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The Eternal Journey #1

Twilight Templar: The Eternal Journey, Book 1

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A game of life and death

( Contains violence as well as adult situations and language)

Ben sat down to play a brand-new MMORPG, Eternal Journey Online. Next thing he knew, he had been transformed into his character, first-level Paladin Hawke Lightseeker, and found himself in a corpse-filled cavern complex crawling with monsters and undead. Armed with a sentient sword, Hawke must learn the rules of a reality where magic and power-leveling are as real as swords and knives, and where you only get a limited number of respawns before you die for good.

Follow Hawke as he explores the mysterious Common Realm, meets new friends and foes, battles to survive, and learns more about his growing power and inner strength.

Note to LitRPG This novel concentrates primarily on action-adventure, with a focus on power-leveling and learning new magic and class subsystems. Future novels will deal with town and stronghold management. There is also a harem-lite subplot that plays a part in the story without detracting from it.

Audible Audio

First published June 15, 2020

637 people are currently reading
173 people want to read

About the author

C.J. Carella

77 books159 followers
C.J. discovered his obsession with making up crap and writing it down at the age of 6, when he wrote his first short story, back in the days when the Cold War was still on and the only mobile devices were the wrist watch and the walkie-talkie. He's been making up crap and writing it down for fun and profit ever since.

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5 stars
422 (51%)
4 stars
261 (31%)
3 stars
88 (10%)
2 stars
32 (3%)
1 star
19 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
42 reviews
August 12, 2020
Huh?

Ok I enjoyed the way this story began and most of the story and that's the problem. This book doesn't require any harem elements in it to carry the story. About half way into the book the author goes full on harem for no reason whatsoever the mc goes from a one woman guy to considering marrying every hot girl he comes across almost instantly even girls he doesn't like. I just don't see why he even bothered with the whole harem aspect since it adds nothing to the story at all but does help to reinforce to young male minds that even kick ass women are really only good for sex
2 reviews
July 23, 2020
Mediocre

There really is no character development, everyone loves or hates the MC right away.

The harem is 100% shoe-horned, everyone is the MCs true love in literally 2 pages. At 93% of the book the “second-wife-magic-sword” has already suggested wife’s 3 and 4.

Some weird MC sister went to college and went “crazy” comments. With a holier than thou attitude about how trades are better. Something about how the “modern woman” wouldn’t be happy with an MC with multiple wives. Seems like the author doesn’t know anything about polyamory in the real world.

People (or swords) don’t just constantly call each other “my love.”

We get it. Twilight Templar is a “Paladin Ninja” or a “Ninja Paladin”

The only reason I’m giving it 2 star and not 1 is because it still creative. Twilight Templar’s are conceptually cool, the potential conflict with other “Eternals” (Nerf Herders) could be super cool. Lots of potential just wasted on a weird self-fulfillment fantasy.
Profile Image for Jonathan.
88 reviews2 followers
June 24, 2020
A fun story

I enjoyed this. Hawke is a good character. Which is good because he finds himself actually living as his game character, a Paladin.

The world in the story is neat too. Some thing is transporting MMO game players from Earth to another world where real life is just like the game.
Profile Image for Clint Young.
849 reviews
July 2, 2020
Alert

First, my review: “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”

Over the past year it has become apparent that my reviews are somewhat antagonistic and I apologize to those of you that have taken offense. I think I had hoped to change peoples’ minds about reviewing works of art and that seems to have backfired spectacularly. However, I am still going to be true to myself and write what I believe.

To the author: Thank you for this chance to escape reality and enjoy the world you created! Keep up the good work.

To my fellow reviewers: Messaging me and reviewing my reviews is as productive as trying to shovel water out of the ocean. Stop. I get it. Let’s just all live peacefully.

To potential readers: Art needs to be experienced at an individual level. You are the only one that can determine what you like and don’t like. Don’t let others make that decision for you. You should definitely read the book and completely ignore all of the reviews. You are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.

Cheers
39 reviews2 followers
August 12, 2020
So annoying

MC is a complete loser. I assumed the book would suck just from the horrible character name, but I thought I would try it anyway. MC is just as much of a tool as you would expect someone with the name hawke to be.... C'mon, this isn't the 80s... The book reads like a bad tabletop game played at a church function.... The kind a 55+ senior might enjoy... It's that kind of boring. Unimaginative, slow, super white guy cringy, very beta male hero, just lame.
Profile Image for kieran.
28 reviews1 follower
September 29, 2020
A good addition to litrpg but not without its faults.

So I read a lot of litrpg and the quality can be very diverse. This one falls on the side of being good. Definitely worth a read.
It benefits from a good if predictable path. A main character who is overpowered but does make some mistakes.
Most characters are written well.
Good setting you can get lost in with the bad guys feeling like threats throughout. Good action scenes as well. Very well described.

One big draw to me is the length. You do get your money's worth with the amount that goes on. It doesnt feel dragged or laboured down with stats after stats.

However it suffers in my opinion from a rather clunky stat interface in particular around the resistances.

An almost forced harem situation. The first one. Sure organic I can see it. The second came about very very suddenly. But can still sort of role with it. Then its leading into a third where even the MC isnt sure he likes this person but he is still considering it. I dont even mind harem litrpgs but this one just feels superfluous to the plot. Maybe it will be better expanded on later though.

So overall it has potential. I will be reading the second book and it has some good threads woven in but there is work to be done if it wants to move up from merely good to great. But well worth a read if you are into the genre.
Profile Image for Markus Khul.
57 reviews2 followers
November 24, 2020
I went into this book with the hope of a true paladin tank MC finally showing up in one of these kinds of books. For a bit that's what I got and it kept me from getting too annoyed with the moronic MC (why do authors make their MCs dumbed down? do they think that the 'common' people will relate easier?) but that changed when he got his new class.

Why does it always have to be some sort of assassin/dark mage/necromancer in LitRPGs? Freaking hell, I wouldn't mind it so much if he didn't immediately ditch his shield and took up two swords (done by the author for the cool factor, I think).

I did roll my eyes at the instant OP sword at his spawn point but chose to ignore it.

Another thing that bugged me is that he fell in love with the first woman he saw and two weeks later asked her to marry him. TWO WEEKS! I don't really care about the other women around him, although it does say something about the author when he makes all the eligible women fall for the MC and makes the other potential men either incompetent/old/evil/in the MCs service. This also happens a lot in these kinds of novels and it's really annoying.

The gaming system is fine I guess, although the holding back from leveling/using stat points trope made me sigh a lot.

I'll check out the next book in the hope that things improve since I can see potential here underneath all of the cliche crap.
Profile Image for Travis.
2,840 reviews49 followers
August 1, 2020
Just for reference, aggro ( the term used to gain monster attention so they don't pound on other party members) doesn't stand for aggravation, it stands for aggression.
Wrong terms and silly grammar mistakes aside, this was a fairly interesting story. I'm a bit puzzled about the beginning of the story, which I won't spoil here, but it doesn't seem entirely in character for the story to need a deity to interfere to break the cycle where it all started. This seems too contrived to be believable, and to be perfectly honest, the story would have done just fine without that little glitch thrown in, but again, overall, I found it to be a decently told story, and I do plan to read the next one, since I am at least invested enough in the story to want to see where it goes from here.
Otherwise, I found it to be a good tale, and I believe most LitRPG fans will like it as well.
597 reviews6 followers
December 21, 2020
Way more gaming stat info than I like.

This story is quite well written if you enjoy the constant focus on the numbers, love to watch over someone else playing a computer game, or have lost your way into Dungeons & Dragons to the point that you can think of little else. While there is plenty of description and a modicum of dialogue there is a serious lack of plot and story aside from the never-ending game play. This is always a risk with LitRPG books. Some authors focus more on story while others are all about the game. I like stories. (Is this where the phrase "Don't hate the player" comes in? I don't hate the game, I just can't be consumed by it.)

I have no interest in reading more of this series and will be cautious about reading more by this author, though the writing skill is enough to warrant a second chance if on a different series or subject.
1 review
July 26, 2020
I enjoyed the class progression and combat. The plot was pretty by the number for a litrpg but well executed. The Harem stuff is just off-putting and make the protagonist seem greedy. He literally wants to marry every attractive woman he meets, even ones he seems to barely know, but I put up with it for the litrpg elements. The loot, skill and class progression felt a bit rushed in places, He's already level 12 at the end of the book and the world his town is in only allows beings up to level 20. The author notes it will diverge into town management in latter books so I don't know if I'll stick with it.
Profile Image for Liz Reinhart.
59 reviews4 followers
September 27, 2020
Honestly, it’s not bad. The characters are well written, plot is thought out and decent, and world building has been made with effort. The only issue I had with this book was that the plot itself is not very original and made me hunk of Edens Gate online in a way. Also, this book tries to come off as this masculine, harem book but doesn’t seem to commit to the idea, only eludes to a polygamous relationship and wants you to just trust that that’s what’s happening. The lack of detail makes the relationship between all the characters petty meh. Other then that and a few other fairly predictable moments, it’s not a bad read if you’re looking for something quick.
Profile Image for Timothy Nugent.
Author 3 books59 followers
August 17, 2022
This is a portal into a new land with LITRPG rules genre book.

It starts with the MC coming across some very OP starting items, but you find out that there is a valid reason for it. The MC is being used as a pawn to take care of some problems by the people in charge. The whole series, at least up to book 5 has the MC being given powerful gifts and upgrades, but only so long as he plays along. He does have some agency, but that usually comes with consequences.

It also has some light harem in it. It is a very small part however, and can be easily ignored.

I look forward to future books and will be reading them all.
Profile Image for Josh Suevel.
2 reviews1 follower
July 11, 2024
A Rare Gem

I love the litrpg genre, but it is full of really bad writing. This is not one of those stories. From the start, I was hooked and couldn't put it down. The main character is relatable and has actual character development instead of being an instant god/know-it-all. Side characters are developed and actually intriguing. Really excited to see where this goes. There are some things that could be improved, main character sometimes gets a little preachy and sometimes the action sequences get a little bogged down with explaining too much detail of how damage is calculated. Overall though if you are a fan of the genre, this is a must read.
Profile Image for Frank Castle.
60 reviews
November 18, 2025
(I Had to skim some Frat boy base vulgar parts)

Mildly interesting but in retrospect not worth reading as the hero is an amoral sort and it is hardly anything new- I guess if you are a frat boy who wants boy girl frat boy nonsense mixed in it is ok…. But I don’t recommend it. I was thinking it started out fine and might loose the lame boy-girl frat boy romance type trash but it didn’t

. (I should stress I skim disagreeable parts of books - this one included - but I do sometimes finish them- great example is RR Martin books - an author I skim through whole chapters - well mostly skip them - when he is writes pack hound leafder stories in game of thrones - the gross Theon ones)
21 reviews5 followers
July 5, 2020
Decent

Overall a decent book. The author states that the "harem" is necessary and furthers the plot, but if I'm honest it all felt a little...forced. the harem imo isnt necessary, in fact if the protagonist just focused on his primary female the story would literally be the same. The extra additions don't actually add or detract anything from the story other than to be extra sex. There are now explicit sex scenes which is a good thing or I never would have finished the book, but I still don't understand the need for the "harem" trope. Decent book overall.
1,176 reviews16 followers
July 6, 2024
good story, but not the most likable of MCS.

Good lit RPG. Good world building, as all the lit RPG tropes. Excellent mix of surroundings and characters. The only issue I find is the MC is an idiot. I don’t know why the author is writing him like he’s 14 years old, pokey balls, indeed he’s 26 years old, a grown man. I hope the MC develops some more adult habits as the series progresses. I will go on and read the next book because it was enjoyable. i’ve read some of this authors other works, and. have enjoyed them as well.
Profile Image for Johnny.
2,158 reviews77 followers
July 13, 2020
Book one

Mistakes: I found six mistakes in this book. Missing letters and things like calling Jiminy Cricket Jimmy.

Plot: Transported to a game like realm 60,000 people must make their way the best they can.
This is a Haram story. Lucky no detailed sex scenes.
Lots of adventures and fighting the undead.

Characters: So far the Mc is interesting, his love interest not so much. The love interest add very little to the story.

7/10
Profile Image for Wilhelm Eyrich.
366 reviews26 followers
November 12, 2020
Quite bland.

Character development and the characters themselves are 2D and super simple. Stats are VERY chunky and the whole system seems utterly broke.

Harem just kind of happens and every major female character in the book somehow belongs to it. They all instantly love him, as does the rest of the cast with seemingly no impulse.

Had an interesting story and some fun elements but has too much going against it.
Profile Image for Br1cht.
124 reviews7 followers
July 22, 2021
The author has a good "flow" but otherwise seems to use this series for a self-insert gamma male power fantasy complete with every woman falling head over heels in love with him at first glance and all the men just recognizing him as the most-alpha-of-alpha-males...

It kinda feels like the power fantasy of a teenager without a male role model and that´s a damn shame because the author has promise.
1,097 reviews9 followers
June 25, 2020
A+ - If ever played D&D / RPG - Must Read!

Cj Carella used to design games for a living, and now he wrote a book based on Lit RPG. It’s really good. Perhaps his best work yet, and I am a huge fan of his 8 book Warp Marine Series.

I look forward to the next books!

Read and finished on the first day of release - it was that good!
47 reviews1 follower
July 11, 2020
Well Written

This book certainly raises the bar to a new level for the genre, engaging detailed characters, an immersive descriptive narrative, an attention to detail that depicts a new world in all its dark and light glory and human frailties. This should not be missed, great reading!
Profile Image for Sebastian Cuellar.
29 reviews1 follower
August 8, 2020
Carella's a classic

I've been reading CJ Carella's writing since he wrote the Rifts New West book, easily one of the best RPG supplements of all time.

I liked his other series and this being his first foray into LitRPG, I know he had the chops to write something fantastic. I wasnt wrong. This is a fun book and definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of the genre.
139 reviews
November 15, 2020
Absolutely fabulous

This is an excellent novel, plenty of action, at a frenetic pace, unpredictable plot twists, a half elven MC who has a strong morality --- and quickly learns pragmatism, along with excellent dialogue, and a host of supporting characters that are interesting and lovable in and of themselves. Action, camaraderie, romance and humour. MUST READ
134 reviews
December 20, 2024
Another book in this series was released, so I am rereading this series (some books for the 3rd time) to refresh my memory.

I had forgotten how much these books resonated for me. This may be one of the top 5 LitRPG series in existence. :-)

Respect to this author!

ADDENDUM: I'm not crazy about the Harem, but the rest of the work allows me to overlook that "flaw". Heh!
Profile Image for michael hooper.
672 reviews2 followers
July 9, 2020
Loved it

Fast paced page turner with interesting characters that you can instantly root for. I will definitely be getting more books in the series just as fast as they are published
84 reviews1 follower
July 23, 2020
Good book i recommend

I really enjoyed this book and will be getting the next one when it comes out. The twilight templar is an interesting class and hope to read more in the future.
Profile Image for Steve.
1,599 reviews60 followers
July 24, 2020
Very much enjoyed this one. Nice job of the transmigrated into another (gamified) world trope, with solid writing, good pacing and an MC I can root for. I look forward to more of this if this quality can be maintained.
Profile Image for Someone S Name.
95 reviews
August 6, 2020
Very good litrpg and good story

This is a fun romp that has a good story, good characters, great worldbuilding, and a very decent amount of crunch. There are few errors and it’s very well written. I found it pretty gripping and enjoyable. Give it a read.
34 reviews
August 30, 2020
Really enjoyable

Apart from the light harem designed to appeal to an audience I found thus a well balanced and designed litrpg novel. Thoroughly enjoyable, it was hard to put down at 40% at 2 am.
9 reviews2 followers
September 5, 2020
If your into sword and sorcery with game mechanics/levelling up, then this is a decent book for you, with some interesting elements but nothing to outstanding. Would have given it 4 stars, but there's a forced harem/romance element, which was not needed and kind of ruined the book for me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews

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