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Not Your Adventures #1
Not Your Mountain
He wanted to be an adventurer, but adventure could cost him his home.
Matty has spent his whole life working in the mines. It's just what a dwarf is supposed to do: sing to the stone, gather its wealth, learn its properties, and build incredible things.
After a chance visit from a dwarven adventurer, his entire life is turned upside down. Dwarves don't leave, guests don't visit. Matty wants to change all of that.
With his cunning, bravery, and will, Matty sets off with his left foot forward....and stumbles.
Matty has spent his whole life working in the mines. It's just what a dwarf is supposed to do: sing to the stone, gather its wealth, learn its properties, and build incredible things.
After a chance visit from a dwarven adventurer, his entire life is turned upside down. Dwarves don't leave, guests don't visit. Matty wants to change all of that.
With his cunning, bravery, and will, Matty sets off with his left foot forward....and stumbles.
- GenresFantasy
161 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 25, 2023
1 person is currently reading
56 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 22, 2024
I've noticed an increasing number of these cozy, low stakes fantasy books appearing lately and there have been some absolutely fantastic ones. This is not one of them.
In fact this entirely manages to misunderstand what those great books had to elevate themselves to such enjoyable reads.
The characters here are functional with a small amount of charm, but lack enough depth to care too strongly about. The basic story itself is set in a place that is almost non-existent and is about as featureless as the white page it is written on, with no charming desciptions of the areas to bring it to life. There is a bit of decent action to break things up and make it feel a bit like a light hearted D&D campaign and that's mostly OK, but it then tries to throw in a bit of comedy which lands entirely flat. The worst part above all though is the dialogue, which is extremely amateurish and would be poor quality even if aimed at a younger reading age. At one point, a retort from our least dwarven dwarf protagonist is "woah". And there’s plenty more weak, low thought exchanges. I don't expect Tolkien-esque writing, but I expect a bit of immersion into a fantasy world.
On a slightly positive note it is short enough not to outstay its welcome and there's a sweet sentimentality that runs through in the friendship and romance side of things and that gives it a lift, but it isn't enough to alone save what is otherwise just such a poor example of light fantasy.
There will be people who will enjoy this I am sure who want a bit of light reading to entertain them, but given there is so much good stuff out there in the indie and self published SFF scene these days standing strongly against the more traditionally published books, the bar right now is set too high for me personally to give an easy pass when books like this come along.
In fact this entirely manages to misunderstand what those great books had to elevate themselves to such enjoyable reads.
The characters here are functional with a small amount of charm, but lack enough depth to care too strongly about. The basic story itself is set in a place that is almost non-existent and is about as featureless as the white page it is written on, with no charming desciptions of the areas to bring it to life. There is a bit of decent action to break things up and make it feel a bit like a light hearted D&D campaign and that's mostly OK, but it then tries to throw in a bit of comedy which lands entirely flat. The worst part above all though is the dialogue, which is extremely amateurish and would be poor quality even if aimed at a younger reading age. At one point, a retort from our least dwarven dwarf protagonist is "woah". And there’s plenty more weak, low thought exchanges. I don't expect Tolkien-esque writing, but I expect a bit of immersion into a fantasy world.
On a slightly positive note it is short enough not to outstay its welcome and there's a sweet sentimentality that runs through in the friendship and romance side of things and that gives it a lift, but it isn't enough to alone save what is otherwise just such a poor example of light fantasy.
There will be people who will enjoy this I am sure who want a bit of light reading to entertain them, but given there is so much good stuff out there in the indie and self published SFF scene these days standing strongly against the more traditionally published books, the bar right now is set too high for me personally to give an easy pass when books like this come along.
August 19, 2024
Enjoyable and heartfelt. I'm gonna continue with the series.
August 16, 2024
The entertaining tale of a young dwarf's journey to becoming the "man" he was meant to be
Not Your Mountain is a quick read and an enjoyable coming of age story.
I enjoyed this book, but I also feel like the first part of the afterword should be a foreword! This book was written as part of the Inkfort Publishing Derby, which means the author was entirely on their own, and under a short deadline, to create this story. For that, alone, I'm overlooking any of the small formatting errors.
On to the story, of young Matradatin. Matty is an interesting character, and if you like your protagonists to be a bit naive then he's right up your alley. It's a "country dweller meets the big city" coming of age tale centered around a young dwarf from underground coming into the big world for the first time. The other characters are all morally ambiguous, from the first encounter to the last, and that places Matty in an interesting position as a kind of moral authority that the others don't possess.
The thing I liked the most about his story arc is the transition from boy (dwarf?) to man (dwarf!) and his internal compass realigning as part of that. The authors use of his name, and the journey from nickname to full name (not much of a spoiler, because you know his full name from the start, but if you read the book you'll get what I'm saying) was an enjoyable one.
If you like your axe-wielding adventures to be full of plain language, including some modern idiom, with more than a dash of crime, you'll enjoy Not Your Mountain.
Not Your Mountain is a quick read and an enjoyable coming of age story.
I enjoyed this book, but I also feel like the first part of the afterword should be a foreword! This book was written as part of the Inkfort Publishing Derby, which means the author was entirely on their own, and under a short deadline, to create this story. For that, alone, I'm overlooking any of the small formatting errors.
On to the story, of young Matradatin. Matty is an interesting character, and if you like your protagonists to be a bit naive then he's right up your alley. It's a "country dweller meets the big city" coming of age tale centered around a young dwarf from underground coming into the big world for the first time. The other characters are all morally ambiguous, from the first encounter to the last, and that places Matty in an interesting position as a kind of moral authority that the others don't possess.
The thing I liked the most about his story arc is the transition from boy (dwarf?) to man (dwarf!) and his internal compass realigning as part of that. The authors use of his name, and the journey from nickname to full name (not much of a spoiler, because you know his full name from the start, but if you read the book you'll get what I'm saying) was an enjoyable one.
If you like your axe-wielding adventures to be full of plain language, including some modern idiom, with more than a dash of crime, you'll enjoy Not Your Mountain.
September 28, 2023
The adventure of Matradatin is a young dwarf ready to go on an adventure, all because it looked like a shiny beautiful axe.
Except... there is a lot more to adventuring. Such as how to deal with people, how to earn money, not have your money - or heart- stolen, etc. Adventuring is discovering the the world and trusting in yourself, but willing to listen and help others. Greg Yates takes the reader on an enjoyable ride through Matradatin's point of view as he grows from Matty, the curious dwarf to Matradatin, an adventurer and defender of those around him by using his trusty axe.
Except... there is a lot more to adventuring. Such as how to deal with people, how to earn money, not have your money - or heart- stolen, etc. Adventuring is discovering the the world and trusting in yourself, but willing to listen and help others. Greg Yates takes the reader on an enjoyable ride through Matradatin's point of view as he grows from Matty, the curious dwarf to Matradatin, an adventurer and defender of those around him by using his trusty axe.
April 10, 2024
I really really really like the pacing of the story. It really feels like it has 3 solid parts: the beginning where Matty sets out on his adventure and eventually leaves the little farm for village life; the middle where he takes on the journey and finds out about what the count is doing; and the end where he has to defend the mountain. It's completely logical to build it up that way. The introduction and explanation of the ore can seem a little fast paced but since it's all part of the middle story I'm actually pretty pleased with the pacing of that as well. Have definitely seen it done worse.
I love the characters, Matty really reads like a newly adult adventurer with more guts than experience and I like that about him. Samuel is a really fun character. I like that he's a little bit flirty but would love to see more of his actual life - I'd expect a nobleman running around with a bunch of mercenaries to get more than a raised eyebrow every once in a while, and in a longer story I'd expect that to lead to some interesting side situations. Puck and Joost are great, no notes there. Aron is a little forgettable.
I loved the little bits of dwarven lore thrown in here and there to explain Why Things Work How They Work.
I also loved the mirroring of the beginning paragraphs in the ending paragraphs, with Matty looking out over the tops of the trees and the dew running through his beard. Very good.
I can see some small issues that could've been ironed out with more editing but it would be more about sentence structure than anything to do with the story, except for the first mention of Eva/Elyse (author says Eva is Elyse and this name confusion was an editing issue) since I'm 99% sure that her being the Counts wife comes dropping in out of nowhere. But overall it was a lovely quick read and I'd love to read more about the characters.
I love the characters, Matty really reads like a newly adult adventurer with more guts than experience and I like that about him. Samuel is a really fun character. I like that he's a little bit flirty but would love to see more of his actual life - I'd expect a nobleman running around with a bunch of mercenaries to get more than a raised eyebrow every once in a while, and in a longer story I'd expect that to lead to some interesting side situations. Puck and Joost are great, no notes there. Aron is a little forgettable.
I loved the little bits of dwarven lore thrown in here and there to explain Why Things Work How They Work.
I also loved the mirroring of the beginning paragraphs in the ending paragraphs, with Matty looking out over the tops of the trees and the dew running through his beard. Very good.
I can see some small issues that could've been ironed out with more editing but it would be more about sentence structure than anything to do with the story, except for the first mention of Eva/Elyse (author says Eva is Elyse and this name confusion was an editing issue) since I'm 99% sure that her being the Counts wife comes dropping in out of nowhere. But overall it was a lovely quick read and I'd love to read more about the characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2024
D&D comes to life
Reading this, I was reminded of my time reading Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels when I was in school so many years ago. I'll be sharing this with my kids when they're a little older.
Reading this, I was reminded of my time reading Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels when I was in school so many years ago. I'll be sharing this with my kids when they're a little older.
February 9, 2025
Matty is a dwarven wannabe adventurer who leaves his peaceful mountain to see the world. Things go bad quick as he's beaten, robbed, and left for dead.
The premise is simple, but the themes evocative. Matty represents all of us, hoping for the best but stumbling through the world regardless. There's just something about a nobody leaving home for the first time and finding out things aren't as simple as they expected that tugs at my heartstrings every time. A universal experience for all of us who are young at heart.
The love story is an undercurrent to the adventure plot that both feels realistic and adorable as Matty does his best attempt at self discovery. I loved how confused and uncertain he was throughout the book, especially the choices he makes in the climax. I was firmly in Matty's shoes every step away from his mountain.
The action was always a spectacle with some truly memorable moments such as Matty's fight with the plant-monster and the crab-robot from the final fight. It added the perfect amount of comedy to help offset the more serious themes.
Alexanders deserves enormous respect for how high quality Not Your Mountain is given its publishing limitations (It was written for derby which gives limited time to write and edit before publishing). That being said, there were a couple of sections that felt rushed and some scenes that deserved more room to breathe. Regardless, I absolutely adorned Not Your Mountain.
If you love The Hobbit, you'll love Not Your Mountain. It's a quick D&D flavored fantasy adventure with lots of heart. Go grab it right now. You'll thank me later.
The premise is simple, but the themes evocative. Matty represents all of us, hoping for the best but stumbling through the world regardless. There's just something about a nobody leaving home for the first time and finding out things aren't as simple as they expected that tugs at my heartstrings every time. A universal experience for all of us who are young at heart.
The love story is an undercurrent to the adventure plot that both feels realistic and adorable as Matty does his best attempt at self discovery. I loved how confused and uncertain he was throughout the book, especially the choices he makes in the climax. I was firmly in Matty's shoes every step away from his mountain.
The action was always a spectacle with some truly memorable moments such as Matty's fight with the plant-monster and the crab-robot from the final fight. It added the perfect amount of comedy to help offset the more serious themes.
Alexanders deserves enormous respect for how high quality Not Your Mountain is given its publishing limitations (It was written for derby which gives limited time to write and edit before publishing). That being said, there were a couple of sections that felt rushed and some scenes that deserved more room to breathe. Regardless, I absolutely adorned Not Your Mountain.
If you love The Hobbit, you'll love Not Your Mountain. It's a quick D&D flavored fantasy adventure with lots of heart. Go grab it right now. You'll thank me later.
January 27, 2025
“Fuck it.”
Matty has spent his whole life doing what dwarves were supposed to do — mining. However, he eventually takes up adventure after being in need of money. This book is something that any DnD fan would love!
Roses (Strengths):
Wow, wow, wow. Let’s start with Matty’s and Samuel’s bond first of all. I didn’t expect to love their dynamic as much as I did. I think this was overall a combination of some clever word choices, careful gestures the characters exchange and dialogue which contains tension. This overall leads to the development of a relationship between the two characters which feels very real.
In addition, I loved seeing Matty go from a “boy” dwarf to a “man” dwarf. I think this in itself is a key point plot, and definitely the one that I enjoyed the most while reading. I think his character development was really well executed, through actions in scenes, all the way to simple word choices. Thus, leading to an incredibly fleshed out arc which includes a cross over between character development and plot.
Thorns (Weaknesses):
Since this book was a part of the Derby question, meaning that the author completed the publishing process from start to finish in three months, there were a few typos along the way. This wasn’t too big of an issue for me, but I can see it being annoying for others and potentially breaking the momentum.
Other Thoughts:
This was a really fun read for me. It felt relaxed, but also at the same time suspenseful? Anyways, this was a 5 star read.
Matty has spent his whole life doing what dwarves were supposed to do — mining. However, he eventually takes up adventure after being in need of money. This book is something that any DnD fan would love!
Roses (Strengths):
Wow, wow, wow. Let’s start with Matty’s and Samuel’s bond first of all. I didn’t expect to love their dynamic as much as I did. I think this was overall a combination of some clever word choices, careful gestures the characters exchange and dialogue which contains tension. This overall leads to the development of a relationship between the two characters which feels very real.
In addition, I loved seeing Matty go from a “boy” dwarf to a “man” dwarf. I think this in itself is a key point plot, and definitely the one that I enjoyed the most while reading. I think his character development was really well executed, through actions in scenes, all the way to simple word choices. Thus, leading to an incredibly fleshed out arc which includes a cross over between character development and plot.
Thorns (Weaknesses):
Since this book was a part of the Derby question, meaning that the author completed the publishing process from start to finish in three months, there were a few typos along the way. This wasn’t too big of an issue for me, but I can see it being annoying for others and potentially breaking the momentum.
Other Thoughts:
This was a really fun read for me. It felt relaxed, but also at the same time suspenseful? Anyways, this was a 5 star read.
July 29, 2025
This was an enjoyable, cozy dnd-based story. Matty is a who wants to be an adventurer, but he has no idea what he's doing. He goes off into the world and instead finds mostly misadventures. This is a cozy read, so most of the misadventures aren't too dangerous, and there's a Achillean romance This a quick, easy read that the author did for the Inkfort publishing derby, which requires the author to write, edit, and publish within only a few months. I know that Alexanders is currently working on am expanded, revised edition of this book, and I'm looking forward to it!
October 19, 2023
This is a delightful and funny cozy fantasy adventure that tweaks the conventions of capital-F Fantasy genre reader expectations. The main character, Matty, is a dwarf set in his ways, of digging for treasure and not going off on adventures, until he meets someone really special who might just turn everything he knows upside down. The characters in this book are lovely and larger than life, I really enjoyed it.
July 7, 2024
I hate how quickly I devoured this book.
It was so good and I loved it! This book was wonderful and a fun adventure! The characters felt real and I had a fun time reading it! Truly, it sits on my bedside table to read again whenever I feel like it.
It was so good and I loved it! This book was wonderful and a fun adventure! The characters felt real and I had a fun time reading it! Truly, it sits on my bedside table to read again whenever I feel like it.
October 3, 2023
This book is such a clever spin on a typical fantasy tale. It had me giggling and really deeply rooting for the main character.
November 25, 2025
7/10
That was a very fun read. Not a masterpiece, but I really enjoyed it.
That was a very fun read. Not a masterpiece, but I really enjoyed it.
April 3, 2024
I have to start with the most important part: Matty! Sweet, adorable, relatable, and absolutely real Matty is an amazing character that tugs at all the right strings for me. That entire first half and his goals is something so relatable for me and especially when going into the conundrum of safety and comfort vs adventure.
Add in some epic monsters that Matty is more than capable of taking care of by himself (thank you very much, Puck!), a snarky mage that you’re going to love that you hate (and hate that you love, this guy is absolutely amazing and real and awesome), and then throw in some experienced adventurers in the mix, and you have an amazing team that will take you adventuring with you.
There are some hints throughout for a bigger issue that ended up not answered but done so beyond my expectations. There were a few chilling moments, some epic entertainment with the side characters, and I felt myself like I was part of the party - thank you Samuel, for inviting me in ;)
If you’re a fan of light-hearted fantasy with characterization, filled out characters (even the side ones!), adventure, fighting, and a truly epic character that you can’t even call morally grey (I’m totally bias and in love with Samuel), then this is the book for you!
Read full review on SFF Insiders
Add in some epic monsters that Matty is more than capable of taking care of by himself (thank you very much, Puck!), a snarky mage that you’re going to love that you hate (and hate that you love, this guy is absolutely amazing and real and awesome), and then throw in some experienced adventurers in the mix, and you have an amazing team that will take you adventuring with you.
There are some hints throughout for a bigger issue that ended up not answered but done so beyond my expectations. There were a few chilling moments, some epic entertainment with the side characters, and I felt myself like I was part of the party - thank you Samuel, for inviting me in ;)
If you’re a fan of light-hearted fantasy with characterization, filled out characters (even the side ones!), adventure, fighting, and a truly epic character that you can’t even call morally grey (I’m totally bias and in love with Samuel), then this is the book for you!
Read full review on SFF Insiders
November 15, 2024
A short but solidly written fantasy adventure with meaningful introspection, monsters, magic, and machines, and a fun, unexpected heist(my favorite part!).
My only real quibble is that I think this book needed to be longer. Towards the latter half of the story, things felt a bit rushed, like there were scenes missing, and because of that, I wasn't as emotionally invested in the characters as I should have been. I think a lot of care went into the first half of the book, building upon Matty's growth, but that didn't leave much time for the later half, when we meet a whole party of characters, as well as the ultimate plot of the novel, which revolved around Sam. I would have liked more time with Sam considering how important he was to the plot(and to Matty), but alas. When you consider that this is a derby book(written, edited, and pubbed all in only 100 days), the rush makes a bit of sense, and I applaud the author for that accomplishment!
Now I admit this book is outside of my personal preferences, but if you're a fan of slice of life, queer characters, and DnD-inspired fantasy with cheeky humor and more of a cozy feel(Author D. Heyman comes to mind), then I think this might just be for you.
My only real quibble is that I think this book needed to be longer. Towards the latter half of the story, things felt a bit rushed, like there were scenes missing, and because of that, I wasn't as emotionally invested in the characters as I should have been. I think a lot of care went into the first half of the book, building upon Matty's growth, but that didn't leave much time for the later half, when we meet a whole party of characters, as well as the ultimate plot of the novel, which revolved around Sam. I would have liked more time with Sam considering how important he was to the plot(and to Matty), but alas. When you consider that this is a derby book(written, edited, and pubbed all in only 100 days), the rush makes a bit of sense, and I applaud the author for that accomplishment!
Now I admit this book is outside of my personal preferences, but if you're a fan of slice of life, queer characters, and DnD-inspired fantasy with cheeky humor and more of a cozy feel(Author D. Heyman comes to mind), then I think this might just be for you.
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