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Warformed: Stormweaver #1
Iron Prince
Reidon Ward will become a god. He doesn't know it yet, of course. Reidon was born weak, sickly and small. Afflicted with a painful disease and abandoned by his parents because of it, he has had to fight tooth and nail for every minor advantage life has allowed him.His perseverance has not gone unnoticed, however, and when the most powerful artificial intelligence in human history takes an interest in him, things began to change quickly. Granted a CAD—a Combat Assistance Device—with awful specs but an infinite potential for growth, Reidon finds himself at the bottom of his class at the Galens Institute, one of the top military academies in the Collective. Along with his best friend, Viviana Arada, Reidon will have to start his long climb through the school rankings, and on to the combat tournament circuits that have become humanity's greatest source of excitement and entertainment.So begins the rise of a god. So begins the ascent of the Stormweaver.
811 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2020
3116 people are currently reading
11875 people want to read
About the author
Bryce O'Connor
18 books2,002 followers
PURCHASE BOOKS:
Bryce writes high fantasy stories with special twists on character and plot. Child of the Daystar, the first installment in his series, The Wings of War, released in December, 2015.
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November 10, 2020Cradle meets Ender’s Game...
...but so much more, too.
It’s great. Truly great. One of the first of the “progression fantasy” sub-genre to get me to stay up late reading until I’d finished.
I have some complaints, but they’re minor. Some of the fight descriptions do drag on too long, even for fights that don’t matter. The dialogue is occasionally cliche and most characters sound alike.
Only one thing really bothered me, and others have noted it as well: the romance between the lead heroine and the antagonist. I kept waiting for it to come together and start making sense, but it never did. It’s like if Hermione fell for Malfoy two seconds after Malfoy pulled a gun on Harry.
But forget all that, because any complaints I have are but tiny scratches in the paint job of a beautiful car. The sci-fi setting is incredibly well-realized, the combat is detailed and tactical, the system is meaty without being weighed down in exposition, the world is fascinating, and I found myself rooting for the main character with bated breath.
This is a good one, folks. Don’t miss out.
...but so much more, too.
It’s great. Truly great. One of the first of the “progression fantasy” sub-genre to get me to stay up late reading until I’d finished.
I have some complaints, but they’re minor. Some of the fight descriptions do drag on too long, even for fights that don’t matter. The dialogue is occasionally cliche and most characters sound alike.
Only one thing really bothered me, and others have noted it as well: the romance between the lead heroine and the antagonist. I kept waiting for it to come together and start making sense, but it never did. It’s like if Hermione fell for Malfoy two seconds after Malfoy pulled a gun on Harry.
But forget all that, because any complaints I have are but tiny scratches in the paint job of a beautiful car. The sci-fi setting is incredibly well-realized, the combat is detailed and tactical, the system is meaty without being weighed down in exposition, the world is fascinating, and I found myself rooting for the main character with bated breath.
This is a good one, folks. Don’t miss out.
October 24, 2023
So addicting that I might have to check myself into rehab!
Watch my video review by clicking here.
Watch my video review by clicking here.
November 15, 2020
Great world, but the characters....
Somewhere towards the middle of the book the characters started talking a lot of nonsense. I could skip paragraphs and still be up to date. The characters could also be very easily offended.
At one point Aria complimented his CAD and his face fell so she quickly had to back up and compliment him as well. If a girl compliments my shirt, I'm glad, I'm not upset because she did not compliment me personally. The main characters are snowflakes.
A lot of stories these days are combining logic, truth and malice. Can they not be separated? Can you not be logical, honest and kind?
It seems this book promotes that it cannot be separated. When one guy said you should not choose a team based of who is your friends but rather on who is most skilled everybody becomes angry. Seriously?
Not a match to Will Wight.
Somewhere towards the middle of the book the characters started talking a lot of nonsense. I could skip paragraphs and still be up to date. The characters could also be very easily offended.
At one point Aria complimented his CAD and his face fell so she quickly had to back up and compliment him as well. If a girl compliments my shirt, I'm glad, I'm not upset because she did not compliment me personally. The main characters are snowflakes.
A lot of stories these days are combining logic, truth and malice. Can they not be separated? Can you not be logical, honest and kind?
It seems this book promotes that it cannot be separated. When one guy said you should not choose a team based of who is your friends but rather on who is most skilled everybody becomes angry. Seriously?
Not a match to Will Wight.
February 27, 2021
Iron Prince is probably the most popular progression fantasy of the 2020 year, but did it deserve it? My answer is - nope. Sure, it has some nice parts, its writing is good, the world and the System are somehow original and the characters are decent... But the whole premise and the thing that drives the plot is total stupidity and I'm really not sure why people can't see the obvious and how the authors were oblivious to the big fat glaring plothole that makes some characters literally look like retards.
Okay, let's see. We have our MC, and he got absolutely overpowered CAD that gives him S in Growth stat, which is, objectively, the most important stat long-term. With it, it's only a matter of time before he becomes the S-ranker and, most likely, the most powerful one in history. Before him, no one else ever had even an A-grade in any attribute, let alone even a higher grade in the most important one. And here comes the problem... the military academy knows it, but... they don't give a flying fuck. They can't count 2+2, so, instead of treating him as the most important student EVER, as the most valuable asset, and beg him to enter their academy and giving him the most preferential treatment possible, they consider him as a "gamble" or as a "wild card" and some of them even think that he's trash. Why? Because his all other starting stats are bad... Seriously? The authors seriously decided to make the Institute's higher-ups into people with 70 IQ?
That's not all. Even the MC who's supposed to be very smart considers his situation as a bad one, his CAD as trash, and doubts that he'll get accepted in the academy. And when he's there, everyone suddenly decides that it's such a good idea to hid the information about his CAD specs. It, somehow, should help him to "avoid attention" (looool) and progress without any problem. Instead of doing something logical and treating him as a special case and give all of their resources to help Rei catch up to others, he isn't only treated as just another student, the academy allows other students and even instructors to mistreat him. Someone who is, let me remind you, is basically guaranteed to become S-rank, it's just a matter of time for him and they should be able to guess as much from his Growth stat... except they don't.
Other underdog stories like Cradle or Solo-Leveling work because others don't know that the main character is, actually, talented and has a lot of potential. But here they know it, people know it, in a couple of months everyone realizes that MC progresses at a crazy pace, they're just too stupid to think two steps ahead. For some reason, everyone cares more about a tournament at the beginning of a year which doesn't mean shit in the long-term perspective rather than how strong he'll be in a year or two.
All of those TERRIBLE WRITING FLAWS could be so easily avoided if people just discriminated against Rei because of his origin, or if his Specs were unknown to the higher-ups for a VALID reason like, for example, "AI tried to hide the existence of this CAD from alien spies". Instead, we get this - the whole narrative based around the people's inability to realize the potential of the main character even when it's literally spelled out to them and shover hard in their faces by the System.
AI:"Hey, look, this guy and his CAD have the highest potential among all Users in history, I totally support him, don't fuck this up, meatbags."
Asshole higherup: "Nah, he's just E-ranker, we don't need this trash in our elite academy."
Kind higherup: "B-but maybe we should give him a chance, this is such a risky gamble, omg, allowing someone with godlike growth-rate to study like everyone else."
Neutral higherup: "What if he fails in the tournament for first-year students which doesn't mean shit? It'll be so terrible, such a shame on our elite Institute!"
AI: "You guys are beyond help, I'm going the fuck out of this stupid planet, world, and story. Bye-bye."
About half-way through the story, I just gave up. It's really annoying, but there's even something worse that I predict would be later in the story. With his advantage, realistically, Rei should not only catch up to the best in the academy (which shouldn't have anything higher than C-rank in Growth) within a year, but go far beyond them. But I have a hunch that it wouldn't be the case, because it'd make the MC too OP, so, conveniently, the authors would give random unreasonable level-ups to other characters so that they weren't left behind. And the process already started about half-way through the book...
Okay, let's see. We have our MC, and he got absolutely overpowered CAD that gives him S in Growth stat, which is, objectively, the most important stat long-term. With it, it's only a matter of time before he becomes the S-ranker and, most likely, the most powerful one in history. Before him, no one else ever had even an A-grade in any attribute, let alone even a higher grade in the most important one. And here comes the problem... the military academy knows it, but... they don't give a flying fuck. They can't count 2+2, so, instead of treating him as the most important student EVER, as the most valuable asset, and beg him to enter their academy and giving him the most preferential treatment possible, they consider him as a "gamble" or as a "wild card" and some of them even think that he's trash. Why? Because his all other starting stats are bad... Seriously? The authors seriously decided to make the Institute's higher-ups into people with 70 IQ?
That's not all. Even the MC who's supposed to be very smart considers his situation as a bad one, his CAD as trash, and doubts that he'll get accepted in the academy. And when he's there, everyone suddenly decides that it's such a good idea to hid the information about his CAD specs. It, somehow, should help him to "avoid attention" (looool) and progress without any problem. Instead of doing something logical and treating him as a special case and give all of their resources to help Rei catch up to others, he isn't only treated as just another student, the academy allows other students and even instructors to mistreat him. Someone who is, let me remind you, is basically guaranteed to become S-rank, it's just a matter of time for him and they should be able to guess as much from his Growth stat... except they don't.
Other underdog stories like Cradle or Solo-Leveling work because others don't know that the main character is, actually, talented and has a lot of potential. But here they know it, people know it, in a couple of months everyone realizes that MC progresses at a crazy pace, they're just too stupid to think two steps ahead. For some reason, everyone cares more about a tournament at the beginning of a year which doesn't mean shit in the long-term perspective rather than how strong he'll be in a year or two.
All of those TERRIBLE WRITING FLAWS could be so easily avoided if people just discriminated against Rei because of his origin, or if his Specs were unknown to the higher-ups for a VALID reason like, for example, "AI tried to hide the existence of this CAD from alien spies". Instead, we get this - the whole narrative based around the people's inability to realize the potential of the main character even when it's literally spelled out to them and shover hard in their faces by the System.
AI:"Hey, look, this guy and his CAD have the highest potential among all Users in history, I totally support him, don't fuck this up, meatbags."
Asshole higherup: "Nah, he's just E-ranker, we don't need this trash in our elite academy."
Kind higherup: "B-but maybe we should give him a chance, this is such a risky gamble, omg, allowing someone with godlike growth-rate to study like everyone else."
Neutral higherup: "What if he fails in the tournament for first-year students which doesn't mean shit? It'll be so terrible, such a shame on our elite Institute!"
AI: "You guys are beyond help, I'm going the fuck out of this stupid planet, world, and story. Bye-bye."
About half-way through the story, I just gave up. It's really annoying, but there's even something worse that I predict would be later in the story. With his advantage, realistically, Rei should not only catch up to the best in the academy (which shouldn't have anything higher than C-rank in Growth) within a year, but go far beyond them. But I have a hunch that it wouldn't be the case, because it'd make the MC too OP, so, conveniently, the authors would give random unreasonable level-ups to other characters so that they weren't left behind. And the process already started about half-way through the book...
November 29, 2022
Holy crap this book was fantastic! Definitely worthy of 5 stars! The book is easily as good as the cover, so in this case, judging this book by its cover would be a good idea. It’s honestly amazing, and astonishing, how great of a book both Luke and Bryce can create when they work together. I would recommend this book to anyone. Literally. Anyone. The ironic thing was that just yesterday I was giving Luke grief on Reddit that he and Bryce hadn’t given me Shattered Reigns book 2 yet. This makes up for it three times over. Dammit! Now I’ve got to wait for book 2 of this series to be made! Oh God! I’m having some sort of crisis! Do I want them to work on Shattered Reigns or this series! AHHHHH!!!
No. But seriously. I have encountered not a single problem with this book. Everything in this book exceeded my expectations I held for this pair of authors.
If you choose not to read this book, that’s your loss I guess, I will feel bad for you because you don’t get to share the joy that I had experienced when reading this book, (or share in the agony of finishing the book and knowing their is no book 2 out to jump to.)
This book may be my favorite of the month and yes, I write MAY BE simply because I read Will Wight’s Wintersteel earlier in the month and can’t decide on whether or not the bloopers make it the best or not. Regardless, Iron Prince definitely will be among the top 3 books I’ve read so far this year. I will definitely re-read it before the next book is released. Okay, let’s be honest...I may re-read it 5 times before the next book is released. ;)
Iron Prince was a great book, I loved every second I spent reading it.
No. But seriously. I have encountered not a single problem with this book. Everything in this book exceeded my expectations I held for this pair of authors.
If you choose not to read this book, that’s your loss I guess, I will feel bad for you because you don’t get to share the joy that I had experienced when reading this book, (or share in the agony of finishing the book and knowing their is no book 2 out to jump to.)
This book may be my favorite of the month and yes, I write MAY BE simply because I read Will Wight’s Wintersteel earlier in the month and can’t decide on whether or not the bloopers make it the best or not. Regardless, Iron Prince definitely will be among the top 3 books I’ve read so far this year. I will definitely re-read it before the next book is released. Okay, let’s be honest...I may re-read it 5 times before the next book is released. ;)
Iron Prince was a great book, I loved every second I spent reading it.
November 17, 2020
This book was hyped to all hell so I figured I would write a review for it. There's gonna be a lot of complaining but overall I enjoyed the book enough to read the sequel.
Quick overview on the story: it's the future and we developed the technology to create super badass armor in order to fight against aliens. Fighting with this armor/weapon set called CAD (combat assistant device) also provides the greatest source of entertainment in the connected solar systems of humanity. No guns tho.
I didn't really care much for the characters. They were serviceable but not memorable. Rei, the MC, is your typical shonen protagonist. Is born with disadvantages but strives to be greater than what other people perceive him to be. His greatest asset is his willpower and his greatest ability is to be unpredictable which is super typical for this type of story. I did not like Viv as a character or a person and I find her reason to be friends with Rei unbelievable. The antagonist was also your typical school bully but probably has reasons we should be sympathetic to him. Meh.
Fight scenes are ok but can be overdone and get stale. Seems like the only thing that matters at the school is fighting. All the other subjects are largely forgotten. My problem is that there's no sense of wonder to the school setting. Maybe it's my Harry Potter side coming out but I want to know more about the world the characters live in. Is there FTL travel? How does it work? How does the govt work with an AI running it? Who is the enemy and what's their society like? Too many questions but all we get to read is that big stats make sword go schwing. Okay but how does THAT work?
Like is the CAD compensating you somehow? Like what if you're a 12 year old girl but you got A tier strength. Is this girl super buff or is the CAD giving her A tier strength thru science magic? I wanna know! All we know is that if you train hard enough the CAD assigns you a higher rank. Okay but what determines that? Is the CAD self aware or is it done by the MIND? In that case why not just give everyone S rank in everything in order to beat the aliens! Or does it give you a higher rank only when it knows you can handle that higher rank? I could go on but just be aware that I have issues/questions with the way the progression works.
Pacing felt too slow at some parts that I had to take a break from reading for a day because I was getting bored. Also it's a thousand pages but we've only gone thru half the first year. Apparently the next 2 and a half years are school are not gonna be as interesting since we'll cram them in the next 2 books if we only cover the school arc and the MC decides not to fight the enemy.
Worldbuilding could have been done better. How exactly does the fatal damage simulation thing actually work? I keep reading that people's heads, limbs, and spines are getting chopped off but they seem fine after. Are the weapons actually not manifesting in reality but in a computer simulation provided by the CAD? And for being "cyberpunkish" I doubt that what happens when people amass more wealth than a country's GDP that they would be charitable and donate it. No, more than likely in a cyberpunk setting they fight tooth and nail to accumulate more wealth or keep the status quo. Basically poor people are always f***ed in any punk setting.
Also where are the laser guns? Any projectile based weapon really. If people can fight so well with swords, spears, and fists wouldn't they be even better fighters with some kind of ranged weapons? Doesn't even have to be a gun how about bow and arrow?
Some of the blurbs that come before a chapter are also not doing it for me. They try to build up the world thru them and the legend of the MC but they did too much telling instead of showing. Like "oh I thought I was the protagonist of this era until I met the true MC" or something of that nature. Idk they just didn't work that well for me.
Romance was meh.
Random thought even tho I've never played it the armor seems like something similar to Warframe? Oh and also why do the CAD get names? Like yeah I get it named weapons/armor are cool but who assigns the names? The MIND? And why does everyone's CAD get a name? It's not like they're all special or alive or anything. Like I'd get it if an S rank armor got assigned a name but why does some E-level chump's armor get a name too? I'm of the opinion weapons should only get names if they deserve it. Like we all know Excalibur but we don't know the name of King Arthur's shank.
I think the best thing about the book is the way the armor/CAD works and looks. Wish there were pictures. I've also always been a fan of the magical school girl transformation ala Kill la Kill or Power Rangers.
Overall I would recommend this to progression fantasy/sci fi readers but not your typical sci-fi or fantasy reader. I'll probably read the next book and see if any improvements are made.
Quick overview on the story: it's the future and we developed the technology to create super badass armor in order to fight against aliens. Fighting with this armor/weapon set called CAD (combat assistant device) also provides the greatest source of entertainment in the connected solar systems of humanity. No guns tho.
I didn't really care much for the characters. They were serviceable but not memorable. Rei, the MC, is your typical shonen protagonist. Is born with disadvantages but strives to be greater than what other people perceive him to be. His greatest asset is his willpower and his greatest ability is to be unpredictable which is super typical for this type of story. I did not like Viv as a character or a person and I find her reason to be friends with Rei unbelievable. The antagonist was also your typical school bully but probably has reasons we should be sympathetic to him. Meh.
Fight scenes are ok but can be overdone and get stale. Seems like the only thing that matters at the school is fighting. All the other subjects are largely forgotten. My problem is that there's no sense of wonder to the school setting. Maybe it's my Harry Potter side coming out but I want to know more about the world the characters live in. Is there FTL travel? How does it work? How does the govt work with an AI running it? Who is the enemy and what's their society like? Too many questions but all we get to read is that big stats make sword go schwing. Okay but how does THAT work?
Like is the CAD compensating you somehow? Like what if you're a 12 year old girl but you got A tier strength. Is this girl super buff or is the CAD giving her A tier strength thru science magic? I wanna know! All we know is that if you train hard enough the CAD assigns you a higher rank. Okay but what determines that? Is the CAD self aware or is it done by the MIND? In that case why not just give everyone S rank in everything in order to beat the aliens! Or does it give you a higher rank only when it knows you can handle that higher rank? I could go on but just be aware that I have issues/questions with the way the progression works.
Pacing felt too slow at some parts that I had to take a break from reading for a day because I was getting bored. Also it's a thousand pages but we've only gone thru half the first year. Apparently the next 2 and a half years are school are not gonna be as interesting since we'll cram them in the next 2 books if we only cover the school arc and the MC decides not to fight the enemy.
Worldbuilding could have been done better. How exactly does the fatal damage simulation thing actually work? I keep reading that people's heads, limbs, and spines are getting chopped off but they seem fine after. Are the weapons actually not manifesting in reality but in a computer simulation provided by the CAD? And for being "cyberpunkish" I doubt that what happens when people amass more wealth than a country's GDP that they would be charitable and donate it. No, more than likely in a cyberpunk setting they fight tooth and nail to accumulate more wealth or keep the status quo. Basically poor people are always f***ed in any punk setting.
Also where are the laser guns? Any projectile based weapon really. If people can fight so well with swords, spears, and fists wouldn't they be even better fighters with some kind of ranged weapons? Doesn't even have to be a gun how about bow and arrow?
Some of the blurbs that come before a chapter are also not doing it for me. They try to build up the world thru them and the legend of the MC but they did too much telling instead of showing. Like "oh I thought I was the protagonist of this era until I met the true MC" or something of that nature. Idk they just didn't work that well for me.
Romance was meh.
Random thought even tho I've never played it the armor seems like something similar to Warframe? Oh and also why do the CAD get names? Like yeah I get it named weapons/armor are cool but who assigns the names? The MIND? And why does everyone's CAD get a name? It's not like they're all special or alive or anything. Like I'd get it if an S rank armor got assigned a name but why does some E-level chump's armor get a name too? I'm of the opinion weapons should only get names if they deserve it. Like we all know Excalibur but we don't know the name of King Arthur's shank.
I think the best thing about the book is the way the armor/CAD works and looks. Wish there were pictures. I've also always been a fan of the magical school girl transformation ala Kill la Kill or Power Rangers.
Overall I would recommend this to progression fantasy/sci fi readers but not your typical sci-fi or fantasy reader. I'll probably read the next book and see if any improvements are made.
May 18, 2022
4.75/5
One of the best of Progression Fantasy...
Badass action sequences, fully developed and detailed environment makes the Iron Prince an interesting and entertaining progression fantasy I've read since Wintersteel...
But sometimes it's just WAYYYYYYY too detailing IMO which affected the pacing a little bit for me and characters are not on par with the quality of Worldbuilding and action sequences.
Eager to get my hands on the sequel...
One of the best of Progression Fantasy...
Badass action sequences, fully developed and detailed environment makes the Iron Prince an interesting and entertaining progression fantasy I've read since Wintersteel...
But sometimes it's just WAYYYYYYY too detailing IMO which affected the pacing a little bit for me and characters are not on par with the quality of Worldbuilding and action sequences.
Eager to get my hands on the sequel...
February 24, 2023
The prologue bored me. Then the first chapter bored me some more. It's mostly the action sequences that are a problem. They're lovingly, painstakingly described. Which means the pace is laborious and the action feels clinical. But the character moments outside of the action didn't feel any more engaging. Tragedy boy with supportive superstar friend-who-is-a-girl-who-is-also-mostly-lesbian have a conversation that was supposed to be dialogue but came across as just random conversation.
So I'm going to ditch out at very nearly two percent. Because the book is freaking long. Probably because the action scenes are so carefully detailed...
So I'm going to ditch out at very nearly two percent. Because the book is freaking long. Probably because the action scenes are so carefully detailed...
October 20, 2020
Excellent Sci-Fi Progression Fantasy
I’ve read Will Wight’s and Andrew Rowe’s series, of which Cradle and Arcane Ascension are my favorites, and I’d have to say this ranks up there with them. The CAD Type System exemplifies the Paths of Cradle and the Attunements of Arcane Ascension, and learning about the different CAD types, seeing them in action, were some of my favorite parts of the book.
That is not even mentioning how great the story is. I love an underdog story, as you can tell from Cradle and AA, and Iron Prince captures that feeling and more. Highly recommend.
I’ve read Will Wight’s and Andrew Rowe’s series, of which Cradle and Arcane Ascension are my favorites, and I’d have to say this ranks up there with them. The CAD Type System exemplifies the Paths of Cradle and the Attunements of Arcane Ascension, and learning about the different CAD types, seeing them in action, were some of my favorite parts of the book.
That is not even mentioning how great the story is. I love an underdog story, as you can tell from Cradle and AA, and Iron Prince captures that feeling and more. Highly recommend.
November 2, 2020
A fun read
A fun read. The story is entertaining and the characters are compelling. I love the fact that the book is 1100 pages! Looking forward to the next book in the series.
A fun read. The story is entertaining and the characters are compelling. I love the fact that the book is 1100 pages! Looking forward to the next book in the series.
November 30, 2020
It was ok
It was ok, a little long winded. Half the book could be cut out without losing any plot. Felt like it was a little bit to much fluff.
It was ok, a little long winded. Half the book could be cut out without losing any plot. Felt like it was a little bit to much fluff.
July 25, 2025
Awesome big ideas Cyberpunk/Space Opera Progression Fantasy with a touch of LitRPG.
Plot is great, characters are okay if a bit repetitive and shallow, writing is good and it was a fun if prolonged outing.
Highly recommend!
Plot is great, characters are okay if a bit repetitive and shallow, writing is good and it was a fun if prolonged outing.
Highly recommend!
April 18, 2021
It was fun...for a while.
Until the sheer stupidity of the characters became grating -- I lost count of the number of times I chuckled and smh-ed in ludicrous wonder, like "this is so foolish/unnecessary". And they were stupid about so many things, for people that attend/teach in a school for the brightest and strongest. Those that come to mind quickest:
- The stakes here, a chance at an *annual* inter-school/system contest or even passing the school's exams/tests, were utterly meaningless. With the MC's S-class Growth spec alone, he was destined to become a god eventually, even if he never made it into this "elite" school.
There was no need for at least half the drama he got up to, he just needed to chill, train as hard as everybody else and he'd be a Beast before he even graduated. The main reason he wanted the CAD, as he stated in his exam, was to cure himself of his genetic illness. Within weeks of assignment, the CAD had already halted the damage, and by the end of the book, he was surely nearly all-repaired, if not already so. The only thing that could halt his trajectory to godhood now would be if they physically took away his CAD, and this possibility was never even mentioned once in the book.
- The whole ritual of revealing said MC spec to each new member added to the gang, one "WTF!" after the other. As if it weren't so easily "deduced", by anyone with a brain. Man ripped through >20 ranks in like 6 months and everyone's still all like "But what's his secret tho?".
No, sorry, that's not even what they're thinking, they're thinking something much dumber -- "Suuuuch a weakling, how did he even get into Battle School?". Even MONTHS after he'd been at the school, climbing at an astonishing rate, catching up with many of them and eventually outstripping them.
His exact Growth rate, whether S, A or B, is largely irrelevant. You merely need to look at his ridiculous progress to realize that, unless this is typical for every User who started in the Es, then this boy clearly has some mad Growth spec, and will be kicking our asses in short order soon enough. Hell, how about just having faith that your school admin knew they were doing when they let him in, that they had a very good reason? Then again, maybe the students were justified on this count since...
- Most of the admin/teachers are similarly dumb as hell, particularly the Reese guy (+ his student-mirror Grant). I often felt outrage rise in me as I read but it was often defused quickly enough when I remember that these villains aren't written to think like or feel like real people at all. They're merely hate receptacles, nothing reasonable about them or their motives, no attempt to humanize them beyond the cliche cardboard they were cut from. Rather like Umbridge, except even she had way more personality at least, which lent her credibility as a character.
Just check out Reese+Grant's monotonous "He's a coward, always running away" mouthing that often made me go "Wuuut?!". Like, did these guys forget they're in the frigging military? Where, you know, your job is to defeat the (nebulous) enemy by pretty much any means necessary, including running away at max speed if tactics demand it? Or sheer self-preservation in a meaningless fight? So, from what darkness does this foolishness come?
Reese even knew of the MC's potential, had his exact Growth spec to hand, and yet, persisted in antagonizing and undermining the boy, and with the same absurd reason "He doesn't belong here, he's holding everyone else back". It is not until near the end of the book, that Reese most-grudgingly gives anything remotely reasonable: "He is dangerous". And even here, it's not clear exactly what he means. But let's be charitable and assume he means "We're raising a god who can potentially fuck shit up." Yeah, no shit. Why didn't you raise this concern since with the others, who apparently never considered it cos they're all stupid too? How about you do something more effective like take away his CAD if you can or straight-up murder him, if you feel so strongly about it? Instead of this constant underhanded BS, the irony of his own cowardice apparently skipping right past him.
I haven't even gotten into the constant dick-riding that permeates the book -- MC's dick being the ridden of course, if that wasn't clear already. Every character, every one of them, is defined almost entirely by their relationship to him, some of them his best buds, some of them he nods to in passing, others he glares at, all very high-school-y. This probably isn't unique to this book, but what struck me here was the intensity of emotion from everyone on this matter. "He's holding us back, how did he even get in, grrr, grrr". What happened to plain apathy? Why do so many people give af? If he's so terrible, then surely time will prove this and he'll fall by the wayside. And if your brilliant students are so easily stunted by the presence of one shit student, then maybe your teaching is just as shit? And/or your students not so brilliant after all?
There's also the murkiness of exactly how CADs get assigned, who determines initial ranking. Does the metal somehow do it automatically or is it decided by the MIND? Was MC assigned S-class Growth because that is an actual assessment of his innate growth potential or was it simply done deliberately because the MIND wanted "variables"? (How tf are these Users more effective against aliens than standard 21st Century (let alone 25th Century) firepower anyways?)
Then Earth Command interferes directly in this high-school tournament, making him fight one of his best friends because they want to see if he has a "killer instinct". Because this is the Tested and Trusted Way. All those classmates that he beat before then, all that was clearly nothing. You don't really know if a guy will fight for his race against enemies literally threatening extinction, until you've had him fake-sever his friend's spine in a meaningless tournament.
Urgh. I still enjoyed this book, though I was mostly skimming near the end, past a lot of tedious description and inane dialogue. Turns out MC is even more Special than we thought, since I'm guessing the "President" we met briefly at the end is his lost grandpa or sumn. Couple that with:
--- his already S-class Growth, which alone would make him a force to reckon with
--- A-Type CAD, A-Type here meaning Atypical i.e. special, just so you know. Actually he's not a normal A-Type, as an older student explained, his CAD hasn't followed the normal progression of most A-Types. So he's basically an atypical Atypical. Noice.
--- his very own unique (and sick) Ability right off the bat, on reaching C-class
...and one can probably guess there'll be a lot more stroking in the near future.
It's possible that this book would've flown 10, 20 years ago (seems to be flying now actually but I'll do a Reese and look right past that), but I feel that today, given the well-established "state of the art" and the writers' apparent influences, they could've done much better, especially if they redirected effort from the long-winded CAD descriptions to the rigourous construction of their story and characters.
It's called the Iron Prince but I'm sure that everything, or even most things, need not be about the Iron Prince. At least, not with such absence of nuance.
Until the sheer stupidity of the characters became grating -- I lost count of the number of times I chuckled and smh-ed in ludicrous wonder, like "this is so foolish/unnecessary". And they were stupid about so many things, for people that attend/teach in a school for the brightest and strongest. Those that come to mind quickest:
- The stakes here, a chance at an *annual* inter-school/system contest or even passing the school's exams/tests, were utterly meaningless. With the MC's S-class Growth spec alone, he was destined to become a god eventually, even if he never made it into this "elite" school.
There was no need for at least half the drama he got up to, he just needed to chill, train as hard as everybody else and he'd be a Beast before he even graduated. The main reason he wanted the CAD, as he stated in his exam, was to cure himself of his genetic illness. Within weeks of assignment, the CAD had already halted the damage, and by the end of the book, he was surely nearly all-repaired, if not already so. The only thing that could halt his trajectory to godhood now would be if they physically took away his CAD, and this possibility was never even mentioned once in the book.
- The whole ritual of revealing said MC spec to each new member added to the gang, one "WTF!" after the other. As if it weren't so easily "deduced", by anyone with a brain. Man ripped through >20 ranks in like 6 months and everyone's still all like "But what's his secret tho?".
No, sorry, that's not even what they're thinking, they're thinking something much dumber -- "Suuuuch a weakling, how did he even get into Battle School?". Even MONTHS after he'd been at the school, climbing at an astonishing rate, catching up with many of them and eventually outstripping them.
His exact Growth rate, whether S, A or B, is largely irrelevant. You merely need to look at his ridiculous progress to realize that, unless this is typical for every User who started in the Es, then this boy clearly has some mad Growth spec, and will be kicking our asses in short order soon enough. Hell, how about just having faith that your school admin knew they were doing when they let him in, that they had a very good reason? Then again, maybe the students were justified on this count since...
- Most of the admin/teachers are similarly dumb as hell, particularly the Reese guy (+ his student-mirror Grant). I often felt outrage rise in me as I read but it was often defused quickly enough when I remember that these villains aren't written to think like or feel like real people at all. They're merely hate receptacles, nothing reasonable about them or their motives, no attempt to humanize them beyond the cliche cardboard they were cut from. Rather like Umbridge, except even she had way more personality at least, which lent her credibility as a character.
Just check out Reese+Grant's monotonous "He's a coward, always running away" mouthing that often made me go "Wuuut?!". Like, did these guys forget they're in the frigging military? Where, you know, your job is to defeat the (nebulous) enemy by pretty much any means necessary, including running away at max speed if tactics demand it? Or sheer self-preservation in a meaningless fight? So, from what darkness does this foolishness come?
Reese even knew of the MC's potential, had his exact Growth spec to hand, and yet, persisted in antagonizing and undermining the boy, and with the same absurd reason "He doesn't belong here, he's holding everyone else back". It is not until near the end of the book, that Reese most-grudgingly gives anything remotely reasonable: "He is dangerous". And even here, it's not clear exactly what he means. But let's be charitable and assume he means "We're raising a god who can potentially fuck shit up." Yeah, no shit. Why didn't you raise this concern since with the others, who apparently never considered it cos they're all stupid too? How about you do something more effective like take away his CAD if you can or straight-up murder him, if you feel so strongly about it? Instead of this constant underhanded BS, the irony of his own cowardice apparently skipping right past him.
I haven't even gotten into the constant dick-riding that permeates the book -- MC's dick being the ridden of course, if that wasn't clear already. Every character, every one of them, is defined almost entirely by their relationship to him, some of them his best buds, some of them he nods to in passing, others he glares at, all very high-school-y. This probably isn't unique to this book, but what struck me here was the intensity of emotion from everyone on this matter. "He's holding us back, how did he even get in, grrr, grrr". What happened to plain apathy? Why do so many people give af? If he's so terrible, then surely time will prove this and he'll fall by the wayside. And if your brilliant students are so easily stunted by the presence of one shit student, then maybe your teaching is just as shit? And/or your students not so brilliant after all?
There's also the murkiness of exactly how CADs get assigned, who determines initial ranking. Does the metal somehow do it automatically or is it decided by the MIND? Was MC assigned S-class Growth because that is an actual assessment of his innate growth potential or was it simply done deliberately because the MIND wanted "variables"? (How tf are these Users more effective against aliens than standard 21st Century (let alone 25th Century) firepower anyways?)
Then Earth Command interferes directly in this high-school tournament, making him fight one of his best friends because they want to see if he has a "killer instinct". Because this is the Tested and Trusted Way. All those classmates that he beat before then, all that was clearly nothing. You don't really know if a guy will fight for his race against enemies literally threatening extinction, until you've had him fake-sever his friend's spine in a meaningless tournament.
Urgh. I still enjoyed this book, though I was mostly skimming near the end, past a lot of tedious description and inane dialogue. Turns out MC is even more Special than we thought, since I'm guessing the "President" we met briefly at the end is his lost grandpa or sumn. Couple that with:
--- his already S-class Growth, which alone would make him a force to reckon with
--- A-Type CAD, A-Type here meaning Atypical i.e. special, just so you know. Actually he's not a normal A-Type, as an older student explained, his CAD hasn't followed the normal progression of most A-Types. So he's basically an atypical Atypical. Noice.
--- his very own unique (and sick) Ability right off the bat, on reaching C-class
...and one can probably guess there'll be a lot more stroking in the near future.
It's possible that this book would've flown 10, 20 years ago (seems to be flying now actually but I'll do a Reese and look right past that), but I feel that today, given the well-established "state of the art" and the writers' apparent influences, they could've done much better, especially if they redirected effort from the long-winded CAD descriptions to the rigourous construction of their story and characters.
It's called the Iron Prince but I'm sure that everything, or even most things, need not be about the Iron Prince. At least, not with such absence of nuance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2023
My rating: 5/5
Youtube Review: https://youtu.be/J23ZhnGyLvY
Hey Questbound gang welcome back to another review. This book was a life-saver. I was in a slump yet again, not knowing what to read. I gave several other books a shot but wasn't feeling that connection I get when I stumble upon a really fun series. I am elated to have found Iron Prince.
Let's dive right in:
Story: 5/5
The story was awesome. I absolutely adore progression fantasy books, but as we all know, not all of them are goodreads. This masterpiece on the other hand, really hit all of the things I was looking for. The story, while simple in essence, was wonderfully told. I loved the focus on Rei and his growing band of friends and Aria ;-). The progression aspect of this is also awesome. I loved seeing how Rei being the ultimate underdog, crawled to catch up to the rest of his classmates. I enjoyed seeing the enemies he made and how slowly but surely he kicked their a**.
Characters: 5/5
Rei is an incredibly talented, yet humble person and I can relate to some of the struggles he's gone through and the grace in which he handles himself.
Viv: she is the best friend we all wish we had. Not only is she beautiful, she is fierce and protects Rei from anyone and everyone.
Aria: a new addition to the gang, she is first an enemy, then a friend and potentially more for Rei. Needless to say, she is a powerhouse.
Catcher: like Aria, he's new to the gang, however he immediately becomes a best friend of Rei and Viv. He is smart, calculated, and a sarcastic a** which I absolutely love.
World Building: 5/5
The world here is diverse, spanning through the galaxy and encompassing many worlds. I particularly like this because the politics of other planets are seen in the tournaments that Rei and the gang are put through. Even though 90% of the book takes place in the school they are in, the world doesn't feel small at all.
I really recommend this series to you all! give it a shot, you may really enjoy it.
As always though, thank you for supporting me in these reviews! I hope to help you all grow your bookshelf, one book at a time.
Youtube Review: https://youtu.be/J23ZhnGyLvY
Hey Questbound gang welcome back to another review. This book was a life-saver. I was in a slump yet again, not knowing what to read. I gave several other books a shot but wasn't feeling that connection I get when I stumble upon a really fun series. I am elated to have found Iron Prince.
Let's dive right in:
Story: 5/5
The story was awesome. I absolutely adore progression fantasy books, but as we all know, not all of them are goodreads. This masterpiece on the other hand, really hit all of the things I was looking for. The story, while simple in essence, was wonderfully told. I loved the focus on Rei and his growing band of friends and Aria ;-). The progression aspect of this is also awesome. I loved seeing how Rei being the ultimate underdog, crawled to catch up to the rest of his classmates. I enjoyed seeing the enemies he made and how slowly but surely he kicked their a**.
Characters: 5/5
Rei is an incredibly talented, yet humble person and I can relate to some of the struggles he's gone through and the grace in which he handles himself.
Viv: she is the best friend we all wish we had. Not only is she beautiful, she is fierce and protects Rei from anyone and everyone.
Aria: a new addition to the gang, she is first an enemy, then a friend and potentially more for Rei. Needless to say, she is a powerhouse.
Catcher: like Aria, he's new to the gang, however he immediately becomes a best friend of Rei and Viv. He is smart, calculated, and a sarcastic a** which I absolutely love.
World Building: 5/5
The world here is diverse, spanning through the galaxy and encompassing many worlds. I particularly like this because the politics of other planets are seen in the tournaments that Rei and the gang are put through. Even though 90% of the book takes place in the school they are in, the world doesn't feel small at all.
I really recommend this series to you all! give it a shot, you may really enjoy it.
As always though, thank you for supporting me in these reviews! I hope to help you all grow your bookshelf, one book at a time.
March 7, 2023
Could this book have been 300 pages shorter? Yes. Am I happy that it wasn’t? Also yes. This my favorite book of all time. I’m so invested in these characters and their adventures. Rei is probably one of my favorite characters of all time. I’m so excited to continue on this journey! Finally a world I can lose myself in :)
December 7, 2025
Wonderful—just wonderful!
I was completely hooked just a few chapters in. It’s that whole underdog theme that always gets me, and throw in a military academy setting à la Ender’s Game? I’m in.
At over 1,000 pages, this book is a real commitment—but totally worth it. I didn’t read it in one sitting (impossible with a job), but every day I was counting down the hours until I could get back to Reidon Ward. The moment I read the summary and saw, “Reidon Ward will become a god,” I was sold. Instant curiosity. Instant read.
I love a good “climb to power” arc, and this book delivers on that in spades. Add in a found family vibe, some solid friendships, and a YA romance woven throughout? Chef’s kiss. The romance didn’t take over the plot, but it was definitely present—and I really enjoyed it.
I’ve already downloaded the second book, but I’m holding off until after vacation so I can really dive in. It’s another beast at 1,000+ pages, and I want to give it the time it deserves.
Highly recommend for fans of Red Rising, and honestly, for anyone who enjoys immersive fantasy with strong character development and a solid emotional core. This one hit all the right notes for me.
I was completely hooked just a few chapters in. It’s that whole underdog theme that always gets me, and throw in a military academy setting à la Ender’s Game? I’m in.
At over 1,000 pages, this book is a real commitment—but totally worth it. I didn’t read it in one sitting (impossible with a job), but every day I was counting down the hours until I could get back to Reidon Ward. The moment I read the summary and saw, “Reidon Ward will become a god,” I was sold. Instant curiosity. Instant read.
I love a good “climb to power” arc, and this book delivers on that in spades. Add in a found family vibe, some solid friendships, and a YA romance woven throughout? Chef’s kiss. The romance didn’t take over the plot, but it was definitely present—and I really enjoyed it.
I’ve already downloaded the second book, but I’m holding off until after vacation so I can really dive in. It’s another beast at 1,000+ pages, and I want to give it the time it deserves.
Highly recommend for fans of Red Rising, and honestly, for anyone who enjoys immersive fantasy with strong character development and a solid emotional core. This one hit all the right notes for me.
dnf
May 24, 2022DNF 29%.
The writing is bad. Very.
All aspects - from characters to story to the world - are severely lacking. There are even issues with grammar, of the then/than variety.
Will Wight called it "Cradle meets Ender's game", and he's pretty much on point, but his expressed admiration for this book baffles me. Many plot points were taken straight out of Cradle, but without understanding why they worked in the original.
Everything here is taken from other sources, much like in Cradle itself, but this book lacks the kind of writing that made Cradle fun (for me, of course).
Maybe the story gets good later on. But I can't see how.
The writing is bad. Very.
All aspects - from characters to story to the world - are severely lacking. There are even issues with grammar, of the then/than variety.
Will Wight called it "Cradle meets Ender's game", and he's pretty much on point, but his expressed admiration for this book baffles me. Many plot points were taken straight out of Cradle, but without understanding why they worked in the original.
Everything here is taken from other sources, much like in Cradle itself, but this book lacks the kind of writing that made Cradle fun (for me, of course).
Maybe the story gets good later on. But I can't see how.
November 5, 2023
Tolerated the first book--but I will not support any author that endorses self-mutilation or hormone therapy in kids.
If you identify as transgender, I'm sure you will find my opinion(s) extremely offensive--for what it's worth I'm sorry and i hope you have people in your lives that love you JUST THE WAY YOU ARE, and do not encourage you to be uncomfortable with the skin you were born with.
Book 1 pushed bi-sexual themes with the MC's best friend who is female. Book two claimed doctors are foolish for mislabeling someone's gender, just because they have a "silly thing between their legs"--then goes on to endorse self-mutilation and hormone therapy as a great solution. You are entitled to live however you want, but I draw the line at encouraging kids (the clear target audience of this series) to self-mutilate and utterly destroy their physical development in a vain attempt to be something they will never be--so I'm changing my original review on this book from 5 stars, to 1 star, and have deleted my old review.
Adults are free to do whatever they like, but I won't ever support sexualizing kids, or encouraging them to consider permanent (and harmful) solutions to temporary problems.
If you identify as transgender, I'm sure you will find my opinion(s) extremely offensive--for what it's worth I'm sorry and i hope you have people in your lives that love you JUST THE WAY YOU ARE, and do not encourage you to be uncomfortable with the skin you were born with.
Book 1 pushed bi-sexual themes with the MC's best friend who is female. Book two claimed doctors are foolish for mislabeling someone's gender, just because they have a "silly thing between their legs"--then goes on to endorse self-mutilation and hormone therapy as a great solution. You are entitled to live however you want, but I draw the line at encouraging kids (the clear target audience of this series) to self-mutilate and utterly destroy their physical development in a vain attempt to be something they will never be--so I'm changing my original review on this book from 5 stars, to 1 star, and have deleted my old review.
Adults are free to do whatever they like, but I won't ever support sexualizing kids, or encouraging them to consider permanent (and harmful) solutions to temporary problems.
February 1, 2024
If I could give this a zero, I would.
I have FOP. The abbreviation for Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva; an extremely rare genetic disability, 1 in 2 million births, only 800 known world wide.
I heard that this book had FOP. Not expecting much, as all prior and present authors in all media had passed FOP off as a freakshow disease with ableism and misinformation.
This awful book didn't fail in that department.
It gave some real facts, but with minimal effort, and appallingly published fake facts, myths, and sensationalised dribble.
FOP does NOT affect organs.
FOP is NOT a parasite/virus/cancer.
FOP HAS treatments & lab proven new cures in trials.
FOP is NOT 'splinters of bone', 'bone needles', or the other rubbish, ableist prose.
FOP most certainly CANNOT be removed or hindered with surgery. Surgery, IM injections, dental work, bruises, sports/fatigue, viruses & flus, plus more, are triggers.
Yet this MC is a soldier, perfectly able bodied, no FOP symptoms. Passed off as a deformed burden and the butt of tacky jokes. Like other visible, or invisible disabilities in fiction: it is only used when its convenient or as emotional baggage to move the plot.
There is no way the hero can have his routine operations to replace HO with new tissue. FOP isn't cancerous tumours. It's a defective DNA receptor that is controlled by the autoimmune system, and aging. You can't remove it until 'it stops replicating' like malignant tissue or a germ. It's not a infection! But the author thinks so.
The author never acknowledged a lot of the complications with living as an FOP patient. The hero dismissed his 'flares' as rare but clockwork epidodes of 'pain', followed by the impossible and ridiculous 'surgeries'. There's no acknowledgement or confirmation of scoliosis, locked joints, eating complications, fatigue, pressure sores, pain management, reduced mobility, speech issues, food aspiration, sedentary lifestyle, kyphosis, hearing loss, nerve damage, etc. Sports, exercise, and injuries aren't allowed, yet your hero is a soldier.
I'm surprised the author didn't refer to FOP as SCP 439. It certainly reads like he gleaned his info from a subreddit, fake facts stemmed from rumour and the like teaching misinformation. The FOP content felt like it was written by a 13 year old, a juvenile bully. The characters always treat his FOP diagnosis with disdain, revulsion, disgust, and teasing.
The depiction of FOP was insulting, cherrypicked, inaccurate, body horror; a cheap shot of a real disability too often used like this as a tragedy and for the gross ick factor.
Last but not least...
FOP is assuredly NEVER referred to as Boneitus in the medical or FOP communities. Only ableist morons in Reddit, 4chan, and other haunts think we are actually named Boneitus, Greyscale, Stoneman Syndrome, Human Statue, Medusa Syndrome, and other insults used for clickbait and clout.
Skip this book. It's a repulsive, crass story.
I had contacted the author explaining his mistake in abusing a real disability as a sensationalised joke. Initial conversation was ridicule, rejection, and incredulous. Then they promised to change it to a fictional condition.
You can easily find real facts through IFOPA across their soc media or their site. There's dozens of independent charities, awareness groups, and political (USA, UK, Brazil) + celebrity ambassadors (Sir Stephen Fry, Eric Idle) raising awareness with respect since the 80s. 'I didn't know it was fake' isn't an excuse.
I have FOP. The abbreviation for Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva; an extremely rare genetic disability, 1 in 2 million births, only 800 known world wide.
I heard that this book had FOP. Not expecting much, as all prior and present authors in all media had passed FOP off as a freakshow disease with ableism and misinformation.
This awful book didn't fail in that department.
It gave some real facts, but with minimal effort, and appallingly published fake facts, myths, and sensationalised dribble.
FOP does NOT affect organs.
FOP is NOT a parasite/virus/cancer.
FOP HAS treatments & lab proven new cures in trials.
FOP is NOT 'splinters of bone', 'bone needles', or the other rubbish, ableist prose.
FOP most certainly CANNOT be removed or hindered with surgery. Surgery, IM injections, dental work, bruises, sports/fatigue, viruses & flus, plus more, are triggers.
Yet this MC is a soldier, perfectly able bodied, no FOP symptoms. Passed off as a deformed burden and the butt of tacky jokes. Like other visible, or invisible disabilities in fiction: it is only used when its convenient or as emotional baggage to move the plot.
There is no way the hero can have his routine operations to replace HO with new tissue. FOP isn't cancerous tumours. It's a defective DNA receptor that is controlled by the autoimmune system, and aging. You can't remove it until 'it stops replicating' like malignant tissue or a germ. It's not a infection! But the author thinks so.
The author never acknowledged a lot of the complications with living as an FOP patient. The hero dismissed his 'flares' as rare but clockwork epidodes of 'pain', followed by the impossible and ridiculous 'surgeries'. There's no acknowledgement or confirmation of scoliosis, locked joints, eating complications, fatigue, pressure sores, pain management, reduced mobility, speech issues, food aspiration, sedentary lifestyle, kyphosis, hearing loss, nerve damage, etc. Sports, exercise, and injuries aren't allowed, yet your hero is a soldier.
I'm surprised the author didn't refer to FOP as SCP 439. It certainly reads like he gleaned his info from a subreddit, fake facts stemmed from rumour and the like teaching misinformation. The FOP content felt like it was written by a 13 year old, a juvenile bully. The characters always treat his FOP diagnosis with disdain, revulsion, disgust, and teasing.
The depiction of FOP was insulting, cherrypicked, inaccurate, body horror; a cheap shot of a real disability too often used like this as a tragedy and for the gross ick factor.
Last but not least...
FOP is assuredly NEVER referred to as Boneitus in the medical or FOP communities. Only ableist morons in Reddit, 4chan, and other haunts think we are actually named Boneitus, Greyscale, Stoneman Syndrome, Human Statue, Medusa Syndrome, and other insults used for clickbait and clout.
Skip this book. It's a repulsive, crass story.
I had contacted the author explaining his mistake in abusing a real disability as a sensationalised joke. Initial conversation was ridicule, rejection, and incredulous. Then they promised to change it to a fictional condition.
You can easily find real facts through IFOPA across their soc media or their site. There's dozens of independent charities, awareness groups, and political (USA, UK, Brazil) + celebrity ambassadors (Sir Stephen Fry, Eric Idle) raising awareness with respect since the 80s. 'I didn't know it was fake' isn't an excuse.
November 23, 2021
I truly don't get why there are so many positive reviews for this book. Thankfully several other 1-3 star reviews are on here and I'd recommend you go read those too.
This story makes no sense, lacks progression, and every character seems to have a sub 90 IQ with no consistency with the most 'nothing' events startling the MQ to drop from a 110 IQ down to an 80 IQ to just stand around staring. The core traits of the character make no sense when on his first day at Galens he bumps into some guy (after a lifetime of bullying and pain from his short height and diseased body) and he....yaps at the guy like a little dog?
Is this some low quality Shonen anime where 75% of screen time is stupid characters screaming about nothing for not reason? Just stupid yapping people losing their shit like on Reality TV shows with everyone yelling, no one thinking, and nothing matters? But in book form?
The writing is oddly good for the genre with few spelling or grammar issues, but I don't think I need 2.5 page on his jaw dropping and 20 descriptions in a row about how he can't believe the thing that happened is happening in front of him. The first third of the book is like a 350 page version of Harry Potter getting his acceptance letter and Hagrid telling him 'you're a wizard Harry'. Ok, we get it, he's surprised....but he's also supposed to be the most intelligent character around and aces all his school exams. He's super quick witted in one moment and a bumbling idiot or aggressive shonen clown yapping away the next....there is no character...there is only an instant expression of whatever to fit into some plot idea like 'school bully' or 'uncaring adults'.
What a joke to compare this to Ender's Game where there were very plot relevant good reasons for why the MC and all the children were all abused.
This is a 'progressoin' story and came up for me as a top result in a LitRPG search...it has only like 7 stats to understand in the entire universe of advanced technology....and NONE of the characters seem to understand what any of the stats mean. It is mind boggling that the top people at the top school who have never ever seen an S rank anything before any any candidate....they can't see any value in the kid. They just read the headline summary stat and that's it. This is the BEST school on that planet? Whaaaaaat? Why does this happen? To create artificaial tension and a bunch of head nodding so you can go 'oooohhh, isn't that so clever' someone made an argument based on facts about the stats in a progression series where everyone cares about these stats above all else!? WHAT?
It is almost like a translation from Spanish novel where they have a style of loving to spiral words of prose around repeating themselves over and over and over again in ever more florid language to showcase their skill as an author and 'me, me me,' and fuck the audience kind of style....except the language doesn't spiral to aggrandise the author, it instead loops around and gives hideous amounts of detail about mundane nonsense while ignoring the key mechanisms and technology in the story. What's up with the CAD, how do the stats work vs your body? Who cares! I'm going to do a campus tour for 20 pages pointing out where each building is located with loads of detail which is not plot relevant and never ever comes up again.
Why is he a janitor at his first school to earn a wage when the robots do the cleaning? B/c they can't scrub the blood and sweat off the floor mats? Why can't they do this? No idea! B/c the MC needs a context for a menial job in the year 2400 something....even though the technology obviates the need for such crap. Seriously, not a single F'ing detail makes any sense if you think about it for even 5 seconds. There is an AI which 'governs' the world, but people do whatever they want and it never talks to anyone except through secret plots....why? To create artificial plot devices and storyboards through which the characters can advance...not b/c that's what a powerful AI in control of everything would do.
Hmmm I want to run an experiment, I'm a super powerful AI in charge of everything....how about the most convoluted backwards nonsense imaginable?! Where present choices only slightly make sense in the context of future events unfolding in a certain way. It is all tell don't show and writing backwards so blatantly that you can predict everything that'll happen even though it doesn't make sense for anyone to do any of the things they are doing in that moment.
Fight fight fight...why? Does this have anything to do with his character so far or how he's behaved in any scenario? Nope....but it does help to set up the next part of the plot. It is the tail wagging the dog and the pre-determined plot arcs 'happening to' the characters rather than them being people living in a fictional world. The MC literally like...1 chapter before was praised for his ability to restrain himself against a bully at his old school after he gains CAD powers. Then like 5 minutes later he's ready to tear off the head of some stranger who was mildly rude to him in a way which has happened to him thousands of times in his life? What???? That's just about when I gave up on this book and stopped reading it.
This is like the movie airplane where it is a jet plane and you hear propellers in the background the entire time and every little detail is wrong or doesn't make sense. It must have taken a real effort to so consistently have nothing makes sense. This broken clock of a story fails to be right even twice a day or on accident.
Overall...this is a middling book and I don't really hate it, there are lots of so-so and not well thought out stories out there, even some with sizeable audiences. But for this book to get thousands of reviews, mass popularity, etc. That's what made me feel betrayed by it. I was expecting it to be a GREAT book in the genre from the nearly 5 star reviews across Amazon and here on Good Reads.
I wanted to read something as good as 'The Two Week Curse' by Michael Chatfield in his Ten Realms storyline, but this is like a toddler next to an adult. If you're going to get hugely popular and have thousands of 5 star reviews..ugh....but these are not useful reviews...these seem to be the reflexive 5 star reviews like people give to Uber drivers unless they absolutely hated the story...5 stars is like...'average' to them or something. Which subverts the purpose of ratings to help me steer clear of muddied nonsense like the Iron Prince.
If you just want to pass the time and fill your head with nonsense and not think about it like some scifi b-movie then sure...go for it. But if you want plot, story, world building, etc. that make sense or have grand narratives...then this isn't it.
I'd give the book a solid 3 stars maybe even 3.5 stars if I were feeling objective about it, but I detract 1 star because of all the other overly positive reviews and for wasting my time. If the book had the real 3 stars it deserves...I would have skipped it and not wasted my time.
This story makes no sense, lacks progression, and every character seems to have a sub 90 IQ with no consistency with the most 'nothing' events startling the MQ to drop from a 110 IQ down to an 80 IQ to just stand around staring. The core traits of the character make no sense when on his first day at Galens he bumps into some guy (after a lifetime of bullying and pain from his short height and diseased body) and he....yaps at the guy like a little dog?
Is this some low quality Shonen anime where 75% of screen time is stupid characters screaming about nothing for not reason? Just stupid yapping people losing their shit like on Reality TV shows with everyone yelling, no one thinking, and nothing matters? But in book form?
The writing is oddly good for the genre with few spelling or grammar issues, but I don't think I need 2.5 page on his jaw dropping and 20 descriptions in a row about how he can't believe the thing that happened is happening in front of him. The first third of the book is like a 350 page version of Harry Potter getting his acceptance letter and Hagrid telling him 'you're a wizard Harry'. Ok, we get it, he's surprised....but he's also supposed to be the most intelligent character around and aces all his school exams. He's super quick witted in one moment and a bumbling idiot or aggressive shonen clown yapping away the next....there is no character...there is only an instant expression of whatever to fit into some plot idea like 'school bully' or 'uncaring adults'.
What a joke to compare this to Ender's Game where there were very plot relevant good reasons for why the MC and all the children were all abused.
This is a 'progressoin' story and came up for me as a top result in a LitRPG search...it has only like 7 stats to understand in the entire universe of advanced technology....and NONE of the characters seem to understand what any of the stats mean. It is mind boggling that the top people at the top school who have never ever seen an S rank anything before any any candidate....they can't see any value in the kid. They just read the headline summary stat and that's it. This is the BEST school on that planet? Whaaaaaat? Why does this happen? To create artificaial tension and a bunch of head nodding so you can go 'oooohhh, isn't that so clever' someone made an argument based on facts about the stats in a progression series where everyone cares about these stats above all else!? WHAT?
It is almost like a translation from Spanish novel where they have a style of loving to spiral words of prose around repeating themselves over and over and over again in ever more florid language to showcase their skill as an author and 'me, me me,' and fuck the audience kind of style....except the language doesn't spiral to aggrandise the author, it instead loops around and gives hideous amounts of detail about mundane nonsense while ignoring the key mechanisms and technology in the story. What's up with the CAD, how do the stats work vs your body? Who cares! I'm going to do a campus tour for 20 pages pointing out where each building is located with loads of detail which is not plot relevant and never ever comes up again.
Why is he a janitor at his first school to earn a wage when the robots do the cleaning? B/c they can't scrub the blood and sweat off the floor mats? Why can't they do this? No idea! B/c the MC needs a context for a menial job in the year 2400 something....even though the technology obviates the need for such crap. Seriously, not a single F'ing detail makes any sense if you think about it for even 5 seconds. There is an AI which 'governs' the world, but people do whatever they want and it never talks to anyone except through secret plots....why? To create artificial plot devices and storyboards through which the characters can advance...not b/c that's what a powerful AI in control of everything would do.
Hmmm I want to run an experiment, I'm a super powerful AI in charge of everything....how about the most convoluted backwards nonsense imaginable?! Where present choices only slightly make sense in the context of future events unfolding in a certain way. It is all tell don't show and writing backwards so blatantly that you can predict everything that'll happen even though it doesn't make sense for anyone to do any of the things they are doing in that moment.
Fight fight fight...why? Does this have anything to do with his character so far or how he's behaved in any scenario? Nope....but it does help to set up the next part of the plot. It is the tail wagging the dog and the pre-determined plot arcs 'happening to' the characters rather than them being people living in a fictional world. The MC literally like...1 chapter before was praised for his ability to restrain himself against a bully at his old school after he gains CAD powers. Then like 5 minutes later he's ready to tear off the head of some stranger who was mildly rude to him in a way which has happened to him thousands of times in his life? What???? That's just about when I gave up on this book and stopped reading it.
This is like the movie airplane where it is a jet plane and you hear propellers in the background the entire time and every little detail is wrong or doesn't make sense. It must have taken a real effort to so consistently have nothing makes sense. This broken clock of a story fails to be right even twice a day or on accident.
Overall...this is a middling book and I don't really hate it, there are lots of so-so and not well thought out stories out there, even some with sizeable audiences. But for this book to get thousands of reviews, mass popularity, etc. That's what made me feel betrayed by it. I was expecting it to be a GREAT book in the genre from the nearly 5 star reviews across Amazon and here on Good Reads.
I wanted to read something as good as 'The Two Week Curse' by Michael Chatfield in his Ten Realms storyline, but this is like a toddler next to an adult. If you're going to get hugely popular and have thousands of 5 star reviews..ugh....but these are not useful reviews...these seem to be the reflexive 5 star reviews like people give to Uber drivers unless they absolutely hated the story...5 stars is like...'average' to them or something. Which subverts the purpose of ratings to help me steer clear of muddied nonsense like the Iron Prince.
If you just want to pass the time and fill your head with nonsense and not think about it like some scifi b-movie then sure...go for it. But if you want plot, story, world building, etc. that make sense or have grand narratives...then this isn't it.
I'd give the book a solid 3 stars maybe even 3.5 stars if I were feeling objective about it, but I detract 1 star because of all the other overly positive reviews and for wasting my time. If the book had the real 3 stars it deserves...I would have skipped it and not wasted my time.
March 27, 2025
An underdog Lit RPG that felt like Red Rising meets training school.
DO THIS BY AUDIOBOOK - there is a lot of dialogue and high tech fighting and fast-paced action scenes. This makes this a snappy popcorn book despite its mammoth length. However, I don’t think I would have had the same experience reading it physically.
It did not have to be that long. This is 34 hours, 1,100+ pages. It got repetitive and after the first 40% I found myself zoning out more and more.
The characters aren’t fleshed out despite this length. Instead, we get a lot of hype and excitement every time a new level is unlocked or a new fight starts.
Admittedly, the romance was obvious and cringy but it definitely was not a focus or even really a minor story arc.
However…. This was addicting. The narrator was phenomenal with all the characters giving them the personality the actual writing lacked. Plus, there were numerous humorous moments.
That last 15% though? I was locked in.
Bookstagram
DO THIS BY AUDIOBOOK - there is a lot of dialogue and high tech fighting and fast-paced action scenes. This makes this a snappy popcorn book despite its mammoth length. However, I don’t think I would have had the same experience reading it physically.
It did not have to be that long. This is 34 hours, 1,100+ pages. It got repetitive and after the first 40% I found myself zoning out more and more.
The characters aren’t fleshed out despite this length. Instead, we get a lot of hype and excitement every time a new level is unlocked or a new fight starts.
Admittedly, the romance was obvious and cringy but it definitely was not a focus or even really a minor story arc.
However…. This was addicting. The narrator was phenomenal with all the characters giving them the personality the actual writing lacked. Plus, there were numerous humorous moments.
That last 15% though? I was locked in.
Bookstagram
October 20, 2020
Picked this from reddit post from the authors. Premise looked interesting....and I wasn't disappointed at all! If you are looking for a fun Progression book in a new and enjoyable sci-fi setting, this should be a sure thing! I'd give this a solid 7.5/10. Can't wait for next book!
Plot/Setting
(+) A Progression fantasy book with Mechas/Mobile Suits and cool powers? Lots of training, progression plus arena matches? Like a dream come true for me. The characters are granted "devices" by an AI and these can manifest at their call as armour and weapons based on their abilities. From hammer wielding, brawlers to sword wielding sabers, there is a good mix to traits. Plus the suits can manifest some super cool advanced abilities too.
(+) Well written progression without loading reader up with skill trees and stat sheets. But enough to see the progression. Good balance.
(-) A well written story...but still a standard plot despite a super cool setting. Also no efforts were made in developing a macro plot. The books is a good starting point, but would have liked to have some macro plot that ties in with subsequent books. Would have added more gravitas to the setting.
Prose/Writing
(+) The book is very well written. The prose flows smoothly without overt purple and dialogues are realistic and don't sound amateurish or cheesy. It flows at a good pace and doesn't sag or lets you drop your attention anywhere. The descriptions are crisp, action sequences are exciting and overall super.
(-) Quite a brick of a book at 1000+ pages. Though I enjoyed reading it all, in hindsight it could have been 10-15% shorter to just make it more taut. Not complaining though!
Characters
(+) Well defined characters each with distinct personality. There are no iffy psyche switches or stupid decisions made just to make the story flow. You can really get behind the good ones and hate the baddies.
(-) Follows standard tropes. Wouldn't call any of the them uniquely interesting.
Plot/Setting
(+) A Progression fantasy book with Mechas/Mobile Suits and cool powers? Lots of training, progression plus arena matches? Like a dream come true for me. The characters are granted "devices" by an AI and these can manifest at their call as armour and weapons based on their abilities. From hammer wielding, brawlers to sword wielding sabers, there is a good mix to traits. Plus the suits can manifest some super cool advanced abilities too.
(+) Well written progression without loading reader up with skill trees and stat sheets. But enough to see the progression. Good balance.
(-) A well written story...but still a standard plot despite a super cool setting. Also no efforts were made in developing a macro plot. The books is a good starting point, but would have liked to have some macro plot that ties in with subsequent books. Would have added more gravitas to the setting.
Prose/Writing
(+) The book is very well written. The prose flows smoothly without overt purple and dialogues are realistic and don't sound amateurish or cheesy. It flows at a good pace and doesn't sag or lets you drop your attention anywhere. The descriptions are crisp, action sequences are exciting and overall super.
(-) Quite a brick of a book at 1000+ pages. Though I enjoyed reading it all, in hindsight it could have been 10-15% shorter to just make it more taut. Not complaining though!
Characters
(+) Well defined characters each with distinct personality. There are no iffy psyche switches or stupid decisions made just to make the story flow. You can really get behind the good ones and hate the baddies.
(-) Follows standard tropes. Wouldn't call any of the them uniquely interesting.
November 3, 2025
Incredible premise. Execution is not perfect. However, it is SO MUCH FUN.
So the premise is incredible, the execution leaves a bit to be desired. It’s clear that the author has decided to make this a YA book however, if there’s a battle school and an intergalactic war then there’s no reason the ‘warriors/soldiers’ should be saying ‘owe’ or ‘ouch’ it totally takes away from the story. However, I do need to admit that I devoured this story so quickly that it’s taken me this long for a formal review. It’s soo fun but I do think that there needs to be more edge (perhaps it’s because I lean towards heavier/grimdark’ but if they’re being trained for war and say ‘ouch’ I’m not as invested
So the premise is incredible, the execution leaves a bit to be desired. It’s clear that the author has decided to make this a YA book however, if there’s a battle school and an intergalactic war then there’s no reason the ‘warriors/soldiers’ should be saying ‘owe’ or ‘ouch’ it totally takes away from the story. However, I do need to admit that I devoured this story so quickly that it’s taken me this long for a formal review. It’s soo fun but I do think that there needs to be more edge (perhaps it’s because I lean towards heavier/grimdark’ but if they’re being trained for war and say ‘ouch’ I’m not as invested
February 7, 2021
This book was the recommended book of an author I enjoyed, so I definitely had high hopes. I was drawn in by the cover art and even the cool title. I glimpsed the synopsis so as to not spoil the plot and dove in. What I first noticed was how large the book was, so you can guess I felt like I was going to go down a rabbit hole of adventure. To make a long story short, I was disappointed.
The setting was forgettable. The people outside of the academy non existent, we don't know how they live, if they are rich/poor, we can only assume as no interaction with outsiders ever occur. I would have loved more background information on the big families in the Astra network. I mean we get that the Laurent's are strong and powerful and all but who else? Give us more comparisons and background when compared to The Earth which apparently is more difficult and held to higher standards than the Galen institute. We only ever stay at the academy for the majority of the book and this quickly got boring. Yes I know they are there to train and become stronger but a little extracurricular activities wouldn't hurt.
Biggest flaw? Had to be the glacial rate the story progressed. Like I said at the beginning, I was expecting trial after trial, development upon development, not some linear plotline. Linear stories are boring. Rei weak, Rei stronger, Rei still weak, Rei stronger, on and on until he finally catches up to the class and eventually Logan. There was no huge amount of tension, Rei himself said that right now he was getting beat because he was just beginning to ascend and it but all in due time he will be better than everyone, cause you know s ranked growth and all.
Relationships/characters
VIV
I never did like the Viv and Rei friendship. Why would Viv associate with Rei when she could have been off training with stronger fighters and frollicking with other boys or girls as the author so often mentions? Usually any teen would spend their time with their love interests. For the amount of times that Rei hyped up Viv's appetite for women, she is never seen or spoken of as being busy having relations elsewhere. Also why is it that Rei tries to steer her towards females before Viv has to remind him that she likes men too? Is it jealousy? Does he potentially know that if he were larger and broader Viv would fancy him as a man, not like the kid brother she treats him as? Then, the author went and made Viv and Logan potential love interests??? Why would I want my main characters best friend, whom we all know is merely stuck in the friend zone because of his physical stature and build(viv even said he was cute and could be handsome if he grew a bit) to have a relationship with the quote on quote enemy? That's just shitty, borderline cuckhold. How are you gonna try and kill me and get my best friends panties wet while making up for a mistake your possie made? It's something no male lead should ever be in a position where that happens, that's why female friends are such a bad idea. Let him grow to at least be 6ft tall and let's see how Viv reacts to him. But then you make Rei's love interest Aria?? Why even have Viv in the first place? As a female so cl0se to the mc it should be common sense that as the mc grows in strength so does she start viewing him more as a man than a brother. Her whole character as a female is useless then? Why not replace her with a male? Males are meant to be friends with males, as males don't want to fuck their friends, you also don't have to worry about your male friend going to bend over for your enemy.
Catcher
I liked catcher. He was cool. Did his role as a friends, sociable, personable, cheerful and similar to mc. He was all we could ask for in a friend for the mc. Even after the loss to Rei he took it really well. Another issue, if the author keeps bringing up relationships and preferences, why did he not once mention Catcher being turned on or in awe of Viv. Recall that Viv is described as gorgeous and the object of desire of both men and woman. Similarly so is Aria. So that begs the question... Why is Catcher whom we can only assume is a straight man never interested in being sexually involved with either of the two females. We get that Rei is short and below Viv's standards, but Catcher is described as a tall handsome blond. How can a straight man be hugged by the gorgeous Viv and never once blush or get nervous? It's like you forgot all about inter sexual dynamics, we have no idea as to what the norms are when it comes to propriety/promiscuity, Like Hello?? Is Viv supposed to be promiscuous? When she says that she has had women before does that mean sex or kissing? Also I would have loved an inner monologue of Catcher as he releases his emotions, we barely get to see how he feels as Rei blitzes him because of his growth. We are all humans and Catcher, as great as a friend he also possess human nature which would make him prone to envy and jealousy, curiously we see none of that throughout the whole book.
Aria
strong, beautiful, and shy girl. The perfect recipe for a love interest. She can handle herself enough to ward off any males on her own, is beautiful ofc so our mc is attracted and is shy which makes her personality come off as cute. I would have preferred Aria to be the sole attractive female in the group, or at least make Viv average looking because as is even Aria is curious as to why if a man and women spend so much time with each other they haven't developed feeling for each other. It makes no sense. Nonetheless she is wholesome.
Logan
They say the only way to measure a hero is to look at the enemies he had. Logan I never understood, dude seemed to just hate people who were cowardly in any sense, those who showed their back he hated. He hated those that made him seem weak or in need of anyone's help, I'm guessing that's why he beat up his own pack. But, his motivations to become strong? We don't learn of them. We don't know why he works the way he does, how he was brought up that made him think the way he does now. Viviana begins to speak on it with Aria but they get nowhere as Viv never finishes her explanation. We know Rei wants to get strong because he has been weak all his life and as confirmed by Lennon his ambitions allows him to work harder than most anybody. Does Logan have any ambitions to be the best? The only line I recall is him saying he got an ordinary class compared to his family. Is it the fear of upsetting his family that makes him strive to be better? Still does not explain his rage. Did his father beat him when he ran away from his father as a youth?
Power system
At first I thought to myself, hey I guess the MIND does have absolute control over the CAD's as MIND clearly states that the boy was a guinea pig cause she wanted to see what development from nothing would achieve. Which begs the question... If MIND can simply decide to give the boy a s class rank, then there is no randomness to the CADs. Why would she refuse to give people more s rank stats, or is only the growth stat of the CAD what she can control? We never really learn if the CADs are sentient or not, it seems like they simply function as devices reliant on growth spec to determine how the user develops. Not gonna lie I was sort of excited when the Big AI reveal came at the start as I imagined that through Shido, the MIND would be able to dialogue with the boy as he grew, communicating ways he could improve, after all it is always watching. But no, her special interest is reduced to a voyeur watching the scene develop when this AI who has seen countless wars and battles and basically has the knowledge of the best fighting styles just sits back and watches the populous struggle when it can do so much more.
Rei glances over the fact that most Cad users have the best bodies likely in the world. Which begs the question how that would work. There are hulking figures like Logan who are said to be huge and strong, I'm guessing with great muscles to boot. But, it's not like everybody looks the same, if they did than the physical transformations would be the same for everybody. At C1 everyone should have 16-20 inch pythons. But, as we see there are still "lithe" figures like the S class Dent, so if CADs are based on science and archon tech, how does it work? Is it simply genetics that make the muscle denser and able to handle the loads of forces, or is there a magical system/powerful energy at play here? We never really get details on that.
Wrap Up
That's the problem with this book. Too many unanswered questions in such a beefy book. At times I found myself glancing over the scenes that did not directly involve the main group, such as Dent's exhibitions with the sub instructors. Also all the first year or second or third year fights that did not involve the group besides the Lennon fight. Those were just a bore to read.
All in all 3/5. I want to like it so bad, I want to see more of Rei's adventure but man does this need some fine tuning. I hate the Viv love interest because It makes the whole story gross to me. I hate how there is no immediate challenge to him as of yet, like simply a better fighter who has trained his body for longer. Or a situation in which his lack of height actually shows. In all his fights never once did a "reach disadvantage" play a factor in bouts besides Lennon. You would think some people would have tried to kidnap him to utilize him as a weapon of mass destruction, but no. After hyping up and teasing the ones who go rogue, they do nothing with this plot line! Nothing! You would think there would be more hands visiting personally and offering him schooling elsewhere like Earth...but no. You would think as Rei got stronger and a little taller he would catch the eyes of more girls...but no. You would think Rei might have growth spurts like any normal human but instead grows a modest quarter inch a month. Which definitely gave me false hopes that by the end of the near 1k page book he would at least be my height of 6'2. But no, he remains a manlet. You would think by age 18 and by how immodest Viv is said to be, Rei would be more eager to experiment with Aria...But no, he only manages to ask her out on a date after 1k pages, no hand holding or forehead press or kissing or embracing, are you serious?? These are adults not middle schoolers. You would think Logan Grant had an issue with Rei's hair/traits, maybe a feud between families...But we don't even really know, after 1k pages we still don't know why the bully was mad. You got to be kidding me. You would think Dent would give Rei some advice as to how Atypicals develop...But no, he has to learn it from Lennon? Did she forget to impart information? Almost forgot... You would think that character development would occur... But no, Rei barely changes at all, nobody changes they all stay the same. The only character who changed slightly would be Logan by addressing Rei as an equal after their final bout and acknowledging him. That's it. The rest had good personalities from the get go.
P.S, more of a rant than a review to be honest.
The setting was forgettable. The people outside of the academy non existent, we don't know how they live, if they are rich/poor, we can only assume as no interaction with outsiders ever occur. I would have loved more background information on the big families in the Astra network. I mean we get that the Laurent's are strong and powerful and all but who else? Give us more comparisons and background when compared to The Earth which apparently is more difficult and held to higher standards than the Galen institute. We only ever stay at the academy for the majority of the book and this quickly got boring. Yes I know they are there to train and become stronger but a little extracurricular activities wouldn't hurt.
Biggest flaw? Had to be the glacial rate the story progressed. Like I said at the beginning, I was expecting trial after trial, development upon development, not some linear plotline. Linear stories are boring. Rei weak, Rei stronger, Rei still weak, Rei stronger, on and on until he finally catches up to the class and eventually Logan. There was no huge amount of tension, Rei himself said that right now he was getting beat because he was just beginning to ascend and it but all in due time he will be better than everyone, cause you know s ranked growth and all.
Relationships/characters
VIV
I never did like the Viv and Rei friendship. Why would Viv associate with Rei when she could have been off training with stronger fighters and frollicking with other boys or girls as the author so often mentions? Usually any teen would spend their time with their love interests. For the amount of times that Rei hyped up Viv's appetite for women, she is never seen or spoken of as being busy having relations elsewhere. Also why is it that Rei tries to steer her towards females before Viv has to remind him that she likes men too? Is it jealousy? Does he potentially know that if he were larger and broader Viv would fancy him as a man, not like the kid brother she treats him as? Then, the author went and made Viv and Logan potential love interests??? Why would I want my main characters best friend, whom we all know is merely stuck in the friend zone because of his physical stature and build(viv even said he was cute and could be handsome if he grew a bit) to have a relationship with the quote on quote enemy? That's just shitty, borderline cuckhold. How are you gonna try and kill me and get my best friends panties wet while making up for a mistake your possie made? It's something no male lead should ever be in a position where that happens, that's why female friends are such a bad idea. Let him grow to at least be 6ft tall and let's see how Viv reacts to him. But then you make Rei's love interest Aria?? Why even have Viv in the first place? As a female so cl0se to the mc it should be common sense that as the mc grows in strength so does she start viewing him more as a man than a brother. Her whole character as a female is useless then? Why not replace her with a male? Males are meant to be friends with males, as males don't want to fuck their friends, you also don't have to worry about your male friend going to bend over for your enemy.
Catcher
I liked catcher. He was cool. Did his role as a friends, sociable, personable, cheerful and similar to mc. He was all we could ask for in a friend for the mc. Even after the loss to Rei he took it really well. Another issue, if the author keeps bringing up relationships and preferences, why did he not once mention Catcher being turned on or in awe of Viv. Recall that Viv is described as gorgeous and the object of desire of both men and woman. Similarly so is Aria. So that begs the question... Why is Catcher whom we can only assume is a straight man never interested in being sexually involved with either of the two females. We get that Rei is short and below Viv's standards, but Catcher is described as a tall handsome blond. How can a straight man be hugged by the gorgeous Viv and never once blush or get nervous? It's like you forgot all about inter sexual dynamics, we have no idea as to what the norms are when it comes to propriety/promiscuity, Like Hello?? Is Viv supposed to be promiscuous? When she says that she has had women before does that mean sex or kissing? Also I would have loved an inner monologue of Catcher as he releases his emotions, we barely get to see how he feels as Rei blitzes him because of his growth. We are all humans and Catcher, as great as a friend he also possess human nature which would make him prone to envy and jealousy, curiously we see none of that throughout the whole book.
Aria
strong, beautiful, and shy girl. The perfect recipe for a love interest. She can handle herself enough to ward off any males on her own, is beautiful ofc so our mc is attracted and is shy which makes her personality come off as cute. I would have preferred Aria to be the sole attractive female in the group, or at least make Viv average looking because as is even Aria is curious as to why if a man and women spend so much time with each other they haven't developed feeling for each other. It makes no sense. Nonetheless she is wholesome.
Logan
They say the only way to measure a hero is to look at the enemies he had. Logan I never understood, dude seemed to just hate people who were cowardly in any sense, those who showed their back he hated. He hated those that made him seem weak or in need of anyone's help, I'm guessing that's why he beat up his own pack. But, his motivations to become strong? We don't learn of them. We don't know why he works the way he does, how he was brought up that made him think the way he does now. Viviana begins to speak on it with Aria but they get nowhere as Viv never finishes her explanation. We know Rei wants to get strong because he has been weak all his life and as confirmed by Lennon his ambitions allows him to work harder than most anybody. Does Logan have any ambitions to be the best? The only line I recall is him saying he got an ordinary class compared to his family. Is it the fear of upsetting his family that makes him strive to be better? Still does not explain his rage. Did his father beat him when he ran away from his father as a youth?
Power system
At first I thought to myself, hey I guess the MIND does have absolute control over the CAD's as MIND clearly states that the boy was a guinea pig cause she wanted to see what development from nothing would achieve. Which begs the question... If MIND can simply decide to give the boy a s class rank, then there is no randomness to the CADs. Why would she refuse to give people more s rank stats, or is only the growth stat of the CAD what she can control? We never really learn if the CADs are sentient or not, it seems like they simply function as devices reliant on growth spec to determine how the user develops. Not gonna lie I was sort of excited when the Big AI reveal came at the start as I imagined that through Shido, the MIND would be able to dialogue with the boy as he grew, communicating ways he could improve, after all it is always watching. But no, her special interest is reduced to a voyeur watching the scene develop when this AI who has seen countless wars and battles and basically has the knowledge of the best fighting styles just sits back and watches the populous struggle when it can do so much more.
Rei glances over the fact that most Cad users have the best bodies likely in the world. Which begs the question how that would work. There are hulking figures like Logan who are said to be huge and strong, I'm guessing with great muscles to boot. But, it's not like everybody looks the same, if they did than the physical transformations would be the same for everybody. At C1 everyone should have 16-20 inch pythons. But, as we see there are still "lithe" figures like the S class Dent, so if CADs are based on science and archon tech, how does it work? Is it simply genetics that make the muscle denser and able to handle the loads of forces, or is there a magical system/powerful energy at play here? We never really get details on that.
Wrap Up
That's the problem with this book. Too many unanswered questions in such a beefy book. At times I found myself glancing over the scenes that did not directly involve the main group, such as Dent's exhibitions with the sub instructors. Also all the first year or second or third year fights that did not involve the group besides the Lennon fight. Those were just a bore to read.
All in all 3/5. I want to like it so bad, I want to see more of Rei's adventure but man does this need some fine tuning. I hate the Viv love interest because It makes the whole story gross to me. I hate how there is no immediate challenge to him as of yet, like simply a better fighter who has trained his body for longer. Or a situation in which his lack of height actually shows. In all his fights never once did a "reach disadvantage" play a factor in bouts besides Lennon. You would think some people would have tried to kidnap him to utilize him as a weapon of mass destruction, but no. After hyping up and teasing the ones who go rogue, they do nothing with this plot line! Nothing! You would think there would be more hands visiting personally and offering him schooling elsewhere like Earth...but no. You would think as Rei got stronger and a little taller he would catch the eyes of more girls...but no. You would think Rei might have growth spurts like any normal human but instead grows a modest quarter inch a month. Which definitely gave me false hopes that by the end of the near 1k page book he would at least be my height of 6'2. But no, he remains a manlet. You would think by age 18 and by how immodest Viv is said to be, Rei would be more eager to experiment with Aria...But no, he only manages to ask her out on a date after 1k pages, no hand holding or forehead press or kissing or embracing, are you serious?? These are adults not middle schoolers. You would think Logan Grant had an issue with Rei's hair/traits, maybe a feud between families...But we don't even really know, after 1k pages we still don't know why the bully was mad. You got to be kidding me. You would think Dent would give Rei some advice as to how Atypicals develop...But no, he has to learn it from Lennon? Did she forget to impart information? Almost forgot... You would think that character development would occur... But no, Rei barely changes at all, nobody changes they all stay the same. The only character who changed slightly would be Logan by addressing Rei as an equal after their final bout and acknowledging him. That's it. The rest had good personalities from the get go.
P.S, more of a rant than a review to be honest.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 10, 2023
Re-read: Love this book. Also, the audiobook really brings this to life!
This book is excellent. I found it because the author of Cradle, one of my favorite series, called this Cradle in space. It really is. It's like a sci fi cultivation or lit rpg book. The characters are great, believable, funny, and an all around joy to read. There is a ton of action, well written, and plenty of suspense. Really, this was absolutely fantastic. Give this a try, you owe it to yourself. 5 stars, no doubt.
My only complaint is that the authors repeat themselves a few times, such as an opening to some fights about the rules being repeated something like 4 times. There are a few other times that the pacing felt a bit off. Nothing so bad as to nock down a star, but I did find myself skimming some paragraphs when I realized the book was repeating itself. Hopefully the next installment will trim that out.
This book is excellent. I found it because the author of Cradle, one of my favorite series, called this Cradle in space. It really is. It's like a sci fi cultivation or lit rpg book. The characters are great, believable, funny, and an all around joy to read. There is a ton of action, well written, and plenty of suspense. Really, this was absolutely fantastic. Give this a try, you owe it to yourself. 5 stars, no doubt.
My only complaint is that the authors repeat themselves a few times, such as an opening to some fights about the rules being repeated something like 4 times. There are a few other times that the pacing felt a bit off. Nothing so bad as to nock down a star, but I did find myself skimming some paragraphs when I realized the book was repeating itself. Hopefully the next installment will trim that out.
December 12, 2020
Amateurish vibes from the beginning. The nail on the coffin was when the MC refused to give the names of his assailants to open an investigation because... reasons. He said that it would be because he couldn't prove anything, but any semi-competent investigator would be able to come up with the story after a few hours of interrogation. Honestly, that just felt like a cheap way for the author to set up some conflict that would not develop into anything too serious for the people involved. Except it ended up being an extremely irresponsible decision by the MC to let the people who would resort to this kind of violence keep what is essentially a deadly weapon permit, who knows who they are going to assault next?
February 24, 2024
Excellent!
A fantastic weak to strong story. The synopsis tells you all you really know but everything is just done really well in this book. Action, drama, progression, characters, world building. Everything is done well and a great pace.
My favorite aspect of this book is probably the main characters and their relationship with each other. They all seem real and the friendship is so wonderful, it’s not something I feel I often see in this genre.
Would highly recommend!
A fantastic weak to strong story. The synopsis tells you all you really know but everything is just done really well in this book. Action, drama, progression, characters, world building. Everything is done well and a great pace.
My favorite aspect of this book is probably the main characters and their relationship with each other. They all seem real and the friendship is so wonderful, it’s not something I feel I often see in this genre.
Would highly recommend!
July 15, 2023
4.5 stars—-
A promising start to a series, this is an action packed progression Sci-Fi story (more than fantasy in my opinion) with the 2nd installment being released on Halloween of 2023.
This filled my Cradle itch while I was between books. It’s long and a little slow at times but worth the reader’s patience in the long run. I always like an underdog story.
A promising start to a series, this is an action packed progression Sci-Fi story (more than fantasy in my opinion) with the 2nd installment being released on Halloween of 2023.
This filled my Cradle itch while I was between books. It’s long and a little slow at times but worth the reader’s patience in the long run. I always like an underdog story.
September 6, 2022
An exciting read with a great written fighting scenes. Some things induced some eye-rolling (does really everything have to be about the main character?) I kinda expected something a bit wider in scope, but it did not lessen my enjoyment. Just don't think about things too hard and you'll have a fun and enjoyable read :)
December 21, 2025
De las cinco estrellas más fáciles que he dado en toda mi vida
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