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The Dark Profit Saga #4
Crypt Currency: a Lesson in Orconomics
On Arth, the future of finance revolves around deep politics, hidden interests, and dark magic. Notably absent is actual money.
Crypt currency is the future. The enchantments are reliable. The aethernet infrastructure is sound. And despite the fact the currency is stored in something called a pocket crypt, relies on phantoms of the dead, and often involves a worrying green glow, experts agree it has nothing to do with necromancy. All of the big crypt magnates say so.
Then pocket crypts unleash sorcerous chaos at a funeral. Then a necromantic blight begins rotting the countryside. Then Gorm Ingerson, guild auditor and professionally skeptical Dwarf, starts following the money that isn’t money, and learns that economics is far more deadly than advertised.
Along the way, Gorm will discover that there are no real experts in noncorporeal cash, Dwarven cultural identity, nor matters of the heart. He’ll need to navigate all three if he and his friends are to survive a crisis that’s rapidly becoming less financial and more apocalyptic. Because when crypt currency crashes, the dead don't stay dead—they come to collect.
A novel set on Arth, the world of the Dark Profit Saga
Crypt currency is the future. The enchantments are reliable. The aethernet infrastructure is sound. And despite the fact the currency is stored in something called a pocket crypt, relies on phantoms of the dead, and often involves a worrying green glow, experts agree it has nothing to do with necromancy. All of the big crypt magnates say so.
Then pocket crypts unleash sorcerous chaos at a funeral. Then a necromantic blight begins rotting the countryside. Then Gorm Ingerson, guild auditor and professionally skeptical Dwarf, starts following the money that isn’t money, and learns that economics is far more deadly than advertised.
Along the way, Gorm will discover that there are no real experts in noncorporeal cash, Dwarven cultural identity, nor matters of the heart. He’ll need to navigate all three if he and his friends are to survive a crisis that’s rapidly becoming less financial and more apocalyptic. Because when crypt currency crashes, the dead don't stay dead—they come to collect.
A novel set on Arth, the world of the Dark Profit Saga
567 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 12, 2026
About the author
J. Zachary Pike
11 books978 followersJ. Zachary Pike was once a basement-dwelling fantasy gamer, but over time he metamorphosed into a basement-dwelling fantasy writer. By day Zack is a web professional and creative-for-hire, but at night he returns to his lair to create books, films, and illustrations that meld fantasy elements with offbeat humor. A New Englander by birth and by temperament, Zack writes strangely funny fiction on the seacoast of New Hampshire.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 27, 2026
I love J. Zachary Pike
and if he's ever in Croatia (PLEASE COME TO CROATIA!) he will have at least one drink on me.
The way this man writes, the ease with which he spins the yarn, the way in which he makes economics interesting and understandable and funny, is simply amazing.
Oh and the ending! God the ending! He made my heart swell at least 4 sizes. I am in awe.
Also, I CAN'T WAIT for my physical copy to arrive! I NEED IT! I need to put notes in it, i need to mark it, I need to add smiles and hearts and WOW and THE FUCKS! as I always do to the margins.
Well done, sir, well well done!
also - when is the next one coming? I know this one JUST came out, but.... please?
and if he's ever in Croatia (PLEASE COME TO CROATIA!) he will have at least one drink on me.
The way this man writes, the ease with which he spins the yarn, the way in which he makes economics interesting and understandable and funny, is simply amazing.
Oh and the ending! God the ending! He made my heart swell at least 4 sizes. I am in awe.
Also, I CAN'T WAIT for my physical copy to arrive! I NEED IT! I need to put notes in it, i need to mark it, I need to add smiles and hearts and WOW and THE FUCKS! as I always do to the margins.
Well done, sir, well well done!
also - when is the next one coming? I know this one JUST came out, but.... please?
May 27, 2026
Honestly, I was not thrilled to see that Zack decided to return to Arth and Gorm in his latest book. I was hoping for something different, something fresh. Alas, it looked like I was not getting what I wanted. But having promised that I would give him my money as soon as he wrote something new, I had little choice.
As you have probably surmised, this is the part of the review where I genuflect humbly and admit my mistake (giddily). I expected many things from this book. None of my expectations were met but were exceeded. The result? Out of the four books set on Arth I’ve read, this is the one I enjoyed the most. Squeee-level enjoyment.
My words are not wording today, but let’s say that my feelings and general disposition while reading, and now, after finishing it, were a crossover between an expensive perfume commercial and a scene from a shojo anime where the female character is overly excited (don’t be a pervert, I wrote shojo very clearly).
I do wish y’all could have a glimpse at the messages me and my reading buddy exchanged when we realized we had but two chapters left. Existential dread, my guys. Severe panic. (We agreed on the next book, we’re fine now).
Now, you’re wondering when I will start reviewing. Well, I’ll have to throw another “Alas” at you, poor Yorick. Because if I told you what I enjoyed about Crypt Currency the most, I’d be spoiling it for you (even though none of it is plot-related, but more experiential). If I told you what I didn’t like – well that just wouldn’t be fair.
Here’s a piece of advice, instead: if you liked the Dark Profit trilogy, don’t read about Crypt Currency – read Crypt Currency.
The following message is for J. Zachary Pike:
As you have probably surmised, this is the part of the review where I genuflect humbly and admit my mistake (giddily). I expected many things from this book. None of my expectations were met but were exceeded. The result? Out of the four books set on Arth I’ve read, this is the one I enjoyed the most. Squeee-level enjoyment.
My words are not wording today, but let’s say that my feelings and general disposition while reading, and now, after finishing it, were a crossover between an expensive perfume commercial and a scene from a shojo anime where the female character is overly excited (don’t be a pervert, I wrote shojo very clearly).
I do wish y’all could have a glimpse at the messages me and my reading buddy exchanged when we realized we had but two chapters left. Existential dread, my guys. Severe panic. (We agreed on the next book, we’re fine now).
Now, you’re wondering when I will start reviewing. Well, I’ll have to throw another “Alas” at you, poor Yorick. Because if I told you what I enjoyed about Crypt Currency the most, I’d be spoiling it for you (even though none of it is plot-related, but more experiential). If I told you what I didn’t like – well that just wouldn’t be fair.
Here’s a piece of advice, instead: if you liked the Dark Profit trilogy, don’t read about Crypt Currency – read Crypt Currency.
The following message is for J. Zachary Pike:
May 18, 2026
I think anything J Zachary Pike writes is an instant read for me. It was fun going back to good old Gorm and meeting a bunch of new characters, too.
There were a few paragraphs at about the 80% mark that had me standing up to applaud.
There were a few paragraphs at about the 80% mark that had me standing up to applaud.
Currently Reading
April 9, 2026OH MY GOD IT'S HAPPENING. EVERYBODY STAY ******* CALM.
May 24, 2026
This book is highly clever in many ways, and some of those many ways are puns. The unique world building still somehow works as the basis for brilliant satire of the real world.
May 16, 2026
In an ideal world, J Zachary Pike wouldn't just be as well known as Matt Dinneman; he'd be more so, because in his books, he uses LitRPG tropes but for an end far beyond themselves. His original trilogy became a retelling of the financial housing crisis, all done through the idea of dungeon horde investing; now, with Crypt Currency, he returns to Arth, giving us a story of crypto currency as seen through the undead, Heroes Guild politics, inter-species tension, and more - all while being funny, smart, satirical, and just plain great.
You don't have to have read the original Dark Profit trilogy to read Crypt Currency (but you should, just because it's great); all you need to know is that you're in a fantasy world governed by the rules of the Heroes guild, where quests are offered, loot is sanctioned and taxed, and for many "Shadowkin" races, your best bet is to become a Noncombatant Paper Carrier - an NPC, of course.
Mind you, does that tell you that there's also a recurring Sex and the City riff in this book? No. No it does not...but there is, and it's great. As is the trenchant commentary on what happens when you separate morality from money.
But here's what you really need to know: Pike operates in the tradition of Terry Pratchett, spending equal amounts of time on his characters and his world as much as he does in his ideas, and both halves work all the better for the other one. Without the ideas, the realization of how even these elaborate evil villain plots are so universal wouldn't hit; without the characters, though, I wouldn't care about the outcome of the efforts to stop the plot. But with Gorm back, and this world returning, and the humor as sharp as ever, and the characterization rich (and, unlike my feelings on DCC, the humor actually clever and not obvious)...I was just delighted to come back to this.
If you like DCC, Pike is a no-brainer. And if you DON'T like DCC, you should come over and hang out with the cool kids who are reading Pike. He's if Pratchett wrote LitRPG about financial markets, and it's so much funnier and richer than you expect that combination to be.
You don't have to have read the original Dark Profit trilogy to read Crypt Currency (but you should, just because it's great); all you need to know is that you're in a fantasy world governed by the rules of the Heroes guild, where quests are offered, loot is sanctioned and taxed, and for many "Shadowkin" races, your best bet is to become a Noncombatant Paper Carrier - an NPC, of course.
Mind you, does that tell you that there's also a recurring Sex and the City riff in this book? No. No it does not...but there is, and it's great. As is the trenchant commentary on what happens when you separate morality from money.
But here's what you really need to know: Pike operates in the tradition of Terry Pratchett, spending equal amounts of time on his characters and his world as much as he does in his ideas, and both halves work all the better for the other one. Without the ideas, the realization of how even these elaborate evil villain plots are so universal wouldn't hit; without the characters, though, I wouldn't care about the outcome of the efforts to stop the plot. But with Gorm back, and this world returning, and the humor as sharp as ever, and the characterization rich (and, unlike my feelings on DCC, the humor actually clever and not obvious)...I was just delighted to come back to this.
If you like DCC, Pike is a no-brainer. And if you DON'T like DCC, you should come over and hang out with the cool kids who are reading Pike. He's if Pratchett wrote LitRPG about financial markets, and it's so much funnier and richer than you expect that combination to be.
May 22, 2026
The Orconomics Trilogy holds a beloved place on my bookshelf. I absolutely adore J. Zachary Pike's Arth world and his Terry Pratchett-esque humorous satire writing of modern day economics. This book was instant read for me. The fantasy style language of coding had me in stitches, and all the lampooning of crypto and bitcoin. To my surprise, there was a deeper delving into dwarf culture and a romance arc. I should not have been surprised as all of his books have real heart and emotion beneath the laughter. New heroes and characters emerge and a few old ones, though I wish we could have had more shoutouts to the old beloved ones.
I love Gorm Ingerson and I wish J. Zachary Pike would write more books set in this world!
I love Gorm Ingerson and I wish J. Zachary Pike would write more books set in this world!
May 27, 2026
This was a book the arrival of which I was eagerly anticipating for some time - it does not disappoint.
JZP is the closest author we have to STP, which is not something to be said lightly. There are so many parallels that it's sometimes hard to remember I'm not reading STP, rather JZP! It was interesting seeing Gorm take on the Sam Vimes role, Poldo cast as the Patrician, and various others.
JZP has written another great story, with his trademark deftness bringing to life yet another aspect of the modern financial 'system', this time the focus on the superficiality and fragility of cryptocurrencies. Not every metaphor works, and it gets a little muddled in a couple of places, but it carries well to the end and ties in some nice new concepts.
I want more!
JZP is the closest author we have to STP, which is not something to be said lightly. There are so many parallels that it's sometimes hard to remember I'm not reading STP, rather JZP! It was interesting seeing Gorm take on the Sam Vimes role, Poldo cast as the Patrician, and various others.
JZP has written another great story, with his trademark deftness bringing to life yet another aspect of the modern financial 'system', this time the focus on the superficiality and fragility of cryptocurrencies. Not every metaphor works, and it gets a little muddled in a couple of places, but it carries well to the end and ties in some nice new concepts.
I want more!
May 28, 2026
Another wonderful addition to The Dark Profit Saga, my favorite financial fantasy satire series out there (is there another one??). Seriously, I don’t know how this author writes heartfelt, hilarious tales of fantasy and adventure with so much modern financial mumbo jumbo interwoven without bogging everything down, but he friggin’ does! He must be like a good writer or something I dunno. ೭੧(❛〜❛✿)੭೨
Tl;dr - Another good story! Can’t wait until the next one!
Tl;dr - Another good story! Can’t wait until the next one!
May 30, 2026
This book confirms Pyke as the top author in the humorous economic fantasy romance adventure satire genre. A cleverly plotted and entertaining tale, laced with messages about our own world, should you care to heed them. I can’t wait for the next Arth adventure.
May 21, 2026
Loved reading about the work life of Gorm, A really fun read absolutely peppered with easter eggs. Super keen for the next instalment.
May 30, 2026
Spectacular book in a spectacular series.
May 31, 2026
Great Read!
Another great read! Really enjoyed Gorm’s story in this one and was great to see him get a happy ending!
Another great read! Really enjoyed Gorm’s story in this one and was great to see him get a happy ending!
June 2, 2026
An exciting read from beginning to finish, could not wait to find out what happened next. Also a delight to return to the world of Arth.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews