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The Duelist #1
The Duelist
Duel your enemy and kill him.
Take his assets, including his wives, as your own.
Grow your estate and become the most powerful warrior mage this world has ever seen.
Take his assets, including his wives, as your own.
Grow your estate and become the most powerful warrior mage this world has ever seen.
661 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 9, 2020
725 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
About the author
Eric Vall
353 books690 followersThanks for reading!
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Buy my audiobooks directly from me at:
www.ericvall.com
Read and listen to early chapters, see NSFW covers, and subscribe to my discounted audiobook bundle at:
www.patreon.com/ericvall
https://www.facebook.com/authorericvall
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
December 25, 2020
I give the premise a 3 star, but the execution is bad. It's yet another chinese sweatshop just adding sloppy stream random events. A lot doesn't make sense. An MC preapprentice watchmaker with some casual mma training is going too be a duelist... Do the author knows how much training is needed to be efficient in real battle martial art?!?!? It is showed in the action scenes which is poor and full of fluff.
I just hate the fanboy army that inflates every book with a 5 star review without any thought about the book. It will not help the author or the genre in the long run. It will just give us worse books with poor content.
The story is driven by plotarmor and the mindless stupid MC makes one descision in the while book. Otherwise he's just following along other events, meanwhile explaing every action twice. How can you make fillers for ever paragraph.
Ending on a tease with the 2nd wife.. really!?! Just a low blow fooling people to buy the sequel.
I just hate the fanboy army that inflates every book with a 5 star review without any thought about the book. It will not help the author or the genre in the long run. It will just give us worse books with poor content.
The story is driven by plotarmor and the mindless stupid MC makes one descision in the while book. Otherwise he's just following along other events, meanwhile explaing every action twice. How can you make fillers for ever paragraph.
Ending on a tease with the 2nd wife.. really!?! Just a low blow fooling people to buy the sequel.
October 16, 2020
Nah
This is another one of those paint by numbers books. Churned out from an assembly line, and it shows. So boring and bland. Also nonsensical to boot. First couple chapters and I was rolling my eyes and picking out ridiculous things.
This is another one of those paint by numbers books. Churned out from an assembly line, and it shows. So boring and bland. Also nonsensical to boot. First couple chapters and I was rolling my eyes and picking out ridiculous things.
October 23, 2020
Had to stop.
Combat was so unbelievable that it ruined the rest of the book. Nothing mattered since the main character simply survived with plot armor. No point in reading or getting invested.
Combat was so unbelievable that it ruined the rest of the book. Nothing mattered since the main character simply survived with plot armor. No point in reading or getting invested.
September 16, 2021
Wanted to try another one of these types of books from a different author. Turns out, they're all very similar. Not very surprised by that. It all feels mechanical and soulless to a degree. They're churning out this wish fulfillment smut in order to get some cash.
It's a bog-standard "isekai" premise - young man leads a dull and uninteresting life, is transported to a mystical fantasy world, is imbued with some kind of mysterious power that gives him an edge over the world's inhabitants, and it goes on from there. (Side note - the way he gets transported in the first place is being approached by a strange woman who causes him to get sleepy. It's literally never addressed or even thought of again for the rest of the novel. You'd think that might raise some questions, but nah, we are moved right along.) Saving a damsel in distress and it leads to a romance, etc etc. You know the drill.
Everything about the main character, Alex, is so unearned. In the beginning, it's mentioned that Alex casually practices MMA. Ok. That supposedly gives him the ability to defeat (and kill) a giant hulking brute of a man in combat, after having expended a bunch of energy to swim across an ocean to get there. Huh? Later, he becomes proficient in sword dueling, and even canterfly racing (which is basically just airborne horse racing), after mere hours of practice. Where is all this skill coming from? He was a listless watch repairman in the real world before the story happened. Also, he's charismatic as hell, and basically every character that isn't a deliberate villain grows to like Alex soon after meeting him, or even love him in the case of some women. Because of course. It's all very convenient.
The writing of this book is bad. I'm not sure if these books truly are written by multiple people, but I'd believe it. Some parts of the book had a competent level of style to them. But there were large swathes that were absolutely abysmal. The author (at least of those parts) is apparently incapable of describing anything without using similes. The book is also chock full of references to real life things, and this is used heavily as a crutch to describe things. Instances like saying a big wall is like the wall from Game of Thrones, or describing a double-bladed pike as a "Darth Maul staff." Not only do comparisons like this take you directly out of the story (which is bad), but they also potentially alienate readers who don't know what you're referencing. If the only way you describe a wall is being like the Game of Thrones wall, and they haven't read those books or watched the show, then they have no idea what the hell the wall looks like. It's simply awful writing.
I do not understand why these books have a ton of 5-star reviews. I'm not saying you can't like them, but it's ridiculous that they'd have that many 'perfect' ratings. Are they all bots? I don't get it. I also don't get why these books all end with the author saying "I'll start writing the next one once this reaches 100 reviews." Is this some kind of scam tactic? Probably. It enhances the feeling of it being mechanical and soulless, as I said earlier.
Even with all of that said, I'll still probably check out the next installment. Though I think it's legitimately not good, I'm still curious where the story goes from here. I am part of the problem. My time is worthless, anyways.
It's a bog-standard "isekai" premise - young man leads a dull and uninteresting life, is transported to a mystical fantasy world, is imbued with some kind of mysterious power that gives him an edge over the world's inhabitants, and it goes on from there. (Side note - the way he gets transported in the first place is being approached by a strange woman who causes him to get sleepy. It's literally never addressed or even thought of again for the rest of the novel. You'd think that might raise some questions, but nah, we are moved right along.) Saving a damsel in distress and it leads to a romance, etc etc. You know the drill.
Everything about the main character, Alex, is so unearned. In the beginning, it's mentioned that Alex casually practices MMA. Ok. That supposedly gives him the ability to defeat (and kill) a giant hulking brute of a man in combat, after having expended a bunch of energy to swim across an ocean to get there. Huh? Later, he becomes proficient in sword dueling, and even canterfly racing (which is basically just airborne horse racing), after mere hours of practice. Where is all this skill coming from? He was a listless watch repairman in the real world before the story happened. Also, he's charismatic as hell, and basically every character that isn't a deliberate villain grows to like Alex soon after meeting him, or even love him in the case of some women. Because of course. It's all very convenient.
The writing of this book is bad. I'm not sure if these books truly are written by multiple people, but I'd believe it. Some parts of the book had a competent level of style to them. But there were large swathes that were absolutely abysmal. The author (at least of those parts) is apparently incapable of describing anything without using similes. The book is also chock full of references to real life things, and this is used heavily as a crutch to describe things. Instances like saying a big wall is like the wall from Game of Thrones, or describing a double-bladed pike as a "Darth Maul staff." Not only do comparisons like this take you directly out of the story (which is bad), but they also potentially alienate readers who don't know what you're referencing. If the only way you describe a wall is being like the Game of Thrones wall, and they haven't read those books or watched the show, then they have no idea what the hell the wall looks like. It's simply awful writing.
I do not understand why these books have a ton of 5-star reviews. I'm not saying you can't like them, but it's ridiculous that they'd have that many 'perfect' ratings. Are they all bots? I don't get it. I also don't get why these books all end with the author saying "I'll start writing the next one once this reaches 100 reviews." Is this some kind of scam tactic? Probably. It enhances the feeling of it being mechanical and soulless, as I said earlier.
Even with all of that said, I'll still probably check out the next installment. Though I think it's legitimately not good, I'm still curious where the story goes from here. I am part of the problem. My time is worthless, anyways.
November 11, 2020
Pretty good
The story has great bones. It also had some really good moments. But mostly it just feels drawn out. And you can kind of see where it's going. So you just want the plot to hurry up amd get there.
The story has great bones. It also had some really good moments. But mostly it just feels drawn out. And you can kind of see where it's going. So you just want the plot to hurry up amd get there.
October 12, 2020
Duel!
I haven’t enjoyed that word as much since I was a kid and was watching Yu-gi-oh. No card games this time, however there is a sexy catgirl, which is better.
I haven’t enjoyed that word as much since I was a kid and was watching Yu-gi-oh. No card games this time, however there is a sexy catgirl, which is better.
October 16, 2020
A good start and can interesting concept hopefully he can keep it going
I really enjoyed this book, there are a few typos and he uses several different ways of emphasizing words in the book some of which are very unusual and I honestly think could have been done much better without the emphasis like "wait until you see the rest. And the next sentence says is something like him being floored when he saw "The Rest" as if it's a name of a place. I added the quotes also I've never managed to finish a series of his, they all seem great at the start but then just fall into the same pitfalls of being repetitive.
I really enjoyed this book, there are a few typos and he uses several different ways of emphasizing words in the book some of which are very unusual and I honestly think could have been done much better without the emphasis like "wait until you see the rest. And the next sentence says is something like him being floored when he saw "The Rest" as if it's a name of a place. I added the quotes also I've never managed to finish a series of his, they all seem great at the start but then just fall into the same pitfalls of being repetitive.
October 19, 2020
A new take on the transplanted human genre from one of the masters!
This is a nice take on the helpless human dumped into a new plane with no instruction sheet! Alex Brightwood a man with anger management issues finds himself on another plane where his Trekky background helps him orient himself to the new reality. Within minutes of finding a city, he finds himself entangled in a duel to the death.to.And a beautiful Cat woman. Things escalate from there! Dread magical ruins, ancient curses, demons sprouting out of the ground,and political intrigue are his part of this excellent first book! Give it a try!
This is a nice take on the helpless human dumped into a new plane with no instruction sheet! Alex Brightwood a man with anger management issues finds himself on another plane where his Trekky background helps him orient himself to the new reality. Within minutes of finding a city, he finds himself entangled in a duel to the death.to.And a beautiful Cat woman. Things escalate from there! Dread magical ruins, ancient curses, demons sprouting out of the ground,and political intrigue are his part of this excellent first book! Give it a try!
November 3, 2020
Righteous
Alex is brought to a new world by a beautiful woman with a magical watch. He immediately finds danger but the perk of inheriting a cat girl makes up for it. Apparently he is specially blessed by the goddess and becomes an Asher whose job it to protect the people. I like the action, humor, and romance. The plot was gripping and held my attention through the entire book. I look forward to another book.
Alex is brought to a new world by a beautiful woman with a magical watch. He immediately finds danger but the perk of inheriting a cat girl makes up for it. Apparently he is specially blessed by the goddess and becomes an Asher whose job it to protect the people. I like the action, humor, and romance. The plot was gripping and held my attention through the entire book. I look forward to another book.
November 16, 2020
Amazing story of coming home to the place you never thought possible
Excellent story with plenty of action, growth and tactful storytelling of a growing romance between the MC and the women surrounding him. The MC is relatable in many ways and you feel as if you're growing with him as he finds out just who he really is. Would definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a good read!!
Excellent story with plenty of action, growth and tactful storytelling of a growing romance between the MC and the women surrounding him. The MC is relatable in many ways and you feel as if you're growing with him as he finds out just who he really is. Would definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a good read!!
December 9, 2020
Top Stuff :)
I really liked the whole concept of the book and loved the character and world building. The premise is really interesting and unique and I really like the way this series is heading. The MC is really likable and has a strong sense of honor that leads him to clash with his somewhat entitled peers. Although there are a few sex scenes in the book they are relatively tasteful and not OTT pornographic like some books I have read in this genre.
Cannot wait for book 2 :)
I really liked the whole concept of the book and loved the character and world building. The premise is really interesting and unique and I really like the way this series is heading. The MC is really likable and has a strong sense of honor that leads him to clash with his somewhat entitled peers. Although there are a few sex scenes in the book they are relatively tasteful and not OTT pornographic like some books I have read in this genre.
Cannot wait for book 2 :)
October 11, 2020
Absolutely brilliant!
Eric Vall has done it again!
Another enticing and exciting treasure of a book!
The pacing, characters and development of the main character were well balanced and we got pieces of world building and lore that created a solid foundation.
This one's definitely a keeper!
Eric Vall has done it again!
Another enticing and exciting treasure of a book!
The pacing, characters and development of the main character were well balanced and we got pieces of world building and lore that created a solid foundation.
This one's definitely a keeper!
October 13, 2020
This is good. Real good.
Master Vall has a number of different series, and the wide range appeals to different people, which indicates serious skills. While this series is solidly in-genre, the writing is philosophically solid, and I anticipate will indicate a deeper universe as the series goes on. Don’t miss out on this one, it’s promising!
Master Vall has a number of different series, and the wide range appeals to different people, which indicates serious skills. While this series is solidly in-genre, the writing is philosophically solid, and I anticipate will indicate a deeper universe as the series goes on. Don’t miss out on this one, it’s promising!
October 14, 2020
Well worth a read!
Interesting story and I like the concept of killing your enemy and claiming all thier assets, like wives, kids, money, property owned and the dead man's ranking should be of higher level.
Look froward to the next one, not sure where the story's heading but it's a good one so far.
Interesting story and I like the concept of killing your enemy and claiming all thier assets, like wives, kids, money, property owned and the dead man's ranking should be of higher level.
Look froward to the next one, not sure where the story's heading but it's a good one so far.
October 18, 2020
How does he do it
Just when I think I've seen it all and my favorite series are slowly coming to an end Eric Vall pulls another winner out of nowhere. This series has the making to be another favorite and at the end of book one im left on the edge of my seat wishing I had the next few books in the series waiting so I can binge it all weekend
Just when I think I've seen it all and my favorite series are slowly coming to an end Eric Vall pulls another winner out of nowhere. This series has the making to be another favorite and at the end of book one im left on the edge of my seat wishing I had the next few books in the series waiting so I can binge it all weekend
October 27, 2020
Great start with hot action
Loving the new series that Eric has been writing lately and this one is no exception. A little lighter than some of his other series ,barely, on sexy action. But it’s more than made up for by the world building. Love this series and I’m looking forward to the next one.
Loving the new series that Eric has been writing lately and this one is no exception. A little lighter than some of his other series ,barely, on sexy action. But it’s more than made up for by the world building. Love this series and I’m looking forward to the next one.
November 5, 2020
Well done
Machiavellian plotting, high adventure (even what’s effectively a dungeon crawl at one point), imaginatively crafted characters, alien races, a great lead and perfect supporting cast of characters, and even a smidgeon of finance, plus lots of, umm, very active heat. Well done. Great fun, and easy to recommend.
Machiavellian plotting, high adventure (even what’s effectively a dungeon crawl at one point), imaginatively crafted characters, alien races, a great lead and perfect supporting cast of characters, and even a smidgeon of finance, plus lots of, umm, very active heat. Well done. Great fun, and easy to recommend.
November 8, 2020
Awesome story
If harem game lit is your thing you can’t go wrong with this book, plus the author Eric vall other books are a must read full of different worlds races and great stories a proper page Turner of a book once you start reading you will not put it down.
Please please start on book2
If harem game lit is your thing you can’t go wrong with this book, plus the author Eric vall other books are a must read full of different worlds races and great stories a proper page Turner of a book once you start reading you will not put it down.
Please please start on book2
November 18, 2020
Good Storytelling
Even though I really enjoyed the book it was not one of those all capturing can’t put down books that I have read in the past. I have read so many Eric Vall books that they are feeling too similar in style and so the story is more predictable than I would have liked. I will probably read a second book if it comes out as I enjoyed the main female characters.
Even though I really enjoyed the book it was not one of those all capturing can’t put down books that I have read in the past. I have read so many Eric Vall books that they are feeling too similar in style and so the story is more predictable than I would have liked. I will probably read a second book if it comes out as I enjoyed the main female characters.
November 20, 2020
Fantasy at its Best
It’s great to read a story that has aspects you’d not have thought of yourself or have read similarly in other books. This book has it all including a new adventure concept, great characters and steamy romance. The book is well written, clear, and descriptive. The books introduction says it all. I highly recommend this book to anyone who reads for pleasure.
It’s great to read a story that has aspects you’d not have thought of yourself or have read similarly in other books. This book has it all including a new adventure concept, great characters and steamy romance. The book is well written, clear, and descriptive. The books introduction says it all. I highly recommend this book to anyone who reads for pleasure.
December 8, 2020
Another great fantasy series to follow from Vall
As a fan of rpg and fantasy lit, I enjoyed the characters progression. The tie in of his Earthly fighting really made his initial battle resonate. Loved the premise of his special skills and being blessed. Looking forward to his next book in this series.
As a fan of rpg and fantasy lit, I enjoyed the characters progression. The tie in of his Earthly fighting really made his initial battle resonate. Loved the premise of his special skills and being blessed. Looking forward to his next book in this series.
March 16, 2021
Fun Book
Brought to a strange world Alex has to Learn fast, but with the help of a sexy cat woman and his estate major domo he gets a crash course in navigation of this strange new world. Fast paced action and adventure with plenty of sword play. Excellent book you will enjoy it immensely!
Brought to a strange world Alex has to Learn fast, but with the help of a sexy cat woman and his estate major domo he gets a crash course in navigation of this strange new world. Fast paced action and adventure with plenty of sword play. Excellent book you will enjoy it immensely!
May 18, 2021
Magical swords and a beautiful fox girl???
Yes, Alex has it all. But it is not enough. He kills a Duelist and takes his estate. With the help of new friends he gains new power and a bird woman. Together they will be unstoppable. With magic, gold and his women Alex becomes a true warrior and lover.
Yes, Alex has it all. But it is not enough. He kills a Duelist and takes his estate. With the help of new friends he gains new power and a bird woman. Together they will be unstoppable. With magic, gold and his women Alex becomes a true warrior and lover.
Read
May 31, 2021what an interesting story!
With rarely anything anywhere near dull, the story flowed from success to challenge to success. All the fighting served as an excellent reason for victory sex and there was a lot of that! I can't wait to read the next book...fortunately, it is already available!
With rarely anything anywhere near dull, the story flowed from success to challenge to success. All the fighting served as an excellent reason for victory sex and there was a lot of that! I can't wait to read the next book...fortunately, it is already available!
May 16, 2025
Ok… so based on the cover, I was not interested in this book. But my husband thought I would like it and asked me to give it a try. I will say the story wasn’t bad. I did find myself interested and it wasn’t nearly as smutty as I thought it would be based on the cover. But the writing itself wasn’t great. Overall I would give it 2.5-3 stars.
October 11, 2020
Great read!
This was a fun book. As with most of Vall's books there is a lot of humor. The MC is a good combination of inexperienced but intelligent. The world and magic is well thought out and I look forward learning more.
This was a fun book. As with most of Vall's books there is a lot of humor. The MC is a good combination of inexperienced but intelligent. The world and magic is well thought out and I look forward learning more.
October 13, 2020
Fun read
As I would expect from Eric Vall, this book is action packed and filled with various love interests. Read it in 1 day and enjoyed it the whole time. Looking forward to the next book.
As I would expect from Eric Vall, this book is action packed and filled with various love interests. Read it in 1 day and enjoyed it the whole time. Looking forward to the next book.
October 15, 2020
Wow!!!
The flow of this book from beginning to end is just excellent!! Am anxious to see how the MC and his group get through this next adventure. I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out.
The flow of this book from beginning to end is just excellent!! Am anxious to see how the MC and his group get through this next adventure. I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out.
October 15, 2020
Get debut
This book was really enjoyable and fun. The main character is very likable and Zoie is absolutely adorable. I really like their dynamic and look forward to seeing how their story plays out.
This book was really enjoyable and fun. The main character is very likable and Zoie is absolutely adorable. I really like their dynamic and look forward to seeing how their story plays out.
October 15, 2020
Great
Excellent beginning to a new series. The story line moves at a brisk pace and ended at a natural place. If you have read the authors of books, you definitely need to read this one
Excellent beginning to a new series. The story line moves at a brisk pace and ended at a natural place. If you have read the authors of books, you definitely need to read this one
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews