Captured by the Dragon Empire, what awaits Thorn is death.
At least, that’s what the Dragon’s think.
After successfully reforging the Aspect Eragorl’s soul bond with Petra, Thorn turns his attention to driving back the attacking Dragon Empire, determined to destroy their presence in the Endless Battlefield once and for all.
But a diabolical plot ends up with Thorn being thrown into a strange prison with all of his strength sealed. As always, Thorn is determined not only to survive, but to make the Dragon Empire rue the day they tried to corrupt him. Together with other prisoners, Thorn has little choice but to explore an ever shifting labyrinth, searching for a way to escape.
Yet he quickly discovers that not all is as it seems and Intra Mundum might be closer than he realized. As Thorn learns and grows, he soon comes to understand it is time for him to don his mantle as Challenger of the Tower.
Challenger is the seventh book in the Tower Series, a GameLit/LitRPG series from Seth Ring, bestselling author of Battle Mage Farmer and The Titan Series, set in the world of Nova Terra and starring the unforgettable Thorn. If you like immersive storytelling, rich fantasy, and epic adventures with a slice of friendship thrown in, you’ll love this page-turning series.
I'm just going to say one thing: if Sylith does not die in the next book, I will not read further. He's annoying, short sighted, and plays games way above his head. His arrogance isn't compelling, and his stupidity takes away from anything else. He's a bad villain, and I don't like stories with bad villains.
Like most fantasy adventure book series that focus on power challenges and growth -- this series had reached the point of frequently bouncing the main character from God to serf without much justification or logic.
This book actually started out with a good concept for power reduction by greater forces. But the author just could not resist slipping the bonds. Currently, the story is getting boring because the only limitations on the main character and challenges are self-posed. The only consequences are to other lesser beings due to main character arrogance and mental sloth about responses from opposing factions. I suppose that is classic Greek and Norse pantheon stuff. But it's not that interesting from the God perspective when it's a endless litany of "I should have done better" with no real sign that will happen.
TBH long fantasy series work better when power growth is kept a distant second or third place to multiple personality clashes between characters and factions. Best when clashes are between those with powers in the same ballpark and differences are more numbers countered by maneuvering and timing. Or at least clever escapes. " The titan smashes all puny humans" loses appeal quickly after the first occurrance.
Most of the time, I get really annoyed when characters NEVER die, because then the story just feels kind of cheap. Like, maybe the author has potential, but if they can't take that leap where they kill off a character and learn to move on in the story, then it (the book) will only ever be mediocre.
'Thorn and Friends' is one of the very few exceptions to this belief that I have.
Despite the fact that no one EVER dies (even when faced with truly deadly situations that SHOULD end in death), the author always finds a way to save his characters in a way that makes SENSE without being dumb (I mean, it's NUTS, but it works ;). Thorn's friends call him 'overpowered', and it's totally true. Yet, it all makes an epic amount of crazy-time sense.
Everyone should read these books where everyone is basically a god, because they are EPIC!!!
Thank you, Seth Ring, for being an exception. And thanks to Eric Jason Martin, who is the best narrator ever. I mean, YOU try keeping track of a billion complicated and key voices you have to do.
It's a great series and this book pushed the story to a better direction
If you have read any of this series then you already know the basic gist of the story. The main character is trying to advance himself and his team. That being said, the last couple of books in the series were a little formulaic. This one brought in a new element or two and kept me really intrigued. The only bad part of the story was it felt like the pacing was off in a couple areas, kind of rushed in a couple places. Its a good book and if you like the Lit RPG style of books then you'll enjoy it. The Author is one of the best in the genre with banter between characters and also giving depth to the characters.
I have literally read(listened) all of the Titan books, one after another, all 17 of them. I cant believe I actually caught up with Seth Ring. Honestly his stories are great and I really have come to love Thorns story. I really recommend the series if you are looking for a story that is interesting but doesnt have a bunch of suffering and sadness. Its kinda the good guy beating up the bad guys and turning them into good guys. Maybe not for you but I freaking love it. Thanks Seth for the killer trip. I dont normally write reviews all that often but this book had a 4.28 which isnt fair! Gotta pump up those numbers:)
I totally laughed at the Alice in Wonderland vibes with Thorn in the dragon prison tower! Chaos Rabbit, hilarious! I hope Karabos shows up in the next book maybe?
Anyway, the best part of Challenger for me was Thorn’s time with his dad. I also love his time with his grandfather, but his time with his dad was especially poignant.
I would love to read more about Thorn and Velin’s relationship…but the epically fantastical way Thorn interacts, learns, and grows(literally too) with his friends in the Endless Worlds, and thoroughly decimates his foes is always worth the read!!
The one consistent problem e Thorn is he makes commitments, something happens, and he gets involved in a new problem, and doesn't return to his previous promise without a reminder. He completed one avatar bond re-forging out of many promised in book 6, and after escaping from the Dragons, promptly resumes grinding levels, leaving the other three beast Aspects waiting. And waiting. Thorn is good-hearted, but he's also a bit of a distracted flake. Excellent editing. One more in the arc? Maybe? On to book 8.
Titan by heritage, Thorn continues to advance his already immense power. It's a good thing, since he's fighting dragons with complete regeneration and coming back from the dead. And devils. And gods.
Seth Ring manages to keep his series alive and interesting by changing the rules of the game in this book. Plus he adds more back story.
I recommend this book for Seth Ring fans and fans of progressive fantasy series.
Book 7 of the Tower series. Thorn continues his struggles in this one. This takes us into an area with the dragons and we get to know more about them and how they work. Finally we also get to do more with the tower. Not say that Thorn doesn’t take time out for forging as well. There are a lot of fun questions brought up in this one and I’m excited for book 8.
Easily one of the best series out there. Every character is relatable, with a rich narrative and full of depth. The story will grab you from the moment you start and you will be sorely disappointed when the last page is read. I personally love picking these books up and rereading them often as I eagerly await the next installation.
This is probably my least favorite book of the Titan/Tower series. It felt a lot like a repeat of the other books and just didn’t seem to fit into where book 6 left off as cleanly as I had hoped.
That being said any Seth Ring book is always a fun read and I am excited about the direction he is taking as he sets up for the final enemy.
The tale continues and the restrictions Thorn has to deal with show his ever increasing abilities can cope with far more than his forebears far earlier.
It's always a pleasure to read something from Seth, and I have found myself wanting more lately. Luckily, Challenger released just in time to sate me. Such a rich story, and so excited for what comes next.
I liked the book, it was a good addition to the series. I just wish Mr. Ring would considered working on one story at a time so he could finish one story instead of jumping around.
One of the main things I like about this book and series is that even the slow sections like crafting move quickly and the action sections move doubly fast! Despite the disadvantages the titan faces he always comes out on top!
Decent. Thorn is ridiculously over powered and even minorly taken down a peg he's still too strong. It's an interesting story but getting a bit aimless to me. They're at least moving things along but if it's actually got a direction hard to say. Oh well, it's not too long and overall good.
Thorn just keeps on growing, strength and power. It's great that he was able to meet his grandparents and his father. His friends have his back and are growing too. Looking forward to the next book!
I guess Thorn needs to accept that he’s going to have to conquer many worlds before any sort of true cooperation can happen as all beings are too fractious and greedy.
Our hero has reached the 10th floor, and oh, what adventures await him. It will be interesting to see where we go from here. This is a great story about the consequences of one's actions, both good and bad.