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Rise of Mankind #1
Age of Stone: A LitRPG Dungeon Core Adventure
In all the games Matt has played, Dungeons are places to raid, places you dream of conquering, but when the world is stripped of electricity, and the first mana-twisted beasts start to prowl, the games all come to an end...
Matt's just an ordinary guy, but when he’s beaten, robbed, and left for dead, bleeding out at the bottom of a gully, it all has to change as he grasps frantically at his only chance for survival, coming as it does in the form of a glowing, dangerously pulsing light.
With his reality forever altered, Matt must quickly find a suitable place to deploy the Dungeon Core, fighting his way through the hundreds of people between him and safety, because if he doesn’t do it soon, a Core Detonation will solve all of his problems for him… permanently.
Welcome to the New World.
Matt's just an ordinary guy, but when he’s beaten, robbed, and left for dead, bleeding out at the bottom of a gully, it all has to change as he grasps frantically at his only chance for survival, coming as it does in the form of a glowing, dangerously pulsing light.
With his reality forever altered, Matt must quickly find a suitable place to deploy the Dungeon Core, fighting his way through the hundreds of people between him and safety, because if he doesn’t do it soon, a Core Detonation will solve all of his problems for him… permanently.
Welcome to the New World.
318 pages, Hardcover
First published April 24, 2021
943 people are currently reading
1105 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 239 reviews
May 4, 2021
Solid but some underlying issues
Well written with solid prose and natural dialog. Nice progression for MC from absolute zero to a competent low level. Super heavy on the firearms, which isn’t really my cup of tea. MC learns sword skills early on and then basically doesn’t use it again for the entirety of the book. He only uses his magic in combat maybe half a dozen times, so look elsewhere if you’re after sword & sorcery.
My least favourite aspect of this is MC’s attitudes towards women (basically only good for sex), and the way women are portrayed in general (not a single example of a woman in combat or with agency unless she’s crazy).
Well written with solid prose and natural dialog. Nice progression for MC from absolute zero to a competent low level. Super heavy on the firearms, which isn’t really my cup of tea. MC learns sword skills early on and then basically doesn’t use it again for the entirety of the book. He only uses his magic in combat maybe half a dozen times, so look elsewhere if you’re after sword & sorcery.
My least favourite aspect of this is MC’s attitudes towards women (basically only good for sex), and the way women are portrayed in general (not a single example of a woman in combat or with agency unless she’s crazy).
January 10, 2022
Damn is the MC stupid. He is sooooo dumb. Just keeps rushing into untenable positions without any sort of scouting, plan or real goals. Gets captured then by chance escapes. Sloppy plotting.
August 3, 2025
Interesting story that kept my attention from beginning to end. It had a little bit of dungeons and dragons with a little bit of a post-apocalyptic theme. I wasn't sure at first if this was going to work but it did, and quite nicely at that. The only part of the book I didn't like was the parts of levelling up. While I know it is a part of DND, the amount spent on this was extensive at times. If I was reading this book, I would have just skimmed over it but with listening to the audio, it was not as easy. Still, even with that, I look forward to reading (or listening) to the next book.
February 8, 2022
It reads a bit like a racist fever dream of a power fantasy. An angry young man going on a justified genocidal rampage against 'gypsies' who abduct and enslave people so he's in the right gunning everyone down he decides are bad, and saving all the girls. Some litrpg elements slapped on haphazardly as an afterthought to justify the turner diary fan fiction, but I suspect he wrote the anti gypsy hatescreed first since it's all just guns and shooting people, the dungeon core is mostly entirely superfluous.
It's hilarious that some Nazis in the reviews here are all upset because he gave some hollow lip service to anti racism at the beginning.
It's kinda that meme:
Also What others wrote is true, he’s literally getting captured half a dozen times because not only is he an idiot, his capturers are too.
It's hilarious that some Nazis in the reviews here are all upset because he gave some hollow lip service to anti racism at the beginning.
It's kinda that meme:
Also What others wrote is true, he’s literally getting captured half a dozen times because not only is he an idiot, his capturers are too.
July 23, 2021
Wanted to love it, MC is mentally deficint
Unfortunately the main character is a moron with the inability to plan and makes a half dozen or so decisions to drive the plot and little else. Another amazing premise for a book destroyed by a main character that is painful to follow.
Premise for story is top knotch as is the setting, prose and editing dearly hope main character grows. I will attempt one more book from the series in hope, but not holding my breath.
Unfortunately the main character is a moron with the inability to plan and makes a half dozen or so decisions to drive the plot and little else. Another amazing premise for a book destroyed by a main character that is painful to follow.
Premise for story is top knotch as is the setting, prose and editing dearly hope main character grows. I will attempt one more book from the series in hope, but not holding my breath.
January 26, 2022
Notes:
Yay for libraries!
Solid narration by Neil Hellegers.
I like the idea of the dungeon core being as a part of a person. Fun concepts tied with the end of the world. Survival game strategy mechanics with a dungeon core.
Nice setup for the main character, Matt, and the other people that will become a part of his home base. I'll give Cajiao a thumbs up for trying to make the learning process for status screens & leveling to be within the plot line and not thrown in as a chunk right at the beginning. However, the transitions between learning about systems, fighting for survival and negotiating stereotypical male reactions were rough.
There were a lot of good ideas and stand out scenes. While the story was rough around the edges, I can see the potential for the series to be a lot of fun. I'll try the next book on KU and see how it goes.
Yay for libraries!
Solid narration by Neil Hellegers.
I like the idea of the dungeon core being as a part of a person. Fun concepts tied with the end of the world. Survival game strategy mechanics with a dungeon core.
Nice setup for the main character, Matt, and the other people that will become a part of his home base. I'll give Cajiao a thumbs up for trying to make the learning process for status screens & leveling to be within the plot line and not thrown in as a chunk right at the beginning. However, the transitions between learning about systems, fighting for survival and negotiating stereotypical male reactions were rough.
There were a lot of good ideas and stand out scenes. While the story was rough around the edges, I can see the potential for the series to be a lot of fun. I'll try the next book on KU and see how it goes.
September 2, 2023
The author has improved his organizational vision and writing skills but this urban-fantasy-dystopian-hell-on-Earth-that-became-a-Dungeon is still not good enough to read. Main character does not have priorities, does not have a purpose, does not have new ideas and is not competent, efficient or praise-worthy.
Even though it is a theme/genre (Dungeon/Dungeon Core) that I read a lot of (thanks to the constant barrage of bad book recommendations "ironically" by GoodReads (an Amazon company since 2013 - obvious conflict of interest because company that sells/distributes the books, recommends it's sub-par/mediocre and really un-readable books to regular people like me).
There are no maps, no inside illustrations, no character summaries, no real character descriptions, no real world building (geopolitical, political, geographic, economic, social, religious, etc. systems described and made a part of this "alternate reality" hell-like-dystopian-version-of-Earth-apparently-by-an-Australian-that-lived-in-Hell-like-Britain-before-it-all-went-to-Hell... so, the Title of this book series "Rise of Mankind" is a contradiction. Especially if one considers that the main character is a completely useless, visionless, anti-hero, shadow of what a civilized human being should have been...
I do not recommend this book or this Hell-like-dystopian-Urban-fantasy-dungeon/Dungeon Core-series.
Even though it is a theme/genre (Dungeon/Dungeon Core) that I read a lot of (thanks to the constant barrage of bad book recommendations "ironically" by GoodReads (an Amazon company since 2013 - obvious conflict of interest because company that sells/distributes the books, recommends it's sub-par/mediocre and really un-readable books to regular people like me).
There are no maps, no inside illustrations, no character summaries, no real character descriptions, no real world building (geopolitical, political, geographic, economic, social, religious, etc. systems described and made a part of this "alternate reality" hell-like-dystopian-version-of-Earth-apparently-by-an-Australian-that-lived-in-Hell-like-Britain-before-it-all-went-to-Hell... so, the Title of this book series "Rise of Mankind" is a contradiction. Especially if one considers that the main character is a completely useless, visionless, anti-hero, shadow of what a civilized human being should have been...
I do not recommend this book or this Hell-like-dystopian-Urban-fantasy-dungeon/Dungeon Core-series.
January 14, 2022
My first LitRPG book. I was really looking forward to it, as the premise was interesting. Unfortunately, 1/4 of the book was quite good, because it was story driven and something was happening. 3/4 of the book was like going through a D&D manual, explaining stats and how the “world” works. To me, it had no literary value, but I guess that was not the general idea of this kind of a book.
Shame, because I really think the story had a potential, and playing “god”, or “dm” is something most of people in higher classess of our society are actually doing. Having a regular dude slowly progress in that kinda way could be a nice take.
If you are looking for a light reading break from playing D’n’D or any other RPG game (any form actually), you could probably find this enjoyable.
If you are looking for a good, story driven book, with characters that you can actually relate to, and are convincing, this will not be your cup of tea.
I know it wasn’t mine.
Shame, because I really think the story had a potential, and playing “god”, or “dm” is something most of people in higher classess of our society are actually doing. Having a regular dude slowly progress in that kinda way could be a nice take.
If you are looking for a light reading break from playing D’n’D or any other RPG game (any form actually), you could probably find this enjoyable.
If you are looking for a good, story driven book, with characters that you can actually relate to, and are convincing, this will not be your cup of tea.
I know it wasn’t mine.
May 2, 2021
Book one
Mistakes: I found three. Two are plot holes.
Plot: A young man accidentally gets control over a dungeon core shortly after the world shutdown.
Characters: I am really hopeful that this series doesn't turn into a bunch of wish fulfillment sex as I really enjoyed these characters.
8/10
Mistakes: I found three. Two are plot holes.
Plot: A young man accidentally gets control over a dungeon core shortly after the world shutdown.
Characters: I am really hopeful that this series doesn't turn into a bunch of wish fulfillment sex as I really enjoyed these characters.
8/10
May 17, 2024
I didn’t know that Jez had a dungeon core based story!
And there are currently 4 books released!
What a find. It was a great story, awesome world building.
And there are currently 4 books released!
What a find. It was a great story, awesome world building.
January 7, 2022
It's way better than most I've read lately. The MC is realistic, but the plot armour is a bit heavy, and the antagonists all have the same kind of stupidity. Annoying.
But a good story all the same.
4 stars. Easily.
But a good story all the same.
4 stars. Easily.
October 24, 2024
Although this has more blood and gore than i generally like to read, it gets five stars for keeping me fascinated, having a realistic hero, and for having unique gaming systems. I love that this will be a long series!
May 17, 2021
Alert
“This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
By all accounts, this is a perfectly worded review. Unfortunately, some of our fellow readers are offended that I am not pouring my heart out and offering a detailed and intimate breakdown of my thoughts on the books. As such they have reported me to the authorities and I have been warned against continuing my bad behavior. I will not. So I may be banned. If so, it was a fun journey with you.
If I enjoy a book, my goal is to promote it and help the author by encouraging others to read it. I am not going to share my reasoning, thoughts on the book, or any opinions that would influence your decision to read it. I am simply saying that I liked it. I would like you to read it and make your own decision. After all, you are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.
As always, I am open to debates and arguments, but also vain enough to seek acknowledgement, so feel free to roast me or applaud my efforts. Either is acceptable, because if you are paying attention to me then you are at least considering the book. And THAT my friends is exactly why you see my comments here.
Cheers
“This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
By all accounts, this is a perfectly worded review. Unfortunately, some of our fellow readers are offended that I am not pouring my heart out and offering a detailed and intimate breakdown of my thoughts on the books. As such they have reported me to the authorities and I have been warned against continuing my bad behavior. I will not. So I may be banned. If so, it was a fun journey with you.
If I enjoy a book, my goal is to promote it and help the author by encouraging others to read it. I am not going to share my reasoning, thoughts on the book, or any opinions that would influence your decision to read it. I am simply saying that I liked it. I would like you to read it and make your own decision. After all, you are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.
As always, I am open to debates and arguments, but also vain enough to seek acknowledgement, so feel free to roast me or applaud my efforts. Either is acceptable, because if you are paying attention to me then you are at least considering the book. And THAT my friends is exactly why you see my comments here.
Cheers
April 11, 2024
The plot armor thickens!
Seriously, the MC has thicker plot armor than a battleship! He gets captured constantly, after killing however many people, yet they don’t just shoot him! Instead they all want to villain monologue or something of those lines and he of course escapes; killing them all. It is just awful! Pretty sure he could be nuked and somehow would survive with the level of plot armor he has going. Not even clever ways to get out of situations or anything, just unkillable.
The overall story and world is interesting but the MC is a complete tool. It’s pretty bad when you’re hoping someone else will kill him and take over, but that can’t happen because he has enough plot armor to survive a battleship cannon!
Seriously, the MC has thicker plot armor than a battleship! He gets captured constantly, after killing however many people, yet they don’t just shoot him! Instead they all want to villain monologue or something of those lines and he of course escapes; killing them all. It is just awful! Pretty sure he could be nuked and somehow would survive with the level of plot armor he has going. Not even clever ways to get out of situations or anything, just unkillable.
The overall story and world is interesting but the MC is a complete tool. It’s pretty bad when you’re hoping someone else will kill him and take over, but that can’t happen because he has enough plot armor to survive a battleship cannon!
June 27, 2024
DNF at 40% after the MMC got a savior complex and decided to battle with yet another monster that was way over his head.
The MMC was incredibly unlikable and TSTL. Multiple times, he rushed into entirely predictable situations that ended up with him beaten and almost killed or captured. As a character, he was quite sexist, racist, and overly violent, even for a post-apocalyptic world.
Not for me.
The MMC was incredibly unlikable and TSTL. Multiple times, he rushed into entirely predictable situations that ended up with him beaten and almost killed or captured. As a character, he was quite sexist, racist, and overly violent, even for a post-apocalyptic world.
Not for me.
July 7, 2021
Juvenile revenge fantasy
There are some bright spots in this book, but the juvenile characterization really pulls the whole story down. Also, to the author — you incorrectly use the word “clip” 48 times in the book…and weirdly you use the correct term, “magazine“, once. All instances of the word clip should be replaced with magazine.
There are some bright spots in this book, but the juvenile characterization really pulls the whole story down. Also, to the author — you incorrectly use the word “clip” 48 times in the book…and weirdly you use the correct term, “magazine“, once. All instances of the word clip should be replaced with magazine.
May 19, 2021
Embarrassingly edgy
Written like a middle school power fantasy. Little to no coherent world building. Characters have such slipshod personalities that they all come across as unhinged.
Written like a middle school power fantasy. Little to no coherent world building. Characters have such slipshod personalities that they all come across as unhinged.
July 3, 2021
MC is simultaneously incompetent and OP
The MC is constantly jumping between incompetence and compete overpowered awesomeness. I won't be continuing this series. Outside of the combat scenes it is a decently written book.
The MC is constantly jumping between incompetence and compete overpowered awesomeness. I won't be continuing this series. Outside of the combat scenes it is a decently written book.
February 4, 2022
he got like 50 exes
he knew this place from this ex, that place from that ex, etc etc its by a huge margin the laziest writing ive ever read (in like 200 300 books)
he knew this place from this ex, that place from that ex, etc etc its by a huge margin the laziest writing ive ever read (in like 200 300 books)
March 1, 2022
just wasn't for me.
January 6, 2024
First litrpg I generally did not like. I found no interesting or seemingly logical characters.
February 22, 2024
It started okay, but then the bar scene and making out with someone you don't even know letting your hands explore. Yuck. Not for me.
December 28, 2025
I have mixed feelings about this book. I am not going to lie, I stumbled across this book through audible offering it for free for a time. I can get sucked into almost every story and I saw that there were a lot of books in the series. Because of that, I gave it a good chance, thinking of how it could build the world and improve. I got all of the way from the first book to almost finishing the fifth book "Age of Forged Steel" and I have finally given up. I am writing a review for this first book only for all people considering this series. It wasn't horrible but it didn't mesh well with me and I think it wasted a lot of opportunities for where the story could have gone and how the characters could have been better.
I am honestly leery of even starting another Literary RPG series because of how this series was and it was my first experience of one. Again certain things to take into consideration from my experience. I do mainly listen to audio books due to that I drive for work a lot, so it is the best way for me to get through books at a steady pace. So I don't know if it was the narrator Neil Hellegers who is doing his best to be every person and gender with different accents and whatnot or if it was just the writing? But most of the characters seemed needy and whiny towards the main character. Sure the main character does stupid things sometimes but especially to where I got in the fifth book, I was done. They pestered him all of the time and it made you get annoyed anytime one of them jumped into the scene.
This leads to the other part that I was disappointed with. I get it, there are mechanics for systems and the author tried to explain very in depth to how mana existed in this world and how it plays a role in things. But my goodness, they could have renamed the book series "I Need More Mana". Like to do a couple spells in this system that was created, it would use up all of your mana and you were essentially powerless. Dude, you are an author, you can make it however you want. Make it so spells use less mana or it regenerates faster. Most of the story was legitimately how they don't have enough mana for things. Doing spells or magic attacks? Not enough mana and it takes a day ro fully regenerate it. Making a dungeon and civilization? Not enough mana for that either. Like fights are won or lost just based off of people using mana sooner or later in a fight.
I will say, maybe take my review with a grain of salt because I wasn't able to finish the whole series. Maybe you just need to stick through it and the author finally rounds things all together by the end? I just was dreading going any further at the point that I was at. This is why I gave it 3 stars as a series. It might get better but I just want anyone thinking about starting the series to go in with both eyes open. The world building and story had a lot of potential but it just kind of fell flat of what I was expecting.
I am honestly leery of even starting another Literary RPG series because of how this series was and it was my first experience of one. Again certain things to take into consideration from my experience. I do mainly listen to audio books due to that I drive for work a lot, so it is the best way for me to get through books at a steady pace. So I don't know if it was the narrator Neil Hellegers who is doing his best to be every person and gender with different accents and whatnot or if it was just the writing? But most of the characters seemed needy and whiny towards the main character. Sure the main character does stupid things sometimes but especially to where I got in the fifth book, I was done. They pestered him all of the time and it made you get annoyed anytime one of them jumped into the scene.
This leads to the other part that I was disappointed with. I get it, there are mechanics for systems and the author tried to explain very in depth to how mana existed in this world and how it plays a role in things. But my goodness, they could have renamed the book series "I Need More Mana". Like to do a couple spells in this system that was created, it would use up all of your mana and you were essentially powerless. Dude, you are an author, you can make it however you want. Make it so spells use less mana or it regenerates faster. Most of the story was legitimately how they don't have enough mana for things. Doing spells or magic attacks? Not enough mana and it takes a day ro fully regenerate it. Making a dungeon and civilization? Not enough mana for that either. Like fights are won or lost just based off of people using mana sooner or later in a fight.
I will say, maybe take my review with a grain of salt because I wasn't able to finish the whole series. Maybe you just need to stick through it and the author finally rounds things all together by the end? I just was dreading going any further at the point that I was at. This is why I gave it 3 stars as a series. It might get better but I just want anyone thinking about starting the series to go in with both eyes open. The world building and story had a lot of potential but it just kind of fell flat of what I was expecting.
May 27, 2021
Cant wait for more
I love Jez's books. They are all such fun adventures that I litterally cannot put down, plus the author seems like a good guy on social media. Great new author with great content and insane writing speed. (Literally must have maxed the stat points in writing.) I've read other dungeon core books and I have to say this is tied with my other favorite (wraiths haunt) but i love that this is set on earth rather than a secondary world. Cant wait foe the next!
I love Jez's books. They are all such fun adventures that I litterally cannot put down, plus the author seems like a good guy on social media. Great new author with great content and insane writing speed. (Literally must have maxed the stat points in writing.) I've read other dungeon core books and I have to say this is tied with my other favorite (wraiths haunt) but i love that this is set on earth rather than a secondary world. Cant wait foe the next!
January 10, 2025
I was really enjoying this book and was thinking it's going to be a four or five star book. But it started to go downhill from there I didn't like the amount of guns that arrived in the story. I would not have minded if it was set in the USA but it's set in the UK which is far harder to get guns
April 30, 2021
Exciting New Reading
This is a new series and as such sets the tone for jow it qill work, in a busy LitRPG field and post apocalyptic one at that then this is surprisingly good from such a relatively newcomer. His other books were also suited to my humour and i can see him drawing upon his own work experience to bring this to the fore here. Some might find this a bit more adult although not NSFW levels but i think even later teens would enjoy as I find this a lot more gritty than some others in this genre.
This is substantial although i felt it could of lasted a few more chapters or 10 as I was drawn into it. Adding a hot babe and a protective element to this allows us to see no matter what happens out MC is the good guy no matter what and gives us something to root for as decisions take a bit of a hairy turn and another author added to my auto buy books from list.
This is a new series and as such sets the tone for jow it qill work, in a busy LitRPG field and post apocalyptic one at that then this is surprisingly good from such a relatively newcomer. His other books were also suited to my humour and i can see him drawing upon his own work experience to bring this to the fore here. Some might find this a bit more adult although not NSFW levels but i think even later teens would enjoy as I find this a lot more gritty than some others in this genre.
This is substantial although i felt it could of lasted a few more chapters or 10 as I was drawn into it. Adding a hot babe and a protective element to this allows us to see no matter what happens out MC is the good guy no matter what and gives us something to root for as decisions take a bit of a hairy turn and another author added to my auto buy books from list.
Read
November 12, 2025Listened to the audiobook back in 2022, can't quite remember details. It was fun enough to keep me company on a boring job
December 27, 2021
Not as good
As everyone claims it to be, but a decent system apocalypse type novel. MC is a little heavy on the ‘plot armor’, but definitely earns his wins.
Pretty clean, grammar wise. A touch stat heavy in parts, but such is the style of the genre.
I’m going to keep reading. There are *far* worse and not so many better.
As everyone claims it to be, but a decent system apocalypse type novel. MC is a little heavy on the ‘plot armor’, but definitely earns his wins.
Pretty clean, grammar wise. A touch stat heavy in parts, but such is the style of the genre.
I’m going to keep reading. There are *far* worse and not so many better.
October 8, 2024
Lets get it out of the way, Neil Hellegers is a TERRIBLE narrator. Absolutely lazy interoperations of the local accents, everyone sounded more or less the same, particularly the women. I was astounded when I googled him and realised he was a professional voice, not just one of the authors pals doing a favour! Do yourself a favour, if you are going to read this steaming pile of pap go old school and read it yourself.
As I was enduring this crime against words I realised its set in my home town, the author lives near me, I think. I wanted to give this the benefit of the doubt, purely based on the fact he was a local writing about places in a city I know well and feel I have a connection to. I was stoked for there to be a scifi/fantasy set in Newcastle. However, the obvious self insert main character is just riddled with all the worst clichés. He's never really been in a fight before but suddenly he's a one man murder machine. He's just a normal guy but a total pussy magnet, women can not get enough of him. Almost every named female character touches his dick or tries to fuck him. Speaking of which he makes a joke about the solo 10 year old girl he's just encountered giving blowjobs, it's ok, because shortly after he accuses a random guy who has no contact with children of being a child molester so we totally know he's *against that sort of thing*. Lucky the main human antagonists are from a minority he had a shit tonne of bigotry towards. He has nothing but contempt for looters, and then goes on looting sprees. He acquires a bunch of guns, in the UK guns aren't common, and prestidigitates knifes he forgot he had. He also magically remembers a shop that sells guns in Newcastle that absolutely everyone else has completely forgotten about. Oh, also one of the antagonists names sounds like "lubricant" hur hur hur... which he crowbarred in so hard it managed to break the shallow emersion I had managed to build.
Positive points? ooof. Hard to say. After half an hour I already thought I was a one star and it went down hill from there. I liked the little girl shaped monster that lived in the cathedral, I thought it was decently creepy until he made it the wrong type of creepy by making it naked and highlighting you totally couldn't see its genitals. Once again, just so we know he is totally not interested in that.
TLDR this book is for you if you are sexist, racist and a bit noncy and looking for a power fantasy to read between delivering parcels for Evri.
As I was enduring this crime against words I realised its set in my home town, the author lives near me, I think. I wanted to give this the benefit of the doubt, purely based on the fact he was a local writing about places in a city I know well and feel I have a connection to. I was stoked for there to be a scifi/fantasy set in Newcastle. However, the obvious self insert main character is just riddled with all the worst clichés. He's never really been in a fight before but suddenly he's a one man murder machine. He's just a normal guy but a total pussy magnet, women can not get enough of him. Almost every named female character touches his dick or tries to fuck him. Speaking of which he makes a joke about the solo 10 year old girl he's just encountered giving blowjobs, it's ok, because shortly after he accuses a random guy who has no contact with children of being a child molester so we totally know he's *against that sort of thing*. Lucky the main human antagonists are from a minority he had a shit tonne of bigotry towards. He has nothing but contempt for looters, and then goes on looting sprees. He acquires a bunch of guns, in the UK guns aren't common, and prestidigitates knifes he forgot he had. He also magically remembers a shop that sells guns in Newcastle that absolutely everyone else has completely forgotten about. Oh, also one of the antagonists names sounds like "lubricant" hur hur hur... which he crowbarred in so hard it managed to break the shallow emersion I had managed to build.
Positive points? ooof. Hard to say. After half an hour I already thought I was a one star and it went down hill from there. I liked the little girl shaped monster that lived in the cathedral, I thought it was decently creepy until he made it the wrong type of creepy by making it naked and highlighting you totally couldn't see its genitals. Once again, just so we know he is totally not interested in that.
TLDR this book is for you if you are sexist, racist and a bit noncy and looking for a power fantasy to read between delivering parcels for Evri.
May 3, 2021
Overall a good read, but fell short of "great" for me. Seemed to alternate between action and dungeon design in terms of pacing.
I think the weak point for me was mostly the MC. He spent too much time either doing impulsively stupid things, not finishing enemies when he had the upper hand (although he got over that) or being a needlessly temperamental a-hole.
The latter is referenced enough that it was the author's intent, but it detracted from the overall experience for me. I will however read the next one, and hope that Matt sorts his shit out by then.
I think the weak point for me was mostly the MC. He spent too much time either doing impulsively stupid things, not finishing enemies when he had the upper hand (although he got over that) or being a needlessly temperamental a-hole.
The latter is referenced enough that it was the author's intent, but it detracted from the overall experience for me. I will however read the next one, and hope that Matt sorts his shit out by then.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 239 reviews