Tenacity

The Completionist Chronicles #9

by Dakota Krout

Resources? Zilch. Shelter? Ha. Monsters? Hungry, and closing in.

Joe the Ritualist fled Alfheim with the remnants of the Dwarven Oligarchy at his side. Though the hairy warriors number in the tens of thousands, they stand at the brink of extinction; and the new world they landed on isn’t pulling any punches. Jotunheim is a winter wonderland featuring a vast array of the least of which are hulking lizard-ape Hoardlings, and carnivorous penguins standing a dozen feet tall.

The world is massive, deadly, and but all Joe sees is free real estate. Thanks to Specializing in magics that allow him to rapidly create buildings, the Ritualist starts carving out a defensible area for his allies. Dense walls, workshops that churn out weapons and armor, even magical edifices that rain death upon the swarming creatures. Being so new to the world, they mistakenly believe that expanding quickly equals safety.

But on the world of giants, ramping up production just means ringing a bigger dinner bell.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fiction, Magic, Humor, Role Playing Games

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 4, 2023

About the author

Author of the best-selling Divine Dungeon, Completionist Chronicles, and Full Murderhobo series, Dakota Krout was chosen as Audible's top 5 fantasy pick of 2017, has been a top 5 bestseller on Amazon, and a top 6 bestseller on Audible.

He draws on his experience in the military to create vast terrains and intricate systems, and his history in programming and information technology helps him bring a logical aspect to both his writing and his company while giving him a unique perspective for future challenges.

Publishing my stories has been an incredible blessing thus far, and I hope to keep you entertained for years to come! -Dakota Krout

Reviews

[Lucas Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a good addition to the series

I normally wouldn't give something a 3 star rating, especially on a series I'm 9 books into and have liked so far. However, this was bad enough, in my opinion, that I felt I needed to.

I still suggest you read it yourself if you have already gotten this far, as I'm sure the next book will improve.

With that said, I had 2 main issues with this book.

1. This entire book could have been summed up into about 2 pages. The whole thing just kept going without any real tempo change, decent dialogue, or build up. The most interesting stuff happened in the last 2 pages and epilogue.

2. Joe is just wildly dumb in this. And every major plot point just feels like someone says "oops I messed this up, let's all get over it" and everyone agrees. NOTHING felt significant or like there was ever going to be an issue for Joe, even going so far as multiple times reminding us that Joe will be fine no matter what happens.

Overall, It felt like a slog of just this happened then this happened then this happened ok end of the book. I hope we get a lot more in the next one.

[Jacob · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am dissapointed

1. The story barely progressed.
2. The whole book was about the Dwarves ostracizing and being adversarial towards Joe who is the most capable among them. Joe still decides to help them and in the end he breaks and feels guilty about the Dwarves that have died being his fault and being gas lot by the Dwarves.
3. I cannot wait to never read about any of these Dwarves. They are seriously dumb and obnoxious and racist. They are in no way better than the elves.
4. With the current pace of the story I cant see the story ending before book 30.

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

MC keeps bending over backwards

I like the series, but in the last couple of books the mc, hasn’t seemed to be progressing that much, and is instead doing everything he can to bend over backwards for a bunch of people who don’t care about home and treat him like a total stranger except when they need him for something. It was addressed in story about how he was being treated, and he actually starts to try and become stronger, despite the people he’s sacrificed so much for treating him like an outcast, but then he just decides to go right back to being their scape goat and their free labor.

[Carina · Rating 2 out of 5]

After 9 books, I am done. I see no point in continuing this series as it doesn't intrigue me any more where this is going. Bit sad...

[Shernell Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

How much more does he have to prove himself? This man is doing so much and is still underappreciated. It is frustrating me.

[David Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was horrible.

I wanted to be more positive about it, but all the characters are jerks, and nothing happens.

I don't know what happened when the author decided to include the dwarves, but apparently that required everyone to be miserable and unlikable.

I ended up skipping / skimming most of this book simply because none of it mattered, advanced the plot or was fun/funny.

I'm going to check out the next book, but am going into it with a pessimistic attitude and fully expect more of the same until the author proves me wrong.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, the puns were excellent. There were some parts that felt a little inconsistent for the characters, but overall I enjoyed it.

[Soo · Rating 4 out of 5]

11/27/23 Notes:

Woo! I was happy to see the fun mix of chaos, humor, cause + effects and mini-twists that I've come to expect from a CC book.

[Scottt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that this is book 9 in the series and it's still compelling and leaving me wanting more is very impressive. Most authors in LitRPG end up resorting to adding meaningless characters and powers by this point (usually around book 4...), but Krout avoids that and is able to come up with interesting scenarios instead. I'm excited to read the next one.

There wasn't a ton of progression in this book, and the story did feel like it wasn't quite enough for a whole book (maybe 2/3?), but I found it enjoyable throughout.

[Harold J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Another wacky book in the series. What other crazy twists will Joe have to face ? Tenacity was a good name for this book.

[Cassidy Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe's struggle is real. Jotunheim has added some serious monsters.

[Reinaldo Muralha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoiler Review - Tenacity was exactly what I was looking for in a LitRPG book. A Tower Defense focused story with clear reason for it to be so.

However, the plot of the whole book being Joe vs Dwarves failed to make sense. I understood the goal of the author. However, Joe never does anything to deserve the treatment he is given, nor there is the proper setup with the Master of Sarcaasm setting him up in front of the Council to be treated in such a way, much less to reach the conclusion to sacrifice himself in the behest of the dwarves.

Another approach would be to have scenes where Joe actively defied the leadership so he could effectively be in the bad, however no one ever explains their point of view of why not to build explicitly, it all becomed a plot that could have been fixed with one proper sit down.

Other suggestions where I felt this could have worked would be an actual Humans vs Dwarves plot with Joe in the middle of it. The Guild vs Dwarves. Anything but this.

I read this for the fun of it not to be annoyed by nonsensical interactions that feel completely forced and nonsensical, the lack of dialogue forced in here to keep the confusion the plot intended to exist was actually a lost opportunity to properly explain why there was a problem.

The Dwarves didn't even have a proper explanation of the reason why Joe shouldn't be trusted and for Joe to see reason on the Dwarves side then he shouldn't have been focusing the whole book in doing what the best for the Dwarves while being baddly treated the whole time.

Just having the Dwarves demanding Joe to help them first instead of helping other humans who can respawn would have fixed this.

The way it got delivered just felt like this book was rushed and not polished to the same level of the others (I have read 14 books by the author by now). I always rate books as a 5* if I finish them to support the author as I don't finish books I don't enjoy. This was the first time I considered giving up on a book from this author and of a genre I like so much, nonetheless I will keep going for the next and hope the next two books are fun experience as all other books have been so far.

[JustAGuy209 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenacity (The Completionist Chronicles #9) by Dakota Krout - 4/5 Stars

First and foremost, I want to state that I am not an author. I have no idea what it takes to write a book. I am a consumer with an OPINION, and only an opinion, based on my life experiences. And boy, do I have opinions about this one!

In Tenacity, Joe finds himself in a new realm inhabited by giants and a cold atmosphere. He and the remnants of the great dwarven nation engage in tower defense and city-building activities. While the tower defense aspect is handled differently, the city-building feels less exciting compared to the first city Joe helped construct with the guild or even the second in the shoe.

The dreary atmosphere leads to a rocky relationship between Joe and the dwarves, characterized by mistrust on both sides and hints of duplicity. Jaxon and Cleave make their appearances, albeit briefly, and I find that I enjoy it more when Joe interacts with his party rather than taking on the role of a sole hero. This is especially relevant since much of this book revolves around Joe preaching about solidarity between himself and the dwarven people.

On the positive side, Krout's writing effectively conveys the mounting frustration and tension throughout the story, while the voice actor brings the words to life.

Rating Scale:

5 stars - Exceptional, life-changing
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, I rate Tenacity 4 stars. It’s an enjoyable addition to the series that continues to develop its characters.

[Eric_R · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Step in the Right Direction!

Without giving away spoilers, I thought this book was getting back to the root pace and theme of this storyline. Change is good, but the storytelling just seemed off for the past 2 books; and that was one too many changes in that direction.

Glad to see Joe being more like Joe. I liked the direction of this book, but it seemed a little short and I thought things could have progressed more. Joe really needs to make some progress with his weapons, his abilities, more unique spells/rituals, and face some more fantasy like challenges. This is fantasy adventure novel, after all. Feels like we have really been messing the boat in that area.

Definitely just don’t want a hack and slash novel, filled with high fantasy weapons and spells. I love the twisted creative Mr. Krout brings, but we are missing the adventure in these fantasy adventure novels. I’m hoping we see more of that in the next book, which I will be starting as soon as I’m done writing this review 😎

[Kevin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess it's time for bad puns and YA levels of cuss avoidance.

I didn't enjoy this much. The normal bad kindergarten substitution cussing and dirty jokes wasn't the problem. The entire book just felt off. The protagonist was getting shafted by the people he "saved" almost from the get go. Then later, he pulls down his pants, bends over, and asks them to shaft him (this is hyperbole) for things HE DID NOT DO.

He is doing his all to try and save as many as possible, and somehow these dwarves turn it around on him like he is the bad guy?

Really dislike this crap about the series. I was going to give this book two stars, but that big shit reveal at the end was the last straw. This guy keeps getting betrayed, and still goes back to help the betrayers. I am fed up of carpets who keep getting walked on, then goes back for more.

1/5 Stars

[Chip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audible review

Not as much character interactions here. The dwarves are all over the place. Other than Jackson occasionally Joe never speaks to humans. I don't think Aten or his mother have any relevance anymore as they aren't even mentioned.

Most of this book is Joe talking to himself. Coming up with rituals and then solving ritual-based problems.

The scenario of the world seems flawed too. It's based off a tower defence game but considering world 1 was a 2 faction war this scenario felt very gamified and fake. I think Krout wrote himself into a corner with the ritu-architect class. A character who specialises in construction has to be static and far from the front lines.

It was easy listening and the narrator did great but, yet again, I'm unsure whether this series has anything to make it worth continuing with.

[Dapper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been enjoying listening to these books despite the narrators absurd and grating character voices, but I’ll have to stop here, since I don’t care to read through Joe’s hard time saving someone who participated in betrayal and genocide in order to become an architect?? (Dwarves are literally architects and elves are gardeners..)

The conflict between the dwarves and Joe was confusing asf and the fact that he let himself be treated that way was another blow to my enjoyment. I’m especially confused about how they’re blaming him for being unprepared for battle when they directly prevented him from preparing for battle??????

Overall, my annoyance has overshadowed my enjoyment and I’m reluctantly setting this series aside :(

[GiGi]

My reviews of the previous books touch on some major issues this series has. All this is still the case, but worse, somehow. This series promised 1 thing; a completionist. What does the completionist do? He gives up on skills he hardly ever uses in exchange for points he can invest elsewhere. What happened to gaining all skills and classes in existence and maxing them all out? Literally, the ONE gimmick this series had over other, it cast aside like a minor deal. Which is a decent representation of everything in these books. Nothing matters. Plot lines are dropped eventually. Character arcs get paused and little growth or change is achieved. There was a vague, main plot line initially but at this point, there's little point to anything.

[Jack Vinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe, the main character, finds himself again in a new area amongst friends (mostly) and a lot of monsters in this part of the story arc. He isn’t focused on growing so much as he’s trying to survive and growth is a byproduct.

Tenacity is one way to describe Joe - more tenacious than some of those around him. And it pays off.

Thought: this series started with Joe wanting to complete every quest and learn everything about his character options. That seems to have diminished over the series, where he is primarily concerned with near-term goals and survival. He brings up a few long-term items, but then just as quickly puts them aside.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read.

I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I've really enjoyed the humor and creativity the author has had in these books. Im not going to give a synopsis of the book because I'm the person to pick if you want people to be disinterested by my summary of the book. I only wish that each book was three times longer so I could spend more time reading and procrastinating other tasks. Thanks for your hard work, Dakota, I love the world you've built here and look forward to more of it!

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was this part of the same series?

I really enjoyed all the books up to this point but it took me months to make it through this book. It felt completely disconnected from every book before it. The tone was different, the humor wasn't really there, and it just wasn't all that interesting. Even the expected end of book pun on the title fell flat.

Because of my disappointment with this book, it'll probably be a few months, or a few other books, before I get back into this series.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun

Joe builds and defends a city in a tower defense scenario. Meanwhile the dwarves no longer trust him until he forces the issue and unmasks his detractor.
Still a fun story, the main character has become an unstable caricature, he and those around become one idea. So there’s no character growth. This is partly because of the magic system expanded in the Artorian Archives series which sets up the game world Joe is in. Still a fun read and I’ll keep following the series. Please enjoy

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 9 of The Completionist Chronicles. The next step and a very cool insight into selfishness and the hidden detriments that go with it. Also, what would a Tower Defense game look like in a novel. Ok. So a little strange with more to follow, but still done in a way that did not make it seem as awkward as it could be. I liked the ending twist on this one, although we did not see as much from our favorite chiropractor. Different ways to approach problems and ways to deal with the insurmountable make the ending well worth it. On top book 10. ​

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm happy to finally be able to give another 5 star rating to a book in this series after not being able to do so for the last 2 books. It feels like Joe is finally back to making personal progress of his own, despite stagnating (and even regrading) in the last 2 books. Additionally, this book had an ultra-satisfying ending that actually somewhat made the stagnation and build up from the prior books worth it.

[Karlis · Rating 1 out of 5]

So the trend for Dakota Krout and his socially inept and vindictive characters in his every book in his every series is quite well established, but there is a limit to this. Bunch of twelve year olds would have been better at solving issues plaguing the characters of this book than these supposedly adult people with military and other professional experience. At some point I have to ask when was the last time Dakota Krout interacted with anyone outside of an toxic internet fan forum, because that is what these characters remind me the most.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emotionally hard to read

Talk about a major step backwards. Poor Joe saved all of those dwarves only to end up isolated from them as they start to blame him for their predicament.

Beginning starts off intense with an unexpected continuation of the fight from the previous book. Middle is slow as Joe figures out his own life and how he wants to move forward.

The ending is just tiring as monster wave after monster wave attacks.

Can't wait for the new book!

Have FUN!!

[Christian Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

great,

The only thing I have that is negative in any way about these books is that it is too long in between them! I love these books, quirky, funny, detailed. I just love them, start at the beginning of The Completionist Chronicles and read on through. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I have. When is the NEXT one ?!?

[Birdie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy how enthusiastic Joe is about everything he's doing. The puns can be bit forced at times but enough of them made me laugh that it wasn't toooo overwhelming. I look forward to seeing where this going to go because I am starting to get frustrated with how dismissive and down right annoying some of the dwarves are. Hope his next one is more focused on his growth.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing installment in the Completionist Chronicles. Joe definitely goes through sooooo many trials and just trying to survive on the new world they have arrived on. With the way this one ended I’m definitely curious to see what happens next between a few of the characters. Can’t wait to read it.

[Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wordplay!

The story was an afterthought. The plot was the trench coat on a mugger with a clever worded brick to the head.

Four stars cause it ain't Shakespeare, but I did enjoy it.