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The Makalang #1
The Scarlet Cavern
Ex-Marine and lonely single dad Will Hawthorne just wants to clear his head with a weekend in the woods with his live-action roleplaying group.
But a careless misstep sends him tumbling through a cave into an alien world. There he finds a dying civilization of bizarre human-animal hybrids, filled with effete males and frustrated females who are soon pursuing him for their own ends.
For Will has stumbled into this world’s most powerful legend – a legend of the one who will come to reverse its decline – the legend of the Makalang.
The Scarlet Cavern is the first book in The Makalang series and contains explicit adult scenes and violence.
But a careless misstep sends him tumbling through a cave into an alien world. There he finds a dying civilization of bizarre human-animal hybrids, filled with effete males and frustrated females who are soon pursuing him for their own ends.
For Will has stumbled into this world’s most powerful legend – a legend of the one who will come to reverse its decline – the legend of the Makalang.
The Scarlet Cavern is the first book in The Makalang series and contains explicit adult scenes and violence.
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First published October 23, 2020
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About the author
Michael Dalton
81 books329 followersMichael Dalton is a professional journalist and editor.
Michael wrote his first piece of fiction in third grade, for which he was immediately accused of plagiarism by his teacher. Since then, he has been writing more or less steadily, interrupted only by occasional demands of work and family.
Michael lives with his family and multiple pets in Southern California.
Michael wrote his first piece of fiction in third grade, for which he was immediately accused of plagiarism by his teacher. Since then, he has been writing more or less steadily, interrupted only by occasional demands of work and family.
Michael lives with his family and multiple pets in Southern California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
October 26, 2020
Had to stop
Got to about the halfway mark and just stopped. A few things caused it. For one, there doesn’t appear to be a story or plot going on here. It’s just a collection of things happening with no greater purpose. Second, the MC is a loser. A really big loser. I won’t spoil why here, but suffice it to say that he gets used easily, and goes somewhere else to even resemble impressive, because there is basically zero competition.
Got to about the halfway mark and just stopped. A few things caused it. For one, there doesn’t appear to be a story or plot going on here. It’s just a collection of things happening with no greater purpose. Second, the MC is a loser. A really big loser. I won’t spoil why here, but suffice it to say that he gets used easily, and goes somewhere else to even resemble impressive, because there is basically zero competition.
January 8, 2021
Rating 4.0 stars
Not bad, sort of a typical transported to a different world harem adventure. The author spent a little more time on the backstory to make what happened next more believable. The main character is divorced and is spending the weekend with a group of LARPing friends. The divorce from his wife was devastating. Not only had the affair been going on for a long time before she broke it off and married the other guy but he now has to share custody of his 2 kids with the pair. He took the time away to get into great shape and get back into martial arts. He tried to date but it was too painful so he tried to do other things to take his mind off it. Like joining a LARP group like when he was younger. Making samurai and buying a cool-ass sword.
While hiking out to his group, he falls through a cave portal to another world. This world is filled with all the normal fantasy women - elves, bunny girls, cat girls, snake girls, etc. Their world is dying. There are not enough children. There are 50 women to every man and the men are not that impressive (think someone the size of a gnome with the penis size of a cigarette but. They can only have sex once a month or so. You can guess what happens. The MC starts collecting wives and uses his strength/ fighting skills to protect himself and his women. There is a little irony there as he was afraid of relationships after his divorce and now he has multiple wives that he needs to trust. Overall pretty good.
Not bad, sort of a typical transported to a different world harem adventure. The author spent a little more time on the backstory to make what happened next more believable. The main character is divorced and is spending the weekend with a group of LARPing friends. The divorce from his wife was devastating. Not only had the affair been going on for a long time before she broke it off and married the other guy but he now has to share custody of his 2 kids with the pair. He took the time away to get into great shape and get back into martial arts. He tried to date but it was too painful so he tried to do other things to take his mind off it. Like joining a LARP group like when he was younger. Making samurai and buying a cool-ass sword.
While hiking out to his group, he falls through a cave portal to another world. This world is filled with all the normal fantasy women - elves, bunny girls, cat girls, snake girls, etc. Their world is dying. There are not enough children. There are 50 women to every man and the men are not that impressive (think someone the size of a gnome with the penis size of a cigarette but. They can only have sex once a month or so. You can guess what happens. The MC starts collecting wives and uses his strength/ fighting skills to protect himself and his women. There is a little irony there as he was afraid of relationships after his divorce and now he has multiple wives that he needs to trust. Overall pretty good.
January 17, 2021
Really?
This is a juvenile wish fulfillment story... Which would be fine if it weren't so badly executed.
MC is a complete beta loser.. Larping + katana + shao lin karate + self loathing = a cheetoh warrior. There is a LOT more examples, but I wouldn't want to spoil it... I'll give you hint..... think cowbird.
All other characters are moustache twirling villains or mindless sex dolls.
Within the first 12 pages I counted half a dozen instances where the story countered information given. An example of this is when the guy says he hasn't rock climbed in years, then says how he recently got back in to it a few pages later. Another example is checking his cell phone then relying on a laser pointer for light. Its just a slow burn of things like that from the very beginning.
This is a juvenile wish fulfillment story... Which would be fine if it weren't so badly executed.
MC is a complete beta loser.. Larping + katana + shao lin karate + self loathing = a cheetoh warrior. There is a LOT more examples, but I wouldn't want to spoil it... I'll give you hint..... think cowbird.
All other characters are moustache twirling villains or mindless sex dolls.
Within the first 12 pages I counted half a dozen instances where the story countered information given. An example of this is when the guy says he hasn't rock climbed in years, then says how he recently got back in to it a few pages later. Another example is checking his cell phone then relying on a laser pointer for light. Its just a slow burn of things like that from the very beginning.
January 28, 2021
1.5 stars, dnf.
Stock monster-girl harem adventure up to about 60% at which point I quit. It showed some early promise but the journey lacked any sense of struggle and following our MC isn’t enjoyable. The harem itself doesn’t engender any emotion and the sex scenes are bland.
I gave up after about the fifth time that he fails to realize why he’s healing quickly, and when the element dropped. I mean really?
Stock monster-girl harem adventure up to about 60% at which point I quit. It showed some early promise but the journey lacked any sense of struggle and following our MC isn’t enjoyable. The harem itself doesn’t engender any emotion and the sex scenes are bland.
I gave up after about the fifth time that he fails to realize why he’s healing quickly, and when the element dropped. I mean really?
December 15, 2024
it's a 4 star book, but it pressed all my buttons so...
Transported to another world, smutty harem, male power trip, spank bank fantasy, some magic.
There truly are an awful lot of little things wrong with this book, but all the many pluses outweigh them.
Where to start? the good or the bad? Well I don't know, but I quit a Cebelius book half way through to jump this one ahead up the list, if that tells you anything. Let me say this: The book itself pales in comparison to the concurrent head cannon I conjured in my head wile reading it. If you build worlds in your mind out of the raw material of what you read than this book is very rich vein of iron indeed.
Scarlet Cavern starts badly. No other way to say it. At the start the MC is a schlub somewhere between William H. Macy and Westley Crusher. Secondly, I am sick to tears of the "Maybe I'm in a coma and dreaming all this" trope. I'm equally exhausted with the "I must be hallucinating" thing. Most all of us over 20 have tried and experienced voluntary hallucination and wile weird reality does remind us of those times we were out of our minds, you can tell the difference and they are not easily confused. Those two things "it's a dream" and "I must be tripping" are just lazy writing. There is a fair bit of lazy writing at the front end of this book, but it tapers off to almost none by the end. Another gripe I've got is that the author couldn't be bothered to go back and edit or rewrite the beginning to match what he changed later to make it all match up. again lazy writing.
Example: Can I believe that and former-Marine would become a financial planer and go LARPing? hell yes I can, and they do. Can I believe that an former-Marine would (or could) self identify as anything other than or before a Marine? maybe in a work of fiction, but not in my real life experience. Sure he might not tell you on day one, but is he a office guy who used to be a marine, or a Marine who now works in an office? I'll let you answer that one for yourself. but to introduce the MC character as an office guy, and then much latter "Oh, yeah I forgot." remember that he's also a Marine and a Veteran of a Foreign War? Horseshit. there are a couple of other little wtfs, but they are mostly all lowercase.
*THE GOOD* The world building is open ended. If you want to day dream yourself into this world, it is a perfect sandbox. To say too much more would be spoilerish, but let be say this: This is not a grimdark world where only the brutal survive. This is an other world that is hard to get to, And YES it's dangerous as hell, but once there to could be a nice guy and not get your throat cut in your sleep. Let me repeat and empathize that. Some and many other-world harem stories want to make a point that if you can't kick a puppy, or sell an orphan to a whorehouse this world will eat you alive. Not sexy Mr. Edgy Author. This harem fantasy world is flexible, you could almost say... nimble. There is more praise I could heap, but that might flavor your take on it. Millage may vary. Lastly, for now. Many of the early book flaws get worked out or go away by the half way point. Remember all those gripes I had at the top of the review? well they are mostly all for the first part of the book. if you can shake them off and move on, the rest is pretty damn intoxicating.
-Or maybe I just have a thing for monster girls? who can say.
Transported to another world, smutty harem, male power trip, spank bank fantasy, some magic.
There truly are an awful lot of little things wrong with this book, but all the many pluses outweigh them.
Where to start? the good or the bad? Well I don't know, but I quit a Cebelius book half way through to jump this one ahead up the list, if that tells you anything. Let me say this: The book itself pales in comparison to the concurrent head cannon I conjured in my head wile reading it. If you build worlds in your mind out of the raw material of what you read than this book is very rich vein of iron indeed.
Scarlet Cavern starts badly. No other way to say it. At the start the MC is a schlub somewhere between William H. Macy and Westley Crusher. Secondly, I am sick to tears of the "Maybe I'm in a coma and dreaming all this" trope. I'm equally exhausted with the "I must be hallucinating" thing. Most all of us over 20 have tried and experienced voluntary hallucination and wile weird reality does remind us of those times we were out of our minds, you can tell the difference and they are not easily confused. Those two things "it's a dream" and "I must be tripping" are just lazy writing. There is a fair bit of lazy writing at the front end of this book, but it tapers off to almost none by the end. Another gripe I've got is that the author couldn't be bothered to go back and edit or rewrite the beginning to match what he changed later to make it all match up. again lazy writing.
Example: Can I believe that and former-Marine would become a financial planer and go LARPing? hell yes I can, and they do. Can I believe that an former-Marine would (or could) self identify as anything other than or before a Marine? maybe in a work of fiction, but not in my real life experience. Sure he might not tell you on day one, but is he a office guy who used to be a marine, or a Marine who now works in an office? I'll let you answer that one for yourself. but to introduce the MC character as an office guy, and then much latter "Oh, yeah I forgot." remember that he's also a Marine and a Veteran of a Foreign War? Horseshit. there are a couple of other little wtfs, but they are mostly all lowercase.
*THE GOOD* The world building is open ended. If you want to day dream yourself into this world, it is a perfect sandbox. To say too much more would be spoilerish, but let be say this: This is not a grimdark world where only the brutal survive. This is an other world that is hard to get to, And YES it's dangerous as hell, but once there to could be a nice guy and not get your throat cut in your sleep. Let me repeat and empathize that. Some and many other-world harem stories want to make a point that if you can't kick a puppy, or sell an orphan to a whorehouse this world will eat you alive. Not sexy Mr. Edgy Author. This harem fantasy world is flexible, you could almost say... nimble. There is more praise I could heap, but that might flavor your take on it. Millage may vary. Lastly, for now. Many of the early book flaws get worked out or go away by the half way point. Remember all those gripes I had at the top of the review? well they are mostly all for the first part of the book. if you can shake them off and move on, the rest is pretty damn intoxicating.
-Or maybe I just have a thing for monster girls? who can say.
November 6, 2023
I did finish this book but I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. The book just wasn’t one of this authors best BUT I did give it 3/5 just for the idea. I couldn’t connect with any characters except for the bunny girl but that’s it. I won’t continue the series, but I still like the author.
October 10, 2020
This is the first in a new series that I will be releasing this fall and into next year. I've avoided the trap I fell into with the Twin Magic series by writing most of it before releasing the first one. Books 1-5 are in draft form, with Book 6 in progress.
The Makalang series is the saga of Will Hawthorne, a single dad and ex-Marine who fall through a portal into an alien world - a dying civilization that suffers from an extreme gender imbalance. The few males who exist are essentially breeding stock, but they have become so weak and degenerate that the world is beginning to die out. Will may be the solution they are seeking, but he and they discover that things may not be as they seem.
Taitala is a world that follows some of the tropes of the fantasy harem genre, but I worked hard to put a fresh spin on things. This is a complex matriarchal world with a lot complex elements growing out of that - it's not just a bunch of horny women waiting around for a man. Whether I succeeded, I'll leave to the readers, but I like how it came out.
The Makalang series is the saga of Will Hawthorne, a single dad and ex-Marine who fall through a portal into an alien world - a dying civilization that suffers from an extreme gender imbalance. The few males who exist are essentially breeding stock, but they have become so weak and degenerate that the world is beginning to die out. Will may be the solution they are seeking, but he and they discover that things may not be as they seem.
Taitala is a world that follows some of the tropes of the fantasy harem genre, but I worked hard to put a fresh spin on things. This is a complex matriarchal world with a lot complex elements growing out of that - it's not just a bunch of horny women waiting around for a man. Whether I succeeded, I'll leave to the readers, but I like how it came out.
October 26, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
The book was extremely enjoyable to me as I liked the MC and I enjoyed the world building. I honestly can't pinpoint exactly why this book was so enjoyable to read but I will definitely be looking forward to the next book in this series.
The book was extremely enjoyable to me as I liked the MC and I enjoyed the world building. I honestly can't pinpoint exactly why this book was so enjoyable to read but I will definitely be looking forward to the next book in this series.
January 25, 2022
Short. And mostly uneventful.
Not bad enough for a DNF, but not good enough for much more.
Not bad enough for a DNF, but not good enough for much more.
January 19, 2024
Please don't judge me, but I liked it
January 31, 2022
Very interesting
I’ve been looking forward to reading this book for a while. Needless to say, it didn’t disappoint. It wasn’t just a typical harem where a guy finds himself being wanted by women literally throwing himself at him (though it does feature that a lot), there’s actually a lot more to it:
The setting’s pretty interesting. The words they use and culture the groups have are bizarre at times, but they still keep your interest. It’s like a strange blend between past and future.
The characters are interesting too. They have really decent personalities that make them stand out from each other. They’re not carbon copies (though many don’t hesitate to pledger their allegiance to Will, which’s a little strange). Speaking of Will Hawthorne, he’s pretty cool so far. A real badass. That leads me to my next point.
The fight scenes. They were often short, yet intense. The one where he fought against the first Tsyolgi was pretty gripping given that he almost pierced his eye with a dagger.
The sex scenes were great too. They were hot like they should be. I liked how handsy Will was with his women. He sure loved to grope and caress them. Much to their delight, particularly the bunny-girl.
I guess my only gripe is that the chapters did lag on a bit. I felt like they could’ve been shorter in some areas.
Goes without saying, but I look forward to reading the next book and so on. Keep it up Will. For those who like harems and still a good story, this’s a must read.
I’ve been looking forward to reading this book for a while. Needless to say, it didn’t disappoint. It wasn’t just a typical harem where a guy finds himself being wanted by women literally throwing himself at him (though it does feature that a lot), there’s actually a lot more to it:
The setting’s pretty interesting. The words they use and culture the groups have are bizarre at times, but they still keep your interest. It’s like a strange blend between past and future.
The characters are interesting too. They have really decent personalities that make them stand out from each other. They’re not carbon copies (though many don’t hesitate to pledger their allegiance to Will, which’s a little strange). Speaking of Will Hawthorne, he’s pretty cool so far. A real badass. That leads me to my next point.
The fight scenes. They were often short, yet intense. The one where he fought against the first Tsyolgi was pretty gripping given that he almost pierced his eye with a dagger.
The sex scenes were great too. They were hot like they should be. I liked how handsy Will was with his women. He sure loved to grope and caress them. Much to their delight, particularly the bunny-girl.
I guess my only gripe is that the chapters did lag on a bit. I felt like they could’ve been shorter in some areas.
Goes without saying, but I look forward to reading the next book and so on. Keep it up Will. For those who like harems and still a good story, this’s a must read.
April 9, 2021
Good but depressing too
The overwhelming theme is the world is dieing. Birth rates are lower than death rates by far. Not sure how 1 man can change that. It does not seems possible and that is depressing. The people in the world have no energy and have dead eyes. So the book is good but depressing. Also, for some reason, the MC needed answers, knew people were after him to capture him to probably stud him out and he charges head in and gets captured like an idiot. No planning, no thinking, and no brains.Plot armor moves him along not his no thinking. I'll read book 2 hoping it is not depressing.
The overwhelming theme is the world is dieing. Birth rates are lower than death rates by far. Not sure how 1 man can change that. It does not seems possible and that is depressing. The people in the world have no energy and have dead eyes. So the book is good but depressing. Also, for some reason, the MC needed answers, knew people were after him to capture him to probably stud him out and he charges head in and gets captured like an idiot. No planning, no thinking, and no brains.Plot armor moves him along not his no thinking. I'll read book 2 hoping it is not depressing.
November 17, 2021
3.5 Stars, I do like these type of books, this one is not a 4 start but I still liked it.
June 28, 2024
The book, or rather, the series, is weird.
Not weird in terms it is a harem fantasy. The harem fantasy is actually a good part of this book that drives the rating up, not down. I expected an erotica when I started; I got an erotica i.e. it was meeting expectations. Bar is low. Some flaws which would ruin others, more serious and more grounded books don't matter in the works like this one. It even has an overarching plot, and some contrived, but comprehensible explanation for the setting and the character dynamic being the way they are, which is … well, not smart, but appreciable. I actually like this, not because it is objectively good, but because I know what I am diving into. A harem fantasy is a harem fantasy. No one hid that fact from me. It was marketed as one.
There are but minor problems.
The protagonist. I am charitable here, hence the good rating, since I am reading erotica, and this means the protagonist is very likely an audience surrogate, but no…
The protagonist is weird. On one hand, he is a decorated war hero commando marine athlete bodybuilder (!), on the other he is also a weak weeb loser accountant that thinks it is cool to larp with (actually not plastic) katana who can’t get over his break-up and spend all the time moaning about his ex and his two kids (!).
Yes, my sentence doesn’t make sense. The protagonist doesn’t make sense either.
There are two contradicting personalities in there! You couldn’t mix those, either you have idealised badass, or the loser.
You can’t have both “alpha” and “beta” in one character. Pick one, and stick to it, not both!
Not to mention ruining the entire wish-fulfilment fantasy with the stupid moaning over divorce and kids (which are NOT EVEN HIS). Just no. This doesn’t belong to the book like this at all, and it would be absolutely insufferable in the other novels as well, approaching the ridiculousness of the soap opera. Hell, if this was a soap opera, the divorce and kids' trauma would be associated with the female lead!
I’ll continue reading the books. Or listening to audio versions. They are free on audible, and the bar is low, so I am more open to this than I would be to more serious books.
Not weird in terms it is a harem fantasy. The harem fantasy is actually a good part of this book that drives the rating up, not down. I expected an erotica when I started; I got an erotica i.e. it was meeting expectations. Bar is low. Some flaws which would ruin others, more serious and more grounded books don't matter in the works like this one. It even has an overarching plot, and some contrived, but comprehensible explanation for the setting and the character dynamic being the way they are, which is … well, not smart, but appreciable. I actually like this, not because it is objectively good, but because I know what I am diving into. A harem fantasy is a harem fantasy. No one hid that fact from me. It was marketed as one.
There are but minor problems.
The protagonist. I am charitable here, hence the good rating, since I am reading erotica, and this means the protagonist is very likely an audience surrogate, but no…
The protagonist is weird. On one hand, he is a decorated war hero commando marine athlete bodybuilder (!), on the other he is also a weak weeb loser accountant that thinks it is cool to larp with (actually not plastic) katana who can’t get over his break-up and spend all the time moaning about his ex and his two kids (!).
Yes, my sentence doesn’t make sense. The protagonist doesn’t make sense either.
There are two contradicting personalities in there! You couldn’t mix those, either you have idealised badass, or the loser.
You can’t have both “alpha” and “beta” in one character. Pick one, and stick to it, not both!
Not to mention ruining the entire wish-fulfilment fantasy with the stupid moaning over divorce and kids (which are NOT EVEN HIS). Just no. This doesn’t belong to the book like this at all, and it would be absolutely insufferable in the other novels as well, approaching the ridiculousness of the soap opera. Hell, if this was a soap opera, the divorce and kids' trauma would be associated with the female lead!
I’ll continue reading the books. Or listening to audio versions. They are free on audible, and the bar is low, so I am more open to this than I would be to more serious books.
November 12, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up.
Writing quality: 3 stars. Could be better, could be much worse. This genre often includes a lot of pop culture references disguised as humor and ludicrous amounts of swearing; this book has neither which sets it above average. The biggest problem I find is that it takes itself too seriously, as we discover 'makalang' means something like 'Big Dick' in the alien language and should be a constant running joke and not an epic Chosen One vibe.
Lore/Worldbuilding: 4 stars. Although it's a monster girl harem fantasy, the setting is fairly unique. It's possible there's a famous Thai-flavoured silkpunk novel series that this is being lifted from, but I haven't read it, which makes this startingly original for smut.
Smut quality: 3 stars. Adequate. The scenes provide enough detail that it can be believed the author has had sex at least once in his life.
Smut quantity: 2.5 stars. It's not that there isn't enough, but the harem grows at such a lightning-fast speed that it makes it difficult to differentiate between the monster girls and their actual personalities and attributes. Sometimes less is more.
MC quality: 2 stars. Red flags: Iraq war veteran. Doesn't ask obvious questions in order to keep the plot 'mysterious'. Vacillates between wanting to stay or go home on the pretext that his kids aren't biologically his. Constantly complaining about his ex-wife and comparing the girls to her: at one point MC says that he treated previous relationships like unpaid therapists, exactly the way the author is treating his book audience via the MC as author insert.
Summary: For the genre, it's above average. It's not the author's first novel but maybe the writing will improve with time. The sex scenes are decent and plentiful but more work needs to be done to develop the characters. I'll give four stars to any smut that doesn't make me want to throw it in a fire like the vast majority of HaremLit.
Writing quality: 3 stars. Could be better, could be much worse. This genre often includes a lot of pop culture references disguised as humor and ludicrous amounts of swearing; this book has neither which sets it above average. The biggest problem I find is that it takes itself too seriously, as we discover 'makalang' means something like 'Big Dick' in the alien language and should be a constant running joke and not an epic Chosen One vibe.
Lore/Worldbuilding: 4 stars. Although it's a monster girl harem fantasy, the setting is fairly unique. It's possible there's a famous Thai-flavoured silkpunk novel series that this is being lifted from, but I haven't read it, which makes this startingly original for smut.
Smut quality: 3 stars. Adequate. The scenes provide enough detail that it can be believed the author has had sex at least once in his life.
Smut quantity: 2.5 stars. It's not that there isn't enough, but the harem grows at such a lightning-fast speed that it makes it difficult to differentiate between the monster girls and their actual personalities and attributes. Sometimes less is more.
MC quality: 2 stars. Red flags: Iraq war veteran. Doesn't ask obvious questions in order to keep the plot 'mysterious'. Vacillates between wanting to stay or go home on the pretext that his kids aren't biologically his. Constantly complaining about his ex-wife and comparing the girls to her: at one point MC says that he treated previous relationships like unpaid therapists, exactly the way the author is treating his book audience via the MC as author insert.
Summary: For the genre, it's above average. It's not the author's first novel but maybe the writing will improve with time. The sex scenes are decent and plentiful but more work needs to be done to develop the characters. I'll give four stars to any smut that doesn't make me want to throw it in a fire like the vast majority of HaremLit.
February 8, 2026
Omg the mc got on my nerves at first his ex wife is a hoe that was cheating on him for most of their marriage and had 2 kids that weren't his and this fool started collecting women and his focus is on going back home For what?? 2 kids that aren't his a ex wife and being single and can't find a girlfriend 🙄 really plus he doesn't care that the women he is collecting are dependent somewhat on him and other than getting his di☆k wet he still wants to go home how stupid but he eventually gives that idiocy up. I really hate the whole Chinese like wording of certain things and the women talk like English speaking Chinese people its weird and turns me right off the author seems obsessed with this trope his other series did this to it was good but it was built around clans and why couldn't it just be a fantasy world but it will try to stick with it just don't like this trope at all why not pick a japanese trope that's so much better another peeve is all the girls sound the same this off putting up tight and strange don't get me wrong I am not racist but I am a anime fan and just prefer japanese tropes if I am listening or watching Asian themed things the Chinese tropes are just really different like there version of anime a filled with up tight people and way to many gods and historical things but the have a few really good movies/tv dramas just dont want it in my books I tried to listen to a LitRPG book it was amazing at first but the 2 mc's were both in the military and the clash of good ole country boys and Chinese clan culture was so off putting i couldn't get into the book same thing with this uggg why I love the whole breeding angle but the author messed this up
May 12, 2021
Pretty good
The grammar was decent with a few minor error here and there. The stories pacing and flow moved along pretty well. Though it wasn't the most natural it certainly didn't feel stilted or forced. Solid 4.5 stars on that front.
The characters do have some dimension to them but more in lime with what you often find in this genre. 3.5-4 stars
The new world was quite fun and original. Despite resembling a teenage fantasy trope there's actually a lot going on in this world. The world was build up decently well. It was, by the end of this book, on the small side but that's understandable. 4.6 stars.
The fight scenes are somewhat few in number but were well written and solid in consideration. At no point was I shaking my head asking 'what? went where? with who?' 5 stars for quality (if not for length or number. Though I'm not necesarily complaining. There seemed to be plenty of 'action of the other sort.')
The relationships and loving interactions were likewise well written and felt natural. Though the girls didn't have the chance to show great depth there was a poignant connection that showed itself here and there. 4-5 stars.
Overall definitely worth the read if you're a fan of the genre and looking for a good addition to the mature end. Maybe not for you if your're tired of the genre and looking for something with a bit more depth. This isn't lacking in that department, but also wasn't especially impressive either.
The grammar was decent with a few minor error here and there. The stories pacing and flow moved along pretty well. Though it wasn't the most natural it certainly didn't feel stilted or forced. Solid 4.5 stars on that front.
The characters do have some dimension to them but more in lime with what you often find in this genre. 3.5-4 stars
The new world was quite fun and original. Despite resembling a teenage fantasy trope there's actually a lot going on in this world. The world was build up decently well. It was, by the end of this book, on the small side but that's understandable. 4.6 stars.
The fight scenes are somewhat few in number but were well written and solid in consideration. At no point was I shaking my head asking 'what? went where? with who?' 5 stars for quality (if not for length or number. Though I'm not necesarily complaining. There seemed to be plenty of 'action of the other sort.')
The relationships and loving interactions were likewise well written and felt natural. Though the girls didn't have the chance to show great depth there was a poignant connection that showed itself here and there. 4-5 stars.
Overall definitely worth the read if you're a fan of the genre and looking for a good addition to the mature end. Maybe not for you if your're tired of the genre and looking for something with a bit more depth. This isn't lacking in that department, but also wasn't especially impressive either.
March 20, 2023
Someone recommended this guy so this story stuck out as far as plot goes so I thought why not. To say I was disappointed would be somewhat of an understatement. This guy is about as pathetic a cuckold loser as it's possible to be without being a twink masochist.
I mean seriously the exposition on this guy's previous relationship was just bad to worse to just fucking blow my brains out. He's forever bitching about his ex-wife, their divorce her, affair blah blah blah and it's incessant.
When he's going through the whole I've got to get back to my kids he drops but they're not really my kids. WTF it seems his wife had had an ongoing affair with her lawyer lover for the entirety of their marriage. You see they met in College and yet somehow both of their kids are her fucking lovers?
And what did this fine specimen of manhood do about it, nothing. Yep he knew she was cheating but his only concern was are the kids mine? Which of course they're not hence eventual divorce but he makes it a condition the kids never know and he'll pay support and provide insurance etc.
That's our Hero a total and complete wimp whose a knowing cuckold and was too pathetic to do anything about it. 😂😂😂
I mean seriously the exposition on this guy's previous relationship was just bad to worse to just fucking blow my brains out. He's forever bitching about his ex-wife, their divorce her, affair blah blah blah and it's incessant.
When he's going through the whole I've got to get back to my kids he drops but they're not really my kids. WTF it seems his wife had had an ongoing affair with her lawyer lover for the entirety of their marriage. You see they met in College and yet somehow both of their kids are her fucking lovers?
And what did this fine specimen of manhood do about it, nothing. Yep he knew she was cheating but his only concern was are the kids mine? Which of course they're not hence eventual divorce but he makes it a condition the kids never know and he'll pay support and provide insurance etc.
That's our Hero a total and complete wimp whose a knowing cuckold and was too pathetic to do anything about it. 😂😂😂
March 28, 2023
These short books are not worth paying for. There are better and much longer books out there for the same price or less.
These books are short. I mean REALLY short. Frankly I am no sure you can even call them a novella. Maybe a really long short story? An Essay? I think this "book" had 45k words in it. To compare, National Novel Writing Month is a contest for non writers to write 50k words within the month of November. (it's fun, you should try it). So yeah, this book is shorter than that.
As a story, it is OK. The author doesn't seem to make any grammar errors. The ideas are solid. The only other complaint I have is every clan/race has some made up name that you are supposed to memorize. Why? I mean, all the words are being "translated" in the MC's head. Why not have the race names translate also? Why not use catgirl instead of some name we have to memorize for the hour it will take to read this story? Did I mention this book is short?
**Update**
Just finished book 4 and I finally feel like I reached the end of a book. Yes, it took 4 of these stories to actually equate to a single novel. If you removed the sex from these stories you would have a large pamphlet.
These books are short. I mean REALLY short. Frankly I am no sure you can even call them a novella. Maybe a really long short story? An Essay? I think this "book" had 45k words in it. To compare, National Novel Writing Month is a contest for non writers to write 50k words within the month of November. (it's fun, you should try it). So yeah, this book is shorter than that.
As a story, it is OK. The author doesn't seem to make any grammar errors. The ideas are solid. The only other complaint I have is every clan/race has some made up name that you are supposed to memorize. Why? I mean, all the words are being "translated" in the MC's head. Why not have the race names translate also? Why not use catgirl instead of some name we have to memorize for the hour it will take to read this story? Did I mention this book is short?
**Update**
Just finished book 4 and I finally feel like I reached the end of a book. Yes, it took 4 of these stories to actually equate to a single novel. If you removed the sex from these stories you would have a large pamphlet.
September 12, 2024
Ex-Marine and single dad Will Hawthorne falls into an underground tunnel which leads him to a new planet called Taitala.
It's hardly a new idea and there are many ways the story can be approached, from an epic trek to find his way home, to fighting his way to become ruler, or, as is the case here, having lots of sex with exotic and nubile women.
As Will describes it:- “I’ve landed on a world of needle-dicked males who can have sex once a month at best [Will, however, has an “inexhaustible dick”], and females who are so deprived they chase them down wanting to mate [to make up for the shortage they also indulge in sex with each other].”
To improve his mating chances even further he exactly matches a creature of legend – taller, bigger, and more (ahem) generously endowed.
At the halfway point in “The Scarlet Cavern” he has added four women to his harem and is well on his way to repopulating the planet.
It's a book for horny teen males and it has been decades since I was one but wth, if there's a market for it, someone should cash in on it.
It's not very good, but that's not saying it's bad, it just is what it is.
2 Stars.
It's hardly a new idea and there are many ways the story can be approached, from an epic trek to find his way home, to fighting his way to become ruler, or, as is the case here, having lots of sex with exotic and nubile women.
As Will describes it:- “I’ve landed on a world of needle-dicked males who can have sex once a month at best [Will, however, has an “inexhaustible dick”], and females who are so deprived they chase them down wanting to mate [to make up for the shortage they also indulge in sex with each other].”
To improve his mating chances even further he exactly matches a creature of legend – taller, bigger, and more (ahem) generously endowed.
At the halfway point in “The Scarlet Cavern” he has added four women to his harem and is well on his way to repopulating the planet.
It's a book for horny teen males and it has been decades since I was one but wth, if there's a market for it, someone should cash in on it.
It's not very good, but that's not saying it's bad, it just is what it is.
2 Stars.
January 1, 2024
Not the best.
I wonder lemme Dalton has done any study on martial.arts ..she. The protagonist is not smart enough to over come a 3 foot tall male ,skin y at that I have the feeling he is lost soul fighting this small.man as well.as . He is not.written and presented smart enough in this beginning and for sure the r eat of the book . The man is wearing armor and I guess he turned sideways and stood still so the midget could throw a knife so it passes between the seems and goes in under his arm . The author had me going on the story even though the protagonist had done some really stupid moves with his great and wonder one move of letting himself get stabbed with armor under his arm Have at it folks but of you have any combat experience or any martial fighting time the guy had to lift his arm up and tell the midget to.stab me here while in hold.my arm up. You lost my interest
I wonder lemme Dalton has done any study on martial.arts ..she. The protagonist is not smart enough to over come a 3 foot tall male ,skin y at that I have the feeling he is lost soul fighting this small.man as well.as . He is not.written and presented smart enough in this beginning and for sure the r eat of the book . The man is wearing armor and I guess he turned sideways and stood still so the midget could throw a knife so it passes between the seems and goes in under his arm . The author had me going on the story even though the protagonist had done some really stupid moves with his great and wonder one move of letting himself get stabbed with armor under his arm Have at it folks but of you have any combat experience or any martial fighting time the guy had to lift his arm up and tell the midget to.stab me here while in hold.my arm up. You lost my interest
July 24, 2025
Likely more like 4 stars, but I am enjoying it a lot, so what the hell.
Rather standard setup for an isekai fantasy -- protag falls into a cave and winds up walking out of the cave into another world and the way back is closed.
It is "convenient" that he did this in conjunction with a LARP weekend so he had on semi-functional armor and was carrying an effective sword while hiking in the mountains.
As with many of the stories in this genre, a lot of the world building goes into why there are so few other males.
I enjoyed the fact that in this series there is real and effective violence.
Anyways, this is a quite good start for the series. The harem is established. And while the MC has to repopulate the world, he has an *inner* group of wives and then an ever-changing cast of women who get impregnated and go back to their clans. So the reader is not swamped by numbers.
Anyways, quite enjoyable and off to the second book!
Rather standard setup for an isekai fantasy -- protag falls into a cave and winds up walking out of the cave into another world and the way back is closed.
It is "convenient" that he did this in conjunction with a LARP weekend so he had on semi-functional armor and was carrying an effective sword while hiking in the mountains.
As with many of the stories in this genre, a lot of the world building goes into why there are so few other males.
I enjoyed the fact that in this series there is real and effective violence.
Anyways, this is a quite good start for the series. The harem is established. And while the MC has to repopulate the world, he has an *inner* group of wives and then an ever-changing cast of women who get impregnated and go back to their clans. So the reader is not swamped by numbers.
Anyways, quite enjoyable and off to the second book!
June 20, 2021
A good start
Starts out in one of the familiar Isekai trope ways to another world. I like the MC though. I like that it's about making sure the partner feels something. I like the dilemma with wanting to go home for his kids. Nice use of a power to get resolution in the end, though one thing don't with it was a little overpowered potentially.
A little concerned everyone instantly "falls in love".. yeah lots of new relationship energy getting thrown all over but... ehh.
Also, worried this will be like a similar story about having lots of kids, which is fine if you have a pregnancy fetish but in that story the smut got stale quick. If the story itself gets interesting enough I might not mind, so cause of the interesting world building and I liked the MC I'll give this a 4* instead of 3 like I was originally thinking.
Starts out in one of the familiar Isekai trope ways to another world. I like the MC though. I like that it's about making sure the partner feels something. I like the dilemma with wanting to go home for his kids. Nice use of a power to get resolution in the end, though one thing don't with it was a little overpowered potentially.
A little concerned everyone instantly "falls in love".. yeah lots of new relationship energy getting thrown all over but... ehh.
Also, worried this will be like a similar story about having lots of kids, which is fine if you have a pregnancy fetish but in that story the smut got stale quick. If the story itself gets interesting enough I might not mind, so cause of the interesting world building and I liked the MC I'll give this a 4* instead of 3 like I was originally thinking.
March 27, 2021
Unless your name is Sanderson or Tolkien...
You will most likely get no 5 star rating from me, However Dalton has Created a story I very much enjoyed. The monster-girl harem fantasy is one of my favourite subgenres of epic fantasy and Dalton has begun a good one here.
Although the plot felt a bit rushed with the insta love and hookups, Dalton brilliantly explained this by creating beautiful but frustrated monster women because all the alien men are effeminate and wimpy, causing our hero to seem even more masculine in juxtaposition.
I still removed a star because the plot seemed thin but I throughly enjoyed the creative ideas Dalton was able to incorporate into the story. I am eagerly looking forward to his next book!
You will most likely get no 5 star rating from me, However Dalton has Created a story I very much enjoyed. The monster-girl harem fantasy is one of my favourite subgenres of epic fantasy and Dalton has begun a good one here.
Although the plot felt a bit rushed with the insta love and hookups, Dalton brilliantly explained this by creating beautiful but frustrated monster women because all the alien men are effeminate and wimpy, causing our hero to seem even more masculine in juxtaposition.
I still removed a star because the plot seemed thin but I throughly enjoyed the creative ideas Dalton was able to incorporate into the story. I am eagerly looking forward to his next book!
October 2, 2021
Great Story
There was not much of a plot to this story although it did keep my interest I did have a little pause when one of the sister wife's got hurt but other than that it all worked out in the end I mean overall this story is kind of like stumbling from 1 place to another and the plot is slow to develop once a gets there you kind of figure out what's going on I just wish there was more of a optimistic appro
ach to this story because even though the ending of the story does not end on a cliff hanger you can't help but feel sorry for this world.... Overall though I do recommend this book.
There was not much of a plot to this story although it did keep my interest I did have a little pause when one of the sister wife's got hurt but other than that it all worked out in the end I mean overall this story is kind of like stumbling from 1 place to another and the plot is slow to develop once a gets there you kind of figure out what's going on I just wish there was more of a optimistic appro
ach to this story because even though the ending of the story does not end on a cliff hanger you can't help but feel sorry for this world.... Overall though I do recommend this book.
August 30, 2025
(audiobook)
Book (3.5 stars)
Not my genre, unexpectedly decent.
Narrator (4 stars)
-Mason Lloyd-(Books 1-4)
-Reading an expression is excellent!
-Expression timing is occasionally off or excessive.
-Four stars is good, he's not R.C. Bray that's all
Narrator (4 stars)
-Sierra Kline-(Books 5-8)
-Reading an expression very good
-I had a hard time with her reading for a male character and not being the original narrator!
*Tantor Audio dropped the series after book 4.
**Personally I will carefully consider any future series from that publisher since clearly they can't be trusted to continue unless they feel like it.
Book (3.5 stars)
Not my genre, unexpectedly decent.
Narrator (4 stars)
-Mason Lloyd-(Books 1-4)
-Reading an expression is excellent!
-Expression timing is occasionally off or excessive.
-Four stars is good, he's not R.C. Bray that's all
Narrator (4 stars)
-Sierra Kline-(Books 5-8)
-Reading an expression very good
-I had a hard time with her reading for a male character and not being the original narrator!
*Tantor Audio dropped the series after book 4.
**Personally I will carefully consider any future series from that publisher since clearly they can't be trusted to continue unless they feel like it.
January 11, 2021
Good and fun
Nothing new here for the genre.That said it's a fun story decently written If are bit short.There seems to be more going on than he's let on in this book.However I suspect the next installment will answer if you more questions. The good news is there's a little more than a hair I'm and breed stock. Seems there some interesting powers and energies that flow. That could make for some fun in the future.But if he wants to repopulate hopefully there are a lot of twins....
Nothing new here for the genre.That said it's a fun story decently written If are bit short.There seems to be more going on than he's let on in this book.However I suspect the next installment will answer if you more questions. The good news is there's a little more than a hair I'm and breed stock. Seems there some interesting powers and energies that flow. That could make for some fun in the future.But if he wants to repopulate hopefully there are a lot of twins....
April 16, 2022
There is no clear plot present at the end of the book. MC is quite dull with boring background. None of the background characteristics have really an impact on mc. They are just there to justify some action or behavior in one scene.
So instead of making the MC good or growing character it is standard and then lower the male competition to level of ...children..
We did not really get to know any of the females, we got some info about what they did and what they looked like but not really who they are.
So instead of making the MC good or growing character it is standard and then lower the male competition to level of ...children..
We did not really get to know any of the females, we got some info about what they did and what they looked like but not really who they are.
October 28, 2022
Fun book.
While the setup might seem more transparently wish-fulfillment than usual - transported to a world where males are scarce and weak, and the population consists of desperate women - it's nevertheless treated as serious speculative fiction, and the practical implications of the situation are explored well beyond the obvious.
If there's a criticism, it's that the girls don't have much chance so far to come through as characters in their own right. But it's book 1 of quite a long series, they should have more chance to develop.
While the setup might seem more transparently wish-fulfillment than usual - transported to a world where males are scarce and weak, and the population consists of desperate women - it's nevertheless treated as serious speculative fiction, and the practical implications of the situation are explored well beyond the obvious.
If there's a criticism, it's that the girls don't have much chance so far to come through as characters in their own right. But it's book 1 of quite a long series, they should have more chance to develop.
October 29, 2020
Fun and interesting character and plot
The Scarlet Cavern is a very well crafted first work. Interesting plot with good pacing. I particularly liked that the MC felt genuine. He was not a super man but also not an idiot. He was also a decent person. This all made the story feel plausible with noticeable depth instead of being a shallow near tissue paper thin cover over erotica. Very much look forward to the sequels.
The Scarlet Cavern is a very well crafted first work. Interesting plot with good pacing. I particularly liked that the MC felt genuine. He was not a super man but also not an idiot. He was also a decent person. This all made the story feel plausible with noticeable depth instead of being a shallow near tissue paper thin cover over erotica. Very much look forward to the sequels.
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