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Bog Standard Isekai #4
Benighted
From nightmares to knighthood, the true war starts now.
Brin has conquered the nightmares that once plagued him, and now his goal is to master the power of his class—illusion.
With a new skill that lets him split his mind and juggle multiple thoughts, his imagination is the only limit. But time is running out.
War looms as four nations unite against the Queendom of Arcaena. The Witch Queen’s undead army threatens to destroy everything in its path. When Brin is summoned by the leader of an order of knights, he’s plunged into a conflict that will shape the fate of the world.
Brin’s glass and illusion magic are getting stronger, but his greatest advantage is a dangerous secret: the allied kingdoms’ strongest warrior, a Paladin, is actually Arcaena’s spy. Will Brin reveal the secret to everyone, or wait for the perfect moment to strike?
One thing is certain: Brin’s trump card may be a secret, but Arcaena has secrets of her own…
Brin has conquered the nightmares that once plagued him, and now his goal is to master the power of his class—illusion.
With a new skill that lets him split his mind and juggle multiple thoughts, his imagination is the only limit. But time is running out.
War looms as four nations unite against the Queendom of Arcaena. The Witch Queen’s undead army threatens to destroy everything in its path. When Brin is summoned by the leader of an order of knights, he’s plunged into a conflict that will shape the fate of the world.
Brin’s glass and illusion magic are getting stronger, but his greatest advantage is a dangerous secret: the allied kingdoms’ strongest warrior, a Paladin, is actually Arcaena’s spy. Will Brin reveal the secret to everyone, or wait for the perfect moment to strike?
One thing is certain: Brin’s trump card may be a secret, but Arcaena has secrets of her own…
- GenresFantasy
542 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 2026
128 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 31, 2025
Started the first section of chapters on Royal Road and I am very excited with where this is going. I really enjoyed book 1 and book 2, so I am excited to get back to that type of reading journey.
January 18, 2026
This episode stands out from the earlier books both in pace and scope. There's more action and the stakes are higher.
The reader can now envision a time when Brin will be able to reveal his secret to the world at large and remain free... perhaps even be recognised as a hero.
The reader can now envision a time when Brin will be able to reveal his secret to the world at large and remain free... perhaps even be recognised as a hero.
January 23, 2026
3.5 - nothing in this book was as interesting as Aberfa and Brin’s relationship but it was entertaining and Im looking forward to the next book
January 13, 2026
Definitely the most fun book in the series, but held back by contrivances.
As much fun as this book was, with the MC joining a knightly order in the run up to open war with the witch queendom, the number of contrivances for the plot and the battle sequences really robbed me of payoffs for the inevitable victory. Plus we weren’t even allowed to really even revel in the victory before ending the book.
This book sees MC leave his friends, and his plot armor foster parents behind, as he travels to join a knightly order from some neighboring country led by the knight who answered his system quest in the first book.
Initially, this is a lot of fun. The author really shines here with his ability to create dynamic, dimensional side characters. It was fun to see the MC adapt to the military life and his second in command role to a new squad (given by the order’s commander and his friend). Training and learning to lead are a fun read when done right. My only concern here is MC is still 14? Why hasn’t more time passed? That could have easily been accomplished with some time jumps. Kinda hard to take a 14 year old seriously even on a world with magic and different views on adulthood. Plus he’s knocking on level 50 before he’s 15? I know he’s a prodigy, and he’s been in lots of fights, but still… it kinda breaks the world building to a degree. Something easily fixed with time jumps. But too late for that now.
And there’s combat with the lance (squad). Namely two set piece battles. MC basically is forced to reveal his illusionist class to help win the first one, but it’s no big deal I guess? I still don’t understand why people treat illusionist like witch? That makes no sense to me. I thought it was established that illusionists hid their class because of the hard counter of that revealing potion. There’s even illusionists running movies basically for jobs. But for some reason a combat illusionist is scary? Never understood that. I feel the author just added this in to introduce another layer of tension that is unnecessary in my opinion and feels forced for the contrivance it is. Like if people aren’t suspicious of movie illusionists, though presumably they can accomplish the same shenanigans as any other, why are they suspicious of MC?
And there’s more contrivances, the victories aren’t result of planning and progression, and really the only training that matters is for the stats gained, basically the victories come from bumbling from one situation to the next and doing just enough to win. I think this is a writing trap a lot of authors fall into when writing fights, they want tension, but we all know good guys win, so it feels forced. What does it matter if MC passes out just as the battle is won? The best fights are the result of the investment we readers make in the progression. A culmination of that investment, not some forced stakes to the same end.
The whole mana/magic level is totally contrived. He has just enough to win, that’s it. There’s no established context for how much each skill uses, or how much he regenerates, or why he doesn’t have more potions despite being heir to two of the most powerful mages in the world. It’s just what it needs to be for the moment, and not a hair more, like literally passing out at the end. That’s bad writing. Sorry.
Then there’s all this fighting while no one dies. This is the biggest issue here, and for this series, as it runs opposite to its dark tone. If you want real tension, especially in a series that invests in characters, you have to be willing to kill them to create it. Now, it just feels like no matter what direction circumstances the author weaves, it’s just noise cause good guys win.
It would have been better had they lost one of these battles, or at least lost a significant number of the men. Instead they get three potions and a bard out of nowhere and wing-it for a dub. To me, that’s not good writing.
As for the future of the series, I am not optimistic. This is the downside of not having an OP MC, as every fight ends in similar situations winged-it patterns. It’s like the opposite problem of having an OP MC where stakes are contrived by circumstances to make it seem fair. Instead of threading the needle, this author misses to left where most series miss to the right. But in both cases, it’s still not fun.
That said, the biggest crime of all of this is the lack of leveling and payoffs. The statue thing was some payoff. But a couple levels for all that work? We didn’t even get to enjoy the fruits of those levels in the new class selection, that can is kicked to the next book. That feels cheap, and I’m taking another star for that. First one was for the contrivances.
As I said, I’m not optimistic about the future, first because of the issues I’ve already mentioned that I don’t see getting better, but also because the plot itself is so uninteresting. Despite the banal nature of the threat, it would feel more ominous if the author was willing to sacrifice his characters. It would be more fun if the author was willing to allow the MC to power up and be in the mix. It would be more rewarding if the author was willing to let us see the investment in all this character and lore building pay dividends in payoffs. This far in, I don’t see that happening.
As much fun as this book was, with the MC joining a knightly order in the run up to open war with the witch queendom, the number of contrivances for the plot and the battle sequences really robbed me of payoffs for the inevitable victory. Plus we weren’t even allowed to really even revel in the victory before ending the book.
This book sees MC leave his friends, and his plot armor foster parents behind, as he travels to join a knightly order from some neighboring country led by the knight who answered his system quest in the first book.
Initially, this is a lot of fun. The author really shines here with his ability to create dynamic, dimensional side characters. It was fun to see the MC adapt to the military life and his second in command role to a new squad (given by the order’s commander and his friend). Training and learning to lead are a fun read when done right. My only concern here is MC is still 14? Why hasn’t more time passed? That could have easily been accomplished with some time jumps. Kinda hard to take a 14 year old seriously even on a world with magic and different views on adulthood. Plus he’s knocking on level 50 before he’s 15? I know he’s a prodigy, and he’s been in lots of fights, but still… it kinda breaks the world building to a degree. Something easily fixed with time jumps. But too late for that now.
And there’s combat with the lance (squad). Namely two set piece battles. MC basically is forced to reveal his illusionist class to help win the first one, but it’s no big deal I guess? I still don’t understand why people treat illusionist like witch? That makes no sense to me. I thought it was established that illusionists hid their class because of the hard counter of that revealing potion. There’s even illusionists running movies basically for jobs. But for some reason a combat illusionist is scary? Never understood that. I feel the author just added this in to introduce another layer of tension that is unnecessary in my opinion and feels forced for the contrivance it is. Like if people aren’t suspicious of movie illusionists, though presumably they can accomplish the same shenanigans as any other, why are they suspicious of MC?
And there’s more contrivances, the victories aren’t result of planning and progression, and really the only training that matters is for the stats gained, basically the victories come from bumbling from one situation to the next and doing just enough to win. I think this is a writing trap a lot of authors fall into when writing fights, they want tension, but we all know good guys win, so it feels forced. What does it matter if MC passes out just as the battle is won? The best fights are the result of the investment we readers make in the progression. A culmination of that investment, not some forced stakes to the same end.
The whole mana/magic level is totally contrived. He has just enough to win, that’s it. There’s no established context for how much each skill uses, or how much he regenerates, or why he doesn’t have more potions despite being heir to two of the most powerful mages in the world. It’s just what it needs to be for the moment, and not a hair more, like literally passing out at the end. That’s bad writing. Sorry.
Then there’s all this fighting while no one dies. This is the biggest issue here, and for this series, as it runs opposite to its dark tone. If you want real tension, especially in a series that invests in characters, you have to be willing to kill them to create it. Now, it just feels like no matter what direction circumstances the author weaves, it’s just noise cause good guys win.
It would have been better had they lost one of these battles, or at least lost a significant number of the men. Instead they get three potions and a bard out of nowhere and wing-it for a dub. To me, that’s not good writing.
As for the future of the series, I am not optimistic. This is the downside of not having an OP MC, as every fight ends in similar situations winged-it patterns. It’s like the opposite problem of having an OP MC where stakes are contrived by circumstances to make it seem fair. Instead of threading the needle, this author misses to left where most series miss to the right. But in both cases, it’s still not fun.
That said, the biggest crime of all of this is the lack of leveling and payoffs. The statue thing was some payoff. But a couple levels for all that work? We didn’t even get to enjoy the fruits of those levels in the new class selection, that can is kicked to the next book. That feels cheap, and I’m taking another star for that. First one was for the contrivances.
As I said, I’m not optimistic about the future, first because of the issues I’ve already mentioned that I don’t see getting better, but also because the plot itself is so uninteresting. Despite the banal nature of the threat, it would feel more ominous if the author was willing to sacrifice his characters. It would be more fun if the author was willing to allow the MC to power up and be in the mix. It would be more rewarding if the author was willing to let us see the investment in all this character and lore building pay dividends in payoffs. This far in, I don’t see that happening.
January 10, 2026
Rating 5.0 stars
I loved this book. The biggest thing that I loved about it is the characters. The author did an amazing job giving each character a unique personality and the narrator did an excellent job bringing these characters to life. If I was more logical about my reviews I could probably pick apart things that could have been better. If I were to break down this book into different categories I would probably take a couple points off here and there in each category and that would lead me to rate it lower. Don't care though. I loved the characters and their interactions so much that nothing else matters. That isn't to say the rest of the book is lacking, just that the characters are well this one excels.
In this one Brin has to go off on his own. The separation from his friends and from Hog was very emotional. Brin ends up going to another land by the knight that helped save him in book 1. It was thought to be too dangerous to go to the magic tower, which is where Hog was summoned to go. So now Brin is on his own in a foreign land and doesn't know the rules. He is thrust into a secondary leadership position in the knights order he was sent to and has to navigate his way through his new role, while at the same time trying to keep the secrets he needs to keep.
The magic system is very interesting. The fact that he has something called a split mind and can direct his mind to do things for him without directly being in control and a novel idea. This skill shows it limitations and how Brin has to work around them. While in the knights order he has to fight a horde of goblins, deal with some witches and deal with the political maneuvering of the current land he is in and the Queendom of Arcaena.
The only real gripe I have is the ending. It sort of ended with a cliffhanger. Well, that isn't technically true. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and placed it on my favorites list.
I loved this book. The biggest thing that I loved about it is the characters. The author did an amazing job giving each character a unique personality and the narrator did an excellent job bringing these characters to life. If I was more logical about my reviews I could probably pick apart things that could have been better. If I were to break down this book into different categories I would probably take a couple points off here and there in each category and that would lead me to rate it lower. Don't care though. I loved the characters and their interactions so much that nothing else matters. That isn't to say the rest of the book is lacking, just that the characters are well this one excels.
In this one Brin has to go off on his own. The separation from his friends and from Hog was very emotional. Brin ends up going to another land by the knight that helped save him in book 1. It was thought to be too dangerous to go to the magic tower, which is where Hog was summoned to go. So now Brin is on his own in a foreign land and doesn't know the rules. He is thrust into a secondary leadership position in the knights order he was sent to and has to navigate his way through his new role, while at the same time trying to keep the secrets he needs to keep.
The magic system is very interesting. The fact that he has something called a split mind and can direct his mind to do things for him without directly being in control and a novel idea. This skill shows it limitations and how Brin has to work around them. While in the knights order he has to fight a horde of goblins, deal with some witches and deal with the political maneuvering of the current land he is in and the Queendom of Arcaena.
The only real gripe I have is the ending. It sort of ended with a cliffhanger. Well, that isn't technically true. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and placed it on my favorites list.
January 12, 2026
While the previous book had me questioning whether to continue in this series (too far into the darkness for my tastes), this book brought this series roaring back to my favorites list.
Fresh off the travails of dealing with his birth mother, Brin joins a "Lance" (team) of knights. The group starts out as disunified and slowly grows into a cohesive unit. While this formula isn't exactly new, Benighted does a good job of keeping things interesting. The magic system in this series is one of my favorites (and I read a fair amount in this genre). The "system" concept continues to be interesting and does a great job of adding to the magic instead of taking things away. The character's magic growth is interesting (if a bit slow in terms of "levels"). The battle scenes do a great job of presenting the battles without getting caught in details. Overall, a great read.
Minor quibble: As one reviewer pointed out, the lack of class upgrade to wrap the book out was annoying.
One plea to the author: This was a much more enjoyable read than the previous installment. While I agree with the need to present evil as evil, too much is too much. I do worry about what will happen when Brin and team takes the battle to the witches...
Fresh off the travails of dealing with his birth mother, Brin joins a "Lance" (team) of knights. The group starts out as disunified and slowly grows into a cohesive unit. While this formula isn't exactly new, Benighted does a good job of keeping things interesting. The magic system in this series is one of my favorites (and I read a fair amount in this genre). The "system" concept continues to be interesting and does a great job of adding to the magic instead of taking things away. The character's magic growth is interesting (if a bit slow in terms of "levels"). The battle scenes do a great job of presenting the battles without getting caught in details. Overall, a great read.
Minor quibble: As one reviewer pointed out, the lack of class upgrade to wrap the book out was annoying.
One plea to the author: This was a much more enjoyable read than the previous installment. While I agree with the need to present evil as evil, too much is too much. I do worry about what will happen when Brin and team takes the battle to the witches...
November 28, 2025
I love Brin the main character of this LitRPG series, he is young but a powerful illusionist, and now he is learning how to split his mind into different threads, and eyes to follow trouble were he himself cannot be. And trouble is brewing, as Arcaena is threatening war on the kingdom. Arcaena is run by a very powerful witch controlling an army of undead, and if Brin hates something it is witches. He is forced to leave his friends and join a group of Knights, whereby he takes on a very important role, that of trying to make his lance the best there is, even though he starts off with a bunch of weak recruits. Brin goes all out to make them bond with one another, knowing that only if they watch each other's back will they be strong enough to prevail. He does end up building a great team, and as they fight a massive battle against never ending numbers of goblins in order to keep the people of the city safe, it is only thanks to him and Cid, the lance's prime, that the city is saved. I loved this very exciting book, the 4th in the series and look forward to book 5 which seems to be taking us to full out war with Arcaena.
January 15, 2026
Starts rough, gets better, ends great
This whole series has been outstanding, and this one is just as good -if not a smidge better.
While I did not care for that melancholic start at all, and the gloom it cast over the first half of the book, it eventually turns around.
We get to see Brin completely on his own without Hogg or Lumina to guide his choices, or to cover for his mistakes.
This series is amazing. And once again Johnathan McClain (Narrator) imbues the text with more humor and gravitas than the words alone would have.
This whole series has been outstanding, and this one is just as good -if not a smidge better.
While I did not care for that melancholic start at all, and the gloom it cast over the first half of the book, it eventually turns around.
We get to see Brin completely on his own without Hogg or Lumina to guide his choices, or to cover for his mistakes.
This series is amazing. And once again Johnathan McClain (Narrator) imbues the text with more humor and gravitas than the words alone would have.
September 12, 2025
read it on royal road, but I do come away feeling a bit disappointed. I think that this series is excellent, and with those high expectations this book felt a little worse than the standard.
Part of these probably it feels more like a part 1 of 2, with a more cliffhanger feeling instead of the more self-contained stories like in other books.
With that being said, this is still an amazing series and one that I think every litrpgs fan should consider "essential reading."
Part of these probably it feels more like a part 1 of 2, with a more cliffhanger feeling instead of the more self-contained stories like in other books.
With that being said, this is still an amazing series and one that I think every litrpgs fan should consider "essential reading."
January 9, 2026
I don't know, I didn't really find this compelling enough to finish. Brin remains a bit of a cold fish and I think the programming his brain stuff is rather tedious. Possibly because I write code for a living some of the time so it's work not fun. It feels like I've had enough of these. Which is a shame because the writing is as strong as ever. I just didn't have fun. If the stuff I don't like doesn't turn you off then it'd be a pretty strong recommendation I guess?
January 12, 2026
Good Stuff
But for the life of me I can’t figure out how our guy turned into acting like a kid. I know a teenager’s body have that hormonal issues, but our guy should’ve been above that stuff. Otherwise this was a decent installment with the bull of putting off his advancement to the next book.
But for the life of me I can’t figure out how our guy turned into acting like a kid. I know a teenager’s body have that hormonal issues, but our guy should’ve been above that stuff. Otherwise this was a decent installment with the bull of putting off his advancement to the next book.
January 6, 2026
Truly one of the best series out there. This book begins one of my favorite arcs and is truly well done, not just for LitRPG, but for the fantasy genre as a whole. This is one of those series that ascends the genre to be truly truly good.
January 21, 2026
I like it
This is well written and a new favorite. I will be rereading the entire series again and again. Very interesting story that I completely recommend if you're ok with lots of violence.
This is well written and a new favorite. I will be rereading the entire series again and again. Very interesting story that I completely recommend if you're ok with lots of violence.
January 21, 2026
Excellent Book
Yet another amazing book in this series. It had an excellent story with great action, system, and magic/fantasy elements.
It is also clean with no profanity. I can't wait for the next book.
Yet another amazing book in this series. It had an excellent story with great action, system, and magic/fantasy elements.
It is also clean with no profanity. I can't wait for the next book.
January 8, 2026
Brin goes to war.
As charming and as fun as usual, but the stakes have gotten higher, and Brin must rise to the occasion while still dealing with his horror show of a past.
As charming and as fun as usual, but the stakes have gotten higher, and Brin must rise to the occasion while still dealing with his horror show of a past.
January 9, 2026
Good
Another bog standard addition to the series. A new arc that changes the characters involved, with a change of scenery.
Another bog standard addition to the series. A new arc that changes the characters involved, with a change of scenery.
January 9, 2026
good
👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿
📙 😁 😹 👌 😂 🫡 🫠 🙄 😑
👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿 👍🏿
📙 😁 😹 👌 😂 🫡 🫠 🙄 😑
January 13, 2026
I got emotional
January 23, 2026
B
This book was mainly the setup for the next one and that's fine.
I do wish though that in books like this, authors could think up more of a reason to read than, idk, this.
This book was mainly the setup for the next one and that's fine.
I do wish though that in books like this, authors could think up more of a reason to read than, idk, this.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Title: Changes everything and nothing at the same time
Content Ratings: Language – PG13; Violence – PG13; Other – PG13
How can that be, you say? Well, Brin travels to new places with new companions and takes on a new assignment / class. ...and yet, it's still Brin, and he still manages to find creative ways to thrive. I was a little unsure at first with all the changes, but Brin is Brin, and it rapidly began firing on all cylinders (so to speak) for me. Now to wait for the next book.
Content Ratings: Language – PG13; Violence – PG13; Other – PG13
How can that be, you say? Well, Brin travels to new places with new companions and takes on a new assignment / class. ...and yet, it's still Brin, and he still manages to find creative ways to thrive. I was a little unsure at first with all the changes, but Brin is Brin, and it rapidly began firing on all cylinders (so to speak) for me. Now to wait for the next book.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews