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He Who Fights with Monsters #2
He Who Fights with Monsters 2
The path from retail middle management to interdimensional wizard adventurer wasn’t easy, but Jason Asano is settling into his new life.
Now, a contest draws young elites to the city of Greenstone, competing for a grand prize. Jason must gather a band of companions if he is to stand a chance against the best the world has to offer.
While the young adventurers are caught up in competition, the city leaders deal with revelations of betrayal as a vast and terrible enemy is revealed. Although Jason seems uninvolved, he has unknowingly crossed the enemy’s path before. Friends and foes made along the way will lead him to cross it again as inevitable conflict looms.
Now, a contest draws young elites to the city of Greenstone, competing for a grand prize. Jason must gather a band of companions if he is to stand a chance against the best the world has to offer.
While the young adventurers are caught up in competition, the city leaders deal with revelations of betrayal as a vast and terrible enemy is revealed. Although Jason seems uninvolved, he has unknowingly crossed the enemy’s path before. Friends and foes made along the way will lead him to cross it again as inevitable conflict looms.
564 pages, Paperback
First published May 18, 2021
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2005 people want to read
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July 26, 2023
There's nothing wrong with illusions, justice is an illusion, civilization, morality, they are illusions we all agree to share because they make us better.
Always Bet Tawfek, doesn't matter, Finishing a book while exhausted, Beating deadly odds, or in a race for the presidency of the world, It's true i will use the position to end the world, but trust me, it's for the best!
-Not many gods would tolerate this kind of insolence
-Smite me, then.
Kidding aside, Travis travis travis, Too much Jason my man, just way too much, it seems you forget sometimes that you are writing a novel, and just go on rant after rant after rant of Jason, the first half of this book we were overdosed with Jasoniness, we understand he is the protagonist, he does a pretty good job at his role too, But it's a fantasy adventure book, not Jason ranting book, i was on the verge of abhorring him and giving this book 2 stars if it just went 10% more.
But this was the best ending half of He Who fights With Monsters so far, 50% of absolute excellence, each time it verged on boredom, it picked up very fast, and became really interesting, While i ran away in the first half and finished another smaller litrpg novel, i didn't at all in the last half, even though i had a potential replacement if i needed a break.
I think it's pretty evident now, this is a LITRPG about a team.
I honestly feel like solo LITRPG is more suitable for me, i like it more, or a duo effort at max.
I ll finish it one day but i ll be attracted to what i like more, and keep this as a side project.
Team LITRPG just tends to inflate the story way too much, and this is pretty much what we have on our hands here.
Definitely the best danger aspect in any litrpg though, this novel presents us with social interactions, great characters that can enter complicated conversations about life, great political atmosphere, great pantheon of gods, great progression system, great protagonist, it loses out on the adventuring aspect to defiance of the fall, which has way more fighting and looting and quests getting done and just plainly more interesting story, that's actually progressing in an amazing pace.
But Travis has really got a great chance to turn this around, maybe not for me but other readers, since i prefer a solo LITRPG, rather than a Team LITRPG like this one, His future setting chapters are really the most promising out of any LITRPG i read, promising of a Great Plot at least, because Defiance still wins with it's massive world, in potential stories.
But It's still Absurd potential, all these amazing abilities, 20 per main character, and it seems we have 5 main characters now, and bronze silver gold diamond, 4 ranks, each rank will improve said abilities, and one of the members has an ability that literally will make him immortal in gold rank, come on!!!
Also Jason's Racial abilities are simply broken, what the actual fuck.
Not only are they gonna get a king's ransom in rewards from Emir.
They got a quest because of Jason's ability that will give a racial transfiguration ability, and as we saw in the first book, that was freaking OP.
When someone believes something, they believe it hard, too hard, they'll dismiss good evidence that contradicts their belief and accept spurious evidence that supports it.
It's pretty funny how Travis is handling Thadwick, you can make the kid a deformed monstrosity no one will give a fuck, since he is too much of a spoiled rich wannabe bully brat, But continuing to have him around as a joke and a mockery isn't really helping the story at all, his parents can't even track him to use him as the downfall of the builder cult (Oh and is the builder cult a metaphor for the Masons?)
We only have humans where i come from, instead of looking down on Elves or Leonids or whoever, people isolate and exclude by ethnicity.
In This book we collected on all the annoying Sophie and Belinda scenes in the first book, now they are integral part of the story, or at least Sophie is, And Sophie has really come into her own, proving a formidable new addition to the team, only issue really, is she is too much of a scardy cat after all that's happened to her, but she is not the only one, Neil And Clive are the same.
It's really weird we didn't get a monster surge this book, does that mean it's next book?
Possible Future Spoiler Based on an intro i read!
May 31, 2021
I've seen this recommended often, and seen it lauded as one of the better web serials out there. Having read these two published versions, I can't understand why it has reached any acclaim.
The MC is idiotic and immature. He acts like I would expect a middle schooler seeking attention would. I would not want to be in his company IRL, nor does it seem plausible that he enjoys the amount of companionship that he does. His personality grates on me, and what he says is condescending and heavily biased.
MC spends way too much time making snide comments and random references to Earth culture. For a guy that says he has no plans to really go back to his home world, he certainly spends a lot of time alienating everyone around him by making references to things he knows they won't understand and then refusing to adequately explain them.
All the characters are 2D. They have no real hopes and dreams. As Stanislas Sodonon (another reviewer here) put it, "Once again, everybody and their grandmother bend over backwards to accommodate the MC, before he's even done anything to deserve it. While excusable in a "lost-in-the-game" kind of situation, it just becomes totally cringy in an Isekai because the new world is supposed to be "real", with real people going about their real lives, dealing with real issues that should come before the fancies of a self-involved passerby. Support characters that aid and abet MC entitlement for no reason just pull me right out of any story."
The author doesn't know how to properly craft a story. The book just suddenly cuts off in both the first and second installment. There's no leadup or wind-down. There's little world-building. All the plot progression just kind of happens. Any character development happens purely by drawn-out dialogue. Very little show, appalling use of tell. The story is meandering, and is somehow very boring even in a fantasy world.
If the MC does something cool, the author has to remind the reader of it at least 5 times. We get character POVs constantly with some new group learning about Jason's misadventures, or his friends talking about it, or it getting hashed over and over again through some contrived scenario.
Additionally, all roads lead to MC. Every element of this world ends up needing MC to resolve it. We get so many useless scenes repeating the same thing that just happened.
"It's my Thing!"
Not only was this a questionable claim to begin with, the author decided to make this a running gag and Jason's catch-phrase. It was incredibly trite.
The MC is idiotic and immature. He acts like I would expect a middle schooler seeking attention would. I would not want to be in his company IRL, nor does it seem plausible that he enjoys the amount of companionship that he does. His personality grates on me, and what he says is condescending and heavily biased.
MC spends way too much time making snide comments and random references to Earth culture. For a guy that says he has no plans to really go back to his home world, he certainly spends a lot of time alienating everyone around him by making references to things he knows they won't understand and then refusing to adequately explain them.
All the characters are 2D. They have no real hopes and dreams. As Stanislas Sodonon (another reviewer here) put it, "Once again, everybody and their grandmother bend over backwards to accommodate the MC, before he's even done anything to deserve it. While excusable in a "lost-in-the-game" kind of situation, it just becomes totally cringy in an Isekai because the new world is supposed to be "real", with real people going about their real lives, dealing with real issues that should come before the fancies of a self-involved passerby. Support characters that aid and abet MC entitlement for no reason just pull me right out of any story."
The author doesn't know how to properly craft a story. The book just suddenly cuts off in both the first and second installment. There's no leadup or wind-down. There's little world-building. All the plot progression just kind of happens. Any character development happens purely by drawn-out dialogue. Very little show, appalling use of tell. The story is meandering, and is somehow very boring even in a fantasy world.
If the MC does something cool, the author has to remind the reader of it at least 5 times. We get character POVs constantly with some new group learning about Jason's misadventures, or his friends talking about it, or it getting hashed over and over again through some contrived scenario.
Additionally, all roads lead to MC. Every element of this world ends up needing MC to resolve it. We get so many useless scenes repeating the same thing that just happened.
"It's my Thing!"
Not only was this a questionable claim to begin with, the author decided to make this a running gag and Jason's catch-phrase. It was incredibly trite.
April 20, 2022
Rating 4.5 stars
I am really enjoying the series. The MC Jason is over the top and is hilarious. He uses his position as being an outworlder and different as a weapon. There is a method to the madness though. He is a much more complex character. I get the vibe he is like Robin Williams, always on, always trying to make other people laugh. This hides how alone and isolated he really feels though. Not that there is much he can do about it being trapped on a different world. He just needs to fake it until he makes it. I can't wait for the next book.
I am really enjoying the series. The MC Jason is over the top and is hilarious. He uses his position as being an outworlder and different as a weapon. There is a method to the madness though. He is a much more complex character. I get the vibe he is like Robin Williams, always on, always trying to make other people laugh. This hides how alone and isolated he really feels though. Not that there is much he can do about it being trapped on a different world. He just needs to fake it until he makes it. I can't wait for the next book.
July 8, 2024
I'm struggling with this as "book", because it's not a book. It's a chunk of a long-form online serial publication. But it's presented and sold as a book, and my brain is forced to treat it as such. As a book, it doesn't have a beginning and an end; it merely starts and then stops at random points in the ongoing story. I suppose some thought went into the division of volumes, but from a limited selection of chapters that happened to fall in the range of what the author conceived of as the appropriate length for each book-form volume.
I'm really enjoying the series, taken as a whole. I enjoy the characters, the plotlines, the story world, all of it. For all that, I struggled with the first half of this volume. From the 25% to 30% marks I felt I could happily consume all the existing volumes, but before and after that I didn't know if I'd even be able to finish this particular book. Each chapter is doing something—advancing one of the multiple interweaving plots, providing some incremental character or relationship development, adding some mostly good humour—but between major event sequences it gets tiresome. There were way too many talking head chapters: after a brief setup, it's just straight dialogue, which becomes boring and a strike against pacing, despite that it's generally good dialogue.
From 50% to 85% or so, it was fantastic. That's the meat of this volume: the challenge/quest granted by Emir to all Iron-rank adventurers into a perilous astral space to retrieve a legendary item, with phenomenal rewards at stake, not to mention genuine danger aplenty. If the book were shrunk to more tightly encapsulate this sequence, I wouldn't have anything negative to say. It's the prolonged segments before and after that, despite their potential value to the series in the long view, damaged this "book".
Will I keep reading? You betcha. Am I in a hurry to do so? Not any more. If I keep getting a free Kindle Unlimited trial offer every year, I'll hit at least one series entry each time. I don't think I can commit to more than that based on this recent experience.
Do I recommend it? Not unless you're already a litRPG fan or want to try a good example of the subgenre. It doesn't fit well if you're a more general fantasy reader. I got into it mostly out of curiosity (with the help of a free KU trial; best of both worlds, free for me but the author's still get their page read payouts) but I can only take it in small doses. I looked at some others I have downloaded to try, but the inflated page counts depress me and I don't think I can take any more right now. Bring on more Dungeon Crawler Carl soon though, I'll be there for that after a brief recovery period.
Would I rate the series higher that I rated this book were I reading it in serial format on Royal Road? Definitely. If I were treating it as an ongoing serial and not a distinct chunk, I would better enjoy the parts that dragged for me here.
I'm really enjoying the series, taken as a whole. I enjoy the characters, the plotlines, the story world, all of it. For all that, I struggled with the first half of this volume. From the 25% to 30% marks I felt I could happily consume all the existing volumes, but before and after that I didn't know if I'd even be able to finish this particular book. Each chapter is doing something—advancing one of the multiple interweaving plots, providing some incremental character or relationship development, adding some mostly good humour—but between major event sequences it gets tiresome. There were way too many talking head chapters: after a brief setup, it's just straight dialogue, which becomes boring and a strike against pacing, despite that it's generally good dialogue.
From 50% to 85% or so, it was fantastic. That's the meat of this volume: the challenge/quest granted by Emir to all Iron-rank adventurers into a perilous astral space to retrieve a legendary item, with phenomenal rewards at stake, not to mention genuine danger aplenty. If the book were shrunk to more tightly encapsulate this sequence, I wouldn't have anything negative to say. It's the prolonged segments before and after that, despite their potential value to the series in the long view, damaged this "book".
Will I keep reading? You betcha. Am I in a hurry to do so? Not any more. If I keep getting a free Kindle Unlimited trial offer every year, I'll hit at least one series entry each time. I don't think I can commit to more than that based on this recent experience.
Do I recommend it? Not unless you're already a litRPG fan or want to try a good example of the subgenre. It doesn't fit well if you're a more general fantasy reader. I got into it mostly out of curiosity (with the help of a free KU trial; best of both worlds, free for me but the author's still get their page read payouts) but I can only take it in small doses. I looked at some others I have downloaded to try, but the inflated page counts depress me and I don't think I can take any more right now. Bring on more Dungeon Crawler Carl soon though, I'll be there for that after a brief recovery period.
Would I rate the series higher that I rated this book were I reading it in serial format on Royal Road? Definitely. If I were treating it as an ongoing serial and not a distinct chunk, I would better enjoy the parts that dragged for me here.
June 23, 2021
*******I'd give it a 2.5/5, but since that is not an option, I am forced to give it a 2/5.*******(Atleast it's not as bad as the rest)
The only saving grace about this book is that it's not as bad as the other LitRPG works on Kindle.
To kick things off, let's start with:
Humour. Great job with that by the author, both in this book and the prequel. I laughed out loud so many times that it actually surprised me. Not a smile, nor a snort, but full blown laughter. The author has a certain flair for comedy which they have employed well.
Then the Banter. This one is more complicated because it's good most of the time but also bad at some points. The MC - Jason's tendency to wax on philosophical was mostly awkward rather than profound.
The magic system was also fairly innovative and original........and that's about it.
The rest is all unimpressive or outright bad.
The biggest writing flaw I noticed in this book is the jumbled perspective. It's like the author couldn't decide which perspective to tell the story from. This reads more like the script for a movie or a play than an actual novel.
Then there are the fight sequences that feel more like reading through a summary than an actual fight. There's just too much talking about the fight and too little of the fight itself. It's like watching the news report of a game as opposed to watching the live coverage.
When such a problem arises, people like to throw around the overused advice---'show, don't tell'---quite often. But I remember reading something that better suits the case at hand, and it goes something like this--- 'show when you need to show, and tell when you need to tell' . Nobody wants to read an extended synopsis. But at the same time, nobody wants to read page after page of unengaging prose either.
The key lies in finding the right balance, which the author has failed to do. I mostly skipped through the large scale fights at the end of both books. The one in the astral space where Farrah dies and the attack on the island in this book. They were just so boring!
If the author ever reads this review, I'd like to recommend the 'Cradle' series by Will Wight or 'Mistborn' by Brandon Sanderson, so they could see how action sequences are done right.
The characters are paper-thin--except for Jason, maybe--and feel more or less the same. The introspection or contemplation required to give them the necessary depth was completely absent. Dialogue alone can only do so much. Show us their thoughts, show us how they feel when no one is looking!................*Sigh*. This is another reason why the way the author tells this story is bad. Because it feels too disconnected for me to really care about any of the characters. Too impersonal.
The way Cassandra was handled made it obvious that the author was just looking for an excuse to take her out of the picture, so Jason and Sophie could be pushed together. Poorly done, that one.
And the 'Farrah-card' was so overplayed that it felt cheap, instead of impactful! Jason keeps talking about how she taught him this, taught him that, taught him how to be a better human being and whatnot. Well, that's all great, but we never got to see any of that actually happen. She just teaches him how to use his aura power and then fades into the background, then comes back in the last few chapters of the first book only to die almost immediately.
Alluding to it after the fact makes Jason look like the dude's just talking out of his ass, like one of those idiots that show up at funerals and pretend like they used to be best buds with the poor dead guy just because he can't get up and tell people otherwise!.....Sheesh!.
It got so bad as the story wore on that it became downright obnoxious whenever she was brought up in the later parts. The author simply hadn't established her well enough, before they killed her off, for me to feel for her death. Nevermind those grieving for her.
I could go on and on about all the little flaws that could be fixed but this is already getting longer than I intended it to be.
I'm not sure whether to blame all these pitfalls on the author's inexperience or if this is the extent of the author's capability as a writer, but let's hope it's the former. That way there's room to grow.
The only saving grace about this book is that it's not as bad as the other LitRPG works on Kindle.
To kick things off, let's start with:
Humour. Great job with that by the author, both in this book and the prequel. I laughed out loud so many times that it actually surprised me. Not a smile, nor a snort, but full blown laughter. The author has a certain flair for comedy which they have employed well.
“Maybe I’m secretly a great astral being,” Jason said. “I could have knocked up a crappy body, chucked in some fake memories and shoved a chunk of my consciousness into it to get a mortal perspective. Or for laughs, whatever.”
Clive’s eyes went wide in horror as he stared at Jason. “That… no… that can’t be… no… but… no. Wait… no… that can’t be right.”
“Mate, calm down,” Jason told him. “I’m not secretly the Reaper.”
Then the Banter. This one is more complicated because it's good most of the time but also bad at some points. The MC - Jason's tendency to wax on philosophical was mostly awkward rather than profound.
The magic system was also fairly innovative and original........and that's about it.
The rest is all unimpressive or outright bad.
The biggest writing flaw I noticed in this book is the jumbled perspective. It's like the author couldn't decide which perspective to tell the story from. This reads more like the script for a movie or a play than an actual novel.
Then there are the fight sequences that feel more like reading through a summary than an actual fight. There's just too much talking about the fight and too little of the fight itself. It's like watching the news report of a game as opposed to watching the live coverage.
When such a problem arises, people like to throw around the overused advice---'show, don't tell'---quite often. But I remember reading something that better suits the case at hand, and it goes something like this--- 'show when you need to show, and tell when you need to tell' . Nobody wants to read an extended synopsis. But at the same time, nobody wants to read page after page of unengaging prose either.
The key lies in finding the right balance, which the author has failed to do. I mostly skipped through the large scale fights at the end of both books. The one in the astral space where Farrah dies and the attack on the island in this book. They were just so boring!
If the author ever reads this review, I'd like to recommend the 'Cradle' series by Will Wight or 'Mistborn' by Brandon Sanderson, so they could see how action sequences are done right.
The characters are paper-thin--except for Jason, maybe--and feel more or less the same. The introspection or contemplation required to give them the necessary depth was completely absent. Dialogue alone can only do so much. Show us their thoughts, show us how they feel when no one is looking!................*Sigh*. This is another reason why the way the author tells this story is bad. Because it feels too disconnected for me to really care about any of the characters. Too impersonal.
The way Cassandra was handled made it obvious that the author was just looking for an excuse to take her out of the picture, so Jason and Sophie could be pushed together. Poorly done, that one.
And the 'Farrah-card' was so overplayed that it felt cheap, instead of impactful! Jason keeps talking about how she taught him this, taught him that, taught him how to be a better human being and whatnot. Well, that's all great, but we never got to see any of that actually happen. She just teaches him how to use his aura power and then fades into the background, then comes back in the last few chapters of the first book only to die almost immediately.
Alluding to it after the fact makes Jason look like the dude's just talking out of his ass, like one of those idiots that show up at funerals and pretend like they used to be best buds with the poor dead guy just because he can't get up and tell people otherwise!.....Sheesh!.
It got so bad as the story wore on that it became downright obnoxious whenever she was brought up in the later parts. The author simply hadn't established her well enough, before they killed her off, for me to feel for her death. Nevermind those grieving for her.
I could go on and on about all the little flaws that could be fixed but this is already getting longer than I intended it to be.
I'm not sure whether to blame all these pitfalls on the author's inexperience or if this is the extent of the author's capability as a writer, but let's hope it's the former. That way there's room to grow.
May 24, 2021
Felt like half the book was basically the party gaining a new essence and then awakening another ability where they then discuss how it should be used. Also ends on a rather boring cliffhanger. How is this 4.7 stars? People in this genre have such low standards, prioritizing stat blocks over any sort of character/plot development.
August 16, 2021
I loved the first book, but couldn't get through this one. I can't stand the Sophie character, or the way Jason keeps doing things for her at his own expense when she acts like a self entitled #$@%. And then explains why he is doing things for her over and over again. I hated his reason the first time; after the twentieth time I felt like I had been bludgeoned to death with it. I've learned that the only thing I hate more than apologists are apologists that love to explain why there are apologists! I feel like the focus of the novel has shifted too much to the side characters, and it doesn't help that I hate the side characters. Jason gives Sophie everything he has or loots and puts up with her abrasive personality to boot. At some point, I have to ask, is this some middle school crush by a knob who has no personal awareness. And no, the MC saying it isn't did not convince me. I hate the party system and all the free loot to others who happen to be with the MC, how others just take it for granted instead of being insanely grateful to Jason whose ability it came from. I hate that he isn't focusing on his own growth at ALL, but on others to his detriment. It's one thing to help others; quite another to give up your own ambition. I hate self righteous altruists. What's worse is a self righteous altruistic socialist who diatribes constantly. Wow that felt good to get out. Sooooo frustrating!
November 26, 2025
I'm writing this review a little late because after finishing this book I was left with a feeling like I really enjoyed what I read, but wasn't sure if I had the energy to keep going with this series. As a result, I headed over to Royal Road where this series is still being written and looked ahead to see if I should keep reading. Therefore this review is partly about this book, and partly about my conclusions from reading ahead and whether I recommend sticking with this series going forward.
(Don't worry, there won't be spoilers.)
THIS BOOK
Okay, so the main thing I love about this story is also what I felt would be the biggest problem for this series; the main character.
I love Jason as a character. I like his energy, I like the decision he makes, and I like the depth of his character as what you see is obviously surface level that's covering up so much more. Despite a tendency to preach his politics (which I can only abide because it comes in small doses), I think that he is a wonderful protagonist to carry us through the story... and therein lies the problem; he is carrying this story.
I finished this book realising that were it not for the main character, this book would not be worthy of 4-stars. I love the world-building and I think that the supporting cast is great, but neither of those things is explored nearly well enough to keep the reader interested. Add to that the glacial pace of the plot, and you start to have a problem because if the main character slips up in any way, then the story might just start getting boring.
Speaking of that glacial pace, surprisingly little happens in this book. It feels like more is happening because the characters are constantly moving and doing stuff, but if you break down actual plot progression points that matter to the overarching story, then there really isn't much until maybe the last 20% of the novel. That's an issue with novels this long and it's frustrating because I feel like this is a series with the potential to do a whole lot more.
Therefore, I finished this book feeling like I enjoyed what I read, but ultimately was unsatisfied.
SHOULD YOU STICK WITH THIS SERIES?
Up to the end of book 2 gets you to chapter 189 of 450 (as of the date of this review) on the web series. I only intended to read a few chapters when I headed over to Royal Road, but instead lost a few nights of sleep getting right through to the end, so that should tell you something. Here are a few conclusions though.
Jason continues to be the high point of this series for at least one more novel worth of story, at which point the second phase of this story kicks in and the plot gets a big boost that suddenly creates a reason to keep reading beyond just the protagonist.
This second phase to me is where this story really gets interesting and it is why I am so glad I read ahead because if I just read the next novel release, I don't think I would have been nearly as interested in carrying on as I was when reading the web version.
As much as I enjoyed this series and it hooked me though, pacing will continue to be a major problem and that impacts my recommendation of whether to keep reading this series. This leads me to my...
CONCLUSION
If you have really enjoyed reading about Jason's adventures in this book and can overlook how slow the story is because you know it is leading somewhere great, then definitely stick with this series. It goes to some seriously epic places and is worth putting in the effort.
If you are someone who hates stories that are told over an enormous page count when they could be much, much shorter, then this story might not be for you. I personally think that it's worth the effort even though I am one of these readers, but I am also a fast reader which compensates for this flaw a little bit.
So there we go. Sorry for the long review on this one, but hopefully it will be worth it to anyone who was on the fence with this series like me.
** Edit - 14th June 2021 **
I've just bumped this review up to 5-stars because after finishing all the available chapters of the web novel, I was compelled to go re-read this series from the start now that I was armed with that new knowledge. Doing so has enhanced my enjoyment of these books far more than I was expecting.
My below review still stands for a first time read, but just be aware that this is a series that gets better on subsequent readings, and that it is insanely easy to re-read these books thanks to their light tone and easy reading style. Therefore this series has become one of my favourite types of book to read and one of the rare series I can read multiple times in one year.
(Don't worry, there won't be spoilers.)
THIS BOOK
Okay, so the main thing I love about this story is also what I felt would be the biggest problem for this series; the main character.
I love Jason as a character. I like his energy, I like the decision he makes, and I like the depth of his character as what you see is obviously surface level that's covering up so much more. Despite a tendency to preach his politics (which I can only abide because it comes in small doses), I think that he is a wonderful protagonist to carry us through the story... and therein lies the problem; he is carrying this story.
I finished this book realising that were it not for the main character, this book would not be worthy of 4-stars. I love the world-building and I think that the supporting cast is great, but neither of those things is explored nearly well enough to keep the reader interested. Add to that the glacial pace of the plot, and you start to have a problem because if the main character slips up in any way, then the story might just start getting boring.
Speaking of that glacial pace, surprisingly little happens in this book. It feels like more is happening because the characters are constantly moving and doing stuff, but if you break down actual plot progression points that matter to the overarching story, then there really isn't much until maybe the last 20% of the novel. That's an issue with novels this long and it's frustrating because I feel like this is a series with the potential to do a whole lot more.
Therefore, I finished this book feeling like I enjoyed what I read, but ultimately was unsatisfied.
SHOULD YOU STICK WITH THIS SERIES?
Up to the end of book 2 gets you to chapter 189 of 450 (as of the date of this review) on the web series. I only intended to read a few chapters when I headed over to Royal Road, but instead lost a few nights of sleep getting right through to the end, so that should tell you something. Here are a few conclusions though.
Jason continues to be the high point of this series for at least one more novel worth of story, at which point the second phase of this story kicks in and the plot gets a big boost that suddenly creates a reason to keep reading beyond just the protagonist.
This second phase to me is where this story really gets interesting and it is why I am so glad I read ahead because if I just read the next novel release, I don't think I would have been nearly as interested in carrying on as I was when reading the web version.
As much as I enjoyed this series and it hooked me though, pacing will continue to be a major problem and that impacts my recommendation of whether to keep reading this series. This leads me to my...
CONCLUSION
If you have really enjoyed reading about Jason's adventures in this book and can overlook how slow the story is because you know it is leading somewhere great, then definitely stick with this series. It goes to some seriously epic places and is worth putting in the effort.
If you are someone who hates stories that are told over an enormous page count when they could be much, much shorter, then this story might not be for you. I personally think that it's worth the effort even though I am one of these readers, but I am also a fast reader which compensates for this flaw a little bit.
So there we go. Sorry for the long review on this one, but hopefully it will be worth it to anyone who was on the fence with this series like me.
** Edit - 14th June 2021 **
I've just bumped this review up to 5-stars because after finishing all the available chapters of the web novel, I was compelled to go re-read this series from the start now that I was armed with that new knowledge. Doing so has enhanced my enjoyment of these books far more than I was expecting.
My below review still stands for a first time read, but just be aware that this is a series that gets better on subsequent readings, and that it is insanely easy to re-read these books thanks to their light tone and easy reading style. Therefore this series has become one of my favourite types of book to read and one of the rare series I can read multiple times in one year.
May 18, 2021
This book really needs an editor.
April 24, 2024
My Rating: 4.25 (For books 1 & 2 combined)
Full Youtube review: https://youtu.be/YRjymlfhQU8
Please take a second to check out my Youtube page! all of your subscriptions help the channel grow.
Hey friends thanks for following me so far on my reading adventure!!
This series was a surprising breath of fresh air. I enjoyed many aspects of the first two books and I shared some things that I also didn't like. For a full review check out the video.
World building: 5/5
The world in this series is huge, spanning across different continents , each with different biomes and creatures that roam around. Nowhere whilst reading did I feel the world to be cramped or missing any aspect, which is a rare thing to say.
Magic system: 5/5
I absolutely loved the magic system and all of the potential combinations of powers one could achieve by combining different types of essences. I think this series has one of my top 5 magic systems of all time. Yes I know it's not complex, but its familiar and that's something that I really enjoy.
Characters: 4/5
Did like every character? No. But I did agree with most of the decisions the author made about them. I think Jason and his crew are diverse and have very different understandings of what life is, and to me that makes a solid team composition where they are constantly balancing each others lack of knowledge.
Cons:
I found several typos and weird sentence structures at some points of the story.
Overall enjoyment: 4.5/5
There are a lot of cool things about this series that I think you all will enjoy. Give it a shot and see ! let me know your thoughts if you've read it, or if you're hesitant to do so. Catch you all on the next one.
Full Youtube review: https://youtu.be/YRjymlfhQU8
Please take a second to check out my Youtube page! all of your subscriptions help the channel grow.
Hey friends thanks for following me so far on my reading adventure!!
This series was a surprising breath of fresh air. I enjoyed many aspects of the first two books and I shared some things that I also didn't like. For a full review check out the video.
World building: 5/5
The world in this series is huge, spanning across different continents , each with different biomes and creatures that roam around. Nowhere whilst reading did I feel the world to be cramped or missing any aspect, which is a rare thing to say.
Magic system: 5/5
I absolutely loved the magic system and all of the potential combinations of powers one could achieve by combining different types of essences. I think this series has one of my top 5 magic systems of all time. Yes I know it's not complex, but its familiar and that's something that I really enjoy.
Characters: 4/5
Did like every character? No. But I did agree with most of the decisions the author made about them. I think Jason and his crew are diverse and have very different understandings of what life is, and to me that makes a solid team composition where they are constantly balancing each others lack of knowledge.
Cons:
I found several typos and weird sentence structures at some points of the story.
Overall enjoyment: 4.5/5
There are a lot of cool things about this series that I think you all will enjoy. Give it a shot and see ! let me know your thoughts if you've read it, or if you're hesitant to do so. Catch you all on the next one.
July 26, 2024
Jason and his adventures continue to keep me very intrigued. I really am so excited to continue on with him.
May 13, 2024
I’m burning through this series in the same way I did to Dungeon Crawler Carl.
I love everything about it, other than the - at times - sloppy and lazy writing and proofreading.
The story really came into its own here, but it does still feel like an ‘intro’ to the characters, or at least their early story.
Very excited to delve more into the lore of the world and the character’s themselves.
4 stars
I love everything about it, other than the - at times - sloppy and lazy writing and proofreading.
The story really came into its own here, but it does still feel like an ‘intro’ to the characters, or at least their early story.
Very excited to delve more into the lore of the world and the character’s themselves.
4 stars
May 10, 2022
4.25/5
Felt like the story dragged a lot in the beginning chapters. But after the halfway mark pacing was steady and I blasted through the rest of the book. It was a fun read and I'm liking it that MC's becoming less and less annoying.
Felt like the story dragged a lot in the beginning chapters. But after the halfway mark pacing was steady and I blasted through the rest of the book. It was a fun read and I'm liking it that MC's becoming less and less annoying.
June 19, 2025
Kā jau bija sagaidāms, otrā grāmata sākas turpat kur beidzās pirmā, varēja mierīgi izdot vienā. Joprojām vismaz trešadaļu var droši mest ārā. Tā kā šī ir otrā grāmata autors varoņu sarunās mēģina ieviest ticamības momentu. Tādēļ tie sastopot katru jaunu personāžu, īsumā pārstāsta savus piedzīvojumus. Kad to pamana, tas notiek visai ātri, tad rodas jautājums, kur ir šī opusa redaktors.
Visādi citādi, joprojam interesanti, iestiepti, atkārtojas, bet interesanti. 8 no 10 ballēm.
Visādi citādi, joprojam interesanti, iestiepti, atkārtojas, bet interesanti. 8 no 10 ballēm.
January 8, 2025
I put this one down around 75% and forgot to mark my place. I forgot where I was at, and I honestly do not care to figure it out again. This book was very much like the first, but worse misogyny, worse everything. I am done trying with this series.
May 20, 2021
Book 2 is different kind of read from book 1, which is a very linear progression from Jason first arriving in the new world and becoming an adventurer. Yes, he still has a crazy side, but it always came across to me as being crazy with a purpose.
Book 2 is more along the lines of being crazy just for the sake of being crazy.
The Adventure Society goes through a review as part of the failed expedition of book 1, which Jason losing two of his stars and many people being disbarred from the society. It's a purge of the dross, and while it makes sense, it takes away Jason's love interest which I thought was specious. My take is that Cassandra was getting in the way of other things, so it made sense for the author to remove her so Jason could focus on other things and open up new love interests.
I doubt the Mercer family would pull her away from Jason, a guy who has a knack for making friends with powerful people. Which he does throughout the second half of the book.
The book starts out dealing with the aftermath from the expedition, with multiple wakes for Farrah. The linear progression from book 1 is forgotten, and we jump around into multiple heads to see what is happening around the city and even further away.
If I'd been asked to give a rating halfway through the book, it would have been a 3 or possibly 4.
After the midpoint things get clearer, as the iron rankers head out to find the treasure Emir is after. The city's leaders are after the Church of Purity and the same type of beings who came through the astral space during the expedition, and this comes to a head at the end of the book.
The Order of Assassins was the best portion of the book for me. The team is projected into another astral space, where they have to fight their way through to the center of a forgotten city for the assassin trials. It's well done, with lots of action and fighting and rewards at the end.
There are quite a few editing errors, and I thought it was interesting where the failed edits fall. In the political sections I saw far more editing problems, but during the action less so. At least, that was my take away. I'll admit to liking the action more, and it seems the author does too.
For those who don't like cliffhangers, the end of the book probably won't appeal to them.
The notifications are regular and clear, just like book 1. Sometimes they get a bit wordy, but I didn't have a problem with it.
I liked book 2, the second half far more than the first half which was a bit of a slog, and I think book 3 will get back to action and adventure. At least, I hope so.
Recommended. 5/5*
Book 2 is more along the lines of being crazy just for the sake of being crazy.
The Adventure Society goes through a review as part of the failed expedition of book 1, which Jason losing two of his stars and many people being disbarred from the society. It's a purge of the dross, and while it makes sense, it takes away Jason's love interest which I thought was specious. My take is that Cassandra was getting in the way of other things, so it made sense for the author to remove her so Jason could focus on other things and open up new love interests.
I doubt the Mercer family would pull her away from Jason, a guy who has a knack for making friends with powerful people. Which he does throughout the second half of the book.
The book starts out dealing with the aftermath from the expedition, with multiple wakes for Farrah. The linear progression from book 1 is forgotten, and we jump around into multiple heads to see what is happening around the city and even further away.
If I'd been asked to give a rating halfway through the book, it would have been a 3 or possibly 4.
After the midpoint things get clearer, as the iron rankers head out to find the treasure Emir is after. The city's leaders are after the Church of Purity and the same type of beings who came through the astral space during the expedition, and this comes to a head at the end of the book.
The Order of Assassins was the best portion of the book for me. The team is projected into another astral space, where they have to fight their way through to the center of a forgotten city for the assassin trials. It's well done, with lots of action and fighting and rewards at the end.
There are quite a few editing errors, and I thought it was interesting where the failed edits fall. In the political sections I saw far more editing problems, but during the action less so. At least, that was my take away. I'll admit to liking the action more, and it seems the author does too.
For those who don't like cliffhangers, the end of the book probably won't appeal to them.
The notifications are regular and clear, just like book 1. Sometimes they get a bit wordy, but I didn't have a problem with it.
I liked book 2, the second half far more than the first half which was a bit of a slog, and I think book 3 will get back to action and adventure. At least, I hope so.
Recommended. 5/5*
February 20, 2023
This is second in a series and picks up right after the first. You want to read in order.
You know much of what this is going to be, though not plot details as it's fairly twisty. It turns out mostly how you'd expect. I like the addition of Sophie for most things, though I got very tired of her second-guessing Jason at literally every turn. That got beyond old, though I was happy he was able to roll with it as well as he does.
I'm not a fan of the meta-plot with the astral things going on. It's too nebulous and has groups working together that don't make sense. I mean, we already knew in the first book that the church of Purity was hella sus (as my kids would say but cringe at hearing it from me), but it turns out they're in it up to their ears and that makes no freaking sense. Okay, I could make a case for it if you make some assumptions about Purity as a concept, but the case is literally never made. And that despite having PoV in the bad guys from time to time.
And I'm almost always impatient with bad-guy PoV and I think we crossed a line in this one. I mean, .
Which seems like a lot, particularly factoring the continuing abysmal editing. But I was engaged for most of the story, particularly all the Jason bits. I still like his poking at people and admire how well the author has made his schtick work without manipulating how people would/should respond to that kind of provocation.
But then. This thing ends on a dirty, dirty cliffhanger. So what was headed for four stars drops an automatic one to come in at three. I'm very disappointed that the author turns out to be one of those despicable people who thinks cliffhangers are a good idea. I'll pick up the next, but I'm not nearly as excited about it as I would have been without the blatant emotional manipulation.
A note about Chaste: We still get no details, though there's some interesting banter. I consider it fairly chaste. Though I'm a little skeptical about the hints of a Sophie/Jason thing developing...
You know much of what this is going to be, though not plot details as it's fairly twisty. It turns out mostly how you'd expect. I like the addition of Sophie for most things, though I got very tired of her second-guessing Jason at literally every turn. That got beyond old, though I was happy he was able to roll with it as well as he does.
I'm not a fan of the meta-plot with the astral things going on. It's too nebulous and has groups working together that don't make sense. I mean, we already knew in the first book that the church of Purity was hella sus (as my kids would say but cringe at hearing it from me), but it turns out they're in it up to their ears and that makes no freaking sense. Okay, I could make a case for it if you make some assumptions about Purity as a concept, but the case is literally never made. And that despite having PoV in the bad guys from time to time.
And I'm almost always impatient with bad-guy PoV and I think we crossed a line in this one. I mean, .
Which seems like a lot, particularly factoring the continuing abysmal editing. But I was engaged for most of the story, particularly all the Jason bits. I still like his poking at people and admire how well the author has made his schtick work without manipulating how people would/should respond to that kind of provocation.
But then. This thing ends on a dirty, dirty cliffhanger. So what was headed for four stars drops an automatic one to come in at three. I'm very disappointed that the author turns out to be one of those despicable people who thinks cliffhangers are a good idea. I'll pick up the next, but I'm not nearly as excited about it as I would have been without the blatant emotional manipulation.
A note about Chaste: We still get no details, though there's some interesting banter. I consider it fairly chaste. Though I'm a little skeptical about the hints of a Sophie/Jason thing developing...
May 26, 2021
I enjoyed this sequel, but not nearly as much as book one. Probably my greatest disappointment is that Jason has no character arc... his power-set does but he doesn't. This wasn't helped by the author focusing so much on other characters as they talked about Jason. He's so special and promising and mysterious and... we get it! I prefer listening to the gnashing teeth of frustrated enemies than to the awe-inspired ruminations of the good guys.
A sizable chunk of the book is devoted to two tropes of the genre that I'm not partial to. I find tournaments/trials to be dull, on the whole. That's how the scythe challenge came across to me. The silver lining was having the team forcefully separated, giving us a chance to dive into the secondary characters.
The second unwelcome trope was the perk-tree power-up decisions. Instead of little upgrades sprinkled throughout the story, we get a huge contiguous section devoted to this one process. It felt like it was a quarter of the book, but I may be exaggerating. This is a personal preference but it was too much for me.
The good outweighs the bad though. I'll always prefer following a likable protagonist, which Jason definitely is, (unless his overt atheism offends you).
I'll also give the author props for what seems like a truly original idea. The ancient assassins of the Reaper became
A sizable chunk of the book is devoted to two tropes of the genre that I'm not partial to. I find tournaments/trials to be dull, on the whole. That's how the scythe challenge came across to me. The silver lining was having the team forcefully separated, giving us a chance to dive into the secondary characters.
The second unwelcome trope was the perk-tree power-up decisions. Instead of little upgrades sprinkled throughout the story, we get a huge contiguous section devoted to this one process. It felt like it was a quarter of the book, but I may be exaggerating. This is a personal preference but it was too much for me.
The good outweighs the bad though. I'll always prefer following a likable protagonist, which Jason definitely is, (unless his overt atheism offends you).
I'll also give the author props for what seems like a truly original idea. The ancient assassins of the Reaper became
July 30, 2021
I couldn’t finish it. I really enjoy the world but Jason is a prick. Sophie is annoying. Everyone is too tolerant of Jason’s prickiness and no one holds him accountable for anything despite him holding everyone accountable for their mistakes or their station in life.
March 12, 2022
I liked this one more than the first. I listened to it instead of reading it, but from time to time I would follow along with audio narration in the Kindle app. Oddly this is the first book I have owned that the feature worked on, don't know if that is due to an update in the software or maybe the book was made to fit with the software better. Anyway the narrator wasn't my favorite. Almost every book I have listened to has an objectively good narrator though so it could be that he is just on the upper average side of these artists. The book flowed well and had plenty of action there was plenty of growth and lots of character interaction. The world and universe were a big topic in this book and both were expounded upon quite a bit. The MC showed some level of personal growth as well reducing some of the more annoying parts if his personality and bolstering some of the better portions. There was more friendly banter between the characters that didn't seem too forced. The story has progressed in a strange way overall and I am almost done with book 3 at this point so I have some knowledge of where it is going. There is a shift from micro to macro in terms of adventuring that is taking place. It is similar to what you would expect in a D&D campaign when you surpass level 15 and start the push toward level 20. There were still lots of editorial mistakes in the portions of the book that I did follow along with, so still 4 stars. It was closer to 5 stars than the first one though, probably because I wasn't bothering to report any errors. Still enjoying the books and will obviously continue to read/listen to them since I am almost done with the 3rd. I can also say that I am going to read the 4th.
November 6, 2022
The author is a redditor/discord mod and his MC is a self insert. I liked the author's writing and world building for the most part, but the way the characters talk and the one dimensional animeification of them is just too much.
The MC thinks they are better than everyone else and the author is right there to support just that theory. He's just so insufferable that it's impossible to get through the story. You just have to be prepared to cringe every time it's his turn to talk.
I rate this book a cringe/10.
The MC thinks they are better than everyone else and the author is right there to support just that theory. He's just so insufferable that it's impossible to get through the story. You just have to be prepared to cringe every time it's his turn to talk.
I rate this book a cringe/10.
August 26, 2024
If you’ve read the first one you know what to expect. Not a literary masterpiece but works splendid as something to listen to in the background while cooking, cleaning or exercising. You can still understand most of it even if you’ve zoned out here and there. Nice to have when there are no new pod episodes of interest.
June 26, 2021
Notes:
Better pacing & good character developments. I may check out the ebook & read the next one or wait for the audio to come out. =)
Better pacing & good character developments. I may check out the ebook & read the next one or wait for the audio to come out. =)
February 25, 2023
A lot of words but few solid chapters
The author has his crutches. Sienfield like, group dialogue which is often funny but also very pointless just like the show about nothing.
The main character defends his own hypocrisy with tangential soliloquy. Yup, the protagonists tries to sound just as smart as what I just wrote. He defends his manipulative nature by constantly jabbing at religion, it’s different followers, by using shallow one sided fanatical bad guys as proof all religions are bad.
Don’t get me wrong there are aspects that keep you reading. It’s not the engrossed type reading you want to do, rather it’s, a let’s wait till the end of the click bait to see whether or not it may get better type of reading. Where you question why did I spend the few free hours reading this book emotion. In my case it’s to see if my kids shouldn’t be reading this series. Then wondering if I want to continue and just pray me quoting now doesn’t mean the author goes all basement dweller in his writing!!!
The authors magic system is a glorified societal lotto. He puts in the obligatory, it’s not the weapon but how you use it, saying, to make it feel like the unlucky could actually make it. However in the end you realize the magic you buy $$ and the magic you luck into really make the difference between high and low society. The protagonist was both lucky and had the money to get where he is.
All the while the protagonist rails against the societal ills of the very system that’s made him important. A system he absolutely loves because he gets to go around and kill things. With powers that one day essentially guarantee he’ll be something like a king. Though I’m sure at some point the protagonist will figure out a way to fix all of these issues by forcing his beliefs on everyone else.
The protagonist is a benevolent dictator in training. Maybe even a God but he hates gods so maybe he’ll be agnostic in the end.
The author has his crutches. Sienfield like, group dialogue which is often funny but also very pointless just like the show about nothing.
The main character defends his own hypocrisy with tangential soliloquy. Yup, the protagonists tries to sound just as smart as what I just wrote. He defends his manipulative nature by constantly jabbing at religion, it’s different followers, by using shallow one sided fanatical bad guys as proof all religions are bad.
Don’t get me wrong there are aspects that keep you reading. It’s not the engrossed type reading you want to do, rather it’s, a let’s wait till the end of the click bait to see whether or not it may get better type of reading. Where you question why did I spend the few free hours reading this book emotion. In my case it’s to see if my kids shouldn’t be reading this series. Then wondering if I want to continue and just pray me quoting now doesn’t mean the author goes all basement dweller in his writing!!!
The authors magic system is a glorified societal lotto. He puts in the obligatory, it’s not the weapon but how you use it, saying, to make it feel like the unlucky could actually make it. However in the end you realize the magic you buy $$ and the magic you luck into really make the difference between high and low society. The protagonist was both lucky and had the money to get where he is.
All the while the protagonist rails against the societal ills of the very system that’s made him important. A system he absolutely loves because he gets to go around and kill things. With powers that one day essentially guarantee he’ll be something like a king. Though I’m sure at some point the protagonist will figure out a way to fix all of these issues by forcing his beliefs on everyone else.
The protagonist is a benevolent dictator in training. Maybe even a God but he hates gods so maybe he’ll be agnostic in the end.
May 19, 2021
Massive
This took a long time to read. Much longer than normal novels.
I laughed more than once. Quite humorous. Pottery, anyone?
There was one chapter where the fact this was written as a serial was especially clear, as recently established facts were established again. Other than that one, most of the repetitiveness wasn’t as overt.
Pretty clean grammar, with a few typos but not a large amount for the size of the tome. Not terribly crunchy except a few scenes where new abilities were pretty much the point.
It does end on a cliffhanger, so be warned.
I really enjoy the world and the magic system. Looking forward to the next.
This took a long time to read. Much longer than normal novels.
I laughed more than once. Quite humorous. Pottery, anyone?
There was one chapter where the fact this was written as a serial was especially clear, as recently established facts were established again. Other than that one, most of the repetitiveness wasn’t as overt.
Pretty clean grammar, with a few typos but not a large amount for the size of the tome. Not terribly crunchy except a few scenes where new abilities were pretty much the point.
It does end on a cliffhanger, so be warned.
I really enjoy the world and the magic system. Looking forward to the next.
July 31, 2021
This one rambled a lot with leveling up dialog, although I like the direction of the long arc that is developing.
If I'm honest I probably didn't pay close enough attention to this book. I'm sure I would pick up more details if I did.
If I'm honest I probably didn't pay close enough attention to this book. I'm sure I would pick up more details if I did.
February 4, 2025
The aftermath of the assault debacle on the Builder cult in book one. The city is upended, and Emir spearheads an investigation into who the cult is, what they want, and what they are capable of.
Sophie and Belinda, still under threat from crimelord Cole Silva and aristocrat Lucius Lamprey, warily take Jason up on his offer to indenture Sophie and sponsor them as adventurers.
And a momentous Goblet of Fire style tournament in an abandoned, monster-flooded astral-space city. The prizes: legendary awakening stones and a cloud palace like Emir's.
Volume two is as enthralling as volume one. Though I am tiring of Jason's smug infallibility. He's 23 and has been in this world for six whole months but he doles out assertions and advice like a grizzled gold ranker. This one detail doesn't ring true.
There's some pretty great organic analysis of what makes a good team, how it's more than the sum of strong individuals. And of how to develop a power set that is synergistic and complementary. Shirtaloon truly is an RPG wonk.
--------------------------------
Note: Years ago I had an ex who thought it was funny to hit me and never took me seriously when I asked her to stop.
So when Sophie started doing it to Jason, with only comical protests on his part, I was a little annoyed with the author for normalizing that shit...and then super impressed when another character took her aside and gently asked her to stop. Props, Shirtaloon.
Sophie and Belinda, still under threat from crimelord Cole Silva and aristocrat Lucius Lamprey, warily take Jason up on his offer to indenture Sophie and sponsor them as adventurers.
And a momentous Goblet of Fire style tournament in an abandoned, monster-flooded astral-space city. The prizes: legendary awakening stones and a cloud palace like Emir's.
Volume two is as enthralling as volume one. Though I am tiring of Jason's smug infallibility. He's 23 and has been in this world for six whole months but he doles out assertions and advice like a grizzled gold ranker. This one detail doesn't ring true.
There's some pretty great organic analysis of what makes a good team, how it's more than the sum of strong individuals. And of how to develop a power set that is synergistic and complementary. Shirtaloon truly is an RPG wonk.
--------------------------------
Note: Years ago I had an ex who thought it was funny to hit me and never took me seriously when I asked her to stop.
So when Sophie started doing it to Jason, with only comical protests on his part, I was a little annoyed with the author for normalizing that shit...and then super impressed when another character took her aside and gently asked her to stop. Props, Shirtaloon.
July 13, 2024
HE WHO FIGHTS WITH MONSTERS is the story of a geeky Australian man who finds himself dumped into a fantasy world where he's given a bunch of dangerous blood and sin powers despite the fact he's (mostly) a nice guy. Unfortunately, Jason is a bit of the best part of these books and the roughest because he's usually quite entertaining but also can get annoying in his lecturing everyone on how nobility is systemic oppression. Now he has to deal with a mysterious cult of extra-dimensional abominations called the Cult of the Builder as well as a dungeon crawl to recover the Reaper's Scythe. It is all very Dungeons and Dragons and that's the chief appeal of the books. I actually like Jason's supporting cast more than him, which is both a blessing and a curse since the focus is predominately on Jason.
December 22, 2024
Quality Sequel. Overall, loving this series and all it’s “LitRPGness”. You feel a sense of accomplishment every time someone on the team levels up their essences. This book has little faults, and overall a solid read. I’ll continue to dive deeper into the Monsters Saga. But for now, it’s time for a pallet cleanser read 📕
August 25, 2025
This book should be a 5-star, but I just can't get over the frequent grammatical and spelling errors. That might sound petty, but having my brain stutter to reread a sentence that just doesn't make sense (misspellings, word repetitions, etc) as written every few pages really breaks the immersion in what is otherwise a well-constructed and interesting world.
Still a great book and a solid story though.
Still a great book and a solid story though.
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