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Noobtown #8
The War of the Noobs: Noobtown, Book 8
The man, the myth, the legend.
Jim, the Mayor of Noobtown, journeys to the depths of Ordinal in search of Jarra before he prepares for war against the Dark Overlord. He is doing his best, but outside forces keep getting in his way. Between playing politics, the increasing difficulty of avoiding the admins, and building an army, does Jim even have time to formulate a plan for victory? Worse, can he deal with the consequences of the impending battle? After all, a war is coming. Not everyone can survive.
Jim, the Mayor of Noobtown, journeys to the depths of Ordinal in search of Jarra before he prepares for war against the Dark Overlord. He is doing his best, but outside forces keep getting in his way. Between playing politics, the increasing difficulty of avoiding the admins, and building an army, does Jim even have time to formulate a plan for victory? Worse, can he deal with the consequences of the impending battle? After all, a war is coming. Not everyone can survive.
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First published November 5, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
January 13, 2025
This is no longer the light hearted LITRPG with likable characters that the series started out as. Now it is full of OP characters and adversaries, and is filled with endless technobabble and run on violence. If I had stopped reading before the final two chapters I would have been happy to see the series end on a somewhat positive and optimistic beat, but instead the author has set us up for another endless grind. This is the last book in the series that I will read. I will just pretend the book ended before the final chapters.
November 23, 2024
fun book, didn’t enjoy the ending
That ending was awful. I mean seriously terrible. I am pretty furious that I read through all that, with all the ridiculously shoe-horned in puns, to be left with an ending like that. Damn I haven’t been this irritated at the end of a book for a long time.
Occasional sparkles of genuine amusement. This is not a solid entry in the series for me though. But this series is nothing if not inconsistent.
5 stars cos Amazon algorithm is broken.
That ending was awful. I mean seriously terrible. I am pretty furious that I read through all that, with all the ridiculously shoe-horned in puns, to be left with an ending like that. Damn I haven’t been this irritated at the end of a book for a long time.
Occasional sparkles of genuine amusement. This is not a solid entry in the series for me though. But this series is nothing if not inconsistent.
5 stars cos Amazon algorithm is broken.
November 25, 2024
The last and weakest part. The dialogues were already poor and not very understandable, but this time without a summary to refresh what was in the books written several years ago, it became completely incomprehensible, worse also without progression :(
November 18, 2024
I read the whole thing
But I wish I hadn't. It dirtied the whole series. I don't know if there will be more, but this is me checking out.
But I wish I hadn't. It dirtied the whole series. I don't know if there will be more, but this is me checking out.
January 14, 2025
Are You Kidding Me?!
You should read this book, nay, you should read the whole series, just to get to this ending! Ryan must be a fan of AC DC, because this ending is a Dirty Deed, Done Dirt Cheap.! This is exactly how you rock the ending!
Ryan is giving a master class on how to use litrpg, creating an imaginative, vivid world. His characters are excellent. The pace is never dull (that can drive me crazy in a book), and Best Of All, the story is unpredictable! I look forward.to more of his stories!
You should read this book, nay, you should read the whole series, just to get to this ending! Ryan must be a fan of AC DC, because this ending is a Dirty Deed, Done Dirt Cheap.! This is exactly how you rock the ending!
Ryan is giving a master class on how to use litrpg, creating an imaginative, vivid world. His characters are excellent. The pace is never dull (that can drive me crazy in a book), and Best Of All, the story is unpredictable! I look forward.to more of his stories!
August 18, 2025
I finished it because I bought it. The first half was juvenile, then the whole second half was a battle that didn't provide resolution, only a cliffhanger that felt like it was shoe horned. This book could have and should have wrapped up the story. The main characters fighting nonstop for half the book and suffering mortal injury and not dying doesn't even make for a real battle.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2025
It feels like his writing has gone down hill
February 15, 2025
Ending damn near ruins the whole series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2025
Awful
The story wrapping up with Charles is fine, but the crap with Maggie at the end and Jarra is really infuriating. Sorry, but that is a kick in the balls type of ending.
The story wrapping up with Charles is fine, but the crap with Maggie at the end and Jarra is really infuriating. Sorry, but that is a kick in the balls type of ending.
May 29, 2025
What to say about this series? I understand the author attempted to write an outside-of-the-box series, one that engages with and pokes fun at the tropes of the progression genre, also one that tries to copy the surreal fun that is Dungeon Crawler Carl. But in all aspects, it falls well short of those goals leaving us with what is more akin to a sloppy fever dream than what the author imagined.
The series is outside-of-the-box with its meta on progression tropes. Even if the series takes place in a literal box-like, game world even though it isn’t one in the story’s context. The world is flat, has edges, has a roof, no real physics. It’s its own unique universe. Which I guess could be considered an outside-the-box setting, but it’s not interesting. It only serves to take up word count. It doesn’t matter and there’s no real commentary on it. It’s almost like it’s just a very complicated and poor joke. The author attempts a lot of jokes, more on that later.
There’s occasional references to adventurers being players and that the world is game. Again, I don’t understand the point of this if not to imply everything occurring is in the imagination of the MC, perhaps as he is lying in a coma. But again, I think it’s really just another poor joke, one again with no real commentary, unless he’s promoting nihilism.
There’s about a million too many American cultural references in this series. Those at least make sense in context of the story as we learn, some time in, that the ancient hero was from earth and he spread a lot of this information that became part of the culture MC was dropped in. But there’s too many. I can’t remember how many times they started another line of these references and the MC playing off of them that were at least a page or more long.
Next are the jokes. At first when I read the series, I dismissed the dad jokes, the plays on puns, the crude kid jokes, and I liked the more adult humor, the ball-busting banter of Shart, Jim, and Badgelor, and the recurring gags. But the author tries so many different avenues to land jokes that it drowns out the genuinely decent ones. There’s simply too many, way too many. Outside of fight scenes, you’d be hard pressed to go a single page without a joke.
And that gets me to my next point, the attempt of this series to capture the magic of Dungeon Crawler Carl. I have no qualms about any author using something as inspiration. All art is derivative of some kind. Even the first caveman to rub ochre on a wall was copying what he saw in nature. But why DCC is such a powerhouse, is how well it balances the surreal and the real. It’s simultaneously unbelievably out there, but also very relatable. Now it’s not perfect. I think the DCC format of one floor per level and the 18 floor box the author wrote himself into and his less than a book a year pace, has caused the series to tread water and stagnate. The end is no where in sight. And if a series that is still that good can’t get it all right, what chance does this bootleg version have?
None. The jokes in DCC are balanced. DCC’s knows when it’s appropriate to be silly and when it’s time to be serious. I don’t think Ryan Rimmel shares that trait. He strikes me as the insecure person always leaning on jokes to get people to like him and lacking the social intelligence to know when not to try to be funny. The jokes in DCC also make sense in the context of the story. They don’t always in this series. For instance, the author establishes that they don’t speak English on Ordinal, but he’s constantly making jokes based on English words. Homophone puns, spelling, it doesn’t make any sense in context of the story. And it’s not a meta commentary, it’s just the author has to make a joke and doesn’t care if it makes sense.
All that aside, the story also suffers from a number of issues. One of the primary ones is pacing. As we progress in the novels, the climaxes start to merge until they are huge chunks of the books. There’s no breathing room. We roll from one crises to the next. That’s not tension, that’s frustrating as a reader. This book 8 is no exception. We don’t even get a chance to revel in the victory in the end until not one BUT TWO wrenches are thrown into the mix. Making this not a satisfying closure of an eight book arc, but a cliffhanger.
Cliffhangers… anyone who writes cliffhangers isn’t someone who truly understands the meta of this genre. WE HATE CLIFFHANGERS. The real meta is profession fantasy is really a sub-genre of power fantasy. We are living this story through our protagonists. We train with them, we invest in the work to progress. We see that progression. Then we see the rewards of that hard work pay dividends with payoffs. Of winning and reveling in the wins and the loot. This author very rarely lets us revel in anything.
And that is why the author’s vision for this series fails. Because he doesn’t really understand why we read these series. He doesn’t understand why Dungeon Crawler Carl works. And he doesn’t have the self-awareness, or the right editors, to make his creative vision appear as anything more than a sloppy, disjointed, poorly-paced, frustrating mess.
Full series gets a 2/5 for me. Cannot recommend.
The series is outside-of-the-box with its meta on progression tropes. Even if the series takes place in a literal box-like, game world even though it isn’t one in the story’s context. The world is flat, has edges, has a roof, no real physics. It’s its own unique universe. Which I guess could be considered an outside-the-box setting, but it’s not interesting. It only serves to take up word count. It doesn’t matter and there’s no real commentary on it. It’s almost like it’s just a very complicated and poor joke. The author attempts a lot of jokes, more on that later.
There’s occasional references to adventurers being players and that the world is game. Again, I don’t understand the point of this if not to imply everything occurring is in the imagination of the MC, perhaps as he is lying in a coma. But again, I think it’s really just another poor joke, one again with no real commentary, unless he’s promoting nihilism.
There’s about a million too many American cultural references in this series. Those at least make sense in context of the story as we learn, some time in, that the ancient hero was from earth and he spread a lot of this information that became part of the culture MC was dropped in. But there’s too many. I can’t remember how many times they started another line of these references and the MC playing off of them that were at least a page or more long.
Next are the jokes. At first when I read the series, I dismissed the dad jokes, the plays on puns, the crude kid jokes, and I liked the more adult humor, the ball-busting banter of Shart, Jim, and Badgelor, and the recurring gags. But the author tries so many different avenues to land jokes that it drowns out the genuinely decent ones. There’s simply too many, way too many. Outside of fight scenes, you’d be hard pressed to go a single page without a joke.
And that gets me to my next point, the attempt of this series to capture the magic of Dungeon Crawler Carl. I have no qualms about any author using something as inspiration. All art is derivative of some kind. Even the first caveman to rub ochre on a wall was copying what he saw in nature. But why DCC is such a powerhouse, is how well it balances the surreal and the real. It’s simultaneously unbelievably out there, but also very relatable. Now it’s not perfect. I think the DCC format of one floor per level and the 18 floor box the author wrote himself into and his less than a book a year pace, has caused the series to tread water and stagnate. The end is no where in sight. And if a series that is still that good can’t get it all right, what chance does this bootleg version have?
None. The jokes in DCC are balanced. DCC’s knows when it’s appropriate to be silly and when it’s time to be serious. I don’t think Ryan Rimmel shares that trait. He strikes me as the insecure person always leaning on jokes to get people to like him and lacking the social intelligence to know when not to try to be funny. The jokes in DCC also make sense in the context of the story. They don’t always in this series. For instance, the author establishes that they don’t speak English on Ordinal, but he’s constantly making jokes based on English words. Homophone puns, spelling, it doesn’t make any sense in context of the story. And it’s not a meta commentary, it’s just the author has to make a joke and doesn’t care if it makes sense.
All that aside, the story also suffers from a number of issues. One of the primary ones is pacing. As we progress in the novels, the climaxes start to merge until they are huge chunks of the books. There’s no breathing room. We roll from one crises to the next. That’s not tension, that’s frustrating as a reader. This book 8 is no exception. We don’t even get a chance to revel in the victory in the end until not one BUT TWO wrenches are thrown into the mix. Making this not a satisfying closure of an eight book arc, but a cliffhanger.
Cliffhangers… anyone who writes cliffhangers isn’t someone who truly understands the meta of this genre. WE HATE CLIFFHANGERS. The real meta is profession fantasy is really a sub-genre of power fantasy. We are living this story through our protagonists. We train with them, we invest in the work to progress. We see that progression. Then we see the rewards of that hard work pay dividends with payoffs. Of winning and reveling in the wins and the loot. This author very rarely lets us revel in anything.
And that is why the author’s vision for this series fails. Because he doesn’t really understand why we read these series. He doesn’t understand why Dungeon Crawler Carl works. And he doesn’t have the self-awareness, or the right editors, to make his creative vision appear as anything more than a sloppy, disjointed, poorly-paced, frustrating mess.
Full series gets a 2/5 for me. Cannot recommend.
December 21, 2025
Absolutely epic. Huge battle, huge stakes, plenty of humor. Man, I don’t know where the series goes from here
January 4, 2025
What's the Mayor to do now?
As with all the Noob books, this one did not let me down, puma check! I have loved them all, and they are the first of this type of genre that I have read. I love the repore between Jim and his companions. You will have to read or listen to the books to find out who and what they are. You will not be disappointed.
The main subject of the books is Jim, a man who died in an accident on Earth and ended up on a planet called Ordinal. When he gets there, he learns that life resembles a game setting. He has to relearn how to live according to the Ordinal System laws. He fights monsters, rebuilds an old town, gains several friends, and learns his destiny over the course of the books. His destiny is to fight the Dark Overlord and destroy him. He does this by going on several adventures with his companions and leveling up high enough to beat the big bad man. Take the ride with the rest of us and give these books a shot.
As with all the Noob books, this one did not let me down, puma check! I have loved them all, and they are the first of this type of genre that I have read. I love the repore between Jim and his companions. You will have to read or listen to the books to find out who and what they are. You will not be disappointed.
The main subject of the books is Jim, a man who died in an accident on Earth and ended up on a planet called Ordinal. When he gets there, he learns that life resembles a game setting. He has to relearn how to live according to the Ordinal System laws. He fights monsters, rebuilds an old town, gains several friends, and learns his destiny over the course of the books. His destiny is to fight the Dark Overlord and destroy him. He does this by going on several adventures with his companions and leveling up high enough to beat the big bad man. Take the ride with the rest of us and give these books a shot.
November 14, 2024
2.5 Stars
I don’t know if I’m misremembering the earlier books in this series or if they were the same and I just didn’t pick up on it, but the constant references, childish humor, and little “wink, wink, nudge, nudge” moments wore me down this time. I’ll probably keep reading the series because it feels almost complete, I feel dumber for having read this.
I don’t know if I’m misremembering the earlier books in this series or if they were the same and I just didn’t pick up on it, but the constant references, childish humor, and little “wink, wink, nudge, nudge” moments wore me down this time. I’ll probably keep reading the series because it feels almost complete, I feel dumber for having read this.
November 20, 2024
Way too far off the path
I loved the first few books in this series. It is my opinion that the author lost whatever magic he had going when he took a break and began writing other books. This book has strayed too far from the others and I find myself no longer hoping for another book.
I loved the first few books in this series. It is my opinion that the author lost whatever magic he had going when he took a break and began writing other books. This book has strayed too far from the others and I find myself no longer hoping for another book.
January 17, 2025
I have reached the end of this series for me. In earlier books, I enjoyed the humor, but I found this book to be too over the top. I was excited for Jim to finally rescue Jarra, but then the reality was quite anticlimactic, and the author gave her little focus in the rest of the book. The ending was frustrating and disappointing, especially as it was clear the series would continue.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2024
A good continuatíon
I was laughing the entire time. Great book Mr. Rimmel. So cannot wait for the next book. The only thing I found odd was there was a bit of a time skip with those in windfall and was a little confusing.
I was laughing the entire time. Great book Mr. Rimmel. So cannot wait for the next book. The only thing I found odd was there was a bit of a time skip with those in windfall and was a little confusing.
July 19, 2025
One of my favorite series—and this book is horrible. Rants ahead.
What used to be a fun buddy cop story with a demon and an angry badger as the main character’s shoulder-conscious has devolved into a weird love story overloaded with sex humor. (And to be clear, I didn’t find the earlier books too over the top—this one just crosses a line.)
It starts in Jersey, and I was genuinely excited to finally see the hell of this world. That excitement quickly turned into disappointment when I had to skip an entire chapter dedicated to teaching demons about sex. No plot. No character development. Just awkward, drawn-out sex talk.
Fast forward, there are a few fun moments—until we get to the upside-down-esque area. There we find an enthralled Jarra the healer, a suddenly normal Bashara, and an absurd version of Maggie. It completely destroys any consistent character motivation, erases the idea of lasting consequence, and adds a bunch of unnecessary storylines.
Then we meet a herd of war badgers… who are immediately slaughtered in the most pointless, joyless way. It’s not fun. It’s not clever. It doesn’t match the original tone at all. Sure, a few survive, but it doesn’t matter—it feels empty.
Back in the main storyline, there’s a quick two-page moment between Jarra and Jim that should carry emotional weight, but instead it feels like they hook up and then have a casual post-coital chat. No depth. No payoff.
And then comes the boss fight. It’s cool in theory, but the ending is a mess. Charles was trying to stop Micheal from rising against the admins—a plotline that felt completely tacked on. It was sloppy, unnecessary, and disconnected from everything that made this series great.
That’s really the best way to sum up the book: weird, sloppy, and forced.
It’s a real shame. This went from one of my favorite series to something I struggled to finish. I’ll give the next book a shot, but if it’s anything like this one, I’m out.
What used to be a fun buddy cop story with a demon and an angry badger as the main character’s shoulder-conscious has devolved into a weird love story overloaded with sex humor. (And to be clear, I didn’t find the earlier books too over the top—this one just crosses a line.)
It starts in Jersey, and I was genuinely excited to finally see the hell of this world. That excitement quickly turned into disappointment when I had to skip an entire chapter dedicated to teaching demons about sex. No plot. No character development. Just awkward, drawn-out sex talk.
Fast forward, there are a few fun moments—until we get to the upside-down-esque area. There we find an enthralled Jarra the healer, a suddenly normal Bashara, and an absurd version of Maggie. It completely destroys any consistent character motivation, erases the idea of lasting consequence, and adds a bunch of unnecessary storylines.
Then we meet a herd of war badgers… who are immediately slaughtered in the most pointless, joyless way. It’s not fun. It’s not clever. It doesn’t match the original tone at all. Sure, a few survive, but it doesn’t matter—it feels empty.
Back in the main storyline, there’s a quick two-page moment between Jarra and Jim that should carry emotional weight, but instead it feels like they hook up and then have a casual post-coital chat. No depth. No payoff.
And then comes the boss fight. It’s cool in theory, but the ending is a mess. Charles was trying to stop Micheal from rising against the admins—a plotline that felt completely tacked on. It was sloppy, unnecessary, and disconnected from everything that made this series great.
That’s really the best way to sum up the book: weird, sloppy, and forced.
It’s a real shame. This went from one of my favorite series to something I struggled to finish. I’ll give the next book a shot, but if it’s anything like this one, I’m out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2025
A conclusion with a cliffhanger?!
Alternate universe, LitRPG, save the world, OP MC, OP villain, superhero mechanics
Plenty of rude and crude jokes and snark that soon becomes like grinding levels to finish this supposed conclusion. The book has 623 pages, but the first two hundred or so is Jim, his demon familiar, and trusty war badger strolling through Limbo aka Jersey, casually beating up all the demons and/or stealing everything not locked down and even a few that were, culminating in a stop at the worst place of all, Newark. I presume the author had a bad experience in Jersey, and part of this novel was his way of venting. Some of the jokes were amusing the first around, but grew tedious after a dozen times. Plenty of cultural and media references for those who enjoy such things.
Many of the final battle scenes were like superhero-villain fights where everyone delivers catastrophic attacks that the other avoids, deflects, or ignores before delivering their own quirky response. A hundred pages ran overlong, and the ending really wasn't an ending at all. Instead it ended without a resolution. Not sure what happened, if Real Life interfered or what, but as much as I was invested in seeing this story conclude, what constituted what I had in my hands at times reminded me of a fevered dream stream of silly stream of conscious writing. Really? Eight novels, and this is how you chose to end things, with a cutaway with nothing resolved and villains running amuck on the last page with a system reset pending. It makes me think the author didn't have a clear ending in mind, and chose that as his escape clause from his game world milieu, leaving us, the readers wondering what happened.
Comments by others noted the much degraded story, filled with errors that rose in the second half. Rimmel can write, but it didn't feel like his heart was in the story any longer. Even the couldn't save this ending. Disappointed.
Alternate universe, LitRPG, save the world, OP MC, OP villain, superhero mechanics
Plenty of rude and crude jokes and snark that soon becomes like grinding levels to finish this supposed conclusion. The book has 623 pages, but the first two hundred or so is Jim, his demon familiar, and trusty war badger strolling through Limbo aka Jersey, casually beating up all the demons and/or stealing everything not locked down and even a few that were, culminating in a stop at the worst place of all, Newark. I presume the author had a bad experience in Jersey, and part of this novel was his way of venting. Some of the jokes were amusing the first around, but grew tedious after a dozen times. Plenty of cultural and media references for those who enjoy such things.
Many of the final battle scenes were like superhero-villain fights where everyone delivers catastrophic attacks that the other avoids, deflects, or ignores before delivering their own quirky response. A hundred pages ran overlong, and the ending really wasn't an ending at all. Instead it ended without a resolution. Not sure what happened, if Real Life interfered or what, but as much as I was invested in seeing this story conclude, what constituted what I had in my hands at times reminded me of a fevered dream stream of silly stream of conscious writing. Really? Eight novels, and this is how you chose to end things, with a cutaway with nothing resolved and villains running amuck on the last page with a system reset pending. It makes me think the author didn't have a clear ending in mind, and chose that as his escape clause from his game world milieu, leaving us, the readers wondering what happened.
Comments by others noted the much degraded story, filled with errors that rose in the second half. Rimmel can write, but it didn't feel like his heart was in the story any longer. Even the couldn't save this ending. Disappointed.
October 7, 2025
Ok I finished all of the books released so far. From reading other reviews of book 8 I didn't know what to expect. Many people seem to hate this book. Honestly I think I'm in the other camp. I disliked what the series kind of became by book 3ish? It started out kind of fun and by book 3 or so it was just so trying to be meta or ironic. The humor didn't work for me much at all. I liked the idea of building a town and getting stronger. Beyond that, the story got kind of stale. It had it moments here and there through out the series. Overall I think the series is barely 3 stars. Many of the books are 2 stars.
Book 8 actually fixes a lot of what I didn't like about the series. The meta/ironic/self deprecating humor etc was toned way down and I appreciated that. The combat wasn't amazing but it was passable. The plot twists at the end were fun. I really don't get why so many people were upset with this book. The series needed some more serious stuff to happen. If it all stayed super light hearted even when fighting for the future of the world that would just have been dumb. I think many wanted this series to turn into a slice of life cozy series. I'm really glad it didnt.
Overall this series is very mid.
Book 8 actually fixes a lot of what I didn't like about the series. The meta/ironic/self deprecating humor etc was toned way down and I appreciated that. The combat wasn't amazing but it was passable. The plot twists at the end were fun. I really don't get why so many people were upset with this book. The series needed some more serious stuff to happen. If it all stayed super light hearted even when fighting for the future of the world that would just have been dumb. I think many wanted this series to turn into a slice of life cozy series. I'm really glad it didnt.
Overall this series is very mid.
December 27, 2024
Oversexed
The author's constant innuendo and fixation on Ordinal's casual promiscuity has progressed to the point of raunchiness. Not the story I signed up for.
Noobtown's absurdity was charming at first, but as that theme has arguably jumped the shark, author has increasingly relied on sex to keep it interesting. It's not working.
..Especially because there's some serious cuckold/p*nis-envy energy laced throughout. Setting aside the dragon thing, several men have been hinted or described as well-endowed, whereas the only mention of MC's anatomy implied that he was modest and possibly misshapen. Plus, having the entire city believing that he's actually impotent.. Hell, at one point his lover basically drools over a huge, girthy rod. Author's words.
I don't personally think, outside of erotica, that an author's kinks and insecurities should play a major role in the telling of a fun story. Maybe that's just me.
The author's constant innuendo and fixation on Ordinal's casual promiscuity has progressed to the point of raunchiness. Not the story I signed up for.
Noobtown's absurdity was charming at first, but as that theme has arguably jumped the shark, author has increasingly relied on sex to keep it interesting. It's not working.
..Especially because there's some serious cuckold/p*nis-envy energy laced throughout. Setting aside the dragon thing, several men have been hinted or described as well-endowed, whereas the only mention of MC's anatomy implied that he was modest and possibly misshapen. Plus, having the entire city believing that he's actually impotent.. Hell, at one point his lover basically drools over a huge, girthy rod. Author's words.
I don't personally think, outside of erotica, that an author's kinks and insecurities should play a major role in the telling of a fun story. Maybe that's just me.
April 24, 2025
Noobtown is back! After a somewhat disappointing Book 7, this one brought back the spirit of what made the first couple books so enjoyable. The highlights of this book were some of the best in the series. I enjoyed how the author really leaned into "puma checks" and other running tropes; very satisfying for fans.
I had two issues with this book.
One was the pacing. The book is long, and there are two sections of 100+ pages that are just non-stop action. No room to breath.
The other was that it got much darker at points, and certainly the last 100 pages. In previous books I enjoyed that there were stakes but that, in the end, the book didn't take itself too seriously, always leaning towards "fun" vs. "dark". Without giving spoilers, I think the last section of this book got the balance wrong. At least for me.
I had two issues with this book.
One was the pacing. The book is long, and there are two sections of 100+ pages that are just non-stop action. No room to breath.
The other was that it got much darker at points, and certainly the last 100 pages. In previous books I enjoyed that there were stakes but that, in the end, the book didn't take itself too seriously, always leaning towards "fun" vs. "dark". Without giving spoilers, I think the last section of this book got the balance wrong. At least for me.
November 11, 2024
Mixed feelings about this one. On one hand it is a fitting climax to the series. On the other hand the author decided to ignore that and add new plot threads so it isn't even the end. The current series had eight books building up the fight with the Dark Overlord so the reader had emotional investment in seeing that. The new plot threads are about minor secondary people / villains and I just don't care about them at this point.
A second minor quibble is that the author stole a bunch of humor straight from Austin Powers and it was both funny but also pretty lazy seeming.
Favorite joke:
A second minor quibble is that the author stole a bunch of humor straight from Austin Powers and it was both funny but also pretty lazy seeming.
Favorite joke:
The Shadow Trees were shadow scary, primarily due to their Shadow. . .Shadows. Seriously, this place was worse than Hot Topic.
May 21, 2025
plot felt like walking through a decrepit carnival
This book was so off the rails, I’m impressed it was released.
Nothing makes sense, the characters are all flamboyant and nonplussed about every circumstance and encounter.
The “final battle” also lasted over an entire third of the book, with a terribly weak and cascading ending. Any joy I had from reading the series is now thoroughly diminished.
There were some good moments of character building and some interesting mechanics, but nothing that stands out besides Jim “Jimming up” literally everything as the world comes to an end.
I would rather see a much shorter book that is more consistent with the developed characters, the rules and background of the world, and a more resilient plot than this fever dream of a story.
This book was so off the rails, I’m impressed it was released.
Nothing makes sense, the characters are all flamboyant and nonplussed about every circumstance and encounter.
The “final battle” also lasted over an entire third of the book, with a terribly weak and cascading ending. Any joy I had from reading the series is now thoroughly diminished.
There were some good moments of character building and some interesting mechanics, but nothing that stands out besides Jim “Jimming up” literally everything as the world comes to an end.
I would rather see a much shorter book that is more consistent with the developed characters, the rules and background of the world, and a more resilient plot than this fever dream of a story.
March 26, 2025
I have been so, so lucky that the first litRPG book I ever tried was the first in the noobs series. Since then, Ryan Rimmel (and Johnathan McLain as narrator) has entertained the hell out of me for 8 books now. I never stop laughing when listening to the books, and this latest diary if Jim's adventures is no exceptions. Granted, it is not as hilarious as the previous, it has some darker overtones, however it remains five star read nonetheless.
The final battle is epic, as it should be, it opens plenty of ground for future books as it is expected, and all is done in a way that keeps you engaged and entertained. And that's all it matters in this style, isn't it ;)
The final battle is epic, as it should be, it opens plenty of ground for future books as it is expected, and all is done in a way that keeps you engaged and entertained. And that's all it matters in this style, isn't it ;)
August 22, 2025
I absolutely loved this series and I got most all the jokes, and references.
I would have given this series a continuous five stars, except for one thing.
The ending. If you're hoping for a happily ever after, it's not there. Which I was kinda hoping for.
While the book says that 'the battle goes on', it left me thinking... wtf?
Had I not read the final chapter I would have been well pleased with the series!
also just what did that chicken do? I somewhat hoped for some resolve like, his crossing the road caused the trailer truck to swerve and sending the hero into the world. it's still funny.
I will definitely read more from Ryan Rimmel!
I would have given this series a continuous five stars, except for one thing.
The ending. If you're hoping for a happily ever after, it's not there. Which I was kinda hoping for.
While the book says that 'the battle goes on', it left me thinking... wtf?
Had I not read the final chapter I would have been well pleased with the series!
also just what did that chicken do? I somewhat hoped for some resolve like, his crossing the road caused the trailer truck to swerve and sending the hero into the world. it's still funny.
I will definitely read more from Ryan Rimmel!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2024
The Next Installment
My biggest complaint was that there was no - here’s what happened earlier…
Which made it a little rocky to follow at points.
The first quarter of the book was incredibly slow and as such I struggled to get into it. Eventually the pace picks up and we start to see some character progression. The book seems to come to a fairly natural ending in the last quarter but then the last 5 percent sets it up for another book. Personally it felt a bit pointless… I would rather have had a decent epilogue and then the author written some spin off books.
My biggest complaint was that there was no - here’s what happened earlier…
Which made it a little rocky to follow at points.
The first quarter of the book was incredibly slow and as such I struggled to get into it. Eventually the pace picks up and we start to see some character progression. The book seems to come to a fairly natural ending in the last quarter but then the last 5 percent sets it up for another book. Personally it felt a bit pointless… I would rather have had a decent epilogue and then the author written some spin off books.
March 21, 2025
These books are the standard to which I now compare all others within the litRPG genre. They are a genuine joy to read, and the audiobook versions read by Johnathan McClain are phenomenal. They are so immersive and it's an endless wild ride through puns, laughs, and puma checks. Never forget your puma check. The books are definitely not perfect, but they are fun, and even by book 8 I am still getting just as much enjoyment reading as I was at the start. Looking forward to the next one! However long that wait may be!
March 27, 2025
Another absolute masterpiece by Ryan. Bravo! And a master performance by the narrator Johnathan.
The voices scene was hilarious. Great banter. And I can't believe it ended on that cliffhanger!!! Thought maybe I'd get lucky and the story continues where the war went.
EDIT: I'm surprised to see some folks upset about the ending. The whole Mayor schtick was getting old! This is a fair ending. With this fun world and core cast established, I'm excited to see where we go next. Open it all up, baby!!
The voices scene was hilarious. Great banter. And I can't believe it ended on that cliffhanger!!! Thought maybe I'd get lucky and the story continues where the war went.
EDIT: I'm surprised to see some folks upset about the ending. The whole Mayor schtick was getting old! This is a fair ending. With this fun world and core cast established, I'm excited to see where we go next. Open it all up, baby!!
August 27, 2025
The beginning is weak and tropy, like a series running out of material and just trying serve you reheated leftovers. The end makes of for it however, it isn't that much new, but it is well done, for the genre, it is great to see everybody else contributing and doing heavy lifting in destroying the dark overlord.
It is sad to see the author setting up a terrible sequel at the end though. I am will stop here, this ends the story, and reheating stale leftovers again for the next book, is just something I am going to pretend isn't going to happen
It is sad to see the author setting up a terrible sequel at the end though. I am will stop here, this ends the story, and reheating stale leftovers again for the next book, is just something I am going to pretend isn't going to happen
December 19, 2024
Fun book, didn’t enjoy the ending
That ending was awful. I mean seriously terrible. I am pretty furious that I read through all that, with all the ridiculously shoe-horned in puns, to be left with an ending like that. Damn I haven’t been this irritated at the end of a book for a long time. Occasional sparkles of genuine amusement. This is not a solid entry in the series for me though. But this series is nothing if not inconsistent. 5 stars cos Amazon algorithm is broken.
That ending was awful. I mean seriously terrible. I am pretty furious that I read through all that, with all the ridiculously shoe-horned in puns, to be left with an ending like that. Damn I haven’t been this irritated at the end of a book for a long time. Occasional sparkles of genuine amusement. This is not a solid entry in the series for me though. But this series is nothing if not inconsistent. 5 stars cos Amazon algorithm is broken.
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