What do you think?
Rate this book
Divine Progression #1
Town Guard: A LitRPG Adventure
He WILL protect this town.
Glenn Redwood has longed to become an Adventurer since he was a young boy, and has focused every waking moment since he turned 14 on leveling and growing stronger.
Answering the challenge of the Gods of Luxtera, he has fought Monsters to prove himself again and again. He has earned the right to travel the world and protect its people... but the Gods have other plans.
After they choose Glenn to become a Town Guard, he is charged with protecting his small town and everyone within. His dreams of traveling the world seem all but impossible. Even so, as he upgrades his new Town Guard Class, Glenn learns that one doesn't need to travel abroad to find challenge, adventure, friendship, and even love.
And the people he wants most strongly to protect may have been in his small village all along.
Don't miss the start of a new action-packed LitRPG Adventure with strong-to-stronger progression, strategic battles, endearing characters, and slice-of-life elements.
About the Join Glenn as he shows just how large a small town can be, making new friends and supportive allies as he gains experience for everything from 'Watching the Gate' Quests to 'Slay Attacking Monsters'. Have you ever wondered while playing Skyrim or other RPGs what the guards are up to when you're not around? Probably not. But maybe you should have...
Glenn Redwood has longed to become an Adventurer since he was a young boy, and has focused every waking moment since he turned 14 on leveling and growing stronger.
Answering the challenge of the Gods of Luxtera, he has fought Monsters to prove himself again and again. He has earned the right to travel the world and protect its people... but the Gods have other plans.
After they choose Glenn to become a Town Guard, he is charged with protecting his small town and everyone within. His dreams of traveling the world seem all but impossible. Even so, as he upgrades his new Town Guard Class, Glenn learns that one doesn't need to travel abroad to find challenge, adventure, friendship, and even love.
And the people he wants most strongly to protect may have been in his small village all along.
Don't miss the start of a new action-packed LitRPG Adventure with strong-to-stronger progression, strategic battles, endearing characters, and slice-of-life elements.
About the Join Glenn as he shows just how large a small town can be, making new friends and supportive allies as he gains experience for everything from 'Watching the Gate' Quests to 'Slay Attacking Monsters'. Have you ever wondered while playing Skyrim or other RPGs what the guards are up to when you're not around? Probably not. But maybe you should have...
474 pages, Paperback
First published April 24, 2023
737 people are currently reading
177 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
June 16, 2023
This is excruciating. Exposition dumps are in poor form in any sense and should be avoided. Brannigan has, instead, embraced them and expositions like he's practicing for the Exposition Olympics. Which is problematic at any time but when your lead characters are horny fifteen year-olds it's just a world of cringe. And that's made worse, not better, when your preferred horny descriptive is "thirsty".
Also, if you're title is Town Guard and Glenn becoming a town guard is there in the blurb, waiting a quarter of the novel before it happens is just aggravating.
And I haven't even gotten to the juicy worldbuilding that puts everyone not an adventurer as a slave to adventurers. Seriously, they turn to salt if they leave the town gates after dusk. And are forced to inhabit their place of employ literally all day. That's right, the entire populace is indoors all day. Not getting a magic adventurer class is a fate worse than death. Zero autonomy and at the complete mercy of scheming politicians and teen-aged violence clowns.
One star. I mean seriously...
Also, if you're title is Town Guard and Glenn becoming a town guard is there in the blurb, waiting a quarter of the novel before it happens is just aggravating.
And I haven't even gotten to the juicy worldbuilding that puts everyone not an adventurer as a slave to adventurers. Seriously, they turn to salt if they leave the town gates after dusk. And are forced to inhabit their place of employ literally all day. That's right, the entire populace is indoors all day. Not getting a magic adventurer class is a fate worse than death. Zero autonomy and at the complete mercy of scheming politicians and teen-aged violence clowns.
One star. I mean seriously...
July 12, 2023
I am genuinely surprised at how unenjoyable this book was. I had to drop it at the 23% mark. That's roughly 170 pages and amazingly almost nothing happened.
I'm not going to break this down by character, plot, mechanics, etc. Instead, I'll just touch on the 3 main reasons I couldn't stand this story:
1. Wasting my time. We already know from the synopsis that the MC becomes a Town Guard instead of an Adventurer. 170 pages into the book, he's still an annoying teenager who hasn't undergone his Class ceremony where the gods grant a person in this world their class. You know that cliche in 90's cop movies where a guy's partner talks about how he's retiring next week and he plans to finally propose to his girlfriend and take that vacation he's always been wanting...then he gets killed in a shootout on the very next call? That's basically the first 25% of this book except with the MC and his childhood friend/girlfriend talking about how great their adventuring life will be because surely the gods wouldn't assign them a non-adventuring class. Right? Surely. Not like it's even in the title or anything.
2. Annoying teenage characters. While it may be hormonally accurate to have two teenagers talk about how "thirsty" they are and how they can't wait to "bone" as soon as they both turn 16 and the gods' Law of Consent no longer blocks them from intentional contact...it makes for increasingly lame dialogue and annoyance when the dumb sexual chatter continues even during altercations with monsters. It felt like at least 50% of the dialogue involved cringy flirtations and innuendo.
3. Extremely boring expositionary writing. Every person and thing had a backstory and even the backstories had backstories. The author also beat the reader over the head by trying to list nearly all of a person's physical traits and all the clothing/equipment they were wearing. Then going on a tangent to describe where the acquired it, what it was made from, and how if Becka was wearing it then Glenn couldn't wait to become adventuring partners and have sex with her.
I enjoyed this so little that I briefly enjoyed how confusingly unenjoyable it was. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a joke or not, but a good joke would have gotten to the punchline much faster. I eventually tried skimming just to get to the scene where Glen gets assigned the Town Guard class instead of Adventurer, but I couldn't make it.
I will say that I didn't notice any obvious proofreading errors or grammar mistakes, so kudos for that at least.
I'm not going to break this down by character, plot, mechanics, etc. Instead, I'll just touch on the 3 main reasons I couldn't stand this story:
1. Wasting my time. We already know from the synopsis that the MC becomes a Town Guard instead of an Adventurer. 170 pages into the book, he's still an annoying teenager who hasn't undergone his Class ceremony where the gods grant a person in this world their class. You know that cliche in 90's cop movies where a guy's partner talks about how he's retiring next week and he plans to finally propose to his girlfriend and take that vacation he's always been wanting...then he gets killed in a shootout on the very next call? That's basically the first 25% of this book except with the MC and his childhood friend/girlfriend talking about how great their adventuring life will be because surely the gods wouldn't assign them a non-adventuring class. Right? Surely. Not like it's even in the title or anything.
2. Annoying teenage characters. While it may be hormonally accurate to have two teenagers talk about how "thirsty" they are and how they can't wait to "bone" as soon as they both turn 16 and the gods' Law of Consent no longer blocks them from intentional contact...it makes for increasingly lame dialogue and annoyance when the dumb sexual chatter continues even during altercations with monsters. It felt like at least 50% of the dialogue involved cringy flirtations and innuendo.
3. Extremely boring expositionary writing. Every person and thing had a backstory and even the backstories had backstories. The author also beat the reader over the head by trying to list nearly all of a person's physical traits and all the clothing/equipment they were wearing. Then going on a tangent to describe where the acquired it, what it was made from, and how if Becka was wearing it then Glenn couldn't wait to become adventuring partners and have sex with her.
I enjoyed this so little that I briefly enjoyed how confusingly unenjoyable it was. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a joke or not, but a good joke would have gotten to the punchline much faster. I eventually tried skimming just to get to the scene where Glen gets assigned the Town Guard class instead of Adventurer, but I couldn't make it.
I will say that I didn't notice any obvious proofreading errors or grammar mistakes, so kudos for that at least.
May 9, 2023
I found the writing quite busy, in that weird ‘show don’t tell’ style where you can’t say, “John was six feet tall,” but have to say, ““I’m John,” said the six-foot tall blond man with a ring in his nose and piercing green eyes, patting the sabre that marked him as a Hunter of the Ancient…” And so on.
May 6, 2023
Strange book
The system was very strange , only adventurers could leave the towns it just did not make since to be honest.Then of course the writer had to throw in a lesbian relationship ,just to make the writer look like he is "woke".Had no relevance to the story at all !!The main character was not likable and his friend either ,the side characters were more interesting than the main characters .Do not recommend this book
The system was very strange , only adventurers could leave the towns it just did not make since to be honest.Then of course the writer had to throw in a lesbian relationship ,just to make the writer look like he is "woke".Had no relevance to the story at all !!The main character was not likable and his friend either ,the side characters were more interesting than the main characters .Do not recommend this book
May 20, 2023
DNF at 72% Long winded and rather repetitive. Best suited for older teenagers.
The first 55% of the book could have been told in 1-2 pages which could have made the story way more compelling as it takes the author that long to establish the shocking fact - given the title of the book - that the main character becomes a town guard even though he had other plans.
The world building is too two dimensional for my taste as it reflects MMORPGs with starter zones, aggro area, highly limited guards and prude rules.
One of the author´s favorite words seems to be the word "consent" which he uses 69! times within the book. He goes on and on with consent on being groped, f*cked, arrested ;-) etc. In the end i always kept getting reminded of the latest surreal Ezra Miller arrest scenes i watched online when reading it.
In the end i accepted that this series is not for me and that it was time to move on...
The first 55% of the book could have been told in 1-2 pages which could have made the story way more compelling as it takes the author that long to establish the shocking fact - given the title of the book - that the main character becomes a town guard even though he had other plans.
The world building is too two dimensional for my taste as it reflects MMORPGs with starter zones, aggro area, highly limited guards and prude rules.
One of the author´s favorite words seems to be the word "consent" which he uses 69! times within the book. He goes on and on with consent on being groped, f*cked, arrested ;-) etc. In the end i always kept getting reminded of the latest surreal Ezra Miller arrest scenes i watched online when reading it.
In the end i accepted that this series is not for me and that it was time to move on...
May 4, 2023
Book that reads like it was written by a hormonal teenager
Had to stop reading this part way. Every interaction with a female character is sexualized or flirtatious for some reason that I can’t fathom. It made the dialogue bland and supposedly intense moments seem unimportant. Could have been good, MAYBE, without that but it was never going to be a page turner.
Had to stop reading this part way. Every interaction with a female character is sexualized or flirtatious for some reason that I can’t fathom. It made the dialogue bland and supposedly intense moments seem unimportant. Could have been good, MAYBE, without that but it was never going to be a page turner.
August 25, 2023
I haven't tried to read a full-on LitRPG before, so this was interesting. It makes no real attempt to make the presumable game-world plausible in its own internal terms, and the game aspects (stats, character sheets, punctuation that calls out the skills and inventory items as special) were obtrusive, but I'm guessing that comes with the territory. From poking around, I've gained the impression that LitRPG is normally terribly edited, and although this definitely needed more editing, mainly for typos and internal inconsistencies, it was better than plenty of other books I've read lately; the author at least has a basic grasp of commas and can (mostly) narrate competently in the past tense. He also knows the difference between a hoard and a horde, and uses the correct spelling for "discreet," which plenty of people who make few other mistakes get wrong. On the other hand, he is given to stating the blindingly obvious, such as that no mortal is immortal, or that a small park is not large, and sometimes displays a bit of ignorance about the world and how it works, like referring to a tailor "knitting" a shirt made of fine fabric. He puts an apostrophe in "heads up" that doesn't belong there, and occasionally uses the wrong preposition, such as "with 50 yards" instead of "within 50 yards". And he writes "wailing" where he means "whaling".
He's clearly young, not only because of the slang he uses but because he says at one point "the old man was nearly 50," so he gets a bit of a n00b pass for not knowing things.
The other sign of youth is an adolescent obsession with sex at times, though it mostly takes the form of innuendo or reference to people having or wanting to have sex; there's nothing outright explicit on screen, so it's PG rather than R.
The protagonist is also young; he turns 16 early in the book, which is the age at which people can choose a class (or have one chosen for them by the gods) in his world. (It's also the age of consent, taken very literally; the gods prevent people under 14 from any sexual expression at all, those 14-15 from anything more than kissing and cuddling, and those over 16 from anything that isn't consented to by both parties, and one can only be with people of one's own age range.) Despite his youth, he's serious-minded and absolutely determined to do the right thing, which is usually putting himself at risk in order to protect others. I liked that aspect of his character.
As the blurb gives away, this leads to him being classed as a Town Guard, a deliberately OP class that makes sure towns are safe places - but they can't leave the town they're assigned to until they reach level 20, which torpedoes his life plans. The actual moment at which he becomes a Town Guard doesn't come until almost halfway through, so the first half of the book is spent establishing the characters and their relationships, and setting up some mysteries and conflicts. I didn't feel it went too slowly; there were some action scenes that were both varied and well described scattered throughout, the characters were interesting to spend time with, and the various mysteries piqued my curiosity.
I found the resolution of the various mysteries and conflicts satisfying, and appreciated that Glenn wasn't just good-hearted and brave and loyal, but also smart. He worked with others effectively, too; he wasn't just a solo hero.
I definitely look forward to reading the sequel, and this easily makes it onto my Best of the Year list. I've put it at the Bronze tier, the lowest, but it's high Bronze; I just can't quite justify Silver given the need for more polish, especially when it comes to internal consistency and continuity. Still, a promising debut.
He's clearly young, not only because of the slang he uses but because he says at one point "the old man was nearly 50," so he gets a bit of a n00b pass for not knowing things.
The other sign of youth is an adolescent obsession with sex at times, though it mostly takes the form of innuendo or reference to people having or wanting to have sex; there's nothing outright explicit on screen, so it's PG rather than R.
The protagonist is also young; he turns 16 early in the book, which is the age at which people can choose a class (or have one chosen for them by the gods) in his world. (It's also the age of consent, taken very literally; the gods prevent people under 14 from any sexual expression at all, those 14-15 from anything more than kissing and cuddling, and those over 16 from anything that isn't consented to by both parties, and one can only be with people of one's own age range.) Despite his youth, he's serious-minded and absolutely determined to do the right thing, which is usually putting himself at risk in order to protect others. I liked that aspect of his character.
As the blurb gives away, this leads to him being classed as a Town Guard, a deliberately OP class that makes sure towns are safe places - but they can't leave the town they're assigned to until they reach level 20, which torpedoes his life plans. The actual moment at which he becomes a Town Guard doesn't come until almost halfway through, so the first half of the book is spent establishing the characters and their relationships, and setting up some mysteries and conflicts. I didn't feel it went too slowly; there were some action scenes that were both varied and well described scattered throughout, the characters were interesting to spend time with, and the various mysteries piqued my curiosity.
I found the resolution of the various mysteries and conflicts satisfying, and appreciated that Glenn wasn't just good-hearted and brave and loyal, but also smart. He worked with others effectively, too; he wasn't just a solo hero.
I definitely look forward to reading the sequel, and this easily makes it onto my Best of the Year list. I've put it at the Bronze tier, the lowest, but it's high Bronze; I just can't quite justify Silver given the need for more polish, especially when it comes to internal consistency and continuity. Still, a promising debut.
May 8, 2023
We start Town Guard with Glenn Redwood and his girlfriend Becka killing monsters in the wilds outside of the town of Wolfpine. It's a small town but full of memorable characters for only having 60 people living there in total.
Both Glenn and Becka are fifteen, below the age of consent where they can do the things they want to do. Glenn's best friend Zack wants to be a shadower and join the Shadower guild. Glenn and Becka have simpler plans. They want to be adventurers, and if they get really lucky, join the Blazer guild which is the top guild for adventurers in this world.
That's the setup. The world building was very interesting. Depending on your age, you may or may not be able to do certain things. To travel you take the safe roads, which the gods placed on their world and will keep you safe from monster attacks. There is also consent, in that you cannot be attacked without consent in a town, city, or safe road. Only in the wilds can you attack someone with impunity, and again that depends on their age. All these rules work really well together and are tested in a number of different ways. There is a good amount of time spent by Becka and Glenn trying to get around the rules, although none of them really work. And at the age of sixteen teenagers go to the Church of Celes to find out their class.
I really enjoyed this. I tried to read a couple different books recently that didn't really pan out for me, so this was a refreshing change of pace. The editing is very good, and the stats were consistent and regular. I do think that the book should have been called Wolfpine or something else because it takes away from the surprise of someone being selected as a Town Guard by the gods, which apparently is very rare.
Other than that, I have no complaints. This is a light, almost slice of life book but with a strong intertwined plot that isn't clear until the very end. Recommended. 5/5* and I will read book two when it comes out.
Both Glenn and Becka are fifteen, below the age of consent where they can do the things they want to do. Glenn's best friend Zack wants to be a shadower and join the Shadower guild. Glenn and Becka have simpler plans. They want to be adventurers, and if they get really lucky, join the Blazer guild which is the top guild for adventurers in this world.
That's the setup. The world building was very interesting. Depending on your age, you may or may not be able to do certain things. To travel you take the safe roads, which the gods placed on their world and will keep you safe from monster attacks. There is also consent, in that you cannot be attacked without consent in a town, city, or safe road. Only in the wilds can you attack someone with impunity, and again that depends on their age. All these rules work really well together and are tested in a number of different ways. There is a good amount of time spent by Becka and Glenn trying to get around the rules, although none of them really work. And at the age of sixteen teenagers go to the Church of Celes to find out their class.
I really enjoyed this. I tried to read a couple different books recently that didn't really pan out for me, so this was a refreshing change of pace. The editing is very good, and the stats were consistent and regular. I do think that the book should have been called Wolfpine or something else because it takes away from the surprise of someone being selected as a Town Guard by the gods, which apparently is very rare.
Other than that, I have no complaints. This is a light, almost slice of life book but with a strong intertwined plot that isn't clear until the very end. Recommended. 5/5* and I will read book two when it comes out.
May 13, 2023
KU Review
A truly wholesome book. I kept waiting for people to be people but all of the characters turned out to be decent. Everyone had their own motivations but in deed the all did the right thing. Good read.
General disclaimer: I want to be clear in that I do not factor cost into any review and as such, this is simply a reflection of my enjoyment of the book and in no way reflects cost to value analysis.
A truly wholesome book. I kept waiting for people to be people but all of the characters turned out to be decent. Everyone had their own motivations but in deed the all did the right thing. Good read.
General disclaimer: I want to be clear in that I do not factor cost into any review and as such, this is simply a reflection of my enjoyment of the book and in no way reflects cost to value analysis.
May 13, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. Great start of a new series. Love the magic and world building of the book and I am excited to learn more. I can’t wait to see what happens next. Highly recommend this book.
May 13, 2023
ugh
Instead of just keeping it simple and saying hide and seek, this dude was clever and called it fade and seek…ugh. So cool. This writer also succumbs to the trope of modern fantasy writers. They just can’t help themselves but to write as a pagan, gods this and gods that. It’s actually sad that they can’t be original, and if not that then at least accurate. This dude actually wore out the word ‘gods’ in the first few pages. He has a gods problem. Also, setting didn’t jive or make sense or draw me in. Not sure where all of these five start reviews are coming from for these modern fantasy books. My guess is that it’s either schills or people with low expectations. This review may seem harsh to some, but try reading 100 books, and 99 of them are the same. Same lame mc that makes dumb choices and is week. Same pagan philosophy, same basic structure. Same basic characters. Blah. It’s unsweetened vanilla pudding. Out.
Instead of just keeping it simple and saying hide and seek, this dude was clever and called it fade and seek…ugh. So cool. This writer also succumbs to the trope of modern fantasy writers. They just can’t help themselves but to write as a pagan, gods this and gods that. It’s actually sad that they can’t be original, and if not that then at least accurate. This dude actually wore out the word ‘gods’ in the first few pages. He has a gods problem. Also, setting didn’t jive or make sense or draw me in. Not sure where all of these five start reviews are coming from for these modern fantasy books. My guess is that it’s either schills or people with low expectations. This review may seem harsh to some, but try reading 100 books, and 99 of them are the same. Same lame mc that makes dumb choices and is week. Same pagan philosophy, same basic structure. Same basic characters. Blah. It’s unsweetened vanilla pudding. Out.
February 14, 2024
I am listening to the audiobook and about a third into the book I am seriously considering dropping this book. I am so sick and tired of the forced snarky dialogue about how incredibly horny everyone is. If i have to hear the word "thirsty" or "tease" one more time I am done. The main characters literally keep this up in every possible situation. Chased by a deadly monster? "Wow, Becka's sweaty skin looks so tempting and her boobs jiggle when she runs for her life, can't wait to BONE her when she is legal in three months". Glenn having dinner at Becka's house for the first time? Better do hand stuff underneath the table the entire duration while her father is present. Glenn, who turned 15 years that same day mind you, talks to an ADULT female town guard for the first time? Of course the town guard has to flirt with him immediately and suggest they should bone when he is old enough. Zack, also 15 years old, meets a female high level adventurer twice his age? Of course he immediately puts on the smooth talk like he is some old pimp and starts suggesting they should bone. This shit is just terrible. And "teens are horny" isn't really an excuse for spending half the word count focusing on how much minors want to have sex. The entire plot so far a third into the book could have been explored reasonably well with a third of the page count. The audiobook is almost twenty hours long, and seven hours in the story has progressed like TWO DAYS, in which the following happened:
- A kid gets lost in the woods, Glenn and Becka rescue the girl but have to spend the night in the woods before they escape
- They return to town to a heroes welcome
- Glenn has dinner at Becka's house
- Glenn is about to get his class assignment (which obviously will NOT be adventurer)
That's it. That's the first third of the book in a nutshell. Honestly, this book is a waste of my time, especially when you consider how poorly written it is. While writing this I've decided to drop the book, it will take me like two minutes to find a better book that isn't just minors talking about how "thirsty" they are.
- A kid gets lost in the woods, Glenn and Becka rescue the girl but have to spend the night in the woods before they escape
- They return to town to a heroes welcome
- Glenn has dinner at Becka's house
- Glenn is about to get his class assignment (which obviously will NOT be adventurer)
That's it. That's the first third of the book in a nutshell. Honestly, this book is a waste of my time, especially when you consider how poorly written it is. While writing this I've decided to drop the book, it will take me like two minutes to find a better book that isn't just minors talking about how "thirsty" they are.
August 21, 2023
Other reviews have pointed out a lot of this book's flaws, so I'll just add a couple of things that irked me:
Wolfpine, the so-called "town" where this book is set, has a population of only 60 people (which doesn't actually qualify as a town by any stretch), yet (1) Glenn, who has lived there all his life, doesn't know all Wolfpine inhabitants at the outset, for instance the town guards, even though they all hang out in the same tavern, and some of them are family members of people he does know; and (2) the "town" is large enough to have different neighborhoods, and for people to get lost among its streets and alleys.
Also, in this world, universal divine law makes it impossible for teens under the age of 16 to have any kind of sexual contact, or even see each other naked, yet everyone acts as if two 15-year-olds might be having sex anyway.
It's one thing to make a world that follows highly artificial RPG rules, but these are just two examples of how the world doesn't feel real on its own terms, and the author hasn't thought it through properly. It lacks verisimilitude.
Wolfpine, the so-called "town" where this book is set, has a population of only 60 people (which doesn't actually qualify as a town by any stretch), yet (1) Glenn, who has lived there all his life, doesn't know all Wolfpine inhabitants at the outset, for instance the town guards, even though they all hang out in the same tavern, and some of them are family members of people he does know; and (2) the "town" is large enough to have different neighborhoods, and for people to get lost among its streets and alleys.
Also, in this world, universal divine law makes it impossible for teens under the age of 16 to have any kind of sexual contact, or even see each other naked, yet everyone acts as if two 15-year-olds might be having sex anyway.
It's one thing to make a world that follows highly artificial RPG rules, but these are just two examples of how the world doesn't feel real on its own terms, and the author hasn't thought it through properly. It lacks verisimilitude.
July 3, 2023
Could have been
If it weren't for all the sexual inuindos and jokes it was a good story. There was one on almost every page. Nothing improper but didn't stop and when did 16 become a good age to start having sex?
If it weren't for all the sexual inuindos and jokes it was a good story. There was one on almost every page. Nothing improper but didn't stop and when did 16 become a good age to start having sex?
July 18, 2024
Fun read
A very nice easy enjoyable read, popcorn book and enjoyed the MMO aspects. It will be interesting to see how the story goes in book two.
A very nice easy enjoyable read, popcorn book and enjoyed the MMO aspects. It will be interesting to see how the story goes in book two.
March 9, 2026
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. All the other reviewers are correct: this book can be cringe. And I say that ironically because I am parroting all the times the denizens in this magical world use cringey modern vernacular. One character was called "thirsty" unironically about a half dozen times in a few chapters. And yes, this sometimes reads like a horny teenagers' unfiltered thoughts spewing into the world. But there is also an entertaining tale if you ignore (large) parts of the book that go that direction.
I would also say that the characters who find themselves chapter narrators are very undeveloped. There are two general "main" points of view characters with a handful more that pop up. One of them is the paragon and the other the rogue. They fit entirely into tropey typecasts. There isn't much else to say about them.
Finally, before I delve into the good parts, I would say that there were times when I simply wasn't really interested. The book is called Town Guard and I think it took a majority of time until we even got to the point where the title became relevant. It dragged on at times unnecessarily. By that I mean, I'm okay with hundreds of pages before the real story begins, but only when it serves a purpose. I suspect that the purpose here is world and character building but we got almost none in any meaningful way of either.
So why do I round up to four stars? Because ultimately I am evaluating this on the young adult scale for a lit RPG. I probably rated classic literature 4 stars that are worlds beyond this book. But the Goodreads evaluation system is pretty basic. I still stand by my rating because there is an interesting story here, one that is also developing into a bigger story, and the interplay of the gods on the mortals and the rules of the world are themes not in your usual fantasy adventure.
On that point, I found the focus of 'consent' to be an interesting one. A world where you cannot attack another human without their consent - and by that I mean, you literally cannot go over and punch someone in the face, because the gods will stop you physically from doing it - is pretty appealing to me. Needing to be at least 16 before having intercourse isn't such a bad idea either. I know some may disagree but I'd take ending all child sex abuse in exchange for requiring horny teenagers (myself included some 30 odd years ago) to abstain until their 16th year in a heartbeat. But more than anything else, this brings up all the loopholes. Getting around the rules created by the gods is where things get interesting. You cannot stab someone without their consent, but you can put poison in a goblet and if your target so happens to pick that goblet up, drink, and die, well, poison existing in a cup isn't precluded by the gods. The concept of 'consent' thus often turns on 'intent'. The possibilities here are nearly endless on how these people get around certain rules tied to both. And it works because gods are not mortals and don't think like mortals, so their rules, while supposedly omnipotent, are from the standpoint of omnipresent beings rather than flawed individuals. Thus, the law of unintended consequences meets divine doctrine in unexpected ways.
Ultimately, this is a very average book with some slightly above average concepts that help with all of the cringey writing.
My suggestion if you decide to read this book is go in with low expectations and be surprised. I took a quick gander at some reviews when I first started because I was simply laughing at how egregiously cringey some of the scenes were. The first dozen or so reviewers tore into the book and I expected it to be this way the whole time, while resigned to finish. It did get (slightly) better as you go along but yeah...
I would also say that the characters who find themselves chapter narrators are very undeveloped. There are two general "main" points of view characters with a handful more that pop up. One of them is the paragon and the other the rogue. They fit entirely into tropey typecasts. There isn't much else to say about them.
Finally, before I delve into the good parts, I would say that there were times when I simply wasn't really interested. The book is called Town Guard and I think it took a majority of time until we even got to the point where the title became relevant. It dragged on at times unnecessarily. By that I mean, I'm okay with hundreds of pages before the real story begins, but only when it serves a purpose. I suspect that the purpose here is world and character building but we got almost none in any meaningful way of either.
So why do I round up to four stars? Because ultimately I am evaluating this on the young adult scale for a lit RPG. I probably rated classic literature 4 stars that are worlds beyond this book. But the Goodreads evaluation system is pretty basic. I still stand by my rating because there is an interesting story here, one that is also developing into a bigger story, and the interplay of the gods on the mortals and the rules of the world are themes not in your usual fantasy adventure.
On that point, I found the focus of 'consent' to be an interesting one. A world where you cannot attack another human without their consent - and by that I mean, you literally cannot go over and punch someone in the face, because the gods will stop you physically from doing it - is pretty appealing to me. Needing to be at least 16 before having intercourse isn't such a bad idea either. I know some may disagree but I'd take ending all child sex abuse in exchange for requiring horny teenagers (myself included some 30 odd years ago) to abstain until their 16th year in a heartbeat. But more than anything else, this brings up all the loopholes. Getting around the rules created by the gods is where things get interesting. You cannot stab someone without their consent, but you can put poison in a goblet and if your target so happens to pick that goblet up, drink, and die, well, poison existing in a cup isn't precluded by the gods. The concept of 'consent' thus often turns on 'intent'. The possibilities here are nearly endless on how these people get around certain rules tied to both. And it works because gods are not mortals and don't think like mortals, so their rules, while supposedly omnipotent, are from the standpoint of omnipresent beings rather than flawed individuals. Thus, the law of unintended consequences meets divine doctrine in unexpected ways.
Ultimately, this is a very average book with some slightly above average concepts that help with all of the cringey writing.
My suggestion if you decide to read this book is go in with low expectations and be surprised. I took a quick gander at some reviews when I first started because I was simply laughing at how egregiously cringey some of the scenes were. The first dozen or so reviewers tore into the book and I expected it to be this way the whole time, while resigned to finish. It did get (slightly) better as you go along but yeah...
April 25, 2024
2.5 stars.
Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed most of the story but there were some big downfalls for me.
Now I started writing a really in depth review and it disappeared. So this is going to be quick. I think the first review was so in depth because I wanted to like this so much and issues just really bought it down for me.
I enjoyed the town guard class and seeing their skills and how they can change as the characters level up. The characters were good to. I wanted to enjoy it and I mostly did because I was able to listen to is as an audiobook on 3x speed. I think if I’d read it as a full, many page book I wouldn’t have enjoyed what I did.
The first quarter at least felt pointless to me. The stress of Bekka and Glenn planning their adventurer lives while worrying about what will happen if one of them isn’t classed as an adventurer had no tension for me. We know from the blurb and title that Glenn is to be a town guard. I enjoyed Glenn and Bekka hunting the Moss Beast as a little story in itself. But it was too much build up and what ifs for a scenario we already know is coming. If it had been more secret then it would have worked with the tension of what will Glenn be classed as? But as it stands it wasn’t a shock so the first part should have been shorter allowing the actual story of Glenn as a town guard to start.
The biggest thing that made this hard to read was the constant horniness of the characters. Basically all the characters. Of course this could be argued that the main character is a teenage boy and that’s what teenage boys think about. Sure ok. But this just was so cringy. The amount of times they say they want to ‘bone’ or ‘go and bone.’ And describing their desperation for sex, calling them thirsty did not come across well. Every female was sexualised. Why was an adult woman introduced to Glen for the first time immediately inviting him for sex when he’s only 16. Sure she joked, “maybe in a few years.” But it wasn’t funny to me. Sexy banter can be fun and hot in the right circumstances, romance is popular after all. But for me this was just ick and was really detrimental to the book.
There were a few other moments where I thought “mmmm really?” So I’m not sure if I’ll give book 2 a chance or not. The bits I liked were enjoyable and I did finish the book. I’m hoping this was the authors debut and as they hone their craft some of these issues will be resolved in the coming books. So I might pick up book 2 in the future to see if that’s the case.
Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed most of the story but there were some big downfalls for me.
Now I started writing a really in depth review and it disappeared. So this is going to be quick. I think the first review was so in depth because I wanted to like this so much and issues just really bought it down for me.
I enjoyed the town guard class and seeing their skills and how they can change as the characters level up. The characters were good to. I wanted to enjoy it and I mostly did because I was able to listen to is as an audiobook on 3x speed. I think if I’d read it as a full, many page book I wouldn’t have enjoyed what I did.
The first quarter at least felt pointless to me. The stress of Bekka and Glenn planning their adventurer lives while worrying about what will happen if one of them isn’t classed as an adventurer had no tension for me. We know from the blurb and title that Glenn is to be a town guard. I enjoyed Glenn and Bekka hunting the Moss Beast as a little story in itself. But it was too much build up and what ifs for a scenario we already know is coming. If it had been more secret then it would have worked with the tension of what will Glenn be classed as? But as it stands it wasn’t a shock so the first part should have been shorter allowing the actual story of Glenn as a town guard to start.
The biggest thing that made this hard to read was the constant horniness of the characters. Basically all the characters. Of course this could be argued that the main character is a teenage boy and that’s what teenage boys think about. Sure ok. But this just was so cringy. The amount of times they say they want to ‘bone’ or ‘go and bone.’ And describing their desperation for sex, calling them thirsty did not come across well. Every female was sexualised. Why was an adult woman introduced to Glen for the first time immediately inviting him for sex when he’s only 16. Sure she joked, “maybe in a few years.” But it wasn’t funny to me. Sexy banter can be fun and hot in the right circumstances, romance is popular after all. But for me this was just ick and was really detrimental to the book.
There were a few other moments where I thought “mmmm really?” So I’m not sure if I’ll give book 2 a chance or not. The bits I liked were enjoyable and I did finish the book. I’m hoping this was the authors debut and as they hone their craft some of these issues will be resolved in the coming books. So I might pick up book 2 in the future to see if that’s the case.
August 10, 2025
An interesting concept within the litRPG genre that is absolutely ruined by the authors seeming refusal to get an editor. I am 46% the way through this audiobook (9 hours) and the author has spent more time narrating the pining of the 16 year old main character and his 15-year-old girlfriend. Due to the internal laws of the author's universe, they literally cannot have sex and yet we have spent probably over an hour of those two characters discussing their desire to have sex with each other, ways they might be able to get away with having sex with each other, their need to have sex with each other, or the fact they literally can't have sex together. In 9 hours, less than three full days have occurred within this book. The entire purpose of the series - the main character being assigned Town guard - literally hasn't occurred. At some point he might take the trial that assigns him this class, but as of yet we've spent more time discussing the characters desire to take the trial than actual progression to get to that point in the plot. The worldbuilding is interesting, however very little time seems to have been spent considering why internal laws need to be the way they are, given how much time the author spends bemoaning the fact that they are the way they are. Like damn, my guy, you wrote them this way. There is absolutely no reason for such little plot progression to have occurred. The audiobook has numerous mistakes in it; the script can't seem to decide if the secondary character's name is Zach or Jack. I don't know if I will be able to muster up the desire to finish this book, but I can confidently say that this is the first time I have ever felt the need to sign up for Goodreads.
May 5, 2024
Town Guard is the first book in this series, and if you're a fan of gods and godesses messing with characters just to see what they'll do, then this book is a must read. I've read a few of these kinds of books, and this one is among the best. The final chapter is even better, since it actually gives a glimpse of what's coming in the next book. I'll be reading that one too, since I already have that one too. This appears to be an interesting series as a whole, but we'll see how the next one goes (likely switching to kindle after the second book, because audio books these days take me too long to read). I did obtain several books via a humble bundle though, so that's where I obtained the nexe several books being labeled as audio. Interestingly enough, only a few of them were ones I'd already read. For what it's worth, I think this series is a good one, but before I commit to reading the whole thing, I want to read the second book, and see just how screwed up things get.
July 10, 2023
The pacing is not great. The blurb tells us that Glenn is going to end up a town guard even though he wants to be an adventurer, but it takes 46% of the book to get to the part where it actually happens. There’s entire books that are shorter then the description of the two and half days the first half of the book covers before we even reach the point described in the blurb. And even though the blurb presents the book as a look into the lives of the town guards and what they do, very little attention is given to that. Once Glenn finally becomes a town guard the book shows his first day or so on the job and then it time skips forward past all his normal guard duties until they next time he gets caught up in adventurer style shenanigans.
There’s also a lot of heavy handed descriptions of how in love Glenn and his GF are and how much they want to sleep with each if only the highly restrictive rules imposed by micromanaging gods of this world would let them.
The ending of the book was pretty good, but it’s kind of a slog to get there.
There’s also a lot of heavy handed descriptions of how in love Glenn and his GF are and how much they want to sleep with each if only the highly restrictive rules imposed by micromanaging gods of this world would let them.
The ending of the book was pretty good, but it’s kind of a slog to get there.
May 29, 2024
The tension in the book is being made unable to leave town and join his girlfriend because he's a Town Guard. Being turned into a pile of salt by the gods if he leaves town is something he knows, being a highly motivated and studied person living in the world. The very first thing that happens is the mayor gives him a quest outside of town, which is something they do all the time... So he can leave town. There is no bargaining with the mayor, no explanation, nothing about trying to transfer towns or get a quest to see his girlfriend etc. What a mess of a story.
One of the themes of the book is exploiting what is obviously a video game style system to get around no-kill rules and the like. Despite this, the fact that being a Town Guard makes him several times as powerful as he would otherwise be doesn't get exploited, by say, the mayor, who can give him quests. It also doesn't call into question the worship of the gods who seemingly have all sorts of exploitable blind spots. Again, a mess of a story.
One of the themes of the book is exploiting what is obviously a video game style system to get around no-kill rules and the like. Despite this, the fact that being a Town Guard makes him several times as powerful as he would otherwise be doesn't get exploited, by say, the mayor, who can give him quests. It also doesn't call into question the worship of the gods who seemingly have all sorts of exploitable blind spots. Again, a mess of a story.
May 18, 2023
Slogs and unreal
Too much build up, at the current rate this will be an agonizingly slow story. Especially since after all the build up of the couple losing each other, then the redemption of them being together no matter what, the MC gets arse raped by god games. The acceptance without the MC simply leaving the temple and heading for the 50 foot line outside the gate, a more normal reaction from a 15-16 year old, is similar to how ecchi anime rom coms avoid similar age males fail to have faithful morning wood or the gallant reflex when female flesh pushes up against them.
Sure, he gets stopped on his walk and goes through the grief process, but he should have simply despaired in the blessing selection room, which would have given the time needed to skip the walk.
The MC reacts like he is several decades too mature for the situation.
Too much build up, at the current rate this will be an agonizingly slow story. Especially since after all the build up of the couple losing each other, then the redemption of them being together no matter what, the MC gets arse raped by god games. The acceptance without the MC simply leaving the temple and heading for the 50 foot line outside the gate, a more normal reaction from a 15-16 year old, is similar to how ecchi anime rom coms avoid similar age males fail to have faithful morning wood or the gallant reflex when female flesh pushes up against them.
Sure, he gets stopped on his walk and goes through the grief process, but he should have simply despaired in the blessing selection room, which would have given the time needed to skip the walk.
The MC reacts like he is several decades too mature for the situation.
August 17, 2023
horrible bait and switch
First off theirs more than 1 main character, half the book is about another character that I’m at best apathetic about if not actively dislike. Secondly the writing level is very simple, recommended age would be 8-12 year olds if it wasn’t for the constant talk about sex.
Everything is simple, the nobles are cartoonishly corrupt and evil, towns folk are all nice and dumb. Their isn’t a single thought or action beyond the surface of a child’s cartoon. The pacing is absolutely glacial, took almost half the book to become an actual guard and too, 3-5 chapters going over just getting a class, about 10% of the book.
Honestly don’t know who this books for, if it wasn’t for the constant talk about sex and the jokes maybe it could be good for children but with the constant thirsty talk i wouldn’t recommend it for kids and it’s far to simple for YA.
First off theirs more than 1 main character, half the book is about another character that I’m at best apathetic about if not actively dislike. Secondly the writing level is very simple, recommended age would be 8-12 year olds if it wasn’t for the constant talk about sex.
Everything is simple, the nobles are cartoonishly corrupt and evil, towns folk are all nice and dumb. Their isn’t a single thought or action beyond the surface of a child’s cartoon. The pacing is absolutely glacial, took almost half the book to become an actual guard and too, 3-5 chapters going over just getting a class, about 10% of the book.
Honestly don’t know who this books for, if it wasn’t for the constant talk about sex and the jokes maybe it could be good for children but with the constant thirsty talk i wouldn’t recommend it for kids and it’s far to simple for YA.
July 29, 2025
Town Guard
Glenn and his friends have always wanted to be adventurers. So much so that they hunt the monsters around their home every day to gain skills and experience points. Glen has even gotten to the point where his experience points are maxed out until his Birthday when the gods decide if he is an adventurer or a townsfolk. One god in particular has something else in mind for Glen though.
This was a great magical world litrpg. Having said that, the theme is about the worse kept secret plot twist I have seen. That doesn’t take away the fact that the story and the system is quite enjoyable. The story switches between points of view and each character is well developed. I read the ebook and did not notice any typos.
Content warning: while everything is closed door, there was a lot of talk about sex by 15-16 year old characters. 16 being the age of consent in the story. Nothing graphic, just them saying how “thirsty” they are.
Glenn and his friends have always wanted to be adventurers. So much so that they hunt the monsters around their home every day to gain skills and experience points. Glen has even gotten to the point where his experience points are maxed out until his Birthday when the gods decide if he is an adventurer or a townsfolk. One god in particular has something else in mind for Glen though.
This was a great magical world litrpg. Having said that, the theme is about the worse kept secret plot twist I have seen. That doesn’t take away the fact that the story and the system is quite enjoyable. The story switches between points of view and each character is well developed. I read the ebook and did not notice any typos.
Content warning: while everything is closed door, there was a lot of talk about sex by 15-16 year old characters. 16 being the age of consent in the story. Nothing graphic, just them saying how “thirsty” they are.
September 11, 2023
It's the daily struggle of a mediocre (untrained/unskilled/not bright) regular town guard, that makes more mistakes and has more misses than successes in a small village in a fantasy other world. Not that interesting, not a main theme for a fantasy novel series, it's as if in a movie or a series, they made it about an extra (actor/actress having a minor role).
The story does not include maps of this other world or town. It does not have inside illustrations, nor does it have character summaries, and introduction or a conclusion. It does promote a "divine progression game-like leveling-up system" but again concentrates the details on a simple town guard, not the chief guard, or the best guard, but one of the least capable and lackluster town guards.
Meh!
The story does not include maps of this other world or town. It does not have inside illustrations, nor does it have character summaries, and introduction or a conclusion. It does promote a "divine progression game-like leveling-up system" but again concentrates the details on a simple town guard, not the chief guard, or the best guard, but one of the least capable and lackluster town guards.
Meh!
February 20, 2024
A Fascinating Literary Universe
This LitRPG Novel contains one of the most intriguing examples of world building I've ever read. It is a high fantasy universe with gods who directly, and indirectly, set the boundaries of much of the characters lives while giving the mortal characters enough free will to make decisions which the gods themselves cannot predict with absolute certainty. The story builds somewhat slowly; Glenn, the Main Character, doesn't gaming his class until one is 45% of the way through reading the book, but it does so at a steady pace and is still an interesting read.
There are some minor errors in the text — including one continuity error that caught my attention — but I'm hopeful the author will correct them in a new edition.
This LitRPG Novel contains one of the most intriguing examples of world building I've ever read. It is a high fantasy universe with gods who directly, and indirectly, set the boundaries of much of the characters lives while giving the mortal characters enough free will to make decisions which the gods themselves cannot predict with absolute certainty. The story builds somewhat slowly; Glenn, the Main Character, doesn't gaming his class until one is 45% of the way through reading the book, but it does so at a steady pace and is still an interesting read.
There are some minor errors in the text — including one continuity error that caught my attention — but I'm hopeful the author will correct them in a new edition.
May 13, 2025
I concur with several of the other reviewers. The book is far too long, writing simply for the sake of writing. We don't need every single thought of the narrators head, we also don't need to be reintroduced to each character, or their physical aspect everytime they show up. The teenage appetite for sex in the book is far too purposeful, we get it.... By the 3rd act the story was interesting and intriguing, but not terribly complex or well written. The characters are pretty one dimensional.
I was going to give 3 stars because I began to enjoy it at the end and am considering listening to the next in the series, but after reading my own review and really thinking about it, it's not that good.
I was going to give 3 stars because I began to enjoy it at the end and am considering listening to the next in the series, but after reading my own review and really thinking about it, it's not that good.
July 4, 2023
Good first moral MC
So very regimented system. Safe roads and safe towns etc. Everyone gets a class but not always what they want. The MC becomes a town guard (OP) with power but limits. Thus was not his choice as he wanted to be an adventurer. There's a story there duh. Despite his class he still helps people and enjoys it. This is the beginning of his journey as a town guard. Loved the book and cast. They were all well rounded and unique. The MC is very loyal and has a severe hero complex... Buts hates the attention just always wants to do what is right. I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next.
So very regimented system. Safe roads and safe towns etc. Everyone gets a class but not always what they want. The MC becomes a town guard (OP) with power but limits. Thus was not his choice as he wanted to be an adventurer. There's a story there duh. Despite his class he still helps people and enjoys it. This is the beginning of his journey as a town guard. Loved the book and cast. They were all well rounded and unique. The MC is very loyal and has a severe hero complex... Buts hates the attention just always wants to do what is right. I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next.
August 22, 2023
I don't really know if the author understands how towns, people, or economies evolve. First off a population of mere 60 doesn't constitute a town, at best a dying village. So a "TOWN" OF 60 PEOPLE has an armed force of 7 people?? So 11.67% of population are already on taxpayers money?? And now they have a new Town Guard so the percentage jumps to 13.33% Throw in the mayor, the number jumps to 23.33% are government employees. I'm pretty sure a TOWN needs at least a few dozen government officials. Do authors actually do any thinking or they randomly throw numbers?? A town of 60 has 8 guards lol
February 6, 2024
Pretty good book overall. Naration from Niel Hellegars takes it up a tier. The storyline is consistent and builds up to a grand finale. The world mechanics are familiar, but just different enough to seem like foreshadowing. The female characters seem a bit one dimensional and that is a bit concerning as there seems to be no reason for it beside poor storytelling around one of the central themes/conflicts or that this is likely to be a harem novel in a future book. Based on the lack of graphic scenes, I'm still hopeful that the author just hadn't expounded upon the main female character after using her for the central plot point/revalation. Looking forward to reading the next installment.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews