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Guardian of Aster Fall #1
Battlefield Reclaimer
Across the world of Aster Fall, there are unique classes, but not all of them can be trained. They require quests and accomplishments that simply don't exist in the world. Some say the World Law itself is broken and that the world is falling apart.
In comes Sam Hastern.
His family has been cursed by one of these classes for the last fifty years. No one has ever managed to level it, condemning them to the lowest paying jobs and life in a barren village.
The class is called Battlefield Reclaimer.
There's one more little problem.
Sam's about to have it even worse, when a dungeon exploration leaves him looking distinctly non-human.
---
*In this work, you'll find leveling, crafting, experience-based progression, rare classes, evolving classes, and strange races.
The world runs on mana crystals, beast cores, spirit veins, alchemical pills, and enchantments. The environment is hostile and filled with monsters and elemental storms.
In comes Sam Hastern.
His family has been cursed by one of these classes for the last fifty years. No one has ever managed to level it, condemning them to the lowest paying jobs and life in a barren village.
The class is called Battlefield Reclaimer.
There's one more little problem.
Sam's about to have it even worse, when a dungeon exploration leaves him looking distinctly non-human.
---
*In this work, you'll find leveling, crafting, experience-based progression, rare classes, evolving classes, and strange races.
The world runs on mana crystals, beast cores, spirit veins, alchemical pills, and enchantments. The environment is hostile and filled with monsters and elemental storms.
671 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2021
1468 people are currently reading
1523 people want to read
About the author
David North
18 books197 followersGlad to meet you. I'm David North, author of Guardian of Aster Fall and River of Fate, which are available on Amazon Kindle.
You can also find me on Patreon as Riverfate. Drafts of new books I'm working on and artwork for them are usually on there.
You can also find me on Patreon as Riverfate. Drafts of new books I'm working on and artwork for them are usually on there.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 320 reviews
May 16, 2025
Also posted on littafi.com
Preamble:
An engrossing start to a very good litRPG series that would push enthusiasts of this genre to continue the journey of Sam and his band of friends and family in the rest of the books just to experience the highly imaginative world-building and find out how the complex characters evolve and fare later on.
Synopsis:
Sam Hastern is a young adult with a broken class system inherited from his grandfather and for the last three generations none among his lineage has been able to unlock the Battlefield Reclaimer class.
Until, a day after he turns eighteen and earns a class, sees him and his father stumble upon a fateful chance encounter within the ruins of an Outsider outpost in his home village from a bygone age during a cataclysmic war that
shattered his planet, Aster Fall, and then broke it apart (literally).
Thoughts:
From this point onwards, we're treated to a great ideas-filled and fantastic litRPG plot, containing complex characterizations (sacrificing some much needed world-building for an amazing magical and progression litRPG system, great characters and awesome battles).
This marvelous debut from David North encomprises pensive emotional backdrops with themes hinting at coming-of-age, familial bonds, and a neverending determination and perseverance against seemingly insurmountable odds in order for Sam to eliminate all the threats, monsters and malignant evils that dwell within his world so as to protect those dearest to him and Aster Fall in general.
Conclusion and End Notes:
This comes highly recommended for a variety of readers that enjoy Progression Fantasy and litRPG combined with vividly visualized world and universe full of intricate characters and an awesome magic system to boot.
My major gripe with this first installment in the series, Guardian of Aster Fall, was the sparse world-building and generally slow development of our major characters as the book tended to be a sort of prolonged slog through a dungeon for more than 87% precent of the book, but otherwise a good read well made with a lot of forethought to the progression, level structure and overall magical system employed.
While there, he's at least able to level up and events are set up for the sequel in which the pace picked up quite nicely and the world-building was expanded upon quite well enough to keep readers on the tip of their fingers. The two sequels after this one quite makes up for the slow progression in terms of the world-building I encountered here.
Read I: 2024
Read II: 2025
Preamble:
An engrossing start to a very good litRPG series that would push enthusiasts of this genre to continue the journey of Sam and his band of friends and family in the rest of the books just to experience the highly imaginative world-building and find out how the complex characters evolve and fare later on.
Synopsis:
Sam Hastern is a young adult with a broken class system inherited from his grandfather and for the last three generations none among his lineage has been able to unlock the Battlefield Reclaimer class.
Until, a day after he turns eighteen and earns a class, sees him and his father stumble upon a fateful chance encounter within the ruins of an Outsider outpost in his home village from a bygone age during a cataclysmic war that
shattered his planet, Aster Fall, and then broke it apart (literally).
Thoughts:
From this point onwards, we're treated to a great ideas-filled and fantastic litRPG plot, containing complex characterizations (sacrificing some much needed world-building for an amazing magical and progression litRPG system, great characters and awesome battles).
This marvelous debut from David North encomprises pensive emotional backdrops with themes hinting at coming-of-age, familial bonds, and a neverending determination and perseverance against seemingly insurmountable odds in order for Sam to eliminate all the threats, monsters and malignant evils that dwell within his world so as to protect those dearest to him and Aster Fall in general.
Conclusion and End Notes:
This comes highly recommended for a variety of readers that enjoy Progression Fantasy and litRPG combined with vividly visualized world and universe full of intricate characters and an awesome magic system to boot.
My major gripe with this first installment in the series, Guardian of Aster Fall, was the sparse world-building and generally slow development of our major characters as the book tended to be a sort of prolonged slog through a dungeon for more than 87% precent of the book, but otherwise a good read well made with a lot of forethought to the progression, level structure and overall magical system employed.
While there, he's at least able to level up and events are set up for the sequel in which the pace picked up quite nicely and the world-building was expanded upon quite well enough to keep readers on the tip of their fingers. The two sequels after this one quite makes up for the slow progression in terms of the world-building I encountered here.
Read I: 2024
Read II: 2025
January 25, 2024
This is a System LitRPG story of the subtype "useless class turns out to be powerful once the protagonist figures it out." Which means it's going to rest strongly on the worldbuilding and a bit on the characterization. So it's a good thing the worldbuilding was interesting and the character didn't completely fall flat.
The main character, Sam, mostly holds together. He's mad at the world because of the whole broken class thing and he throws in with his dad to try something risky (his dad has the same cursed class because apparently classes are heritable). The risky thing has consequences that they then spend the rest of the book recovering from. And I liked Sam for the most part. He's determined to figure things out and he works hard to make things better for himself and his dad. So being stuck in an underground complex trying to survive worked for me.
And I have to throw this huge caveat in right now because nothing about Sam's family works, even a little bit, starting with his dad. Sam's family has zero conflict in it. He and his dad understand one another fundamentally. They protect each other and have serious conversations about what and how to do things, but never, ever disagree about anything. This is not how relationships work. Even the most loving families have conflict and families forced to the edge of society by hard luck tend to have more fractures than most because the pressure they are under is intense. And speaking as having been both the father and the son during the transition to adulthood, let me just say that the lack of any kind of conflict does not work in a world with things like testosterone in them.
Anyway, I was into the story (ignoring the father/son thing that didn't work, like, ever) and I particularly liked when Sam gained some understanding of the world and had a bargain forced on him that essentially makes him a System troubleshooter, committed to finding and ending flaws brought about by the evil outsiders. It was an interesting plot that kept me going even though the pacing for this story is awful.
Oh yeah. There are two things that drag the pace down to a crawl periodically. First, the author head-hops with abandon, often on the same page and sometimes to bad-guys or others nowhere near our protagonists. Which I find annoying, even when done well (it is not done well here). Second, the author often loses themselves in exposition and/or analysis that can go paragraphs too long. This kills pace dead and happens occasionally in the middle of actual action/fights.
Anyway, I was engaged enough to finish and still have a desire to move on to the next book. So let's call it three stars and I hope that the author's craft improves over time. The flaws aren't the kind of things that improve without direct effort, however, so I have my doubts.
A note about Chaste: For most of the story, it's just Sam and his dad. Even when a pretty girl shows up, there just isn't time or space for anything romantic to develop. So this is very, maybe even extremely, chaste.
The main character, Sam, mostly holds together. He's mad at the world because of the whole broken class thing and he throws in with his dad to try something risky (his dad has the same cursed class because apparently classes are heritable). The risky thing has consequences that they then spend the rest of the book recovering from. And I liked Sam for the most part. He's determined to figure things out and he works hard to make things better for himself and his dad. So being stuck in an underground complex trying to survive worked for me.
And I have to throw this huge caveat in right now because nothing about Sam's family works, even a little bit, starting with his dad. Sam's family has zero conflict in it. He and his dad understand one another fundamentally. They protect each other and have serious conversations about what and how to do things, but never, ever disagree about anything. This is not how relationships work. Even the most loving families have conflict and families forced to the edge of society by hard luck tend to have more fractures than most because the pressure they are under is intense. And speaking as having been both the father and the son during the transition to adulthood, let me just say that the lack of any kind of conflict does not work in a world with things like testosterone in them.
Anyway, I was into the story (ignoring the father/son thing that didn't work, like, ever) and I particularly liked when Sam gained some understanding of the world and had a bargain forced on him that essentially makes him a System troubleshooter, committed to finding and ending flaws brought about by the evil outsiders. It was an interesting plot that kept me going even though the pacing for this story is awful.
Oh yeah. There are two things that drag the pace down to a crawl periodically. First, the author head-hops with abandon, often on the same page and sometimes to bad-guys or others nowhere near our protagonists. Which I find annoying, even when done well (it is not done well here). Second, the author often loses themselves in exposition and/or analysis that can go paragraphs too long. This kills pace dead and happens occasionally in the middle of actual action/fights.
Anyway, I was engaged enough to finish and still have a desire to move on to the next book. So let's call it three stars and I hope that the author's craft improves over time. The flaws aren't the kind of things that improve without direct effort, however, so I have my doubts.
A note about Chaste: For most of the story, it's just Sam and his dad. Even when a pretty girl shows up, there just isn't time or space for anything romantic to develop. So this is very, maybe even extremely, chaste.
December 20, 2021
Yup, can't do it. Calling it off at 23% mark.
Character 1/10, Plot 5/10, Setting-Game Mechanics ?, Writing 4/10, Enjoyment 1/10
The characters were flat, the writing was genre-average at best, but compared to the new generation of LitRPG it might be subpar since it had the usual weaknesses but also some proofreading errors.
The characters were just so flat. The absence of character voice/personality in the prose combined with the 3rd person pov and the head hopping made it hard to tell who was the pov character at times between Jeric and Sam. There was absolutely no personality or character voice to tell them apart, and the head hopping made it so that the pronoun "him" could have referred to either one of them. If you spaced out for a paragraph or two, you would have to backtrack to figure out who's head you were in. I spaced out a lot because nothing was actually happening.
The writing just wasn't very good. There were all the usual clunky sentences, the use of 'as' conjunctively, and bad subject-verb agreement. Ex: “Jeric didn’t see the look in Sam’s eyes. His father was hiding it to keep up a positive mood, but Sam knew he wasn’t doing well.” 'It' would normally refer to the look in Sam’s eyes or to a noun in the previous sentence, but that’s not the case here. Additionally, this is just bland expositional narrative that doesn't give the reader opportunity to interpret anything. Not to mention that the author hopped from Jeric's to Sam's pov in the same paragraph.
I was so bored. There's no excuse to waste 20% of the book covering ground that could have been done in a couple chapters. If there's a good story here down the road, the writing isn't a capable enough vehicle to get me there.
This aint it, Chief.
Character 1/10, Plot 5/10, Setting-Game Mechanics ?, Writing 4/10, Enjoyment 1/10
The characters were flat, the writing was genre-average at best, but compared to the new generation of LitRPG it might be subpar since it had the usual weaknesses but also some proofreading errors.
The characters were just so flat. The absence of character voice/personality in the prose combined with the 3rd person pov and the head hopping made it hard to tell who was the pov character at times between Jeric and Sam. There was absolutely no personality or character voice to tell them apart, and the head hopping made it so that the pronoun "him" could have referred to either one of them. If you spaced out for a paragraph or two, you would have to backtrack to figure out who's head you were in. I spaced out a lot because nothing was actually happening.
The writing just wasn't very good. There were all the usual clunky sentences, the use of 'as' conjunctively, and bad subject-verb agreement. Ex: “Jeric didn’t see the look in Sam’s eyes. His father was hiding it to keep up a positive mood, but Sam knew he wasn’t doing well.” 'It' would normally refer to the look in Sam’s eyes or to a noun in the previous sentence, but that’s not the case here. Additionally, this is just bland expositional narrative that doesn't give the reader opportunity to interpret anything. Not to mention that the author hopped from Jeric's to Sam's pov in the same paragraph.
I was so bored. There's no excuse to waste 20% of the book covering ground that could have been done in a couple chapters. If there's a good story here down the road, the writing isn't a capable enough vehicle to get me there.
This aint it, Chief.
October 18, 2021
How did this get such high reviews?
Books like this makes me loose faith in the review system. I believe, that the books score is inflated through faked reviews.
The language is frictous and I am unable to loose myself in the book, something that happens with most books. The character introduction is short and repetitive. The characters feel flat. The merge between fantasy and advanced digital cultures unbelievable. This is the first in a long while that I've actually became mad at the poor quality and erased the book from my device, and i read a lot of mediocre litRPG.
Books like this makes me loose faith in the review system. I believe, that the books score is inflated through faked reviews.
The language is frictous and I am unable to loose myself in the book, something that happens with most books. The character introduction is short and repetitive. The characters feel flat. The merge between fantasy and advanced digital cultures unbelievable. This is the first in a long while that I've actually became mad at the poor quality and erased the book from my device, and i read a lot of mediocre litRPG.
October 4, 2021
Did lots of skimming after the halfway point.
October 4, 2021
Rating 4.0 stars
This one was pretty good but it was overly wordy IMO. Took a while to get into the story. This is a world with game mechanics and when someone turns 18 they get their class. They don't really have much choice in that class. What they get is what they get. They can have a different profession but raising their class level is the only way to gain experience and open up opportunities. That is why the MC is so upset. He got the same class as his father and his grandfather before him. Battlefield reclaimer which is a broken class. That means he has no idea how to unlock the quest that he needs to get past level 10. Most people can get to level 15 in a couple of months. His father has been level 9 for 30 years. The father and son travel together to an outsider outpost to see if the 2 of them can finally unlock the class. Things go horribly wrong. The crafting was pretty good, the magical theory was interesting, the action was pretty good and I like the father son dynamic. As I mentioned before it was overly wordy and slow at times but overall a good read.
This one was pretty good but it was overly wordy IMO. Took a while to get into the story. This is a world with game mechanics and when someone turns 18 they get their class. They don't really have much choice in that class. What they get is what they get. They can have a different profession but raising their class level is the only way to gain experience and open up opportunities. That is why the MC is so upset. He got the same class as his father and his grandfather before him. Battlefield reclaimer which is a broken class. That means he has no idea how to unlock the quest that he needs to get past level 10. Most people can get to level 15 in a couple of months. His father has been level 9 for 30 years. The father and son travel together to an outsider outpost to see if the 2 of them can finally unlock the class. Things go horribly wrong. The crafting was pretty good, the magical theory was interesting, the action was pretty good and I like the father son dynamic. As I mentioned before it was overly wordy and slow at times but overall a good read.
November 19, 2021
It does several things that mark it out from the standard dross of the progression fantasy genre, such as having a duo of characters leveling together.
-It's fairly long, that's always nice.
-There are several moments where the characterization shines through, such as Sam's conflict between his anger and desire to protect his family leading into his subclass.
-Sam isn't a super genius (at first), using the knowledge of previous generations to help him draw new conclusions.
-Some very strong death flags don't play out as expected.
However, none of this can save it from the poor writing quality. There is just too much telling for me to handle--it is overly fond of relating exactly what a character is feeling over the course of several paragraphs and it hurts to read.
Continual exposition both in dialog and narration doesn't help.
And then to clinch matters, it's yet another fire-based edgelord warrior mage build that is destined to save the world who has no weaknesses or limitations and just does every single thing better than every other person in existence. Add it to the pile.
The father would have been a much more interesting person to follow. Without Sam around.
-It's fairly long, that's always nice.
-There are several moments where the characterization shines through, such as Sam's conflict between his anger and desire to protect his family leading into his subclass.
-Sam isn't a super genius (at first), using the knowledge of previous generations to help him draw new conclusions.
-Some very strong death flags don't play out as expected.
However, none of this can save it from the poor writing quality. There is just too much telling for me to handle--it is overly fond of relating exactly what a character is feeling over the course of several paragraphs and it hurts to read.
Continual exposition both in dialog and narration doesn't help.
And then to clinch matters, it's yet another fire-based edgelord warrior mage build that is destined to save the world who has no weaknesses or limitations and just does every single thing better than every other person in existence. Add it to the pile.
The father would have been a much more interesting person to follow. Without Sam around.
January 25, 2022
The beginning is almost a carbon-copy of Heavy. Same setting, same family structure, same evening dinner, same "class day"... But even worse writing.
Maybe it branches off later on, but the beginning is just too bad for me.
Maybe it branches off later on, but the beginning is just too bad for me.
September 10, 2021
An interesting twist a breath of fresh air.
I liked this book. A solid eight out of 10. Nice action. Good character development. And an interesting hotline that is not over done! A crafter with real battle power! Yet, struggling and growing as we read. Pick it up and you won’t be disappointed!
I liked this book. A solid eight out of 10. Nice action. Good character development. And an interesting hotline that is not over done! A crafter with real battle power! Yet, struggling and growing as we read. Pick it up and you won’t be disappointed!
September 11, 2021
an interesting story
The character growth is fun to experience. And the system has some very interesting nuances that make it intriguing. The stats are present but don’t make the story crunchy. I recommend this story to anyone that enjoys litrpg
The character growth is fun to experience. And the system has some very interesting nuances that make it intriguing. The stats are present but don’t make the story crunchy. I recommend this story to anyone that enjoys litrpg
September 4, 2021
A New Favorite
Great characters, plot, exciting battles and Crafting, I'm very pleased and truly can hardly wait for next book. Very well written with descriptions that drew me in. Our original basic characters have become More and looks like an unexpected shakeup of leadership will likely occur in battle to fix the flaws. Well done.
Great characters, plot, exciting battles and Crafting, I'm very pleased and truly can hardly wait for next book. Very well written with descriptions that drew me in. Our original basic characters have become More and looks like an unexpected shakeup of leadership will likely occur in battle to fix the flaws. Well done.
April 21, 2023
KU Review
Not sure why I skipped it when I first saw it. This was a great story with solid plot lines promising so much more.
General disclaimer: I want to be clear in that I do not factor cost into any review and as such, this is simply a reflection of my enjoyment of the book and in no way reflects cost to value analysis.
Not sure why I skipped it when I first saw it. This was a great story with solid plot lines promising so much more.
General disclaimer: I want to be clear in that I do not factor cost into any review and as such, this is simply a reflection of my enjoyment of the book and in no way reflects cost to value analysis.
September 9, 2021
A pleasant surprise
Wasn't expecting what I found within the pages of this book - an evolving story with vivid characters and world building, interesting magic system forming the a string basis for ensuing sequels.
Wasn't expecting what I found within the pages of this book - an evolving story with vivid characters and world building, interesting magic system forming the a string basis for ensuing sequels.
September 8, 2021
Worth reading
Will await second instalment eagerly 😀😀😀😀 😀😀😀😀 😀😀😀 😀😀
😀😀 😀😀 😀😀 😀😀😀 😀😀😀 😀😀😀 😀😀😀 😀😀😀 😀😀 😀😀 !!!!!!
Will await second instalment eagerly 😀😀😀😀 😀😀😀😀 😀😀😀 😀😀
😀😀 😀😀 😀😀 😀😀😀 😀😀😀 😀😀😀 😀😀😀 😀😀😀 😀😀 😀😀 !!!!!!
September 5, 2021
Almost didn't buy
Which would have been a shame. Started with a free sample but quickly bought the book. This is a great story with an unique and wonderful world. Eagerly awaiting the next book. Highly recommend.
Which would have been a shame. Started with a free sample but quickly bought the book. This is a great story with an unique and wonderful world. Eagerly awaiting the next book. Highly recommend.
September 30, 2021
Excellent Story You Will Remember
I loved this story. The wouldn't was fantastic! Complex and deep, but in a way that's easy to understand and fascinating to learn about. I can't wait to see more of it! The characters were great. I loved the progression of our main character and his dad. It felt so real, and I loved seeing the difference in how far both ended up, both in skill and in strength of character. The secondary characters have their own personalities and goals, behind allies in a way that was convincing and satisfying.
I can't wait for the next book! Also, please offer a paperback version so that I can reread. 😉
I loved this story. The wouldn't was fantastic! Complex and deep, but in a way that's easy to understand and fascinating to learn about. I can't wait to see more of it! The characters were great. I loved the progression of our main character and his dad. It felt so real, and I loved seeing the difference in how far both ended up, both in skill and in strength of character. The secondary characters have their own personalities and goals, behind allies in a way that was convincing and satisfying.
I can't wait for the next book! Also, please offer a paperback version so that I can reread. 😉
September 29, 2021
I really enjoyed...
I really enjoyed the world, it's unique laws, powers and state. The concept of the prison, world, and conflicting factions was fascinating. The division of experience, essence and aura was also intriguing. Plus the story was fun!
Looking with anticipation to the next installment in the series.
I really enjoyed the world, it's unique laws, powers and state. The concept of the prison, world, and conflicting factions was fascinating. The division of experience, essence and aura was also intriguing. Plus the story was fun!
Looking with anticipation to the next installment in the series.
September 27, 2021
Fanfreakintastic
I didn't really know what I was going I to when I started this book. Based on the size of it I incorrectly assumed to be one of those progression based books. But no this was strictly a new little classic. Filled with adventure, character development , skills and levels. This book was a fun read that I am proud to say kept me fully invested for a couple of days. Will read more by this author.
I didn't really know what I was going I to when I started this book. Based on the size of it I incorrectly assumed to be one of those progression based books. But no this was strictly a new little classic. Filled with adventure, character development , skills and levels. This book was a fun read that I am proud to say kept me fully invested for a couple of days. Will read more by this author.
September 27, 2021
Amazing book
This a a great start to what looks to be an epic series. The main character is young but grows quickly in intelligence and maturity. I really like how the author took this genre and created a new and refreshing take on it. I will be getting the next book the day it's released.
This a a great start to what looks to be an epic series. The main character is young but grows quickly in intelligence and maturity. I really like how the author took this genre and created a new and refreshing take on it. I will be getting the next book the day it's released.
March 30, 2023
Boring, and bland. There are absolutely zero stakes, as the main character can essentially do anything. Total Gary Stu.
Onomatopoeia is used to an obnoxious degree. Once in a while it can be used to good effect. Using it every time a character casts a spell? Nah, bro.
Also, crystal flames doesn't make sense on any level. Not even "magic" can square that circle.
Rating two stars instead of one solely because it's readable and has minimal typos. That's often a feat in itself for this genre. 😂
*Fixed a typo of my own! 😁
Onomatopoeia is used to an obnoxious degree. Once in a while it can be used to good effect. Using it every time a character casts a spell? Nah, bro.
Also, crystal flames doesn't make sense on any level. Not even "magic" can square that circle.
Rating two stars instead of one solely because it's readable and has minimal typos. That's often a feat in itself for this genre. 😂
*Fixed a typo of my own! 😁
January 30, 2022
Good take on LITRPG...I love it
The MC is reasonable and I like his temperament. He started out understandably without any confidence but that just held him back. As soon as he over came his difficulty the talent that he had blossomed. I feel for the whole family and the reason they found themselves in the situation they did. I like the supporting characters too and I can't wait for them in interact again. hope the MC gets strong enough quickly because it doesn't look like he and peace are meant for each other.
The MC is reasonable and I like his temperament. He started out understandably without any confidence but that just held him back. As soon as he over came his difficulty the talent that he had blossomed. I feel for the whole family and the reason they found themselves in the situation they did. I like the supporting characters too and I can't wait for them in interact again. hope the MC gets strong enough quickly because it doesn't look like he and peace are meant for each other.
May 31, 2022
Family adventure plus Litrpg
A breath of fresh air because instead of an Isekai MC growing powerful we have an native MC doing well in the world and taking his family along his growth path. It is the unfortunate reality that many authors choose to kill off family members/ make them abusive, hostile/ far removed from the plot to become irrelevant. This is seriously a refreshing change. World building, magic system and adventure flow nicely together without seeming to be a data dump. Seriously looking forward to reading the next in the series.
A breath of fresh air because instead of an Isekai MC growing powerful we have an native MC doing well in the world and taking his family along his growth path. It is the unfortunate reality that many authors choose to kill off family members/ make them abusive, hostile/ far removed from the plot to become irrelevant. This is seriously a refreshing change. World building, magic system and adventure flow nicely together without seeming to be a data dump. Seriously looking forward to reading the next in the series.
May 12, 2022
So much better than I expected
I found this book while searching to see if there were any books similar to some of favorite Webtoons. I was intrigued by the blurb, but holy wow this was much better than I expected. It wasn't a quick read, the world building was astronomical, and the characters were extremely detailed. I loved the cultivation style this has, and the idea of being small parts of a larger system. This is one of the best books I've read so far this year.
I found this book while searching to see if there were any books similar to some of favorite Webtoons. I was intrigued by the blurb, but holy wow this was much better than I expected. It wasn't a quick read, the world building was astronomical, and the characters were extremely detailed. I loved the cultivation style this has, and the idea of being small parts of a larger system. This is one of the best books I've read so far this year.
September 19, 2021
really interesting
Crafting is a large part, including theory and practice. Thorough world building. Clean prose.
I liked how the narrative crafted a way for the MC to be special without making all previous people seem incompetent. The world system is broken/damaged. Simple, yet effective. Even better, he *isn’t* some special prophecized ‘chosen one’, he is a mistake that compounded.
Now for the critique:
One scene near the beginning seemed forced — when the three teen/adults came and hassled him, there wasn’t really a purpose for them to be there other than to harass. It felt clumsy.
Most of the fight scenes were strangely protracted — having characters go through deep, meaningful philosophical concepts in the midst of combat should have resulted in their death. There was one fight at the end that had me actually yell, “JUST KILL HIM ALREADY!!!”, as the MC went through pages of internal monologue before striking the final blow (thankfully, I was home alone at the time). Once battle is joined, I feel it should be more kinetic and abrupt.
Also, I don’t think the style is solid — following the MC’s thoughts and motivations is normal; switching between characters may add nuance, but it muddies the narrative and moves from ‘show’ to ‘tell’. Especially because it gives the reader more information than the characters themselves have. Which may be useful, but it should be purposeful as well.
All that said, I still recommend this. Strongly. I look forward to the next novel and am glad I *paid* for this one.
Crafting is a large part, including theory and practice. Thorough world building. Clean prose.
I liked how the narrative crafted a way for the MC to be special without making all previous people seem incompetent. The world system is broken/damaged. Simple, yet effective. Even better, he *isn’t* some special prophecized ‘chosen one’, he is a mistake that compounded.
Now for the critique:
One scene near the beginning seemed forced — when the three teen/adults came and hassled him, there wasn’t really a purpose for them to be there other than to harass. It felt clumsy.
Most of the fight scenes were strangely protracted — having characters go through deep, meaningful philosophical concepts in the midst of combat should have resulted in their death. There was one fight at the end that had me actually yell, “JUST KILL HIM ALREADY!!!”, as the MC went through pages of internal monologue before striking the final blow (thankfully, I was home alone at the time). Once battle is joined, I feel it should be more kinetic and abrupt.
Also, I don’t think the style is solid — following the MC’s thoughts and motivations is normal; switching between characters may add nuance, but it muddies the narrative and moves from ‘show’ to ‘tell’. Especially because it gives the reader more information than the characters themselves have. Which may be useful, but it should be purposeful as well.
All that said, I still recommend this. Strongly. I look forward to the next novel and am glad I *paid* for this one.
September 30, 2021
Awesome book
Awesome book. Very fun and fairly long read. Very aggressive power curve for the MC but loads of fun. Coming of age book of sorts. The MC receives a crappy or unuseable class that turns out to be very powerful under the right conditions of which no one know. He ends up being a unique and powerful crafter. However the usual tenants apply with great power comes great responsibility. He is enlisted or more accurately conscripted into helping the world law system That he used to hate And save the world from invaders. Lots of crafting in this book which is a personal love of mine. I hope if there are more books that we see more of that .Special bonus no cliffhanger at the end of the book!.. I like it when author's wrap up After the big battle Instead of trying to set up the stage for the next book. If you like crafting and discovery you will love the book. There is little to no romance. Dry in that department. However The author is very clear With emotions and intent especially from a famille point of of view. All of the characters are fairly well developed and not Flat. The author is liberal with description. I would like to see more books in a series but certainly enjoyed this one regardless.
Awesome book. Very fun and fairly long read. Very aggressive power curve for the MC but loads of fun. Coming of age book of sorts. The MC receives a crappy or unuseable class that turns out to be very powerful under the right conditions of which no one know. He ends up being a unique and powerful crafter. However the usual tenants apply with great power comes great responsibility. He is enlisted or more accurately conscripted into helping the world law system That he used to hate And save the world from invaders. Lots of crafting in this book which is a personal love of mine. I hope if there are more books that we see more of that .Special bonus no cliffhanger at the end of the book!.. I like it when author's wrap up After the big battle Instead of trying to set up the stage for the next book. If you like crafting and discovery you will love the book. There is little to no romance. Dry in that department. However The author is very clear With emotions and intent especially from a famille point of of view. All of the characters are fairly well developed and not Flat. The author is liberal with description. I would like to see more books in a series but certainly enjoyed this one regardless.
December 15, 2021
A surprisingly good read!
I wasnt sure going into this how good it would be. The cover and the description dont really do this book justice. In a world where everything depends on your class, having a broken class makes you the lowest of the low. That's what the MC and his family have been struggling with for generations. A sudden change in that tosses their lives upside down. The vast majority of this book takes place as the MC and his father struggle to return to their family and deal with both the repercussions that came from fixing their class and the circumstances they find themselves in afterward. Solidly written, with an interesting play up of the father and son bond. And for the crafting lovers out there, a large portion of book is dedicated to the MC and growing as a crafter as well as a fighter.
I wasnt sure going into this how good it would be. The cover and the description dont really do this book justice. In a world where everything depends on your class, having a broken class makes you the lowest of the low. That's what the MC and his family have been struggling with for generations. A sudden change in that tosses their lives upside down. The vast majority of this book takes place as the MC and his father struggle to return to their family and deal with both the repercussions that came from fixing their class and the circumstances they find themselves in afterward. Solidly written, with an interesting play up of the father and son bond. And for the crafting lovers out there, a large portion of book is dedicated to the MC and growing as a crafter as well as a fighter.
September 6, 2021
Excellent
I really enjoyed this book. It is litrpg without the standard story line developments (spoiler alert, the family of the mc isnt killed off!) It contains both combat and crafting and manages to make both exciting. The main character is likeable throughout the story but still shows significant character growth. I will be looking forward to the next in series.
I really enjoyed this book. It is litrpg without the standard story line developments (spoiler alert, the family of the mc isnt killed off!) It contains both combat and crafting and manages to make both exciting. The main character is likeable throughout the story but still shows significant character growth. I will be looking forward to the next in series.
January 3, 2022
excellent!
I understand the many positive reviews! This book could probably have been a little smaller, and a couple of times I was getting annoyed at the philosophizing in the middle of a fight, but overall I really liked the growth of the characters as they progressed! Highly recommend.
I understand the many positive reviews! This book could probably have been a little smaller, and a couple of times I was getting annoyed at the philosophizing in the middle of a fight, but overall I really liked the growth of the characters as they progressed! Highly recommend.
February 5, 2022
Truly Different
They way this book is written, and the underlying systems, are different than what I've seen of the genre before.
More intensely descriptive, more internal character development, the choices the characters have a weight to them, that most books don't provide.
Truly an outstanding example of what this genre can be!
They way this book is written, and the underlying systems, are different than what I've seen of the genre before.
More intensely descriptive, more internal character development, the choices the characters have a weight to them, that most books don't provide.
Truly an outstanding example of what this genre can be!
March 5, 2022
Surprisingly positive
This book surprised me quite a few times with the direction the story took. Every time it did, it made me like it even more. The plot was a fairly basic adventure, but the world building, the versatile magic system, and the excellent set up for future books were all top notch.
This book surprised me quite a few times with the direction the story took. Every time it did, it made me like it even more. The plot was a fairly basic adventure, but the world building, the versatile magic system, and the excellent set up for future books were all top notch.
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