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Book of the Dead #2
Sacrifice
A Necromancer on the run.
Tyron Steelarm, accompanied by the spirit of his mentor and friend, Dove, is desperate to realise his potential and change his destiny.
To achieve his aims, he must outwit and outrun the marshals who seek to track him down, and the slayers who want him dead. Worst of all, his own parents, renowned heroes of the realm, have been tasked with bringing him to justice.
For how long will they be able to delay fulfilling this cruel order, and what will happen when they run out of time? All Tyron can do is run, and fight.
Book 2 of the next hit LitRPG series from RinoZ, the author of Chrysalis. Book of the Dead takes on all aspects of Necromancy headfirst, from the tactical manuevering of skeletons, to what it's like spending so much time amongst the undead.
Tyron Steelarm, accompanied by the spirit of his mentor and friend, Dove, is desperate to realise his potential and change his destiny.
To achieve his aims, he must outwit and outrun the marshals who seek to track him down, and the slayers who want him dead. Worst of all, his own parents, renowned heroes of the realm, have been tasked with bringing him to justice.
For how long will they be able to delay fulfilling this cruel order, and what will happen when they run out of time? All Tyron can do is run, and fight.
Book 2 of the next hit LitRPG series from RinoZ, the author of Chrysalis. Book of the Dead takes on all aspects of Necromancy headfirst, from the tactical manuevering of skeletons, to what it's like spending so much time amongst the undead.
504 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
December 8, 2023
Meant to be a moral journey.
Fails miserably. This keeps the main character as a cowardly child doing what his parents expect of him. The first half is boring and drawn out. The second half is horrible decisions that make little sense. The ending is anticlimactic and truly makes the whole story pointless.
Fails miserably. This keeps the main character as a cowardly child doing what his parents expect of him. The first half is boring and drawn out. The second half is horrible decisions that make little sense. The ending is anticlimactic and truly makes the whole story pointless.
December 30, 2024
Book two
I have been reading this story over on Royalroad. It's one that I read when I have run out of other things to read. It's not boring and does hold my interest when I read it, but it is also one that I can put down for other stories.
7/10
I have been reading this story over on Royalroad. It's one that I read when I have run out of other things to read. It's not boring and does hold my interest when I read it, but it is also one that I can put down for other stories.
7/10
January 15, 2024
A worthwhile follow-up to the previous volume, with a very satisfying ending.
Not much really happened plot-wise in this volume. MC is slowly leveling up, which is done rather tactfully. Dialogue is still of excellent facture, especially the banter. Audiobook narration is very competent, even if the voices lacks a bit of variety.
I had 3 issues with this volume.
1. The author has built up resource pool and minion scarcity as a check system. But they ignore the checks when it is inconvenient. MC complains about minions getting destroyed but never runs out somehow. Similarly, top-up crystals don't seem to affect him anymore, although we talk about how nocive they are...
Also, are the minions autonomous or not? The author should make their mind because they keep contradicting themselves.
2. It's becoming a pattern to have the MC being pincushionned and brought to the brink of death, just to walk away fine within a few pages. The author constantly wants to scare us with the potential of maiming, but the existence of omnipotent healing magic makes it fall flat. Oh yes, fight timing is a bit too flamboyantly Hollywood for me.
3. Random POV insertion is not helping the story in my opinion. Either the author commits to widening the scope so there's a sense of continuity with the new POVs, or we stop getting the perspective of randoes that actually don't progress the story in any way because the MC gets the info again anyway.
None of the above issues are grave enough to irremediably tarnish my enjoyment of the story. But they are recurring, enough that I do take notice.
I still want to get the next volume when it becomes available, but I really hope the main story starts progressing a bit.
Not much really happened plot-wise in this volume. MC is slowly leveling up, which is done rather tactfully. Dialogue is still of excellent facture, especially the banter. Audiobook narration is very competent, even if the voices lacks a bit of variety.
I had 3 issues with this volume.
1. The author has built up resource pool and minion scarcity as a check system. But they ignore the checks when it is inconvenient. MC complains about minions getting destroyed but never runs out somehow. Similarly, top-up crystals don't seem to affect him anymore, although we talk about how nocive they are...
Also, are the minions autonomous or not? The author should make their mind because they keep contradicting themselves.
2. It's becoming a pattern to have the MC being pincushionned and brought to the brink of death, just to walk away fine within a few pages. The author constantly wants to scare us with the potential of maiming, but the existence of omnipotent healing magic makes it fall flat. Oh yes, fight timing is a bit too flamboyantly Hollywood for me.
3. Random POV insertion is not helping the story in my opinion. Either the author commits to widening the scope so there's a sense of continuity with the new POVs, or we stop getting the perspective of randoes that actually don't progress the story in any way because the MC gets the info again anyway.
None of the above issues are grave enough to irremediably tarnish my enjoyment of the story. But they are recurring, enough that I do take notice.
I still want to get the next volume when it becomes available, but I really hope the main story starts progressing a bit.
February 5, 2024
rinoz has one simple problem, when he picks a particular power or skill for his characters he sticks with it and refuses to diversify.
I'm not saying it's bad to stay consistent on a particular thing but sometimes it's stupid to develop on just one thing.
The character Tyron is a necromancer, and it's common knowledge to only pick subclasses that supports his primary, but see there in lies the problem. it's also common knowledge that the best way to defeat a necromancer is to go after him directly, preferably after keeping his minions occupied. A necromancer is weaker and bad at close range battle, any sane person would pick a sub-class that covers that sore weakness, but not this guy, he insists that he can do without a defensive or an attack based class so long he has powerful minions. I read this book only because I wanted to relax and read some litrpg, I'm aware that most books in this genre are badly written but I tried this and it was ok, I was willing to ignore some poor writing choices in the book and revel solely on the progression aspect but when even that is subpar, it's quite hard to enjoy the book. It's infuriating to watch the character continue making poor choices while evolving his class.
This trend could be seen in his other book about some guy who reincarnated as an ant in another world. Though I haven't read that book, i discovered that the character chose to evolve continually as an ant, never choosing to adopt at least a humanoid appearance. This truly separates his book from most books with monstrous characters choosing to adopt a human appearance, but ask yourself this- if you were a human reborn as some animal but had the chance to evolve into something at least close to humanoid, would you take it?? or choose to remain an ant and hiding out underground?
I'm not saying it's bad to stay consistent on a particular thing but sometimes it's stupid to develop on just one thing.
The character Tyron is a necromancer, and it's common knowledge to only pick subclasses that supports his primary, but see there in lies the problem. it's also common knowledge that the best way to defeat a necromancer is to go after him directly, preferably after keeping his minions occupied. A necromancer is weaker and bad at close range battle, any sane person would pick a sub-class that covers that sore weakness, but not this guy, he insists that he can do without a defensive or an attack based class so long he has powerful minions. I read this book only because I wanted to relax and read some litrpg, I'm aware that most books in this genre are badly written but I tried this and it was ok, I was willing to ignore some poor writing choices in the book and revel solely on the progression aspect but when even that is subpar, it's quite hard to enjoy the book. It's infuriating to watch the character continue making poor choices while evolving his class.
This trend could be seen in his other book about some guy who reincarnated as an ant in another world. Though I haven't read that book, i discovered that the character chose to evolve continually as an ant, never choosing to adopt at least a humanoid appearance. This truly separates his book from most books with monstrous characters choosing to adopt a human appearance, but ask yourself this- if you were a human reborn as some animal but had the chance to evolve into something at least close to humanoid, would you take it?? or choose to remain an ant and hiding out underground?
January 7, 2025
To much moral
Way too much woe is me and guilty feelings, for someone so bright he was a complete idiot, I skipped a lot of pages to get to the end hope the third book is better
Way too much woe is me and guilty feelings, for someone so bright he was a complete idiot, I skipped a lot of pages to get to the end hope the third book is better
October 11, 2025
This was a great continuation of the series as Tyron further developed his skills, gained new insights into the powers behind the curtain, and dealt with the steadily escalating consequences of his actions.
There was a recurring theme of Tyron struggling with the morality of his choices in between bouts of feverish resurrections and skirmishing with groups of enemies. Many reviewers seemed to take issue with this, but I didn't. Tyron was a relatively sheltered kid who grew up in a small backwater village dreaming of becoming a genuine hero and saving the world like his parents, whom he idolized. I think we can expect some periods of self-doubt and reflection considering his path is taking him places he never expected and where he has to define whether the ends justify the means. Every regretful act puts additional pressure on Tyron to succeed and make it all worth it. Is it a hero's journey, or just a selfish delusion following the sunk cost fallacy? That's what we're here to find out.
If Tyron didn't have these bouts of moral sickness, he would have one less obstacle to overcome as a character. There are plenty of typical gamelit MCs who go all in on murderhobo mode, so I'm enjoying the gradual descent by necessity this story provides.
I think this is one of the best series for really grounding the magic with a sense of consistency. The author did a great job planning a framework for applying the game mechanics/magic system to the worldbuilding.
This book completes what would, for many characters, be their How I Became a Villain arc, so I'm curious to see how far he lets himself go now that specific lines have been crossed. There is still a fair amount of political movements happening behind the scenes to escalate things in future volumes and I'm excited to see where things go.
There was a recurring theme of Tyron struggling with the morality of his choices in between bouts of feverish resurrections and skirmishing with groups of enemies. Many reviewers seemed to take issue with this, but I didn't. Tyron was a relatively sheltered kid who grew up in a small backwater village dreaming of becoming a genuine hero and saving the world like his parents, whom he idolized. I think we can expect some periods of self-doubt and reflection considering his path is taking him places he never expected and where he has to define whether the ends justify the means. Every regretful act puts additional pressure on Tyron to succeed and make it all worth it. Is it a hero's journey, or just a selfish delusion following the sunk cost fallacy? That's what we're here to find out.
If Tyron didn't have these bouts of moral sickness, he would have one less obstacle to overcome as a character. There are plenty of typical gamelit MCs who go all in on murderhobo mode, so I'm enjoying the gradual descent by necessity this story provides.
I think this is one of the best series for really grounding the magic with a sense of consistency. The author did a great job planning a framework for applying the game mechanics/magic system to the worldbuilding.
This book completes what would, for many characters, be their How I Became a Villain arc, so I'm curious to see how far he lets himself go now that specific lines have been crossed. There is still a fair amount of political movements happening behind the scenes to escalate things in future volumes and I'm excited to see where things go.
June 14, 2024
This had all the action the previous one lacked. That didn't make it better. I felt like there were no real challenges for the character. Also how is it that
' “Offed? Killed? Slaughtered? Laid to rest? Pushed off the mortal coil? Sent to the embrace of the Five? Torso-fucked with a sword? I’ve got more.” ' Had me dying.
' “I refuse to be stuck in this skull for the rest of my afterlife, kid. You agreed to set me free, remember? If it looks like you might lose, I want you to smash my skull and break the ritual. I will not be used as a desk ornament for a horny, murderous farmhand for the next dozen years, alright? So take me with you.” '
' “Do you expect a real god, a truly divine being, to fly down from the sky and ask for your devotion? To bargain like a street whore? Don’t be ridiculous. We worship them because that is what they deserve, and because they are beings of whim. There is no harm in currying favour with beings so much greater than ourselves.” '
' “Offed? Killed? Slaughtered? Laid to rest? Pushed off the mortal coil? Sent to the embrace of the Five? Torso-fucked with a sword? I’ve got more.” ' Had me dying.
' “I refuse to be stuck in this skull for the rest of my afterlife, kid. You agreed to set me free, remember? If it looks like you might lose, I want you to smash my skull and break the ritual. I will not be used as a desk ornament for a horny, murderous farmhand for the next dozen years, alright? So take me with you.” '
' “Do you expect a real god, a truly divine being, to fly down from the sky and ask for your devotion? To bargain like a street whore? Don’t be ridiculous. We worship them because that is what they deserve, and because they are beings of whim. There is no harm in currying favour with beings so much greater than ourselves.” '
June 30, 2026
A lot to like but also QUITE frustrating.
I’ve been waiting for a while to find a series about a necromancer done right. A series focused on the snowball effect potential of a class like that. On strategy and preparation. This series might be that eventually, but right now it’s really bogged down by the typical “moral quandary” character development of the MC and this rug-pull/twist barely winning combat aspect that really frustrates me.
Speaking for myself, I think this power fantasy, as a wider genre, is about payoffs. It’s about transporting ourselves into another world full of interesting things and cool stories where we can escape and have fun. For me, the best way to do that in progression, as a subgenre, is as a culmination of investment into progress. We are getting the investment in this series in spades, but we aren’t getting the payoffs.
We spent two books building up this rivalry between the MC and his childhood rival. The author did a great job getting us to hate the contradictory, self-righteous, and bitter Rufus and contrasting him with an MC who just didn’t care about this guy’s drama. But when we finally get to the confrontation. What happens? It’s multiple chapters of the MC winging it is this convoluted and difficult to picture battle that ends with the MC finally being defeated only for some plot device in the guise of his parents showing up at the literal last moment to save the day.
And that’s not even the only time this same thing happened in this book. On the same mountain even! Just a few chapters before and a different plot device savior!
It’s just so frustrating! I know the author is digging into the typical novel tropes, but this isn’t that kind of fiction. It’s power fantasy. We need to see the good guys win. Not someone win for them. Not some winging it “it’s over, it’s not over” back and forth twist and turn. Especially with regard to a class like necromancer. He should come to battle over prepared and ready. He’s got almost three times the levels as his opponents, and yeah there’s a lot of them, and I like the idea that the discrepancies in those levels isn’t insurmountable. But the way it’s done here is contrived.
Speaking of contrivances in this series. MC can’t raise anyone except humans? Why? Because, it makes it harder for him to snowball which is better for drawing out the plot. In the climatic fight at the end of this book, MC can’t use his dominate mind spell because “reasons”. Listen, I have no problem with MCs making mistakes and not being idealized. That’s good writing. But bad writing is contriving reasons to hamstring the MC to “level the playing field” or “add stakes”.
I can see what the author is setting up here with his overall storyline. It’s similarly boring as his other series, Chrysalis, in that there’s some ancient this or that for which MaC is blah blah blah. Boring. And the author makes the same mistake in this series he’s often made in the other one, not letting us revel in the accomplishments and potential of the building aspect. The building aspect has gotten better as Chrysalis moves on and adds characters and perspectives, but we still never get to revel in the payoffs as that MC has to go deeper.
And it’s the same thing feeling of being ripped off here. It’s on to the next part of this grand arc without even enjoying this one, or having ANY REASON to be satisfied with MCs accomplishments here.
Why does author feel he needs so series wide arc set up already? Why can’t build to that later after the MC gets his legs under him? MC doesn’t get a second to breathe and we don’t either.
Now griping aside, I liked that the author “killed” off the ghost character. That took guts. Too many authors never touch their precious side characters, and tbh this author has never done that in his other series either. Plus there is potential for this to get better with regard to payoffs down the line.
The framework is there, but I doubt it happens. I’m gonna keep reading because I enjoy Chrysalis and rate it fairly high in this genre even with its flaws. And I hope to enjoy this series as well, but man this one made me mad. It’s like the author lacks some comprehension of why people read this genre.
I’ve been waiting for a while to find a series about a necromancer done right. A series focused on the snowball effect potential of a class like that. On strategy and preparation. This series might be that eventually, but right now it’s really bogged down by the typical “moral quandary” character development of the MC and this rug-pull/twist barely winning combat aspect that really frustrates me.
Speaking for myself, I think this power fantasy, as a wider genre, is about payoffs. It’s about transporting ourselves into another world full of interesting things and cool stories where we can escape and have fun. For me, the best way to do that in progression, as a subgenre, is as a culmination of investment into progress. We are getting the investment in this series in spades, but we aren’t getting the payoffs.
We spent two books building up this rivalry between the MC and his childhood rival. The author did a great job getting us to hate the contradictory, self-righteous, and bitter Rufus and contrasting him with an MC who just didn’t care about this guy’s drama. But when we finally get to the confrontation. What happens? It’s multiple chapters of the MC winging it is this convoluted and difficult to picture battle that ends with the MC finally being defeated only for some plot device in the guise of his parents showing up at the literal last moment to save the day.
And that’s not even the only time this same thing happened in this book. On the same mountain even! Just a few chapters before and a different plot device savior!
It’s just so frustrating! I know the author is digging into the typical novel tropes, but this isn’t that kind of fiction. It’s power fantasy. We need to see the good guys win. Not someone win for them. Not some winging it “it’s over, it’s not over” back and forth twist and turn. Especially with regard to a class like necromancer. He should come to battle over prepared and ready. He’s got almost three times the levels as his opponents, and yeah there’s a lot of them, and I like the idea that the discrepancies in those levels isn’t insurmountable. But the way it’s done here is contrived.
Speaking of contrivances in this series. MC can’t raise anyone except humans? Why? Because, it makes it harder for him to snowball which is better for drawing out the plot. In the climatic fight at the end of this book, MC can’t use his dominate mind spell because “reasons”. Listen, I have no problem with MCs making mistakes and not being idealized. That’s good writing. But bad writing is contriving reasons to hamstring the MC to “level the playing field” or “add stakes”.
I can see what the author is setting up here with his overall storyline. It’s similarly boring as his other series, Chrysalis, in that there’s some ancient this or that for which MaC is blah blah blah. Boring. And the author makes the same mistake in this series he’s often made in the other one, not letting us revel in the accomplishments and potential of the building aspect. The building aspect has gotten better as Chrysalis moves on and adds characters and perspectives, but we still never get to revel in the payoffs as that MC has to go deeper.
And it’s the same thing feeling of being ripped off here. It’s on to the next part of this grand arc without even enjoying this one, or having ANY REASON to be satisfied with MCs accomplishments here.
Why does author feel he needs so series wide arc set up already? Why can’t build to that later after the MC gets his legs under him? MC doesn’t get a second to breathe and we don’t either.
Now griping aside, I liked that the author “killed” off the ghost character. That took guts. Too many authors never touch their precious side characters, and tbh this author has never done that in his other series either. Plus there is potential for this to get better with regard to payoffs down the line.
The framework is there, but I doubt it happens. I’m gonna keep reading because I enjoy Chrysalis and rate it fairly high in this genre even with its flaws. And I hope to enjoy this series as well, but man this one made me mad. It’s like the author lacks some comprehension of why people read this genre.
April 3, 2025
Through the simple act of spending more time with the protagonist, this book fixes the most significant issue of the last novel: a lack of attachment to the main character. As a result, I am much more invested in the protagonist's story and this story on the whole... but this novel is not without its issues.
Before we get to that, let's discuss what's good with this book. The first thing is that with the main problem fixed, the story felt much richer. It also allowed all of the things that were good in the first novel to shine all the brighter because they were part of something much better. The well-rounded supporting cast, the well-written action, and the focus on developing a complex magic system were all highlights here.
I also like the larger story that is unfolding. While the pacing still feels a bit more 'slice-of-life' than epic fantasy, the stakes are certainly on the rise, and it's interesting to see how far this series might go.
Finally, I want to applaud the ending. This book finishes strong, making some bold choices that will shake things up going forward, and setting the stage well for the next novel to take us to new heights.
All that being said, this book suffers from one frustrating issue: a glacial pace.
A lot of people misunderstand what sets the pace of a novel. Some people think it's lots of action, but this book has plenty of action and still feels slow. Other people think it's consistent progression of the plot and characters, and those people are much closer, but still not quite right. The pace of a novel is set by meaningful progression of plot and characters.
This story is the perfect example of why the word 'meaningful' is so important. This book has plenty of action, the protagonist advances continuously throughout the story, and there is always forward progression in the plot. The issue is that none of these things are meaningful steps. The necromancy progression is the best example. The main character is constantly making breakthroughs, continuously doing things that he is hailed as a genius for having achieved. But in the grand scheme of things and its impact on the story, he barely moves forward from where he was at the end of book one.
Despite a surface-level increase in this character's power, his impact on the challenges he faces and his situation on the whole and the world he lives in have barely changed. At the most, it's maybe moved one step forward.
This is true for most of the story elements in this book. A lot happens, but very little is achieved. Things that probably should have occurred in the first novel don't happen until the very end of this novel. This drastically slows down the pacing and leaves the reader frustrated, as it feels like we're putting in a lot of effort but getting nowhere fast.
Overall, I continue to enjoy this series, and I really liked where this one ended. It shook things up a bit and made it so that this series can't rely on formulaic storytelling. I'm hoping that translates into big things for book three, and maybe the first five-star review of the series.
Before we get to that, let's discuss what's good with this book. The first thing is that with the main problem fixed, the story felt much richer. It also allowed all of the things that were good in the first novel to shine all the brighter because they were part of something much better. The well-rounded supporting cast, the well-written action, and the focus on developing a complex magic system were all highlights here.
I also like the larger story that is unfolding. While the pacing still feels a bit more 'slice-of-life' than epic fantasy, the stakes are certainly on the rise, and it's interesting to see how far this series might go.
Finally, I want to applaud the ending. This book finishes strong, making some bold choices that will shake things up going forward, and setting the stage well for the next novel to take us to new heights.
All that being said, this book suffers from one frustrating issue: a glacial pace.
A lot of people misunderstand what sets the pace of a novel. Some people think it's lots of action, but this book has plenty of action and still feels slow. Other people think it's consistent progression of the plot and characters, and those people are much closer, but still not quite right. The pace of a novel is set by meaningful progression of plot and characters.
This story is the perfect example of why the word 'meaningful' is so important. This book has plenty of action, the protagonist advances continuously throughout the story, and there is always forward progression in the plot. The issue is that none of these things are meaningful steps. The necromancy progression is the best example. The main character is constantly making breakthroughs, continuously doing things that he is hailed as a genius for having achieved. But in the grand scheme of things and its impact on the story, he barely moves forward from where he was at the end of book one.
Despite a surface-level increase in this character's power, his impact on the challenges he faces and his situation on the whole and the world he lives in have barely changed. At the most, it's maybe moved one step forward.
This is true for most of the story elements in this book. A lot happens, but very little is achieved. Things that probably should have occurred in the first novel don't happen until the very end of this novel. This drastically slows down the pacing and leaves the reader frustrated, as it feels like we're putting in a lot of effort but getting nowhere fast.
Overall, I continue to enjoy this series, and I really liked where this one ended. It shook things up a bit and made it so that this series can't rely on formulaic storytelling. I'm hoping that translates into big things for book three, and maybe the first five-star review of the series.
August 30, 2024
Sacrifice (Book of the Dead #2) by RinoZ - 3/5 Stars
First and foremost, I want to state that I'm not an author. I don't know what it takes to write a book; this is just my opinion based on my life experiences.
I felt that "Sacrifice," the second book in the Book of the Dead series, was good overall. I appreciated the realism—or pseudo-realism—concerning necromancy, which added depth to the narrative.
However, I was a bit upset by the ending, particularly regarding the dynamics between the parents and their son.
Despite these frustrations, I think I'll read the next book in the series when it comes out.
I would rate this installment 3 stars out of 5. While I don't think I'll reread the series, I might pull some ideas from it for my next D&D game.
One aspect I wish had been developed further was the communication between the parents and the son. It would have been more impactful if they had met up sooner and had some form of dialogue throughout the book.
This book is clearly LitRPG, and aside from a couple of crude jokes, it's relatively clean in terms of explicit content.
5 stars - Exceptional, life-changing, or will reread multiple times
4 stars - Highly enjoyable, likely to reread, would recommend
3 stars - Decent read, might not remember long-term
2 stars - Not for me, struggled to finish
1 star - Poorly written or factually incorrect
Overall, Sacrifice earns 3 stars for its engaging elements, despite some narrative choices that didn't resonate with me.
First and foremost, I want to state that I'm not an author. I don't know what it takes to write a book; this is just my opinion based on my life experiences.
I felt that "Sacrifice," the second book in the Book of the Dead series, was good overall. I appreciated the realism—or pseudo-realism—concerning necromancy, which added depth to the narrative.
However, I was a bit upset by the ending, particularly regarding the dynamics between the parents and their son.
Despite these frustrations, I think I'll read the next book in the series when it comes out.
I would rate this installment 3 stars out of 5. While I don't think I'll reread the series, I might pull some ideas from it for my next D&D game.
One aspect I wish had been developed further was the communication between the parents and the son. It would have been more impactful if they had met up sooner and had some form of dialogue throughout the book.
This book is clearly LitRPG, and aside from a couple of crude jokes, it's relatively clean in terms of explicit content.
5 stars - Exceptional, life-changing, or will reread multiple times
4 stars - Highly enjoyable, likely to reread, would recommend
3 stars - Decent read, might not remember long-term
2 stars - Not for me, struggled to finish
1 star - Poorly written or factually incorrect
Overall, Sacrifice earns 3 stars for its engaging elements, despite some narrative choices that didn't resonate with me.
May 9, 2026
fun
I binged books 1-3 and do I forget where one ends and another begins.
Book 1- The son of the kingdoms greatest adventurers comes of age and gains System access and his Class. Unfortunately for him, his class is illegal. Rather than give it up and be hamstrung for life he goes on the run. He travels to an adventurer town and starts to level. He finds a mentor. Gets caught in a monster stampede. Loses his mentor.
Book 2 - He hides in a basement and traps his mentors soul in a skull. He makes a deal with vampires. And ultimately his parents are forced to come collect his bounty. They end themselves instead and have a deal setup to save their son.
Book 3 - With a false identity and class, the MC is learning enchanting while secretly training his dark skills. Meanwhile the Old Gods are gathering their followers into an army for him to guide to reclaim the world and take down the New Gods. When paranoia sweeps the nation and witch hunts start. More join the rebellion and the MC takes up the mantle of leadership as a flood of new and dark Classes are received because the Old Gods are ready for war.
An interesting series where you can feel that there is a tinge of destiny covering everything but it is always just on the edge of being torn away. The System is interesting. As is the world. The narrator is wonderful. I will definitely listen to the next one. Please enjoy
I binged books 1-3 and do I forget where one ends and another begins.
Book 1- The son of the kingdoms greatest adventurers comes of age and gains System access and his Class. Unfortunately for him, his class is illegal. Rather than give it up and be hamstrung for life he goes on the run. He travels to an adventurer town and starts to level. He finds a mentor. Gets caught in a monster stampede. Loses his mentor.
Book 2 - He hides in a basement and traps his mentors soul in a skull. He makes a deal with vampires. And ultimately his parents are forced to come collect his bounty. They end themselves instead and have a deal setup to save their son.
Book 3 - With a false identity and class, the MC is learning enchanting while secretly training his dark skills. Meanwhile the Old Gods are gathering their followers into an army for him to guide to reclaim the world and take down the New Gods. When paranoia sweeps the nation and witch hunts start. More join the rebellion and the MC takes up the mantle of leadership as a flood of new and dark Classes are received because the Old Gods are ready for war.
An interesting series where you can feel that there is a tinge of destiny covering everything but it is always just on the edge of being torn away. The System is interesting. As is the world. The narrator is wonderful. I will definitely listen to the next one. Please enjoy
December 5, 2025
Overall thoughts on Book 1 and 2.
4.85 stars. I’m really enjoying this series so far. The necromancy focus is fun to follow and I appreciate the steady and believable progression. The MC is talented, but he still has to work for everything, which makes his growth feel earned. His background gives his power a clear reason, so nothing feels random. He already shows glimpses of how dangerous he might become someday, but for now he is still vulnerable enough that the danger around him feels real.
One of my favourite parts is how his mindset starts to change. He keeps trying to do the right thing even when those choices don’t always benefit him long term, which is both interesting and a little frustrating. The story shows the cost of his decisions as the world treats him more unfairly. His friend and mentor was a great addition to balance that out since he often pointed out when the MC wasn’t being practical.
My only small complaints are that a couple emotional moments near the end could’ve been explored a bit more, and some reactions from others felt unfair without enough explanation. But the ending itself was a strong turning point that really sets up a darker and more exciting direction for the MC going forward.
Overall, this continuation has great momentum and sits solidly in the high 4 star range for me. I’m very excited to see what happens next.
4.85 stars. I’m really enjoying this series so far. The necromancy focus is fun to follow and I appreciate the steady and believable progression. The MC is talented, but he still has to work for everything, which makes his growth feel earned. His background gives his power a clear reason, so nothing feels random. He already shows glimpses of how dangerous he might become someday, but for now he is still vulnerable enough that the danger around him feels real.
One of my favourite parts is how his mindset starts to change. He keeps trying to do the right thing even when those choices don’t always benefit him long term, which is both interesting and a little frustrating. The story shows the cost of his decisions as the world treats him more unfairly. His friend and mentor was a great addition to balance that out since he often pointed out when the MC wasn’t being practical.
My only small complaints are that a couple emotional moments near the end could’ve been explored a bit more, and some reactions from others felt unfair without enough explanation. But the ending itself was a strong turning point that really sets up a darker and more exciting direction for the MC going forward.
Overall, this continuation has great momentum and sits solidly in the high 4 star range for me. I’m very excited to see what happens next.
December 29, 2023
The hand that the MC (Tyrone Steelarm) was dealt was an unfair one. Extremely unfair from the very beginning of Tyrone's adventure as all children at a certain age receives their gift from the gods! But the gods threw in a monkey wrench when it was time for Tyrone's turn and since the "gift" (think necromancer) is illegal. And he had just 2 choices, either turn himself in, and be stripped of his gift or run... and book 2 Sacrifice is a continuation of the first book. With all the action I craved. So yeah, Tyrone along with Dove's help, his spirit friend (think Bob from Harry Dresden but with a dirty mouth) gets stronger! Tyrone's goal is to get people to accept him as he is without the stigma associated with his illegal gift. He wants to show people that you don't hafta use the gift for evil. So he ends up fighting against the riftkin and even protecting villages from bandits. While the Marshals and Slayers are mounting their forces to hunt him down! Facing what seemingly looks like insurmountable odds Tyrone keeps on fighting. If you grab the book you'll be able to find out what happens! So leave it to rinoZ to write about a necromancer which was soooooooo interesting that it had me glued to my seat and hanging on to every word! Oh and Phil Thron does a bang-up job narrating the book.
May 10, 2024
Tyron continues his struggles and I continue to like him. He is a bit of a idealist in that he still wants to help people but his choices are more and more limited by being declared an outlaw before he even has ever done anything and the choices of skills as he levels up. He doesn't want to kill slayers because they are the good guys and the only thing that stands between the population and the riftkin which would destroy their world. But when he becomes their prime target what is he suppose to do. And even when he helps people they are quick to turn on him because of the skeletons that accompany him. But he does the best he can and there are a few revelations at the end that might just change how he sees the world.
Dove is a fun addition because he is such the antithesis of Tyron in his personality. Also, it would be a boring if there was no one else for Tyron to interact with. Yeah, I find the details of the evolution of the necromancer class interesting but the story really needs more than just one character since Tyron is pretty much shunned at every opportunity.
Anyways, a nice progression of the series with plenty of surprise reveals at the end.
Dove is a fun addition because he is such the antithesis of Tyron in his personality. Also, it would be a boring if there was no one else for Tyron to interact with. Yeah, I find the details of the evolution of the necromancer class interesting but the story really needs more than just one character since Tyron is pretty much shunned at every opportunity.
Anyways, a nice progression of the series with plenty of surprise reveals at the end.
August 4, 2024
Gripping and exciting, excellent series!
I've been caught up in LitRPGs as of late. Lots of very good content and the classic progression fantasies readers of the genre love. This series takes a dark " illegal class" and gives it to a good-hearted young boy and lets the world around him respond. I say that because sometimes, with these LitRPGs, immersion gets tossed out the window for the sake of plot armor and progression.
Nothing in this series pulled me out of the story, and the stakes being weighed. It all felt real and appropriate. The characters felt authentic, and nothing screamed "FANTASY" to me the whole time. I was drawn in and craved the outcome, good or bad, for our protagonist.
I love how slowly through the course of the series we truly see the young boy become hardened by the world around him, and he becomes "used to" his struggle to survive.
I enjoyed this read thoroughly. Both books, in a few days! I'm definitely keeping an eye out for a sequel. Things have only just begun!
I've been caught up in LitRPGs as of late. Lots of very good content and the classic progression fantasies readers of the genre love. This series takes a dark " illegal class" and gives it to a good-hearted young boy and lets the world around him respond. I say that because sometimes, with these LitRPGs, immersion gets tossed out the window for the sake of plot armor and progression.
Nothing in this series pulled me out of the story, and the stakes being weighed. It all felt real and appropriate. The characters felt authentic, and nothing screamed "FANTASY" to me the whole time. I was drawn in and craved the outcome, good or bad, for our protagonist.
I love how slowly through the course of the series we truly see the young boy become hardened by the world around him, and he becomes "used to" his struggle to survive.
I enjoyed this read thoroughly. Both books, in a few days! I'm definitely keeping an eye out for a sequel. Things have only just begun!
July 20, 2026
RinoZ is Brandon Sanderson's greatest disciple.
Sanderson's First Law: A writer's ability to resolve conflict with magic, in a SATISFYING way, is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic.
The Book of the Dead is a journey where we join Tyron in his exploration of magic, where he has a great base understanding of the fundamentals, but we learn secrets about the magic system right there with him, very reminiscent of Mistborn's magical secrets.
Sanderson's Second Law: Weaknesses are more important than powers. Weaknesses, Limitations, and costs.
Again and again, Tyron is confronted with necromancy's two greatest weaknesses: his lack of personal strength, and the lack of time. The ways Tyron works around these lackings makes the book impossible to put down!
Sanderson's Third Law: Expand on what you have before you create something new. If you change one thing, you change the world.
Without getting into spoilers, Tyron follows this absolutely.
Sanderson's Zeroeth Law: While magic should be bound by rules, it should still be kept awesome.
Absolutely RinoZ understands how to make every battle, every struggle, every victory, awesome.
*I found the first book to be a bit slow and cliche. This is also typical of a Brando Sando book. Things pick up in the second book, and escalate from there, all five stars+
Sanderson's First Law: A writer's ability to resolve conflict with magic, in a SATISFYING way, is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic.
The Book of the Dead is a journey where we join Tyron in his exploration of magic, where he has a great base understanding of the fundamentals, but we learn secrets about the magic system right there with him, very reminiscent of Mistborn's magical secrets.
Sanderson's Second Law: Weaknesses are more important than powers. Weaknesses, Limitations, and costs.
Again and again, Tyron is confronted with necromancy's two greatest weaknesses: his lack of personal strength, and the lack of time. The ways Tyron works around these lackings makes the book impossible to put down!
Sanderson's Third Law: Expand on what you have before you create something new. If you change one thing, you change the world.
Without getting into spoilers, Tyron follows this absolutely.
Sanderson's Zeroeth Law: While magic should be bound by rules, it should still be kept awesome.
Absolutely RinoZ understands how to make every battle, every struggle, every victory, awesome.
*I found the first book to be a bit slow and cliche. This is also typical of a Brando Sando book. Things pick up in the second book, and escalate from there, all five stars+
June 27, 2024
TLDR: This continues to be a well written but very slow story.
I've stopped reading around chapter 15, and finished my engagement with the last two chapters. Readig the end, I get to see that the story progresses in a good direction, at least. It's just unfortunate that it is so damn slow. I would have liked to see that level of progress in the first half of the first volume. Even if the author wants to be more detailed about certain parts of the progression, it should at least be interesting.
Another way this story peeved me was with the naive MC and his clishee "save the world" internal monologues. "Oh, I don't wanna die, but I have to save these villagers... Oh em gee, what am I going to do??" And so on. Trully boring stuff. I prefer to not consume pages and pages of this sophomoric moral philosophising. Even if he wants to be a hero cliche, just crack on with it.
I've stopped reading around chapter 15, and finished my engagement with the last two chapters. Readig the end, I get to see that the story progresses in a good direction, at least. It's just unfortunate that it is so damn slow. I would have liked to see that level of progress in the first half of the first volume. Even if the author wants to be more detailed about certain parts of the progression, it should at least be interesting.
Another way this story peeved me was with the naive MC and his clishee "save the world" internal monologues. "Oh, I don't wanna die, but I have to save these villagers... Oh em gee, what am I going to do??" And so on. Trully boring stuff. I prefer to not consume pages and pages of this sophomoric moral philosophising. Even if he wants to be a hero cliche, just crack on with it.
January 7, 2024
This has quickly become one of my top progression fantasy / LitRPG series. The story is exciting and engaging, the MC's slow decent into villainy while still trying to maintain his conscious is fascinating and the magic / game elements are top quality. Also, its hilarious, especially Tyrion's interactions with Dove.
January 17, 2024
An improvement over the first book.
It still seems like the author has no idea what to do with the supporting characters and there are some puzzling story directions that could have been easily improved, for example
It still seems like the author has no idea what to do with the supporting characters and there are some puzzling story directions that could have been easily improved, for example
January 7, 2025
I cried like a little baby
This story is going to live on in my memories rent-free for a long time. I sat in my recliner on my day off work and just cried, and cried. What a fantastic story, though. I'm not just planning to read the rest of the series when I have time, interspersed with video games or other books. Now, I HAVE to know how it continues. I NEED to know. I'll be starting book 3 immediately and probably finishing the series in the next 2 days before I go back to work. This belongs on the shelf with all my other favorites, books that I'm proud to have read, and classics that are considered some of the best stories in human history, like Dune and The Hobbit. They should make this into a movie. It would be more popular than GoT.
This story is going to live on in my memories rent-free for a long time. I sat in my recliner on my day off work and just cried, and cried. What a fantastic story, though. I'm not just planning to read the rest of the series when I have time, interspersed with video games or other books. Now, I HAVE to know how it continues. I NEED to know. I'll be starting book 3 immediately and probably finishing the series in the next 2 days before I go back to work. This belongs on the shelf with all my other favorites, books that I'm proud to have read, and classics that are considered some of the best stories in human history, like Dune and The Hobbit. They should make this into a movie. It would be more popular than GoT.
April 13, 2024
Had this for a while, but avoided. Really did not like that character shift in the last half of the previous book.
I always find it amusing when people go looking for someone who is staying in their corner, not troubling anyone, and attack them. When the person defends themselves, the attacker's friends call him a murderer. They feel they can kill you in cold blood, and when you don't want to be killed, you are somehow worse than scum. It's the hypocrisy that gets me.
I'm glad the protag doesn't play the "woe is me" card anymore. I like this development. It's interesting to see where this will go.
Boney Boys for the win.
Add the enemies to his collection
3/5 Stars
I always find it amusing when people go looking for someone who is staying in their corner, not troubling anyone, and attack them. When the person defends themselves, the attacker's friends call him a murderer. They feel they can kill you in cold blood, and when you don't want to be killed, you are somehow worse than scum. It's the hypocrisy that gets me.
I'm glad the protag doesn't play the "woe is me" card anymore. I like this development. It's interesting to see where this will go.
Boney Boys for the win.
Add the enemies to his collection
3/5 Stars
June 24, 2024
A great addition to the series. There is some additional world building that happens while Tyron battles to stay ahead of being captured and executed. The building series of challenges Tyron faces -- and how his character evolves through them -- is super interesting. The climactic ending is epic, and I thought about it for days after finishing the book.
In addition, the writing is just great. It's often funny -- darly funny, mind you! -- and surprising. The characters all have unique voices, and the author jumps point-of-view characters from Tyron to others judiciously. It's just well done, especially for this genre.
I eagerly await book 3.
In addition, the writing is just great. It's often funny -- darly funny, mind you! -- and surprising. The characters all have unique voices, and the author jumps point-of-view characters from Tyron to others judiciously. It's just well done, especially for this genre.
I eagerly await book 3.
December 20, 2024
I loved the book, and it feels like it is just setting up for what comes next. Yet the story itself is surprisingly focused and isn't meandering around.
January 2, 2026
This still continues to be a pretty good series, although the MC spends the entire book on the edge of getting himself killed it seemed like. It did get a bit repetitive at times, and you could see the ending coming from a mile away. There was a little too much hand waving / lack of explanation between book 2 and the start of book 3 as well. I will still probably continue to read though, as I like the overall story, and book 3 seems like it will be a nice change of pace.
December 13, 2023
Strong ending
The start drops you right into where it left off. So abruptly…you *need* to read at least the last few chapters of book one before starting.
The narrative is like a slow developing avalanche. Not much seems to be happening for a while, then things get progressively more kinetic and urgent. The final scene was worth the wait.
The start drops you right into where it left off. So abruptly…you *need* to read at least the last few chapters of book one before starting.
The narrative is like a slow developing avalanche. Not much seems to be happening for a while, then things get progressively more kinetic and urgent. The final scene was worth the wait.
December 13, 2023
hard waiting for third book now
Don’t usually leave reviews.
All I can say is that this book is very well written, and is good at bringing you into the story. Not over the top in any one area, and definitely keeps you captivated.
Definitely need to read these books if you are considering it!
Don’t usually leave reviews.
All I can say is that this book is very well written, and is good at bringing you into the story. Not over the top in any one area, and definitely keeps you captivated.
Definitely need to read these books if you are considering it!
December 15, 2023
This is so messed up and I love it!
Everything that I considered as lacking in the first book was delivered in this one: gruesome battles that keeps readers on the edge of their sits. The ending was bitter sweet but it opened up new doors and makes me want more. Highly recommended!
Everything that I considered as lacking in the first book was delivered in this one: gruesome battles that keeps readers on the edge of their sits. The ending was bitter sweet but it opened up new doors and makes me want more. Highly recommended!
November 24, 2025
So good but so heartbreaking
I have not been able to stop reading this series. Discovered it yesterday and am already moving to book 3. The progression of the MC is great but it was such a heartbreaking way to end the book. Can’t wait to see him bring down the divine and avenge those who they wronged:
I have not been able to stop reading this series. Discovered it yesterday and am already moving to book 3. The progression of the MC is great but it was such a heartbreaking way to end the book. Can’t wait to see him bring down the divine and avenge those who they wronged:
July 23, 2026
I am really impressed that the author, manages to work on 2 so different levels and magic systems in his Chrysalis and this. I think this has a very good potential to become a Litrpg Vengeance story (yes I know the next is named it, but there is a whole movie genre of the lonely man/woman (The Bride!!) that have someone they lost to someone needing killing.. 🚬🤠😎
Read
December 7, 2023Excellent second book
This is a great continuation of the series! I love the idea of a character trying to do Good with an illegal necromancer class and the inherent problems that presents. Really looking forward to the next one!
This is a great continuation of the series! I love the idea of a character trying to do Good with an illegal necromancer class and the inherent problems that presents. Really looking forward to the next one!
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