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Chrysalis #3
Antelligent Design
IT'S TIME FOR THE SHOWDOWN!
Garralosh is on the surface and she has bad intentions toward Anthony and his Colony. The first generation of super-intelligent ants hatches and our antrepid protagonist has his mandibles full teaching them what it means to be a member of the family!
It's a race against time to strengthen the Colony before disaster strikes. Big-momma croca is here, and she is hungry!
Book 3 of the hit monster-evolution LitRPG series with nearly 30 Million views on Royal Road. Grab yourcopy today!
About this Series: Jump into a rebirth story that mixes LitRPG and GameLit Elements with Monster evolution. Levels, Stats, Skills, Magic, Power Progresion, Kingdom Building, Party Building, Army Building, evolution, a monster MC, gigantic enemies (compared to Ant at least), and plenty of humor fitting such an ludicrous premise.
Garralosh is on the surface and she has bad intentions toward Anthony and his Colony. The first generation of super-intelligent ants hatches and our antrepid protagonist has his mandibles full teaching them what it means to be a member of the family!
It's a race against time to strengthen the Colony before disaster strikes. Big-momma croca is here, and she is hungry!
Book 3 of the hit monster-evolution LitRPG series with nearly 30 Million views on Royal Road. Grab yourcopy today!
About this Series: Jump into a rebirth story that mixes LitRPG and GameLit Elements with Monster evolution. Levels, Stats, Skills, Magic, Power Progresion, Kingdom Building, Party Building, Army Building, evolution, a monster MC, gigantic enemies (compared to Ant at least), and plenty of humor fitting such an ludicrous premise.
761 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 27, 2022
344 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
December 16, 2024
While I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was a little off put by the cold and cruel conversation between Anthony and Momma Croc.
Maybe I'm projecting, but it felt like in her dying breath there was a moment of connection and MC just killed her off for a cool line "Her name was Grant!".
It was a weird twist because at the moment I felt more towards the croc than Anthony. The story explained how she had she had a miserable life; how she was forced to fight and live like an animal for hundreds of years; how the wizard lizard likely messed with her mind; how the system had tortured her with this maddening pull to the core, that the humans blocked over and over.
All this considered I felt deeply sorry and awful for this once human girl. Then this smarmy ant bastard just kills her after some half arsed attempts at communicating.
Very weak and left an extremely bitter taste in my mouth right at the end
Maybe I'm projecting, but it felt like in her dying breath there was a moment of connection and MC just killed her off for a cool line "Her name was Grant!".
It was a weird twist because at the moment I felt more towards the croc than Anthony. The story explained how she had she had a miserable life; how she was forced to fight and live like an animal for hundreds of years; how the wizard lizard likely messed with her mind; how the system had tortured her with this maddening pull to the core, that the humans blocked over and over.
All this considered I felt deeply sorry and awful for this once human girl. Then this smarmy ant bastard just kills her after some half arsed attempts at communicating.
Very weak and left an extremely bitter taste in my mouth right at the end
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2025
What an outstanding journey. By the end, I am completely rooting and cheering for the ant colony. The dedication, the teamwork, the cutenessss, VIVA THE COLONY. VIVA THE QUEEN.
I feel like I'm becoming part of a hive mind that thrives only for the success of the colony. I'm being indoctrinated by little cute ants. I honestly relate to the human cult. I believe in ant supremacy.
The end of the first big arc, a conclusion to Anthony's war vs the crocs reaches to a rather IMPACTFUL end. But my favorite thing about this book, is obviously the ant colony. I grew to love the ants so much through the trilogy, but especially in this one. I'm so glad they grew as characters so well, beyond my expectation.
Also have I said that it can be incredibly funny?!
The book was awesome but my only gripes was that it lingers nd slows down at some points. And the sidelining of some main characters in the final battle was slightly disappointing. Other than that *chef kiss*, it's exactly what i wanted.
8/10, For the colony.
I feel like I'm becoming part of a hive mind that thrives only for the success of the colony. I'm being indoctrinated by little cute ants. I honestly relate to the human cult. I believe in ant supremacy.
The end of the first big arc, a conclusion to Anthony's war vs the crocs reaches to a rather IMPACTFUL end. But my favorite thing about this book, is obviously the ant colony. I grew to love the ants so much through the trilogy, but especially in this one. I'm so glad they grew as characters so well, beyond my expectation.
Also have I said that it can be incredibly funny?!
The book was awesome but my only gripes was that it lingers nd slows down at some points. And the sidelining of some main characters in the final battle was slightly disappointing. Other than that *chef kiss*, it's exactly what i wanted.
8/10, For the colony.
May 14, 2025
4.5⭐️
0 🌶️
Listened to the audiobook on Audible
A new species of ant! He continued his character growth plus the team around him. We get to see a final epic battle with a fun mix of mind and gravity magic! Wowza!
0 🌶️
Listened to the audiobook on Audible
A new species of ant! He continued his character growth plus the team around him. We get to see a final epic battle with a fun mix of mind and gravity magic! Wowza!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2024
A fun culmination of the initial arc and an exciting progression of the entire ant colony.
August 19, 2024
Wow! What fun! It just gets better and better!
May 31, 2024
One big bad down how many more to go? Only one way to find out! Onward!
April 29, 2023
My Rating System:
5- Perfect for my taste, I could not physically stop reading/listening and wanted more afterward.
4- Almost perfect, could not stop reading/listening, probably wanted more afterward.
3- I enjoyed the book and could see others loving it, I need to think if I want more.
2- I can see why others might like the book, but I could not, I do not want more.
1- What is this? What went wrong? Why did they do this? This doesn't make any sense! (No idea who it is for, but definitely not for me).
[Audiobook Version]
This was an excellent continuation of the series. The overall comedy and somewhat light-hearted tone of these books are amazing. Honestly, this was probably a four-star book for the most part, but the emotion behind the narration was spot on, and that combined with the comedy made it a unique experience. There were a few things issues I had with the book though, which would have normally knocked a star off. The major one was the transitions between the voice actors were very noticeable due to volume and background noise changes, which I assume was to try and cover up the difference between the quality of the voice actors recording devices. It seems like the voice actors were using different recording devices, and to make the transition smoother they tried to overlap the audio and change the volume slightly. For the most part, it worked out well enough but during situations where the dialogue jumps between the two in quick succession, it makes the transition very noticeable. Other than that issue, the rest of my complaints are so minor I would need to relisten to the book to remember them. Overall, it was a great book and I can't wait to see how the story continues.
5- Perfect for my taste, I could not physically stop reading/listening and wanted more afterward.
4- Almost perfect, could not stop reading/listening, probably wanted more afterward.
3- I enjoyed the book and could see others loving it, I need to think if I want more.
2- I can see why others might like the book, but I could not, I do not want more.
1- What is this? What went wrong? Why did they do this? This doesn't make any sense! (No idea who it is for, but definitely not for me).
[Audiobook Version]
This was an excellent continuation of the series. The overall comedy and somewhat light-hearted tone of these books are amazing. Honestly, this was probably a four-star book for the most part, but the emotion behind the narration was spot on, and that combined with the comedy made it a unique experience. There were a few things issues I had with the book though, which would have normally knocked a star off. The major one was the transitions between the voice actors were very noticeable due to volume and background noise changes, which I assume was to try and cover up the difference between the quality of the voice actors recording devices. It seems like the voice actors were using different recording devices, and to make the transition smoother they tried to overlap the audio and change the volume slightly. For the most part, it worked out well enough but during situations where the dialogue jumps between the two in quick succession, it makes the transition very noticeable. Other than that issue, the rest of my complaints are so minor I would need to relisten to the book to remember them. Overall, it was a great book and I can't wait to see how the story continues.
January 9, 2023
Awesome Antics
Wow, another fantastic installment featuring everyone's favorite colony! The author does a fANTastic job of breathing life into the various colony members and even growing discernable personalities for all the key characters. I really got swept up in the emotion at times!
Both the colony and their refugee neighbors struggle to survive and, more importantly, adapt to the apocalyptic conditions the Monster Wave is having on the local surface. And the dungeon denizens aren't faring much better!
I picked this up the day it dropped with no regrets, and I'll do the same with the next one as soon as it's available!
Wow, another fantastic installment featuring everyone's favorite colony! The author does a fANTastic job of breathing life into the various colony members and even growing discernable personalities for all the key characters. I really got swept up in the emotion at times!
Both the colony and their refugee neighbors struggle to survive and, more importantly, adapt to the apocalyptic conditions the Monster Wave is having on the local surface. And the dungeon denizens aren't faring much better!
I picked this up the day it dropped with no regrets, and I'll do the same with the next one as soon as it's available!
June 5, 2023
This book is great, and this has turned into a top tier series. 👍🏽👍🏽
August 16, 2025
Po 3 książkach mogę chyba już nieco więcej napisać o tej serii. Chciałem czegoś odmóżdzającego, a opis tych książek brzmiał tak bezmózgowo, jak tylko się dało, więc wybór idealny. Dodatkowo, nawet bym nie brał tego pod uwagę, gdyby nie to, że czyta to Król Imperator Narracji Jeff Hayes. I od razu powiem, że gdyby nie on, to pewnie bym odpuścił po pierwszym tomie. RinoZ pisze nawet nieźle, ale ton tych książek bywa czasem lekko infantylny, zwłaszcza w kwestii humoru. Żarty nie zawsze lądują, bywa cirngeowo, ale Hayes to wszystko przytula, dorzuca swoją magię i wychodzi nie tylko znośnie, ale nawet przyjemnie (a im dalej w serię, tym bardziej spójne i naturalne się to wydaje)
To jest Lit RPG w czystej postaci. Głównym motorem napędowym jest expienie, rozwijanie umiejętności i co najbardziej angażujące - ewolucja bohatera i jego kolonii. To na prawdę kurcze wciąga. Cały ten system jest serio angażujący i autor potrafi regularnie dokładać nowe elementy, tak że regularnie mówię do siebie "ciekawe jak to dalej się rozwinie" i dalej mi się to nie nudzi.
Świat wydaje się całkiem przemyślany i rozbudowany, mimo że mogę się założyć, że RinoZ wymyśla to wszystko na bieżąco. Postaci wydają się na tyle żywe i prawdziwe, żeby zaangażować się w ich los i z każdą książką dochodzą nowe wątki i perspektywy.
Wpadłem trochę w rabbit hole'a Lit RPG, ale jak to mam w zwyczaju, zacząłem niestety od najlepszego, co gatunek ma do zaoferowania, czyli DCC. Próbowałem paru innych rzeczy, niektóre były dobre, od innych szybko się odbiłem i bardzo mocno czuć, że jest to gatunek wciąż bardzo nowy i zdominowany bardziej przez amatorów-entuzjastów pisania, niż profesjonalnych pisarzy, ale Chrysalis działa dokładnie tak, jak powinno. Jeśli nie lubicie LitRPG, gdzie główny nacisk jest postawiony na progres bohatera, to nie będzie to seria dla was, ale jeśli chcecie się trochę zrelaksować przy czymś trochę głupim, ale jednocześnie dziwnie wciągającym i nawet trochę wholesome, to warto spróbować. Ale raczej tylko w audio.
To jest Lit RPG w czystej postaci. Głównym motorem napędowym jest expienie, rozwijanie umiejętności i co najbardziej angażujące - ewolucja bohatera i jego kolonii. To na prawdę kurcze wciąga. Cały ten system jest serio angażujący i autor potrafi regularnie dokładać nowe elementy, tak że regularnie mówię do siebie "ciekawe jak to dalej się rozwinie" i dalej mi się to nie nudzi.
Świat wydaje się całkiem przemyślany i rozbudowany, mimo że mogę się założyć, że RinoZ wymyśla to wszystko na bieżąco. Postaci wydają się na tyle żywe i prawdziwe, żeby zaangażować się w ich los i z każdą książką dochodzą nowe wątki i perspektywy.
Wpadłem trochę w rabbit hole'a Lit RPG, ale jak to mam w zwyczaju, zacząłem niestety od najlepszego, co gatunek ma do zaoferowania, czyli DCC. Próbowałem paru innych rzeczy, niektóre były dobre, od innych szybko się odbiłem i bardzo mocno czuć, że jest to gatunek wciąż bardzo nowy i zdominowany bardziej przez amatorów-entuzjastów pisania, niż profesjonalnych pisarzy, ale Chrysalis działa dokładnie tak, jak powinno. Jeśli nie lubicie LitRPG, gdzie główny nacisk jest postawiony na progres bohatera, to nie będzie to seria dla was, ale jeśli chcecie się trochę zrelaksować przy czymś trochę głupim, ale jednocześnie dziwnie wciągającym i nawet trochę wholesome, to warto spróbować. Ale raczej tylko w audio.
December 9, 2025
If Pixar made Starship Troopers but forgot to tell anyone it was a comedy, you’d probably end up with something like this stat-hungry ant saga.
Antelligent Design by RinoZ, third in the Chrysalis series, keeps doing what the first two books did but levels it up. The main character is still an ant, still trying to evolve, survive, and now lead something bigger than himself. The colony’s not just growing stronger, it’s getting weirder and smarter and more crowded in a way that almost feels cozy. Enemies are stronger. Systems are deeper. And every few chapters something completely unhinged happens that somehow still works in the world. The vibe stays weird and funny but things are also getting more dangerous in a way that’s kind of exciting but also starting to make you worry for the ants. Which is wild.
The reason this landed at 4 for me? The characters, even the bug ones, hit better than I expected. It’s not easy to make a swarm feel personal but somehow the side characters have real voices and real moments that made me care. There’s a rhythm to how the colony grows that made the pacing feel right too. It never felt slow. I didn’t skim. That matters a lot in a long book like this. There’s a ton of leveling and numbers and system stuff but it stayed interesting for me cause the story kept moving. Still a little unpolished in places. Sometimes sentences hit weird. But honestly, I had a good time. Weirdly invested in these little bug idiots.
Rating: 4/5.
Antelligent Design by RinoZ, third in the Chrysalis series, keeps doing what the first two books did but levels it up. The main character is still an ant, still trying to evolve, survive, and now lead something bigger than himself. The colony’s not just growing stronger, it’s getting weirder and smarter and more crowded in a way that almost feels cozy. Enemies are stronger. Systems are deeper. And every few chapters something completely unhinged happens that somehow still works in the world. The vibe stays weird and funny but things are also getting more dangerous in a way that’s kind of exciting but also starting to make you worry for the ants. Which is wild.
The reason this landed at 4 for me? The characters, even the bug ones, hit better than I expected. It’s not easy to make a swarm feel personal but somehow the side characters have real voices and real moments that made me care. There’s a rhythm to how the colony grows that made the pacing feel right too. It never felt slow. I didn’t skim. That matters a lot in a long book like this. There’s a ton of leveling and numbers and system stuff but it stayed interesting for me cause the story kept moving. Still a little unpolished in places. Sometimes sentences hit weird. But honestly, I had a good time. Weirdly invested in these little bug idiots.
Rating: 4/5.
November 21, 2025
I really enjoyed this installment overall — the evolution mechanics, the colony building, and Anthony’s POV continue to be the star of the series for me. The creativity of the world and the constant sense of progression kept me fully invested whenever the story stayed with the ants.
That said, I found myself skipping most of the human-focused chapters. The tone shift never quite works for me, and the constant distrust, misunderstandings, and back-and-forth suspicion from the humans dragged the pacing down. Every time the story drifted away from Anthony and into human politics or their anxieties about him, I lost interest fast.
But when the book is in its element — deep in the nest, evolving, experimenting, growing stronger, and expanding the colony — it’s an absolute blast. Anthony’s chapters carried the whole thing
That said, I found myself skipping most of the human-focused chapters. The tone shift never quite works for me, and the constant distrust, misunderstandings, and back-and-forth suspicion from the humans dragged the pacing down. Every time the story drifted away from Anthony and into human politics or their anxieties about him, I lost interest fast.
But when the book is in its element — deep in the nest, evolving, experimenting, growing stronger, and expanding the colony — it’s an absolute blast. Anthony’s chapters carried the whole thing
October 27, 2023
Chrysalis: 3
With a safer location for the colony established in the previous book, Anthony sets his eyes on improving the colony's long term growth. He doesn't quite stop to consider the ramifications of the impact a forever expanding population of intelligent, voracious ants will have on the ecosystem, much less the long term sustainability other than the flippant belief that the dungeon will always have monsters. As a reader, it's a bit concerning, but Anthony has his eyes on the success of the colony and doesn't stop to consider these trifling things. This book builds towards a climactic finish and though it doesn't end on a cliffhanger, I definitely want to read the next book to see what happens next.
With a safer location for the colony established in the previous book, Anthony sets his eyes on improving the colony's long term growth. He doesn't quite stop to consider the ramifications of the impact a forever expanding population of intelligent, voracious ants will have on the ecosystem, much less the long term sustainability other than the flippant belief that the dungeon will always have monsters. As a reader, it's a bit concerning, but Anthony has his eyes on the success of the colony and doesn't stop to consider these trifling things. This book builds towards a climactic finish and though it doesn't end on a cliffhanger, I definitely want to read the next book to see what happens next.
July 11, 2025
This series continues to deliver. There was a part of this book that felt repetitive to the other two...but most of it was very fresh! I really enjoyed how the narration started expanding to include scenes from other members of the colony. The war and action sequences making up most of the back half of the book were so awesome to read, and also well paced, with non-action sequences breaking up the pace. Fun read.
January 2, 2023
Bad ending
Ending was short, no closure at all, and just cliffhanged. The book itself has far too many POV shifts for the review to be anything more than 3 stars. I like the characters, I love the story, but the way it's written has every irritating pet peeve possible for me.
Overall, due to the above and the above only, this is the weakest book so far.
Ending was short, no closure at all, and just cliffhanged. The book itself has far too many POV shifts for the review to be anything more than 3 stars. I like the characters, I love the story, but the way it's written has every irritating pet peeve possible for me.
Overall, due to the above and the above only, this is the weakest book so far.
January 6, 2023
Very good series, I enjoy a good monster story and it's nice to find one that keeps its pacing steady instead of all of a sudden going god mode in one book or just totally leaving litrpg. This book does not do that and in fact stays an ant instead of becoming human or human like which is a great change of pace and really well done.
January 6, 2023
Il primo e il secondo erano divertenti, ma vivevano un po' alla giornata, con questo invece c'è molto world building, tante sottotrame, nuovi poteri, evoluzioni. Mi sono piaciute le scene di azione. Tipicamente nei LitRPG sono sempre mediocri, ma qui RInoz ha trovato l'equilibrio perfetto.
Con una crescita del genere mi aspetto davvero il promssimo volume!
Con una crescita del genere mi aspetto davvero il promssimo volume!
March 19, 2023
Good story, bad chapter breaks.
Good story, bad chapter breaks. I dislike how often the chapters end so quickly, and I dislike how often they’re named after one moment at the end of the chapter, rather than what was the main content of the chapter.
But it’s a damn good story, so I put up with it.
Good story, bad chapter breaks. I dislike how often the chapters end so quickly, and I dislike how often they’re named after one moment at the end of the chapter, rather than what was the main content of the chapter.
But it’s a damn good story, so I put up with it.
June 20, 2024
I really enjoyed this one. Finally things are starting to go somewhere. We are delving deeper into Pangera and figuring out some interesting things about some of the other reincarnated monsters that are in Pangera. The final battle was epic! I'm really looking forward to seeing where things are going to go. What's next? Now that Garalash has been delved into.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2025
4.2/5. More characters, more humor. The build up on to the fight was excellent. He is great a writing fights. There were some things that were confusing like the lizard mage--not really clear why they were involved and targeting the colony. But I'm not going to lie. I absolutely love some of his characters. They just make me smile. Well done!
April 30, 2025
Found this series on sale at Audible. Had I not purchased them, I probably would not have finished three books. Book #3, 2.5 Stars rounded down to 2 stars. Solid world-building, lots of action, and interesting LITRPG character development. Why not round up to 3 Stars? The juvenile dialogue was annoying, so I will not continue with the series.
January 2, 2026
Gah, this series is phenomenal! The conclusion of this arc was a long time coming and it was awesome to see how the ants came together! I love the humor of this series so much and listening to the audiobook alongside it was one of the only times I really enjoyed the voice acting of a series!
I’m anxious about where the rest of the series is going to go from here! There only seem to be a few things to wrap up, so what lies in the next strata for our favorite ant colony?
I’m anxious about where the rest of the series is going to go from here! There only seem to be a few things to wrap up, so what lies in the next strata for our favorite ant colony?
December 31, 2022
Awesome Story
This series of a guy reborn as a dungeon ant was fantastic. Since he had a crappy time being a human, he absolutely embraces his ant colony. He ends up remaking his sisters into sapient ants and hilarity ensues.
This series of a guy reborn as a dungeon ant was fantastic. Since he had a crappy time being a human, he absolutely embraces his ant colony. He ends up remaking his sisters into sapient ants and hilarity ensues.
January 2, 2023
Evolve!
Anthony continues to grow, as does the colony. And oddly the human town prospers. An unending horde of monsters vomits from the Dungeon and only the ants stand against the utter destruction. Tom out
Anthony continues to grow, as does the colony. And oddly the human town prospers. An unending horde of monsters vomits from the Dungeon and only the ants stand against the utter destruction. Tom out
January 17, 2023
Better and better
I thought that the first book was OK. Ant monster in a dungeon. Unique and cute. But the depth and complexity has grown with each book, evolving (pun intended), into something epic. I can't wait for the next installment.
I thought that the first book was OK. Ant monster in a dungeon. Unique and cute. But the depth and complexity has grown with each book, evolving (pun intended), into something epic. I can't wait for the next installment.
March 27, 2023
Wicked ending to book 3
Well, I will say that the author kept up a good pace without an issue.
This was an excellent end to the current arc. I am looking for Antony in his adventures in book 4
Well, I will say that the author kept up a good pace without an issue.
This was an excellent end to the current arc. I am looking for Antony in his adventures in book 4
March 31, 2023
Bruh, I'm so impressed
I don't think I've ever read a story quite like this one, the way the author speaks of community, the view points of the ants, the personization of faceless monsters. This is a GOOD book.
I don't think I've ever read a story quite like this one, the way the author speaks of community, the view points of the ants, the personization of faceless monsters. This is a GOOD book.
March 22, 2024
Ant defense!
It was fun reading how the different ants evolved and strategies employed. The new powers of Anthony are entertaining. While I was reading this our apt was actually invaded by ants and I was pictures this as I eliminated that 😂.
It was fun reading how the different ants evolved and strategies employed. The new powers of Anthony are entertaining. While I was reading this our apt was actually invaded by ants and I was pictures this as I eliminated that 😂.
July 1, 2024
Really enjoyable series. Lots of humour and great action. Also Anthony is competent, which is refreshing in a lot of LitRPGs, and also interesting. Was nice seeing the hive growing with more specialized classes
August 27, 2025
fun
Okay, I binge listened to books 2-5 so the edges blurred together for me. Anthony expanded his nest gained power, defeated bad guys, evolved, got kidnapped, grew some more and is generally a powerhouse.
Very funny and enjoyable. Great pace. Excellent narrator. Please enjoy
Okay, I binge listened to books 2-5 so the edges blurred together for me. Anthony expanded his nest gained power, defeated bad guys, evolved, got kidnapped, grew some more and is generally a powerhouse.
Very funny and enjoyable. Great pace. Excellent narrator. Please enjoy
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews