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The Root of All Evil #1
Bloodline
Reborn in a forest of flames. Surrounded by monsters. He'll need his wits and more to survive.
In his past life, Dollar was an unparalleled mind forged by the flames of tribulation. He'd built his wealth and influence from nothing and never looked back.
But after dying and reincarnating into the world of Ioa, he is thrust into poverty and trapped in a forest of flames with nothing but a decrepit wooden hut to protect him.
With family out to kill him, an army of monsters surrounding him, and omnipotent gods sent to assassinate him, Dollar finds that in this new world, success is defined by adversity.
He's climbed his way up from rock bottom once, and he refuses to stay there again.
Knowing he will need his wits and more to survive, he learns the art of rune crafting and gains access to a System. From there, he'll begin his ascent. With the power to craft infinite effects and mold existence itself, nothing will stand in his way.
With the entire world stacked against him, Dollar has them right where he wants them...
Don't miss the next action-packed, isekai LitRPG series from ThinkTwice, the bestselling author of Mark of the Crijik. Join an unexpected protagonist in the fight for his life as he progresses in power, masters the System, learns magical abilities, and discovers what's really important in life.
In his past life, Dollar was an unparalleled mind forged by the flames of tribulation. He'd built his wealth and influence from nothing and never looked back.
But after dying and reincarnating into the world of Ioa, he is thrust into poverty and trapped in a forest of flames with nothing but a decrepit wooden hut to protect him.
With family out to kill him, an army of monsters surrounding him, and omnipotent gods sent to assassinate him, Dollar finds that in this new world, success is defined by adversity.
He's climbed his way up from rock bottom once, and he refuses to stay there again.
Knowing he will need his wits and more to survive, he learns the art of rune crafting and gains access to a System. From there, he'll begin his ascent. With the power to craft infinite effects and mold existence itself, nothing will stand in his way.
With the entire world stacked against him, Dollar has them right where he wants them...
Don't miss the next action-packed, isekai LitRPG series from ThinkTwice, the bestselling author of Mark of the Crijik. Join an unexpected protagonist in the fight for his life as he progresses in power, masters the System, learns magical abilities, and discovers what's really important in life.
- GenresFantasyYoung AdultMagic
742 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 4, 2024
423 people are currently reading
131 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
June 6, 2024
Interesting world building, horrible MC
While the world and systems are interesting, none of it manages to overcome the absolutely terrible main character. He is shallow, petty, uncharismatic, vain and uncaring. The book constantly tells us he’s a genius and a master negotiator with an iron will, and it’s a good thing it’s always telling us this because none of it actually shows in his thoughts or actions.
I love the author’s other series, but this is a huge disappointment.
While the world and systems are interesting, none of it manages to overcome the absolutely terrible main character. He is shallow, petty, uncharismatic, vain and uncaring. The book constantly tells us he’s a genius and a master negotiator with an iron will, and it’s a good thing it’s always telling us this because none of it actually shows in his thoughts or actions.
I love the author’s other series, but this is a huge disappointment.
June 11, 2024
Remarkably bad
I was amazed how dull this was. I eventually gave up and did not finish the book, which is first book in over 3 years I have not finished.
I was amazed how dull this was. I eventually gave up and did not finish the book, which is first book in over 3 years I have not finished.
June 6, 2024
Really good
I really liked this book. It has it all, action, snark, humor, and a budding romance. Just a warning though. The MC is rather hard to root for at the beginning. He does develop, but he really can be an utter bastard at times. That's still a minor quibble.
Highly recommended.
I really liked this book. It has it all, action, snark, humor, and a budding romance. Just a warning though. The MC is rather hard to root for at the beginning. He does develop, but he really can be an utter bastard at times. That's still a minor quibble.
Highly recommended.
June 5, 2024
Not impressed.
June 11, 2024
Awesomeness Book
Boy, what can you say when you get to the end of a book and have the rating come up and think, this was a great book! The characters hooked you in and you become invested in them. The world was rich and detailed and it was awesome how the world interacted with the characters. If I had one complaint, it would be that Dollar seem to lack care and concern about his friends. He had people that cared for him that were there for him yet when he was in a position that he was being helped or could help, his thoughts did not automatically go to those people. Also, dollar did not seem to care that he was bringing some things extremely dangerous onto a ship where he was risking, not only his life, the life of his friends, and all the lives of the people that were aboard the ship. In fact, in the very end, one of his friends is missing and he doesn’t even Seem to notice. He cared more about strangers than people who had taken care of him like a second family. It just bugged me a little.
Boy, what can you say when you get to the end of a book and have the rating come up and think, this was a great book! The characters hooked you in and you become invested in them. The world was rich and detailed and it was awesome how the world interacted with the characters. If I had one complaint, it would be that Dollar seem to lack care and concern about his friends. He had people that cared for him that were there for him yet when he was in a position that he was being helped or could help, his thoughts did not automatically go to those people. Also, dollar did not seem to care that he was bringing some things extremely dangerous onto a ship where he was risking, not only his life, the life of his friends, and all the lives of the people that were aboard the ship. In fact, in the very end, one of his friends is missing and he doesn’t even Seem to notice. He cared more about strangers than people who had taken care of him like a second family. It just bugged me a little.
June 11, 2024
Pretty good overall. An interesting system. The MC is a little unlikable to me but I was interested enough in the story to keep listening. It was fun a read and I'm going to pick up book 2.
June 9, 2024
Wasn't expecting this to be so good. I couldn't put it down. Glad that Thinktwice is not using EXTRRRRA LOMG chapter titles.
August 12, 2024
The story sounded as author tells you what happened instead of showing. For example, you know the MC was smart because everyone else was impressed. Not because you were.
August 21, 2024
Intriguing and at times a fun fantasy tale
I wanted something quick and light to read so I picked this and got neither. I was intrigued enough however to continue reading and overall I have to say I rather enjoyed the MC and the story. It was different from other fantasy books of this genre where the protagonist finds themselves transported to a new world they have to make sense of (usually in the first chapter) because in this instance ThinkTwice takes his time in the first third of the book to establish Dollar’s history and background which is conveyed in an engaging overarching style.
Whilst I appreciate this approach and the method, the book took a fair bit of time to get going for me and I found it hard to engage with Dollar or empathise with him. It was well thought out and great in establishing why Dollar was so successful in his business life but so poor emotionally. It added depth to the journey of self-discovery he was on but I found myself frustrated at having to wait so long for it to ‘begin.’
Also, with so much groundwork done by the writer occupying the first third of the book and the investment needed in understanding who Dollar was, it felt quite an adult approach yet the book and much of the action and adventure side of it are written like a live-action anime and for a younger audience, which is not to say it can’t be enjoyed by everyone. There is no swearing or graphic violence which lends itself to this. I’m just not sure if a twelve-year-old me would read the first 200 pages and be engaged enough but then it has been a long time since I was twelve to remember (I did read LotR at that age so….).
Without giving any major spoilers, it threw me a bit in Dollar’s new life that he was a newborn baby but I liked that he retained all his wit and know-how from his old life. He then ‘started’ his adventuring life at the ripe age of seven which all felt a little too incongruous to me but heyho, I stuck with it and there is a reason for it all. I just didn’t entirely buy it because the seven-year-old acted like an adult and other characters seemed to accept it and not question what a seven-year-old was doing out in the big bad world.
I would read the next book, for me the story ramps up about halfway through when Dollar ventures out into the wider world and meets up with two adventurers. For me, this is when the fun really started and I liked the new characters and their interactions very much. It injected some much-needed fun into the story in my opinion.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience. The story was clever and at times quite interesting and thought-provoking and the magic system was intriguing and different enough that it stands out in a saturated genre and the characters, particularly in the back half of our tale, lifted and carried the story.
I wanted something quick and light to read so I picked this and got neither. I was intrigued enough however to continue reading and overall I have to say I rather enjoyed the MC and the story. It was different from other fantasy books of this genre where the protagonist finds themselves transported to a new world they have to make sense of (usually in the first chapter) because in this instance ThinkTwice takes his time in the first third of the book to establish Dollar’s history and background which is conveyed in an engaging overarching style.
Whilst I appreciate this approach and the method, the book took a fair bit of time to get going for me and I found it hard to engage with Dollar or empathise with him. It was well thought out and great in establishing why Dollar was so successful in his business life but so poor emotionally. It added depth to the journey of self-discovery he was on but I found myself frustrated at having to wait so long for it to ‘begin.’
Also, with so much groundwork done by the writer occupying the first third of the book and the investment needed in understanding who Dollar was, it felt quite an adult approach yet the book and much of the action and adventure side of it are written like a live-action anime and for a younger audience, which is not to say it can’t be enjoyed by everyone. There is no swearing or graphic violence which lends itself to this. I’m just not sure if a twelve-year-old me would read the first 200 pages and be engaged enough but then it has been a long time since I was twelve to remember (I did read LotR at that age so….).
Without giving any major spoilers, it threw me a bit in Dollar’s new life that he was a newborn baby but I liked that he retained all his wit and know-how from his old life. He then ‘started’ his adventuring life at the ripe age of seven which all felt a little too incongruous to me but heyho, I stuck with it and there is a reason for it all. I just didn’t entirely buy it because the seven-year-old acted like an adult and other characters seemed to accept it and not question what a seven-year-old was doing out in the big bad world.
I would read the next book, for me the story ramps up about halfway through when Dollar ventures out into the wider world and meets up with two adventurers. For me, this is when the fun really started and I liked the new characters and their interactions very much. It injected some much-needed fun into the story in my opinion.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience. The story was clever and at times quite interesting and thought-provoking and the magic system was intriguing and different enough that it stands out in a saturated genre and the characters, particularly in the back half of our tale, lifted and carried the story.
June 25, 2024
One too many false starts punctuated by a muddled plot. First there's the obligatory "meet the MC before he becomes a transmigrator" bit where the MC is introduced as a sociopathic CEO; the latest in a long line of sociopaths. Then after he dies laughing because his sociopathic sister murders him over *roll credits, he's reborn. So then we get the obligatory "40 year old man learns to poop" transmigration story. THEN we get the intro to runes, THEN we get the intro to the family drama, THEN we get the MC unlocks the system... the MC gets op skills and 5 years training montage... Second training montage, now under the gun of an evil sociopathic uncle who paradoxically doesn't care about the MC but is going to attempt to murder him repeatedly for some reason (but not for 2 months yet) and oh yeah, that's mostly because the dad apparently can't just be happy and take the win that uncle fester's evil master plan failed once... so anyway, then, unlocking the system 2.0, unlocking classes...then we have a random run in, so that the MC can meet his sociopathic cousin and win the tournament in prelude to the big showdown with the sociopathic uncle... It's tropegeddon and it's definitely the root of all evil.
June 20, 2024
It's so dull. The beginning drags on and makes you care about the main character less and less.
Who cares about money as much as this mc? Author goes way over the top trying to put the mc of as successful but I have nothing but contempt for him.
(can't understand how the author thinks he's selling the main character as anything but useless trash)
The reality is that this mc is just plain unlikable. And when I see other reviews saying the author doesn't use this to build his character but to just set it and forget it without development...
No way in heck I'd ever want to listen to this unlikable mc do anything.
The universal way other people interact with him...
I seriously wonder if the author is some kind of money obsessed recluse who's never spoken to another person....
I don't know if I've ever been forced to drop a book this quickly before. I just can't. I've wasted my time already with only 4 terrible chapters. It just gets worse
Who cares about money as much as this mc? Author goes way over the top trying to put the mc of as successful but I have nothing but contempt for him.
(can't understand how the author thinks he's selling the main character as anything but useless trash)
The reality is that this mc is just plain unlikable. And when I see other reviews saying the author doesn't use this to build his character but to just set it and forget it without development...
No way in heck I'd ever want to listen to this unlikable mc do anything.
The universal way other people interact with him...
I seriously wonder if the author is some kind of money obsessed recluse who's never spoken to another person....
I don't know if I've ever been forced to drop a book this quickly before. I just can't. I've wasted my time already with only 4 terrible chapters. It just gets worse
September 15, 2024
I liked the author's Crijik series, so I'm willing to give this a go.
I'm less than a quarter way through this book, and I find it very similar to the Crijik series.
Reading about how this protag is obsessed with capitalism, and is looking to introduce some of the worst business practices into a fantasy world is not a fun read.
We will see how this progresses.
The start was a little rough, but I enjoyed it by the end.
I liked the protag's shift on his outlook of life by the end. Maybe he won't turn the fantasy world into a soulless capitalist haven in the future.
3/5 Stars
I'm less than a quarter way through this book, and I find it very similar to the Crijik series.
Reading about how this protag is obsessed with capitalism, and is looking to introduce some of the worst business practices into a fantasy world is not a fun read.
We will see how this progresses.
The start was a little rough, but I enjoyed it by the end.
I liked the protag's shift on his outlook of life by the end. Maybe he won't turn the fantasy world into a soulless capitalist haven in the future.
3/5 Stars
June 12, 2024
A truly interesting take on the genre of Isekai. It isn't super unique but that is hardly suprising as at this point I have doubts that any Isekai story could possibly be very unique. But that is not a bad thing if you like me enjoy Isekai, Especially with quality writing. Then it is a very positive thing. I really enjoyed the twists and turns I didn't see coming in the story. At times I was really surprised at how things went which I really love. I hate when you can predict everything within 20 minutes. The pace of plot flowed really well. I feel the author balanced discovery with action, adventure and power ups very well. I also enjoyed how much growth we saw the MC go through. I can't recommend this book enough I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. Also if you haven't check out the authors other series Mark of the Crijik.
June 18, 2024
Very boring. It really drags out. The MC seems to gain momentary omniscience where he knows for certain the intentions of other characters when he couldn't know that. Weird descriptions of things. The narration seems to switch between a narrator and the MC's thoughts and there's no way to tell which is which. Baseless assumptions are regarded as fact. Every character seems autistic. The characters are described as having traits that they never display. Lots of telling rather than showing.
May 24, 2025
Ugggg almost 3 hours of word vomit 🤢 boy is poor boy has crappie life boy is saved by grandma only to turn into a crappie person boy gets second chance and wants to down the same stupid path all he thinks about is money I get it he grew up poor then gets rich but after what happened you would think he wouldn't want to repeat it but our mc is an idiot and I hope the system makes it so he can't what a dummy uggg dnf unlikeable mc
June 21, 2024
Get past the first chapters
This one is actually really good! The mc comes off really douchey before he reincarnated and a couple chapters after. If you stick with it, he absolutely gets character growth and rounds out as a pretty good person and the system and world building is top notch as well. Glad I kept reading and looking forward to book two!
This one is actually really good! The mc comes off really douchey before he reincarnated and a couple chapters after. If you stick with it, he absolutely gets character growth and rounds out as a pretty good person and the system and world building is top notch as well. Glad I kept reading and looking forward to book two!
August 1, 2024
Not for me
Dnf at 14 %.
A poor boy who is abused by everybody becomes the richest (and most lonely)man alive and a gigantic poser. He reincarnates on a bizarre phantasy world and dreams about becoming super rich again..
The way how his new mother treats his new father felt like a feminist fever dream..
Dnf at 14 %.
A poor boy who is abused by everybody becomes the richest (and most lonely)man alive and a gigantic poser. He reincarnates on a bizarre phantasy world and dreams about becoming super rich again..
The way how his new mother treats his new father felt like a feminist fever dream..
January 1, 2025
pretty good
This was a good read. I appreciate the writing and the MCs evolution throughout the course of the book.
I gave it 4 stars because there were points especially forward the end where the author got a bit sloppy. Too many coincidences. Also the MCs power set is lackluster
This was a good read. I appreciate the writing and the MCs evolution throughout the course of the book.
I gave it 4 stars because there were points especially forward the end where the author got a bit sloppy. Too many coincidences. Also the MCs power set is lackluster
June 15, 2024
Awesome Stuff
This was one of those books that you are sad about finishing. This story of a young man who goes from zero to multi billionaire then dies to get reborn to outcast of a powerful clan. At the end of this book he meets his grandmother.
This was one of those books that you are sad about finishing. This story of a young man who goes from zero to multi billionaire then dies to get reborn to outcast of a powerful clan. At the end of this book he meets his grandmother.
June 27, 2024
full of surprises
The Root of All Evil is well written, the characters are well developed, and the plot is full of surprises. Spoiler alert, there are no laws against elementary school aged child adventurers. Lots of humor sprinkled throughout. A really good read.
The Root of All Evil is well written, the characters are well developed, and the plot is full of surprises. Spoiler alert, there are no laws against elementary school aged child adventurers. Lots of humor sprinkled throughout. A really good read.
October 31, 2024
Enjoyable read
Slow start, but once he was reborn it's an enjoyable read. The connections he formed, the deal he made, the conflicts that arose or bound to come in the future made it more interesting. Dollar. Mitsy. Jasper. Bill. Looking forward to their adventures.
Slow start, but once he was reborn it's an enjoyable read. The connections he formed, the deal he made, the conflicts that arose or bound to come in the future made it more interesting. Dollar. Mitsy. Jasper. Bill. Looking forward to their adventures.
June 17, 2024
slow start but resolves
There is a significant portion of the book dedicated to background (lacking action) however the rest of the book redeems itself and finishes with a flair
There is a significant portion of the book dedicated to background (lacking action) however the rest of the book redeems itself and finishes with a flair
June 28, 2024
Good
I liked the story. There was adventure, growth, great world building, good pacing. I look forward to the next book.
I liked the story. There was adventure, growth, great world building, good pacing. I look forward to the next book.
July 31, 2024
Great find
Thank you for a lovely story. I couldn't put it down. Just found you on RR too. Can't wait for the next book, please make it sooner than December.
Thank you for a lovely story. I couldn't put it down. Just found you on RR too. Can't wait for the next book, please make it sooner than December.
August 9, 2024
4.5 stars
August 23, 2024
Slow start but interesting characters.
September 13, 2024
Excellent
A touch slow to start but we ended up with great world building and not filled with smut. I am looking forward to the next in the series.
A touch slow to start but we ended up with great world building and not filled with smut. I am looking forward to the next in the series.
October 2, 2024
Interesting premise - Poor boy becomes rich (IRL + Game)
December 8, 2024
This is fucking horrible, horrible writing... 😢
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews