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Spirit Core #1
Core of Fear
Do you ever wonder why spirits take the actions they do? What if there was a system of rules they had to follow?
Clive Logan is a serial killer; or, to be more accurate, Clive Logan was a serial killer. Caught after a record-breaking streak of murders, he was executed by lethal injection by the state, while thousands of his victims' grieving family members watched.
That should’ve been the end of his emotionless and unfeeling existence – but it wasn’t.
Sent to Hell – where he enjoyed himself entirely too much – he was singled out to become a Spirit Core, an invisible spiritual entity that eventually ended up back on Earth. At first unfamiliar to him, his new incarnation slowly revealed itself to have its own set of rules, following something not unlike the video games he used to program back when he was alive. At its root, he was tasked with invoking fear upon his new victims – but there was just one problem.
Having never felt any emotions before, he had no idea what that meant.
Contains LitRPG elements such as level progression and statistics.
Clive Logan is a serial killer; or, to be more accurate, Clive Logan was a serial killer. Caught after a record-breaking streak of murders, he was executed by lethal injection by the state, while thousands of his victims' grieving family members watched.
That should’ve been the end of his emotionless and unfeeling existence – but it wasn’t.
Sent to Hell – where he enjoyed himself entirely too much – he was singled out to become a Spirit Core, an invisible spiritual entity that eventually ended up back on Earth. At first unfamiliar to him, his new incarnation slowly revealed itself to have its own set of rules, following something not unlike the video games he used to program back when he was alive. At its root, he was tasked with invoking fear upon his new victims – but there was just one problem.
Having never felt any emotions before, he had no idea what that meant.
Contains LitRPG elements such as level progression and statistics.
359 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 14, 2019
214 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Brooks
92 books490 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
January 30, 2020
4.5 Stars
OVERALL- Awesome. I definitely recommend for fans of paranormal/haunting stories!
WARNINGS:
Emotionless Void / Serial Killer Protagonist
Murder is Orgasmic!
Subtle Religious Themes
I feel like this story really gave some logical structure to the horror movie tropes we all know and love, and you definitely don't have to like or even know about dungeon core tropes to enjoy this book!
Have you ever wondered why hauntings in movies start out so slow? Or why it takes so long for the possession to happen? Or why the ghosts don't outright kill intruders when they obviously have the power to?
Then look no further!
This story is structured phenomenally, and the pacing had me happily reading until I ran out of book after 2 days.
The murders were tastefully written, and did not use shock factors or cheap gimmicks to make them gory. For Clive, killing people is like a job or an obligation- murder is a means to an end. After all, the only way he can feel things is if he kills people- so I understand his motivation.
I will admit that Clive's emotionless/physical inability to feel things seemed a bit unrealistic at times, mostly because I've never head of a condition so encompassing. But there DO exist people who cannot connect to others emotionally AND people who physically cannot feel anything- so it wasn't too hard to go along with this premise.
The choice to give Clive his condition also turned out to be a great way to push the plot foreword in the end, because we never have to worry about silly things like morals getting in the way of our murderous little entity.
And if you are a fan of dungeon core stories, I can say confidently as a fellow fan that this story is an exiting and unique take on the genre! I love that Clive has interesting ways to 'attack' his intruders- and that he expands his power by generating FEAR instead of just outright killing people- which is a lot more lucrative for a core story in a realistic world (since death is kinda a way to draw a LOT of negative attention).
As far as the horror element goes, I rate it PG-15.
This is mostly because of the orgasmic murder happy protagonist (which a lot of people seem to be disturbed by for some reason).
Some people might find Clive disturbing, but since I started watching criminal minds SUPER young, his craziness didn't seem disturbing to me- but based off of my niece and nephew's innocence, I'd say 15 and up is a safe age to read things like this.
Happy Reading!
OVERALL- Awesome. I definitely recommend for fans of paranormal/haunting stories!
WARNINGS:
Emotionless Void / Serial Killer Protagonist
Murder is Orgasmic!
Subtle Religious Themes
I feel like this story really gave some logical structure to the horror movie tropes we all know and love, and you definitely don't have to like or even know about dungeon core tropes to enjoy this book!
Have you ever wondered why hauntings in movies start out so slow? Or why it takes so long for the possession to happen? Or why the ghosts don't outright kill intruders when they obviously have the power to?
Then look no further!
This story is structured phenomenally, and the pacing had me happily reading until I ran out of book after 2 days.
The murders were tastefully written, and did not use shock factors or cheap gimmicks to make them gory. For Clive, killing people is like a job or an obligation- murder is a means to an end. After all, the only way he can feel things is if he kills people- so I understand his motivation.
I will admit that Clive's emotionless/physical inability to feel things seemed a bit unrealistic at times, mostly because I've never head of a condition so encompassing. But there DO exist people who cannot connect to others emotionally AND people who physically cannot feel anything- so it wasn't too hard to go along with this premise.
The choice to give Clive his condition also turned out to be a great way to push the plot foreword in the end, because we never have to worry about silly things like morals getting in the way of our murderous little entity.
And if you are a fan of dungeon core stories, I can say confidently as a fellow fan that this story is an exiting and unique take on the genre! I love that Clive has interesting ways to 'attack' his intruders- and that he expands his power by generating FEAR instead of just outright killing people- which is a lot more lucrative for a core story in a realistic world (since death is kinda a way to draw a LOT of negative attention).
As far as the horror element goes, I rate it PG-15.
This is mostly because of the orgasmic murder happy protagonist (which a lot of people seem to be disturbed by for some reason).
Some people might find Clive disturbing, but since I started watching criminal minds SUPER young, his craziness didn't seem disturbing to me- but based off of my niece and nephew's innocence, I'd say 15 and up is a safe age to read things like this.
Happy Reading!
December 5, 2023
The biggest reason I’m giving this book a 4 instead of a 3 is because of its unique theme of essentially playing a video game after death, where the main objective is to murder souls in order to feel anything.
Clive Logan a 20 something year-old serial killer is sent to prison after many years of killing over 300 people. However, after 5 years in prison, he dies and is sent to hell to be tortured by demons to which he whole-heartedly enjoys. He is then visited by the Goddess of the underworld where he is sent on a task to murder souls on Earth. When he arrives in his location, a house where a husband and wife live, he then begins his journey to rid the world of both their souls in a fit to find the pain he once knew.
This book is good. Not great but good. After reading I am interested at taking a look at the sequel to see what happens next. I must warn that this book may not be written in a way that everyone likes, and even I had some trouble with it; however, it is still written well with no noticeable grammar mistakes. Although the book is socially labeled as Extreme Horror, I wouldn’t necessarily say I felt disgusted by any of the horror themes present in this book. This is a great book for beginners of Extreme Horror or just someone who is looking for a book that’s on the tamer side.
Clive Logan a 20 something year-old serial killer is sent to prison after many years of killing over 300 people. However, after 5 years in prison, he dies and is sent to hell to be tortured by demons to which he whole-heartedly enjoys. He is then visited by the Goddess of the underworld where he is sent on a task to murder souls on Earth. When he arrives in his location, a house where a husband and wife live, he then begins his journey to rid the world of both their souls in a fit to find the pain he once knew.
This book is good. Not great but good. After reading I am interested at taking a look at the sequel to see what happens next. I must warn that this book may not be written in a way that everyone likes, and even I had some trouble with it; however, it is still written well with no noticeable grammar mistakes. Although the book is socially labeled as Extreme Horror, I wouldn’t necessarily say I felt disgusted by any of the horror themes present in this book. This is a great book for beginners of Extreme Horror or just someone who is looking for a book that’s on the tamer side.
October 29, 2019
Entertaining if disturbing
First off, do you mind the protagonist being evil with no redeeming qualities? If not, skip this book. If you enjoy, or at least don't mind, being witness to the psychological torture and death of innocents, this book may be for you.
First off, this is LitRPG, a genre where, for whatever reason, people gain the ability to see their stats, which they can actively level up. This book is arguably also the subgenre of DungeonCore, where the protagonist is either tied to a location, or is the location. In this case, we follow Clive, a prolific serial killer who is caught, killed, and found too weird for Hell. So he gets to become a ghost, with the goal being the eventual death of those residing in the house he's haunting. The usual pattern in haunted house films of progressive scares is modeled by him having gamelike limits on what he can do without already having the targets scared and/or leveling up. He's mildly hampered by leaning empathy (and honestly, not being terribly bright), but he learns, with tragic results.
I won't lie. I enjoyed reading the book, even as I saw the conclusion it was headed toward. I'm not quite tempted enough to get the next book in the series, but this was worth the 99 cents I paid for it.
First off, do you mind the protagonist being evil with no redeeming qualities? If not, skip this book. If you enjoy, or at least don't mind, being witness to the psychological torture and death of innocents, this book may be for you.
First off, this is LitRPG, a genre where, for whatever reason, people gain the ability to see their stats, which they can actively level up. This book is arguably also the subgenre of DungeonCore, where the protagonist is either tied to a location, or is the location. In this case, we follow Clive, a prolific serial killer who is caught, killed, and found too weird for Hell. So he gets to become a ghost, with the goal being the eventual death of those residing in the house he's haunting. The usual pattern in haunted house films of progressive scares is modeled by him having gamelike limits on what he can do without already having the targets scared and/or leveling up. He's mildly hampered by leaning empathy (and honestly, not being terribly bright), but he learns, with tragic results.
I won't lie. I enjoyed reading the book, even as I saw the conclusion it was headed toward. I'm not quite tempted enough to get the next book in the series, but this was worth the 99 cents I paid for it.
July 24, 2023
Review for books 1-5
This series is like watching a paranormal horror movie, but mostly from the perspective of the demon. It's mostly well-written, with only one major flaw preventing me from giving it a 5 (although there are definitely a few smaller ones every now and then).
The biggest problem is the author's obsession with no kids being physically harmed. That would be fine, but it leads to multiple plot holes and gets brought up way too often. It would be way better if kids were just never mentioned (like pets), or there was just a reason given for no kids to be there and then move on. The way it's done introduces plot holes in many different areas, although it never got quite bad enough for me to quit reading.
Overall though, I highly recommend reading this if you like paranormal movies and root for the demon. Even if you don't particularly watch those, you'll still probably enjoy it if you're at the point of reading reviews for it. Books 1/2/5 are great, although books 3/4 definitely drag it down to an overall 4 because of plot holes (mostly caused by the kid thing).
This series is like watching a paranormal horror movie, but mostly from the perspective of the demon. It's mostly well-written, with only one major flaw preventing me from giving it a 5 (although there are definitely a few smaller ones every now and then).
The biggest problem is the author's obsession with no kids being physically harmed. That would be fine, but it leads to multiple plot holes and gets brought up way too often. It would be way better if kids were just never mentioned (like pets), or there was just a reason given for no kids to be there and then move on. The way it's done introduces plot holes in many different areas, although it never got quite bad enough for me to quit reading.
Overall though, I highly recommend reading this if you like paranormal movies and root for the demon. Even if you don't particularly watch those, you'll still probably enjoy it if you're at the point of reading reviews for it. Books 1/2/5 are great, although books 3/4 definitely drag it down to an overall 4 because of plot holes (mostly caused by the kid thing).
November 2, 2019
This book has an absolutely amazingly well-written story and it was absolutely everything I was hoping for and then some. What's even better is it embodied what most people are looking for with core books not only that it was an excellent embodiment of fear and paranoia this was simply fantastic.
I do have to say this in a hole the narrator did amazing however when reading the stats to me it seemed like the editing team sped up the recording or if nothing else the narrator literally just talked as fast as possible from the sounds of it it was kind of jarring and at least for me with all the abbreviated stats was a bit hard to follow especially after a few of the attack night Chapter 29 was probably the worst ultimately I found myself just tuning it out those parts due to the pace that it was being given it was kind of nonsensical anyway.
However, that being said I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series even with the weird narrator reading stats fast or a sped-up recording you should definitely give this book a listen.
I do have to say this in a hole the narrator did amazing however when reading the stats to me it seemed like the editing team sped up the recording or if nothing else the narrator literally just talked as fast as possible from the sounds of it it was kind of jarring and at least for me with all the abbreviated stats was a bit hard to follow especially after a few of the attack night Chapter 29 was probably the worst ultimately I found myself just tuning it out those parts due to the pace that it was being given it was kind of nonsensical anyway.
However, that being said I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series even with the weird narrator reading stats fast or a sped-up recording you should definitely give this book a listen.
July 18, 2019
This book was very strange. I most definitely did not like it at first. However, after a while, the story did seem to grow on me. I still don't like the book's premise, but the whole storyline is definitely unique in the LitRPG genre, and that's probably a good thing. I'm not sure how many books of this kind I could comfortably read. This is definitely not a book all LitRPG fans will enjoy, but if you're the type that doesn't mind questionable moral characters, then this book may not bother you. On the other hand, this is the kind of book that can give you nightmares if you're the kind of person who prefers to look on the lighter side of people, and tends to overlook the darker side of humanity. I'd have to give this one a pg 13 rating to be sure, because of the violence, and the moral alignment of the main character.
November 2, 2022
such delicious evil
What an exhilarating ride! Author Brooks once again proves he is the absolute master of the dungeon core genre.
Take a serial killer, have him enjoy hell, watch the overseer of hell get ticked off at him.
What follows is an amazingly, completely amoral romp. His job divert innocent souls to hell. The catch? He can only do so by literally scaring people to death.
I wonder what dark depths of the mind the author had to delve into to create the oh so imaginative skills this core gains. It is a different take on dungeon cores than I have ever come across. And that includes many other works by Brooks.
I love his imagination. And I love that there is nothing cutesy, or fun, or redeeming about Clive, the core. Excellent villain, excellent world building, this is 5+ all the way in my opinion.
What an exhilarating ride! Author Brooks once again proves he is the absolute master of the dungeon core genre.
Take a serial killer, have him enjoy hell, watch the overseer of hell get ticked off at him.
What follows is an amazingly, completely amoral romp. His job divert innocent souls to hell. The catch? He can only do so by literally scaring people to death.
I wonder what dark depths of the mind the author had to delve into to create the oh so imaginative skills this core gains. It is a different take on dungeon cores than I have ever come across. And that includes many other works by Brooks.
I love his imagination. And I love that there is nothing cutesy, or fun, or redeeming about Clive, the core. Excellent villain, excellent world building, this is 5+ all the way in my opinion.
November 16, 2020
Well written
The book did a good job of laying of the core’s personality along with the victims. Everyone had their motivations, thoughts and actions. There wasn’t any time where I was like “what? That doesn’t make sense...”
I do like how the author made it so Clive had a motivator and growth as well. It was well written.
I would say the only character I didn’t like was the Goddess of the underworld. I found her annoying and the things she was asking for and advising were counterintuitive. I’m just glad Clive was like “that makes no sense. Ignore!”
Moving onto book two and hoping it’s just as good!
The book did a good job of laying of the core’s personality along with the victims. Everyone had their motivations, thoughts and actions. There wasn’t any time where I was like “what? That doesn’t make sense...”
I do like how the author made it so Clive had a motivator and growth as well. It was well written.
I would say the only character I didn’t like was the Goddess of the underworld. I found her annoying and the things she was asking for and advising were counterintuitive. I’m just glad Clive was like “that makes no sense. Ignore!”
Moving onto book two and hoping it’s just as good!
January 20, 2022
If The Protagonist From "Dexter" Became A Demonic Entity, He Would Be Very Much Like Clive Logan
This Novel is a Horror story. Those who enjoy the paranormal horror novels of Clive Barker and Steven King will likely enjoy this book as well.
The LitRPG elements of the story provide a framework for the development of the plot as Clive Logan, psychopathic murder turned Spirit Core, learns and grows his abilities to haunt the living and drag innocent souls to Hell.
As mentioned afore fans of the Horror genre will likely find this novel an enjoyable read and the LitRPG aspect will appeal to fans of that genre. Those who enjoy playing RPGs may also like this novel.
This Novel is a Horror story. Those who enjoy the paranormal horror novels of Clive Barker and Steven King will likely enjoy this book as well.
The LitRPG elements of the story provide a framework for the development of the plot as Clive Logan, psychopathic murder turned Spirit Core, learns and grows his abilities to haunt the living and drag innocent souls to Hell.
As mentioned afore fans of the Horror genre will likely find this novel an enjoyable read and the LitRPG aspect will appeal to fans of that genre. Those who enjoy playing RPGs may also like this novel.
February 19, 2022
Surprisingly engaging
This book was not my typical cup of tea, but once I *finally* got started, really got started, I was.. interested. The story isn't too surprising, but well written and I'm curious what our little serial killer will manage to do next time around.
If you want to try something a little different, with a touch of ghost story from the pov of the ghost and some litrpg elements, I'd try this out. I did and was pleasantly surprised.
For clarity: I do believe the author gave me a copy.
This book was not my typical cup of tea, but once I *finally* got started, really got started, I was.. interested. The story isn't too surprising, but well written and I'm curious what our little serial killer will manage to do next time around.
If you want to try something a little different, with a touch of ghost story from the pov of the ghost and some litrpg elements, I'd try this out. I did and was pleasantly surprised.
For clarity: I do believe the author gave me a copy.
January 19, 2019
Surprising
I was really pleasantly surprised by this novel. I think this book will appeal to a wide audience that are interested in both LITRPG and horror. It is well written and has a great sense of pace. Initially I wasn't sure, but after the first chapter i was hooked and could barely put the book down.
A demonic haunting from the demons perspective, with a levelling and progressive system.
I was really pleasantly surprised by this novel. I think this book will appeal to a wide audience that are interested in both LITRPG and horror. It is well written and has a great sense of pace. Initially I wasn't sure, but after the first chapter i was hooked and could barely put the book down.
A demonic haunting from the demons perspective, with a levelling and progressive system.
January 2, 2021
A bit slow at first but a clever idea over all
The first couple if chapters were very detailed but did not move the story forward for me.
I understand why Clive was the way he was for narrative reasons but it just took longer to get past mechanics and into the real story.
Once we start seeing things from the other side it was much more interesting and I'm moving on to second book.
The first couple if chapters were very detailed but did not move the story forward for me.
I understand why Clive was the way he was for narrative reasons but it just took longer to get past mechanics and into the real story.
Once we start seeing things from the other side it was much more interesting and I'm moving on to second book.
April 6, 2022
Good book but not a feel good one
I found it fascinating reading this, reading as Clive develops his powers and spreads fear. Unlike other "bad" characters in books that show signs of mercy or even goodness the main character seems to be a real psychopath in the fact that only the pain he can experience or inflict upon others can bring him a semblance of feeling. Like I said in the title, quite an interesting and well developed book but do not expect a happy or funny story.
I found it fascinating reading this, reading as Clive develops his powers and spreads fear. Unlike other "bad" characters in books that show signs of mercy or even goodness the main character seems to be a real psychopath in the fact that only the pain he can experience or inflict upon others can bring him a semblance of feeling. Like I said in the title, quite an interesting and well developed book but do not expect a happy or funny story.
November 7, 2021
Yawn
Probably one of the most boring books I've read this year. Not the authors best effort. No characters are likable and there just isn't anything to root for. 2 stars because the core concept in the "real" world was pretty innovative. I wound up skipping pages as it was a long, boring slog to read.
Probably one of the most boring books I've read this year. Not the authors best effort. No characters are likable and there just isn't anything to root for. 2 stars because the core concept in the "real" world was pretty innovative. I wound up skipping pages as it was a long, boring slog to read.
January 17, 2019
Wining
Absolutely loved it taking a core and using it in this fashion Genius! I had high expectations when I started the book and I was not disappointed I would recommend this book to any one reading this!
Absolutely loved it taking a core and using it in this fashion Genius! I had high expectations when I started the book and I was not disappointed I would recommend this book to any one reading this!
October 30, 2019
Not Scary Ghost POV with Stats
You actually root and strategize how you would kill with the power ups he gets. This story of a emotion retararded guy who gets a chance to become a haunting ghost was awesome.
You actually root and strategize how you would kill with the power ups he gets. This story of a emotion retararded guy who gets a chance to become a haunting ghost was awesome.
August 4, 2020
Rare to see attempted horror from an inhuman perspective done so well. Great integration of fantasy litrpg elements into a new genre. Reminds me a bit of my own first litrpg novel on royal road, bringing demons and metaphysics into an experimental game-like framework.
January 23, 2021
Brooks at it again
I always enjoying reading Brooks' stories, but this one really perked my interest. The writing is high quality, per usual, but the premise is really very intriguing. I cant imagine this was easy to write, but solid read that I'd recommend to dungeon core fans.
I always enjoying reading Brooks' stories, but this one really perked my interest. The writing is high quality, per usual, but the premise is really very intriguing. I cant imagine this was easy to write, but solid read that I'd recommend to dungeon core fans.
December 8, 2021
This is . . . okay.
Getting to know what both sides are doing and thinking takes away all suspense. The dungeon core mechanics are unnecessary and add nothing to the narrative. The main character was intriguing at first, but quickly became boring.
Getting to know what both sides are doing and thinking takes away all suspense. The dungeon core mechanics are unnecessary and add nothing to the narrative. The main character was intriguing at first, but quickly became boring.
November 21, 2022
I was hooked early on.
Great book and a breeze to read. If you've ever wanted to see a movie like Paranormal Activity, but from the demon's point of view, this is for you. I look forward to the next book in the series.
Great book and a breeze to read. If you've ever wanted to see a movie like Paranormal Activity, but from the demon's point of view, this is for you. I look forward to the next book in the series.
July 25, 2023
Amazingly written, with interesting solutions from the protagonist, an interesting world, and a cool magic system.
It's just the goal of the book being "Torture and kill innocent people" that turns me off.
It's just the goal of the book being "Torture and kill innocent people" that turns me off.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2019
Interesting and fun
A nice new take on the litRPG story. Game elements were neat and the story was very, very well written. Fun and cool read, hope there's more coming soon!!
A nice new take on the litRPG story. Game elements were neat and the story was very, very well written. Fun and cool read, hope there's more coming soon!!
February 7, 2019
Not my cup of tea
Let me first say this is not my tastes in books. It was very well written with a well thought out rules for the core. It is to dark and depressing for me.
Let me first say this is not my tastes in books. It was very well written with a well thought out rules for the core. It is to dark and depressing for me.
February 20, 2019
An interesting book
An interesting book with nice plot. My issue is that it could have been more quicker with the plot pacing.
An interesting book with nice plot. My issue is that it could have been more quicker with the plot pacing.
April 30, 2019
What a great new book.
The best of both the paranormal genre plus an element of org games. Loved every minute of it. I want more.
The best of both the paranormal genre plus an element of org games. Loved every minute of it. I want more.
June 4, 2019
One of my favorites!
A great addition to the genre and one of the few horror. I absolutely loved reading it and cant wait for book 2. Clive you are one messed up guy!
A great addition to the genre and one of the few horror. I absolutely loved reading it and cant wait for book 2. Clive you are one messed up guy!
December 31, 2019
A fresh take on LitRPG. This is one of my favorites in the genre. I am hoping for a sequel.
April 14, 2020
New
I enjoyed the break away from the usual execution of the dungeon core genre. The story offers an explanation of the existences of ghosts. The Chucky of dungeon cores eh?
I enjoyed the break away from the usual execution of the dungeon core genre. The story offers an explanation of the existences of ghosts. The Chucky of dungeon cores eh?
August 28, 2020
Very entertaining read
I enjoyed reading this book very much and would recommend it highly to anyone that like litRPG type of books.
I enjoyed reading this book very much and would recommend it highly to anyone that like litRPG type of books.
November 23, 2020
I like the premise of the book but the middle seemed a little slow.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews