An uneasy truce has been struck with the Void.

With the threat of the Corruption looming overhead, It Who Heralds the End of all Light and Damien have temporarily set aside their problems for the sake of the Mortal Plane. Together, they just might have a chance to keep everything from falling apart.

All Damien needs is to keep his head down and focus on surviving the next year, but Blackmist has other plans. The Intraschool tournament is rapidly approaching, and Dean Whisp is looking to win. Damien and Sylph’s burgeoning strength has drawn her eye, but extra scrutiny is the last thing that either of them need. Unfortunately, Whisp has never been good at taking no for an answer.

All the while, the forces that have been warring over the Mortal Plane for Cycles continue to emerge, and with them comes a man bearing a terrible secret that might change the world as Damien knows it forever.

Book 3 in the My Best Friend is an Eldritch Horror Series. It's slice-of-life mixed with LitRPG in a magic school setting. A slow build power fantasy from Actus, the bestselling author of Morcster Chef.

Genres: Fantasy, Magic, Audiobook, Role Playing Games, Adventure

442 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2023

About the author

Actus has been writing fantasy stories since the age of twelve, and he's been telling them since he could talk. He's currently working on three main series - Morcster Chef, Steamforged Sorcery, and My Best Friend is an Eldritch Horror. You can find his works on RoyalRoad & Patreon as well as on Amazon.

In addition to his passion for writing, Actus is capable of clearing a two story building with a single jump. That isn't true, but writing about himself in third person gives Actus delusions of grandeur.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't say I mind more tournaments, especially getting to know (and/or kill) students from other schools. It's fun. I mean, they really had it coming to them with all the destroy reality bits.

*shrug*

But it's the friendships they make along the way that really sets the tone of these books. So very, very wholesome.

And if you're wondering, what's so special about these books? It's LitRPG and it's very comforting while we aren't in the struggle to stop a whole devoured reality with corruption scenario. :)

It's the little things. And now more people know how bad it's getting.

I can't wait for the next in the series.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the last, but I’m still here for it.

3.8 🌟

[Sebastian Lau · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one brings a fun tournament arc — always enjoyable — and we see some evolution of the main conflict. Stakes get higher, mysteries deepen, and it shows promise beyond just school life. Probably my favorite turn early on.
Disclaimer: This review was written after finishing the entire six-book saga, so my perspective is shaped by knowing where the story ultimately goes.

[Sesler · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Rating System:
5- Perfect for my taste, I could not physically stop reading/listening and wanted more afterward.
4- Almost perfect, could not stop reading/listening, probably wanted more afterward.
3- I enjoyed the book and could see others loving it, I need to think if I want more.
2- I can see why others might like the book, but I could not, I do not want more.
1- What is this? What went wrong? Why did they do this? This doesn't make any sense! (No idea who it is for, but definitely not for me).

[Audiobook Version]

[Roberto Flores · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finally thought this was getting away from the cliche storyline.

It did not. It immediately tossed out the new direction and went right back into the tired sandbox of a horrible cultivators avatar filed with useless teachers. The rest was by the numbers with no surprises or originality.

[Callum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top notch fantasy comfort food

My real complaint of the last book was it was missing a touch of excitement I enjoyed in the the first. That is not the case here: theres hunting corruption, another great tournament all balanced with the same charming character beats i love in these books. The plot is moved forward considerably and some great progress is made. More than anything though this book was just pure enjoyment, I wasn’t bored once and was bitterly disappointed when it came to an end though thankfully it seems the next book isn’t far off.

There are some mistakes. Delph is sometimes called dredd when dredd isn’t there which gets confusing and there were a few repeated words. Overall coulda done with some editing. Personally I’m willing to overlook that though as I read this book for pure enjoyment and there weren’t enough mistakes to get in the way of that for me.

I liked the last book but it was missing something that made me love the first book so much but it’s back here. The action is more developed and the tournament is genuinely thrilling with inventive and well described usage of powers. The new characters introduced are also welcome additions and the detail added to the overall story arch gives more stakes to the next. Looking forward to syph meeting Damian’s mum and we got a mention of his dad in this book - well timed because I was really starting to wonder about him leaving home and then not even sparing a thought for his family. That could have become a problem if it wasn’t addressed here.

I’ve found myself a little burned out with reading lately but loved every page of this book.

[Levitate · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the second book I was starting to feel that the series was getting too static and repetitive, with a lack of new locations or cast being introduced. Along with a lack of character development and depth. Thankfully much of this was remedied in this release. This was more of a tournament style arc which I'm usually not a fan of but I think it was done quite well here with plenty of interesting new characters and developments sprinkled in. Decent fantasy read.

Possible spoilers:
I did note a few writing mistakes, including things like Delph's name being replaced with Dredd or a scheduled meal with the princess that never happens? Having an editor look this over again probably wouldn’t be a bad idea.

[Cmoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. But seriously I expected no less from Atcus, and Peter Berkrot's narration, as the first two books were so much fun.
I loved watching Damien, Selth and Henry scheme and start their self imposed task of finding and taking out each corruption one at a time. It's only when Delph their magic teacher gets in the way that their plans go ascue. There's also plenty of action as the magic schools all participate in another school vs school challenge which ends in a dungeon dive.
So go grab this audiobook and enjoy yourself.

[Sundeep · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, it was nice to meet powerful forces who've been trying to control the Cycles. That also shed light on why Damien, Sylph and others seemed to have been in the centre of important events. The tournament was good. I liked some of the new side characters we got to meet, hope they'll feature in the rest of the books as well.

Also, typos were rare in this book, so perhaps the second book was just an outlier? There were still a few name swaps (ex: Delph and Dredd) and Sylph got a spurious entry in one of the rounds despite having already finished her match.

[aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to continue pushing on the Litrpg genre as my current favorite! This third installment finds Damien, Sylph, Henry and friends going to a tournament for the mage colleges. They have to fight in the first part of the tournament and dungeon delve in the second. This series continues to be ridiculously fun and entertaining while still having quick read times and good detail. I am moving on to the next!

[Tom Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another tournament

The school year just flies by. Monsters to kill, villains to hunt, and tombs to raid. You know, the usual.
D&S smash their way through another semester with all the grace of a charging rino, taking top marks. But wait, is that romance in the air? Maybe, but it's at least teen lust.

[Scott Wozniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, we are getting lots of details in their adventurous lives, which I both loved and worried about getting to the end of the grand story in time...until the later part of this story, when threads came together to create a big move forward in the macro plot.

This is turning out to be a great series.

[MyDoRyS · Rating 1 out of 5]

Voice: 4 stars - Decent job, but some of the voices just sound the same.

Story: The idea was good but poorly developed. Too many segmented storylines, too much unnecessary convolution. Pitiful adults behaving like spoiled immature brats. Onto my next adventure, Happy Readings!!!

[Nagendra Kumar Yadav T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best in the series

Tournament Arc. Action packed. New characters. New friends. New threats.

This book is the best in the series so far. No dull moment. Fun throughout the book. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

loving the story progression

I’ve been looking for an academia story where the mc actually stays longer than a year and it looks that way so far. I’m looking forward to what they’ll do on break

[Ray Ritchey · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

Reminds me of the trope hp goblet of fire, but a bit more mature. Good read and interesting world building.

[George Rokkos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. I love the two main character and love the new focus this book gave to other new characters. Love the magic system and the world building.

[David Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great as always. Left me wanting more and more.

[Erin Janice Madden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story

I love this series! Although I am older, this book did not seem childlike at all. I love Damien and Henry's growth, and I can't wait for the next book

[Koffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great continuation a longer review will be made soon.

[jula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need the next one!!!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slightly more upbeat installment. Worth reading for the goat sublot alone.

[Johnie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read

I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who like LitRPG and progression type of books with lots of action

[Annika Fischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love how they did a part of the book with them hunting the corrupt and all that because usually most books skip over summer parts and hope you forget they have breaks in between school years

[Kashii · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best in the series so far. I really enjoyed this one

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story continues to be fun, but it does pretty quickly run into the problem of college age protagonist exhibiting more skill and power than century old teachers, which does annoy me.

[Ties · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also great

[David Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my review for book 1 for my thoughts on the series as a whole.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

the tournament arc with a side of dungeon diving

[Vulpes · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5/10