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A Soldier's Life #6

Adventures in Godok

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Returning Maveith's people home to Stone Mountain Island becomes a quest to heal Castile. After months on the island, Konstantin, Gilda, Eryk, and Raelia travel to the renowned city of Godok. Known by its residents as the greatest city on Desia, a massive sprawl where adventure finds you.

623 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 3, 2026

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Always RollsAOne

11 books165 followers

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5 stars
452 (67%)
4 stars
147 (22%)
3 stars
46 (6%)
2 stars
20 (2%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
Profile Image for Tony Hinde.
2,359 reviews100 followers
July 5, 2026
It felt like the pace dropped a notch for this episode. Eryk was in control most of the time, following his own path.

Given his amulet, it was a clever idea to challenge every martial sect in the city. Presumably, at the end they could create a teacher/sparring-partner for each fighting discipline.

On the negative side, Eryk's portal/storage ability now seems totally OP. In the past, he had to overcome an opponent's will to capture even a part of them, failing if their own magic/will was too great. In this book, he never failed, even against master magicians.

Despite an emotionally confusing ending, this series is still an addictive read.
50 reviews
August 15, 2026
This was as good a story as the other 5 books. The character depth Is well established and continues to build.
Some books I find hard to nick up after no ready the last for a long time. But A Soldiers life is one I find easy to.
Always RollsaOne has build a great series.
Profile Image for Jkane.
801 reviews2 followers
July 12, 2026
A good installment which left me wanting more, and annoyed that I'll have to wait six months or more before I see what next befalls our hero Erik. Although I enjoyed this novel a lot, and I'll probably re-listen to it again, I didn't think it was as good as the last few installments. My suspicion is that the reason that it was a little less exciting than the past novels is because we were not really on a mission with an overall danger in this one, like we were in the past novels. By the end of the novel, we get that tension, that overall plot, and the danger, but it was not pushing the story throughout most of the novel. Nevertheless, I'm hooked and left waiting for the next one...
Profile Image for Sgt Maj.
219 reviews12 followers
August 11, 2026
Last 2 declined significantly

First, didn't like the marketing strategy that author used to start. Low ball promote and then high priced sell just doesn't sit right.
As series moved on, typo and grammar mistakes grew. Along with declining syntax, Inconsistencies started becoming apparent and they were distracting. Also became formula written piece throughout and became boring -- ie, dungeons became the same, just different carrots.
Last, author lost his way with MC, from a 'hero' to....briefly put, a bit of a jerk. No interest to see what's next.
Profile Image for Will Knight.
469 reviews2 followers
August 6, 2026
Note to self: enjoyable series, annoying halfling.

It seems at some point, over the last few books, the MC stopped making choices and leading his own adventure. Now, everyone pushes him around, sets things in motion, tricks him into events, etc. When did Eryk stop making choices...

I really like this series. The one annoying thing for me is when the author forces the plot on the MC by other people making "mistakes" like blabbing or Eryk letting himself be tricked into events he should be smart enough to avoid. It's a small gripe, but it's the one thing I wish the author would stop doing.
Profile Image for Andrew G.
200 reviews18 followers
July 7, 2026
This is one of my favorite series in the entire Progression Fantasy genre. In this book, our MC travels to Stone Mountain Island to return his friend Maveith and the freed Goliaths to their home. While there he engages in some clean up, essence farming, as well as a really cool dungeon clear. This is a side quest in a series of side quests that is slowly building into something else, finally hinted at by the author in his preface.

The author notes that this series will be 11 total books. Originally, he planned out 10 books for this series, with each book having its own story arc laying the groundwork for a larger arc that will end the series over the last 3-4 books. First, awesome! THIS is how you write in this genre. No pantsing and finding yourself out of things to write about like Dungeon Crawler Carl. No open ended, slow af paced series that will go for 50 plus books at their current pace like Defiance of the Fall or Primal Hunter. Those series have their strengths, but their weakness are in not being planned out from the beginning, and each book not having its own story arc.

What I especially love is that even through book six, we aren’t even aware of the pieces being moved into place for the final arc. That’s so refreshing. It’s so common of a trope in this genre for the “one” MC to be facing, from the first book, some ancient prophesied cataclysm that only he can face. The problem with this trope is that this larger plot looms over the entire series. It devalues all the lower scale plots of earlier books. It saps the stakes. And doubly worse, good guys always win in this genre, its power fantasy. So we know the MC gonna win, why sap the stakes before you need to? That’s a strength of this series, because we can go all in on immersion for these earlier arcs, and bonus each book has its own. The MC isn’t “the one”, he’s just a guy who found himself in this world, trying to make the best of it by helping the friends he’s making on the way. And it’s this foundation of friendship and connections and shared respect made in these “side quests” that’s going to see them through the final arc. THIS is how you write a GREAT series in this genre.

The other ways you write a great series is world and magic building. This series doesn’t have massive gaps between those with the most power and those with the least. Even the ancient Titans are limited because there’s only a handful of them, and a few hundred soldiers could kill one. There’s no destroying solar systems nonsense. No power scaling trap. Not only that, the magic system itself is so tidy and cool at the same time. There’s no “system” entity. It’s a natural phenomena people have quantified and developed ways to exploit over the ages. One spellform per affinity, scaled by one’s natural born potential in that affinity, but upgradable through essences (the killing of beings both beast and people). But these essences don’t just fall out, they have to be drawn out with a tool or gifted in a dungeon. This limits the growth potential of most people allowing for a world building not full of unassailable powerhouses and hierarchies.

Just so much potential for storytelling that isn’t power scaled by just keeping things simple. It’s genius. Everyone should be writing this way. It’s so much easier to get invested in the characters and immersed in this escapism that is the heart of this genre.

Now, all my praise front-loaded, I’m gonna give a couple of criticisms because no series is perfect. But don’t let this affect your decision making on reading this series, it’s absolutely a total recommend from me.

First, the MC actually mentions “his people” for the first time in ages in this book. I think it’s set up for the next arc in the next book, that was originally part of this book. This book was originally two arcs on one book, but the author decided to split them into two books and expand upon them both as they both seemed rushed to him, as he explains in his preface. So now our 10 book series is an 11 book one. But long story short, I find it super odd how little the MC cares or thinks about the world he was stolen from, our world. He doesn’t think about loved ones, family, friends, pets, nothing. That’s weird.

Second, the way the author writes romance is super cringy. It’s not just bad, it’s bizarre. My guess (this is harsh but I gotta say it) is that the author has little to no experience with romance himself OR he doesn’t understand why his relationships don’t last. For instance, the author makes it seem, through his MC, that the MC getting in a fight with his elf girlfriend is best handled by simply pretending nothing happened because the MC “didn’t do anything wrong, so has nothing to apologize for.” The naïveté in that statement is telling. It would be nice if this was a character growing moment for the MC, but sadly that’s not the case. Further, MC describes the romance with Raelia as her “throwing herself at him”… wow. Cringy. It’s true some guys are so lacking in experience to not recognize when a woman is interested in them and thus escalate the intimacy ladder that the woman eventually gets frustrated and shoots her shot. That says way more about the guy involved, his lack of experience or insecurities, than it does about the woman. It takes courage to do something like that when you don’t know if the doofus you’re crushing on is even into you. But the author frames it as if Raelia, is dare I say, slutty? Yikes. Big yikes.

And that lends me to my conclusion and third and final criticism. That the MC is a self-insert for the author. An idealized one. Meaning that in the ways the MC thinks and speaks, he’s basically a stand in for the author himself. But in every other way, from his looks to his bravery to his power, he’s what the author wishes he could be, hence idealized. This author writes that women thrown themselves at MC, because the author doesn’t have any comprehension of how people go from strangers to lovers. The author denigrates the way Raelia does it because he doesn’t understand the MC (his own self insert) is the one with the issues here (insecurity and inexperience). The MC doesn’t feel he needs to apologize because the author, like many inexperienced men in my experience, is self-centered by circumstances and doesn’t consider empathy. He thinks he doesn’t need to apologize because he didn’t intend to upset Raelia. But our intentions don’t matter in relationships. If I told my wife she looked “pretty good” when she asked how she looks before we go out to dinner and she gets upset, am I off the hook because I didn’t intend to hurt her feelings? Of course, I’m not. Her feelings are her feelings and they are valid, my intentions aren’t relevant. Now, plenty of men and women get away with treating their partners as the MC does (author’s insert) but you have to have a special kind of partner for these relationship dynamics to work, that of a bulldozer lacking all self awareness and empathy and that of a doormat, who’s all grace and no self respect. For me, I find no value in a partnership like that because that’s not what it is. I find pride in my (second) wife and I both feeling like equal partners and friends who take each other’s feelings as seriously as we do our own. That’s just me though. I had to marry and divorce a narcissist I was a doormat for before I understood that. So maybe the author will figure it out.

It’s just super cringy and by far the worst aspect of this series. But it’s still only a small aspect, despite how much time I dedicated to rant on it. And it doesn’t affect my rating or recommendation whatsoever. It’s just something weird. I hope the author gets self awareness of this and maybe seeks some more input from his non-parasocial patreons on it. In his defense, I think he recognizes this weakness, I just don’t think he actually does anything about it that helps his story.

In the end, another really fun story in an amazing series. I wish we didn’t have to wait another couple years for it to wrap up. I’m so ready for A Mage’s Life! Gonna be epic. Also his other series, World Sphere, is very good too. Check it out.
187 reviews2 followers
July 6, 2026
a family affair

First of all I found around ten grammar mistakes which I don’t normally mind, however I paid for this book and expected better. This series started to crumble like the empire as this book became all about relationships instead of a fantasy adventure. I will probably end the series here as I’m not interested in paying for relationship drama when there are a lot of Kindle Unlimited LITRPG books out there competing for my time.
Profile Image for Liviu.
2,610 reviews716 followers
July 17, 2026
Excellent book 6 - almost on par with The Boutan Caliphate (still the best in the series); universe expansion (we see the other continent, the Goliath Stone Mountain Island and its capital of Eternis, as well as the famed Godok, arguably the largest and most diverse city in the world), a little character expansion (a fascinating seer that starts hinting at what awaits Eryk, a halfling who may have an expanded role in what follows etc) though mostly still the old bunch - Eryk and Konstantin (with shapeshifter and unexpected crusader against evil Gilda still as Konstatin's somewhat unwanted companion) star, with Maveith and Raelia (and Baldo of course though with Manticores around he still doesn't get to fly that much) also notable in the first half. Adventures - manticore hunting, dungeon hunting, many duels, etc, storyline closure but also expansion and lots of personal moments, some quite poignant, some including the twists at the end quite unexpected.

Overall this is clearly a transition book - it ends (or at least temporarily brings to a halt) a few of the storylines of previous books, while it prepares the ground for what seems to be the second fate of the world and all part of the series after the more smaller scale personal survival and growth first part consisting of these 6 volumes.

Highly, highly recommended and I cannot wait to read (and listen as the audio adds a lot too) to book 7 in January.
Profile Image for Kiki Warren.
50 reviews1 follower
July 25, 2026
3.5 ⭐️ the world is interesting, the story itself feels more meandering. MC has become authors ‘perfect’, does no wrong or if he does it’s not his fault and it doesn’t stick with him, doesn’t have to contemplate hard decisions much—wish fulfillment and oddly OP. Even with his dream medallion, why is he now better at fighting in a huge range of styles than most masters. It could increase his learning 100x and the masters with decades to centuries on him should still win handily. Female characters are not very complex and all appear to just be there to eventually get pregnant and every single one is potentially interested in the MC (legitimately Castile it is mentioned, the halfling, the smith…). I’m curious about the story, but I don’t know at all where it is leading. Also, the writing could benefit from an editor, many repetitive sentences.
Profile Image for Bradley.
Author 9 books5,002 followers
August 28, 2026
Strangely enough, this one was only slightly less impressive than the ones before it, but that's mostly because it wandered and explored fairly aimlessly, although still interestingly, in several locations. One being the enormous city of Godok, with a distinctive Arabic flavor with tones of Chinese fighting schools.

Fun, familiar, and fascinating, but without the deep thread of impetus, be it survival or quest, that usually graced the previous books.

But make no mistake, I'm still fully invested and can't put these books down.


Unfortunately, I now need to wait months for the next book. SIGH.
Profile Image for William Howe.
1,898 reviews97 followers
July 5, 2026
decent

The beginning is a hard start. The first chapter sets up a long minor subplot and is fine, but immediately following that you drop straight in where the previous book left off: on a long boat ride. So it drags a bit as there is little action other than re-establishing some relationships. The narrative takes a bit to build power and momentum as a result. Likely a consequence of the serial nature of the writing.

Still good enough to continue to follow.
3 reviews
July 6, 2026
Webserial blues

From what started as one of the finest litrpg trilogies I have ever read, this series, I am sorry to say, has devolved into just another web serial. The depth and quality it started with is being traded for the massive time constraints imposed by the royal road model and juggling three other major projects. I saw strong evidence that ai is moving from editorial prosthesis to co author. This will be my last book read in this series.
54 reviews1 follower
July 9, 2026
A Great Series!

I love this series! The main character starts out as a bewildered otherworlder from Earth who got sent to a new world. He wasn’t overpowered. In fact, he was weak in some areas. He got prisoner-drafted into the Legion.
Through his own perseverance, he’s grown in skills and abilities.
The other characters are all just as complex as the main character.
I look forward to the next book!
22 reviews
July 9, 2026
Man, just get to the story's main point. stop stretching out entire book series. The series doesn't need to be 11 books long; it should have been limited to five books because there isn't enough content to justify more. You stretched the whole thing out, but I get that this series is popular, so you're going to drag it out for money.
Profile Image for Jonny0z0 .
35 reviews
August 18, 2026
I made it

This book was harder for me to get through than the others , but in the end made it worth it .
challenging deferent sects , and the Side quest got a bit boring and didn’t amount to much . I probably wouldn’t have finished if there was a tournament Arc . I am still interested in seeing what happens next so the hook is still strong.
Profile Image for Benjamin Barreth.
Author 14 books31 followers
July 5, 2026
Finished it yesterday and LOVED it. Lots of good vibes in this one. Felt like several story arcs received the closure they were due at the same time as opening up the next arc for where the story is headed in the future. This may just be my favorite installment so far.
6 reviews
July 6, 2026
Almost a campus/high school arc

I say almost a school arc because a majority of the leads time, Eryk, is spent doing research and alchemy with some murder hobo stuff popping up. Still a good read and I like the twist at the end.
44 reviews1 follower
July 6, 2026
Keep them coming

The only problem with getting the next book in a series you love is finishing it and having to wait for the next. Loved the book, the characters and the world. Can't wait for more.
Profile Image for Thorsten.
404 reviews8 followers
July 7, 2026
Good continuation of the series as we resolve returning the Goliaths home. This one is more of a transitional book, as some loose ends are tied up and we get hints of what the next major story arc will be.

Profile Image for Nikolai.
614 reviews
July 7, 2026
Volume 6: Waiting For Godok (then doing random crap in Godok for no reason, while everywhere else much more interesting and important things are happening off-screen)

The writing is even more abysmal than usual and flirting/romance/sex scenes are still cringy war crimes.
Profile Image for Mike Goodman.
1,710 reviews12 followers
July 10, 2026
Awesome Stuff

This book was a neat tour of the world and other places. With the empire under new control, I think the next threat are lizards. Our guy doesn’t know he’s a dad. Great Read
8 reviews
July 15, 2026
Great continuation

Very pleased with where the plot went and how it ended. For those of us who LOVED the shimmering labyrinth this has very similar vibes but a lot of other perspectives which was a cool direction
310 reviews3 followers
July 22, 2026
Points for the surprise ending!

A little bit more growth than we've seen in past books but not as much as I would like to see All in all and okay addition lots of little leads left here and there for future books
2 reviews
July 25, 2026
Disjointed entry into an otherwise good series, terrible editing.

Seemed like we lost all direction on this one and then rushed to get back on track toward the end. Editing/proofreading was horribly done with notes from the editor still visible in the released version.
64 reviews
July 28, 2026
Enjoyed this a lot more compared to the previous book, for once Eryk has the opportunity to stay and explore the city. Konstatine of course can’t sit his old ass down but I do enjoy his character a lot and the crazy shit he pulls the MC into 😭.
Profile Image for J.D. Glasscock.
Author 46 books20 followers
July 28, 2026
Good stuff

As usual, a great series besides the left in editors notes lol but that happens... Great characters, story and plots
Highly recommend
JD Glasscock
Author of the Series Blood Brothers, Warborn and Nocturne
Profile Image for Aaron.
29 reviews
July 31, 2026
Good story still

It's still a very captivating story and adventure.

It is, however, hindered at the moment with a large quantity of grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, a lot of formatting issues and a handful of plot issues.
4 reviews
August 17, 2026
It’s a different kind of storytelling that gets me enamored and engaged in even the simplest of tellings. This and his series World Sphere are both some of my favorite of all litrpgs. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone.
1 review
Review of advance copy received from Author
February 14, 2026
This series just gets better and better, I ended up speed-running everything in Patreon. It’s so worth it, I highly suggest the Seraphim tier.
29 reviews
Want to Read
March 10, 2026
GREAT BOOK, GREAT BUILDUP AND ADDITION TO THE SERIES!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews