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True Smithing #1
True Smithing
Angus Bjornson only ever wanted to do one thing: to continue crafting exquisite weapons and pieces of armor for his loyal customers. Unfortunately, after one accident too many that leaves the old blacksmith completely disabled, it would seem he has no other choice but to hang up his hammer.
However, that would be underestimating the stubbornness of the self-made man. Fearing he’s not going to stop until he ends up dead in his forge, Angus’ children offer him a virtual rig that connects to Imperium Games’ many universes.
After choosing a fantasy-based world called Alterwelt, Angus—now known as Hephaestus—quickly learns that he can make use of his lifetime of experience by disabling the Auto function and playing on Manual. His skills allow him to create unique items that beat everything sold on the market. But Hephaestus has a long way to go before he can afford his own in-game forge. Moreover, he only ever learned to work with steel while here he has access to metals as strange and exotic as azuraneum, veridium, orichalcum…
Still, that might be the least of his problems. After he’s made a few sales and starts to get some recognition, Hephaestus realizes that there’s a reason the market is oversaturated with crappy items. As it turns out, a greedy guild enforces a monopoly on the crafting and they’re ready to do anything to keep anyone—lest of all a lone blacksmith—from digging into their profits…
However, that would be underestimating the stubbornness of the self-made man. Fearing he’s not going to stop until he ends up dead in his forge, Angus’ children offer him a virtual rig that connects to Imperium Games’ many universes.
After choosing a fantasy-based world called Alterwelt, Angus—now known as Hephaestus—quickly learns that he can make use of his lifetime of experience by disabling the Auto function and playing on Manual. His skills allow him to create unique items that beat everything sold on the market. But Hephaestus has a long way to go before he can afford his own in-game forge. Moreover, he only ever learned to work with steel while here he has access to metals as strange and exotic as azuraneum, veridium, orichalcum…
Still, that might be the least of his problems. After he’s made a few sales and starts to get some recognition, Hephaestus realizes that there’s a reason the market is oversaturated with crappy items. As it turns out, a greedy guild enforces a monopoly on the crafting and they’re ready to do anything to keep anyone—lest of all a lone blacksmith—from digging into their profits…
292 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 4, 2020
632 people are currently reading
285 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
March 11, 2022
Yet another LitRPG that had me grinning from ear to ear throughout the entire read. I had sooo much fun.
Why?
SMITHING, my dear friend.
Take all the endless joy of breaking Skyrim with your master craftsmanship, combine it with a real-life smithing master who joins a game that allows him to get tons more experience by doing all real work the hard way in the true-to-life simulation, and we've got a massively broken character. He doesn't even fight except a handful of times. His skills and his loves are all about the craft and I can't care less that his main foe is almost comic-book in flavor.
I just looooved all the talk about armor pieces, metal composition, the advantages and disadvantages of certain design schematics, and even a little skewering of game design in general. It was all in good fun and I was right there for it.
Yes, there was some leveling up, too, but in reality, this was a true power-leveling adventure. Electing to do all the work yourself in the simulation is a REAL game-breaker if you've got the chops. :)
Ah, pure fantasy, distilled wish-fulfillment fantasy.
Why?
SMITHING, my dear friend.
Take all the endless joy of breaking Skyrim with your master craftsmanship, combine it with a real-life smithing master who joins a game that allows him to get tons more experience by doing all real work the hard way in the true-to-life simulation, and we've got a massively broken character. He doesn't even fight except a handful of times. His skills and his loves are all about the craft and I can't care less that his main foe is almost comic-book in flavor.
I just looooved all the talk about armor pieces, metal composition, the advantages and disadvantages of certain design schematics, and even a little skewering of game design in general. It was all in good fun and I was right there for it.
Yes, there was some leveling up, too, but in reality, this was a true power-leveling adventure. Electing to do all the work yourself in the simulation is a REAL game-breaker if you've got the chops. :)
Ah, pure fantasy, distilled wish-fulfillment fantasy.
March 15, 2022
Had promise but not executed well
The good - its a crafting book, and has good dialogue between characters. Which is usually the biggest issue in other Litrpg books.
The bad
- the time dilation isn’t done well. It distracts from the story, because every time it’s mentioned you stop and ponder if it makes sense. most of the time for me it didn’t feel real.
- the vaudeville bad guy is annoying. Really bad set up to the final conflict. I felt like I was reading a daytime soap opera.
- the story wants to make fantasy feel like reality but it didn’t work. Who wants to live RPG when there are lawyer builds in a game? Why would anyone play a game with a Reddit like monitor? Not to mention the community like rules? Rogues can gank you and get away with it but you have to buy a permit to build crap.
- for a VR game that you can get digitize into to have non AI first line moderators is straight up dumb. Lawyers in a fantasy world? Just for reality sake. Banning characters with out any proof like audit logs, So lame! The main dispute resolution scene was aweful and just stunk of crappy world building. What self described nerd or fantasy buff goes to a crappier Version of reality?
- one strength that turned into a weakness was the crafting. Awesome description of authentic techniques. However it’s so realistic that the fantasy aspect pulls it down and vice versa. New metals but normal woods. No beast parts or the like? How is this LITRPG? Stats are barely mentioned and really didn’t mean anything because he could add 5 stats himself no matter how he forged it. You can be a master smith day one in this world with just a tiny scrap of experience. Makes you wonder about the lawyers. Think of how many Karen’s this VR world would have? and who wants to be in a fantasy game with master lawyers everywhere?
Read Bushido online better world building and character development.
The good - its a crafting book, and has good dialogue between characters. Which is usually the biggest issue in other Litrpg books.
The bad
- the time dilation isn’t done well. It distracts from the story, because every time it’s mentioned you stop and ponder if it makes sense. most of the time for me it didn’t feel real.
- the vaudeville bad guy is annoying. Really bad set up to the final conflict. I felt like I was reading a daytime soap opera.
- the story wants to make fantasy feel like reality but it didn’t work. Who wants to live RPG when there are lawyer builds in a game? Why would anyone play a game with a Reddit like monitor? Not to mention the community like rules? Rogues can gank you and get away with it but you have to buy a permit to build crap.
- for a VR game that you can get digitize into to have non AI first line moderators is straight up dumb. Lawyers in a fantasy world? Just for reality sake. Banning characters with out any proof like audit logs, So lame! The main dispute resolution scene was aweful and just stunk of crappy world building. What self described nerd or fantasy buff goes to a crappier Version of reality?
- one strength that turned into a weakness was the crafting. Awesome description of authentic techniques. However it’s so realistic that the fantasy aspect pulls it down and vice versa. New metals but normal woods. No beast parts or the like? How is this LITRPG? Stats are barely mentioned and really didn’t mean anything because he could add 5 stats himself no matter how he forged it. You can be a master smith day one in this world with just a tiny scrap of experience. Makes you wonder about the lawyers. Think of how many Karen’s this VR world would have? and who wants to be in a fantasy game with master lawyers everywhere?
Read Bushido online better world building and character development.
July 29, 2020
I really liked this book. It was a real page turner. Not everyone will like it.
But i for one LOVED it.
But i for one LOVED it.
September 10, 2022
2 1/2 stars. This Litrpg is a bit different than many out there. The focus in not on adventuring, fighting and killing. It is very much focused on crafting. There is a lot of detail about smithing weapons and armor. Some of it I found very interesting and some was a bit too detailed for me but if you are really into that thing this is a great read. I found the greedy guild owner trying to put Angus out of business a bit boring but you do need some sort of hardship to move the story along.
One that that really shows up in this book is that these immersion games--to a level that is above anything we have at the moment--can be much more than just games. For people who have are or have become disabled or lost physical abilities due to age the games can give them ability to follow their passions in a way they can't in the real world. Passions are very important and can make all the difference in the quality and joy in your life.
One that that really shows up in this book is that these immersion games--to a level that is above anything we have at the moment--can be much more than just games. For people who have are or have become disabled or lost physical abilities due to age the games can give them ability to follow their passions in a way they can't in the real world. Passions are very important and can make all the difference in the quality and joy in your life.
October 7, 2020
A book mainly about smithing gets smithing wrong
Seriously, all they had to do was watch a couple episodes of Forged in Fire. They literally show the process used to forge a sword. As a blacksmith myself, everytime he makes a mistake with the process I cringe. I just couldn't finish it.
The first crossgaurd he forges, the author says he uses a chisel to chip away metal to make the hole for the tang. Wha?? You can't chip red hot metal, its ductile while it's hot. Even when it's cold, you can't really chip metal unless you want to risk breaking the blade. The proper technique is to slit and drift the hole. They talk about chipping material of again when he makes a fuller on his first dagger. You would do that by either forging the fuller in with a fullering tool, or by grinding it in with a grinder. Then he moves on to a fancier material, and it snaps in half in the forge because the forge is too hot. Again, what? You might get stress fractures, and it might make a weak blade, but the metal doesn't snap. The only place you would get a blade to snap is during the quench, or if you hit it with a hammer after it's been quenched. Also, it said something about working the metal at 1000 degrees, idk, maybe they are talking C, but in Fahrenheit you work steel at 2200 degrees. He did get a lot of the process generally correct, but why go to the effort to get close and then just fudge the rest of it? It would have taken all of three hours to get it right, and the whole premise of the book is smithing! There are tons of resources out there for this. Sand before you haters say it's all in a video game, so it doesn't have to match reality, the main character is supposed to be a real life acclaimed bladesmith, and the video game is supposed to simulate really life.
TLDR: If you want to write a book based on smithing, you had better damn well get the process right. It's not that hard. Especially if you are trying to say the video game it all happens in is supposed to simulate reality.
Seriously, all they had to do was watch a couple episodes of Forged in Fire. They literally show the process used to forge a sword. As a blacksmith myself, everytime he makes a mistake with the process I cringe. I just couldn't finish it.
The first crossgaurd he forges, the author says he uses a chisel to chip away metal to make the hole for the tang. Wha?? You can't chip red hot metal, its ductile while it's hot. Even when it's cold, you can't really chip metal unless you want to risk breaking the blade. The proper technique is to slit and drift the hole. They talk about chipping material of again when he makes a fuller on his first dagger. You would do that by either forging the fuller in with a fullering tool, or by grinding it in with a grinder. Then he moves on to a fancier material, and it snaps in half in the forge because the forge is too hot. Again, what? You might get stress fractures, and it might make a weak blade, but the metal doesn't snap. The only place you would get a blade to snap is during the quench, or if you hit it with a hammer after it's been quenched. Also, it said something about working the metal at 1000 degrees, idk, maybe they are talking C, but in Fahrenheit you work steel at 2200 degrees. He did get a lot of the process generally correct, but why go to the effort to get close and then just fudge the rest of it? It would have taken all of three hours to get it right, and the whole premise of the book is smithing! There are tons of resources out there for this. Sand before you haters say it's all in a video game, so it doesn't have to match reality, the main character is supposed to be a real life acclaimed bladesmith, and the video game is supposed to simulate really life.
TLDR: If you want to write a book based on smithing, you had better damn well get the process right. It's not that hard. Especially if you are trying to say the video game it all happens in is supposed to simulate reality.
June 27, 2020
Disappointing
Disappointing as I really like crafting stories. The story focused too much on crafting details and failed to make me interested in the characters. By the end of the book I was just skimming to see if there was anything interesting. There wasn’t.
(stars: 1=Avoid,2=Flawed,3=Good4=Great,5=Amazing)
Disappointing as I really like crafting stories. The story focused too much on crafting details and failed to make me interested in the characters. By the end of the book I was just skimming to see if there was anything interesting. There wasn’t.
(stars: 1=Avoid,2=Flawed,3=Good4=Great,5=Amazing)
July 6, 2020
A genuinely amazing read!!
I came into this book thinking it was about nothing but a decent crafting system where the MC makes slightly more epic loot that others. This whole story is actually an homage to the craft of smiting and it is shown in every page. It is an excellent compact story and a great read over all.
I came into this book thinking it was about nothing but a decent crafting system where the MC makes slightly more epic loot that others. This whole story is actually an homage to the craft of smiting and it is shown in every page. It is an excellent compact story and a great read over all.
August 20, 2020
The dialogue killed it for me. The bouncing between things like "I must get revenge for my betrothed" and " I ain't never done that" in the same paragraph was so jarring. I couldn't decide if it was an accent or if they were bouncing in and out of role playing. If I'm thinking more about the syntax than the plot there is a problem with both.
The idea of an old guy who spent his life learning about and practicing historical blacksmithing entering a game and making bad ass gear is a good set up for a story. Unfortunately, this story went off the rails with overprotective kids, virtual lawyers, and a villain who was more annoying than anything. The game didn't sound fun to play, so it wasn't fun to read about.
The idea of an old guy who spent his life learning about and practicing historical blacksmithing entering a game and making bad ass gear is a good set up for a story. Unfortunately, this story went off the rails with overprotective kids, virtual lawyers, and a villain who was more annoying than anything. The game didn't sound fun to play, so it wasn't fun to read about.
February 9, 2023
there are at least two things that I find that trouble me with this Fantasy-VRMMORPG-full-game-immersion novel series. The first is the title of the series: "True Smithing", the Philosopher Karl Popper, said that "Truth" is something unattainable, we can only know "error" or what is "false"... Smithing is a precise science profession, so a precise adjective for this "Smithing" might be "Archaic", "Old-School", "Classic", etc. But not "TRUE"... because anything that is not Smithing is not "Smithing"...it might be forging, might be selling weapons and equipment but blacksmithing it's not...
The second problem I found with this story reminded me of a really great movie, script, and story, Good Will Hunting (1997). I will quote a really long part, to prove my point.
Robin Williams says this part, in the movie: "Sean: [sitting on a bench in in front of a pond in park] Thought about what you said to me the other day, about my painting. Stayed up half the night thinking about it. Something occurred to me... fell into a deep peaceful sleep, and haven't thought about you since. Do you know what occurred to me?
Will: No.
Sean: You're just a kid, you don't have the faintest idea what you're talkin' about.
Will: Why thank you.
Sean: It's all right. You've never been out of Boston.
Will: Nope.
Sean: So if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life's work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I'll bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that. If I ask you about women, you'd probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can't tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You're a tough kid. And I'd ask you about war, you'd probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, "once more unto the breach dear friends." But you've never been near one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help. I'd ask you about love, you'd probably quote me a sonnet. But you've never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes, feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn't know what it's like to be her angel, to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything, through cancer. And you wouldn't know about sleeping sitting up in the hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes, that the terms "visiting hours" don't apply to you. You don't know about real loss, 'cause it only occurs when you've loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt you've ever dared to love anybody that much. And look at you... I don't see an intelligent, confident man... I see a cocky, scared sh*tless kid. But you're a genius Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine, and you ripped my fucking life apart. You're an orphan right?
[Will nods]
Sean: You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally... I don't give a sh*t about all that, because you know what, I can't learn anything from you, I can't read in some f*ckin' book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I'm fascinated. I'm in. But you don't want to do that do you sport? You're terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief."
Why I needed to include the whole dialogue from Good Will Hunting movie, is because writers like this one, "really and truly" believe that because they have "relative/basic knowledge in English grammar and writing", they "can" write about "anything"... But have no "real idea" of what a successful senior citizen person feels at the "end" (Twilight) of their lives, much less what a "Blacksmith is thinking at the end of his life". The author has no "real" idea about what is needed and how things are made in a "real"/"Old-School"/"Classic" Smithing, and with all of their "ignorance" (naiveté) and all of their "arrogance", these "authors" believe that whatever they "publish" is "precise" (or at least "good enough to sell", and even use "True" in the title of their "fantasy-VRMMORPG-novel-series"... But they "truly have no idea" of what they are writing about and "always come up short"... Every fictional book and story is as "good" as the precision and "real-life-knowledge" of the authors who write it. If authors like this one would actually list the "interviews and bibliography that helped them --write-- this story" it would be clearer that this story is lacking everything. There is no "pretends to know, or would really like to learn" about the themes of the books that they write...It's like a final exam or a pregnancy test, all of the "proof" is in the "story"...
So, I do not recommend this book or series, for these two reasons...
The second problem I found with this story reminded me of a really great movie, script, and story, Good Will Hunting (1997). I will quote a really long part, to prove my point.
Robin Williams says this part, in the movie: "Sean: [sitting on a bench in in front of a pond in park] Thought about what you said to me the other day, about my painting. Stayed up half the night thinking about it. Something occurred to me... fell into a deep peaceful sleep, and haven't thought about you since. Do you know what occurred to me?
Will: No.
Sean: You're just a kid, you don't have the faintest idea what you're talkin' about.
Will: Why thank you.
Sean: It's all right. You've never been out of Boston.
Will: Nope.
Sean: So if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life's work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I'll bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that. If I ask you about women, you'd probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can't tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You're a tough kid. And I'd ask you about war, you'd probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, "once more unto the breach dear friends." But you've never been near one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help. I'd ask you about love, you'd probably quote me a sonnet. But you've never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes, feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn't know what it's like to be her angel, to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything, through cancer. And you wouldn't know about sleeping sitting up in the hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes, that the terms "visiting hours" don't apply to you. You don't know about real loss, 'cause it only occurs when you've loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt you've ever dared to love anybody that much. And look at you... I don't see an intelligent, confident man... I see a cocky, scared sh*tless kid. But you're a genius Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine, and you ripped my fucking life apart. You're an orphan right?
[Will nods]
Sean: You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally... I don't give a sh*t about all that, because you know what, I can't learn anything from you, I can't read in some f*ckin' book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I'm fascinated. I'm in. But you don't want to do that do you sport? You're terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief."
Why I needed to include the whole dialogue from Good Will Hunting movie, is because writers like this one, "really and truly" believe that because they have "relative/basic knowledge in English grammar and writing", they "can" write about "anything"... But have no "real idea" of what a successful senior citizen person feels at the "end" (Twilight) of their lives, much less what a "Blacksmith is thinking at the end of his life". The author has no "real" idea about what is needed and how things are made in a "real"/"Old-School"/"Classic" Smithing, and with all of their "ignorance" (naiveté) and all of their "arrogance", these "authors" believe that whatever they "publish" is "precise" (or at least "good enough to sell", and even use "True" in the title of their "fantasy-VRMMORPG-novel-series"... But they "truly have no idea" of what they are writing about and "always come up short"... Every fictional book and story is as "good" as the precision and "real-life-knowledge" of the authors who write it. If authors like this one would actually list the "interviews and bibliography that helped them --write-- this story" it would be clearer that this story is lacking everything. There is no "pretends to know, or would really like to learn" about the themes of the books that they write...It's like a final exam or a pregnancy test, all of the "proof" is in the "story"...
So, I do not recommend this book or series, for these two reasons...
July 13, 2020
A really interesting concept, with really flawed execution.
The core idea here is great, and the details on metalworking seem to be exhaustively researched (to someone with no knowledge of the subject like me) but the writing is juvenile and filled with a moderate amount of grammatical, technical, and thematic mistakes that made the book a slot to get through. Many of the grammatical errors were ones made when English isn't the author's native language, things like "stuffs" being used as the plural of "stuff," which is already plural. An editor would have improved this book somewhat from a technical perspective, but it still would have fallen short in other areas, most of which come from what is probably a lack of experience. The characters are obvious and one dimensional- mostly tropes. The setting is typical for litRPG books, in that it's functional but only barely.
The core idea here is great, and the details on metalworking seem to be exhaustively researched (to someone with no knowledge of the subject like me) but the writing is juvenile and filled with a moderate amount of grammatical, technical, and thematic mistakes that made the book a slot to get through. Many of the grammatical errors were ones made when English isn't the author's native language, things like "stuffs" being used as the plural of "stuff," which is already plural. An editor would have improved this book somewhat from a technical perspective, but it still would have fallen short in other areas, most of which come from what is probably a lack of experience. The characters are obvious and one dimensional- mostly tropes. The setting is typical for litRPG books, in that it's functional but only barely.
February 10, 2021
DNF 32%
I wanted to enjoy this book, mainly because I liked the concept. It was hard to read since I was flinching from bad grammar every second sentence. In the end, it was the sheer size of the plot holes that forced me to stop.
After stepping into a new city, the first person Angus meets is willing to back him, an obvious newb, against the arena champion... to the tune of 5000 golds. Despite her misgivings and financial investment, his benefactor offers no advice on preparation, tactics, or equipment. Regardless of the implausibility, the newb somehow gets the arena champion under control but fails to finish him.
The plot is so forced as to read like a rough outline for a book, far from a finished product. There's so much that needs fixing here that I doubt the author will be producing work at a professional level any time soon. Great cover though.
I wanted to enjoy this book, mainly because I liked the concept. It was hard to read since I was flinching from bad grammar every second sentence. In the end, it was the sheer size of the plot holes that forced me to stop.
After stepping into a new city, the first person Angus meets is willing to back him, an obvious newb, against the arena champion... to the tune of 5000 golds. Despite her misgivings and financial investment, his benefactor offers no advice on preparation, tactics, or equipment. Regardless of the implausibility, the newb somehow gets the arena champion under control but fails to finish him.
The plot is so forced as to read like a rough outline for a book, far from a finished product. There's so much that needs fixing here that I doubt the author will be producing work at a professional level any time soon. Great cover though.
June 29, 2020
Very good
Very good MC and storyline.
Spoiler alert
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I did get worried that I’d hate it when an antagonist was introduced and then I thought it was going to turn into a revenge plot.
Yippee it didn’t.
So great story, happy ending, could be a stand alone.
Very good MC and storyline.
Spoiler alert
.
.
.
.
.
.
I did get worried that I’d hate it when an antagonist was introduced and then I thought it was going to turn into a revenge plot.
Yippee it didn’t.
So great story, happy ending, could be a stand alone.
June 19, 2020
Ironblue
This was an excellent story of an old man rekindling a life long passion... Being retired due to old age and having two children trying to keep him from hurting himself Angus needs to realise his time in the forge is over but can't seem to let go despite his failing body. His loving children, now his inheritors, buy him a fully emersive VR set in the hopes he can rekindle his love for crafting. Of course true to form he is a stubborn old blacksmith who doesn't care for change or admit he can't force it anymore, but reality knows how to slap some sense into him when he hurts himself once again after he sneaks back into the workshop. With no other alternative he finally gives in and figures "why not" as he entered the virtual world. The transition was seamless and had he not felt perfectly healthy he wouldn't have noticed that his legs worked, he felt no pain but was able to function normally again, walk about and move around uninhibited.
Of course the first thing he does is seek a forge being the True Smith he is and realises how realistic the whole process is and a spark of elation burns into a roaring fire as his passion was relit.
He then made the goal of owning his own forge and ends up making friends, enemies and reconnecting with his children along the way. If only this world was a paradise and not so real but sometimes the struggles of reality are what we need to truly know what's most important even in a virtual reality.
I must say I wasn't sure about this book at first but once it pulled me in it wouldn't let me go. Had I been adrift at sea this story would have surly drowned me since I couldn't put it down long enough to bring my head back above water. I just had to finish it.
I would classify this as barely light litrpg as the leveling and game mechanics weren't intensive or really even necessary. This was mostly because the MC in this literary world is what gamers called a "manual". Essentially he learned and did everything manually which gave many advantages but slow progression since you would have to literally learn how to do things. Fortunately he is already a master Smith so of course he didn't have to put in any gruelling work or studying since he already knew how. While he still got experience and levels as a crafter its just something that helps a little or so it seems. Do not take this to mean he has no struggles or makes mistakes but that only the system as far as attributes went toward crafting wasn't the end all be all.
Recommendation: If you are a fan of alternate realities, VR emersion, litrpg, slice of life, crafting/smithing, this book very well might belong on your bookshelf if not already in your digital library. If it's in neither I reccomend you get one or the other if not both.
This was an excellent story of an old man rekindling a life long passion... Being retired due to old age and having two children trying to keep him from hurting himself Angus needs to realise his time in the forge is over but can't seem to let go despite his failing body. His loving children, now his inheritors, buy him a fully emersive VR set in the hopes he can rekindle his love for crafting. Of course true to form he is a stubborn old blacksmith who doesn't care for change or admit he can't force it anymore, but reality knows how to slap some sense into him when he hurts himself once again after he sneaks back into the workshop. With no other alternative he finally gives in and figures "why not" as he entered the virtual world. The transition was seamless and had he not felt perfectly healthy he wouldn't have noticed that his legs worked, he felt no pain but was able to function normally again, walk about and move around uninhibited.
Of course the first thing he does is seek a forge being the True Smith he is and realises how realistic the whole process is and a spark of elation burns into a roaring fire as his passion was relit.
He then made the goal of owning his own forge and ends up making friends, enemies and reconnecting with his children along the way. If only this world was a paradise and not so real but sometimes the struggles of reality are what we need to truly know what's most important even in a virtual reality.
I must say I wasn't sure about this book at first but once it pulled me in it wouldn't let me go. Had I been adrift at sea this story would have surly drowned me since I couldn't put it down long enough to bring my head back above water. I just had to finish it.
I would classify this as barely light litrpg as the leveling and game mechanics weren't intensive or really even necessary. This was mostly because the MC in this literary world is what gamers called a "manual". Essentially he learned and did everything manually which gave many advantages but slow progression since you would have to literally learn how to do things. Fortunately he is already a master Smith so of course he didn't have to put in any gruelling work or studying since he already knew how. While he still got experience and levels as a crafter its just something that helps a little or so it seems. Do not take this to mean he has no struggles or makes mistakes but that only the system as far as attributes went toward crafting wasn't the end all be all.
Recommendation: If you are a fan of alternate realities, VR emersion, litrpg, slice of life, crafting/smithing, this book very well might belong on your bookshelf if not already in your digital library. If it's in neither I reccomend you get one or the other if not both.
July 13, 2020
Wow. I want more!!
I found litRPG as a 50 year old. I grew up playing rpg's like D & D, Runecraft, etc. Even though I mostly played Barbarian warriors, I always enjoyed crafting. As an amateur BlackSmith who got his start in the early 80's Rennaisance Fayres, and a professional SharpSmith, I work with metal every day.
I truly connected with the main character, and can't wait to see where the author goes with the series. I will pre-order it As soon as he posts it.
I found litRPG as a 50 year old. I grew up playing rpg's like D & D, Runecraft, etc. Even though I mostly played Barbarian warriors, I always enjoyed crafting. As an amateur BlackSmith who got his start in the early 80's Rennaisance Fayres, and a professional SharpSmith, I work with metal every day.
I truly connected with the main character, and can't wait to see where the author goes with the series. I will pre-order it As soon as he posts it.
April 6, 2024
Less one star for "cuz I said so" as reason for a life ban
Less one star for a Smith that built generational wealth but can't hire a lawyer
Less one star for preaching
Less one star for a Smith that built generational wealth but can't hire a lawyer
Less one star for preaching
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 26, 2020
A Second Chance At Life. **Spoiler Warning**
There are many potential benefits, and possible dangers, in a full VR environment. This novel recounts the story of a blacksmith who has been driven from his career by extreme age and physical disability. Denied the ability to practice his craft in the real world he takes a chance on possibility that a virtual world will once again practice the science, craft, and art of being a True Smith.
There are some minor editing/proofreading errors in the text. Should the author read my review; I have highlighted all instances of such and made a note of my best guess for what was intended.
There are many potential benefits, and possible dangers, in a full VR environment. This novel recounts the story of a blacksmith who has been driven from his career by extreme age and physical disability. Denied the ability to practice his craft in the real world he takes a chance on possibility that a virtual world will once again practice the science, craft, and art of being a True Smith.
There are some minor editing/proofreading errors in the text. Should the author read my review; I have highlighted all instances of such and made a note of my best guess for what was intended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2020
Great book!!
Different take off the crafting types. It sucks you in till you hit the last pages looking for the next book. You can feel the the characters the good, the stubborn, the protective, the assholes all believable when you look online for just about any group.
Different take off the crafting types. It sucks you in till you hit the last pages looking for the next book. You can feel the the characters the good, the stubborn, the protective, the assholes all believable when you look online for just about any group.
January 26, 2022
My Rating System:
5- Perfect for my taste, could not physically stop reading/listening, wanted more afterword.
4- Almost perfect, could not stop reading/listening, probably wanted more afterword.
3- Enjoyed the book, could see others loving it, need to think if I want more.
2- Can see why others might like the book, but I could not, I do not want more.
1- What is this? What went wrong? Why did they do this? This doesn't make any sense! (No idea who it is for but definitely not for me).
[Audiobook Version]
The first hour or so in the audiobook I thought the concept was interesting and I was enjoying the story for the most part. Unfortunately, it started to go downhill quickly for me after that, to the point I didn't even care anymore. The dialogue was mediocre at best, the system logic didn't make sense, the crafting was acceptable but bland, and the main character's own logic/actions seem to change unnaturally to forcefully follow a specific story. I just couldn't get into it, which is unfortunate since I was looking forward to starting this series. I don't see myself coming back to this series, but who knows.
5- Perfect for my taste, could not physically stop reading/listening, wanted more afterword.
4- Almost perfect, could not stop reading/listening, probably wanted more afterword.
3- Enjoyed the book, could see others loving it, need to think if I want more.
2- Can see why others might like the book, but I could not, I do not want more.
1- What is this? What went wrong? Why did they do this? This doesn't make any sense! (No idea who it is for but definitely not for me).
[Audiobook Version]
The first hour or so in the audiobook I thought the concept was interesting and I was enjoying the story for the most part. Unfortunately, it started to go downhill quickly for me after that, to the point I didn't even care anymore. The dialogue was mediocre at best, the system logic didn't make sense, the crafting was acceptable but bland, and the main character's own logic/actions seem to change unnaturally to forcefully follow a specific story. I just couldn't get into it, which is unfortunate since I was looking forward to starting this series. I don't see myself coming back to this series, but who knows.
June 30, 2020
Book one
Mistakes: I found only two. A missing word and a missing letter.
Plot: When you get to old to do what you love in the real world, just join a vr game and keep on doing it. Just watch out for power hungry weasels.
Characters: Nobody was really all that deep.
Good story to kill some time with 7/10
Mistakes: I found only two. A missing word and a missing letter.
Plot: When you get to old to do what you love in the real world, just join a vr game and keep on doing it. Just watch out for power hungry weasels.
Characters: Nobody was really all that deep.
Good story to kill some time with 7/10
August 12, 2020
An okay story
A fair read. Certainly a different and interesting twist to the premise of LitRPG.
Way too much bad language. Almost quit
A fair read. Certainly a different and interesting twist to the premise of LitRPG.
Way too much bad language. Almost quit
October 16, 2024
I want to rate this higher, since my experience during much of the book was decent. But by the end I was suffering from serious story collapse.
The game in the book is a typical knights and wizards fantasy MMORPG, with full-immersion VR, as has become standard in LitRPG. We see little of that, since this is a crafting story and not much interested in game mechanics. So far, no problem. I'm willing to accept that conceit for the story.
But this entire MMORPG seems to have just one moderator, who is the mustache-twirling antagonist of the piece. He is a nepotism hire, and for ... reasons ... wants a monopoly on crafting in this mostly fighting game. We never really find out why that might be important to him, since there doesn't seem to be any real-world advantage for the monopoly.
The first major confrontation with the antagonist ends in the stupidest way possible, with the protagonist humiliating the antagonist and then doing nothing to see him removed from his position of power. The results of this are telegraphed and entirely unsurprising.
There is some claim that the protagonist has gained experience without fighting, which must be cheating. Of course, that experience would have to be coded into the game, but that's just ignored. Obviously, the protagonist must be soft-banned.
The main characters all ring false: The antagonist is melodramatically evil. The protagonist is both OP and stupid in ways that make little sense. The love interest's reaction to grief doesn't make sense. The protagonist's children comically overreact and then show unreasonable capabilities. The gamemaster has both too much and too little power and responds in ways that don't make sense.
As noted, by the end of the book, I kept finding flaws because the book had destroyed my suspension of disbelief. But before that, it was moderately entertaining. This isn't a one-star book for me, but I don't think it's good enough to really reach "it's fine" either. Hence the rating.
The game in the book is a typical knights and wizards fantasy MMORPG, with full-immersion VR, as has become standard in LitRPG. We see little of that, since this is a crafting story and not much interested in game mechanics. So far, no problem. I'm willing to accept that conceit for the story.
But this entire MMORPG seems to have just one moderator, who is the mustache-twirling antagonist of the piece. He is a nepotism hire, and for ... reasons ... wants a monopoly on crafting in this mostly fighting game. We never really find out why that might be important to him, since there doesn't seem to be any real-world advantage for the monopoly.
The first major confrontation with the antagonist ends in the stupidest way possible, with the protagonist humiliating the antagonist and then doing nothing to see him removed from his position of power. The results of this are telegraphed and entirely unsurprising.
There is some claim that the protagonist has gained experience without fighting, which must be cheating. Of course, that experience would have to be coded into the game, but that's just ignored. Obviously, the protagonist must be soft-banned.
The main characters all ring false: The antagonist is melodramatically evil. The protagonist is both OP and stupid in ways that make little sense. The love interest's reaction to grief doesn't make sense. The protagonist's children comically overreact and then show unreasonable capabilities. The gamemaster has both too much and too little power and responds in ways that don't make sense.
As noted, by the end of the book, I kept finding flaws because the book had destroyed my suspension of disbelief. But before that, it was moderately entertaining. This isn't a one-star book for me, but I don't think it's good enough to really reach "it's fine" either. Hence the rating.
February 27, 2022
A nice cookie cutter Litrpg book, with a unique spin of blacksmithing.
I feel the Author of this book made a skeleton of the story and decided what should happen in each step of the story to make it good, but then did not manage to go from step to step without railroading the story and the characters actions. All 5 main characters, good and bad, jump from 0% to full 100% on their emotions and reactions if it's going to help the plot go in the right direction. Amy is angry with her brother because he found a lead on where their Father could be in game when that's what they were after at that moment. Why are you angry? Why is he ok with her reaction and acts like he is really to blame?
The characters background and actions are not very clear as well. Why is Altera trying to get money to buy Baraka's ring? Who would she think will sell it to her? It’s a key evident in the case of his ban. And why oh why is the lord actually giving them the ring that literally has an incriminating text ON HIM (!!!) when they ask for it as a peace offering for him using Angus forge name in game?. The rules of who can be a blacksmith and why are odd and confusing. And the one Item permits and their restrictions are even more so. A permanent permit costs 50K, and at some point one of the swords he makes is worth 80K so why does he even need to battle in the arena? Just use one of your one time permits to make a sword that’s worth 50K and be done with it. The rarity of items is also weird but in this story we mainly concern the gold hew unique rarity so I guess it does not matter. Even leveling and skills are weird and confusing. And I'm not really sure how a manual fighter even battles a non-manual one, the non-manual locked in his actions and the manual can do what it wants?
After saying all that, the actual blacksmithing parts are very cool and interesting to read. And I guess if this book title drew you in, you are probably interested in blacksmithing.
This book gets a 3/5 for me. I recommend it only if you're into blacksmithing. If not, the writing level is not high enough to hold the book by itself.
I feel the Author of this book made a skeleton of the story and decided what should happen in each step of the story to make it good, but then did not manage to go from step to step without railroading the story and the characters actions. All 5 main characters, good and bad, jump from 0% to full 100% on their emotions and reactions if it's going to help the plot go in the right direction. Amy is angry with her brother because he found a lead on where their Father could be in game when that's what they were after at that moment. Why are you angry? Why is he ok with her reaction and acts like he is really to blame?
The characters background and actions are not very clear as well. Why is Altera trying to get money to buy Baraka's ring? Who would she think will sell it to her? It’s a key evident in the case of his ban. And why oh why is the lord actually giving them the ring that literally has an incriminating text ON HIM (!!!) when they ask for it as a peace offering for him using Angus forge name in game?. The rules of who can be a blacksmith and why are odd and confusing. And the one Item permits and their restrictions are even more so. A permanent permit costs 50K, and at some point one of the swords he makes is worth 80K so why does he even need to battle in the arena? Just use one of your one time permits to make a sword that’s worth 50K and be done with it. The rarity of items is also weird but in this story we mainly concern the gold hew unique rarity so I guess it does not matter. Even leveling and skills are weird and confusing. And I'm not really sure how a manual fighter even battles a non-manual one, the non-manual locked in his actions and the manual can do what it wants?
After saying all that, the actual blacksmithing parts are very cool and interesting to read. And I guess if this book title drew you in, you are probably interested in blacksmithing.
This book gets a 3/5 for me. I recommend it only if you're into blacksmithing. If not, the writing level is not high enough to hold the book by itself.
February 19, 2021
A relatively straight forward crafting focused LitRPG. Angus is a likeable enough character and it's fun to see the cantankerous self assured old guys bulldoze his way through the game. Mandani is clearly a fan of smithing and goes into extended detail on the creation of a lot of the items.
Unfortunately, the dialog is pretty rough most of the time, and the world building, both inside and outside of the game is minimal. It would have been nice to see what even a basic adventure was like inside the game, or what the world is like outside the game.
The time dilation is a pretty big problem here too. It's a common trope in LitRPG, and while I guess it's the whole Inception style (dream time is different than real time) deal, it could have done with a little explanation. But the big problem is the level of time dilation, probably one of the most extreme I've seen outside of Dominion of Blades, but it's a plot point in that book. Here logging off to go to the bathroom results in days of lost time in game, and going to bed means your gone for weeks. The only way to balance a game like this would be to have the game run on schedules. Like, the game is only available to play from 6-10pm Monday-Friday. This would allow for days of in game time per day but also allow people to have a job, a real world life, and eat/sleep.
But COME OOOOON, are you really telling me the Bjornson and multiple variants of such (to the point where he was going to have to use numbers) were all taken but Hephaestus wasn't? That's a step too far for suspension of disbelief.
Unfortunately, the dialog is pretty rough most of the time, and the world building, both inside and outside of the game is minimal. It would have been nice to see what even a basic adventure was like inside the game, or what the world is like outside the game.
The time dilation is a pretty big problem here too. It's a common trope in LitRPG, and while I guess it's the whole Inception style (dream time is different than real time) deal, it could have done with a little explanation. But the big problem is the level of time dilation, probably one of the most extreme I've seen outside of Dominion of Blades, but it's a plot point in that book. Here logging off to go to the bathroom results in days of lost time in game, and going to bed means your gone for weeks. The only way to balance a game like this would be to have the game run on schedules. Like, the game is only available to play from 6-10pm Monday-Friday. This would allow for days of in game time per day but also allow people to have a job, a real world life, and eat/sleep.
But COME OOOOON, are you really telling me the Bjornson and multiple variants of such (to the point where he was going to have to use numbers) were all taken but Hephaestus wasn't? That's a step too far for suspension of disbelief.
August 20, 2020
The story starts out decently. A stubborn, aging blacksmith who doesn't want to give up on his passion, even though his body is starting to fail him, gets introduced to a VR world where he can resume his passion! Nice idea. The problem is that the guy doesn't bother looking into the "rules" of this new world (causing many problems for him), tries to be too nice/forgiving (to his detriment) and so forth. Now, while I could kinda understand these things due to age, stubbornness, lack of gaming experience, etc - what I finally just couldn't deal with was TOO MUCH DETAIL!
Look, I have been an RPG GM since 1982, so I know a bit about armor and weapons. But what I don't need is a rundown of just which polearms, swords and so forth that the guy is crafting every day. Especially when some of them are ones that I have to look up to even get an idea of what they are!
The author gives enough detail to bog down the story, but not enough detail so that a lay-person would understand just what the weapon looks like. A few drawings would be helpful, just to illustrate things a bit. And really, having someone *kill* you, and then letting them go with a slap on the wrist? Isn't that pushing forgiveness just a bit? Especially when you know the asshole hasn't even remotely learned his lesson?
A good idea, and suitable for a niche audience, but most people, in my opinion, won't finish the book. Either the too detailed crafting will turn them away, or the MC's lack of preparation, or his lack of foresight.
Look, I have been an RPG GM since 1982, so I know a bit about armor and weapons. But what I don't need is a rundown of just which polearms, swords and so forth that the guy is crafting every day. Especially when some of them are ones that I have to look up to even get an idea of what they are!
The author gives enough detail to bog down the story, but not enough detail so that a lay-person would understand just what the weapon looks like. A few drawings would be helpful, just to illustrate things a bit. And really, having someone *kill* you, and then letting them go with a slap on the wrist? Isn't that pushing forgiveness just a bit? Especially when you know the asshole hasn't even remotely learned his lesson?
A good idea, and suitable for a niche audience, but most people, in my opinion, won't finish the book. Either the too detailed crafting will turn them away, or the MC's lack of preparation, or his lack of foresight.
June 18, 2020
Alert
First, my review: “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Over the past year it has become apparent that my reviews are somewhat antagonistic and I apologize to those of you that have taken offense. I think I had hoped to change peoples’ minds about reviewing works of art and that seems to have backfired spectacularly. However, I am still going to be true to myself and write what I believe.
To the author: Thank you for this chance to escape reality and enjoy the world you created! Keep up the good work.
To my fellow reviewers: Messaging me and reviewing my reviews is as productive as trying to shovel water out of the ocean. Stop. I get it. Let’s just all live peacefully.
To potential readers: Art needs to be experienced at an individual level. You are the only one that can determine what you like and don’t like. Don’t let others make that decision for you. You should definitely read the book and completely ignore all of the reviews. You are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.
Cheers
First, my review: “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Over the past year it has become apparent that my reviews are somewhat antagonistic and I apologize to those of you that have taken offense. I think I had hoped to change peoples’ minds about reviewing works of art and that seems to have backfired spectacularly. However, I am still going to be true to myself and write what I believe.
To the author: Thank you for this chance to escape reality and enjoy the world you created! Keep up the good work.
To my fellow reviewers: Messaging me and reviewing my reviews is as productive as trying to shovel water out of the ocean. Stop. I get it. Let’s just all live peacefully.
To potential readers: Art needs to be experienced at an individual level. You are the only one that can determine what you like and don’t like. Don’t let others make that decision for you. You should definitely read the book and completely ignore all of the reviews. You are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.
Cheers
July 2, 2020
Interesting
This book is interesting but in a different way. I would go as far as to say that this is a “TED TALK” on some of the realities, that we would face when we eventually come up with virtual worlds. There are the issues related to morality and to importing real world commonsense and behaviors in the virtual world. What do you see are some of the repercussions that may come to be as a virtual worlds are populated by people in the real world and there is no limits on what they can or cannot do. The time compression will also introduce new realities to humanity. Like could you do your one weeks worth of work in in just one hour. What would you do with the rest of your time I mean you’ve spent 40 hours or 60 hours even in the game. Well the book is interesting I wouldn’t consider it to be a true LIT-RPG novel, But rather a Ted talk explained using gaming terms....I’d read book 2 because I like Ted talks.
This book is interesting but in a different way. I would go as far as to say that this is a “TED TALK” on some of the realities, that we would face when we eventually come up with virtual worlds. There are the issues related to morality and to importing real world commonsense and behaviors in the virtual world. What do you see are some of the repercussions that may come to be as a virtual worlds are populated by people in the real world and there is no limits on what they can or cannot do. The time compression will also introduce new realities to humanity. Like could you do your one weeks worth of work in in just one hour. What would you do with the rest of your time I mean you’ve spent 40 hours or 60 hours even in the game. Well the book is interesting I wouldn’t consider it to be a true LIT-RPG novel, But rather a Ted talk explained using gaming terms....I’d read book 2 because I like Ted talks.
October 23, 2020
When i began this book, i was hoping for a story of weapon and armor crafting. I was utterly disappointed. The author of Overgeared (a webnovel) does a better job to describe the fastidiousness of blacksmithing than Mr Mandani.
The author center his book on a bad story of treason and bullying... The intrigue is utterly childish, with a simple solution to the main plot: file a report to the game company !
The blacksmithing parts are boring, overly mechanical without a valid representation of the heat of the forge and the physical efforts needed to craft a weapon.
Another plot line utterly wasted is the first contact of a disabled elderly to the liberty given by virtual reality. I could be a center point to the book, but it is more of an anecdote.
In conclusion, the book has a lot of faults, and I may seem harsh, but i could find no redeeming feature to go over 1.5 star (1 star).
The author center his book on a bad story of treason and bullying... The intrigue is utterly childish, with a simple solution to the main plot: file a report to the game company !
The blacksmithing parts are boring, overly mechanical without a valid representation of the heat of the forge and the physical efforts needed to craft a weapon.
Another plot line utterly wasted is the first contact of a disabled elderly to the liberty given by virtual reality. I could be a center point to the book, but it is more of an anecdote.
In conclusion, the book has a lot of faults, and I may seem harsh, but i could find no redeeming feature to go over 1.5 star (1 star).
September 13, 2020
The story had an interesting premise and started out with some funny observations about the difference between expectations about how things work in the real world and in games.
Unfortunately this is where it stopped. Once the core conglict was established and the antagonist revealed the fun stopped.
The few LitRPG elements that were present also stop early on in case anyone was thinking about reading the story for those.
What was left was an extremely straight forward plot with few twists and turns and an extremely cartoonishly evil villain.
It felt like a third of the way though I was dropped from a halfway interesting story potentially about growing old and finding meaning in real vs. virtual reality into a simple children's book of some sort.
I can't help but feel that a much better story might have been possible with the setup.
Unfortunately this is where it stopped. Once the core conglict was established and the antagonist revealed the fun stopped.
The few LitRPG elements that were present also stop early on in case anyone was thinking about reading the story for those.
What was left was an extremely straight forward plot with few twists and turns and an extremely cartoonishly evil villain.
It felt like a third of the way though I was dropped from a halfway interesting story potentially about growing old and finding meaning in real vs. virtual reality into a simple children's book of some sort.
I can't help but feel that a much better story might have been possible with the setup.
February 14, 2021
Push your expectations away... and you may enjoy the book.
To start good premise a aged smith hating life because he can not do what he loves and what gives his life purpose - awesome, excited for the story.
To start good premise a aged smith hating life because he can not do what he loves and what gives his life purpose - awesome, excited for the story.
July 2, 2021
I enjoyed this one, though it has a few nitpicks. The "kids" don't feel like their age. Given that Hephaestus is supposed to be pushing 100, it's highly likely his kids are 60+, but they read younger than me. Also, time seems to have some issues. I think there's a bit early one where a character explains to the MC that 10 minutes real = 1 hr game. That then seems to get used a time or two later where MC logs out, and then comes back shortly later.
But... the first day real in game seems to have weeks or months pass by. You can get 6 days in game with a full 24 login, but that isn't what the character does - they start late in the day, and it seems to wrap up before midnight.
All that said, I really enjoyed it. I got to the end, saw there was a book 2, and got confused. After reading the description, I'll go ahead and add it to the to read list as it does seem like a good follow-on.
But... the first day real in game seems to have weeks or months pass by. You can get 6 days in game with a full 24 login, but that isn't what the character does - they start late in the day, and it seems to wrap up before midnight.
All that said, I really enjoyed it. I got to the end, saw there was a book 2, and got confused. After reading the description, I'll go ahead and add it to the to read list as it does seem like a good follow-on.
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