Be Thou My Brilliant: An Isekai LitRPG

by Joseph Marcia, Argentorum

An Earthling villain must learn to embrace her inner bureaucrat in the second volume of this inventive series mixing humor, cyberpunk, and fantasy.

Via, aka “Empress,” used to be a Supervillain—powerful, cunning, manipulative, cruel—until one of her technological innovations glitched and stranded her and her nemesis, the Hero Electra, in an alternate realm. Now, despite her best world-dominating intentions, Via finds herself in a position she never thought she’d be local politician.

With her attention divided among building up her city’s defenses, using her high-tech prowess to create amazing industrial inventions, and helping her citizens with their never-ending litany of requests and concerns, Via hasn’t had much time for scheming or wickedness. So when a lesser Vecorvian royal lands on her doorstep seeking asylum and assistance in battling the manipulative Seneschal who’s taken over the city of Silverwall, it’s time to let her villainy shine. Only, the more she plans her attack, the more she realizes that if she has any hope of success, she’ll need to learn to work with others and even make *gulp* friends . . .

A wise-cracking, fast-moving, action-packed isekai, Be Thou My Brilliant is an irresistible continuation of the series that blends the best of superhero stories, LitRPG, and character-driven urban fantasy.

The second volume of the hit LitRPG fantasy series—with more than a million views on Royal Road—now available on Audible and wherever ebooks are sold!

Genres: Fantasy

327 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2023

Reviews

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid second instalment of what is an enjoyable enough LitRPG with a twist. The twist in this series being the fact that Superhero, Electra, and Supervillain, Empress, find themselves having to work together after being accidentally transported from their own world to a regular fantasy LitRPG type world!

This book had Empress taking control of a village and establishing a power base before taking her fight back to the bigger city and its established leadership factions.

The story was OK. A mix of village building and action with a tiny romance subplot.

If there was a flaw in this book it was the fact that Electra seemed mostly to be just fulfilling a comedy support role in this one. Which feels like an underutilisation of her potential. At least I enjoyed her budding friendship with Empress.

All in all this was solid without being anything special. I still liked it enough that I’ll definitely pick up the next instalment!

Rating: 3.5 stars

Audio Note: Hollie Jackson did a good job with the audio.

[Akshay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Be Thou My Brilliant by Joseph Marcia is the exciting sequel to the hit LitRPG novel, Be Thou My Good. The story picks up where the previous book left off, with Via and Electra continuing their journey in the strange new world of the Devil's Foundry.

In this book, Via and Electra must face even more challenges, including dangerous monsters, treacherous terrain, and political intrigue. Via also has to deal with her new role as a local politician, which is something she never thought she would be doing.

Marcia's writing is as engaging and humorous as ever, and he continues to develop his characters in interesting ways. Via and Electra are both stronger and more confident in this book, and their relationship is even stronger.

The plot of the novel is well-paced and full of exciting twists and turns. Marcia does a great job of balancing action, adventure, and humor. The novel also features some thought-provoking commentary on social and political issues.

Critical analysis:

One of the things that makes Be Thou My Brilliant so enjoyable is its unique setting. The novel takes place in a world where magic and technology coexist, and Marcia does a great job of creating a believable and immersive world for his characters to inhabit.

Another thing that sets the novel apart from other LitRPG novels is its focus on character development. Via and Electra are both complex and well-developed characters, and their relationship is one of the highlights of the novel.

However, the novel is not without its flaws. One minor issue is that the pacing can be slow at times, especially in the early chapters. Additionally, the novel's ending is somewhat abrupt, and it leaves some unanswered questions.

Overall, Be Thou My Brilliant is a well-written and enjoyable LitRPG fantasy adventure. It is sure to please fans of the genre, as well as readers who are looking for a thought-provoking and entertaining story.

[Taka · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 out of 10. Will read again.

I went into this blind, half expecting a sapphic slanted fuck fest with, like, "quests".

It's not!!!!!! YAY.

I was pleasantly surprised. I had an actual LitRPG book. And hats off to the male writer. I very rarely get writers in this genre who can write romantic relationships I'd root for, nevermind believable lesbian content. You have my permission to write straight relations. You have the talent. And you don't use women as objects or objectives.

Enough of that.

The Story is full of comic book fun. Has a GREAT anti-villain who I just want to follow everywhere. The story is deep and rich and full and is a great videogame book.

I read at least 3 books a week. This book is so good that it is the first book of this year I'm reviewing on goodreads. Thats aprox 220 books for this year so far 90% in Gamelit. And this is the first review for the year. IT'S THAT GOOD

[Sergey Kravtsov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Another awesome book and a great continuation to the story. Can't wait for the next one and hope you enjoy it as much as I have :D

[M L Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good continuation of the first book and a wonderful story in its own right. I will be interested to see how it progresses from here.