Jax survived the Smugglers Path, as did most of his party, but he’s suffered losses, found out just how far he’s willing to go for Oracle, and seen his own darker side… as have his followers.
The City of Himnel crawls with depravity, violence and backstabbing, and if Jax wants to keep his people, supply his growing war-machine, and have any kind of a chance at survival, he needs to not only survive there, he needs to rob it blind!
Jax's simple, honest and straightforward methods of dealing with people would usually equate to a snowman vs a flamethrower's chance at survival, except he's got some new tricks, some new allies, and gives even less of a damn than usual about the odds.
Join Jax, Oracle, and the squad as they explore Himnel, fight in the Arena and gather other waifs and strays not to mention making new, and far more powerful enemies than he ever dreamt he would encounter.
Find out what happened to Thomas, why the Legion is hated and reviled, and if Jax ever manages to get his hearts desire… namely a cold beer, people to leave him the hell alone, and Oracle, naked, and some ‘quality’ time uninterrupted!
Please Note: This is book 3 of the UnderVerse Series, as with all my books, this story is a Dark Fantasy, filled with violence, swearing and bad jokes, but no Harems...
1) The voice choice for the narrator of some sort of mafia smoker simpleton bruiser is irritating. **Spoiler Alert** 2) Boilerplate, so much boilerplate 3) MC spending hard-won items and loot on people who aren't on his team for feeling good is stupid. 4) MC is too stupid to live, is supposed to be a leader and it becomes hard to want him to live through this. 5) We want you to be our leader but only if you do XYZ is old, overdone, and just bad. 6) Dain Bramage fixed but not 7) The "everything causing him pain" gets dull. Level ups and stat increases hurting all the time, the fights when he does stupid shit or constantly makes stupid mistakes, it just makes the MC seem really incompetent.
For not enjoying or being good at speeches, MC certainly seems to spontaneously break into them pretty often. I lost count of the number of times he got super mad, did something dumb, and then followed it up with a passionate speech about the power of friendship and how he and all the people he'd know for like a week were going to change the world with the power of their righteous friendship.
The first half of this book is basically Jax walking around talking about how bad ass he is and how big his....is. He comes off as a passionate idiot and a baraggart. He constantly messes up everything and gets away with it because his anger magically makes him win every fight somehow...
I still enjoyed the battle scenes and the overall plot but I am getting tired of Jax raging and lucking hisbway through everyrhing all while constantly telling everyone else how cool he is.
These books are just infuriating. The story is good and that's the only reason I've been trudging through these, but the the main character is far too stupid and childish. The other characters need some work but aren't too bad. The language is cringeworthy nonstop. The author has a great story premise but really ruins it for me with endless stupidity, not just from the MC but in general. I suppose there's enough idiots out there who will enjoy this but it saddens me. My heart weeps for the stupidity of the human race.
First, my review: “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Second, I am not a bot...at least I don’t think I am. Yes this is copy pasta (just learned that term, so fun!) simply because I feel like any book I read deserves acknowledgement but at the same time my feelings on reviews conflict with the normal review process.
I enjoyed this book, so my goal is to promote it and help the author. If you are a potential reader, just stop reading now and take the above as all you need to know. I am not going to share my reasoning, thoughts on the book, or any opinions that would influence your decision to read it. It is my opinion that 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. Or not if you don’t think this book is for you. That choice is all yours and the beauty of art appreciation. You are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.
If you are a member of the IAK Guild (thanks, Jason) or part of the review police, feel free to criticize me and challenge my philosophy on reviewing art. I think we all love a good debate. The forums are open and I welcome your comments. I was wrong in my previous request to get you to stop. Your blatant disregard for that request has led to some fun discussions. Growth is important for us all.
The MC is still a shoot first and ask questions later melee fighter, but he's starting to get better. Taking on trained and capable warriors and allies, while putting the hurt on everyone that gets in his way, even if they jack him up really good too. In doing all this, he also manged to piss off the death god and his minions ( one of whome is his missing twin), so the plot really thickens.
I had been wondering when Jax was going to use the SporeMother's stealth and fear powers and he finally did, so he's starting to take advantage of all his powers, skills etc. Lastly, he finally had time to get intimate (or nasty, as the case may be) with his bonded wisp (aka fairy) Oracle. Really enjoying this series and looking forward to reading the next book as Jax and the Legion re-establish the Empire.
The overarching story had a lot of potential, but the author seems hellbent on pushing his agenda on the reader. The MC is so chaotic that I don't see any reason for someone to trust him let alone follow him. He makes plans, then fly off the handle and rages for one reason or another throwing them out of the window and everyone around him just accepts it.
The reason for him to join the arena is mostly because the author wanted it to happen and doesn't make sense in the story. Why does it need to be him that fights when it could be anyone.
At some point when fighting with a gang, he kills an imp and starts rambling about feeling bad about letting it dies and relating it to racism and how he never liked racists, but a few pages later he kills another few dozens of them without us hearing anything more about this train of thought
All in all, a good concept with very bad execution
Picked up book Wednesday evening. Finished book today (Saturday). Resented time not spent with book. Spent every available moment with book. Spouse not talking to me anymore.
10/10 would read again.
Okay, so, Jez messed up. He messed up bad. Because this is the new standard that he needs to hit in every book from now on. I loved Brightblade and The Forgotten Faithful but this makes them look naff by comparison.
I mean if The Forgotten Faithful was the mutt's nuts than this is not just any mutt's nuts but M&S mutt's nuts.
Action throughout, good character development, a well thought out plot that keeps you guessing - you are never sure exactly what's going to happen next in a Cajiao book and that keeps you hooked to the end.
The plot arch continues to develop nicely. The character development is chugging along nicely as well. Pacing almost died in this book. The awkward shoe horning of the obligatory arena scene was clumsy, and nearly stopped all progression. Still trying to wrap my head around the combat. Massively ancient beings of eminence power being taken down by a lvl 15 noob is getting old. I get the whole "but it was a critical area" thing. But judging by the MCs power development arch, nothing makes any sense. He's only been doing it a month and all his trainers easily man handle him.
Predchádzajúci diel som hodnotil veľmi kriticky, v tomto konštatujem, že sme si polepšili. Páčil sa mi koniec, kde sa prelínali viaceré dejové linky, bolo vidieť, ako sa dali do pohybu rôzne strategické ťahy a na konci sa spojili. Boží trest beriem ako návod pre ďalšie smerovanie série, trochu sa vytratila vojna proti uzurpátorom, keďže ich miesto priamo v meste zaberal tentokrát Skyking. Súbore v aréne boli trochu nasilu naťahované, hlavný hrdina nemá schopnosti na to, aby vyhrával tak automaticky, čo sa prejavuje v niektorých jednoduchších roztržkách. Navonok ale vystupuje ako zvrchovaný naj cisár.
There's a certain pattern to the story, with the pacing based on how angry the MC, Jax, is. Reading all of them in a row is probably not the best way of doing it since the books are fairly similar in their structure. There's little progression with the Tower set up in the first two books, but the world expands a little as Jax adds a lot of new characters to his retinue. We also get a little twist on the classical arena/gladiator setup. There's still a lot of references to 80s, 90s and and a few 2000s books and movies, but the two I remember most is Boondock Saints and Wheel of Time.
Since it’s likely you have read the first two books, the third continues the story of Jax’s path as the Scion of the Emperor. Of course he drives his guards crazy with his recklessness, drives us crazy with his relationship with Oracle (Jeebus, come on already) and there are two flashes of upcoming plot lines.
Things get more complicated and a lot more fun for everyone involved. The author engages in some serious world building. The characters all grow and develop. And supporting characters actually play a part in the story. This is a big departure for most books of this genre. It’s a welcome detail in the storytelling process. I’m looking forward to the next book.
Not really any story progression in this one. Just right after fight after fight mixed with Jax randomly “bellowing” some nonsense then apologizing for not being good at speeches. Also I feel like Jaxs intelligence took a dive in this one. Still entertaining though.
I have discovered a new favorite author. Although the writing is more gritty than I normally read, this author has an abundance of creativity concerning monsters, systems, complications, and boss fights that is unmatched. I also love that Jax is imperfect but perfect for the time. I cannot wait to see how the story plays out with him and Tommy.
I devoured this series. First book was difficult because it was my first taste of this realm. But as soon as I had the mechanics and lore down. This became an amazing series. Book 3 ended too soon!!!!
Well written, a great story in line with the other books. I miss the tower, I hope they get back soon, but it was a ton of fun reading through their misadventures in town. More than worth your time.
The story just keeps you locked in can't wait for the 4th book
So Jax is just the best protagonist ever, he always gets a "shit sandwich " good,bad,good. And the way the story develops has you thinking this is the way it's going and then boom! You get that no way that just happened feeling. I love these books
Each book gets better and better. I have reached the point where now I'm waiting for the next book and it pains me. I recommend these books to anyone who enjoys litrpg.
Another great adventure, so much happens that it's crazy good. I love the overall kickassery of the story, there is some things I hope to see in book four. Jax and Thomas reunion is getting closer, hoping to see more with that in book four.
The action starts page 1 it never seems to stop. In this book we have introductions to many new characters, new situations, and a grand theft that makes “The Italian Job” look like it was done by amateurs. Great fun. Recommended (17+)
I’m in for the long haul in this series. This was another good one with a few sort of disjointed parts where we see different perspectives than Jax or his brother. It’s fine but just a little stilted. I still enjoyed this thoroughly.
This was another good book that I enjoyed reading. Stayed up till 2 o’clock in the morning to finish it. Can’t wait to read the next book. I expect it to be as good as the first two.
Really enjoyed this one. Been a while since I read the other ones, so wasn't real clear on previous happenings at first, but even with that, the story is still a good one, and I look forward to more in the series. Well done.
still a fantastic book. there is a a lot of action and there is great world building. i do think that a lot of the book gets bogged down by “drinking potions”. in the fights sometimes every other sentence is X drinking a potion.