Jaxon Daniyal was a hero once. A soldier and a killer too. The Darkstrider, they called him. But those days are behind him. Too many mistakes. Too many marks against his soul. Now all Jaxon wants is to fade into obscurity. Fate has other plans.
Plans that involve a young man in a cave with no memories. An Offworlder, a force of chaos and destruction. Their legend is burned into history—always accompanied by war and ruin. And so Jaxon Daniyal is faced with a choice. Become the Darkstrider once more and kill the Offworlder before he threatens the world. Or spare him and risk the annihilation of his own people.
Aaron Hodges was born in 1989 in the small town of Whakatane, New Zealand. He studied for five years at the University of Auckland, completing a Bachelor's of Science in Biology and Geography, and a Masters of Environmental Engineering. After working as an environmental consultant for two years, he now spends his time traveling the world in search of his next adventure.
Ungrateful mortal, i had hoped you would embrace my blessings, no matter, you will receive them all the same.
Thanks to Booksirens, and Aaron Hodges for this novel, that i received in exchange for an honest review.
2 things i liked in this novel, and everything else i freaking despised to my very core.
First Thing, The last 20% and not even because of the huge plot twist, that is really not needed for this story at all, except if the writer will bet mortals against the immortal satana, but if the elohim have no chance against the satana, i have no idea how even Mikael who seems to be able to bypass the power of everyone around him will be able to do it.
Second thing, The Seer Character, Old crazy (who was never crazy) Vinnie herself, Seer characters present the writer, they present to us, that the writer knows what the fuck he is doing, and that he has a plan, and a vision for many of his characters, and the writer does have that in this novel.
Oh Also something i forgot to mention, now the idea of LITRPG world being streamed for monetary gain, is already used in Dungeon Crawler Carl, But The Elohim and The Satana, you are onto something there, i would be super interested to read a litrpg series, that explores that history and how The Satana came to rule the seven universes.
But now comes my harsh review that i had wrote after 80%, and will probably not change much of, everything nice i had to say ends here, so final constructive criticism to the writer, read more LITRPG, and don't read what comes next.
Most of this novel was like a bad TV movie, with bad writing, bad actors, bad story, stereotypical characters, and all too familiar plot and all too predictable events, that was utterly and completely boring.
Not enough progression to be called a litrpg, but more than that, it felt like a feeble attempt at mimicking the genre, the writing style had many boring flaws, specially when the writer kept repeating the same scene from different perspectives, with a boring plot like this you needed every page to make something interesting actually happen, or at least save us the trouble of reading the exact same thing over and over, this was really going on at the beginning of the novel, and then again at the last 20% of the novel once, it can be remedied, if the writer just realizes that it's not a good writing style to begin with, now the story not sure when did a friendly fight, between neighbors and friends, with blunted weapons deserved a novel written about it, or to be the sole event, that we are working towards for 70% of the novel.
Advice to the writer read more of the genre, to the point that you can come up with actual stories worth telling and actually be able to implement a good system of progression, that has various skills and classes and a ranking or level up system that actually matters in the story.
Making super humans, just to fight only humans, is the most boring use of progression i ever saw.
Harsh reality check, but it needed to be said, if i hadn't already dnfed my first booksirens novel, i would have dnfed this, and saved the writer, and the novel the negative review, and saved my time to read something that could entertain me to some extent.
I read this for my batch of SPFBO9 books under judge Covers with Cassidy. Check out my reading vlog here: https://youtu.be/y7jzJ7HAIg4
Not enough progression to be a progression novel :( Jax my love was not enough in it 🙈 There was a random plot twist/added to the world thing in the end and I don't really get it/am very confused. Wish it was written in a more clear way, because I felt the book became something completely different!
This is the story of Jaxon Daniyal known as the Darkstrider, a man who had killed many in the past when he served the empress but who had returned to his people in the highlands vowing to keep his clan safe as only he could. He was a powerful pathfinder, a gold with high aura and mana powers as well, but when raiders came and took his people to sell as slaves he had not been there and now he could only follow. A disturbance to the land brought fear into the heart of Jaxon and when he finally found the raiders, whose leader was Bjorn Cresswell of the Cursed Sons, he also met Mikael Heaton for the first time. Mikael was an offworlder, someone to be feared as a destroyer according to legend. However he had no idea who or what he was as he had only awoken naked in a cave high in the mountains remembering nothing of his past except flashes of the void. Their paths crossed and Jaxon took Mikael under his wing, after beheading Bjorn and saving his people. Mikael was awarded essense for his courage in facing the raiders and he became the next pathfinder. Jaxon did not reveal who Mikeal was but the seer knew. Mikeal trained with Jaxon, Isabel and Conner two other pathfinders and trainees with Jaxon however Mikeal and Conner did not see eye to eye and caused a split in the clan. Soon trouble came to the highlands when the army of the empire came looking for an offworlder in order to kill him. But by then the people had befriended Mikeal and he considered them his family now, but challenges had to be faced both by him and by Jaxon who had brought the eye of the Empire to the highlands. Can both men survive the challenges posed by the threatening war? And was all this a game being played by the Elohim and the Satana? I loved reading this first book in a new dark fantasy series, full of magical powers, loyalty towards the clan, fears of betrayal as well as the idea that this could be another LitRPG series and I absolutely look forward to reading further adventures of both Jaxon and Mikael and maybe unravelling more about who exactly is playing with their lives!
DNF at 53%. I read, and quite enjoyed, the first few books of Hodges' Descendants of the Fall series (see Warbringer) a couple of years back, so I was a little surprised when I started reading this book. There are a lot of typos and malapropisms, and now I can't help but wonder if the other books I've read also had these problems and I just missed them because I enjoyed the plot and characters more. I can't say for sure without buying those books (they were on KU at the time), but I can say that I wasn't a fan of this book, even ignoring the grammatical issues.
In the first couple of chapters, I thought this might be a bit like an isekai Unsouled, but it quickly became more like He Who Fights with Monsters (a series I initially enjoyed, but quickly became sick of due to its characters). My main criticism would be that the main character just doesn't feel like a real person. He seems to be a mishmash of random character traits, most of which don't match up well before and after his transportation to the new world. Maybe that's going to be a plot point in the future, but it killed my interest in the character.
I have been thinking all day about what I could say about this book. I am very troubled because I am divided on what I liked, yet I feel that the rest brings down the book's rating for me. The story is easy to read and quite enjoyable, especially when focusing on the main character... who deserves a good slap in the face. Jaxon Daniyal is a hero both within the story and for the story, providing a highly intriguing character.
I have been reading almost exclusively LitRPG for several months (adding manwhas for 2 to 3 years). My first big issue arises from its classification within this genre. I believe it is not, and SHOULD NOT, be categorized as such, but rather be considered a standalone "classic" fantasy story.
To put it bluntly: The prologue? Remove it. Or replace it with one of the dreams. The few moments of connection between characters? Remove them (or tone them down). The ability to read "stats"? Remove it. The "voice"? Remove it. Using existing terms (such as Elohim, which means God in Hebrew) and changing their meaning does not sit well with me.
In short, there are many elements that would have made me rate it between 1 and 2, but it is saved by a main story that interested me enough to consider reading the second book when it comes out, just to see what the author does with it.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Jaxon Daniyal was a hero once. A soldier and a killer too. The Darkstrider, they called him. But those days are behind him. Too many mistakes. Too many marks against his soul. Now all Jaxon wants is to fade into obscurity. Fate has other plans. Plans that involve a young man in a cave with no memories. An Offworlder, a force of chaos and destruction. Their legend is burned into history—always accompanied by war and ruin. And so Jaxon Daniyal is faced with a choice. Become the Darkstrider once more and kill the Offworlder before he threatens the world. Or spare him and risk the annihilation of his own people. This is a great start to a new book do not miss out. Lots of action and a great adventure. You feel like you are a part of it as the story is so vivid as told by this brilliant writer.
Thanks to BookSirens, and Aaron Hodges for this novel, that i received in exchange for an honest review.
I am very new to litRPG as a subgenre, and this book popped up and it just felt like kismet to give it a try. I initially liked the cover and the title is badass.
It starts off strong and with some action, a good mix of showing and telling the reader and introducing them to the MC and overriding hero -- add in what seems to be a trope: new character wakes up with amnesia, having been dropped into a new world -- end with some ok SFF writing and BOOM you have this book. I didn't hate it, I just didn't love it as I was hoping I would. It's just pieces of it that made it hard to connect to.
With some tweaks I think this could be a cool series and would continue the series. I think the universe as a whole, if expanded on, could be worth reading about, too.
Received as an ARC, I am leaving my honest review. This story is amazing. Gripping and mysterious at first, until the plot opens to reveal who the Darkstrider is. He keeps watch, noting nothing of unusual activity, until he feels a surge. What happens next will have you glued to the pages as he fights thieves that have entered from a rift, taking village people as slaves. But it is not just anyone, no, two very special Pathfinders have been taken, and he vows to save them. But how, since the main leader just may be as strong as he is. An unexpected visitor makes things complicated, but wait - did he come from OUR world? Lots of action, suspense, and things to make you wonder will keep your attention from page 1 til the end, with the ending leaving you wanting more!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Mikael is a foreigner in a strange land. He has vague memories of another life and place, but he can't remember them. He meets Jaxon, a hardened warrior. He soon learns to live with Jaxon and his clan. But a prophecy says a great evil will come.
A great LITRPG book. It is in a dark and bleary world where there is constant war. There are abilities and levels, but the book mostly focuses on story, which I like. Mikael's journey is interesting, and there is a fun angel and demon element in the world. There is no cursing, but heavy violence. I can't wait for the sequel.
A new series that is intense and exciting. Jaxon Daniyal is a retired soldier. He had been known as the Darkstrider, A killer. A man who does not want his past to resurface. However, fate has other plans for him. To connect with a character in a well written story is what I like best and the author has provided that for me in this book. With a strong plot that moves at a good pace with high tension and action this is a compelling and emotionally charged story. I loved it...
This is a great book. Good magic system that isn't the typical. The MCs are great and make good decisions. The book drags a little in the middle but the ending finishes very strong and answers all the questions. Long book but I finished it in a day. Can't wait for the next one.
The first chapters are dedicated to getting to know the main characters. This helps to understand them as the story progresses. I enjoyed how their past played into their decisions and how that affected their relationships. We can all learn from our past and this kept the story interesting. There is plenty of action also which didn’t hurt anything.
This first in a new series was captivating, pulled me in from the beginning to the end. Aaron Hodges weaves a fast paced, action packed story, that introduces us to a vivid world, with well fleshed characters, new found friends and family, and second chances. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Got this off Kickstarer and thought what the heck. Seemed like an interesting book. Was so glad I backed this book. Character development was spot on along with the magic system was easy to understand.
I've just finished reading Darkstrider, at first I wondered where the story was heading, I should of known just be patient and it will make sense, and It did it turned out to be a Great read as all Aaron Hodges have been so fare, pick it up and have a read I think if you like Fantasy Books Laurie Stuart