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VeilVerse: Cultivating Chaos #1
Cultivating Chaos
Ash led a very normal life by his own standards. It had its ups and downs, much like anyone else’s.
Being a talented martial artist had definitely been an up, while high-school as a whole was a down. His own father not being a great role model, and his uncle being everything he wanted to be.
To Ash it felt like a very normal life.
Right up until he was literally pulled into a portal that spat him out into another world.
One that was full of martial arts. Martial arts that the practitioners of such used magic to employ. To set the very air on fire with a punch, or to turn their skin hard as diamonds.
To fly through the air, if they had enough power.
A world where the strong ruled, and the weak died.
Three years of living his life as one of the citizens, those without power, and Ash has figured out how to survive. With his adoptive family and a lot of persistence.
His goals in life have become to give back to those who gave to him. And he’d do whatever he had to, to do that.
Except Ash is about to get his life turned around again. Turned around and altered completely. He’s about to discover a treasure from a time long lost. Forgotten.
A treasure that is going to change his destiny and give him another direction to go. If he wants it.
A Cultivator.
This is a VeilVerse novel.
Warning and minor spoiler: This novel contains graphic violence, undefined relationships/a full harem, unconventional opinions/beliefs, and a hero who is tactful as a dog at a cat show. Read at your own risk.
Being a talented martial artist had definitely been an up, while high-school as a whole was a down. His own father not being a great role model, and his uncle being everything he wanted to be.
To Ash it felt like a very normal life.
Right up until he was literally pulled into a portal that spat him out into another world.
One that was full of martial arts. Martial arts that the practitioners of such used magic to employ. To set the very air on fire with a punch, or to turn their skin hard as diamonds.
To fly through the air, if they had enough power.
A world where the strong ruled, and the weak died.
Three years of living his life as one of the citizens, those without power, and Ash has figured out how to survive. With his adoptive family and a lot of persistence.
His goals in life have become to give back to those who gave to him. And he’d do whatever he had to, to do that.
Except Ash is about to get his life turned around again. Turned around and altered completely. He’s about to discover a treasure from a time long lost. Forgotten.
A treasure that is going to change his destiny and give him another direction to go. If he wants it.
A Cultivator.
This is a VeilVerse novel.
Warning and minor spoiler: This novel contains graphic violence, undefined relationships/a full harem, unconventional opinions/beliefs, and a hero who is tactful as a dog at a cat show. Read at your own risk.
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2018
1110 people are currently reading
675 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 229 reviews
April 14, 2019
Rating 3.0 stars
I find I don't like the books written by Arand as much as I like the books by Randi Darren. Which is really weird since they are the same person! There are similar elements in both the stores but while I really enjoy the Randi Darren ones, the Arand ones are just okay, and sometimes a little annoying. It is hard to put a finger on exactly why I feel such a strong difference between the two. I will try to reason it out now in this review, but I can't guarantee that it will make much sense. All the characters in both books act in a very confident manner. They all have great power and act very decisively. The Randi Darren characters start out very strong and build from there. With Arand though, both with this story and with Super Sales on Super heroes, the main character starts out with really nothing and then comes into a great deal of power. It feels a little disingenuous that the Arand male lead characters would be able to act so confident and decisive immediately after getting power.
While there are Harems in both the Darren and Arrand books, the Darren books are more open about the topic. The sex is described in more detail and is a full component of the story. With the Arand stories, the author seems to be hedging his bets by putting harem elements into the story without actually going all the way. (In both this book and Super Sales on Super heroes, in the first book, the main character is surrounded by powerful beautiful women who all seem to want him, he flirts with them non stop and treats them really well, but in both situations he only sleeps with one of them). Why put all these harem components in the story and then have nothing happen? I feel the writing would be better if Arand either went all the way with the harem story line or not added it at all.
This story revolves around Ash, who is apparently from earth but has been living on a new world for the last year. I pictured this new world as something like a Japanese or Chinese type world. In this world there are magic users that are called cultivators. They use their internal energy to produce "magic" (not really magic but its the best description I can come up with). Ash has a pool of energy inside but he has never been able to use it. He is in training right now and keeps getting his ass kicked because he can't use his energy. He was a marital arts champion back on earth, so while he does know how to fight, his opponents use of magic makes it almost impossible for him to win. He ends up finding a ring that opens up his magic to him and pretty much gives him almost god like knowledge. He is able to do things no one has seen in a long time.
There really isn't much else to say about the story. While a bunch of stuff happened and I did enjoy the day to day moments, I had a hard to trying to figure out the purpose of the story. I could never figure out Ash's long term goals. He just seemed to move from one thing to another. Ash was a complete contradiction with himself. He kept saying he was lazy and didn't really care, except he was always busy training and was a martial arts champion on earth - that doesn't sound like a lazy person. He flirted all the time, told every woman how beautiful she was, and gave them pretty much anything they wanted and yet he didn't seem to know what to do when they tried to return his affection or flirt back. He said he just wanted the simple life but then he also wanted to build in power. Why would he need to build in power to lead a simple life? After some of the stuff he did early, he had plenty of money. All the fights and training he got into after that seemed kind of stupid if he just wanted a simple life. How Ash got to this world and what happened to his his friend Travis (or even who Travis really is was never really explained). For a time I was wondering if there was a previous book or something that I missed that would tell me what was going on.
The story kind of follows that contradictory path. The day to day point of view was very interesting to me. I loved the training, the fighting, the new skills, and the adding of powerful women. Looking at the story as a whole though, the pieces don't really fit together. It didn't really make sense how one thing led to another it seemed more random.
I find I don't like the books written by Arand as much as I like the books by Randi Darren. Which is really weird since they are the same person! There are similar elements in both the stores but while I really enjoy the Randi Darren ones, the Arand ones are just okay, and sometimes a little annoying. It is hard to put a finger on exactly why I feel such a strong difference between the two. I will try to reason it out now in this review, but I can't guarantee that it will make much sense. All the characters in both books act in a very confident manner. They all have great power and act very decisively. The Randi Darren characters start out very strong and build from there. With Arand though, both with this story and with Super Sales on Super heroes, the main character starts out with really nothing and then comes into a great deal of power. It feels a little disingenuous that the Arand male lead characters would be able to act so confident and decisive immediately after getting power.
While there are Harems in both the Darren and Arrand books, the Darren books are more open about the topic. The sex is described in more detail and is a full component of the story. With the Arand stories, the author seems to be hedging his bets by putting harem elements into the story without actually going all the way. (In both this book and Super Sales on Super heroes, in the first book, the main character is surrounded by powerful beautiful women who all seem to want him, he flirts with them non stop and treats them really well, but in both situations he only sleeps with one of them). Why put all these harem components in the story and then have nothing happen? I feel the writing would be better if Arand either went all the way with the harem story line or not added it at all.
This story revolves around Ash, who is apparently from earth but has been living on a new world for the last year. I pictured this new world as something like a Japanese or Chinese type world. In this world there are magic users that are called cultivators. They use their internal energy to produce "magic" (not really magic but its the best description I can come up with). Ash has a pool of energy inside but he has never been able to use it. He is in training right now and keeps getting his ass kicked because he can't use his energy. He was a marital arts champion back on earth, so while he does know how to fight, his opponents use of magic makes it almost impossible for him to win. He ends up finding a ring that opens up his magic to him and pretty much gives him almost god like knowledge. He is able to do things no one has seen in a long time.
There really isn't much else to say about the story. While a bunch of stuff happened and I did enjoy the day to day moments, I had a hard to trying to figure out the purpose of the story. I could never figure out Ash's long term goals. He just seemed to move from one thing to another. Ash was a complete contradiction with himself. He kept saying he was lazy and didn't really care, except he was always busy training and was a martial arts champion on earth - that doesn't sound like a lazy person. He flirted all the time, told every woman how beautiful she was, and gave them pretty much anything they wanted and yet he didn't seem to know what to do when they tried to return his affection or flirt back. He said he just wanted the simple life but then he also wanted to build in power. Why would he need to build in power to lead a simple life? After some of the stuff he did early, he had plenty of money. All the fights and training he got into after that seemed kind of stupid if he just wanted a simple life. How Ash got to this world and what happened to his his friend Travis (or even who Travis really is was never really explained). For a time I was wondering if there was a previous book or something that I missed that would tell me what was going on.
The story kind of follows that contradictory path. The day to day point of view was very interesting to me. I loved the training, the fighting, the new skills, and the adding of powerful women. Looking at the story as a whole though, the pieces don't really fit together. It didn't really make sense how one thing led to another it seemed more random.
December 21, 2018
DNF because I didn't like the MC. Why? Well, he's portrayed as a good guy, an underdog to cheer for, but he does and thinks so many contradicting things in the first part of the book that this image is tarnished. For example, he chooses to tease his (only? best?) friend when he realizes his "secret" instead of wondering why he keeps it a secret in the first place. He turns into a cruel bully the moment he gets power and proudly boasts "an eye for an eye" like that mentality is something that belongs in a "good guy". I get what the story was going for, but it didn't work for me. He just came across as a self-centered brat without moral integrity and easily corrupted by his new found power. The story has a lot of potential, but I wont force myself to continue just for the chance the MC will develop more likable traits and filter out the bad.
December 4, 2018
A great new series.
I truly enjoyed this book. The author did a wonderful job on sucking me into the book. The characters are varied and different with good backstory and development. The MC has started to take charge of the group but is smart enough to let those that know more than him help. Overall I loved the setting of the book and hope to see book 2 soon.
I truly enjoyed this book. The author did a wonderful job on sucking me into the book. The characters are varied and different with good backstory and development. The MC has started to take charge of the group but is smart enough to let those that know more than him help. Overall I loved the setting of the book and hope to see book 2 soon.
December 5, 2018
A breeze of fresh air
This was different from the Wuxia novels I am used to. The author broke all the tropes in this genre in this book and we are left with something amazing. It is more of a westernized martial art fantasy cultivation story, without the boring parts.
This was different from the Wuxia novels I am used to. The author broke all the tropes in this genre in this book and we are left with something amazing. It is more of a westernized martial art fantasy cultivation story, without the boring parts.
March 21, 2019
It's pretty obvious at this point Arand is a fan of Dungeon Born. Which is good IMO, as It's a great book. Not that this is a LitRPG nor a Dungeon Core book. No, this is more a story based around the external elements of that book. It's all about cultivation and getting stronger. And in that respect it's as enjoyable as any of Arand's books.
The few issues I did run into, that kept this book from scoring higher, are a bit meta.
1. Not every book needs to have the main character taking slaves and gaining a harem. If I'd read this book on it's own I'd probably just accept it as part of the story, but this is something that he does in EVERY book. This one, in particular, feels forced and would have worked better had he not put those elements in.
2. The meta jokes/nods to the reader are distracting. He makes reference in here a few times to both his own other books and the genre in general and it knocked me right out of the narrative each time.
That said, it's still interesting and I'll be continuing with it. It's quite a bit like The Godking's Legacy series.
The few issues I did run into, that kept this book from scoring higher, are a bit meta.
1. Not every book needs to have the main character taking slaves and gaining a harem. If I'd read this book on it's own I'd probably just accept it as part of the story, but this is something that he does in EVERY book. This one, in particular, feels forced and would have worked better had he not put those elements in.
2. The meta jokes/nods to the reader are distracting. He makes reference in here a few times to both his own other books and the genre in general and it knocked me right out of the narrative each time.
That said, it's still interesting and I'll be continuing with it. It's quite a bit like The Godking's Legacy series.
July 17, 2024
Enjoyable Kung-fu Isekai
a fairly standard Xianxia story that is on an express train to Harem town.
Surprisingly relaxed & honorable for William D. Arand who tends to prefer anti-heroes and downright villains who are hell-bent on conquest at any cost.
a fairly standard Xianxia story that is on an express train to Harem town.
Surprisingly relaxed & honorable for William D. Arand who tends to prefer anti-heroes and downright villains who are hell-bent on conquest at any cost.
December 27, 2018
Call me harsh but it's not awesome or bad, I simply like it. It's a nice western take on the Chinese wuxia genre. But the interesting part is the author. He's walking away from eroticas, or borderline eroticas, or basically, books loaded with sex scenes and writing something with more substance.
The fun part is that the author is using a more modern and western perspective on the stereotypical tropes and behaviours in a Chinese wuxia story as the protagonist is a foreigner. And he definitely did a good job on most of the nonsensical things. Like, if an enemy talks crap to you, you need to talk crap back and bicker. It's the custom/rule/tradition to do so. Simply going up and punch the enemy is a big no-no. It's fun how he mocks it but at the same time, it can be insulting. I also loved how lame or "Chunibyo" the adapted skill names or ability names are. They're fairly accurate to a degree. It's one of those it's so bad it's good moments. It's more so in the audiobook.
I don't know. It's one of those things where a mage chanting and yelling "Fireball" to cast a fireball is fine. The mage needs to yell it to help him/her focus or something. But when it comes to martial artists or ki using techniques, it's just "Chunibyo" and silly.
The fun part is that the author is using a more modern and western perspective on the stereotypical tropes and behaviours in a Chinese wuxia story as the protagonist is a foreigner. And he definitely did a good job on most of the nonsensical things. Like, if an enemy talks crap to you, you need to talk crap back and bicker. It's the custom/rule/tradition to do so. Simply going up and punch the enemy is a big no-no. It's fun how he mocks it but at the same time, it can be insulting. I also loved how lame or "Chunibyo" the adapted skill names or ability names are. They're fairly accurate to a degree. It's one of those it's so bad it's good moments. It's more so in the audiobook.
I don't know. It's one of those things where a mage chanting and yelling "Fireball" to cast a fireball is fine. The mage needs to yell it to help him/her focus or something. But when it comes to martial artists or ki using techniques, it's just "Chunibyo" and silly.
January 9, 2019
WDA has fallen into the habit of being lazy with his main characters. They are all over powered, smug, boring and jokesters. This book is really no different. Also, the scenes are very long winded and repetitive, some of the spin off events are so long winded I almost fall asleep while reading.
Anyway, the book isn't terrible, story is pretty good and the world is fun but some of the character are just way over the top or boring. This is definitely not as clever of a WDA book like SSoSH, but its alright if you enjoy Fostering Faust or Dungeon Deposed.
AGAIN, WHAT IS UP WITH ALL THE LAUGHING!
Anyway, the book isn't terrible, story is pretty good and the world is fun but some of the character are just way over the top or boring. This is definitely not as clever of a WDA book like SSoSH, but its alright if you enjoy Fostering Faust or Dungeon Deposed.
AGAIN, WHAT IS UP WITH ALL THE LAUGHING!
January 24, 2019
Very hard to rate this one. The things I liked in this book are worth 4 stars but some of the things I had issues with were 2 stars at most. I think I can give it 3 or 3.5 because I think I would read the next book in the series when it comes out but with that said I don't think I could recommend this book to many people. I did like other books by this author but again some would be hard to recommend to just anyone.
January 4, 2019
Brilliant just brilliant
This is my first cultivation story. And I simply loved it. The concept at first was little bit confusing but once you get into the story you will love it
Characters are brilliant and action is plenty.
William is pure talented that I will say with my whole heart!
This is my first cultivation story. And I simply loved it. The concept at first was little bit confusing but once you get into the story you will love it
Characters are brilliant and action is plenty.
William is pure talented that I will say with my whole heart!
January 22, 2019
A Little Unbalanced, But Very Fun
Glad to return to the world of cultivation. I love the magic / power / essence / Qi system the author has created in this world.
Ash, the main character, is bullied and we see a brief glimpse of this. But there could be more showing and less telling on this front, which would make the magic ueber powerful ring he finds less unbalanced. Literally within 5-10 pages of the beginning, he's found this device and started discovering that it is going to change everything for him.
The ring basically makes all of Ash's decisions in terms of leveling up and improving his power almost for him. It solves most every problem optimally. I has huge amounts of skills and power's it can instantly teach, and also after only a bit of fiddling, Ash figures out how to use it to generate almost unlimited money.
Locke is the creature / being inside of the ring, and I look forward to find out when and how he gets out, and takes over, as it seems that is almost inevitable.
The evaluation tests and subsequent challenges at the
It was fun to see Ash be able to provide huge boons to his parents, and to his best and only friend, Jia. Although he was giving them things that cost him very little because the ring gave him such power and near inexhaustible resources. And it was great to see him able to get revenge on the bullies of his childhood, and the corrupt officials he had to work with.
Ash's first auction and the way the auction house worked were well conceived.
Circumstances force Ash into ending up with two slaves, Moira the owl-woman, and Lana the rabbit-woman (both really aliens with some slight animal features, from other planes or "veils").
Finally through a series of brief transactions with a young woman, Ying Yue who starts as a street merchant and ends up quite well off because of Ash's unintended boosts. She becomes convinced he is special and will follow him to the ends of the earth.
Ash's relationships with the various women all evolve through the story. His magic ring allows him to easily grant large boons on both slaves (restoring magic powers that were previously stripped from them), so they start to look on him more favorably, although Lana has a rather abrasive personality.
The whole team joins the same sect, where it becomes clear that politics outweigh merit and hard work. Luckily the develop a strategy to fight the dominant unfriendly family using an old librarian who, with boosts from Ash's powers, regains his youthful powers and becomes a bad ass. They recruit a whole secondary team of high powered individuals who had problems which could be fixed by Ash's powers with the rings guidance.
After some big fights they win. In the closing act Ash accidentally releases a crazy, and very powerful bad guy, setting the stage for future conflict in additional books in the series.
Glad to return to the world of cultivation. I love the magic / power / essence / Qi system the author has created in this world.
Ash, the main character, is bullied and we see a brief glimpse of this. But there could be more showing and less telling on this front, which would make the magic ueber powerful ring he finds less unbalanced. Literally within 5-10 pages of the beginning, he's found this device and started discovering that it is going to change everything for him.
The ring basically makes all of Ash's decisions in terms of leveling up and improving his power almost for him. It solves most every problem optimally. I has huge amounts of skills and power's it can instantly teach, and also after only a bit of fiddling, Ash figures out how to use it to generate almost unlimited money.
Locke is the creature / being inside of the ring, and I look forward to find out when and how he gets out, and takes over, as it seems that is almost inevitable.
The evaluation tests and subsequent challenges at the
It was fun to see Ash be able to provide huge boons to his parents, and to his best and only friend, Jia. Although he was giving them things that cost him very little because the ring gave him such power and near inexhaustible resources. And it was great to see him able to get revenge on the bullies of his childhood, and the corrupt officials he had to work with.
Ash's first auction and the way the auction house worked were well conceived.
Circumstances force Ash into ending up with two slaves, Moira the owl-woman, and Lana the rabbit-woman (both really aliens with some slight animal features, from other planes or "veils").
Finally through a series of brief transactions with a young woman, Ying Yue who starts as a street merchant and ends up quite well off because of Ash's unintended boosts. She becomes convinced he is special and will follow him to the ends of the earth.
Ash's relationships with the various women all evolve through the story. His magic ring allows him to easily grant large boons on both slaves (restoring magic powers that were previously stripped from them), so they start to look on him more favorably, although Lana has a rather abrasive personality.
The whole team joins the same sect, where it becomes clear that politics outweigh merit and hard work. Luckily the develop a strategy to fight the dominant unfriendly family using an old librarian who, with boosts from Ash's powers, regains his youthful powers and becomes a bad ass. They recruit a whole secondary team of high powered individuals who had problems which could be fixed by Ash's powers with the rings guidance.
After some big fights they win. In the closing act Ash accidentally releases a crazy, and very powerful bad guy, setting the stage for future conflict in additional books in the series.
April 5, 2022
Not Horrible but not good either
The book is very blah, slow paced, predictable and lacking in originality.
It’s a typical harem story written by a man. The harem part isn’t believable and lacks any romantic emotion. It’s just another fantasy of one guy finding woman after woman who would subvert themselves to be with, let’s be honest a nobody. It’s a bad parody of a Japanese anime harem story. Luckily there were no gratuitous sex scenes to read through.
Honestly I should have stoped reading at 45%. I’m not a fan of harem stories because ultimately most, if not all, lack story or dialogue. The world building suffers because the authors just focus on adding the next new chick to the Harem.
The world building is not original in fact the new reader would be lost if they haven’t read a cultivation, wauxa novel before. The author doesn’t flesh out his world well. So in one sense it good because there is no learning curve but there comes a point where it could be different the author takes the easy path. So the predictability is very high. If you’re remotely familiar with these types of books you’ll find this book predictable and you if want that? This is your book.
It’s confusing as to how a 16-17 old kid got flushed to a new world but acts like he has been an adult for much longer. Not to mention the whole adoptive family thing which only works well if he had been much younger when he arrived. The brother storyline falls flat because it felt rushed and two it was completely predictable that he was going to be the main bad guy later. I suspect through out the whole series as well.
There are so many chapters where the author just stops and we get a cut scene and the reader gets a summary about the fade to black moment. However why doesn’t the author just finish the scene?
Good points are that it wasn’t so blah that I didn’t finish the book. However I would never do it again.
The book is very blah, slow paced, predictable and lacking in originality.
It’s a typical harem story written by a man. The harem part isn’t believable and lacks any romantic emotion. It’s just another fantasy of one guy finding woman after woman who would subvert themselves to be with, let’s be honest a nobody. It’s a bad parody of a Japanese anime harem story. Luckily there were no gratuitous sex scenes to read through.
Honestly I should have stoped reading at 45%. I’m not a fan of harem stories because ultimately most, if not all, lack story or dialogue. The world building suffers because the authors just focus on adding the next new chick to the Harem.
The world building is not original in fact the new reader would be lost if they haven’t read a cultivation, wauxa novel before. The author doesn’t flesh out his world well. So in one sense it good because there is no learning curve but there comes a point where it could be different the author takes the easy path. So the predictability is very high. If you’re remotely familiar with these types of books you’ll find this book predictable and you if want that? This is your book.
It’s confusing as to how a 16-17 old kid got flushed to a new world but acts like he has been an adult for much longer. Not to mention the whole adoptive family thing which only works well if he had been much younger when he arrived. The brother storyline falls flat because it felt rushed and two it was completely predictable that he was going to be the main bad guy later. I suspect through out the whole series as well.
There are so many chapters where the author just stops and we get a cut scene and the reader gets a summary about the fade to black moment. However why doesn’t the author just finish the scene?
Good points are that it wasn’t so blah that I didn’t finish the book. However I would never do it again.
March 7, 2025
Ash, a talented martial artist, leads a seemingly normal life until he is pulled into a portal and transported to a world where martial arts and magic coexist. In this new world, the strong rule and the weak perish. Ash learns to survive with the help of his adoptive family.
He discovers a powerful ring that helps him achieve new heights. Using its power, he improves his family's living standards and gains allies, including a friend, two slaves, and a merchant girl.
Ash joins a guild with his friends and uncovers corrupt politics that harm the weak. They take his brother under their wing and beat his older sister. With the help of his friend and his master, Ash sets out to topple the corrupt guild leaders.
He discovers a powerful ring that helps him achieve new heights. Using its power, he improves his family's living standards and gains allies, including a friend, two slaves, and a merchant girl.
Ash joins a guild with his friends and uncovers corrupt politics that harm the weak. They take his brother under their wing and beat his older sister. With the help of his friend and his master, Ash sets out to topple the corrupt guild leaders.
July 2, 2020
Excellent
One of the best cultivation stories I have ever read. Great character relationships, great combat, great depictions of sect life. Read it. It's good.
One of the best cultivation stories I have ever read. Great character relationships, great combat, great depictions of sect life. Read it. It's good.
January 3, 2019
What saved this book from being a 1 star review is it's engaging characters. I really enjoyed reading about them and became invested in their journey. That said, the actual writing is terrible in many places. It reads like English is not the author's first language and I was reading a bad translation. If you are able to get past that the story plots like an adolescent male gamers fantasy. That can be a good or bad thing. For me, I enjoyed it. I liked that the main character was a wannabe Bruce Lee. That everyone was attracted to him and that he was a really nice person. While the world building was sloppy with a lot of things going unexplained or even conflicting I will still read book 2. It's that fun.
November 25, 2019
I made it 60% through this book, but then gave up. It’s not a bad book, and the story is interesting, but it wasn’t for me.
The initial premise was great. A boy was sucked into another world where he was taken in by an adoptive family. This world contained fantastic powers that could be manipulated by people using qi. The main protagonist couldn’t utilize qi until he found a rare object that unlocked great powers within himself. And that’s where the story took a turn for the worst.
This is a western spin on the classic Wuxia genre. But it fell flat for me because of the direction the author took. The main character (MC) starts off as this polite, if timid, potential hero. But as soon as he gains powers, he becomes cocky, boisterous, and kind of a jerk. He wins every fight he gets into with little to no repercussions. He gains skills and money with basically no effort. By the time I reached 60% of the book, the MC had defeated every single enemy he encountered and had amassed more money than a small town had altogether. It was too much progression too fast.
While this starts off as a Wuxia novel, it slowly starts to morph into a LitRPG one. The MC even gets a HUD that shows other characters health and what not.
And that doesn't even get into the harem part. The worst thing about this book for me was that the MC, more or less, develops a harem from the very start. Which some might enjoy, but it was very off putting for me. Before he even leaves his hometown, he gathered 3 women, one of whom was a slave, and they were all trying desperately to get into his pants.
I finally gave up when he got his second slave, went into his sect, and defeated every single opponent he came across without so much as a scratch.
The initial premise was great. A boy was sucked into another world where he was taken in by an adoptive family. This world contained fantastic powers that could be manipulated by people using qi. The main protagonist couldn’t utilize qi until he found a rare object that unlocked great powers within himself. And that’s where the story took a turn for the worst.
This is a western spin on the classic Wuxia genre. But it fell flat for me because of the direction the author took. The main character (MC) starts off as this polite, if timid, potential hero. But as soon as he gains powers, he becomes cocky, boisterous, and kind of a jerk. He wins every fight he gets into with little to no repercussions. He gains skills and money with basically no effort. By the time I reached 60% of the book, the MC had defeated every single enemy he encountered and had amassed more money than a small town had altogether. It was too much progression too fast.
While this starts off as a Wuxia novel, it slowly starts to morph into a LitRPG one. The MC even gets a HUD that shows other characters health and what not.
And that doesn't even get into the harem part. The worst thing about this book for me was that the MC, more or less, develops a harem from the very start. Which some might enjoy, but it was very off putting for me. Before he even leaves his hometown, he gathered 3 women, one of whom was a slave, and they were all trying desperately to get into his pants.
I finally gave up when he got his second slave, went into his sect, and defeated every single opponent he came across without so much as a scratch.
September 30, 2020
Juvenile wish-fulfillment ramblings without logic. Dialogs are awkward at best, the harem stuff even more so. As for logic, for example, and that's a major plot point, there is ZERO reason to be in that or any sect for the MC. The point of sects is learning and resources - but he already has far better access to both, far exceeding what he can get from anywhere. He could live anywhere and occasionally sell stuff - which as we saw brings him incredible profits for next to no cost - and cultivate faster and better than anyone else by at least one order of magnitude, due to his cheat-like treasure. There is ZERO point in exposing himself to danger by staying in that sect. Even if he wanted to take revenge, he could safely grow somewhere else and go back there later. This takes away all the justification for the major plot points of the last third of the book. In addition to the already questionable quality of the story.
March 20, 2019
I love a lot of Arand books but there are major problems with this one. Some of it is just nonsensical or difficult to understand, something I had never experienced with any of Arand's other series. It is almost like suddenly English is not his first language. On top of being tough to read, you're expected to know cultivating terms and concepts, something that I, someone who has read a lot of cultivating wuxia, had some minor issues with. Additionally, the way the dialogue is portrayed often made it difficult to know who was speaking at first glance. Sadly, most of my frustrations could've been fixed with a good editor as otherwise the story was engaging and I liked the refreshing tale on cultivation.
February 23, 2019
A great read, yet again
Being the second book I’d started reading in the VeilVerse series, Cultivating Chaos had a lot to live up to.
Ash’s story definetly did that, in the style I’ve come to expect from the author from his other works, the story is impossible to put down until finished.
Great work, and can’t wait for the next one.
Being the second book I’d started reading in the VeilVerse series, Cultivating Chaos had a lot to live up to.
Ash’s story definetly did that, in the style I’ve come to expect from the author from his other works, the story is impossible to put down until finished.
Great work, and can’t wait for the next one.
December 3, 2018
Great as always, just worried.
Can wait for 2019 and read your new books. This book is a perfect addition to my favorite list. I am just worried that the protagonist will cave to a family with more power in the future and be forced to marry into it. I hated Dungeon Decomposed for this exact reason. The protagonist of that book was described as cunning and vengeful but he ended up being just a puppet to the women and nobles in the book. Something like the Fostering Faust and SSOS is why I read your books. Characters that never cave and answer to no one.
Can wait for 2019 and read your new books. This book is a perfect addition to my favorite list. I am just worried that the protagonist will cave to a family with more power in the future and be forced to marry into it. I hated Dungeon Decomposed for this exact reason. The protagonist of that book was described as cunning and vengeful but he ended up being just a puppet to the women and nobles in the book. Something like the Fostering Faust and SSOS is why I read your books. Characters that never cave and answer to no one.
December 8, 2018
AS DJ KHALID SAID "ANOTHER ONE!"
This is another William D. Arand MC and as always certain elements stay the same. Slightly brilliant, extremely lucky, and an unhealthy amount no fox given.
This is another William D. Arand MC and as always certain elements stay the same. Slightly brilliant, extremely lucky, and an unhealthy amount no fox given.
December 8, 2018
Fan-freakin-tastic
This was a hilarious rolling commentary on eastern fantasy/cultivation that I didn’t even realize I needed. Great book. Awesome characters. Loved the whole thing really.
This was a hilarious rolling commentary on eastern fantasy/cultivation that I didn’t even realize I needed. Great book. Awesome characters. Loved the whole thing really.
December 16, 2018
Good Read.
A LitRPG story. A story in the VeilVerse world books. Interesting story with training in the first half and a plot issue for the 2nd half. Does have some harem elements with no adult action.
A LitRPG story. A story in the VeilVerse world books. Interesting story with training in the first half and a plot issue for the 2nd half. Does have some harem elements with no adult action.
May 16, 2020
This one is so-so.
The main character is interesting but has no real direction. His go with the flow attitude puts me at odds with some of his companions. I find them selfish and lacking. This book is okay but not impressive.
The main character is interesting but has no real direction. His go with the flow attitude puts me at odds with some of his companions. I find them selfish and lacking. This book is okay but not impressive.
January 27, 2019
Another VeilVerse novel.
In Asgard Awakening we met Trav, Ashley’s cousin. Trav has pondered much on his relationship with Ash and his family. Once he realises that Ash is alive, he wants to find him. In this story we find Ash who has been adopted by the Sheng family. In this he was very lucky as he is an obvious Outlander and could have been made a slave. However, Father Duyi found him and took him home to be part of the Sheng Family; Mother Far, sister Yan and brother Jing. Having trained in martial arts on Earth, Ashley was enrolled in the training at the Spark’s Jump Sect but had a problem. Here everyone had a Dantian which filled with gi. Ashley’s Dantian was closed and without that power he was weak and slow in comparison to the other candidates. Jia, one of his classmates, told him not to worry as it could open at any time. One day, after a particularly trying training session he retreated to a hidden ruin just outside the town. In his despair he hit the, still standing, wall which promptly crumbled and exposed a box which had been hidden. On opening it he found an old ring. It was somewhat the worse for wear and even had a crack in it but it was far more than it seemed.
From this moment on, Ashley starts to become different. Not only is his Dantian opened but he has access to hidden knowledge that gives him godlike powers. He also discovers, at one point, that his cousin Trav is alive in another veil world! So, among all of his other goals, is added his determination to find Trav. Along the way he picks up a motley crew of young women. They are all talented and bow to no one who hasn’t proven themselves to be worthy.
William Arend has written a fantasy that is out of mythology! It is full of action, magic and some romance. Although this is GameLit it is written in a way that non gamers can appreciate. You certainly don’t have to be a gamer to love the story and, once again, WA didn’t overpower the story with tables of options etc. All in all a most enjoyable book!
As with Blaise Corwin, I wait with bated breath for the next book in the series!
In Asgard Awakening we met Trav, Ashley’s cousin. Trav has pondered much on his relationship with Ash and his family. Once he realises that Ash is alive, he wants to find him. In this story we find Ash who has been adopted by the Sheng family. In this he was very lucky as he is an obvious Outlander and could have been made a slave. However, Father Duyi found him and took him home to be part of the Sheng Family; Mother Far, sister Yan and brother Jing. Having trained in martial arts on Earth, Ashley was enrolled in the training at the Spark’s Jump Sect but had a problem. Here everyone had a Dantian which filled with gi. Ashley’s Dantian was closed and without that power he was weak and slow in comparison to the other candidates. Jia, one of his classmates, told him not to worry as it could open at any time. One day, after a particularly trying training session he retreated to a hidden ruin just outside the town. In his despair he hit the, still standing, wall which promptly crumbled and exposed a box which had been hidden. On opening it he found an old ring. It was somewhat the worse for wear and even had a crack in it but it was far more than it seemed.
From this moment on, Ashley starts to become different. Not only is his Dantian opened but he has access to hidden knowledge that gives him godlike powers. He also discovers, at one point, that his cousin Trav is alive in another veil world! So, among all of his other goals, is added his determination to find Trav. Along the way he picks up a motley crew of young women. They are all talented and bow to no one who hasn’t proven themselves to be worthy.
William Arend has written a fantasy that is out of mythology! It is full of action, magic and some romance. Although this is GameLit it is written in a way that non gamers can appreciate. You certainly don’t have to be a gamer to love the story and, once again, WA didn’t overpower the story with tables of options etc. All in all a most enjoyable book!
As with Blaise Corwin, I wait with bated breath for the next book in the series!
October 24, 2020
Honestly? This was pretty bad. I was enjoying it for the most part in the beginning, but everything about this story is just handled so poorly. The MC just reacts to things around him, he has no goals. The story falls apart the second we reach the Jade Fist sect. The author also does a horrible job showing the gap between the ranks. Elders are supposed to be super strong, yet whenever you see one in action they don't seem all that much stronger than the MC? In fact, he straight up beats someone that was marked as a skull to him?? Crippled or not, his sight ability literally told him he would die if he fought him.
The ranks just seem to be an after thought, and the plot goes nowhere. Instead of going out and seeing the world, the story chooses to go the most boring route possible and plants the MC in the city. Also, the events at the end of the story with Jia made no sense. Literally none. I actually had to reread it a couple times because I didn't understand the reaction everyone was having. The reaction we got from the main characters was like she revealed she had been sleeping with chad thundercock three doors down this whole time. She was a bit of a bitch, calm down.
The antagonist of the story is lacking, as they are just a faceless group that sends fodder for the main character to beat. Who are the leaders? How is it set up? Do the elders even have names? The MC stays in the city because his parents might be in danger otherwise, but I'm failing to see how a powerful group couldn't just... send an elder to murder his whole family? What's stopping them? Look at how much influence they have over these tournaments. They could just claim it wasn't them. At least make them work for it by moving them outside the city. The villain is far too passive for how influential they are supposed to be.
Show, don't tell.
The ranks just seem to be an after thought, and the plot goes nowhere. Instead of going out and seeing the world, the story chooses to go the most boring route possible and plants the MC in the city. Also, the events at the end of the story with Jia made no sense. Literally none. I actually had to reread it a couple times because I didn't understand the reaction everyone was having. The reaction we got from the main characters was like she revealed she had been sleeping with chad thundercock three doors down this whole time. She was a bit of a bitch, calm down.
The antagonist of the story is lacking, as they are just a faceless group that sends fodder for the main character to beat. Who are the leaders? How is it set up? Do the elders even have names? The MC stays in the city because his parents might be in danger otherwise, but I'm failing to see how a powerful group couldn't just... send an elder to murder his whole family? What's stopping them? Look at how much influence they have over these tournaments. They could just claim it wasn't them. At least make them work for it by moving them outside the city. The villain is far too passive for how influential they are supposed to be.
Show, don't tell.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2020
In a very confusing beginning to this series, there are key elements that I missed the first time through. I had to go back and listen to the first several chapters again to get an understanding of who Ash was, where he came from, how he became an Outlander, and who or what is in his head. These are critical story elements that were more-or-less glossed over in single sentences. After Ash found the ring, he could not communicate with the ring spirit known as Locke outside of the library. Locke said, “You need to find my counterpart or whoever it was that they grabbed when I grabbed you.” This becomes known later on when Ash is able to hear Lock outside of the library. Locke also stated that she first entered into Ashs’ portable gaming console, which she unintentionally destroyed, then entered into Ash. So, in my second pass, I take it that Locke took elements from the gaming console, along with all the information from the ring library, combining them to help Ash gain power. Hence the included interface and gaming mechanics. Also, Locke appears to be the reason the damaged ring was hidden and is from the Imperial Clan of the Grassy Veil. What is The Treasure within the library? Like another reviewer, I also wondered if there was a prior book I missed.
As others have stated, there are many contradictions within the story and certainly within Ash himself. The saving grace for me was the characters and the interaction between them. The harem aspect seems to be a standard but at least it’s not overdone here. I’ll probably invest in the next volume when it comes but it’s not super high on my list.
As others have stated, there are many contradictions within the story and certainly within Ash himself. The saving grace for me was the characters and the interaction between them. The harem aspect seems to be a standard but at least it’s not overdone here. I’ll probably invest in the next volume when it comes but it’s not super high on my list.
December 27, 2022
Boring & Weak & Fade to black sex scenes
Spoiler alert.
I tried to like this book I really did but unfortunately this book is very boring and it's boring for 1 particular reason the main character is weak. This book is supposed to be about a chosen 1 someone who has to fulfill his destiny and along the way he starts collecting women who want to his banner and his bed. Where as a normal male would see this as a delight and would assertive dominance and would know how to lead especially if he was chosen for such a great power I mean you really don't give such great power to a week person you give it to someone you can use it but in this story and I'm like what should be normal and I fortune you like community authors they have chosen to make their main male characters weak and all that to be dictated but they're going to do it with their lives. And you don't have to be a brute or a bully to have such leadership skills and be able to dominate others but you have to have confidence and a balance between that confidence and arrogance. This book has neither and I will say upfront that I read the second book and it was even worse I will not be purchasing the 3rd or any more I am done with this series. Please hear my words and take them to heart the sex scenes are fade to black there's no description nothing that needs to along the way not to mention that the author use words that the lay person is not going to understand unless they have research japanese anime. Just do yourself a favor and skip this series it's not worth the headache.
Spoiler alert.
I tried to like this book I really did but unfortunately this book is very boring and it's boring for 1 particular reason the main character is weak. This book is supposed to be about a chosen 1 someone who has to fulfill his destiny and along the way he starts collecting women who want to his banner and his bed. Where as a normal male would see this as a delight and would assertive dominance and would know how to lead especially if he was chosen for such a great power I mean you really don't give such great power to a week person you give it to someone you can use it but in this story and I'm like what should be normal and I fortune you like community authors they have chosen to make their main male characters weak and all that to be dictated but they're going to do it with their lives. And you don't have to be a brute or a bully to have such leadership skills and be able to dominate others but you have to have confidence and a balance between that confidence and arrogance. This book has neither and I will say upfront that I read the second book and it was even worse I will not be purchasing the 3rd or any more I am done with this series. Please hear my words and take them to heart the sex scenes are fade to black there's no description nothing that needs to along the way not to mention that the author use words that the lay person is not going to understand unless they have research japanese anime. Just do yourself a favor and skip this series it's not worth the headache.
December 4, 2018
Different but very enjoyable
This is a different type of story than I am used to. I've read all of Arand and Darren's books and enjoyed them enough that I felt I had to try this one out. It took a bit for me to get into the story, probably because I have never read a 'Wuxia' or similar style story, though a background with Japanese light novels may have helped. That perseverance was well rewarded by an engrossing combination of story, characters, and worldbuilding.
The start was a bit slow building for me, but once I had a handle on a couple of the main characters, the entertainment was non-stop. Mr Arand did a great job with drawing me into the characters and their story, and I greatly enjoyed the occasional Easter egg for his longtime fans.
My only real complaint is that I would like it if he could force more productivity out of that other guy he keeps locked in the basement, as it seems that Randi Darren doesn't produce much whenever Mr Arand is releasing a book.
In all seriousness, this was a great read and I am eager to see the next book. I will be hopping over to read his friend's book in this series soon. If you like his other works you will likely enjoy this one as well. I would classify it as a haremlit story, though nothing so far pints at it being tied into his Otherlife universe. I'd love to see where he and Mr Corvin go with this world.
Thanks for the great time.
This is a different type of story than I am used to. I've read all of Arand and Darren's books and enjoyed them enough that I felt I had to try this one out. It took a bit for me to get into the story, probably because I have never read a 'Wuxia' or similar style story, though a background with Japanese light novels may have helped. That perseverance was well rewarded by an engrossing combination of story, characters, and worldbuilding.
The start was a bit slow building for me, but once I had a handle on a couple of the main characters, the entertainment was non-stop. Mr Arand did a great job with drawing me into the characters and their story, and I greatly enjoyed the occasional Easter egg for his longtime fans.
My only real complaint is that I would like it if he could force more productivity out of that other guy he keeps locked in the basement, as it seems that Randi Darren doesn't produce much whenever Mr Arand is releasing a book.
In all seriousness, this was a great read and I am eager to see the next book. I will be hopping over to read his friend's book in this series soon. If you like his other works you will likely enjoy this one as well. I would classify it as a haremlit story, though nothing so far pints at it being tied into his Otherlife universe. I'd love to see where he and Mr Corvin go with this world.
Thanks for the great time.
December 11, 2018
Pretty cool to see the author branch off into cultivating. Felt a little generic both among his own stories and the large number of cultivation stories out there. Overall enjoyable.
Massive spoilers for this and other works:
Massive spoilers for this and other works:
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