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Wasteland Warlords #6
Wasteland Warlords 6
“They might have us outnumbered and outgunned, but they don’t know the wasteland like we do.”Clay Jaeger and his family have faced down hordes of mobs, evil forces, and deadly Dungeon Lords since they came to the IZ, but this is the first time all of Civilization has been turned against them. Framed for heinous crimes they didn’t commit, Clay, Alex, and Joe will have to fight back with every resource the wasteland has at its disposal. If that includes taking over a dungeon and turning it against their enemies, so be it. This time, it’s not just the Jaegers’ lives on the line. This is bigger than them. The freedom of every wastelander and mob in the IZ is at stake.
158 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 5, 2024
35 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
James A. Hunter
97 books1,121 followersJames Hunter is a full-time ink slinger, a member of SFWA, and the bestselling author of Vigil Bound, Rogue Dungeon, Shadowcroft Academy, Bibliomancer (The Completionist Chronicles Expanded Universe), and the litRPG epic Viridian Gate Online! In addition to writing, James also runs Shadow Alley Press, an industry leader that specializes in publishing LitRPG, Fantasy, and selection Science Fiction.
James is a former Marine Corps Sergeant, combat veteran, and pirate hunter (seriously). He’s also a member of The Royal Order of the Shellback—’cause that’s totally a real thing. And a spaceship captain, can’t forget that. Okay … the last one probably isn’t true. When not writing or spending time with family, James occasionally finds time to eat and sleep.
Find out more about James Hunter at www.ShadowAlleyPress.com
James is a former Marine Corps Sergeant, combat veteran, and pirate hunter (seriously). He’s also a member of The Royal Order of the Shellback—’cause that’s totally a real thing. And a spaceship captain, can’t forget that. Okay … the last one probably isn’t true. When not writing or spending time with family, James occasionally finds time to eat and sleep.
Find out more about James Hunter at www.ShadowAlleyPress.com
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 26, 2025
The last book in the Wasteland Warlords series. By the time I reached this book I was definitely ready for the series to be over. I enjoyed the ride, but it felt much less polished than the author's "Discount Dan" series.
Things are wrapped up relatively neatly in this book. Big bad guys are fought, some powers are gained, a super unique spell is cast that changes the wasteland, you name it. I don't regret reading the series but I think overall I'd say it was just OK.
Things are wrapped up relatively neatly in this book. Big bad guys are fought, some powers are gained, a super unique spell is cast that changes the wasteland, you name it. I don't regret reading the series but I think overall I'd say it was just OK.
February 24, 2024
I just loved this series about the Jaeger family, turned into its squad, battling life in the wastelands. They faced many dangers, monsters and other wannabes and they trounced them all, however this is the first time they were framed, and had civilisation turn against them, by the liars of the pharmaceutical company, who framed them. They would not be beaten though as they knew this time they would be fighting for all others trying to make a living in the wastelands. I loved this book best of all as the dungeon they went into was a library, and the book is so witty and intelligent and I am a sucker for books and libraries so I could not have had a better ending to this LitRPG adventure series. I love that everyone rallied round including PwnrBwner, the Warlord of the West, on the insistence of Nessa his wife, who made sure Camp Sinai was safe whilst the Jaeger Squad were off fighting the baddies who had framed them. And I really loved that finally we got a happy ending to Clay and Alex's life story.
October 5, 2025
This review is for the whole series, since all 6 of them were readily available to me on Audible as relatively short ~3-hour-reads.
Overall, it was a decent litRPG series. I got a few laughs out of the shenanigans. Loved the characters for the most part. The stories were rather repetitive - fight this dungeon boss or some evil wasteland human, gain power, and overcome new obstacles with the powers they just got. There was rarely any stake in it, though. I also couldn't really get a grasp for the time-frame. Lots of modern references but then the story was hundreds of years in the future. Somehow DVDs survived that long, along with a lot of Mountain Dew and paperback novels. Again, it was mostly shenanigans and jokes. It was a light-hearted read and whether or not the author intended it to be taken super-seriously can be up for debate. I submit that it shouldn't be. I mean, they argued about grammar errors in each other's speech. I'm a grammar puritan myself, but I don't feel compelled to make it a major conversation piece or plot device in anything I hope to write in the future.
And yet, some of the rules, or rather the one rule "keep what you kill" seemed a little neglected after 5 minutes into the grind.
There are still a few mysteries to me on how that world came to be, who some of the characters really are. Maybe I missed some of the slower, world-building parts of the narrative. I just caught that there was some video game world that got transposed with the West Coast United States. Or maybe Hunter wrote this as an adjacent series to something else he's written - I may never know. I have too much else to read, and I wasn't super interested in it. Again, it was just a fun little read; not gonna put too much thought into it. But by the second half of the series I was definitely missing parts as I listened because the action wasn't enough to overcome the slower parts of the plot.
Overall, it was a decent litRPG series. I got a few laughs out of the shenanigans. Loved the characters for the most part. The stories were rather repetitive - fight this dungeon boss or some evil wasteland human, gain power, and overcome new obstacles with the powers they just got. There was rarely any stake in it, though. I also couldn't really get a grasp for the time-frame. Lots of modern references but then the story was hundreds of years in the future. Somehow DVDs survived that long, along with a lot of Mountain Dew and paperback novels. Again, it was mostly shenanigans and jokes. It was a light-hearted read and whether or not the author intended it to be taken super-seriously can be up for debate. I submit that it shouldn't be. I mean, they argued about grammar errors in each other's speech. I'm a grammar puritan myself, but I don't feel compelled to make it a major conversation piece or plot device in anything I hope to write in the future.
And yet, some of the rules, or rather the one rule "keep what you kill" seemed a little neglected after 5 minutes into the grind.
There are still a few mysteries to me on how that world came to be, who some of the characters really are. Maybe I missed some of the slower, world-building parts of the narrative. I just caught that there was some video game world that got transposed with the West Coast United States. Or maybe Hunter wrote this as an adjacent series to something else he's written - I may never know. I have too much else to read, and I wasn't super interested in it. Again, it was just a fun little read; not gonna put too much thought into it. But by the second half of the series I was definitely missing parts as I listened because the action wasn't enough to overcome the slower parts of the plot.
March 9, 2024
This is the last book in the serialized gamelit adventure about the IZ and the Jeager family! The government, big pharma, and even the super heroes have teamed up just to take out the Jeager's. People who only wanted to be left alone. Just to take out 3 players Clay, Alex and Joe and their 2 pets Bacon bits a wyrm, and Rocky a meca-coon. Can you say "over kill" much. Clay feels that he and the gang need an edge to beat, and survive these higher teared mercenaries. So what they added to their repertoire was a dungeon which would add an additional element to the fight and the possible edge they'd need.
Find out how everything works out... grab the serialized adventure. Better yet get the audiobook because you'll enjoy listening to Travis Baldree nuanced performance...
And here's a quote that amused me:
"Bookcases toppled as a screaming mecha-Thesaurus rampaged through the Stacks after Dark Sentinel."
Find out how everything works out... grab the serialized adventure. Better yet get the audiobook because you'll enjoy listening to Travis Baldree nuanced performance...
And here's a quote that amused me:
"Bookcases toppled as a screaming mecha-Thesaurus rampaged through the Stacks after Dark Sentinel."
June 20, 2024
Wasteland Warlords 6
The jail break was a huge success, but it made Clay some powerful enemies. Not only that, Joe is still live-streaming everything and exposing even more secrets. They landed a good strike, but government agencies aren’t known for their willingness to look the other way.
This is a great way to finish up this series! It’s pretty much nonstop action and planning how to weather the storm. My only complaint is that I didn’t feel like I had enough time to get to know Griff’s daughter. The book was rather short at just under 3 and a half hours long, but all six of the books are included with the Audible subscription. Well worth the listen. Travis Baldree does an amazing job with the narration.
Content warning: language
The jail break was a huge success, but it made Clay some powerful enemies. Not only that, Joe is still live-streaming everything and exposing even more secrets. They landed a good strike, but government agencies aren’t known for their willingness to look the other way.
This is a great way to finish up this series! It’s pretty much nonstop action and planning how to weather the storm. My only complaint is that I didn’t feel like I had enough time to get to know Griff’s daughter. The book was rather short at just under 3 and a half hours long, but all six of the books are included with the Audible subscription. Well worth the listen. Travis Baldree does an amazing job with the narration.
Content warning: language
December 17, 2024
(3.0 Stars)
The audiobook version is expertly narrated by Travis Baldree. The story is decent, but over the course of the six book is a little repetitive. Not that it is bad, it is just formulaic... yet still well-written. And also timely, since it is about the class struggle against the health industry. Not completely about it, but it is one of the themes.
This is only my second attempt at reading LitRPG, and I'm not sure I really like it as a genre. Dungeon Crawler Carl is next on the list.
The audiobook version is expertly narrated by Travis Baldree. The story is decent, but over the course of the six book is a little repetitive. Not that it is bad, it is just formulaic... yet still well-written. And also timely, since it is about the class struggle against the health industry. Not completely about it, but it is one of the themes.
This is only my second attempt at reading LitRPG, and I'm not sure I really like it as a genre. Dungeon Crawler Carl is next on the list.
September 25, 2025
An OK conclusion to the series, but...
Somehow, the last 2 installments read somewhat rushed and... uninvested?
They are short (and continuous in their plot) enough to be combined into a single volume. As it is, there's just too little happening in each, and the finale feels too much like like an insta-win.
Any character development (are depth, really) is abandoned in favor of just moving the action forward and getting it over with already.
Overall, underwhelming. A waste(land)ed opportunity.
Somehow, the last 2 installments read somewhat rushed and... uninvested?
They are short (and continuous in their plot) enough to be combined into a single volume. As it is, there's just too little happening in each, and the finale feels too much like like an insta-win.
Any character development (are depth, really) is abandoned in favor of just moving the action forward and getting it over with already.
Overall, underwhelming. A waste(land)ed opportunity.
March 12, 2024
Binged this like a mofo!
Couldn't stop listening! Blew through it super fast. Couldn't wait to find out what happened next and what new abilities they'd unlock and encounter. Really fun series, sad it's over, but had a lot of fun while it lasted! Especially good of you've ready Rouge Dungeon!
Couldn't stop listening! Blew through it super fast. Couldn't wait to find out what happened next and what new abilities they'd unlock and encounter. Really fun series, sad it's over, but had a lot of fun while it lasted! Especially good of you've ready Rouge Dungeon!
April 28, 2024
The more of these books I read, the more I liked them. The story was fun, the characters likeable and quirky, and the ending was only kinda cliché. The only thing I will say against the series is the characters are at the end essentially who they started as. They're still fun and unique but I really wish there was any sort of character progression.
March 14, 2024
Great conclusion to a fun series. I was kind of surprised that it ended here because I felt like more could be written. The characters were all fun and I loved the plot of this one. Great series!
April 23, 2024
Lots of fun and a well done series. Sad to see it end
August 21, 2025
Fantastic conclusion to the series.
High recommend the whole story, fun, funny, and surprisingly heartfelt throughout.
High recommend the whole story, fun, funny, and surprisingly heartfelt throughout.
January 16, 2026
The library dungeon with grammar riddles and pun challenges with the peak of literature.
January 24, 2026
Good
Read all the series from book 1 to 6 and it stays true to itself all along. So, if you liked book 1, you'll like the complete series.
Read all the series from book 1 to 6 and it stays true to itself all along. So, if you liked book 1, you'll like the complete series.
December 22, 2025
The sixth book in the Wasteland Warlords saga brings a sense of grand finality to a journey that has spanned the gamut from simple survival to the heavy burden of sovereignty. James Hunter manages to keep the momentum high, delivering a story that feels like a victory lap for the characters who have survived since the early days of the original trilogy. It’s a solid 4-star entry that successfully ties off the major threads of the series while leaning into the epic scale that only a long-running saga can achieve.
The world-building here has reached its peak. The "wasteland" is no longer just a collection of ruins; it is a burgeoning map of competing ideologies and established territories. Hunter’s strength in this volume is showing the "System" of the world not as a digital interface (like his later LitRPG work), but as a political and social reality. The way he handles the clash between the technologically advanced remnants and the raw, iron-willed survivors of the wastes shows a writer who has mastered the art of escalating stakes. The action sequences are as brutal as ever, but they carry more weight because every bullet fired feels like it’s deciding the fate of a nation rather than just a neighborhood.
The emotional core of book six is the reflection on the journey itself. There are moments of quiet introspection that hit surprisingly hard, reminding us of how much the protagonist has lost and gained since those first desperate days. Hunter avoids the trap of a perfectly "clean" ending, instead opting for a resolution that feels consistent with the gritty, compromise-heavy nature of the series. The "Warlord" title finally feels fully inhabited, carrying a sense of both power and immense, exhausting duty.
This installment earns its four stars by being a professionally crafted, highly satisfying conclusion. While it doesn't quite have the "shock of the new" that book four provided when it revitalized the franchise, it is a masterclass in how to stick a landing. It’s a bittersweet farewell to a world of dust and diesel, leaving the reader with a profound sense of closure. For those of us who have followed Hunter’s evolution from these early gritty roots to the heights of Dungeon Crawler Carl-esque absurdity, this book stands as a testament to his ability to tell a serious, high-stakes story with heart.
The world-building here has reached its peak. The "wasteland" is no longer just a collection of ruins; it is a burgeoning map of competing ideologies and established territories. Hunter’s strength in this volume is showing the "System" of the world not as a digital interface (like his later LitRPG work), but as a political and social reality. The way he handles the clash between the technologically advanced remnants and the raw, iron-willed survivors of the wastes shows a writer who has mastered the art of escalating stakes. The action sequences are as brutal as ever, but they carry more weight because every bullet fired feels like it’s deciding the fate of a nation rather than just a neighborhood.
The emotional core of book six is the reflection on the journey itself. There are moments of quiet introspection that hit surprisingly hard, reminding us of how much the protagonist has lost and gained since those first desperate days. Hunter avoids the trap of a perfectly "clean" ending, instead opting for a resolution that feels consistent with the gritty, compromise-heavy nature of the series. The "Warlord" title finally feels fully inhabited, carrying a sense of both power and immense, exhausting duty.
This installment earns its four stars by being a professionally crafted, highly satisfying conclusion. While it doesn't quite have the "shock of the new" that book four provided when it revitalized the franchise, it is a masterclass in how to stick a landing. It’s a bittersweet farewell to a world of dust and diesel, leaving the reader with a profound sense of closure. For those of us who have followed Hunter’s evolution from these early gritty roots to the heights of Dungeon Crawler Carl-esque absurdity, this book stands as a testament to his ability to tell a serious, high-stakes story with heart.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews