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The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound #5
The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound 5
Randidly Ghosthound built a Class with his own hands.
But although he may now Level and rapidly earn rare Skills, the System isn't done with him yet.
As the final hurdle to becoming accepted by the System, Randidly must lead a group of Zone 32's best into the Raid Dungeon and complete the assigned Quests. And what starts as a simple horde survival mission becomes complicated when the Creature begins meddling again with his Fate.
Yet as it turns out, not all threats to humanity are alien ones. Because in other Zones, stand-out heroes like Randidly Ghosthound don't exist to curtail humanity's darker impulses. In the divided remnants of the country's capital, some powerful figures have taken a few sips of the power offered by the System and like the taste.
And they'll experiment on the bodies of the poor and forgettable to find out how they can wield the power of monsters for themselves.
Book 5 of the hit LitRPG Fantasy series with over 50 million views on Royal Road. Grab your copy today!
About the Series: Experience a particular flavor of LitRPG/GameLit, where Skill growth and the Path System allow individuals to tailor their growth toward infinite possibilities. There are Classes, Skills, Levels, and Rarities that will feel familiar to any connoisseur of role-playing games. Follow Randidly as he balances his growing power with the worrisome ripples of his existence. The System doesn’t discriminate; when he is ready for more dangerous threats, the rest of humanity better be ready, too. Those who have read the web-novel when it was available online can experience the saga the way it was always meant to be told, fully revised and re-edited, and with tons of new material!
But although he may now Level and rapidly earn rare Skills, the System isn't done with him yet.
As the final hurdle to becoming accepted by the System, Randidly must lead a group of Zone 32's best into the Raid Dungeon and complete the assigned Quests. And what starts as a simple horde survival mission becomes complicated when the Creature begins meddling again with his Fate.
Yet as it turns out, not all threats to humanity are alien ones. Because in other Zones, stand-out heroes like Randidly Ghosthound don't exist to curtail humanity's darker impulses. In the divided remnants of the country's capital, some powerful figures have taken a few sips of the power offered by the System and like the taste.
And they'll experiment on the bodies of the poor and forgettable to find out how they can wield the power of monsters for themselves.
Book 5 of the hit LitRPG Fantasy series with over 50 million views on Royal Road. Grab your copy today!
About the Series: Experience a particular flavor of LitRPG/GameLit, where Skill growth and the Path System allow individuals to tailor their growth toward infinite possibilities. There are Classes, Skills, Levels, and Rarities that will feel familiar to any connoisseur of role-playing games. Follow Randidly as he balances his growing power with the worrisome ripples of his existence. The System doesn’t discriminate; when he is ready for more dangerous threats, the rest of humanity better be ready, too. Those who have read the web-novel when it was available online can experience the saga the way it was always meant to be told, fully revised and re-edited, and with tons of new material!
730 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 9, 2023
499 people are currently reading
144 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
August 15, 2023
It’s hard to keep a litrpg series going for more than a trilogy. This feels a lot like Defiance of the Fall. The series started off good, but got to a point where the progression stalled and the author just dumps new meaningless powers and characters into the story that don’t take it anywhere interesting.
August 15, 2023
brown paint
I really like this series but….
So many plot lines and characters with unfinished lines kinda makes a brown can of paint when you add that many colors. Then the cans of paint start getting juggled… how many cans are to much without straightening out the plot lines in that first can?
It could be a masterpiece. I blame RR syndrome that gets authors so focused on putting out that next chapter that they don’t dedicate time to sealing down those plot lines/concepts. Sure some would say they are trying to keep the “Mystery” in the story. But story can’t have endless characters stuck pounding their fists into dead ends in mazes before… Damn those cans of Brown Paint!
I really like this series but….
So many plot lines and characters with unfinished lines kinda makes a brown can of paint when you add that many colors. Then the cans of paint start getting juggled… how many cans are to much without straightening out the plot lines in that first can?
It could be a masterpiece. I blame RR syndrome that gets authors so focused on putting out that next chapter that they don’t dedicate time to sealing down those plot lines/concepts. Sure some would say they are trying to keep the “Mystery” in the story. But story can’t have endless characters stuck pounding their fists into dead ends in mazes before… Damn those cans of Brown Paint!
December 6, 2023
A spear always advances
What is with these other POVs? I don't want to know what these other people think or what they are doing. Is the author picking up bad habits from the "he who fights with monsters" author and padding the book to stretch the series out?
The first half of this book was a slog, but I enjoyed the second half. The implementation of all of the extra POVs makes me think the next book will start following more people. I understand getting to know more of what is going on in other places, but this feels like the author is padding the book with POVs to make up for the lack of Randi.
Also this is just cheap writing. Another tournament is coming soon, so our protag can't past level twenty five, that is so convenient. That means he can leave monsters behind to get stronger and cause problems in the next book, and he will have a valid reason for it!
I'm fed up of this "the creature". You finally kill it and get "this isn't even my real body". This feels like it will be stretched out.
I will give the next book a go, but it might be my last. There is a problem when these books go on for too long. I can't start Defiance of the Fall 7 because the author is doing the same shit this author and the he who fights with monsters author is doing, padding their books with unnecessary shit.
Randi said / mentioned that he studied
2.5/5 Stars
What is with these other POVs? I don't want to know what these other people think or what they are doing. Is the author picking up bad habits from the "he who fights with monsters" author and padding the book to stretch the series out?
The first half of this book was a slog, but I enjoyed the second half. The implementation of all of the extra POVs makes me think the next book will start following more people. I understand getting to know more of what is going on in other places, but this feels like the author is padding the book with POVs to make up for the lack of Randi.
Also this is just cheap writing. Another tournament is coming soon, so our protag can't past level twenty five, that is so convenient. That means he can leave monsters behind to get stronger and cause problems in the next book, and he will have a valid reason for it!
I'm fed up of this "the creature". You finally kill it and get "this isn't even my real body". This feels like it will be stretched out.
I will give the next book a go, but it might be my last. There is a problem when these books go on for too long. I can't start Defiance of the Fall 7 because the author is doing the same shit this author and the he who fights with monsters author is doing, padding their books with unnecessary shit.
Randi said / mentioned that he studied
2.5/5 Stars
April 23, 2024
The editing seemed especially poor in this book - there were a significant number of scenes where Dinesh and Ptolemy seemed to be intermingled when it seemed that Dinesh was the actual person in the scene.
I had to reread everything to make sure Ptolemy's last name wasn't Dinesh...
I had to reread everything to make sure Ptolemy's last name wasn't Dinesh...
August 23, 2023
Surprising depth and and humanity
If you read up to this book, it's follows a lot of the classic archetypes of lit RPG. However, there are enough twists and turns to keep it enjoyable. Even more than that, I found myself caring for the characters more than in the majority of books I read. Even though he's likely the most powerful person on earth. Randidly has several surprising moments of humility, empathy, and self-awareness. Even though this book is quite long, I found myself sad as I got near the end because I didn't want to leave these characters.
If you read up to this book, it's follows a lot of the classic archetypes of lit RPG. However, there are enough twists and turns to keep it enjoyable. Even more than that, I found myself caring for the characters more than in the majority of books I read. Even though he's likely the most powerful person on earth. Randidly has several surprising moments of humility, empathy, and self-awareness. Even though this book is quite long, I found myself sad as I got near the end because I didn't want to leave these characters.
December 27, 2023
This book was a giant mess. Multiple POVs, rambling monologs, and pointless extended battles.
A lot of stories that started as serials on RR end up feeling padded or artificially extended to hit word counts or keep people subscribed to Patreon. This series has taken that to a further extreme.
Plot wise, this book could have been cut in half or down 75% and told a much better and more coherent story.
I won't be continuing on to the next book (that already has similar reviews stating these problems haven't improved).
A lot of stories that started as serials on RR end up feeling padded or artificially extended to hit word counts or keep people subscribed to Patreon. This series has taken that to a further extreme.
Plot wise, this book could have been cut in half or down 75% and told a much better and more coherent story.
I won't be continuing on to the next book (that already has similar reviews stating these problems haven't improved).
February 3, 2024
A drag.
Before this book, I enjoyed the series. Randidly was fun to follow, relatable in his people skills (worse than none), and the adventures were emotionally intense. I hated following randoms, even if they became tangentially connected due to knowing relatives. The whole farce after Naveah has her say was also a nope from me. The issues probably started when Lyra went off the rails in previous books. Currently, I see no reason to continue the story. Especially if we're play acting and allowing puppets.
Before this book, I enjoyed the series. Randidly was fun to follow, relatable in his people skills (worse than none), and the adventures were emotionally intense. I hated following randoms, even if they became tangentially connected due to knowing relatives. The whole farce after Naveah has her say was also a nope from me. The issues probably started when Lyra went off the rails in previous books. Currently, I see no reason to continue the story. Especially if we're play acting and allowing puppets.
August 27, 2023
This is a whole lot of book with very little story.
This is getting very, very repetitive. The dungeon is obvious, the twists have been used before in the same kind of situations. The introduction to a new zone is just as obvious. That part of the story is practically cut and paste. The author is running out of creative juice.
This is getting very, very repetitive. The dungeon is obvious, the twists have been used before in the same kind of situations. The introduction to a new zone is just as obvious. That part of the story is practically cut and paste. The author is running out of creative juice.
July 9, 2025
The first half of book 5 was so enjoyable. it was Ghosthound doing Ghosthound shit and kicking some ass. The dungeon was well done, and even the plot points involving the creature were done differently and in a very satisfying way. It felt that book 5 ends and book 6 starts half way through, even though it is all book 5.
After zone 1 is introduced in the second half it all starts to take a turn. The difference in zone 1 is interesting, but more so frustrating with how the main characters react to it. It doesn't help that the creature's influence is back, but not in a head on way. This makes it a slog to get through. What could have been much more enjoyable with new likeable characters is turned into more of the old points that I really don't enjoy. We go back to the main characters being clueless and reactionary. When put back to back like this everything is jarring and makes no sense. The characters all of a sudden become riddled with idiot plots and make questionable decision after questionable decision to push the rest of the book forward. It was a frustrating experience to read through in the hope that the conclusion of the book is worth the process.
Everyone who reads this goes on the journey of Ghosthound becoming what he is together, and it is a good example of progression fantasy most of the time. The books then switch to his strength constantly being taken away with clumsy attempts to limit him so he doesn't break the world and the plot of the series. If this becomes the norm for the rest of the series it will turn into a severe disappointment. I’m torn between continuing to read and setting it down. The world, the system, and the characters are enjoyable and fun; it is just frustrating to see how limiting everything is and how unnecessary it all is.
After zone 1 is introduced in the second half it all starts to take a turn. The difference in zone 1 is interesting, but more so frustrating with how the main characters react to it. It doesn't help that the creature's influence is back, but not in a head on way. This makes it a slog to get through. What could have been much more enjoyable with new likeable characters is turned into more of the old points that I really don't enjoy. We go back to the main characters being clueless and reactionary. When put back to back like this everything is jarring and makes no sense. The characters all of a sudden become riddled with idiot plots and make questionable decision after questionable decision to push the rest of the book forward. It was a frustrating experience to read through in the hope that the conclusion of the book is worth the process.
Everyone who reads this goes on the journey of Ghosthound becoming what he is together, and it is a good example of progression fantasy most of the time. The books then switch to his strength constantly being taken away with clumsy attempts to limit him so he doesn't break the world and the plot of the series. If this becomes the norm for the rest of the series it will turn into a severe disappointment. I’m torn between continuing to read and setting it down. The world, the system, and the characters are enjoyable and fun; it is just frustrating to see how limiting everything is and how unnecessary it all is.
July 15, 2024
The story continues! I vastly enjoy this genre.
I think I dislike how under-performimg AI is. The AI can control drones but can't use drones to make other drones?
The AI is able to control an android from who knows how far away but it can't use the same android to build others? It can't use the Droid or hundreds of druids to do menial tasks that it is having humans to do?
I think I dislike how under-performimg AI is. The AI can control drones but can't use drones to make other drones?
The AI is able to control an android from who knows how far away but it can't use the same android to build others? It can't use the Droid or hundreds of druids to do menial tasks that it is having humans to do?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2024
4.25 stars
May 25, 2024
Well, we finally confirm that the MC is a simp and his life long crush border line despises him. We learn he met his childhood friend in college. We learn that twins can be years apart. Basically, the author has zero sense of continuity and will write whatever the story needs. I was told the story is supposed to get better but when?
September 19, 2023
a solid chunk of Ghosthound
Book five is BIG! how big? The audiobook is thirty hours long (actually 29:59:05 but who's counting?)
If you've been following along Randidly is back home from Shaw's world and taken' care of business in Donnytown.
As a matter of fact, if you haven't read book 4 in a while you might want to re-read the last bit of it before starting #5 here, because it comes out of the gate like a rodeo bull and you'll be trying to remember who all these side characters are. Remember they got a whole gang of strangers together à la Heist Movie to run the raid dungeon & cement ties with the neighboring villages. and keeping with the theme of this book, the raid dungeon is huge!
-This book introduces the most in-depth supporting characters in the series yet. Through out the series the POV will switch to a minor character or even a previously unnamed observer, but in this book we are introduced to a new major side character and nearly a quarter of the book is told from their point of view.
So much happens and changes in this book, just yeah... This book is BIG.
Book five is BIG! how big? The audiobook is thirty hours long (actually 29:59:05 but who's counting?)
If you've been following along Randidly is back home from Shaw's world and taken' care of business in Donnytown.
As a matter of fact, if you haven't read book 4 in a while you might want to re-read the last bit of it before starting #5 here, because it comes out of the gate like a rodeo bull and you'll be trying to remember who all these side characters are. Remember they got a whole gang of strangers together à la Heist Movie to run the raid dungeon & cement ties with the neighboring villages. and keeping with the theme of this book, the raid dungeon is huge!
-This book introduces the most in-depth supporting characters in the series yet. Through out the series the POV will switch to a minor character or even a previously unnamed observer, but in this book we are introduced to a new major side character and nearly a quarter of the book is told from their point of view.
So much happens and changes in this book, just yeah... This book is BIG.
August 29, 2023
The best in the series
This is by far the best book in this series. The story continues solidly, well developed and incredibly fun.
I do have a small argument about two of the main characters just basically becoming mirror reflections of one another but I believe the author is going to a good place with this.
This is by far the best book in this series. The story continues solidly, well developed and incredibly fun.
I do have a small argument about two of the main characters just basically becoming mirror reflections of one another but I believe the author is going to a good place with this.
August 13, 2023
Now comes the failure line
So common among this genre, the time has come to expand the action. Most series fail here as the focus shifts away from the MC's journey into a wider political one and/or a major drop off in power gain. I don't expect the second to occur from the design of the System and the author's use of mini montages of training, like establishing an ongoing project in the woods and not dealing with extra details of making the batch of items.
The first is still possible, but we will have to wait and see.
So common among this genre, the time has come to expand the action. Most series fail here as the focus shifts away from the MC's journey into a wider political one and/or a major drop off in power gain. I don't expect the second to occur from the design of the System and the author's use of mini montages of training, like establishing an ongoing project in the woods and not dealing with extra details of making the batch of items.
The first is still possible, but we will have to wait and see.
August 13, 2023
the grind
It is amazing to me that there is still so much more written. I read ahead on RoyalRoad two years ago and this still hasn’t caught up.
Raid Dungeon, Danger Zones, and meeting Zone 1.
Already preordered the next book. Very pleased to finally pay the author for all their hard work.
It is amazing to me that there is still so much more written. I read ahead on RoyalRoad two years ago and this still hasn’t caught up.
Raid Dungeon, Danger Zones, and meeting Zone 1.
Already preordered the next book. Very pleased to finally pay the author for all their hard work.
August 19, 2023
Lost its story magic
Often is the case whereby a good story gets convoluted into stats...mechanics and process. As I have stated before....there's a balance. This book fell victim to that illness and forgets to tell a story. Unworthy.
Often is the case whereby a good story gets convoluted into stats...mechanics and process. As I have stated before....there's a balance. This book fell victim to that illness and forgets to tell a story. Unworthy.
October 16, 2023
This is probably the first time in this series that I can say that I didn't enjoy this book. Book 5 is actually 2 books that each have their own flaws.
The first part of this story sees Randidly and the other elites from this story going on a dungeon run. This was very much a case of action over substance, and pretty much everything that happened there felt convoluted and ultimately meaningless. What made this even more frustrating was that it is the part of the story where we deal with Randidly finally being reunited with the friends he has been looking for throughout this series. That should have been the focus of this part of the story as it had the potential to be way more impactful than it eventually was. Instead, we got wasted potential and meaningless action, resulting in a large chunk of this book that it was difficult to get through.
The next part of this story deals with the opening up of the zones of this world. This is something that until this point I didn't even realise was a thing. This zones concept felt like it came from nowhere, but it was an interesting concept regardless. At first, it felt like this was a story that could really go somewhere, but I soon lost interest. The issue was that this part of the story has Randidly going undercover to hunt another iteration of The Creature in this new zone whilst also learning about this new zone. The second he went undercover it was really obvious where this story was headed and it was just frustrating at how long it was taking to get there, making this part of the book feel really drawn out and pointless.
That makes 2 halves of a book that are both drawn out and pointless. This book was a lot of words with very little progress, and that was a big disappointment for me. Until this point, I think that this has been one of the stronger series in this sub-genre. However, it's starting to lose its way.
I mentioned in a review for a previous novel that I think this series would benefit more from being told in a strict first-person format, forcing the story to stay with Randidly and keep the author from getting distracted with new characters and alternate POV chapters. I am going to double down on that suggestion here, as the cast of POV characters grows yet again and we have yet more characters to keep track of. The issue here is that in order for each of these characters to have a story of their own, they take pages from the protagonist's story. As a result, the breakneck pace of Randidly's growth as a character (something that has been the driving power of this series to this point) has stalled out and the pacing of this series has fallen off a cliff.
It's frustrating because I still enjoy this series overall and I have previously read ahead on the web novel so I know that it goes to interesting places. It's just a shame that it gets so drawn out, something that is a common flaw among many long-running web novels.
Overall this is not the best this series has to offer, and it is the closest to a bad story in the series so far. It's a 2.5-star story that gets rounded up as I don't think it's quite so bad as to warrant another loss of a star, but it was a close thing.
The first part of this story sees Randidly and the other elites from this story going on a dungeon run. This was very much a case of action over substance, and pretty much everything that happened there felt convoluted and ultimately meaningless. What made this even more frustrating was that it is the part of the story where we deal with Randidly finally being reunited with the friends he has been looking for throughout this series. That should have been the focus of this part of the story as it had the potential to be way more impactful than it eventually was. Instead, we got wasted potential and meaningless action, resulting in a large chunk of this book that it was difficult to get through.
The next part of this story deals with the opening up of the zones of this world. This is something that until this point I didn't even realise was a thing. This zones concept felt like it came from nowhere, but it was an interesting concept regardless. At first, it felt like this was a story that could really go somewhere, but I soon lost interest. The issue was that this part of the story has Randidly going undercover to hunt another iteration of The Creature in this new zone whilst also learning about this new zone. The second he went undercover it was really obvious where this story was headed and it was just frustrating at how long it was taking to get there, making this part of the book feel really drawn out and pointless.
That makes 2 halves of a book that are both drawn out and pointless. This book was a lot of words with very little progress, and that was a big disappointment for me. Until this point, I think that this has been one of the stronger series in this sub-genre. However, it's starting to lose its way.
I mentioned in a review for a previous novel that I think this series would benefit more from being told in a strict first-person format, forcing the story to stay with Randidly and keep the author from getting distracted with new characters and alternate POV chapters. I am going to double down on that suggestion here, as the cast of POV characters grows yet again and we have yet more characters to keep track of. The issue here is that in order for each of these characters to have a story of their own, they take pages from the protagonist's story. As a result, the breakneck pace of Randidly's growth as a character (something that has been the driving power of this series to this point) has stalled out and the pacing of this series has fallen off a cliff.
It's frustrating because I still enjoy this series overall and I have previously read ahead on the web novel so I know that it goes to interesting places. It's just a shame that it gets so drawn out, something that is a common flaw among many long-running web novels.
Overall this is not the best this series has to offer, and it is the closest to a bad story in the series so far. It's a 2.5-star story that gets rounded up as I don't think it's quite so bad as to warrant another loss of a star, but it was a close thing.
October 9, 2023
This was a huge book that held half of many stories. I've created my own relation to symphony music to try and articulate what is happening.
There is a feeling in music where notes start from one place then introduce dissonance to create a tune only to come back into harmony at some point. This return to harmony feels really good. Like an endorphin hit. This book never comes back to harmony for any of the tunes it starts.
This isn't necessarily bad if the series came out complete from the start where the harmony is reached in the final book. But the author could stop writing. The harmony may never be reached. Richard Wagner was a pioneer in creating a long running tease of harmony where the dissonance was not resolved. Only after hours of production you'd practically have an orgasm from the final achieved harmony.
I'll wait for a few more books to be released before returning. I'll watch the reviews and listen hoping that it eventually returns to harmony. I have no hope at all for book #6, book #7 could be good.
There is a feeling in music where notes start from one place then introduce dissonance to create a tune only to come back into harmony at some point. This return to harmony feels really good. Like an endorphin hit. This book never comes back to harmony for any of the tunes it starts.
This isn't necessarily bad if the series came out complete from the start where the harmony is reached in the final book. But the author could stop writing. The harmony may never be reached. Richard Wagner was a pioneer in creating a long running tease of harmony where the dissonance was not resolved. Only after hours of production you'd practically have an orgasm from the final achieved harmony.
I'll wait for a few more books to be released before returning. I'll watch the reviews and listen hoping that it eventually returns to harmony. I have no hope at all for book #6, book #7 could be good.
October 9, 2023
Rating 3.0 stars
By this point you should know if you like this series or not. The same good things are still good and the same bad things are still bad. The world building is pretty expansive. The magic system is also very complicated and interesting. There is a lot of action and leveling. Those are all the good points. The bad stuff is the characters. Nobody acts like that. Even though the system is interesting I can't imagine the purpose. What is the end goal for the system? What does it want and why? The system comes in, takes over the world and sets up a fight for survival. It gives classes and powers to the people so they can survive. Does it want them to survive? Everytime something good happens, something else happens to make it seem like the system wants everyone to die. Is it all just about conflict? What is the point in that?
There are too many things going on at the same time and makes it hard to follow what everyone's goal is. Randidly is against the system. He is also against the creature who is against the system. He has to fight raid bosses but then there are also calamities coming which he needs to fight against. Then in this one more characters emerge with questionable goals. This series is just okay. There are things that I find interesting and things that are just meh. There isn't really anything too annoying for me to quit. It has all been pretty much the same the last 4 books so it would really be on me for getting annoyed at something that I know is going to happen. Can't call it a 4 star series anymore though.
By this point you should know if you like this series or not. The same good things are still good and the same bad things are still bad. The world building is pretty expansive. The magic system is also very complicated and interesting. There is a lot of action and leveling. Those are all the good points. The bad stuff is the characters. Nobody acts like that. Even though the system is interesting I can't imagine the purpose. What is the end goal for the system? What does it want and why? The system comes in, takes over the world and sets up a fight for survival. It gives classes and powers to the people so they can survive. Does it want them to survive? Everytime something good happens, something else happens to make it seem like the system wants everyone to die. Is it all just about conflict? What is the point in that?
There are too many things going on at the same time and makes it hard to follow what everyone's goal is. Randidly is against the system. He is also against the creature who is against the system. He has to fight raid bosses but then there are also calamities coming which he needs to fight against. Then in this one more characters emerge with questionable goals. This series is just okay. There are things that I find interesting and things that are just meh. There isn't really anything too annoying for me to quit. It has all been pretty much the same the last 4 books so it would really be on me for getting annoyed at something that I know is going to happen. Can't call it a 4 star series anymore though.
May 23, 2025
The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound 5 by Noret Flood is a closing and an opening. The first half of the book wraps up the problem of the creature in zone 32, while the second half opens up the new earth introducing new factions and characters. Randidly is convinced that that the creature is in charge of something in the new zone and goes undercover to learn information as a smelter and drone tinkerer. The weakest part of the book is the unclear meandering at the village in the first part.
Some might not like the slice of life style that Randidly pursued as he was working on his probational citizenship, but it reminded me of his time at the city in an earlier book when we get introduced to Lucifer and Rand's ex. Stuff like this is important to get a feel for the zone, and Neveah's journey starts out seeming dopey, but ends rather strong - even if there is a strange out of nowhere romance subplot that takes up a couple chapters.
The ending twist was nice, but I would have preferred it if there was something different to how it was handled. The reveal that Randidly was chasing after a ghost of sorts was cool, especially given how he just can't believe someone else could do what he did in his zone, but it also felt like the ending was abrupt to force a close, only to build suspense given the continued survival of one of the new antagonists.
Ghost was also an interesting character, but it seems like Flood wanted to force a confrontation that didn't feel too organic to the story, even if Ghost's frustration over his situation has been longstanding for almost as long as we get to know him. The brothers in Zone 1 are interesting to follow, Randidly's father was quite the reveal, and there are other nice bits scattered throughout. Hopefully the grandfather doesn't become some two-bit villain, or that the main forces of Donnyton are not being sent on a wild goose chase to allow some faction to ambush their home base. Randidly's main focus in the middle of the book was learning to trust his people, it would suck if his trust led to their decimation.
I like it, and I'm cautiously optimistic about the future. Some things do seem like they could fray though, so its more like a 4.5 than a solid 5.
Some might not like the slice of life style that Randidly pursued as he was working on his probational citizenship, but it reminded me of his time at the city in an earlier book when we get introduced to Lucifer and Rand's ex. Stuff like this is important to get a feel for the zone, and Neveah's journey starts out seeming dopey, but ends rather strong - even if there is a strange out of nowhere romance subplot that takes up a couple chapters.
The ending twist was nice, but I would have preferred it if there was something different to how it was handled. The reveal that Randidly was chasing after a ghost of sorts was cool, especially given how he just can't believe someone else could do what he did in his zone, but it also felt like the ending was abrupt to force a close, only to build suspense given the continued survival of one of the new antagonists.
Ghost was also an interesting character, but it seems like Flood wanted to force a confrontation that didn't feel too organic to the story, even if Ghost's frustration over his situation has been longstanding for almost as long as we get to know him. The brothers in Zone 1 are interesting to follow, Randidly's father was quite the reveal, and there are other nice bits scattered throughout. Hopefully the grandfather doesn't become some two-bit villain, or that the main forces of Donnyton are not being sent on a wild goose chase to allow some faction to ambush their home base. Randidly's main focus in the middle of the book was learning to trust his people, it would suck if his trust led to their decimation.
I like it, and I'm cautiously optimistic about the future. Some things do seem like they could fray though, so its more like a 4.5 than a solid 5.
July 16, 2024
Abandoned about 30%.
I was already not feeling it in books 3 and 4, but I stuck it out. No more, I'm out.
First, the name is absolutely stupid. Just reading "Randidly" thousands of times over the course of the series is traumatizing me.
Second, we're getting more and more "staring at my navel" chapters like Defiance of the Fall and others where the MC works on his "core" or whatever bullshit. I hate those with a passion, and I was hopeful this series would avoid all of that. Nope.
Literally nothing important happened in the previous book, but with the Raid dungeon I was hopeful about this installment. Again, nope. Just stupid pointless quests and "big bad behind the scenes" bullshit, with a TON of horrible combat descriptions. Seriously, you suck at it, just stop.
And if I had a nickel for every time a character in one of these litrpg books faced down a powerful enemy (or group of enemies) and snorted or smirked, I'd be a billionaire. No joke, search the text of this entire series for smirk and snort and tell me that's not an excessive amount. Who even snorts in real life anyway, except on accident and with immediate embarrassment?
Oh, and Sydney? Spoiler alert, she's just a massive C word, and Randidly (ugh) is just a pathetic simp for her abuse. And Ace might actually be learning impaired. I guess it makes sense that Randidly (ugh) is re tarded as well with those two as his best friends.
I could go more into specifics, but it isn't worth my time. I gave it 4.3 books, probably 2 more than it deserved. Time to cut my losses like so many of these books should have done, but I guess that RR money is hard to pass up.
I was already not feeling it in books 3 and 4, but I stuck it out. No more, I'm out.
First, the name is absolutely stupid. Just reading "Randidly" thousands of times over the course of the series is traumatizing me.
Second, we're getting more and more "staring at my navel" chapters like Defiance of the Fall and others where the MC works on his "core" or whatever bullshit. I hate those with a passion, and I was hopeful this series would avoid all of that. Nope.
Literally nothing important happened in the previous book, but with the Raid dungeon I was hopeful about this installment. Again, nope. Just stupid pointless quests and "big bad behind the scenes" bullshit, with a TON of horrible combat descriptions. Seriously, you suck at it, just stop.
And if I had a nickel for every time a character in one of these litrpg books faced down a powerful enemy (or group of enemies) and snorted or smirked, I'd be a billionaire. No joke, search the text of this entire series for smirk and snort and tell me that's not an excessive amount. Who even snorts in real life anyway, except on accident and with immediate embarrassment?
Oh, and Sydney? Spoiler alert, she's just a massive C word, and Randidly (ugh) is just a pathetic simp for her abuse. And Ace might actually be learning impaired. I guess it makes sense that Randidly (ugh) is re tarded as well with those two as his best friends.
I could go more into specifics, but it isn't worth my time. I gave it 4.3 books, probably 2 more than it deserved. Time to cut my losses like so many of these books should have done, but I guess that RR money is hard to pass up.
August 5, 2024
There was a character in the previous books named Helen, that is briefly mentioned in this one who is kind of a funny in your face girl, power hero that was tolerable. But this new one has a heroic prostitute who is so girl power she must be Hillary Clinton’s big sister. Why did they put in The obvious and trite Strong lady, saving innocent girl From the bad guy who actually turns out to be a good guy, she doesn’t know it’s over the top and just too much in your face, righteous heroic girl power. I skinned a lot of it and I’m doubting why I continue reading these, but then I realized it’s so easy to skim and there are a few fun parts with characters you like from the past. But overall, it’s terrible with a stereotype, boring hick, cowboy hero in a prostitute with a heart of gold in a fist of steel hero. The The author has a running theme of 16 year-old girls wanting to seduce or in this case mentioned to have had sex with adults. They weren’t graphic depictions, but they were unnecessary and odd. I kind of liked the new territory and the new dystopian world that bordered their savage Conan world, but then the book bogged down. Like the AI character Which was mildly new and interesting. But overall, I skimmed this book so fast you couldn’t even say I was wasting time thinking about Industrial steel creation.
March 24, 2025
This LitRPG is still going pretty strong, with a few non-deal-breaking caveats.
What's going well: Action, leveling, adventure, skill-ups, expanding universe, and potential.
What's weird: novel structure. Some of the characterizations.
I'll explain. Randidly builds his own class at the end of the last novel, and now jumps into a high-level dungeon with a few friends to flesh it out. It's all cool. His old, pre-apocalyptic friends are kinda ass-hats. And upon leaving that dungeon, which takes up what I thought was a big deal of the novel, Randidly up and skips town and levels up in a time jump to an all new place and PoV which builds a nice little western/cyberpunk city that feels like a completely different novel.
Ok, no problem, except, for the most part, we're generally always focused on Randidly. It does go back to him, and he's kinda aimless again, but I enjoyed watching him grind through new skillsets, so the original purpose of the novels was served.
Weird? Perhaps. But still enjoyable in the end.
My synesthesia smells gunpowder and a forge.
Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Arctunn.com
What's going well: Action, leveling, adventure, skill-ups, expanding universe, and potential.
What's weird: novel structure. Some of the characterizations.
I'll explain. Randidly builds his own class at the end of the last novel, and now jumps into a high-level dungeon with a few friends to flesh it out. It's all cool. His old, pre-apocalyptic friends are kinda ass-hats. And upon leaving that dungeon, which takes up what I thought was a big deal of the novel, Randidly up and skips town and levels up in a time jump to an all new place and PoV which builds a nice little western/cyberpunk city that feels like a completely different novel.
Ok, no problem, except, for the most part, we're generally always focused on Randidly. It does go back to him, and he's kinda aimless again, but I enjoyed watching him grind through new skillsets, so the original purpose of the novels was served.
Weird? Perhaps. But still enjoyable in the end.
My synesthesia smells gunpowder and a forge.
Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Arctunn.com
September 15, 2023
The last time I was this disappointed in a continuation of a series was when The Infinite Realm book 2 came out and then book 3 because everything was about the character everyone hated. This is just like that!
About half the book is spent with Randidly running away from problems instead of solving anything. He whines and moans about how he didn't level up before the raid-dungeon a lot. We see next to no real character growth or plot development in this installment.
What's even more annoying is that the author keeps writing about how the MC has grown when in fact he hasn't. What is worse than no real plot development? We have a second POV with an utterly boring Cowboy that just is so not relevant at all!!! If it was just for a couple of chapters that would
be fine. But it takes up like half the book almost. I had to skip so many chapters that I just hated.
So I think this is where I call it quits on this series, it's going down hill and it was never that good-quality writing to begin with. It was nowhere near as good as many of the other Litrpg/Cultivation series that are on-going.
About half the book is spent with Randidly running away from problems instead of solving anything. He whines and moans about how he didn't level up before the raid-dungeon a lot. We see next to no real character growth or plot development in this installment.
What's even more annoying is that the author keeps writing about how the MC has grown when in fact he hasn't. What is worse than no real plot development? We have a second POV with an utterly boring Cowboy that just is so not relevant at all!!! If it was just for a couple of chapters that would
be fine. But it takes up like half the book almost. I had to skip so many chapters that I just hated.
So I think this is where I call it quits on this series, it's going down hill and it was never that good-quality writing to begin with. It was nowhere near as good as many of the other Litrpg/Cultivation series that are on-going.
August 14, 2023
This is a great series, and I'm always excited for a new release and wish they came quicker, given that there's something like another 20? novels worth up on royal roads. It seems inevitable that I'll break down eventually and just read it there.
That said, this book had a couple of nagging issues for me. First, the (lack of) proofreading. Wow, this one got a little annoying towards the middle/end with the sheer number of errors. When you are reading and thinking, "nope, that's not the word you meant to use there," and then the following sentence, "swing and a miss," ... at least just run it through Grammarly.
The other is that, as much as I enjoyed meeting the neighbours, I struggled with Randidly's bonkers plan. I just didn't get it. It was a mess of contradictions. The encounter started strong, and I thought the technology-based angle was really good, but by the end of the book, I just wanted this arc to be done so we can move on to the tournament.
That said, this book had a couple of nagging issues for me. First, the (lack of) proofreading. Wow, this one got a little annoying towards the middle/end with the sheer number of errors. When you are reading and thinking, "nope, that's not the word you meant to use there," and then the following sentence, "swing and a miss," ... at least just run it through Grammarly.
The other is that, as much as I enjoyed meeting the neighbours, I struggled with Randidly's bonkers plan. I just didn't get it. It was a mess of contradictions. The encounter started strong, and I thought the technology-based angle was really good, but by the end of the book, I just wanted this arc to be done so we can move on to the tournament.
August 29, 2023
I didn't have an ounce of fun reading this and gave up at around 50% when yet another alternative perspective appears. It's really too bad, this was one of my favorites. I feel like I've lost a friend.
It's like all of the characters died and have been replaced by clones that retain only the worst part of their previous personality, or in some cases by someone completely different. Characters are consistently written as making obviously stupid choices—I guess as a plot device? The amount of meta-physical mumbo-jumbo just skyrocketed, the multiple perspectives aren't interesting, and Randidly's conversion to class-driven evolution is a real downer. Everywhere the plot could have brightened up it just gets darker, and all of the foreshadowing just makes it seem like it's only going to get worse.
It's like all of the characters died and have been replaced by clones that retain only the worst part of their previous personality, or in some cases by someone completely different. Characters are consistently written as making obviously stupid choices—I guess as a plot device? The amount of meta-physical mumbo-jumbo just skyrocketed, the multiple perspectives aren't interesting, and Randidly's conversion to class-driven evolution is a real downer. Everywhere the plot could have brightened up it just gets darker, and all of the foreshadowing just makes it seem like it's only going to get worse.
September 20, 2023
As much as I liked this book I also didn't like it as I listened to the audiobook it felt like one big and long 30 hour interlude. I'm not sure why but the whole book just felt like nothing happened in it. Another main character was introduced in this instalment his name is Hank and he's a cowboy-like character however I found him completely dull and boring and wasn't interested in his storyline whatsoever. I must agree with others who have left reviews of this book so far that this book is definitely a step down from previous installments and i hope the author can improve the quality in the next one. Another thing that bothered me with this book was that a lot of things happened in interludes and we only found out about them afterwards when characters were having conversations about events we hadn't read about.
October 10, 2025
the series has been introducing plot lines that it will later forget about, or they just sizzle out. Ghousthound is a frustrating character that seems to have power but would rather regret not helping people. characters get forgotten then re-introduced skills get forgotten (why doesn't he use “Summon Pestilence.” in the dungeon) half the series is like watching a spiderman and it's all about him doing his hobbies then once in a while say, "huh i could have saved that". Most of the time is Ghousthound saying how much he cares for his two friends, but he puts forth the bare minimum to find them, he says he cares about the town, but he barely keeps in touch with it, and in this book, you realize the direction of the book is nonexistent .im out but i would still recommend the series to people that like op mc
August 5, 2024
In desperate need of an editor
This series has fallen off a cliff in quality. While a small decline in story is somewhat expected in sequels, particularly in this genre, that does not explain away the complete disregard for quality control.
The first book in the series was immaculate in this regard. Unfortunately it has only been a steady decline with each new release culminating in this sad excuse for a book. It is not an exaggeration to say every page has at least one typo, often multiple. Rather than enjoying the novel this leaves the reader struggling to figure out what is even being said.
Hopefully the authors get their act together, but currently I just can't recommend it.
This series has fallen off a cliff in quality. While a small decline in story is somewhat expected in sequels, particularly in this genre, that does not explain away the complete disregard for quality control.
The first book in the series was immaculate in this regard. Unfortunately it has only been a steady decline with each new release culminating in this sad excuse for a book. It is not an exaggeration to say every page has at least one typo, often multiple. Rather than enjoying the novel this leaves the reader struggling to figure out what is even being said.
Hopefully the authors get their act together, but currently I just can't recommend it.
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