Alright, where were we? Let’s see… There’s a whole bunch of Scrap Rats. So obviously Ren, the cowardly alchemist, who’s now become Super Ren, caught in this whole progressive fantasy mess of towers and time travel. Mira, a Cryopyre Mage, who runs the Guild—classic LitRPG fire-and-ice power combo. Kanuka, who runs the Patch inside, with the help of Folo. A tinkering genius, who may sometimes put holes in the walls for no reason (because, you know, dystopian future means messy real life). Simms and Davon are also keeping their eye on security. Why? Because… well… those assholes from L7 are still poking around.
Ren, though, has recruited the Church of Purity to help spread the message that Towerbound is not just a game—it’s going to merge. At the end of Book 4, they were discussing the possibility of Ren and the Rats taking over all of District 1, not just the Patch. Oh, and don’t forget Marco! He’s got PopCrates. And now he’s setting up secret bases all around the world, ready for when the Tower actually emerges and this whole dystopian sci-fi nightmare spills over into reality.
Was that it? Did I forget anybody? I don’t know. That’s why you have those giant spreadsheets, right? 🙂 Anyways, enjoy Book 5, an epic progression fantasy where guild wars, VRMMORPGs, and alchemy collide.
I read a lot. That’s not a flex so much as context — it takes a lot for a series to really stick with me.
I read this entire book in one day, but the reason I keep coming back to this series isn’t just the action or progression. It’s the camaraderie. The teams. The fact that this story isn’t about one person carrying everything, but about a group of people building something together, taking care of each other, and getting better as a result.
There’s humor, there’s grit, and yeah — is it a little cheesy at times? Yeah. But it’s earned. The character development comes from relationships and shared effort, not just power-ups, and that’s what makes it work.
This series has easily landed in my top 10 of all time, right alongside Cradle by Will Wight, Stormweaver, and Dungeon Crawler Carl.
As always, the recap at the start was genuinely helpful…more books should do this. It made jumping back into the story so much easier, especially with such a long-running series.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the chapter numbering continuing from the previous book (starting at chapter 257 felt a bit jarring), but that’s a minor gripe.
Lorena is an incredibly creepy character. Her stalking of Ren is deeply uncomfortable, and I found myself actively hoping she doesn’t last much longer in the story. That said, she’s clearly effective at provoking a reaction, which speaks to the writing.
The cheese festival, though? Absolute highlight 😍 I would 100% behave exactly like Ren in that situation.
I really enjoyed the more political direction this book took while still staying true to its roots. There’s noticeably more time spent in the “real world” rather than inside Towerbound itself. While I did miss the dungeon runs and raids, it was satisfying to see how those skills translate outside the game… and the complications that creates for the players.
My only real disappointment is that the ending felt rushed. And I’m still stuck on one question: how exactly does a side character casually end up with one million gold??
Despite that, this was another strong entry in the series and kept me fully invested. Can’t wait to see where it goes next.
Another great addition to this series. If you'd like the previous books in this series, you're going to like this one. If you didn't like the previous books in this series, I don't know why you're still reading. I think this is the best book he's written, yet there's more character development. You finally get to see what the deadlands look like a little bit. You get to see more characters doing more awesome stuff. I really can't tell you much more than that without ruining the plot and enjoyment of it for you. I hope this review is of some use to you. I apologize for any spelling errors. I'm writing this review with voice to text. Hope it helps
Entertaining? Definitely. However, what’s up with the timelines??? More than three books for Gina to birth the baby and in less than one chapter all D1 is reinforced and surrounded by walls… a place with more than two million people!!! how is that possible? And then sudden three chapter for the cheese festival…. Even though it’s funny. I don’t know if I’m up for more of their adventures and will give up…
Love the series, this book was a total binge read. I'm not that great at writing reviews. That said the story was well written. The characters well fleshed out. The pacing was good. I binge read it after my husband finished reading by it. We both love this genre and this series is a must read for me.
Another great chapter in this series. I don’t want to say too much because of spoilers, but this has everything that I love about this story. More base building, more crafting, more politics, more character POVs. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger though. But not in an evil way.
Was nervous that the series was going too well, and that this book wouldn’t continue the same quality that the series started with, but it was fantastic! Still a clever & interesting plot, with lots of warmth and fun and lightheartedness, but balanced with harsher realities. Can’t wait to continue the series!
I like how they handled the political issues quickly as well as building with a montage instead of all of the details for every step. The progress in Towerbound itself was fairly fun to read. Now we get to see what happens with the merge.