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Chaos Seeds #5
The Land: Swarm
Aleron Kong's #1 Best Selling LitRPG Saga continues in "The Land: Swarm"
The enemies of the Mist Village are moving, the storm clouds are gathering, what are Richter and Sion to do???
Crush the game, that's what! More of everything you love in LitRPG: Powerful items, epic battles, awesome quests and in depth world building!
What happened to Elora? Where is the swarm? Did the rock giant make Richter jelly? What are the colonel's secret spices???
Journey back into my world and find out! Come back... to The Land!
The enemies of the Mist Village are moving, the storm clouds are gathering, what are Richter and Sion to do???
Crush the game, that's what! More of everything you love in LitRPG: Powerful items, epic battles, awesome quests and in depth world building!
What happened to Elora? Where is the swarm? Did the rock giant make Richter jelly? What are the colonel's secret spices???
Journey back into my world and find out! Come back... to The Land!
801 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 12, 2016
1966 people are currently reading
1498 people want to read
About the author
Aleron Kong
12 books10.6k followersGoodreads HTML profile
Welcome to the Mist Village! I'm so glad you're here!
The Land Saga:
- Is a WSJ Best Seller
- Has sold over 1 MILLION copies
- Has more than 100,000 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews
- Became Audibles Customer Favorite of the Year
- Reached the Top 5 on both Audible and Amazon out of the millions of books they sell
Find out why 🙂
You can start your adventure BELOW:
Please enjoy my book trailers:
And enjoy a FREE peak at my 1st Audiobook narrated by THE Nick Podehl! Just CLICK HERE
I love hearing from my fans so feel free to reach out!
If you've read or listened to any of my work, PLEASE leave a REVIEW and vote "Helpful" on the reviews you agree with 🙂
And I love making artwork for my wonderful fans. I hope you enjoy some! You can find more HERE
I am a Internal Medicine Physician turned WSJ Best Selling Author. My lifetime goal of leaving the world a better place than I found it. I'm also extremely proud of my fans who have helped me raise over $125,000 for various charities over the past 5 years!
Gnomes Rule!
Welcome to the Mist Village! I'm so glad you're here!
The Land Saga:
- Is a WSJ Best Seller
- Has sold over 1 MILLION copies
- Has more than 100,000 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews
- Became Audibles Customer Favorite of the Year
- Reached the Top 5 on both Audible and Amazon out of the millions of books they sell
Find out why 🙂
You can start your adventure BELOW:
Please enjoy my book trailers:
And enjoy a FREE peak at my 1st Audiobook narrated by THE Nick Podehl! Just CLICK HERE
I love hearing from my fans so feel free to reach out!
If you've read or listened to any of my work, PLEASE leave a REVIEW and vote "Helpful" on the reviews you agree with 🙂
And I love making artwork for my wonderful fans. I hope you enjoy some! You can find more HERE
I am a Internal Medicine Physician turned WSJ Best Selling Author. My lifetime goal of leaving the world a better place than I found it. I'm also extremely proud of my fans who have helped me raise over $125,000 for various charities over the past 5 years!
Gnomes Rule!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 351 reviews
October 21, 2021
"Double Woot!"
"Back AWAY from the eggs!"
If you have read the first four books of Chaos Seeds, you are probably familiar with the tempo and the length of the average Aleron Kong book. He was consistent with the pace, number of major events, and length of the installment. But the author has finally moved away from all that in The Land: Swarm!
As Kong himself has said in the end, this was the most ambitious book in the series so far. Instead of progressing along a single direction, he's expanding all the things from base building, character development to complicated quests while diving deep in each category. Obviously, that has made the book somewhat long, but it's the good kind of long! I hope this is not an outlier, and the rest of the series would maintain a similar level of quality. For me, this was probably the best book of the series so far!
"Congratulations! Your relationship with Bea has improved from Irritable to Neutral."
"All was well with the world."
"Back AWAY from the eggs!"
If you have read the first four books of Chaos Seeds, you are probably familiar with the tempo and the length of the average Aleron Kong book. He was consistent with the pace, number of major events, and length of the installment. But the author has finally moved away from all that in The Land: Swarm!
As Kong himself has said in the end, this was the most ambitious book in the series so far. Instead of progressing along a single direction, he's expanding all the things from base building, character development to complicated quests while diving deep in each category. Obviously, that has made the book somewhat long, but it's the good kind of long! I hope this is not an outlier, and the rest of the series would maintain a similar level of quality. For me, this was probably the best book of the series so far!
"Congratulations! Your relationship with Bea has improved from Irritable to Neutral."
"All was well with the world."
January 10, 2018
I'm still having a great time with these books and feel no compulsion to go anywhere else.
But why?
Because I'm grinding, man. I'm grinding. I don't even care what I'm grinding for. I'm performing skills and tasks and taking on all my automatic quests and I'm loving it. Sure, it's sometimes a bit difficult, but the glory is all in the discovery.
How can I make my character not just powerful, but uber-powerful and insanely powerful and should I go the demi-lich route or become an epic enchanter or just WHAT sort of profession should I take? *rubs hands together*
This is ADDICTION, yo. Need to allocate my skill points, my war party points, my alchemy points, my enchanter points, my deep magic animal bonding skills. I need to make my own magic books. I need to outfit my whole village until it can take on whole kingdoms, yo. This is about making fountains of power erupt across my land and drawing untold allies and enemies to my doorstep.
This is about empire.
Or not. Maybe it's just about graduating from those weak fire spells and moving on to something a bit more average. Maybe someday I can tackle an ancient dungeon. :)
Do I identify with Richter? Maybe a bit. :) This is all an epic RPG. Who doesn't want to level up? Anyone? Bueler? It's ALL about leveling up. :)
But why?
Because I'm grinding, man. I'm grinding. I don't even care what I'm grinding for. I'm performing skills and tasks and taking on all my automatic quests and I'm loving it. Sure, it's sometimes a bit difficult, but the glory is all in the discovery.
How can I make my character not just powerful, but uber-powerful and insanely powerful and should I go the demi-lich route or become an epic enchanter or just WHAT sort of profession should I take? *rubs hands together*
This is ADDICTION, yo. Need to allocate my skill points, my war party points, my alchemy points, my enchanter points, my deep magic animal bonding skills. I need to make my own magic books. I need to outfit my whole village until it can take on whole kingdoms, yo. This is about making fountains of power erupt across my land and drawing untold allies and enemies to my doorstep.
This is about empire.
Or not. Maybe it's just about graduating from those weak fire spells and moving on to something a bit more average. Maybe someday I can tackle an ancient dungeon. :)
Do I identify with Richter? Maybe a bit. :) This is all an epic RPG. Who doesn't want to level up? Anyone? Bueler? It's ALL about leveling up. :)
July 29, 2017
Went downhill as series progressed...
The series started out really well and i really enjoyed the first book. But each subsequent book got more and more sophomoric and crass. A little swearing for emphasis turned into swearing all the time. A little sexual intrigue turned into threesomes, homosexuality, lesbians, and sexual innuendos i havent heard since i was in my teens...EARLY teens. The story was pretty good but all the garbage weighed it down and just killed the series for me. I cant imagine how female readers would take it but their portrayal and the main characters seemed insulting to women to me.
It started off so well, but it got drown in sexual muck that neither furthered the plot nor developed the characters nor kindled any romance. Im left disliking the main character and disillusioned that i didnt stop reading sooner.
As far as the writing quality goes, the main character is less and less believable as the series continues. The plot didnt move forward noticeably at all in this book, and the progress through skills just isnt making sense anymore (hasnt scaled well). Its like the entire planet cant level unless the main character shows up, then they level more in 1 day than the previous 30 years of their lives combined.
I could go on but meh. If you like sophmoric humor this series is for you.
Oh and a side note, the actor who reads the audible version is one of the best ive heard to date, i think he was the only reason i didnt quite the series sooner.
The series started out really well and i really enjoyed the first book. But each subsequent book got more and more sophomoric and crass. A little swearing for emphasis turned into swearing all the time. A little sexual intrigue turned into threesomes, homosexuality, lesbians, and sexual innuendos i havent heard since i was in my teens...EARLY teens. The story was pretty good but all the garbage weighed it down and just killed the series for me. I cant imagine how female readers would take it but their portrayal and the main characters seemed insulting to women to me.
It started off so well, but it got drown in sexual muck that neither furthered the plot nor developed the characters nor kindled any romance. Im left disliking the main character and disillusioned that i didnt stop reading sooner.
As far as the writing quality goes, the main character is less and less believable as the series continues. The plot didnt move forward noticeably at all in this book, and the progress through skills just isnt making sense anymore (hasnt scaled well). Its like the entire planet cant level unless the main character shows up, then they level more in 1 day than the previous 30 years of their lives combined.
I could go on but meh. If you like sophmoric humor this series is for you.
Oh and a side note, the actor who reads the audible version is one of the best ive heard to date, i think he was the only reason i didnt quite the series sooner.
October 17, 2016
Not the best of the series
I'm a huge fan of The Land and will continue to purchase the series of books. However, this most recent release cannot be considered a book. It is long true, much longer than others in the series. It is packed with information, I will say perhaps too much detail at times. But what really holds this release back from being a book is the lack of basic storytelling guidelines. These aren't a suggestion. They are needed to provide the reader a basic feeling of being fulfilled at the end. What we have in this release is LONG exposition and the beginnings of a climax. Basically, Mr. Kong has given me a lot of sexy talk, a little foreplay, and said, "ok we are done for now". Sorry, not fulfilled. I understand that there is more of the story to come, but frankly, if your going to write a book, make it complete. The Land: Swarm isn't complete.
I'm a huge fan of The Land and will continue to purchase the series of books. However, this most recent release cannot be considered a book. It is long true, much longer than others in the series. It is packed with information, I will say perhaps too much detail at times. But what really holds this release back from being a book is the lack of basic storytelling guidelines. These aren't a suggestion. They are needed to provide the reader a basic feeling of being fulfilled at the end. What we have in this release is LONG exposition and the beginnings of a climax. Basically, Mr. Kong has given me a lot of sexy talk, a little foreplay, and said, "ok we are done for now". Sorry, not fulfilled. I understand that there is more of the story to come, but frankly, if your going to write a book, make it complete. The Land: Swarm isn't complete.
June 18, 2017
Mist Village time!
We finally get to see the Mist Village grow in book 5. Richter learns a bit more about what it is to be the Master of Mist Village. Also, Nexus rules.
We finally get to see the Mist Village grow in book 5. Richter learns a bit more about what it is to be the Master of Mist Village. Also, Nexus rules.
November 6, 2018
I took a break from this series and came back. It helped me realize how meh this guy is. And then to tout "the father of american litrpg". Hmmmm... Ok, fine, you slapped that title on someone... Maybe reserve that title for a guy who writes quality work. His characters have no depth. It gets tiresome to read about someone who has no class or depth and is just lucky. I am done with this author.
September 2, 2019
I feel like all I am doing is grinding to get this over with. Honestly the book was just overwhelmingly okay. It had the least amount of action yet, and that's never a good thing.
I'd say it's time to give this series a rest.
I'd say it's time to give this series a rest.
December 16, 2018
I was hoping sincerely that the book would show some character growth, but it didn't. Richter is basically who Long was at 24 or who he wishes he was at that age. Richter is not dynamic, he's a yo-yo that flashes, but can't do any tricks. He always wins an argument even though he's wrong. He disregards advice every time, and he is one of the dumbest characters i've read; it's not enduring when you don't grow from you mistakes. He evaluates them, then proceeds to make the same old mistakes in new ways over and over again. He is a douche bro, he has two modes overly angry or "sympathetic", but hardly a middle ground. The language has changed drastically from the first in that the people all talk like they're all part of a frat house. He may has well have made him Richter a 16 yo from this time and that would have been more believable.
The writing is...better, but the language isn't varied; by that I mean, you can't tell he was transported to another world or that he is from a different century. Poor Scion went from a moral possible solid character to a background douche in just two books...congrats. I just...only the audio book keeps me interested, but im just done with the characters. But the male insecurities having to make a sex joke every other sentence, and the homophobia just grows...he threw in a lesbian couple, the safe route because guys aren't gay.
Maybe a miracle will happen and loose plot threads will be mentioned and Richter will actually care for his village and be truly humbled and grow from it.
The writing is...better, but the language isn't varied; by that I mean, you can't tell he was transported to another world or that he is from a different century. Poor Scion went from a moral possible solid character to a background douche in just two books...congrats. I just...only the audio book keeps me interested, but im just done with the characters. But the male insecurities having to make a sex joke every other sentence, and the homophobia just grows...he threw in a lesbian couple, the safe route because guys aren't gay.
Maybe a miracle will happen and loose plot threads will be mentioned and Richter will actually care for his village and be truly humbled and grow from it.
May 16, 2017
Lately I have read plenty of books of this subcategory called RPG Literature. In the past there were some fantasy books that were the result of RPG games but it was not evident in the book. I truly enjoy these new books where the RPG rules are made evident. However I think that RPGLit is, first of all, literature and thus has to have an argument. The book Swarm is about grinding and only about grinding. For the ones that are not used to these kind of terms, grinding in a RPG game is about engaging on repetitive tasks in order to improve your levels and qualifications. I didn’t see the swarm of the title in the whole book but I didn’t see a lot of catacombs in the previous one, etc… In general it seems that the protagonist is preparing his village for an engagement that will happen in a future that is not arriving.
May 26, 2020
This series is amazing. I love the audiobook and plot development. After reading all 7, hearing stats for every item found can be a bit much, but it’s worth it. One of my favorite series for sure. There is great humor in this series as well!
March 2, 2020
Rating 4.25 stars
Re-listened February 2020 - I still think Richter is a douche. He has it easier than anyone else in the entire world. He is able to advance 100 times faster than anyone else and yet he is always complaining that there isn't an easier way to do things.
Initial review below:
I still continue to like this series. Richter didn't make any crazy attempts at increasing his level in this one. There actually was a pretty good explanation of why he acted the way he did in the last book, which I am grateful for. Richter spent a lot more time leveling the people in his village and the village itself. Not as much action, but that's okay, I am listening to this series for the journey, not the destination. I actually like listening to how he is building his village and comparing that to what I might do in his place. I probably enjoy this type of story anyway versus just a story about pure action without any backstory in how a person got the skills that they currently have. Going right on to the next book.
Re-listened February 2020 - I still think Richter is a douche. He has it easier than anyone else in the entire world. He is able to advance 100 times faster than anyone else and yet he is always complaining that there isn't an easier way to do things.
Initial review below:
I still continue to like this series. Richter didn't make any crazy attempts at increasing his level in this one. There actually was a pretty good explanation of why he acted the way he did in the last book, which I am grateful for. Richter spent a lot more time leveling the people in his village and the village itself. Not as much action, but that's okay, I am listening to this series for the journey, not the destination. I actually like listening to how he is building his village and comparing that to what I might do in his place. I probably enjoy this type of story anyway versus just a story about pure action without any backstory in how a person got the skills that they currently have. Going right on to the next book.
October 30, 2017
Poor
This book is a self indulgent mess. I could put up with the juvenile humour, coarse language and lack of likeable characters if there was a decent storyline but there isn't. Nothing particularly exciting or memorable happens in the book. It is really just gaining new talents or skills and advancing levels. Much better storylines, characters and humour in this genre. Last book I will read by this author.
This book is a self indulgent mess. I could put up with the juvenile humour, coarse language and lack of likeable characters if there was a decent storyline but there isn't. Nothing particularly exciting or memorable happens in the book. It is really just gaining new talents or skills and advancing levels. Much better storylines, characters and humour in this genre. Last book I will read by this author.
July 30, 2018
Badly written LitRPG. One dimensional characters, scattered plot, toxic masculinity, and too many ill-defined pop culture references to make sense of. The author falsely claims he is the father of American LitRPG, and is trying to trademark the term in bad faith. Races, characters, game mechanics, and story are stolen from better authors and recombined into a nonsensical mishmash. I suggest reading a different series.
October 12, 2016
Great book.
Now I have to continue to shake like a junkie. I stayed up all night reading this book. Now I have to suffer until book 6 comes out. Damn you aleron kong for writing awesome books.
Now I have to continue to shake like a junkie. I stayed up all night reading this book. Now I have to suffer until book 6 comes out. Damn you aleron kong for writing awesome books.
November 13, 2017
The author is a misogynistic prick and it shows in his extremely sexist, immature writing. He also wouldn't know what a plot is of it bit him. The so-called called story is trash, as is the dickish main character.
March 19, 2020
6,5/10
Más de lo mismo que los anteriores, con la diferencia que en este libro la trama central apenas avanza, y se centra más en secundarias, que supongo que serán importantes para el futuro.
Al final el libro cumple con su cometido, entretiene y es fácil de leer en inglés, quizás su mayor pero, además de la falta de una trama más interesante, es que el final ha sido un poco ni fu ni fa.
Supongo que seguiré con el siguiente, ya que este tipo de lecturas ligeras me vienen genial para practicar.
Más de lo mismo que los anteriores, con la diferencia que en este libro la trama central apenas avanza, y se centra más en secundarias, que supongo que serán importantes para el futuro.
Al final el libro cumple con su cometido, entretiene y es fácil de leer en inglés, quizás su mayor pero, además de la falta de una trama más interesante, es que el final ha sido un poco ni fu ni fa.
Supongo que seguiré con el siguiente, ya que este tipo de lecturas ligeras me vienen genial para practicar.
February 2, 2018
I had this series in my 'to read' list for a good while, but I kept putting it aside and choosing something else because I don't play RPG games and I assumed I wouldn't understand or enjoy it much. But, I WAS SOO WRONG. You guys, this series is so fun! Just a couple of weeks in and I am already on book 5. I cannot put it down! Book 1 is amazing, but they keep getting better! The story is packed with action, not drawn out and wordy. Where I am at right now in book 5, the main character has only been in the land for 112 days. Book 1, 2, and 3 cover only about a month of time in the story! In such a short time, so much happens. Not a dull moment! I don't know what I am going to do with myself when I finish the last book out right now, but I fear I will have a repeat of when I finished the Kingkiller Chronicles, where I go through the first 100 pages of about 20 new books and then put them down because they just don't compare. Books this amazing will ruin you for a while... I am sure some of you know what I am talking about! Luckily this amazing author writes his books incredibly fast (I want to say he wrote all six in like 18 months or so? Could be wrong.) so book 7 will be out soon :). I find it incredible that Aleron Kong can do that! He is an Indie writer with no publisher, who wrote, edited, formatted and started selling on Amazon on his own. Much Respect!! I will add that I don't understand some of the negative comments. A few are complaining about all of the status updates in the book. That is what makes litRPG!?! I love the status updates. I find it fun to think about how the main character chooses to allocate his points and then compare his decisions to how I would do it. It adds so much character depth because you literally have quantitative data showing you how he is growing/changing in just about every way! Some people don't like the dirty humor, either, and they find the main character to be some sort of pervy womanizer. I find it hilarious! It has been a long time since a book has made me literally laugh out loud, and I can't count how many times I have lol'd while reading The Land! Some parts of the book, I'll admit, are shocking. I will be reading and thinking, "no way the author will go there".. and then.. he goes, and passes "there" lol. But I think the books are better for it! Those are the scenes that are the most memorable! (the assassin scene, yikes! lol! Kong thought of the worse way to die and made it even more terrible!! haha!) Anyways, I could go on and on about my love for this story, but I'll wrap it up. For anyone on the cuff about this one, just do it. If you enjoy audible books, get the audible. I got the audible because I was so into the book that I wanted to listen to it while driving and doing house work. It is the best audio book I have ever listened to and the man who reads it is my new favorite, hands down. Overall, I am obsessed with the Chaos Seeds story and chances are you will be too. This series has everything I love about the fantasy genre, but at the same time, it is so different, refreshing, and new. When I can't stop thinking about the story and characters, when I want to read/listen whenever I have spare time, and when I am telling everyone about these books in hopes that they will read it too, just so I have someone to talk to about it..... this is how I KNOW it is a good story.
December 9, 2019
The audio book is excellent and it's what saves this book from being a one star. I feel like I need to justify to myself why I continue to like this series in-spite of it containing some truly horrendous stuff. I think its the town-building aspect and the levelling and all the stats that keep me interested.
Now to all the bad stuff, and there is a lot. Richter is just a horrible, egotistical, chauvinistic asshat. Like seriously, can we stop with the oversexed frat boy thinking, it adds nothing, and if this is truly how the author talks to his male best friends then yikes. So many penis references and every time there is a female character he needs to describe their appearance in detail and how or why the main character would want to or wouldn't want to have sex with her.
In addition to all the frat boy, chadster writing I think I will puke if I read the word chaos seed again, just use the word HE for gods sake. ughh
Guess I'm off to read the next one! Why do I do this to myself...
Now to all the bad stuff, and there is a lot. Richter is just a horrible, egotistical, chauvinistic asshat. Like seriously, can we stop with the oversexed frat boy thinking, it adds nothing, and if this is truly how the author talks to his male best friends then yikes. So many penis references and every time there is a female character he needs to describe their appearance in detail and how or why the main character would want to or wouldn't want to have sex with her.
In addition to all the frat boy, chadster writing I think I will puke if I read the word chaos seed again, just use the word HE for gods sake. ughh
Guess I'm off to read the next one! Why do I do this to myself...
November 9, 2016
I'm not sure what has changed but I just don't enjoy this series anymore. First two books were great but this one and the one preceding it were almost like a chore... Can't wait to finish so I can go read something else...
Could be because of the main character who's slowly getting more and more annoying but other than that doesn't seem to grow much. Could be the at times over the top dialogue and pop culture references. Or could it be that the plot just seems stagnant and without much of a direction.
There are several other things as well most of them minor issues but they just seem to add up. I'll most likely continue to read because I've invested time and effort into this series already and want to see it to its conclusion.
Could be because of the main character who's slowly getting more and more annoying but other than that doesn't seem to grow much. Could be the at times over the top dialogue and pop culture references. Or could it be that the plot just seems stagnant and without much of a direction.
There are several other things as well most of them minor issues but they just seem to add up. I'll most likely continue to read because I've invested time and effort into this series already and want to see it to its conclusion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2020
This author is a master of cliffhangers... literally makes you want to instantly delve into the next book with a ravenous hunger. There are some interesting relationship dynamics that happen that are extremely interesting and im curious as to see whats going to happen going forward 💗🙌
November 3, 2017
More than any book so far in the series, this one feels like Kong's wish fulfillment / power fantasy. Very little happens during this book and, just like the last book, the title has nothing to do with the story. No, this book, after quickly rapping up the cliff hanger of the last book, turns into 'Point Allocation' the book.
Look, I'm quite fond of the RPG mechanics Kong has built into his story, they are great and well thought out, but it needs to be used sparingly. I don't need chapters of picking an enchanting specialization, one of allocating enchanting points, leveling his smiting, leveling scribing, leveling enchanting, leveling animal husbandry (yes really), leveling herbalism, building buildings, building a still, learning spells, teaching spells, lore about this race, lore about that monster, looking at the skill trees for EVERYTHING, discussing these characters getting professions, discussing those characters relations ships......... F*** this book was 95% administrative nonsense and giving his character neat stuff. Oh, and guess what? It ends on a cliff hanger (har har you're so funny e_e).
Also, TMI on Richter's personal life, I don't need/want to know who he's sleeping with. All that stuff with the twin brother and sister was especially skeevy.
Can we talk about the tonal whiplash I get from this as well? Going from over the tip and obnoxious self aggrandizement, to prolonged child torture, to pothead like carefree pop culture referencing collage drop out humor, to serious leader, to unnecessary personal life details as rapidly as happens here is jarring. Mostly, this book was kind of a miss and easily the most boring of the series so far.
So, Tune in next time to see if Richter unlocks Penmanship level 2 in the Scribing skill tree and the exciting conclusion of the 'build a healers hut' quest line. e_e
Look, I'm quite fond of the RPG mechanics Kong has built into his story, they are great and well thought out, but it needs to be used sparingly. I don't need chapters of picking an enchanting specialization, one of allocating enchanting points, leveling his smiting, leveling scribing, leveling enchanting, leveling animal husbandry (yes really), leveling herbalism, building buildings, building a still, learning spells, teaching spells, lore about this race, lore about that monster, looking at the skill trees for EVERYTHING, discussing these characters getting professions, discussing those characters relations ships......... F*** this book was 95% administrative nonsense and giving his character neat stuff. Oh, and guess what? It ends on a cliff hanger (har har you're so funny e_e).
Also, TMI on Richter's personal life, I don't need/want to know who he's sleeping with. All that stuff with the twin brother and sister was especially skeevy.
Can we talk about the tonal whiplash I get from this as well? Going from over the tip and obnoxious self aggrandizement, to prolonged child torture, to pothead like carefree pop culture referencing collage drop out humor, to serious leader, to unnecessary personal life details as rapidly as happens here is jarring. Mostly, this book was kind of a miss and easily the most boring of the series so far.
So, Tune in next time to see if Richter unlocks Penmanship level 2 in the Scribing skill tree and the exciting conclusion of the 'build a healers hut' quest line. e_e
August 16, 2018
This book was empty and hallow. And to be frank, I’m sick and tired of the stats. I swear book 4 had a total of 5 1/2 chapters worth of stats. Don’t believe me, take the average of pages in each chapter. Then Count the number of pages where the fucking word congratulations, congratulates, congratulations, pops up plus Richter stats and you have close to six chapters of nothing. Now the book only had 29 chapters. That’s close to only 23 1/2 chapters.
Now this book had nothing but repetition. Same task different monsters. The only thing was that the pixies were born.
I will continue to the next book but seeing as this book has close to the same amount of state and exp chapters, and it’s fucking boring. I might stop the series. What a shame. That’s what I hate about series. Authors just don’t want to end them. I get it, this is your baby and you are it’s momma, but do we really need to know each time your baby takes a shit or farts, no. Just pack it’s bag and send it to college already.
I’m sorry if I offend anyone with this review. But I should note, I’ve been more than generous with my reviews on the previous books. But when enough is enough, it’s enough.
Now this book had nothing but repetition. Same task different monsters. The only thing was that the pixies were born.
I will continue to the next book but seeing as this book has close to the same amount of state and exp chapters, and it’s fucking boring. I might stop the series. What a shame. That’s what I hate about series. Authors just don’t want to end them. I get it, this is your baby and you are it’s momma, but do we really need to know each time your baby takes a shit or farts, no. Just pack it’s bag and send it to college already.
I’m sorry if I offend anyone with this review. But I should note, I’ve been more than generous with my reviews on the previous books. But when enough is enough, it’s enough.
December 29, 2025
12/28/25 ~ still enjoyable. I love the pixies. This re-read has been fun.
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4/15/23 - Apparently it's the year of the re-reads, and not keeping up with marking what I've read
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7/23/19 - LOOOOOVE the Mist Village - have I mentioned? So so so good, even 3rd time around.
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8/29/18 ~ re-read. Just as enjoyable as the first time. 1 book closer to the newest mammoth book. Will have to ignore the rest of the world when I get to that. Love this series and these characters.
Though a bit slower than the ones before, I think it was a great time for it. A lot more done with building the Mist Village than just going out and battling monsters and it was a great change of pace. I am still LOVING Richter, Sion and Alma and OMG book 6 is out on audio today!! Was thinking about waiting til book 7 is closer to being released, but I think I'd rather just jump back into the story. :D
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4/15/23 - Apparently it's the year of the re-reads, and not keeping up with marking what I've read
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7/23/19 - LOOOOOVE the Mist Village - have I mentioned? So so so good, even 3rd time around.
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8/29/18 ~ re-read. Just as enjoyable as the first time. 1 book closer to the newest mammoth book. Will have to ignore the rest of the world when I get to that. Love this series and these characters.
Though a bit slower than the ones before, I think it was a great time for it. A lot more done with building the Mist Village than just going out and battling monsters and it was a great change of pace. I am still LOVING Richter, Sion and Alma and OMG book 6 is out on audio today!! Was thinking about waiting til book 7 is closer to being released, but I think I'd rather just jump back into the story. :D
October 14, 2016
I hate this author,
But not for the reason you might think.
When he first started this series I thought his character was overpowered and to lucky by far.
As his new books came out his writing improved, and the world he was building became more fleshed out.
I hate this author for the simple fact that I have to wait for more.
Why oh why can't I just drink his brain and have it all?
I want more now!
Great job and keep pumping out more of this story.
May you have a loooong life so we can get to enjoy the journey you have taken us all on.
But not for the reason you might think.
When he first started this series I thought his character was overpowered and to lucky by far.
As his new books came out his writing improved, and the world he was building became more fleshed out.
I hate this author for the simple fact that I have to wait for more.
Why oh why can't I just drink his brain and have it all?
I want more now!
Great job and keep pumping out more of this story.
May you have a loooong life so we can get to enjoy the journey you have taken us all on.
September 27, 2019
Notes:
Nick Podehl is great. He continues to make the stories have more life and action. I like to listen to audiobooks while I'm doing other things. It helps to keep me focused by letting me multitask on something serious & light.
I'm done with my mini-experiment with this series & author. I listened to five books and my observations from book one are still in place for book five. Sorry, Nick! I need more than a good narrator to keep me to a series.
Nick Podehl is great. He continues to make the stories have more life and action. I like to listen to audiobooks while I'm doing other things. It helps to keep me focused by letting me multitask on something serious & light.
I'm done with my mini-experiment with this series & author. I listened to five books and my observations from book one are still in place for book five. Sorry, Nick! I need more than a good narrator to keep me to a series.
November 24, 2017
3.5 to 4 Stars, glad I found this series and will continue. I do have some small issues with some parts of the book/series but for the most part I have found it enjoyable and entertaining. The series as a whole is really pushing into the 4-star rating for me.
March 19, 2018
Dropping my ratings until the author drops his attempts to trademark the term litrpg (which he didn’t create) and stops calling himself the father of American LitRPG (which he isn’t)
January 28, 2019
Good Lit RPG
If you are a fan of RPG games and stories give this book a try. You can see the growth in the author through out the series.
If you are a fan of RPG games and stories give this book a try. You can see the growth in the author through out the series.
August 15, 2017
Epic!!!
I can't say enough about this series. I love the many clever and insanely interesting ways that Aleron advances and brings depth to his city. I also don't think I have laughed so much in a book since the last time I read the Iron Druid chronicles. Last, I love how fast he releases his books (about every 3 months).
This series is easily in my top 3 favorites!!! I highly recommend!
I can't say enough about this series. I love the many clever and insanely interesting ways that Aleron advances and brings depth to his city. I also don't think I have laughed so much in a book since the last time I read the Iron Druid chronicles. Last, I love how fast he releases his books (about every 3 months).
This series is easily in my top 3 favorites!!! I highly recommend!
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