Don't bring a sword to a gunfight... Unless it has +5 radiant damage. Henry’s life as a valiant defender of the realm is over—stolen away when he is transported to a strange new world. Instead of horses and swords, it has cars, rent, hamburgers, and a gun-toting part-time waitress named Shana. There isn't much use for a white knight atop a fiery steed… or is there?
Thankfully, Henry’s ability to level up and unlock powerful new skills hasn’t abandoned him. In fact, Shana is starting to level up, too. But there's a catch. Turns out, they’ve caught the attention of a secret society that's devoted to the very system of power that Henry was raised on. Led by the enigmatic Demon King, they aren’t happy about newcomers getting involved in their affairs. Magic, power, experience—the Society wants it all for themselves, and they'll happily kill whoever it takes to keep it that way.
"A fast, fun, and funny new LitRPG adventure series from debut author Miles English that will leave you turning pages well into the morning!" — James A. Hunter, bestselling author of Viridian Gate Online, Rogue Dungeon, Shadowcroft Acadmey, and co-author of Bibliomancer with Dakota Krout
Is reverse isekai a thing? Because this would be that thing. It's a portal fantasy, only the fantasy got portalled into our world instead of the normal way around. And our world supposedly has a LitRPG system underlying it, only, everyone is at a minimum XP adjustment because there are no heroes to create parties with epic quests. Until a portal opens and imports a hero!
So add found-family and an epic quest (that's only really in the background, actually) and a dungeon core that took over a sewer (cores are a feature of some LitRPG sub-genres, dungeon cores spawn challenges for people who want to be challenged and come away with loot and XP) and, well, lots of fun adventure and good times.
The story opens with Shana helping Henry take down an evil sorcerer on a killing spree, thus joining his party. And gaining a level or two when the XP hits because she's now on a "normal" XP adjustment from being paired with a hero. She takes it remarkably in stride, probably because she can see the system messages and experience the results of assigning attributes and gaining skills for herself. Since Henry is right there to help/tutor her in those first steps, it goes pretty well. She naturally drags some friends into things when she feels they need some help. So Daniel the nerd/wizard wannabe and Bri the princess/berserker come in and adventure ensues as they find a dirty underbelly in the midst of our world's power structures.
Despite the stupid title and tone-deaf cover, this is a pretty great tale with fun friendships and an original backdrop that pulled me in. I think English made a huge error in splitting the party for a huge chunk of the middle, though I can see why it was useful for Henry to fully commit to our modern world (and give exposition to the hidden power structures). Splitting PoVs into three parts, at least one of which I found exasperating (because ), made for periodic shifts that threw me out of the story and made me frustrated.
I'm still going to go with four stars because the found family worked out and I like that it had the right amount of closure to make me want to come back for the next book. In addition to the great pace, fun characters, and interesting worldbuilding above, I mean.
A note about Chaste: There are some attractions amongst our young people and the party is gender balanced. But nobody is pairing off at this point so there's not even any kissing. So it's very chaste. With a brother-sister pair, the eventual couples in its current state would be . . . unsatisfying, so I'm not sure if I even want there to be any romance in coming installments. That's because I'm attached to a Shana/Henry pairing and that means we'd have to bring in outsiders if Daniel and Bri are to have any romance at all. A hinted-at Henry-Bri pairing doesn't thrill me any because Shana-Daniel doesn't work for me (at least, as they are currently) and that also implies bringing in outsiders for satisfying relationships. What?!? I'm still a romantic at heart, despite my current jag into the wonders of LitRPG.
This reverse Isekai LitRPG had a really fun concept but unfortunately I just never gelled with the writing or story.
The premise was fun. Rather than the typical Earthling sucked into a fantasy RPG world this story had a fantasy RPG hero sucked into modern day earth! He brought his magic with him and soon had two humans on the levelling system as well. Which was good as our fantasy hero was not the only one from his world that ended up on earth!
I should have loved this story as it had all the fish out of water elements I love and the characters were easy to root for but for some reason none of it quite worked for me. I never managed to get fully sucked into the story or engage with the characters. As a result I ditched this one around the 60% mark.
I’ll class this as a book with good ideas and that did nothing definably wrong but that I just never gelled with for some weird reason.
Rating: 2.5 stars.
Audio Note: Miles Meili was a strange choice. Dude sounded suitably aristocratic for our fantasy hero but sounded 100 years old which was off putting considering the MC was pretty young! Dude also struggled a bit with the female voice work.
I just love the concept in this new LitRPG series whereby the main character, Henry finds himself in today’s US arriving from a game world. Whats more Henry is a Knight, valorous and honor bound but totally clueless as to the modern and technological things he sees around him. He is used to checking his menu, stats, advancing and fighting monsters and dungeons and he is hell bent on a quest to kill the Demon King. But would he find this king in the US? First off he befriends Shana, a waitress who somehow get sucked into his game mode when tragedy strikes her place of work, and she introduces him to Daniel and later to Bri, her best friend and Daniel’s sister. They encounter sorcerers of a group called Olifactium who are out to kill Henry and though they do their best to advance and grow in strength they get separated and the girls are sent to the pit which is a dungeon, were they face their strongest challenges. There are quite a few heart stopping moments during this part of the story. I love the way this great adventure is unfolding for the team and how Henry faces his challenges never once wavering regarding his loyalty to his new friends when he feels that their lives are threatened. I cannot wait to read book 2 and I think the author really nailed this series!
An RPG spectacular book. This book is very well written the story and characters draw you into their world from page 1. The story has great twists and turns that keep you guessing right to the very end! If you like adventure, D&D, RPGs or just a great story this book is for you!
But they are big ones. The characters do not drive the story, the situation does. That is problem one. The idea behind this is used for set up then forgotten, this turns it into a cheap gimmick. That makes the entire thing boring. The second issue is the conflict. It is horribly unbalanced. The sorcerers, the dungeon mobs, it is all unbalanced. So with no good conflict to mitigate a boring narrative, you have a terrible book.
I loved Miles English's LitRPG work "In Another World I Must Defeat the Demon King." Think 2nd Jumanji movie, LOTR, and a backwards Narnia portal. Two things stand out about English's novel: It's much better written than any other LitRPG novel I've read, and there are a few clever twists to the genre that make it exciting to read. English's grasp of plot, pacing, characterization, and world-building pulled me right in and I hate that book 2 isn't in my hand right this second. The Narnia reference is one of the mentioned twists, and it's done very cleverly. The rest I'll leave for the reader to discover. The characters are all fun and unique, and their reactions to becoming part of the RPG world heightens that uniquness. My only negative comment is that in making some of the villains repulsive, English did too good a job for me to want my kids under 15 to read it. Those scenes are short and shuddery, though nothing is graphic or gratuitous. Those villians are decidedly creepy and deserving of being thwarted. Go buy it. But it may ruin most other LitRPG books for you.
Shana is a waitress working at a small restaurant in Texas. One day at work, a strange young man comes walking down the street, firing off Magic fireballs. Which is sort of weird, because magic doesn't exist. Her boss grabs a shotgun, hands her one and they set out to save the restaurant, and possibly some of their patrons as well. Magic however, doesn't seem to be intimidated by firearms. Then, another young man comes marching down the street, rushing in with a sword and an old fashioned military uniform. Henry has been pulled from his homeworld, where magic exists, and people 'level up'. And, when he helps Shana and Nigel defeat the Sorceror, suddenly Shana is able to see her 'stats' and start leveling up as well. Perhaps magic isn't as impossible as she thought.
An utterly fast-paced, fantastical LRPG, and thoroughly enjoyable.
I don't read a lot of LitRPG, but this is one I've really enjoyed. The female characters are as intensely over-the-top and fun as the male characters are, which is something I look for and enjoy in books. The book has a lot of humor, ranging from zany to wry. Plus if you enjoy action, it moves quickly from action to action without sacrificing character development along the way.
I don't know if LitRPG is for me, if this is indicative of the genre. I'm not sure that it could ever approach the level of "art," but I could certainly see it developing into a guilty pleasure. Honestly, I skipped over the RPG stuff mostly—didn't keep track of which of these characters was gaining which level or what their stats were. Most of that was covered well enough by the narrative anyway so keeping specific track of the nitty-gritty XP gains wasn't necessary for my enjoyment of the story.
As to the story itself . . . I guess I liked it. I finished the entire book in a few days, so that says something about it.
What did surprise me was that this was recommended to me by a friend who is a member of my Church, and there were a few elements of this book that I found slightly salacious. I know that the author is also a member of the Church, and these various references were played straight enough that I couldn't tell if they were included to appease the neckbeard crowd (which, I assume, makes up a large portion of the audience for such novels) or if they were included as critiques of some of these things. These moments mostly revolved around women and their presence in the book (any book that includes the phrase "big-titty" is suspect in my mind). I shudder to think what other LitRPG stories do if this is standard fare, because this surprised me, but I could also see it being tame in comparison to non-LDS LitRPG authors' work.
So if LitRPG is your thing, sure, you'll probably like it. I'm fairly certain this genre isn't for me, though.
The book starts innocently enough. A tall, dark and handsome man shows up at the diner Shana works at, and after work she takes him to her friend's brother's house so he can get some rest. Then the brother gets involved, and they turn into a four person adventuring team. First stop? Antville, where the sewers have stopped working.
The end goal might be to kill the Demon King, but we never so much as catch a glimpse of him. After the sewer adventure, sorcerers get involved, and it doesn't go well for anyone. Everyone's heard of slice of life stories, but this is closer to a slice of action story, where the only goal is survival.
Don't get me wrong, it's a well-written and edited book. But I do think it drops down a notch for not having a clear goal to accomplish in book 1. Yes, this is the introduction to the characters, what they can do, plus the new leveling that appeared out of nowhere.
The editing is very good, and the stats are there but innocuous enough that they don't take away from the story. The characters are well drawn, and there is a nice setup at the end for book 2. Which I will read, but not until I finish a couple other books first.
Henry is brought to Earth from a magical fantasy land to save Earth from the DemonLord. But he quickly found that magic is hidden, secret societies abound and he can’t go it alone. He and his friends run afoul of one society, get separated, and thrown into their own no win situations. But they come through by the skin of their teeth and defeat the society. And discover who the Demon Lord is.
It’s a fast paced and highly entertaining tale. Light reading, good world building, interesting magic system, and above all enjoyable. Have fun
A bit different. Shana is working the Sunday shift at the diner when someone appears, throwing fireballs. Followed by a sword-wielding hero looking like a Disney prince. She, the hero, and the diner's owner take the sorcerer down with sword and guns.
The new arrival, Henry, finds he has just become a [Knight]. He's on a Quest to destroy the Demon King, which makes it a bit interesting to land in a world where no one levels up. But after Shana helps him and he helps her with her new Status screen -- as in, assuring her she's not mad -- she and some friends help him oriented himself. (He shows a remarkable amount of sense for someone in an isekai, even if it's reversed.)
It involves a sewer dungeon and the classical rat; sorcerers and their crystal hearts; questions about experience in this world; Henry's impoverished family; skills and lore; and more.
I acquired this when I was low on things to read... The title is already giving anime vibes. I hope it's actually well written.
This book is iffy. I wanted to drop it at the start, then found it okay a few chapters in, then I'm indifferent.
I don't mind someone from modern earth being "isekai'd" to another world, but having someone from a less technologically developed world show up in the modern world without a clue of what is happening is really not my cup of tea.
I enjoyed this by the end, and don't mind reading the sequel sometime in the future.
There aren’t a ton of reverse isekai books in progression fantasy (that I’ve found) but this is a fun, light-hearted take on that trope. The leveling/stats aren’t very crunchy but the world-building is still solid. What’s more, the characters mesh well together and their conversation isn’t ridiculously juvenile.
I’ll be reading the next book, that’s for sure.
Also, I heard another this series from the CritRPG podcast, which had a fun interview with author Miles English. Can’t wait for Bog-Standard Isekai to get an audio version.
За съжаление има много книги, за които някак не мога да напиша ревю. От една страна, това със сигурност е, защото ненавиждам ревюта, които са всъщност преразказ на книгата и по-скоро бих си отрязал пръстите, отколкото да напиша такова (метафорично казано, разбира се - естествено, че не бих си отрязал пръстите).
От друга, може би чета тъпи, безсъдържателни книги, защото макар да са що-годе интересни за четене, не ме навеждат на никакви мисли. Демек, четенето им е някакво безмозъчно косуматорство, един вид литературен тикток. Кофти.
I didn't know I liked LitRPG, but I LOVED THIS BOOK and the secret world it revealed. The characters feel real, and like people I would like to hang out with (although Daniel scares me a little). Lots of exciting action that got my heart racing, and witty banter that made me laugh. And it's just so original! Fresh takes on everything from a knight's faithful steed to magical items to the ecology of dungeons. A fantastic book from start to finish. Can't wait to pick up the rest of the series!
Like a cross between Enchanted and Ready Player One, a hero from another (RPG-inspired) world comes to earth, teams up with some earth humans who become a part of the game-like system, and tries to defeat the demon king. Very humorous and fun world building!! If you like adventurous fantasy books or games, especially ones with dungeons, you’ll enjoy this one.
To keep this short, if you enjoy an overpowered MC, isekai novels, or just a really well written story that uses tropes to its advantage, not its detriment, you need to read this book.
The first instalment of the "in another world" series is a great blend of action, comedy and drama supported by an intriguing cast. This inverted isekai is a thoroughly enjoyable read, I can't wait to read the next book.
A fun read with enjoyable protagonists. The action is fast paced and the changing points of view lets the reader experience the first person narrative of all the main characters. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
I really like the blend of magic and the modern world portrayed in the book. It was very interesting that the limit was in the experience, so it is almost impossible to get to level one. Very well written.
A wonderful fun book with a twist to portal fantasy. It had good character, good system and loot, great action and a great story. It is also clean with very little profanity.
I really enjoyed this book and will be getting the next one when it comes out. Look toward to growing the team and going on more adventure and dungeons.