What do you think?
Rate this book
Spellcaster Ted #1
Spellcaster Ted: A LitRPG Epic Fantasy Series
In a world of wizards and sorcery, Ted is a spellcaster. What’s a spellcaster? Ted’s trying to work that out himself.
Order, routine, and predictable outcomes. These are the foundations of Ted’s existence. Too bad for Ted, his life spins into chaos, with outcomes hinging on a toss of the dice. He somehow finds himself in a world where wizards rule and mythical creatures stalk the land. During his character creation, Ted avoided choosing wizard or sorcerer, instead opting for other. The result is part mage, part bard, and part… something else. He stumbles along, attempting to learn and execute spells without ending up dead from an enemy attack… or from his own mistakes.
Joined by his three companions—a boisterous dwarf who argues with his talking hammer, a female warrior with a tongue as sharp as her blades, and a mighty ogre with the mind of a four-year-old—Ted becomes embroiled in a series of quests, each more dangerous than the last.
Survive or die, Ted. The choice is simple, even if success is unlikely.
Order, routine, and predictable outcomes. These are the foundations of Ted’s existence. Too bad for Ted, his life spins into chaos, with outcomes hinging on a toss of the dice. He somehow finds himself in a world where wizards rule and mythical creatures stalk the land. During his character creation, Ted avoided choosing wizard or sorcerer, instead opting for other. The result is part mage, part bard, and part… something else. He stumbles along, attempting to learn and execute spells without ending up dead from an enemy attack… or from his own mistakes.
Joined by his three companions—a boisterous dwarf who argues with his talking hammer, a female warrior with a tongue as sharp as her blades, and a mighty ogre with the mind of a four-year-old—Ted becomes embroiled in a series of quests, each more dangerous than the last.
Survive or die, Ted. The choice is simple, even if success is unlikely.
Audible Audio
Published September 1, 2026
About the author
Jeffrey L. Kohanek
58 books548 followersI love fantasy, adventure, and magic. More than that, I adore my readers.
My books are written to entertain -- fantasy adventures filled with compelling characters, spectacular magic, thrilling action, constant intrigue, and a sense of discovery. I equate them to the "Marvel Movie" version of fiction, intended to be a fun escape.
I would love to have you join me and my quirky characters for one outrageous adventure after another. With over a million published words, my author journey has just begun.
Best wishes,
Jeff
_________________________________
Jeffrey L. Kohanek grew up in rural Minnesota where comic books sparked his young imagination, inspiring fantasies of heroes with super-powers saving the day. His tastes later evolved to fantasy epics featuring unlikely heroes overcoming impossible odds to save worlds born from the writer's imagination.
Now residing in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jeff uses that imagination to weave tales of engaging characters caught in fantastic plots to inspire young adults and the child within us all.
_________________________________
"Would you like FREE books and access to exclusive content? Join my author newsletter, which frequently includes special offers and inside info on my books.
Join at www.JeffreyLKohanek.com and download a free eBook today." -Jeff
"I LOVE to hear from readers and fans. Connect with me through email or social media."
Email - author@JeffreyLKohanek.com
Facebook - /JeffreyLKohanek
My books are written to entertain -- fantasy adventures filled with compelling characters, spectacular magic, thrilling action, constant intrigue, and a sense of discovery. I equate them to the "Marvel Movie" version of fiction, intended to be a fun escape.
I would love to have you join me and my quirky characters for one outrageous adventure after another. With over a million published words, my author journey has just begun.
Best wishes,
Jeff
_________________________________
Jeffrey L. Kohanek grew up in rural Minnesota where comic books sparked his young imagination, inspiring fantasies of heroes with super-powers saving the day. His tastes later evolved to fantasy epics featuring unlikely heroes overcoming impossible odds to save worlds born from the writer's imagination.
Now residing in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jeff uses that imagination to weave tales of engaging characters caught in fantastic plots to inspire young adults and the child within us all.
_________________________________
"Would you like FREE books and access to exclusive content? Join my author newsletter, which frequently includes special offers and inside info on my books.
Join at www.JeffreyLKohanek.com and download a free eBook today." -Jeff
"I LOVE to hear from readers and fans. Connect with me through email or social media."
Email - author@JeffreyLKohanek.com
Facebook - /JeffreyLKohanek
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 7, 2026
This book illuminates just how versatile and incredibly talented this author is, a complete and utter deviation from his previous books and OMG did I love it! In his author notes, right at the beginning, Jeff starts off by thanking his dovoted readers, "I am forever thankful…even if you must be just a bit deranged to have endured my twisted humor for so long." If deranged is being thoroughly entertained, if deranged is loving the humourous prose, if deranged is getting completely vested in the characters, if deranged is absolutely loving the skilfully delivered plot, if deranged is giggling at the prose, then yes... I fall into that "deranged" category....
Ted, oh my lordie, I was so amused by his confusion, he had, after all, settled in to play a game with his friends and suddenly he had no idea where he was, how he got there, and even worse, how the heck to get out this... situation...he finds himself in. Ted is rather ungainly, clumsy and definitely not an adrenaline junkie, he's actually quite timid. But when his friends, Alex, Laini and Clegg, bamboozle him into taking part of a VR game, he went along with it, reluctantly... Each choosing their avatar with aplomb except for Ted. He stays Ted. He stays human. Not they...And then all hell broke out! For all of them. And the magicing, the battle to stay alive, in a rather hostile world, begins.
I do love how easy the author builds his characters, with such flair, they feel real. There are good guys (Ted), there are bad guys(Clegg), as well as all those we encounter in this book, which gives it an awesome flavour. Alex, as Castillo is probably my favourite. He went from affable Alex, to ogre dense Castillo. But he had heart, he had gentleness to his soul and is as gullible as only a child can be. Without question Ted showed the most growth, I loved seeing him evolve and take charge of his perilous destiny. Clegg, hmmm...yes...bully of note! Laini as Aella, was awesome! I loved how fierce she is, never letting anything take over her sanity, whatever the circumstances demanded. And the various situations demanded a heck of a lot! I so enjoyed following them all as they traversed an unknown land, learning, battling, trying to win the game, to survive. The delivery by the author of the folk they encountered, complemented the story immensely, as did each level up. I found myself praying they would outsmart this world.
Oh heck was this read hilarious, well, besides being firmly in the danger zone, I couldn't have wished for a more fun read! Just seeing their personas and personalities undergo a huge transformation, was delight in itself. But Jeff spun it, wove it, manipulated it, with a slice of humour, into a stunning magical, epic tale. This book is very much what it says, LITRPG, although, this has ogres and goblins and magic and a whole lot of deadly challenges. I swear the VR system had it in for them! For someone who, *gulp* has never played computer game, or any sort of virtual reality anything, this was real fun...for real deadly! Superb world building is a signature of Mr Kohanek, as are his action scenes, mean and realistic. Oh , I really need to mention how fabulously and seamlessly he wove in easter eggs from 2 series, it made me grin no end! All I know is that once I start a Kohanek book, I'm glued until I'm done. And always desperate for the next book...
Ted, oh my lordie, I was so amused by his confusion, he had, after all, settled in to play a game with his friends and suddenly he had no idea where he was, how he got there, and even worse, how the heck to get out this... situation...he finds himself in. Ted is rather ungainly, clumsy and definitely not an adrenaline junkie, he's actually quite timid. But when his friends, Alex, Laini and Clegg, bamboozle him into taking part of a VR game, he went along with it, reluctantly... Each choosing their avatar with aplomb except for Ted. He stays Ted. He stays human. Not they...And then all hell broke out! For all of them. And the magicing, the battle to stay alive, in a rather hostile world, begins.
I do love how easy the author builds his characters, with such flair, they feel real. There are good guys (Ted), there are bad guys(Clegg), as well as all those we encounter in this book, which gives it an awesome flavour. Alex, as Castillo is probably my favourite. He went from affable Alex, to ogre dense Castillo. But he had heart, he had gentleness to his soul and is as gullible as only a child can be. Without question Ted showed the most growth, I loved seeing him evolve and take charge of his perilous destiny. Clegg, hmmm...yes...bully of note! Laini as Aella, was awesome! I loved how fierce she is, never letting anything take over her sanity, whatever the circumstances demanded. And the various situations demanded a heck of a lot! I so enjoyed following them all as they traversed an unknown land, learning, battling, trying to win the game, to survive. The delivery by the author of the folk they encountered, complemented the story immensely, as did each level up. I found myself praying they would outsmart this world.
Oh heck was this read hilarious, well, besides being firmly in the danger zone, I couldn't have wished for a more fun read! Just seeing their personas and personalities undergo a huge transformation, was delight in itself. But Jeff spun it, wove it, manipulated it, with a slice of humour, into a stunning magical, epic tale. This book is very much what it says, LITRPG, although, this has ogres and goblins and magic and a whole lot of deadly challenges. I swear the VR system had it in for them! For someone who, *gulp* has never played computer game, or any sort of virtual reality anything, this was real fun...for real deadly! Superb world building is a signature of Mr Kohanek, as are his action scenes, mean and realistic. Oh , I really need to mention how fabulously and seamlessly he wove in easter eggs from 2 series, it made me grin no end! All I know is that once I start a Kohanek book, I'm glued until I'm done. And always desperate for the next book...
Review of advance copy received from Author
The first book in a new LitRPG series full of quests, battles against monsters, and banter between the characters as only Jeffrey L. Kohanek knows how to do. For readers who like myself are fans of Kohanek’s works, we know his sense of humor, which in this book flows like wine. I love Ted even though he is a bit of a scaredy cat, he does win the day in the end, I am not so keen on Clegg, who is quite an asshole but I guess he is needed to keep the balance between the characters, but my very favorite is Castello, our giant green ogre, who is so humble, and too naive, and such a good friend to Ted and Aella. I love that we get to once again travel in the eight wizardoms, and better still meet up once again with some of the characters from previous series, it was especially great to once again read about Tor. The final battle scene in the fractured lands is really epic. I really enjoyed this fun adventuring first book and am definitely eager to get my hands on the 2nd book in this series.
August 14, 2026
Humorous litRPG with great characters
I have only read a few of these the litRPG type books and I’m not the biggest fan of the way the leveling etc is presented in them. This book overcame a lot of that for me with its strengths. The wacky crew of characters are great, a lot of fun, especially in their banter. The magic types vary for each person and make for an interesting assortment of skills. They get into all kinds of scrapes, so they need them. I would have liked a little more depth to the characters. The book is lighthearted, humorous, and I enjoyed it.
I have only read a few of these the litRPG type books and I’m not the biggest fan of the way the leveling etc is presented in them. This book overcame a lot of that for me with its strengths. The wacky crew of characters are great, a lot of fun, especially in their banter. The magic types vary for each person and make for an interesting assortment of skills. They get into all kinds of scrapes, so they need them. I would have liked a little more depth to the characters. The book is lighthearted, humorous, and I enjoyed it.
Review of advance copy received from Author
LitRPG is quite a newish class of books in which you can participate in a game as of your own living world.
Spellcaster Fred is such game world.
And Fred? He is not really a gamer. Harsh realism is his life. Yet he agreed to participate in a game and became Spellcaster Fred.
And that is when the "new" realism of magic and a mediaeval starts to change the strict Fred into quite a surprising character!
As also happens with his three friends that joined him in the game quest and a fascinating world at that full of surprises and personal growth.
Oh boy!
Author Jeffrey L Kohanek really created a stupendous new world that makes you laugh out loud at times and shake your head in sheer surprise at the things that occur to these characters.
But the one thing you won't do is put this book down.
Phew! Enjoy!
Spellcaster Fred is such game world.
And Fred? He is not really a gamer. Harsh realism is his life. Yet he agreed to participate in a game and became Spellcaster Fred.
And that is when the "new" realism of magic and a mediaeval starts to change the strict Fred into quite a surprising character!
As also happens with his three friends that joined him in the game quest and a fascinating world at that full of surprises and personal growth.
Oh boy!
Author Jeffrey L Kohanek really created a stupendous new world that makes you laugh out loud at times and shake your head in sheer surprise at the things that occur to these characters.
But the one thing you won't do is put this book down.
Phew! Enjoy!
July 14, 2026
I love every book Jeff has written so far and this one did not disappoint! Super entertaining! Imagine being sucked into the world of a game, kind of like Jumanji. Everyone has a different skill set that they are not accustomed to and they have to figure out how to survive. Funny, great characters, original story line. I didn’t want to put it down. I can’t wait for book 2!
September 22, 2026
I received this book in a give away, and enjoyed the story that takes the main character and his friends on an adventure to disrupt an evil plot. While the beginning of the book took a little time to set the story the pacing for the rest was well done. My only real complaint was a lot of the comedic elements were predictable, which took away from their delivery for me.
July 31, 2026
Ted is a nervous wreck as a spellcaster
This is a really good start for Ted and crew. Not so sure about always having to wait on the Ai to make the decision on what happens. But that's what an LitRPG epic fantasy is, so onto the next one.
This is a really good start for Ted and crew. Not so sure about always having to wait on the Ai to make the decision on what happens. But that's what an LitRPG epic fantasy is, so onto the next one.
July 7, 2026
A very enjoyable read with clever link into the world that Jeff created in his previous books. Can’t wait for more
July 18, 2026
Totally enjoyed it! This is a well written and has well developed characters. The story is catching and with the strong characters makes for a very enjoyable read. Great Reading Everyone!
August 10, 2026
A very well crafted story from the LitRPG drama. Only 4 stars because, for me, the narrative was a little dragged out and slow in some places.
September 4, 2026
Low effort book with humor for 10 year olds, I guess. It's been a long time since I was ten.
September 29, 2026
Made it through 2 hours of the audiobook. Wasn't enjoying the setup. Wasnt enjoying the characters. Just did not hit for me.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews