Gryff the Griffin Rider 1

Gryff the Griffin Rider #1

by Marcus Sloss

A fantasy tale of adventure, battle, love, lust, and excitement awaits. Gryff is a young man who had goals and dreams. They were rapidly ripped away from him in a spiraling series of events. Inserted on a new world, he must achieve a new path. Will you dare to quest with the hero? Download now to join Gryff in his exploits and feats.

Warning contains gore with extreme violence; there is a harem and on occasion a sex scene!!!

Note - reduced the errors thanks to feedback from readers.

Genres: Fantasy, Harem, Magic, Audiobook

396 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 26, 2019

Reviews

[Ajit Shekher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Translation error

It appears to be a good story, but there are too many errors. Punctuation errors I can ignore, I've leaned to read through grammatical errors, but where the text itself is incorrect, it trips me up. It's as if it has been machine translated from Russian or Chinese

[Dave Stone · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the most intentionally tone deaf character intros
The MC bullies a gay teammate to suicide, and then gets caught up in waves of self pity when that gets him kicked off the team.
That's basically page one. WOW! Was this taken from a post on 4chan?

-Let me say that trying this book was me giving Marcus Sloss a second chance. I tried reading Minotaur Maze of Monster Girls. It was so skin crawlingly icky that I DNFed in under 20 pages. But you know what? Maybe that was just a one off. Some writers try new things or stray out of their comfort zone for one book and that one is nothing like the rest of their work. What the hell, lets give Mr. Sloss a second try.-
Back to Gryff. The MC is sitting in the coaches office (page 2 or 3) being informed of his teammates suicide and when read the suicide note that accused him of constant bullying and homophobic behavior the MC thinks "Well yeah, I did do most of that. But some of it I was only thinking, so this isn't fair".
Mr. Sloss what the hell are you thinking to start a book like this? Are you more interested in being an edge lord than a writer? I mean, if so then how very punk rock of you to throw away all that money to stay true to your art.
-Well yeah, this book again. After getting kicked off the team, and becoming homeless due to loss of scholarship and student housing, Our hero decides to enter a death race. (it's like a triathlon with 10% survivors. a DIEathalon?) And in the first leg of the race the book gets all "Hunger Games" as some of the athletes try to beat the time by killing their fellow contestants. The MC decides to play hero by brutally murdering these cheaters. Here the book takes extra focus on on the multiple victims of his that are women and how their heads cave in, or how their skulls get crushed. Let me point out that this is still the first dozen pages of the book. (So the MC is an Incel, AND a homophobe? ) Why I didn't quit at that point I'm still not sure.
it gets stupider. how? Because... Wait for it... It was all a dream! A virtual reality fantasy that was so popular that our MC is given his own prime-time show. he has a legion of rabid fans who demand he be given top billing in his own reality show. Then the MC tries to seduce an AI and I quit there.
Total amount read 4%. No kidding.
I'm left wondering many things. mostly: Who the hell was Marcus Sloss writing this for? Who was his target audience? What was he thinking as he plotted out this book?
On second thought, I don't care. You go be you Mr. Sloss.

[Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Read.

With some bad luck, the main character gets deposited on a fantasy world that is being ravaged by evil creatures and corrupted humans. The main character is strong, but does not always make the smartest decisions. I liked the story and will pick up the next book (when it is out).

[Capricious_Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fun! I read it via audiobook so just know if you read it, the narrator REALLY gets into it and I found myself thinking he was doing a bit too much but I loved it nontheless!

[Melissa Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf

[Larry Coppock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantasy Right To The Point

In my opinion the author used fantasy to put together one of the best books I’ve read in some time. The great thing about fantasy is that the imagination can run rampant. The author’s imagination introduces some fantasy I’d not ran across before and it really added to the story. That and the way the author developed the story made reading more pleasurable. We’ve a hero here that is likable and relatively believable, in a fantasy sense, that melds into the story with humor and valid dialogue. This may have been a “Harem Book” but that was far from the main impetus driving the tale. This book provided a good foundation for what I believe is to come and I’m going to read the next in the series as soon as possible. I highly recommend this book.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last book of 2019, so here's my review.

The story started well, and I like the universe as it seems complex in a good way. MC is strong and decent, and although he learns the hard way a lot, at least he learns. There are harem things, but they make sense and aren't gratuitous.

I was considering 5 stars for this one, but the latter parts of the book's pacing seemed a bit rushed, and then there are the typos. I don't have his bio, but if I had to guess I'd say that English isn't his mother tongue.

Lots of homonyms mistaken for the correct word and straight-up editing errors don't destroy the book, but are irksome enough to shave a star off. I'm reading the second one at time of writing, and it seems even worse, as if the proof-reading wasn't as thorough.

Still, a good story and generally well-written.

[Geri Winney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever been so hard up for money you teleport yourself into the Hunger Games for cash? Me neither, but Gryff is half man, half audacity, so how bad could it be?

Lucky for him, Plan B worked out, mostly. And lucky for me, my soft spot for lit-RPG is a lot larger than my aversion to obnoxious male leads leaking entitlement all over the otherwise engaging story.

The plot twist at the end would have been more mind blowing had I not misunderstood something in the very beginning and thought the twist was an already established fact. My inattention at the beginning wound up creating an accidental spoiler. Eh, well. It didn't take away from my enjoyment, so whatevs.

Definitely enjoyed the Minecraft-esque vibe of the world. I'll be continuing the series.

[Nathanael Keeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable

I really enjoyed this story although has few flaws. There are numerous minor typos but I was not overly distracted by them. The deeper story line seems weird to me but was not really expounded on in this novel so I am neutral in that regard for now.
I prefer novels without harem and graphic sex scenes but the book description adequately warns of this content so fair enough. I would also say that the sex scenes are brief and infrequent, often only noted. I found this acceptable as I could easily skip those sections if necessary.
Overall I can recommend this novel if you can live with the noted issues.

[Ronald McCully · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read with interesting twist

While the plot is interesting and the story flows well, the one thing that bothered me is the MC doesn't learn from his mistakes. Time and Time throughout he makes the same mistake and doesn't seem to learn from them. Overall I still enjoyed this story and look forward to book 2, the supporting cast is interesting and the adult portions aren't overdone.

[Chris Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great beginning

At first I couldn't get into the book and then once I buckled down and started reading it I was able to really get into it. I would recommend this for people who like stories of a hero that has to work around a system designed to prevent you from succeeding. I would not recommend it if you do not like harem books.

[Bigchief · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! I enjoy harem books but some writers focus more on the sex scene and less on building characters. This book met the perfect meld of both, very interesting main character and plot that built all the way through the series.

[John D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun first book

This is a good book. You shouldy read it. I like the story. The characters are fun. The book is a good read. i enjoyed it alot.. Download or buy it today. why not?

[Andrew Gring · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

This was amazing.I loved every but of it. The characters were believable and fun. The action was good and the sex scenes were just right.Keep them coming.

[Joshua Kurtz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book insanely fun to read and I’m going straight into book 2 now. Excellent job Marcus Sloss!!

[Sean Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting series

Good series not for kids as their is some adult themes in it. Look forward to reading the next one

[Michael Wooten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprised at this book

Not a role player, but a nice blend of fantasy and harem. Enjoyed the read. Will have to try book two.

[Richard Kobert · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a first book a very good read! Looking forward to the next book.

[Darryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

class

[Jonathan Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story

I like how this story is developing. The Griffins are a hoot. The girls are hot. I'm ready for more

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, the book is an odd mixture of pacing and storylines. The prologue does not match the events of the first chapter, the language and actions of the main character at times make me wonder if the author is 15 years old or 40 years old. At one point in the book the death of entire families was glossed over because the gryphons did it, but the main character dwelt at length on the death of a mule that happened because he didn’t tie a slip knot correctly. The book starts with a Hunger Games like event, shows the main character being expelled from Olympic competition because he’s homophobic, or maybe an ex-lover? It’s unclear. But then later in the book it’s made very clear that the main character is heterosexual only. There is clearly a lot of the story taken from the Warcraft franchise - a horde traveling to invade a world via magic portals, but where humans won in that franchise in this one the Horde wins and places humans in concentration camp like “safe zones” and allows them to live provided that they supply them with monthly tributes of supplies. And instead of Dragons being a source of hope for humans, it’s gryphons. Towards the end of the book, there is this last minute revelation of some kind of intergalactic war between the Horde and an AI program who is both the Empress of Humanity and a Goddess … yeah, that was super weird!!! But the main character is not who he thinks he is and possibly the kid he had with the AI program/goddess is the one who brought him back to life after some death he doesn’t remember… I think?

See, the main problem with the story is that sometimes it will slow down and stay in a scene and be enjoyable. But then at other times a huge leap in information or time might occur in as little as a single paragraph or just a few sentences. But I’ve read much worse lately, so perhaps some of my disappointment in other wasted potential storylines makes me see this one a bit more kindly because it doesn’t go on and on and on and on and on about the amazing masculinity of the main character and his prowess in bed with his wives. Indeed, most of the time the book glosses over the sex scenes by using the language and sexual understanding of a thirteen year old to describe the romance. That’s probably the weakest part of the story, any and everything to do with romance in the book is just very immature and silly. Reminds me of junior high idiots standing around the school yard waiting for the bus.

The best parts of the book are when the characters are in combat and we are learning about the world and how badly the war went for humans against the horde. There is one scene where the main character finds the diary of a man who lost his kids and wife because he wouldn’t evacuate his inn / bar and it’s a rather brief but competent scene.

I think the author is hoping people will be drawn into the next book by a lot of the confusing things that happened in the final chapter but I actually found the last chapter disappointing and the whole twist reveal was very unclear and way too vague. How does this contract magic work??? It seems to work how ever the writer wants it to work for the purpose of what ever scene is going on … kinda like how little kids just invent powers while they play with their action figures and want to beat their friends at the game.

But again, it’s not the worse thing I’ve read this summer so I might take a look at the next book in hopes that it’s better or at least clearer.

[Pablo García · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although main character, Gryff (Red, etc) is against polygamy and polyamorous relationships at first, (even to the point of being expelled from the Olympic Team in the beginning of the novel series), the author prioritizes the sexual intercourses and adult situations in this entire novel series. Every time main character adds a harem-retinue member he loses blood pressure to his brain, loses IQ, and Emotional intelligence points. Griffins are mythical creatures having parts of a Lion, Eagle and scorpion. It seems that the illustrator is unaware of this. (Makes a giant bird on the cover).
This series would have been so much better if the author would have left out all of the adult situations. The organization of the ideas, the pace of the adventures to overcome are original and interesting.
There is no adult content adult situations warnings on the cover or the inside. Because it panders and targets minors and underage readers this book series is promoting obscenity to underage (Young Adults) which is against the law.
The characters are varied and the main character seems to favor the will and quests of the Gods and Demi Gods a little bit too much. The main character prioritizes his sex life, wives and kids to freeing the slaves of Prox, combating and overcoming his foes and quests.The author dawddles/wastes time with filler altermatives that are irrelevant if the main character has already decided on his path. This novel series ended without the main character finishing his quests and duties. The main character does what he wants and gets ordered around by all his female partners and even enemy.Gods and Demi Gods.
The author has an extreme prejudice against Goblins, Ogres, etc. cannibalizes sapient and sentient races without any remorse or consequence. I find it incredibly hypocritical and with no moral compass at all, because purchases and values Elves and Dwarves and even enslaves humans to "trade" for his "Elves and Dwarves" without there being a reason to do so. Same happens with the "love and loyalty" that supposedly the main character Gryff has for his Vin wives, and children, as soon as he lands on Thur, it's as if his first wives never really existed (until the end of the story)...

[Logan Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased the Omnibus version of this series; however, Audible doesn't allow listeners to leave reviews for the individual books.

Gryff the Griffin Rider: Book 1 by Marcus Sloss was such an entertaining listen for me. Daniel Wisniewski does a phenomenal job bringing the characters to life—especially Gryff, whose charm, humor, and occasional antics had me laughing out loud and rolling my eyes in equal measure. Rebecca Woods also shines as his counterpart, adding great energy and depth to the supporting cast. Their performances alone add so much character and quality to the series.

While the opening of the book initially felt a little disjointed from the rest of the story, the connection becomes much clearer as the series progresses, ultimately fitting well into the broader arc. I also appreciated that the author chose to shy away from explicit sex scenes in this first installment, focusing instead on building the world, the characters, and Gryff’s relationships. Rest assured—more intimate scenes do appear as you move deeper into the series.

Overall, this was a really fun, light fantasy read with excellent narration and a strong introduction to the rest of the series.

[Bob · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a fun if convoluted story. The MC is the worst. Dumb and emotional. Also the author makes it clear that this is not a progression story. The MC is what he will always be. He cannot learn any cool magics but he does have superstrength. This makes the fighting awkward. The author wants each fight to be hard but also progress in the strength of the enemies the MC fights. So he starts fighting the weakest goblin and it's hard and he gets injured. Throughout the book he fights more and more deadlier enemies while not getting and stronger himself. Each fight is hard and he gets injured every fight. It doesn't really jive with his supposed super strength. He swings around a club that weighs over 1000 lbs with ease, then he breaks his ankle when he rolls on the ground to dodge an attack. Dafuq?
Lastly there's a sprinkling of weird feminism. Like a few times he gives a speech like "How strange this custom in this land of not preferring single mothers! Why would someone prefer a pure virgin beauty with whom you can bond with, when you could instead have the run-through leftovers of another man with her pining over her lost love and deal with his children?

[Michael Cowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story. First 3 chapters are garbage.

I swear to Lucifer that I wish I knew the author in real life. The story is great, but the setup is horrible and I am positive drives people away.

I stopped reading this book after 2 chapters or so. It came back only because a friend on reddit told me the book was 100% different after he was transported.

If I was this guys editor I would literally delete the first part of the book. Have Gryff wake up in the village after dying in an olympic training accident.

Keep the weird AI or make it a classic godess situation. Gryff at school and the deathrace? So poorly written. I hated the guy. Then they AI said he was interesting? How? He was a stuck up, small town hick with no value at all.

Honestly just skip chapters until he wakes up and enjoy a great book. Seriously, hundreds of people likely gave up.

[Enzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gryff is trying to be an Olympian Athlete when he is expelled shortly followed by getting transported to another world. When he arrives he discovers humans are malnourished and they are suffering under the tasks of Orcs, Goblins and Trolls all part of the Horde. Special rules exist that favor the Horde. He decides to help everyone. As he grows stronger the village he favors also grows. But the most important thing is that Gryff can speak to Griffons. Griffons are hated by the Horde and now Gryff can speak and help them retake this planet.
I think I'm going to like this series.

[Gage Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is pretty good I just don't like the mc that much. He is a complete idiot at times. I mean there is no excuse for a ton of his actions. Like he planned to attack a ogre then runs out there with no armour and a couple spears...Then said afterwards he should have used his armor. Like... Then later he takes off his armour and gives his weapon to a chick whose husband he is about to kill... She of course stabs him. There are many more examples like this.

[Genielle Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cool

It's interesting, although I get confused with what's going on at times. They rush through the adult scenes, very perfunctory descriptions with no feeling. The story is good and I enjoyed it overall

[Caleb Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book but not enough to read book 2 right away. Maybe one day.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked it more, but it went on a little too long.