The Dark Lord of Crafting: A Crafting LitRPG

The Dark Lord of Crafting #1

by William Myrl

Will wasn't supposed to be eaten by a space zombie.
The goddess responsible for this extra-dimensional mishap promised him a second life in a fantasy world, complete with powers inspired by his favorite computer game, Maincraft. But there's a problem.

Will's new world has a Dark Lord, and his System doesn't come with instructions. He wants to live in peace, and maybe meet a girl, but crafting a slice of life with monsters spawning every night and an evil empire on your doorstep is tough when all you've got are blocks and sticks.

Stuck in survival mode, he’ll have to get creative.

A LitRPG isekai adventure with a splash of gore, a dash of horror, and a hint of romance—this isn't your kid's Maincraft. But hey, at least there's no profanity.

Genres: Fantasy

493 pages, Paperback

Published April 15, 2025

About the author

Secretly a wizard.

Reviews

[Lana]

I love LitRPG and Isekai books, but I must admit I found this, Will's story, who got eaten by a zombie and the Goddess Mizu who felt responsible rewarding him with a 2nd chance in life a bit boring. He ended up in Plana naked, and though having powers which matched those of his favourite game Maincraft, he was still at basic survivor mode, and starting from scratch with sticks and stones. He found out also that the land had a dark lord called Kevin, who he was sure was another outworlder like himself, but much more powerful of course. I got bored by all the night spawning monsters who seemed to flock to attack him as these were always zombies, trolls and nightwings and they kept him away from others to safeguard them. Once he met the Lillits of Erihseht, things became interesting especially when he ended up having to go after a demon who had taken the Lillits away from their village, thus becoming a hero. However he is not a warrior but a crafter and this was not so interesting to me, but what I found interesting and quite hilarious was the language the Lillits spoke as it is my own language, Maltese and this was a massive unexpected surprise. I do believe that once the basic setting up of the story is complete the next books will become more adventurous and interesting.

[John Stonebraker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Fun read, and I'm not even a "Maincraft" fan
Content Ratings: Language – PG; Violence – PG13; Other – PG13

I thoroughly enjoyed this book despite not being a fan of the game that Maincraft is "similar to but legally distinct" from. (Pardon the bad grammar - I didn't get it from the author, who is generally spot on with spelling, grammar, and punctuation.) I only point that out to emphasize that, although the popular crafting game tie in is fun, I enjoyed the book on its own merits and not because of a fondness for the computer game. Or Lord of the Rings (which also lends some "similar but legally distinct elements").

At its heart, this is a LitRPG Isekai. The isekai is well executed, the plot is good, the action and progression are well paced, and the system is both familiar and full of surprises ("legally distinct"). As a bonus I also appreciate that the book is written for adults but in a way that's kid-friendly, although I'll caveat that because some of the violence and enemy depictions may be too intense for some readers (which gets back to the "PG" part of ratings). Overall, an excellent read and promise for more good things to come.

[Lissette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an awesome book to read. I was hooked from the moment I began reading. The author dove into writing this story with such creative licensing it was wonderful to encounter. He shows the characters and their environments in such a way that you find yourself engrossed in what happens from start to finish.

One thing I enjoyed was the fact that the author used numerous palindromes within the story itself. It was wonderful coming across them and realizing the Easter eggs they were meant to be. Honestly, those moments were refreshing.

This book was a cross between Minecraft and The Lord Of The Rings. Among other references to other game worlds throughout the book, of course. The author nicely fleshes out each character and the world they now inhabit. It’s one full of strife and uncertainty, yet they’re willing to make something more of the environments they find themselves in.

Will Will be able to fully integrate himself in the new world he now lives in? That remains to be seen. I can’t wait to discover what happens next in book 2 and beyond.

[David Schoemaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Primaily read the various LitRPG genre of books. The Dark Lord of Crafting by Willyam Myrl is off the beaten path for me. The magic system is based off "Main Craft" (assume for copyright reasons) but the implementation is different and fresh compared to the various magic systems of the typical Isekai or LitRPG. Magic is only really accessible when not in combat for the most part and items, crafing materials and finished products, can be reduced into coins to be used at need. This causes quite a bit of issue with the MC, and they really can not be considered OP throughout the book. It has a good mix of character and world development with just enough combat to keep it interesting without going into way too much detail and bogging it down. Pace could be considered a little slow but it hit the sweet spot for me. On to the next book in the series.

[Kyle Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting start to a series. The series follows Will, a man living a dead end life that due to odd circumstances gets pulled into a Minecraft meets LOTR style world, and in that world he is one of a very select few to have the ability to do things like you can in Minecraft. To the people in that world, his abilities seem magical, sometimes even dark magic, leading to distrust that he must work to overcome, all while attempting to avoid the notice of another with similar powers known as the Dark Lord (Also known as Kevin)

[Danny Moody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book. I didn’t know much about Minecraft until my son became obsessed with it. So I got a lot of the references to it. I also appreciated some of the other gaming references. Since my son is 6 years old, I appreciate the language used in this book. Thought he is a few years away from attempting something like this, it is nice to know there are options. The MC was cool with an interesting past. Overall it was a fun, entertaining book.

[Salina Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

50 Pages in and I love this so much! I've read many crafting litrpg isekai series but none as hilarious and great as this! I don't play the game this is based on but when I do I'll know how to craft and the basics. The lever pulling has me saying "Pull the lever Kronk." in my head. So excited for book 2!!

[David Spence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Funny, creative, lighthearted, and easy to read for hours on end. A clever concept that adds stakes, depth, and a chaotic twist to the the ideas first put forth by Mojang without really relying heavily on the original Minecraft universe to get its legs. Just as good for fans of Minecraft as it is for people who have never even played it.

[Ember Holt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detail oriented, grindy, funny, sweet, and epic. I've never played MAINcraft myself, but I liked the attention to detail on how the magic system worked. It was very well explained, leaving nothing to hand waves or questionable behavior.

It was lengthy, but realistic in that lengthiness. You get isakaied to a new world, shit is gonna take a while to figure out.

The very minimal romance was sweet and believable. The bromance was really great, I found myself screaming in the final battle when the bro gets hit and doesn't get up but the MC has to keep fighting, and the chapter ends before we find out if he's okay.

Can't wait to get into the next one and see where things go.