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A Soldier's Life #1
A Soldier's Life, Book 1: A Soldier's Life, Book 1
Follow an unfortunate soul who has been thrown into a fantasy world with nothing. He is quickly railroaded into joining the Legion and has to develop under harsh conditions while slowly discovering his potential power.
This story has light LitRPG elements with a stat and magic advancement system. The MC is not overpowered and experiences the pain of growth as he tries to find a place in the strange new world while staying alive. Neither are coming easy to him as his Legion Company is constantly in harm's way.
This story has light LitRPG elements with a stat and magic advancement system. The MC is not overpowered and experiences the pain of growth as he tries to find a place in the strange new world while staying alive. Neither are coming easy to him as his Legion Company is constantly in harm's way.
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First published February 7, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
December 13, 2025
It’s hard to rate this book 4 stars because I reallly enjoyed it and immediately picked up the second, but the beginning is rough. Clearly a first book. It’s a very interesting world setting, future Roman Empire with magic and game stats?! And for some reason the simplistic writing style kept me reading and reading. The author develops so well in the writing and by the end of the book I was super invested. It’s also not crazy heavy with stats and equipment descriptions which I appreciated. If you’re a fan of litRPG recc it with the caveat that it starts off simplistically.
February 5, 2025
It's a trap!!! See below for why.
This was a fun read. The power fantasy is a bit muted with this one as Eryk is bullied into the army early and remains a scrub throughout. He does have some advantages from isekaing into the world, but he has motivation to keep that on the downlow as much as possible as there are sinister forces that may or may not be harvesting otherworlders.
So this is very much an army tale and it's based on Roman legions seeing that the kingdom Eryk portals into was founded two thousand years ago by a legion that got pulled into the world together (otherworlders come in batches in this world with Eryk being an exception as he was isolated when transferred). He gets sucked into an elite unit so it isn't leaning into the brutality and stupidity that such stories might forefront and I liked that. And I liked the other members of his unit as we get to know them over time.
So this was headed for solid five star territory with an engaging main character, strong characterization, interesting world building, and a great pace and plot. And then it ended on a cliffhanger*. So four stars.
A note about Chaste: There is some minor soldier talk about women, but nothing graphic or crass. So this is fairly chaste even if it's a bunch of soldiers. This may be at least partially due to their main commander being a woman they all respect, but maybe not.
It's a trap!!!: So it turns out that this is a four-book (so far) series with the author ramping up the price by a dollar with each book. What's that you say? It's on Kindle Unlimited so you don't care? Not so fast my binge-reading friend! Only the first two books are in Kindle Unlimited. The third is a hefty $7. You might want to take this into account if you decide to start this series.
* Cliffhangers and why they are evil: Cliffhangers are the ultimate disrespect to readers. They're an overt emotional manipulation to invest you in the next story by holding a metaphorical pistol to your head saying "you don't get a satisfying conclusion unless you read the next book, sucka!". Or, less hyperbolically, "I don't trust you to be interested in the next story unless I employ this emotional manipulation to ensure that you are." If you don't believe me that they are an active offense to readers, try this mental exercise: imagine for a moment that an author put a big star on the front of their story proclaiming "Contains Cliffhanger!" Would that make readers more or less likely to want to pick up that story? Right. That's all you really need to know about cliffhangers. Which is why cliffhangers are an automatic loss of at least one star.
This was a fun read. The power fantasy is a bit muted with this one as Eryk is bullied into the army early and remains a scrub throughout. He does have some advantages from isekaing into the world, but he has motivation to keep that on the downlow as much as possible as there are sinister forces that may or may not be harvesting otherworlders.
So this is very much an army tale and it's based on Roman legions seeing that the kingdom Eryk portals into was founded two thousand years ago by a legion that got pulled into the world together (otherworlders come in batches in this world with Eryk being an exception as he was isolated when transferred). He gets sucked into an elite unit so it isn't leaning into the brutality and stupidity that such stories might forefront and I liked that. And I liked the other members of his unit as we get to know them over time.
So this was headed for solid five star territory with an engaging main character, strong characterization, interesting world building, and a great pace and plot. And then it ended on a cliffhanger*. So four stars.
A note about Chaste: There is some minor soldier talk about women, but nothing graphic or crass. So this is fairly chaste even if it's a bunch of soldiers. This may be at least partially due to their main commander being a woman they all respect, but maybe not.
It's a trap!!!: So it turns out that this is a four-book (so far) series with the author ramping up the price by a dollar with each book. What's that you say? It's on Kindle Unlimited so you don't care? Not so fast my binge-reading friend! Only the first two books are in Kindle Unlimited. The third is a hefty $7. You might want to take this into account if you decide to start this series.
* Cliffhangers and why they are evil: Cliffhangers are the ultimate disrespect to readers. They're an overt emotional manipulation to invest you in the next story by holding a metaphorical pistol to your head saying "you don't get a satisfying conclusion unless you read the next book, sucka!". Or, less hyperbolically, "I don't trust you to be interested in the next story unless I employ this emotional manipulation to ensure that you are." If you don't believe me that they are an active offense to readers, try this mental exercise: imagine for a moment that an author put a big star on the front of their story proclaiming "Contains Cliffhanger!" Would that make readers more or less likely to want to pick up that story? Right. That's all you really need to know about cliffhangers. Which is why cliffhangers are an automatic loss of at least one star.
June 14, 2024
I understand this is the author's first book. That's hard to believe. The writing is polished, with tight editing and a confident, consistent style. Impressive.
Technically an Isekai tale, the protagonist, Eryk, doesn't become OP overnight. That's half the fun – while he has the potential to be a world-shaker, he can't show any unusual abilities without exposing his origin and being whisked away to an unsure fate. He can't even rank up his abilities openly as the path to that end requires devices he shouldn't have access to.
This pressure to stay hidden should necessitate a quiet existence, but Eryk starts his journey on this new world as a prisoner and then a conscripted soldier. It's hard to hide super-human abilities when your life is regularly threatened during battle. These opposing tensions drive our interest and empathy for Eryk.
The world-building is comfortably familiar with some original elements. The same could be said for the magic system which, thankfully, has clear limits... if not costs. I like the Roman Empire origin of this society. There has been no "fall of the empire" in 2000 years, presumably because the ruling class is extremely long-lived and because the empire is still expanding. The author doesn't lean on Roman history much, which is disappointing. I'd have liked to see more of the historic beats reproduced; like the oft-broken promise of land for soldiers upon retirement. Or the watering down of Roman control due to foreigners swelling the Legion ranks. Or the inherent danger of making military accomplishments a route to civil power. Oh well, maybe in future books.
While this novel didn't have an overpowering emotional impact, it was always interesting and easy to read. I cared about the main characters, and felt a need to be with them on this adventure. That's more than enough for five stars.
Technically an Isekai tale, the protagonist, Eryk, doesn't become OP overnight. That's half the fun – while he has the potential to be a world-shaker, he can't show any unusual abilities without exposing his origin and being whisked away to an unsure fate. He can't even rank up his abilities openly as the path to that end requires devices he shouldn't have access to.
This pressure to stay hidden should necessitate a quiet existence, but Eryk starts his journey on this new world as a prisoner and then a conscripted soldier. It's hard to hide super-human abilities when your life is regularly threatened during battle. These opposing tensions drive our interest and empathy for Eryk.
The world-building is comfortably familiar with some original elements. The same could be said for the magic system which, thankfully, has clear limits... if not costs. I like the Roman Empire origin of this society. There has been no "fall of the empire" in 2000 years, presumably because the ruling class is extremely long-lived and because the empire is still expanding. The author doesn't lean on Roman history much, which is disappointing. I'd have liked to see more of the historic beats reproduced; like the oft-broken promise of land for soldiers upon retirement. Or the watering down of Roman control due to foreigners swelling the Legion ranks. Or the inherent danger of making military accomplishments a route to civil power. Oh well, maybe in future books.
While this novel didn't have an overpowering emotional impact, it was always interesting and easy to read. I cared about the main characters, and felt a need to be with them on this adventure. That's more than enough for five stars.
August 24, 2026
A lot of people recommended this series, but I was skeptical. I mean, Roman-type LitRPG, with a focus on fighting rather than the normal OP always-magic-leaning types?
Consider this my apology. The writing is excellent and the pacing is fantastic. The plot is wonderfully varied and the directions consistently surprise. And while our MC DOES have the potential for quite a bit, he's extremely limited with MP, so the restraint is actually rather beautiful from a story-view.
And there's the obvious need to keep it all secret or his essence will probably be the Emperor's snack. Details. So, a lowly soldier's life it is.
As I was reading it, I was reminded nicely of the Recluse Saga by Modesitt. A balance of soldier-life and magic and steady progress and remarkably little true angst, just hardship.
It's extremely enjoyable. It caught 100% of my attention. Great escapism.
Consider this my apology. The writing is excellent and the pacing is fantastic. The plot is wonderfully varied and the directions consistently surprise. And while our MC DOES have the potential for quite a bit, he's extremely limited with MP, so the restraint is actually rather beautiful from a story-view.
And there's the obvious need to keep it all secret or his essence will probably be the Emperor's snack. Details. So, a lowly soldier's life it is.
As I was reading it, I was reminded nicely of the Recluse Saga by Modesitt. A balance of soldier-life and magic and steady progress and remarkably little true angst, just hardship.
It's extremely enjoyable. It caught 100% of my attention. Great escapism.
September 30, 2024
If you like watching paint dry, then this book is for you. 50% in and I just couldn't, and I'm still waiting for something ANYTHING to happen. It's like watching reality TV where NOTHING happens at all. Very Very slow burn.
Case in point... There are two movies about prison break from the 70s, one is called Papillon and the other is Escape from Alcatraz. Watch the trailers and you would get it. If you like Papillon then this one is for you. It's completely dull and boring. Utter snoozefest.
So mc wakes inaked in a different world, gets charged with rape, and gets pressed into the army(sorry legion). He is not discombobulated even for a micro second. No sir. He's a trooper through and through. I have a raging hardon for isekai, but I would be shocked senseless for a minute and half, and have panic attacks every now and then that I won't get to see my family and friends (I'm extremely very antisocial btw). However, our intrepid hero is extremely nonchalant about being isekai'd like he is some kind of world walker. I don't know if the author ever mulls over tye subject, but I have read 50% so my money is on, "it doesn't even occur to him".
For the life of me I have no clue why everyone and their mother has rated this as 5
Case in point... There are two movies about prison break from the 70s, one is called Papillon and the other is Escape from Alcatraz. Watch the trailers and you would get it. If you like Papillon then this one is for you. It's completely dull and boring. Utter snoozefest.
So mc wakes inaked in a different world, gets charged with rape, and gets pressed into the army(sorry legion). He is not discombobulated even for a micro second. No sir. He's a trooper through and through. I have a raging hardon for isekai, but I would be shocked senseless for a minute and half, and have panic attacks every now and then that I won't get to see my family and friends (I'm extremely very antisocial btw). However, our intrepid hero is extremely nonchalant about being isekai'd like he is some kind of world walker. I don't know if the author ever mulls over tye subject, but I have read 50% so my money is on, "it doesn't even occur to him".
For the life of me I have no clue why everyone and their mother has rated this as 5
July 5, 2024
It was depressing hanging out with this guy. Lying, stealing, cheating; anything to give him a small advantage. And for what? He doesn’t make any friends, doesn’t do anything heroic (too much trouble), doesn’t make much of an impression at all. He’s just a low-level grifter happy to skate along doing as little as possible, using his magic powers for graft and petty theft. About 60% before I got tired of waiting for him to step up a bit.
January 17, 2026
This book (or web novel?) is a good story.
## The Good
This book presents one of the most interesting take on a game system I've seen in a while. I appreciated the _way_ characters progress, and also _how_ they get to check their progress.
I also liked the world. I found that the author put more effort than most in this subgenre into making the system "blend in", even if most skills are still combat-oriented.
The main plot is a bit unclear at this time, but that is to be expected, as we discover the world and its current dynamics at the same time as the MC does.
The audiobook narration is quite competent. Not Andrea Parsneau or John Lee level, but quite enjoyable.
## The Less Good
The MC is annoying. But that is a totally subjective statement that did not deter me in any way from appreciating the tale. What was less innocuous was the propensity of all the support cast to just answer his every question - that felt extremely odd, especially in a military context, and even more coming from superior officers.
## The Bad
I wouldn't go as far as calling it "bad", but I would say that the book lacks a certain polish. There are a lot of repetitions, and rather wooden stylistic choices that made me flinch more times than I can count, but nothing critical.
## The Conclusion
I am going to continue with this series for as long as it keeps my interest.
4 Stars
## The Good
This book presents one of the most interesting take on a game system I've seen in a while. I appreciated the _way_ characters progress, and also _how_ they get to check their progress.
I also liked the world. I found that the author put more effort than most in this subgenre into making the system "blend in", even if most skills are still combat-oriented.
The main plot is a bit unclear at this time, but that is to be expected, as we discover the world and its current dynamics at the same time as the MC does.
The audiobook narration is quite competent. Not Andrea Parsneau or John Lee level, but quite enjoyable.
## The Less Good
The MC is annoying. But that is a totally subjective statement that did not deter me in any way from appreciating the tale. What was less innocuous was the propensity of all the support cast to just answer his every question - that felt extremely odd, especially in a military context, and even more coming from superior officers.
## The Bad
I wouldn't go as far as calling it "bad", but I would say that the book lacks a certain polish. There are a lot of repetitions, and rather wooden stylistic choices that made me flinch more times than I can count, but nothing critical.
## The Conclusion
I am going to continue with this series for as long as it keeps my interest.
4 Stars
October 14, 2025
¡Muy disfrutable y recomendable de principio a fin!
Es un litRPG con un enfoque más amigable (si no estás acostumbrado) que otros libros del género por varios motivos como que las tablas de atributos apenas salen o que no hay subidas de nivel ni cosas tan específicas. Podría leerse como fantasía normal con una reglas un poco particulares.
Además la ambientación es algo parecido al Imperio Romano sumándole fantasía, ya que hay gran variedad de criaturas, razas y magia.
En resumen: muy bien, muy divertido y un enganche constante.
La única pega es la misma que tienen la mayoría de estos libros, que el fin de un libro ni es fin ni nada, es terminar el capítulo de turno y la historia continúa directamente en el siguiente libro. El corte podría estar donde está o podría estar en otro sitio y daría lo mismo. Claro, que cuando la historia engancha, no molesta porque continúas directamente al siguiente...
Un 4/5 clarísimo, si fuera nota sobre 10 sería incluso algo más.
Es un litRPG con un enfoque más amigable (si no estás acostumbrado) que otros libros del género por varios motivos como que las tablas de atributos apenas salen o que no hay subidas de nivel ni cosas tan específicas. Podría leerse como fantasía normal con una reglas un poco particulares.
Además la ambientación es algo parecido al Imperio Romano sumándole fantasía, ya que hay gran variedad de criaturas, razas y magia.
En resumen: muy bien, muy divertido y un enganche constante.
La única pega es la misma que tienen la mayoría de estos libros, que el fin de un libro ni es fin ni nada, es terminar el capítulo de turno y la historia continúa directamente en el siguiente libro. El corte podría estar donde está o podría estar en otro sitio y daría lo mismo. Claro, que cuando la historia engancha, no molesta porque continúas directamente al siguiente...
Un 4/5 clarísimo, si fuera nota sobre 10 sería incluso algo más.
July 29, 2026
This was so fun!
I’m not too well versed with LitRPG, Dungeon Crawler Carl was my introduction and A Soldier’s Life is among the first of the genre I have read. I’m quickly becoming a fan. (Especially having played DnD)
A couple chapters felt disjointed from the novel but as a whole A Soldier’s Life was an immensely enjoyable read. The first few chapters did well in establishing the world, a fantastical Roman Empire with magic. As an avid fantasy reader I always appreciate when there are limitations and clear rules to the magic system.
I’m curious to find out how and why Eryk was sent to this fantastical world from North Dakota. Perhaps the answer can be found in subsequent books of the series.
A job well done.
I’m not too well versed with LitRPG, Dungeon Crawler Carl was my introduction and A Soldier’s Life is among the first of the genre I have read. I’m quickly becoming a fan. (Especially having played DnD)
A couple chapters felt disjointed from the novel but as a whole A Soldier’s Life was an immensely enjoyable read. The first few chapters did well in establishing the world, a fantastical Roman Empire with magic. As an avid fantasy reader I always appreciate when there are limitations and clear rules to the magic system.
I’m curious to find out how and why Eryk was sent to this fantastical world from North Dakota. Perhaps the answer can be found in subsequent books of the series.
A job well done.
June 10, 2024
Sebuah novel bergenre isekai (tercampak ke dunia lain) dan high fantasy. Recommended untuk peminat genre ni. Plot dan world building novel ni menarik serta menghiburkan. Mengisahkan tentang Eryk yg tercampak ke dunia fantasi, dan terpaksa menyesuaikan diri untuk hidup sebagai seorang askar di sana.
February 22, 2025
This was a fun book that delivered exactly what was promised and does a great job of providing familiar tropes while also carving a fairly unique path in the genre. This series seems to prompt a divisive response within the community and I'll add my 2 cents to that at the end of the review.
Plot - 10/10, Character - 9/10, Setting & Magic - 10/10, Writing - 8/10, Enjoyment - 10/10
Plot
This is an isekai/portal fantasy plot involving a 20-something guy who's traveling cross-country to attend his brother's wedding. Caught in a snow-storm in the middle of nowhere, he takes refuge in a barn after his vehicle runs out of gas. When he wakes up, there's no snow, his clothing is inexplicably gone, and the owners of the barn don't take kindly to a strange naked man on their property. Things are made worse when it seems nobody speaks English. Our MC is subsequently tied up and delivered to authorities where he is pressed into indentured service to the Legionnaires to pay off his sentence.
I think it was a great setup that wasted no time getting us into the new world, which reveals itself to be a fantasy hybrid of Roman inspiration mixed with System mechanics and some D&D influence for the races and monsters.
The first volume follows our MC, Eryk, during his initial onboarding and training with the Legion, his subsequent assignment to a unit, and his experiences on the first handful of missions. I thought the story covered lots of ground and did a great job with worldbuilding and exposing the reader to all the System and magic mechanics.
Character
Our MC, Eryk, is a fairly typical everyman character and the story doesn't delve too deeply into the particulars of his background on Earth. Some readers might take issue with a few of the decisions he makes as he can come across as a bit of a grifter or conniver. To his credit, his first experience in this new world was being pressed into indentured military service, so I can't blame him too much for keeping his secrets close and taking what he can get in certain circumstances. I'll admit that he took a few risks and pressed his advantage quite a bit more than I would have a few times.
The overwhelming majority of the other characters are more archetypes than individuals, either being basic footsoldiers, scouts, lieutenant-types, or mage-commanders. We don't learn a ton about anyone's personal life, but I don't really consider this a problem here since it's Book 1 of a stranger in a strange land experience and Eryk is simply trying to get his bearings and stay afloat. His status as an outworlder is something he tries to keep secret since there's a history of outworlders simply disappearing after being presented to the Emperor. So he keeps most of his compatriots at arms-length so he doesn't trip over himself when pretending he's just a country bumpkin from a rural area on the empire's fringe.
Setting & Magic
Cue up the jokes about how often guys think about the Roman Empire. But in all seriousness, I really enjoyed the setting. I can't comment on the historical accuracy of specifics, but there's an obvious inspiration here explained by the idea that an entire Roman Legion fell through a portal and landed in this fantasy world hundreds of years ago. As outworlders, they had bonuses to certain affinities and attributes and, combined with their militaristic training, established an empire in the new world.
I really like how the magic works in this story and how its grounded a bit more rather than being too video-gamey. Specifically, characters don't have magical floating screens they can access. Instead they rely on special artifacts that can measure their current attributes and their attribute potentials. So a person might see a current Strength score of 15 with a potential of 55 while another person might have a score of 30 with a potential of 35. In that example, Person A would currently be weaker, but have the potential to become stronger in the long run than Person B.
While everyone had physical stats that benefitted from training, only a rare number of people had magical attributes high enough to qualify for Mage training. True mages would often end up as Legion commanders with other people of middling magic scores being more reliant on using a limited number of specific spells and rechargeable magic tools.
I also really liked the mechanics of essence collection. Basically, a magical artifact called an essence collector can be held above a corpse and pull residual essence from a body (if it's still fresh like within 30 minutes of death). These collectors are rare and don't have a 100% success rate. The resulting essence is based on the dead creature's highest attribute and this essence core can be eaten to serve as a booster for attribute development.
Writing
Considering this is the author's first work and they claim they are more of a storyteller than a proper writer, I thought the writing was good. There were a few proofreading errors here and there, but probably less than 10 for the whole book.
There are also times when the prose resembles a bit of a laundry list rather than a smooth flow, but I honestly didn't mind. The story reads like a diary/travel log of a regular guy and the way its written has a casual and conversational feel to it. I felt like it was fitting and it didn't bother me in the slightest despite probably being more of a stickler than your average reader on writing.
Enjoyment
I loved this book. Some people love magic school plots, but for my money I'll take a military enlistment BootCamp and special training menu plot any day of the week and that's what this story resembles. So if you are a fan of military sci-fi but are looking for the fantasy equivalent, that's what you'll get here.
Thoughts on escalating pricing, cliffhangers, etc
Only the first two books are currently available on KU. For those not using KU, book pricing starts at $5 for book one and goes up by a dollar for each subsequent volume. Some people don't like this sort of thing and consider it a bait & switch. I honestly don't see a difference between this method and what you commonly see with the first volume or two being on sale and then the rest being full price. If the story isn't good enough to pay $8 for, I'll simply drop the series and not buy the next book. If I love the series, $8 or $9 isn't too much to pay for a book. It's cheaper than you can get a meal nowadays and the enjoyment and memory of the book will last longer than a burger.
I tend to rotate my reading across Kindle Unlimited, Library books, Bookbub sales, and then buying occasional books at full price. I try to keep my monthly book expenditures around $50 per month, which might sound high or low to different people. Point being, I don't pay $10 for every book I read as it would be unsustainable, so it's up to the individual to determine their value per dollar spent and budget accordingly.
Some people refer to the ending of this book as a cliffhanger, and maybe it is by some standard, but I didn't think so. Anyone reading serialized stories from RoyalRoad has seen true cliffhangers between volumes where the book abruptly ends. This book ended with the resolution of a plot arc, and then the final chapter was what I consider a teaser of where the next volume would take us. It felt like a natural stopping point for me.
If you read the synopsis of this book and it sounds interesting, then I would go for it. It will probably be one of the more enjoyable gamelit stories you read if it's up your alley.
Plot - 10/10, Character - 9/10, Setting & Magic - 10/10, Writing - 8/10, Enjoyment - 10/10
Plot
This is an isekai/portal fantasy plot involving a 20-something guy who's traveling cross-country to attend his brother's wedding. Caught in a snow-storm in the middle of nowhere, he takes refuge in a barn after his vehicle runs out of gas. When he wakes up, there's no snow, his clothing is inexplicably gone, and the owners of the barn don't take kindly to a strange naked man on their property. Things are made worse when it seems nobody speaks English. Our MC is subsequently tied up and delivered to authorities where he is pressed into indentured service to the Legionnaires to pay off his sentence.
I think it was a great setup that wasted no time getting us into the new world, which reveals itself to be a fantasy hybrid of Roman inspiration mixed with System mechanics and some D&D influence for the races and monsters.
The first volume follows our MC, Eryk, during his initial onboarding and training with the Legion, his subsequent assignment to a unit, and his experiences on the first handful of missions. I thought the story covered lots of ground and did a great job with worldbuilding and exposing the reader to all the System and magic mechanics.
Character
Our MC, Eryk, is a fairly typical everyman character and the story doesn't delve too deeply into the particulars of his background on Earth. Some readers might take issue with a few of the decisions he makes as he can come across as a bit of a grifter or conniver. To his credit, his first experience in this new world was being pressed into indentured military service, so I can't blame him too much for keeping his secrets close and taking what he can get in certain circumstances. I'll admit that he took a few risks and pressed his advantage quite a bit more than I would have a few times.
The overwhelming majority of the other characters are more archetypes than individuals, either being basic footsoldiers, scouts, lieutenant-types, or mage-commanders. We don't learn a ton about anyone's personal life, but I don't really consider this a problem here since it's Book 1 of a stranger in a strange land experience and Eryk is simply trying to get his bearings and stay afloat. His status as an outworlder is something he tries to keep secret since there's a history of outworlders simply disappearing after being presented to the Emperor. So he keeps most of his compatriots at arms-length so he doesn't trip over himself when pretending he's just a country bumpkin from a rural area on the empire's fringe.
Setting & Magic
Cue up the jokes about how often guys think about the Roman Empire. But in all seriousness, I really enjoyed the setting. I can't comment on the historical accuracy of specifics, but there's an obvious inspiration here explained by the idea that an entire Roman Legion fell through a portal and landed in this fantasy world hundreds of years ago. As outworlders, they had bonuses to certain affinities and attributes and, combined with their militaristic training, established an empire in the new world.
I really like how the magic works in this story and how its grounded a bit more rather than being too video-gamey. Specifically, characters don't have magical floating screens they can access. Instead they rely on special artifacts that can measure their current attributes and their attribute potentials. So a person might see a current Strength score of 15 with a potential of 55 while another person might have a score of 30 with a potential of 35. In that example, Person A would currently be weaker, but have the potential to become stronger in the long run than Person B.
While everyone had physical stats that benefitted from training, only a rare number of people had magical attributes high enough to qualify for Mage training. True mages would often end up as Legion commanders with other people of middling magic scores being more reliant on using a limited number of specific spells and rechargeable magic tools.
I also really liked the mechanics of essence collection. Basically, a magical artifact called an essence collector can be held above a corpse and pull residual essence from a body (if it's still fresh like within 30 minutes of death). These collectors are rare and don't have a 100% success rate. The resulting essence is based on the dead creature's highest attribute and this essence core can be eaten to serve as a booster for attribute development.
Writing
Considering this is the author's first work and they claim they are more of a storyteller than a proper writer, I thought the writing was good. There were a few proofreading errors here and there, but probably less than 10 for the whole book.
There are also times when the prose resembles a bit of a laundry list rather than a smooth flow, but I honestly didn't mind. The story reads like a diary/travel log of a regular guy and the way its written has a casual and conversational feel to it. I felt like it was fitting and it didn't bother me in the slightest despite probably being more of a stickler than your average reader on writing.
Enjoyment
I loved this book. Some people love magic school plots, but for my money I'll take a military enlistment BootCamp and special training menu plot any day of the week and that's what this story resembles. So if you are a fan of military sci-fi but are looking for the fantasy equivalent, that's what you'll get here.
Thoughts on escalating pricing, cliffhangers, etc
Only the first two books are currently available on KU. For those not using KU, book pricing starts at $5 for book one and goes up by a dollar for each subsequent volume. Some people don't like this sort of thing and consider it a bait & switch. I honestly don't see a difference between this method and what you commonly see with the first volume or two being on sale and then the rest being full price. If the story isn't good enough to pay $8 for, I'll simply drop the series and not buy the next book. If I love the series, $8 or $9 isn't too much to pay for a book. It's cheaper than you can get a meal nowadays and the enjoyment and memory of the book will last longer than a burger.
I tend to rotate my reading across Kindle Unlimited, Library books, Bookbub sales, and then buying occasional books at full price. I try to keep my monthly book expenditures around $50 per month, which might sound high or low to different people. Point being, I don't pay $10 for every book I read as it would be unsustainable, so it's up to the individual to determine their value per dollar spent and budget accordingly.
Some people refer to the ending of this book as a cliffhanger, and maybe it is by some standard, but I didn't think so. Anyone reading serialized stories from RoyalRoad has seen true cliffhangers between volumes where the book abruptly ends. This book ended with the resolution of a plot arc, and then the final chapter was what I consider a teaser of where the next volume would take us. It felt like a natural stopping point for me.
If you read the synopsis of this book and it sounds interesting, then I would go for it. It will probably be one of the more enjoyable gamelit stories you read if it's up your alley.
March 18, 2024
Good
I enjoyed this one different magic system and it just kept getting better. The first chapter or two felt kind of weird like it was just all exposition or I had accidentally picked up the second book but then it got rolling after that.
I enjoyed this one different magic system and it just kept getting better. The first chapter or two felt kind of weird like it was just all exposition or I had accidentally picked up the second book but then it got rolling after that.
August 20, 2024
Difficult to believe a person wrote this
Reads like AI script, feels like AI script, interesting story idea but it doesn’t read like a person wrote the story
Reads like AI script, feels like AI script, interesting story idea but it doesn’t read like a person wrote the story
February 11, 2025
Loved it! I liked how the main character was very down to earth and most of his encounters he skated by on luck rather than being the most OP person from the get go
June 22, 2026
I like the story, it develops the world nicely and sets up some future conflicts well. The main character (Erick) is a highlight, easy to understand and isn't made out to be a Genius. The only complaint, I have is that I don't care for any other character and the story is relatively Short. But it kind of fiscal's out at the end the main character doesn't really seem like his in danger at all and the ending doesn't do anything.
July 5, 2026
Erik, the protagonist in this series is a really likable character. I love the the pacing of this story, the feel of it with a mix of slice of life elements and the slow progression of the MC while navigating cleverness, subterfuge and finding allies he can trust on the road to great potential power! I love where this is going! Oooh, how exciting!
May 6, 2026
Bad writing
Reads like a grocery list. Writing should have some kind of flow not be a series of statements. Did not finish.
Reads like a grocery list. Writing should have some kind of flow not be a series of statements. Did not finish.
July 3, 2026
Very entertaining, almost like playing WoW myself
November 9, 2024
It's litrpg and for some reason I enjoyed it.
December 26, 2024
I've seen many people hype this book... but the book's blurb plainly stating that the protag is not OP, and he will struggle a lot is off putting. I read struggle books for decades, and I just want someone getting through in life. I hope the author doesn't go overboard.
A protag doesn't need to be overpowered to be fun, but the blurb makes it sound like the author is fed up of OP protagonist books, and wants to write one with as much struggling as possible. We will see.
I'm only a quarter way through this book, but I'm loving it so far. Already picked up book two. It's well written.
I really enjoyed this. If I didn't take the chance to read this book, I would have missed out. The blurb was bad, and made this sound like it was going to be struggle porn. The cover didn't help things either.
Will recommend to other people who refused to read because of the blurb and cover.
3/5 Stars
A protag doesn't need to be overpowered to be fun, but the blurb makes it sound like the author is fed up of OP protagonist books, and wants to write one with as much struggling as possible. We will see.
I'm only a quarter way through this book, but I'm loving it so far. Already picked up book two. It's well written.
I really enjoyed this. If I didn't take the chance to read this book, I would have missed out. The blurb was bad, and made this sound like it was going to be struggle porn. The cover didn't help things either.
Will recommend to other people who refused to read because of the blurb and cover.
3/5 Stars
January 23, 2025
Honestly not sure how to feel about this book & how to rate it. This is the novel version of a progression fantasy originally published as webserial, i.e. per chapter, and it's the writer's first work; this meant that you could see the writing style improve throughout the novel, but it also meant the 1st half of the book was, writing-wise, terrible. The used language was wooden, descriptions were bad, the MC felt very one-dimensional, and it was often just horribly dull (for example, when the MC did weapons tests, this would only be described as "I got 3rd in spear-throwing, 10 in sword and shield, etc." <-- this happened 5 separate times!!!). I really considered putting down the book at this point, but I decided to persevere so that I could write this review.
But then, something strange happened: the book slowly started to grip me, even if the writing style only improved marginally. The MC, still obnoxious and selfish, had his moments, and the world does seem interesting enough. I'm not sure if I will read part 2 (although it is the easily readable, pulpy-kinda novel you sometimes like to read), but I do know I probably wouldn't recommend this 1st book, or at least not the first half of it.
But then, something strange happened: the book slowly started to grip me, even if the writing style only improved marginally. The MC, still obnoxious and selfish, had his moments, and the world does seem interesting enough. I'm not sure if I will read part 2 (although it is the easily readable, pulpy-kinda novel you sometimes like to read), but I do know I probably wouldn't recommend this 1st book, or at least not the first half of it.
February 6, 2025
I very much liked this at first. 1st litRPG that nicely showed the dangers of being isekei'd/transported to magical world. MC is logical & smart & story seems more 'grounded'. Did not waste time on the MC's back story or other getting started jargon... But now, just about ending B2, it has very much lost its appeal/seems like just going through the motions. No great MC hero journey, some power growth but no appeal growth (so far), still no back story (i guess this guy was just that uninteresting before & not much more now that magical world lost novelty), & no comic relief sidekick picked up along way...
but i stuck with it just cuz better than most & still the things i think missing did not appear... but literally last line of B3 makes me want to stick with it for B4 at least. (waiting on audible to record it)
but i stuck with it just cuz better than most & still the things i think missing did not appear... but literally last line of B3 makes me want to stick with it for B4 at least. (waiting on audible to record it)
April 14, 2024
Very good
Great action. The characters are well described. The plot keeps moving. Was not boring at all. Great fun good action.
Great action. The characters are well described. The plot keeps moving. Was not boring at all. Great fun good action.
January 21, 2025
Top tier LitRPG. Don't miss this one. Four books have been published in print, and book 5 is expected in December 2025.
March 28, 2025
Great book, I look forward to the next the next one in the series.
On book 4 now, still a great series , go read it :)
On book 4 now, still a great series , go read it :)
August 23, 2025
Brutal primer libro! y hay una referencia a Madrid!! litrpg del bueno ojalá los traduzca al español
September 22, 2024
Another unexpected hit with me, A Soldier's Life is a fantasy portal with litrpg (quantified magical abilities, dungeons, essences etc) set in a fantasy world where some millennia ago a Roman legion was transported to and its soldiers acquiring rare and powerful magical capabilities in the process, carved an empire which their descendants (still the ruling class as "first citizens") have been expanding ever since.
Our narrator, Eryk Marko, is transported to the world (when driving through the night to the wedding of a nephew in S Dakota) and he quickly finds himself impressed in the army - sent to a training camp for the elite Legionnaires, he has to get in shape quickly to first survive and second be one of the 30 graduates out the original 80 or so, as the rest are destined for first line fodder. Though not in the greatest shape and without apparent magical abilities, he slowly integrates in the new surroundings, learns Latin helped by a magical translation amulet and unexpectedly (at the time as later when he finds out the story of the Empire he realizes it was actually not that surprising) develops a rare and very useful skill, the ability of creating, holding and accessing an extra dimensional pocket where stuff is kept in stasis and has no mass, so healing potions (which degrade fast), the legion pay (which is a temptation) and other valuable stuff can be kept and transported.
So despite his physical shortcomings, he is graduated early and assigned to a company under mage Castille, a renowned trouble shooting mage with a knack for dangerous missions; of course the pocket's usefulness is determined by volume and Eryk admits he can do a "normal" size pocket conforming to his image as someone from far away backwoods country who got into trouble when visiting the Empire and had to accept the army instead of worse punishments, rather than an otherworlder - they still tend to come occasionally, though mostly in groups and none known in a century - with potentially high rare magics and the huge volume pocket he actually has. Of course this leads to him escaping very sticky situations unexpectedly (if close enough for his volume to cover he for example can shove a large part of a monster inside or say the heart of an enemy soldier ready to run him through, though every such transfer of parts of a living being disables his pocket access for a while, which is definitely not the case with accessing the pocket for inanimate things)
Unfortunately, mage Castille has made some powerful enemies, including a senior imperial Duke who is set to see her dead, so when the opportunity strikes, Castille and her team are sent on a seemingly suicidal mission; Castille has some unexpected magic, so for example she can surreptitiously spy on her subordinates and see what they are up to...
Luckily for our hero, Castille is very loyal to her subordinates, at least after they proved their mettle, shares the booty much more fairly than other mage commanders and as Eryk finds out, she also has some secrets of her own that may make her look kindly on an otherworlder despite the requirement to report all such to the central authorities.
But of course the Emperor is not so trusting, so every company has their own Praetorian representatives who report to the Emperor, though they are generally known as they are loyal company members as long as the mage commander is loyal... And Eryk's more or less self-appointed mentor and trainer, legionnaire Konstantin is one such as he easily admits, so Eryk has to be triple on his guard...
And so it goes with lots of inventiveness in world building, magic, creatures etc, interesting characters but the main attraction of the novel which kept me immersed from page one is the narration tone - matter of fact, almost deadpan with little emotion or theatrics but very entertaining.
A good stopping point though with a little cliffhanger and book 2 Sobral City available also beckons...
Overall excellent and highly recommended with the narrative tone being what makes this novel stand out from many other similar litrpg offerings.
Our narrator, Eryk Marko, is transported to the world (when driving through the night to the wedding of a nephew in S Dakota) and he quickly finds himself impressed in the army - sent to a training camp for the elite Legionnaires, he has to get in shape quickly to first survive and second be one of the 30 graduates out the original 80 or so, as the rest are destined for first line fodder. Though not in the greatest shape and without apparent magical abilities, he slowly integrates in the new surroundings, learns Latin helped by a magical translation amulet and unexpectedly (at the time as later when he finds out the story of the Empire he realizes it was actually not that surprising) develops a rare and very useful skill, the ability of creating, holding and accessing an extra dimensional pocket where stuff is kept in stasis and has no mass, so healing potions (which degrade fast), the legion pay (which is a temptation) and other valuable stuff can be kept and transported.
So despite his physical shortcomings, he is graduated early and assigned to a company under mage Castille, a renowned trouble shooting mage with a knack for dangerous missions; of course the pocket's usefulness is determined by volume and Eryk admits he can do a "normal" size pocket conforming to his image as someone from far away backwoods country who got into trouble when visiting the Empire and had to accept the army instead of worse punishments, rather than an otherworlder - they still tend to come occasionally, though mostly in groups and none known in a century - with potentially high rare magics and the huge volume pocket he actually has. Of course this leads to him escaping very sticky situations unexpectedly (if close enough for his volume to cover he for example can shove a large part of a monster inside or say the heart of an enemy soldier ready to run him through, though every such transfer of parts of a living being disables his pocket access for a while, which is definitely not the case with accessing the pocket for inanimate things)
Unfortunately, mage Castille has made some powerful enemies, including a senior imperial Duke who is set to see her dead, so when the opportunity strikes, Castille and her team are sent on a seemingly suicidal mission; Castille has some unexpected magic, so for example she can surreptitiously spy on her subordinates and see what they are up to...
Luckily for our hero, Castille is very loyal to her subordinates, at least after they proved their mettle, shares the booty much more fairly than other mage commanders and as Eryk finds out, she also has some secrets of her own that may make her look kindly on an otherworlder despite the requirement to report all such to the central authorities.
But of course the Emperor is not so trusting, so every company has their own Praetorian representatives who report to the Emperor, though they are generally known as they are loyal company members as long as the mage commander is loyal... And Eryk's more or less self-appointed mentor and trainer, legionnaire Konstantin is one such as he easily admits, so Eryk has to be triple on his guard...
And so it goes with lots of inventiveness in world building, magic, creatures etc, interesting characters but the main attraction of the novel which kept me immersed from page one is the narration tone - matter of fact, almost deadpan with little emotion or theatrics but very entertaining.
A good stopping point though with a little cliffhanger and book 2 Sobral City available also beckons...
Overall excellent and highly recommended with the narrative tone being what makes this novel stand out from many other similar litrpg offerings.
August 23, 2026
This is a book review followed by a series review.
I really enjoyed the first book. It had an interesting concept and the protagonist made smart choices. Mistakes were made, but they were believable mistakes, and he was not written as a typical savior trope. My main issue is the way female characters are written. They are mostly weak, as if the author only has about six archetypes for women. There are also hints of an upcoming political drama, so I am not entirely sure about the direction. This feels like ancient Rome.
The dungeon dives feature some of the best writing I have seen in a while. Most authors struggle to write clear action blocking, but this book delivers solid, well-paced fight scenes. While it does not always weave emotional stakes into the action effectively, the fights still work well. In fact, they are the best part of the book. The dungeon diving is smart, featuring great harvesting mechanics and practical details that many other books in this genre fail to execute.
4 starts good start interesting read.
Series Review (Dropped at Book 6)
I made it to Book 6 before deciding to stop reading the series.
The main issue is the stat overload. The story includes a massive amount of numbers that ultimately feel pointless. These stat blocks could have been executed much better or simply summarized, rather than being insistently mapped out to the point that skipping through them takes five minutes even at 2x speed in the later audiobooks.
The biggest drawback, which eventually turned me off from the series entirely, was how the author handled political drama and female characters. Because of the writing style, the women become boring and feel like flat archetypes rather than real people. Furthermore, the way the adult characters handled certain issues and relationships felt unsettling. Many of the female characters reacted like 16- or 17-year-old girls, making the dynamic uncomfortable when adult characters were involved. When those characters acted that way, it made the already poor female characterization feel even worse.
The final nail in the coffin is the long stretches of dead time. Sometimes there is a time skip, but you realize the main character barely improves afterward. You would think he would realize the need for practical, real-life changes. Do not get me wrong; he spends a ton of time training. However, he barely works on his strongest feature, even though it accounts for 90 percent of his solutions and his emergency fallback options.
The most frustrating part it has so many interesting ideas that get wasted because dood can't write a side character to save his life. And no one learns. And the ones that do learn is the ones the Mc distances himself from the fastest.
Because of all that. This is the end of the road. I kinda wonder how it will end. But at the same time. I feel like it might turn into a hate read cycle. It's not enough to be outright bad. But it piles. So series review 1-4/5ish half of book 5 = 4 stars. book 6 3 stars.
I really enjoyed the first book. It had an interesting concept and the protagonist made smart choices. Mistakes were made, but they were believable mistakes, and he was not written as a typical savior trope. My main issue is the way female characters are written. They are mostly weak, as if the author only has about six archetypes for women. There are also hints of an upcoming political drama, so I am not entirely sure about the direction. This feels like ancient Rome.
The dungeon dives feature some of the best writing I have seen in a while. Most authors struggle to write clear action blocking, but this book delivers solid, well-paced fight scenes. While it does not always weave emotional stakes into the action effectively, the fights still work well. In fact, they are the best part of the book. The dungeon diving is smart, featuring great harvesting mechanics and practical details that many other books in this genre fail to execute.
4 starts good start interesting read.
Series Review (Dropped at Book 6)
I made it to Book 6 before deciding to stop reading the series.
The main issue is the stat overload. The story includes a massive amount of numbers that ultimately feel pointless. These stat blocks could have been executed much better or simply summarized, rather than being insistently mapped out to the point that skipping through them takes five minutes even at 2x speed in the later audiobooks.
The biggest drawback, which eventually turned me off from the series entirely, was how the author handled political drama and female characters. Because of the writing style, the women become boring and feel like flat archetypes rather than real people. Furthermore, the way the adult characters handled certain issues and relationships felt unsettling. Many of the female characters reacted like 16- or 17-year-old girls, making the dynamic uncomfortable when adult characters were involved. When those characters acted that way, it made the already poor female characterization feel even worse.
The final nail in the coffin is the long stretches of dead time. Sometimes there is a time skip, but you realize the main character barely improves afterward. You would think he would realize the need for practical, real-life changes. Do not get me wrong; he spends a ton of time training. However, he barely works on his strongest feature, even though it accounts for 90 percent of his solutions and his emergency fallback options.
The most frustrating part it has so many interesting ideas that get wasted because dood can't write a side character to save his life. And no one learns. And the ones that do learn is the ones the Mc distances himself from the fastest.
Because of all that. This is the end of the road. I kinda wonder how it will end. But at the same time. I feel like it might turn into a hate read cycle. It's not enough to be outright bad. But it piles. So series review 1-4/5ish half of book 5 = 4 stars. book 6 3 stars.
October 3, 2024
This book is 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 based on finishing 50% of it. I wouldn't normally rate a book I haven't finished so highly, but here, I can recognise that your enjoyment will vary based on the kind of reader you are.
My main issue is that this is a very surface-level story. From the very beginning, we have a main character who wakes up naked in a new world where he doesn't speak the language and is accused of attempted rape for finding himself in that situation. Despite his punishment being forced inscription into the legion, the character never shows any emotional impact to these events. He doesn't care that he's in another world, has been falsely accused and convicted of a crime, or is an indentured servant for the next five years in a highly dangerous occupation. He just goes with the flow and proceeds on to his next adventure.
This is true for the rest of the book, with the protagonist progressing from one scenario to the next with no impact beyond what is necessary to progress the plot to the next adventure.
The supporting cast gets even less development. They have names and interact with the main character as much as is necessary to push the story forward, but that's it. They feel like NPCs in a video game, not three-dimensional characters that populate a real world.
Beyond character work, the story is only surface-level in its descriptions as well. A good example is when the main character goes to his first city at the novel's start. The description says he has entered a walled city that would be at home in almost any medieval setting (That's not a direct quote, but one from memory). The thing is, medieval cities did not all look alike. Was it big or small? Were the structures wooden or stone? Were the streets dirt tracks or paved? There's a tremendous amount of information glossed over to the point where I was left with no mental picture of where we were.
This is where the objective part comes in. Some people don't need that extra information. They can hear the words medieval city, imagine what they think works best there, and move on with their lives. I look for more from my books than that. I don't need everything described in great detail, but I like to feel like I am in a custom-crafted world with a rich history, not a bland world with interchangeable elements that don't really matter.
Overall, this was just too underdeveloped for my tastes. But if we view a book as a lake that a reader needs to cross, I'm the kind of reader who wants to swim around a bit along the way to experience what that lake has to offer. Some readers see that same lake and just want to skim over the surface to get to the other side. Depending on the kind of reader you are will impact how much you enjoy this book
My main issue is that this is a very surface-level story. From the very beginning, we have a main character who wakes up naked in a new world where he doesn't speak the language and is accused of attempted rape for finding himself in that situation. Despite his punishment being forced inscription into the legion, the character never shows any emotional impact to these events. He doesn't care that he's in another world, has been falsely accused and convicted of a crime, or is an indentured servant for the next five years in a highly dangerous occupation. He just goes with the flow and proceeds on to his next adventure.
This is true for the rest of the book, with the protagonist progressing from one scenario to the next with no impact beyond what is necessary to progress the plot to the next adventure.
The supporting cast gets even less development. They have names and interact with the main character as much as is necessary to push the story forward, but that's it. They feel like NPCs in a video game, not three-dimensional characters that populate a real world.
Beyond character work, the story is only surface-level in its descriptions as well. A good example is when the main character goes to his first city at the novel's start. The description says he has entered a walled city that would be at home in almost any medieval setting (That's not a direct quote, but one from memory). The thing is, medieval cities did not all look alike. Was it big or small? Were the structures wooden or stone? Were the streets dirt tracks or paved? There's a tremendous amount of information glossed over to the point where I was left with no mental picture of where we were.
This is where the objective part comes in. Some people don't need that extra information. They can hear the words medieval city, imagine what they think works best there, and move on with their lives. I look for more from my books than that. I don't need everything described in great detail, but I like to feel like I am in a custom-crafted world with a rich history, not a bland world with interchangeable elements that don't really matter.
Overall, this was just too underdeveloped for my tastes. But if we view a book as a lake that a reader needs to cross, I'm the kind of reader who wants to swim around a bit along the way to experience what that lake has to offer. Some readers see that same lake and just want to skim over the surface to get to the other side. Depending on the kind of reader you are will impact how much you enjoy this book
February 9, 2026
How is this so different and also so the same?
TL; DR: A brutal vision of war and fantasy, with a potential for greatness, A Soldier’s Life sets up an interesting premise and protagonist with the promise of excellence to come.
This was actually a much better book that I expected, but also somehow worse than I expected. I don’t quite know how to describe it. From all of the exposition that I received from others, it was a gritty take on the indentured isekai story and seemed ready to delve into deeper, stronger topics usually avoided in such power trips. Then it veered toward power fantasy and felt a little stereotypical. It also seemed like there may be gore for gore’s sake and people dying just because it served the narrative, with shallow relationships and fodder characters. And then we got an in depth look at the workings of a soldier and the mental fortitude that one must confront and forge to withstand such things. What an interesting experience.
Characters: Eryk is a fantastic main character who I was frustrated with for a moment, but grew on me. He seems a real person, someone genuinely fed up with their situation, but doing their best to make the best of it. Most other characters felt a little inconsequential this book, but I’m sure their roles will grow.
Setting: The world feels very well-crafted, with a great deal of care put into the state of magic and the political system. It’s easy to follow and a great setup. If I keep reading this series, this is why.
Story: It’s actually a really normal setup, for all the hype around it. Isekai’d into the army, basically. He grows and develops with a little bit of the power fantasy backing him all the way there. I can’t complain about that too much, because it never felt overpowered, it was just a guy wisely using what he got while making plenty of mistakes along the way.
Writing: It was a bit of a slog from time to time, but it was worth it. I don’t quite know where things are heading, but I know the ending made me roll my eyes a bit, so I docked it a little more for my rating.
I don’t know if “I enjoyed it” is a good description for this book. I think “I respect it” is much more applicable.
4.0 🌟
TL; DR: A brutal vision of war and fantasy, with a potential for greatness, A Soldier’s Life sets up an interesting premise and protagonist with the promise of excellence to come.
This was actually a much better book that I expected, but also somehow worse than I expected. I don’t quite know how to describe it. From all of the exposition that I received from others, it was a gritty take on the indentured isekai story and seemed ready to delve into deeper, stronger topics usually avoided in such power trips. Then it veered toward power fantasy and felt a little stereotypical. It also seemed like there may be gore for gore’s sake and people dying just because it served the narrative, with shallow relationships and fodder characters. And then we got an in depth look at the workings of a soldier and the mental fortitude that one must confront and forge to withstand such things. What an interesting experience.
Characters: Eryk is a fantastic main character who I was frustrated with for a moment, but grew on me. He seems a real person, someone genuinely fed up with their situation, but doing their best to make the best of it. Most other characters felt a little inconsequential this book, but I’m sure their roles will grow.
Setting: The world feels very well-crafted, with a great deal of care put into the state of magic and the political system. It’s easy to follow and a great setup. If I keep reading this series, this is why.
Story: It’s actually a really normal setup, for all the hype around it. Isekai’d into the army, basically. He grows and develops with a little bit of the power fantasy backing him all the way there. I can’t complain about that too much, because it never felt overpowered, it was just a guy wisely using what he got while making plenty of mistakes along the way.
Writing: It was a bit of a slog from time to time, but it was worth it. I don’t quite know where things are heading, but I know the ending made me roll my eyes a bit, so I docked it a little more for my rating.
I don’t know if “I enjoyed it” is a good description for this book. I think “I respect it” is much more applicable.
4.0 🌟
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