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Death Cultivator #3

Death Cultivator 3

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Fight to kill. Kill to advance… whether you want to or not.

Death cultivator Grady Hake has had to learn a lot of harsh realities since he was isekaied to the prison planet. This isn’t cushy first-world Earth. Here, Spirit is power, relying on others can get you killed or worse, and trying to do the right thing can spark a gang war.

Now assigned to be the avenging angel for the Eight-Legged Dragons, Hake’s got to come to terms with the hardest truth yet: Others have to die for him to get stronger. The more death, the more Death Spirit.

He never wanted to be a killer, but his friends’ lives are on the line. If he wants to get them through this gang war alive, he’s got to advance, which means he’s got a lot of killing to do.

Maybe he can’t keep his soul intact, but maybe that’s the price a Death cultivator has to pay to protect his friends.

364 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2021

24 people are currently reading
25 people want to read

About the author

Eden Hudson

56 books314 followers
I am being forced against my will by Goodreads to have a capital E at the beginning of my name, even though the correct spelling is "eden." So there's that.

But also . . .

I am invincible. I am a mutant. I have 3 hearts and was born with no eyes. I had eyes implanted later. I didn't have hands, either, just stumps. When my eyes were implanted they asked if I would like hands as well and I said, "Yes, I'll take those," and pointed with my stump. But sometimes I'm a hellbender peeking out from under a rock. When it rains, I live in a music box.

But I'm also a tattoo addict, coffee junkie, drummer, and aspiring skateboarder. Jesus actually is my homeboy.

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5 stars
48 (35%)
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50 (36%)
3 stars
27 (19%)
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9 (6%)
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
Profile Image for Viking Jam.
1,367 reviews23 followers
August 9, 2021
Rating: 4.4/5

Review: Not sure what happened here although it was still really good. Seemed like the characters kind of languished a bit with all of their new added abilities. The ending left room for continuance so if you like closure you are not going to get it.

It will be interesting to see whether or not Grady takes on the universe.
286 reviews4 followers
February 20, 2022
It could be a good series but the childish level of morality issues it rants on about for 3 whole books and the shallow social interactions makes it quite an annoying read. The actual concept is pretty good and the quality of writing is also good it's just the author insists on playing amateur psychologist and is terrible at it.
Profile Image for Lana.
2,780 reviews59 followers
June 1, 2021
Grady Hake had found himself killed by mistake and he awoke on a different planet. He became a death cultivator and together with the twins, Kest and Rali and their friend Warcry they fought because the gangs which dominated the planet left them no choice if they wanted to survive. Furthermore in order to survive they had to become stronger so they fought to kill and they killed to advance. In this book they are brought in front of the Emperor of the eight-legged dragons, one of the five most powerful gangs and they were all offered different jobs. Grady was to become the avenging angel of death for the Emperor, who said he would be the hand of justice, however when he was ordered to assassinate certain targets Grady doubted they deserved to die but had no choice other than to obey. Kest and Rali had been sent of to the technol camp to act as spies and this gang was the enemy of the eight-legged dragons so Grady could not afford they be betrayed as Kest was his girlfriend. He and Warcry in the meantime were sent into the jungle to clear a temple and take the prize many were searching for. They were betrayed when least expecting to be and the result of the betrayal was more than Grady had dreamt about in his worst nightmares. He has to choose a path and he chooses the cursed rather than the blessed death path which angers Rali, and there is a split which causes so much heartache to all of the group. But Grady had made his choice, he would see justice carried out and be the one to do it, but he refused to kill the innocent. I love the excitement of this sci-fi fantasy cultivation series, love the young group of friends and enjoy their snarky comments and bantering and I particularly love sushi, I think her heart is in the right place. I look forward to reading further into Grady Hake’s adventures and advancement!
Profile Image for Lady Alleta.
46 reviews2 followers
December 24, 2021
I liked this book... But the ending wasn't as fulfilling to me.

I'm just gonna dive straight into the ending. While I like the moral conflict between Rali the pacifist and Hake the judge, I felt like the ending just was not satisfying. For starters, it really irked me that Kest had a fake death. I don't like when authors pull this as a general rule. For every other death we have seen in this series, Hake has NEVER mistaken a death before. Not once has he ever thought someone was dead when they were not. They might slip his hold or something, but it's not described as them dying. More of concealed or slipped through his shoddy techniques. So the fact that he and the audience watched Kest die, just for the author to do a 180 and neg the entire thing? Really left a bad taste in my mouth.

I want to reiterate that I like this author. And I like her series. I think she has a lot of good things in her writing and this book is still 4 stars for me. But I am disappointed in the fake out death. I thought it was a little insulting to the audience to pull that, when a true death would have made the finale Hake stronger. So that's the first thing I really didn't like.

The next, arguably more annoying thing about the ending is.... Rali... I understand his character arc. I see how he has grown and regressed in the series. And I still like him. But unlike the first two books where he really shows his character, in this book he feels just ... so immature. I want to believe it's because he is grieving over his loss of spirit and his friend taking lives, but that's... me being kind.

Rali's arc feels like he is backpedaling so hard. From his epiphany of "sometimes you have to kill" to suddenly hate taking innocent lives completely. It feels so childish. He very much feels like a child who wants to live out this Kung Fu fantasy and he knows he has to separate from his friend and it's just.... Meh. The underlying moral debate of the two characters is strong. But especially because of Takeshi, it doesn't hit home as strong. Why wouldn't Rali understand taking the lives of people who prey upon the weak? He even said Hake and Warcry taking out the enslavers of the women's slave fighting area would be likely. And especially how the final act played out? It feels like a dumb miscommunication between them.

Rali keeps accusing Hake of being evil. But where is his criticisms of everyone f-ing else? Even the most ideological scholar will be able to see that it's not black and white. Hake isn't perfect by any stretch, but he isn't a mindless murder hobo bent on revenge and power or something. Every scene we see of Hake killing is explained. Second books's ending is not actually Hake himself - Hungry Ghost was in possession of his body. And Hake was literally killing himself to kill Hungry Ghost. Even going to the extent that he sealed the evil Hungry Ghost inside of himself to prevent anyone else from being used by Hungry Ghost. Those deaths were not Hake's. It is explicitly said as such.

Again, the kills against the Technols? They tried to kill him and his group. What would Rali do? Just let himself he killed? Torture the Technols instead? Cut their limbs off? There's fates worse than death and we still see Hake give them a proper send-off and respect.

The targets Hake was given to kill? Yes. He killed them. Oh but he actually didn't. He didn't kill the mom. He went out of his way to save her daughter and the mom, AND a bunch of abused kids. He gave each of his targets a fighting chance against him. The embezzler and scholar were innocent people, and what does Hake do? He doesn't make any excuses. He dives head first into self loathing and remorse. That isn't evil.

For Rali to pretend in this book that morality is back and white, it just feels off. Especially compared to beforehand. But I think I've beat this nail on the head enough.

Takeshi... Sigh. One of the clever ideas played around in this book is the concept of Justice. And when you are debating justice, the first thing you end up having to do is a God forsaken definition debate. And my premonition for Book 4 is going to be that the definition of Justice is gonna come into question a lot. It was clever, I admit, to make Takeshi a Justice spirit. Because he is taking justice. It just isn't the same definition as Hake's. And if the author is true to form, Hake's definition of Justice isn't perfect either. The problem when it comes to these definition debates is that there is never a true conclusion. Because morality is a grey area. It spirals out. Even Hake's new Judgement Ninjustu is just... Forever biased. In one perspective, Hake is literally judging a universe he isn't even from. Imagine going into work and you get called in to this new manager who doesn't know company policy and decides, "f you I'm doing whatever I feel is right."

This lack of definable Justice is what creates the loopholes and rules that Kest is especially good at navigating. Even moreso when it comes to the cursed vs blessed death paths convenient. Hake has to kill only those that deserve it. Well great. But our first sidestep of that rule is "when"? Because he sees Takeshi as someone who needs to die, but he isn't strong enough right now so I guess Takeshi gets to live longer. It just skirt-tails the rules imo.

And that covenant thing. Omg. I wanted to burn the book at that moment. Because it's LITERALLY stated Hake can only kill those who deserve it after he accidentally killed everyone in Mass Grave. People make mistakes. Big mistakes. Really horrible life ending mistakes sometimes. But Rali didnt know about the covenant. Or the path Hake experienced. Or the fact that Hake should not be able to kill Innocents anymore. Rali just left without knowing anything.

I understand moral conflicts between people. But especially for someone so hell bent on stopping another, you'd think Rali would at least get the details. But this does relate back to what justice is gonna be in the series. ATM we don't know if Hake's justice is absolute or biased in the narrative. That's probably a big aspect to book 4.

And I think, part of why I'm so passionate about this is because the author took a direction I didn't exactly expect. I honestly thought that Hake would end up making a covenant where he cannot kill people. Or he makes that and breaks it and ends up like Rali with no spirit. But especially at the end of this book Hake comes across like a murderer hobo vigilante just like Takeshi. I presume that Blessed path was going to be that maybe. And I honestly wanted Hake to take it for the same reason that his fight with Hungry Ghost was so strong.

The battle between Hake and Hungry Ghost was so strong because of the theme to self sacrifice that Hake is constantly shown to do. He was killing himself and his body to save his friends, and then to save future victims of Hungry Ghost. But Hake is only seen as a weapon by the gangsters because he can kill people. You know the best way to make a gun safe? Keep it unloaded. That easily would have been the strongest method to stop killing people.

Instead we get this regressed Rali hero quest, Kest who couldn't have both her brother and love who is also just imortal just bc, and a very weird Warcry.

For all the time and effort this book put into growing Hake's and Warcry's relationship, theres not really anything built up in the ending. I thought maybe Warcry would die by Hake's hand or something. But Warcry felt just kinda dropped for the Rali finale. It's not a bad thing, but it is odd to me that nothing happened really.

Now I did love a lot about this book. I loved the side quests if I'm being honest. The mom and her mental affinity was great. I liked the dream affinity double agent. The development of Hake's abilities and interactions with the dead were impactful and did make the path to what blessed death would be like.

I liked that Warcry got his backstory fleshed out and his motivations cemented for the audience. Even if it didn't really go anywhere, it was nice to see. And I like how Sushi's grown too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
857 reviews26 followers
December 30, 2021
Holy wow! That was a ride! I don't have the words. Normally, I would write a thoughtful review, but my mind is still spinning from the last 40 pages. I may come back in a few days and add to this, once I find words - if I find words - but I don't have them right now.

All I can say is, if you've read the first 2 books, you HAVE to read this one. And then you will understand. And be waiting desperately for book 4.

Edit: Okay. It's been a few days and I have been able to find some words. I am still just reeling from how this book ended, though. In book 2, it seemed like Rali understood that while he may be non-violent, there are times when violence is either necessary or unavoidable; in those instances, while not necessarily a good thing, it is an acceptable thing. In this book, he has clearly backed away from that to absolutely no violence. Ever. I don't know if that was a result if him destroying his own spirit sea through breaking his Ten commandment or not, but he is clearly very angry and resentful of Grady, and that just grows, and testers, throughout this book. It's almost like Rali is refusing to see the world in any way except the way he wants, and he cannot accept that someone else may see things differently. Oddly, (and this is a bit of a spoiler) I would think that if he would have asked Grady what his Ten commandment was when he advanced, rather than just relying on the name of the advancement, he would have been more accepting. But, he was so far gone in his own grief, resentment, and rage at that point that doing so was impossible.

Now, this is not to say that this whole book is Rali-centered. It's not. However, the relationship between Rali and Grady, despite not taking up a majority of the pages, I think encompasses the majority of what happens. I truly hope that the two of them can reconnect after this, but at the moment I don't think either is ready to back down from their respective positions - and I kind of have to agree more with Grady's (and not because he's the MC). All I know is that this book elevated this story from a nice series about a death cultivator to an epic saga - and while I have no idea where it's going to go, I can say that eden Hudson is an absolute genius for writing it.
Profile Image for Clint Young.
849 reviews
June 10, 2021
Alert

“This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”

I am not going to share my reasoning, thoughts on the book, or any opinions that would influence your decision to read it. I am simply saying that I liked it. I would like you to read it and make your own decision. After all, you are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.

I will happily discuss the book with you on Goodreads if you are so inclined. As always, I am open to debates and arguments, but also vain enough to seek acknowledgement, so feel free to roast me or applaud my efforts. Either is acceptable, because if you are paying attention to me then you are at least considering the book. And THAT my friends is exactly why you see my comments here.

(Yep...hit with the banhammer.)

Cheers
Profile Image for A Wai.
30 reviews
December 5, 2025
Death Cultivator 3 keeps going strong with rising stakes and a deeper look into the different worlds, while never losing sight of Hake’s ties to his old life. The whole cast is so well developed, and I especially love how Sushi continues to grow and learn. Rali and Joe’s friendship is one of my favourite parts of the series, and I am excited to see how their challenges play out in the next book.

Hake’s relationship with Kest is handled so well, and it feels relatable no matter what world you are on. Warcry remains a diamond in the rough and rounds out the team perfectly.

One of the things I love most about reading and listening to this series is how it plays like a movie in my mind. The storytelling is so immersive and vivid that it is easy to get swept away.

I am so happy book 4 is on the way.
2 reviews
November 25, 2025
I'm glad she's writing the next book.

I'm hooked.

Every character's growth has branched into a fascinating direction, and the scope and scale of what they're up against has grown as well.

I can see why when I looked this series up there were people still asking about the next book, and I was excited to hear she's currently back writing this series.

If you want good characterization with a cyberpunk-esque cultivation system that rocks socks, you've found it. It deals with some serious issues but it's clean for a smart teen.

Waiting patiently for the next one!
22 reviews
June 23, 2021
Hake goes full Hake

Power is never free. Watch as Hake is pulled further down his path by his cultivation, his unfortunate circumstances, and his friendships. I can't wait to read the next book and find out how he wields the power he's been gathering for his own agency in this galaxy!
127 reviews
June 9, 2021
Cranking it up to Ten

Friendships and resolves are tested as our stalwart mc’s endeavour to grow their strength amount new allies and enemies, stay true to themselves and find their way to freedom.
32 reviews
June 17, 2021
I love the book!

Cultivation novels are my favorite genre. I love reading about characters steadily gaining power … I always loved the training montages in movies too! I will read the next one as soon as it is released!
Profile Image for Scott.
1,487 reviews12 followers
Read
June 27, 2021
Really Good

Its been a while but I love the direction this has taken as the universe becomes a lot more complicated and we can really see where this series is going. Now I just need to wait for book 4
124 reviews1 follower
July 20, 2021
Another great installment.

Great addition to the series, plenty of action and a great continuation of the series. Looking forward to the next book.
2,218 reviews7 followers
July 23, 2021
Very good read

I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend it to anyone who likes LitRPG and cultivation type of books.
Profile Image for Katie Garner.
52 reviews2 followers
September 2, 2021
I loved this book and couldn’t recommend the series more if you are looking for some action packed fun.
Profile Image for Wayne.
76 reviews1 follower
March 28, 2023
I really enjoyed this series but am a little worried there will be a long wait for book 4 :( We will see. Travis always does a great job.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews

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