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The Dwarves want to fight. They're ordered to escape. Turtling up is the best of both worlds.
Joe and humanity as a whole messed up pretty badly, managing to get some of the most important people from both the Elven and Dwarven races killed. Now the war is escalating to unprecedented levels, and only one side needs to worry about being slain. With the attackers knowing they can get right back up after dying, they are throwing themselves against their centuries-long foe without caring for the consequences.
As the death toll rises, there's still hope for Joe and the people that he chose to align himself with. His tiny Hamlet is hidden away from the Elves, so the Ritualist gets a quest to escort the core of the Dwarven Oligarchy to safety: their History, and those that lived it. If he can manage to save even a few as the Dwarven Oligarchy begins to Implode, the race might one day have a chance to regain their former glory.
There's only one major issue with convincing the war-loving Dwarves to escape the final battle and hide away: they're war-loving Dwarves.
Joe and humanity as a whole messed up pretty badly, managing to get some of the most important people from both the Elven and Dwarven races killed. Now the war is escalating to unprecedented levels, and only one side needs to worry about being slain. With the attackers knowing they can get right back up after dying, they are throwing themselves against their centuries-long foe without caring for the consequences.
As the death toll rises, there's still hope for Joe and the people that he chose to align himself with. His tiny Hamlet is hidden away from the Elves, so the Ritualist gets a quest to escort the core of the Dwarven Oligarchy to safety: their History, and those that lived it. If he can manage to save even a few as the Dwarven Oligarchy begins to Implode, the race might one day have a chance to regain their former glory.
There's only one major issue with convincing the war-loving Dwarves to escape the final battle and hide away: they're war-loving Dwarves.
390 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 14, 2022
689 people are currently reading
496 people want to read
About the author
Dakota Krout
76 books2,870 followersAuthor of the best-selling Divine Dungeon, Completionist Chronicles, and Full Murderhobo series, Dakota Krout was chosen as Audible's top 5 fantasy pick of 2017, has been a top 5 bestseller on Amazon, and a top 6 bestseller on Audible.
He draws on his experience in the military to create vast terrains and intricate systems, and his history in programming and information technology helps him bring a logical aspect to both his writing and his company while giving him a unique perspective for future challenges.
Publishing my stories has been an incredible blessing thus far, and I hope to keep you entertained for years to come! -Dakota Krout
He draws on his experience in the military to create vast terrains and intricate systems, and his history in programming and information technology helps him bring a logical aspect to both his writing and his company while giving him a unique perspective for future challenges.
Publishing my stories has been an incredible blessing thus far, and I hope to keep you entertained for years to come! -Dakota Krout
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
December 28, 2022
Still a series, still read in order.
Yeah, I went into this one with a bad attitude because of the stupid that layered the ending of the last, putting everyone in a losing position. Frankly, I don't get the motivations. The Dwarves are doomed. The whole system/setup at this point is a mandated decline to oblivion. Or have you seen any dwarf child? No? So no new dwarves and every death is permanent. And Joe is all fighting this why? And that's before you even get to dwarf society. I mean, let's save the idiots who all want to be named "Bro" or "Dudette". There's a culture needs saving.
Plus, this power fantasy is over. I gave it two encounters where he's actually making goals and accomplishing them. Two fails later and I'm done. One sad, sad star.
Yeah, I went into this one with a bad attitude because of the stupid that layered the ending of the last, putting everyone in a losing position. Frankly, I don't get the motivations. The Dwarves are doomed. The whole system/setup at this point is a mandated decline to oblivion. Or have you seen any dwarf child? No? So no new dwarves and every death is permanent. And Joe is all fighting this why? And that's before you even get to dwarf society. I mean, let's save the idiots who all want to be named "Bro" or "Dudette". There's a culture needs saving.
Plus, this power fantasy is over. I gave it two encounters where he's actually making goals and accomplishing them. Two fails later and I'm done. One sad, sad star.
October 27, 2022
This series has really went down hill
The first few books were interesting and funny even if they were a bit cringy, but each book is a bit worse than the one before it. This one took that to a whole new level of bad. The main character gets himself in stupid situations, but instead of getting himself out of them through hard work he just gets lucky, over and over and over. And wow does the author hate women, I'm pretty sure I strained my eyes with how hard I rolled them over what happens with Daniella. Also the puns are so much worse in this one.
The first 2-4 books are pretty decent, but after that save yourself the time and pass on them. This one especially. It was bad enough I won't read anything else that comes out of this series.
The first few books were interesting and funny even if they were a bit cringy, but each book is a bit worse than the one before it. This one took that to a whole new level of bad. The main character gets himself in stupid situations, but instead of getting himself out of them through hard work he just gets lucky, over and over and over. And wow does the author hate women, I'm pretty sure I strained my eyes with how hard I rolled them over what happens with Daniella. Also the puns are so much worse in this one.
The first 2-4 books are pretty decent, but after that save yourself the time and pass on them. This one especially. It was bad enough I won't read anything else that comes out of this series.
December 18, 2022
While I can't say this was the best of the series, I can say that I'm always amused by the level-ups and the wordplay.
The whole series has definitely gotten more silly. I don't mind that. The humor is quite welcome. The adventure, however, is also pretty silly. I won't say it is bad, just a chance to show off some massive skill gains and blow off a bit of steam.
Then again, that's kinda the whole thing about ALL LitRPGs, no? But some are more balanced than others, of course.
The whole series has definitely gotten more silly. I don't mind that. The humor is quite welcome. The adventure, however, is also pretty silly. I won't say it is bad, just a chance to show off some massive skill gains and blow off a bit of steam.
Then again, that's kinda the whole thing about ALL LitRPGs, no? But some are more balanced than others, of course.
October 7, 2022
Plotholes and a hypocritic God.
Throughout this entire book I had one question.
Why did the certified arsehole... I mean "altruistic" lexicon or CAL not punish the elves, the ascetic or chandra... I mean "gaia" for breaking a peace treaty when they would go full "cursed into a literal hell" on the town in the second book for the same thing?
I mean Cal can Curse a guy with baldness for an accident but when a theocracy pulls off a premeditated truce breaking they don't even get a slap on the wrist? No negative karmic luck?
Looks like cal is the God of betrayals back stabbing and treachery if that's how he plays it.
In no culture is going back on your word an acceptable thing. Unless the author needs to move the plot along I guess.
This nagged at me the entire book. That a Godlike figure will punish heavily minor infractions while completely ignoring major ones. I get the whole god is evil thing. But for the most part cal actually appears to be trying to help. But then the author needs to give them the evil idiot ball so they can finick the plot, which really annoys me.
Throughout this entire book I had one question.
Why did the certified arsehole... I mean "altruistic" lexicon or CAL not punish the elves, the ascetic or chandra... I mean "gaia" for breaking a peace treaty when they would go full "cursed into a literal hell" on the town in the second book for the same thing?
I mean Cal can Curse a guy with baldness for an accident but when a theocracy pulls off a premeditated truce breaking they don't even get a slap on the wrist? No negative karmic luck?
Looks like cal is the God of betrayals back stabbing and treachery if that's how he plays it.
In no culture is going back on your word an acceptable thing. Unless the author needs to move the plot along I guess.
This nagged at me the entire book. That a Godlike figure will punish heavily minor infractions while completely ignoring major ones. I get the whole god is evil thing. But for the most part cal actually appears to be trying to help. But then the author needs to give them the evil idiot ball so they can finick the plot, which really annoys me.
October 22, 2022
The most disappointing book in the series. Here our hero accomplishes nothing by his wit, powers strength or intellect. Its a second book of failures and tragedies. With only one success of sorts and that happened through dumb luck. He makes such moronic mistakes and choices you lose all sympathy for him. He keeps handing over the lives of dwarves for mass extermination again and again. How can you root for an idiot who makes the same mistakes repeatedly and said mistakes kills thousands of people who were innocent or are relying on him? By the end of the book I was hoping game over would turn up and wipe out Joe to put him out of our, and the dwarves, misery.
To the author.
You can't keep writing him as a moron, or no one will want to read about him! I used to like his daring plans that pulled a miracle out of the bag to save the day. Daring do and all that. Now instead we have glaring don't! Such obvious moronic actions, choices, plans that they push the boundaries of plausibility and make the reader cringe in frustration. Both invent and implode just has Joe being stupid, monumentally so, and killing off the dwarves and getting hundreds of thousands of them killed. As he is, I no longer want to read about him. I need some of his plans to work, to actually save the day, to save the dwarves, to avoid the glaringly obvious traps, to take precautions to protect them, not actions a moron can see will lead to their destruction. To not get killed every ten minutes, as that just makes him out to be ineffectual and useless. OK he can respawn, but killing him so frequently just makes him seem crap. He could die in the earlier books but mostly avoided doing so in the most dire circumstances as he was that good, now he's just that crap. There is nothing in either invent or implode to root for or get excited about. I thought invent was going to set up an awesome book in implode where Joe would defeat the elves and save the dwarves, not cause the extinction of cities and the deaths of hundreds of thousands through pure stupidity that a 5 year old could have seen coming.
Oh and in regicide Danella is a NPC. Suddenly she becomes a player. Plus she's and architect therefore crafter who has never been in combat or killed. So how on earth did she level enough to move to cross the bifrost? In regicide crafters hit a bottle neck they can't pass unless they go out and get combat experience. Then humans who join the dwarves have to enter the army and basic training, so how was she working as a dwarven architect? None of that makes sense. Nor why would you take someone with zero combat skills, or experience, or value of any kind with you on such dangerous and important missions? It smacked of lazy writing.
To the author.
You can't keep writing him as a moron, or no one will want to read about him! I used to like his daring plans that pulled a miracle out of the bag to save the day. Daring do and all that. Now instead we have glaring don't! Such obvious moronic actions, choices, plans that they push the boundaries of plausibility and make the reader cringe in frustration. Both invent and implode just has Joe being stupid, monumentally so, and killing off the dwarves and getting hundreds of thousands of them killed. As he is, I no longer want to read about him. I need some of his plans to work, to actually save the day, to save the dwarves, to avoid the glaringly obvious traps, to take precautions to protect them, not actions a moron can see will lead to their destruction. To not get killed every ten minutes, as that just makes him out to be ineffectual and useless. OK he can respawn, but killing him so frequently just makes him seem crap. He could die in the earlier books but mostly avoided doing so in the most dire circumstances as he was that good, now he's just that crap. There is nothing in either invent or implode to root for or get excited about. I thought invent was going to set up an awesome book in implode where Joe would defeat the elves and save the dwarves, not cause the extinction of cities and the deaths of hundreds of thousands through pure stupidity that a 5 year old could have seen coming.
Oh and in regicide Danella is a NPC. Suddenly she becomes a player. Plus she's and architect therefore crafter who has never been in combat or killed. So how on earth did she level enough to move to cross the bifrost? In regicide crafters hit a bottle neck they can't pass unless they go out and get combat experience. Then humans who join the dwarves have to enter the army and basic training, so how was she working as a dwarven architect? None of that makes sense. Nor why would you take someone with zero combat skills, or experience, or value of any kind with you on such dangerous and important missions? It smacked of lazy writing.
January 19, 2023
Notes:
4 Stars for Narration by Luke Daniels
3 Stars for Story
LoLz - Ok, Title & the Joke. Check =P
Implode had more of the elements of the series I enjoy: chaotic events with Krout's brand of twists, fun character spotlights that drove the story forward, and a mash-up of crazy that ends up making sense later. Joe sort of flopped around like a landed fish out of water for the last few books & seem to get back to the core of how the character works. #8 was more fun to listen to than the last two books. It seems like the plot elements & flow are moving back to what I love about the series.
4 Stars for Narration by Luke Daniels
3 Stars for Story
LoLz - Ok, Title & the Joke. Check =P
Implode had more of the elements of the series I enjoy: chaotic events with Krout's brand of twists, fun character spotlights that drove the story forward, and a mash-up of crazy that ends up making sense later. Joe sort of flopped around like a landed fish out of water for the last few books & seem to get back to the core of how the character works. #8 was more fun to listen to than the last two books. It seems like the plot elements & flow are moving back to what I love about the series.
October 29, 2022
Story is starting to drag
I will probably stop reading here. I really enjoyed up until book seven. Since then Joe has been seeming more and more incompetent and unprepared for every single encounter. He is constantly outmaneuvered and yet always miraculously pulls through thanks to luck or others. Early on in the series, he was highly competent, planned things well, and had really satisfying achievements. Now it’s just constant frustration.
I will probably stop reading here. I really enjoyed up until book seven. Since then Joe has been seeming more and more incompetent and unprepared for every single encounter. He is constantly outmaneuvered and yet always miraculously pulls through thanks to luck or others. Early on in the series, he was highly competent, planned things well, and had really satisfying achievements. Now it’s just constant frustration.
October 10, 2022
Just bored and had a few hours to kill.
So I read through this, and here we are. I have made my feelings known about the character so this rating is purely for the storyline. One word, monotonous. This is just more of the same old, same old. Same interactions, same joke encounters, same twist betrayals. No stars given for a lack of creativity.
So I read through this, and here we are. I have made my feelings known about the character so this rating is purely for the storyline. One word, monotonous. This is just more of the same old, same old. Same interactions, same joke encounters, same twist betrayals. No stars given for a lack of creativity.
April 15, 2024
The series becomes somewhat repetitive and monotonous. But I enjoy Jaxon so much, I guess I'll keep reading as long as the author doesn't kill him off ;)
September 25, 2023
Rating: 4.0/5
Review: Once again, Dakota entertains and keeps you reading deep into the night. Number 8 is a continuance of a broadly swathed story line spanning a couple of planes. If this were longer, I would give it a solid 4.8.
Next please!!
Review: Once again, Dakota entertains and keeps you reading deep into the night. Number 8 is a continuance of a broadly swathed story line spanning a couple of planes. If this were longer, I would give it a solid 4.8.
Next please!!
September 20, 2022
Picked up the book as soon as it came out (the kids finished it faster than I did), as I'm always excited to see what happens next with the titular character in this series.
This time, Joe is leading his friends out of one frying pan - by creating a gigantic, stinking mess of a fire - and possibly into another frying pan, which we get to learn about in the next book.
This time, Joe is leading his friends out of one frying pan - by creating a gigantic, stinking mess of a fire - and possibly into another frying pan, which we get to learn about in the next book.
September 19, 2022
Another good addition to the series. Very enjoyable.
If your a fan of the series - you don't want to miss this one.
I actually purchased this book on his Press Site instead of going with Kindle Unlimited.
Very good story!
If your a fan of the series - you don't want to miss this one.
I actually purchased this book on his Press Site instead of going with Kindle Unlimited.
Very good story!
November 27, 2022
Flawed Fan Chum
I wanted to like this book, but it is so far from the writing quality at the beginning of the series. Things happen so very slowly. I get it Jaxon is funny, and Joe gets caught up in what he is doing, and for some more of the same is enough. For everyone else however it shows that the series is solidly in the middle of an unnecessary stretching of the story. When that happens (think HIMYM, that 70's show or the Sword of Truth, Wheel of Time) main characters are caught in a limbo that makes them seem incapable of growth or improvement. The last three books could have knocked out in half the page count without losing anything.
It's too late for me now, but looking back I wish I had stopped after the second book. I could think of it from time to time and wonder if I was ever get any more of this amazing story. Instead I get to know that it isn't likely to happen.
I wanted to like this book, but it is so far from the writing quality at the beginning of the series. Things happen so very slowly. I get it Jaxon is funny, and Joe gets caught up in what he is doing, and for some more of the same is enough. For everyone else however it shows that the series is solidly in the middle of an unnecessary stretching of the story. When that happens (think HIMYM, that 70's show or the Sword of Truth, Wheel of Time) main characters are caught in a limbo that makes them seem incapable of growth or improvement. The last three books could have knocked out in half the page count without losing anything.
It's too late for me now, but looking back I wish I had stopped after the second book. I could think of it from time to time and wonder if I was ever get any more of this amazing story. Instead I get to know that it isn't likely to happen.
December 25, 2022
I think I read this book too early. I should have given it a couple more months to get the last book out my system. I can barely tolerate it right now.
I think the author pays people to make puns and acronyms for him to use.
The extra lengths the author goes so his characters don't cuss are beyond tiring now.
I wonder when this series would end? I think I may have to drop it sometime, as the author can stretch this series continuously.
It will be a while before I read another sequel.
2.5/5 Stars
I think the author pays people to make puns and acronyms for him to use.
The extra lengths the author goes so his characters don't cuss are beyond tiring now.
I wonder when this series would end? I think I may have to drop it sometime, as the author can stretch this series continuously.
It will be a while before I read another sequel.
2.5/5 Stars
December 3, 2022
I give up. The last books were getting worse, but the ending saved them somewhat for me. Now there is only the MC left, who I like a lot. Every other character, every aspect of the story and every part of the culture as well as the gaming aspect in regards to characters was simply annoying to me. I struggled and struggled, but I don't think I will continue with this series anymore.
October 20, 2022
Was ok
Got boring, it was all over the place it was like what ever. The 'ending" just was blah oh yeah .. Oh wait I think I missed something… oh yeah maybe it was all the stuff I skimmed through just to get to the End.
Got boring, it was all over the place it was like what ever. The 'ending" just was blah oh yeah .. Oh wait I think I missed something… oh yeah maybe it was all the stuff I skimmed through just to get to the End.
September 17, 2024
I ran through this series as fast as I could and my only issue is that I don't have any left. It really was a fun series with plenty more left in store.
Update: just reread the first 8 to get it fresh in my mind for the next 3 books being released. So good.
Update: just reread the first 8 to get it fresh in my mind for the next 3 books being released. So good.
November 9, 2022
The series feels like it has stagnated the last two-three books. The progression tends to be more sideways and somewhat backwards and it isn't really as compelling as the earlier parts.
October 10, 2022
Better than the last one
Jaxom is really growing on me. I am glad we have moved to the next world but a little pissed joe lost the keystone. To tell the truth I miss the human civilization of midguard.
Jaxom is really growing on me. I am glad we have moved to the next world but a little pissed joe lost the keystone. To tell the truth I miss the human civilization of midguard.
October 13, 2022
This series is starting to get less fun. I feel like the author is improving his writing in some ways, but the story itself tends to drag in parts and is generally less satisfying than earlier books. The MC's progression feels less meaningful and the pacing often either feels too fast or too slow. It's not a bad book, and I'm looking forward to the next one, but I enjoyed other books from this series more.
June 8, 2024
Still entertaining, but I'm not 100% sure what happened at the end.
November 9, 2022
The series title " Completionist Chronicles" is interesting as our main character doesn't have the time to focus on his skills as he's constantly jumping from one emergency to another that only he can solve. The jumping into another realm feels unnecessary to me at this point. I enjoyed Joe's adventures in the first realm, and leaving that felt like an unwelcomed change of scenery, leaving behind many well known characters and locales for a fairly bland set of "Dwarves v elves" I'm happy to have Jaxon included but this feels like it should be been a separate series. I kept waiting for our familiar gang to show back up, and while I understand that they were given reasons for not continuing on to the next realm, but overall the characters feel forced/flat and the great betrayal feels silly, and leaves me feeling unfullfilled. Heir Trigger is a facsimile of a bad guy, and I've already forgotten what his point was.
Joe continues to forget things (like asking his deity a question) or just lucking in to scenarios rather than having a lot of his hard work come to fruition. The ending of the book having him tricked by a bunch of elves in camouflage feels like a newbie mistake rather than one of a Master Ritualist.
I did enjoy the Master Battle, but again moving on to a new realm feels silly as I don't feel like I've learned much about this realm.
Joe continues to forget things (like asking his deity a question) or just lucking in to scenarios rather than having a lot of his hard work come to fruition. The ending of the book having him tricked by a bunch of elves in camouflage feels like a newbie mistake rather than one of a Master Ritualist.
I did enjoy the Master Battle, but again moving on to a new realm feels silly as I don't feel like I've learned much about this realm.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2022
Krout does it again
Great story and great addition to the series. Took a few turns on there that I had not expected but it came around to a wonderful result. My favorite part about Dakota's work is that he doesn't give into the dramatic tropes of many writers. There is no, "the hero comes to the cusp of a goal only for it to be swept away into the next book." He creates great goals and situations for his characters and follows three with them, allowing for different and equally interesting things to happen.
Great story and great addition to the series. Took a few turns on there that I had not expected but it came around to a wonderful result. My favorite part about Dakota's work is that he doesn't give into the dramatic tropes of many writers. There is no, "the hero comes to the cusp of a goal only for it to be swept away into the next book." He creates great goals and situations for his characters and follows three with them, allowing for different and equally interesting things to happen.
October 7, 2022
Love the puns, the fun, the joy
I enjoy this series because it leans into everything that works best for Dakota. His sense of humor, his sense of epic conflict, and the kind of campy silliness that makes you just want to smile.
This was a great book to give me smiles and enjoyment. 5 stars.
I enjoy this series because it leans into everything that works best for Dakota. His sense of humor, his sense of epic conflict, and the kind of campy silliness that makes you just want to smile.
This was a great book to give me smiles and enjoyment. 5 stars.
December 26, 2023
TL;DR: "The Completionist Chronicles #8: Implode" is a frustrating read with its incoherent plot, lackluster dialogue, and poor character development. Joe's continuous skill improvement is overshadowed by his irrational decisions and the story's failure to maintain immersion and consistency. 4.5/10
Read
November 9, 2023I guess this is where my desire to continue the series implodes.
What happened to the smart, creative gamer I was routing for? How does he forget that he needs to use/level his skills and attributes? Why is he still so self-absorbed that he doesn't bother communicating with the rest of his guild, family, or friends unless they reach out first? Most of his previous accomplishments where the results of teamwork. Most of his bad decisions were mitigated by party members with different perspectives. How has none of that clicked for him?
And what kind of game sucks you into perpetual mandatory quests with no overarching storyline/plot? It's just chaos, luck and happenstance. No wonder the pacing is all over the place.
Daniella confused the crap out of me, too. I could've sworn she was an NPC. Also, she worked for the architect's guild so there's no way anyone should've trusted her so easily. And wth do you mean you can turn of your passive enchantment? Joe did it all the time. So much math that didn't math I'm not surprised he called it CANT. Just like the number of stars I'm giving.
What happened to the smart, creative gamer I was routing for? How does he forget that he needs to use/level his skills and attributes? Why is he still so self-absorbed that he doesn't bother communicating with the rest of his guild, family, or friends unless they reach out first? Most of his previous accomplishments where the results of teamwork. Most of his bad decisions were mitigated by party members with different perspectives. How has none of that clicked for him?
And what kind of game sucks you into perpetual mandatory quests with no overarching storyline/plot? It's just chaos, luck and happenstance. No wonder the pacing is all over the place.
Daniella confused the crap out of me, too. I could've sworn she was an NPC. Also, she worked for the architect's guild so there's no way anyone should've trusted her so easily. And wth do you mean you can turn of your passive enchantment? Joe did it all the time. So much math that didn't math I'm not surprised he called it CANT. Just like the number of stars I'm giving.
January 8, 2023
Continuing the awkwardness that has persisted the last few books. Little of what was so gripping in the first few books persists, in favor of a novel with little focus on progression and planning, and a lot more of a focus on bad jokes and awkward characters.
I'm still giving this 2 stars as it continues to progress an interesting magic system and world, but I continue to be sad that what was good in the first few books seems to be gone forever. In hopeful for the next book though.
I'm still giving this 2 stars as it continues to progress an interesting magic system and world, but I continue to be sad that what was good in the first few books seems to be gone forever. In hopeful for the next book though.
September 27, 2024
Implode (The Completionist Chronicles #8) by Dakota Krout - 3/5 Stars
First and foremost, I want to state that I am not an author. I have no idea what it takes to write a book. I am a consumer with an OPINION, and only an opinion, based on my life experiences. And boy, do I have opinions about this one! "Implode" continues Joe's adventures in the Completionist Chronicles series, and like a dwarf with a new hammer, it hits some nails right on the head while occasionally stubbing its toe. Our hero finds himself partially responsible for shattering yet another race - this time his bearded buddies, the dwarves. Talk about a fixer-upper! The backstabbing betrayal in the story is about as surprising as finding gold in a dwarf mine, but Major Havoc's innovative use of footwear as a siege weapon is a step in the right direction for creativity. It's like watching MacGyver in a fantasy world - who knew shoes could be so versatile? Joe's power levels continue to fluctuate more than a goblin's mood, swinging from overpowered to underpowered faster than you can say "level up." His narrow escapes are becoming as predictable as an elf's love for trees, but hey, at least it keeps the pages turning. Unfortunately, while the book is as comforting as a warm mug of dwarven ale, it's about as memorable as one too. There's no standout scene that sticks in the mind like gum on a boot, leaving the reader with a vague sense of "that was nice" rather than "wow, that was amazing!"
Rating Scale:
5 stars - Exceptional, life-changing
4 stars - Highly enjoyable, likely to reread, would recommend
3 stars - Decent read, might not remember long-term
2 stars - Not for me, struggled to finish
1 star - Poorly written or factually incorrect
Overall, "Implode" gets 3 stars. It's a fun addition to a series we've come to love, like a reliable old sword in your inventory. But like that same old sword, it's starting to lose its edge. Here's hoping the next realm Joe heads to will sharpen things up a bit!
First and foremost, I want to state that I am not an author. I have no idea what it takes to write a book. I am a consumer with an OPINION, and only an opinion, based on my life experiences. And boy, do I have opinions about this one! "Implode" continues Joe's adventures in the Completionist Chronicles series, and like a dwarf with a new hammer, it hits some nails right on the head while occasionally stubbing its toe. Our hero finds himself partially responsible for shattering yet another race - this time his bearded buddies, the dwarves. Talk about a fixer-upper! The backstabbing betrayal in the story is about as surprising as finding gold in a dwarf mine, but Major Havoc's innovative use of footwear as a siege weapon is a step in the right direction for creativity. It's like watching MacGyver in a fantasy world - who knew shoes could be so versatile? Joe's power levels continue to fluctuate more than a goblin's mood, swinging from overpowered to underpowered faster than you can say "level up." His narrow escapes are becoming as predictable as an elf's love for trees, but hey, at least it keeps the pages turning. Unfortunately, while the book is as comforting as a warm mug of dwarven ale, it's about as memorable as one too. There's no standout scene that sticks in the mind like gum on a boot, leaving the reader with a vague sense of "that was nice" rather than "wow, that was amazing!"
Rating Scale:
5 stars - Exceptional, life-changing
4 stars - Highly enjoyable, likely to reread, would recommend
3 stars - Decent read, might not remember long-term
2 stars - Not for me, struggled to finish
1 star - Poorly written or factually incorrect
Overall, "Implode" gets 3 stars. It's a fun addition to a series we've come to love, like a reliable old sword in your inventory. But like that same old sword, it's starting to lose its edge. Here's hoping the next realm Joe heads to will sharpen things up a bit!
September 14, 2024
This was another decent entry in the Completionist Chronicles. It's not quite the calibre of the first few stories but I don't regret having bought it.
The characters are quite well developed at this point although the dwarves all sound quite similar through the narration. Cleave and Havoc are the major standouts. Honestly, I still find Jackson quite annoying yet he seems to be shifting into a more central role.
The setting is bland. They are in the same area as before and they travel around doing bits and bobs. The villains were at least quite fun this time and better described than the scenery.
The plot of Joe helping the dwarves is stretched a bit thin. They aren't especially noble in the first place. I hope the next area depends less on the dwarves.
I also think that the author has forgotten some of Joe's powers like his resurrection ability. There do seem to be a few plotholes with bits like that.
All in all this book was OK. Nothing great but not too bad. if you've read all the others, read this.
The characters are quite well developed at this point although the dwarves all sound quite similar through the narration. Cleave and Havoc are the major standouts. Honestly, I still find Jackson quite annoying yet he seems to be shifting into a more central role.
The setting is bland. They are in the same area as before and they travel around doing bits and bobs. The villains were at least quite fun this time and better described than the scenery.
The plot of Joe helping the dwarves is stretched a bit thin. They aren't especially noble in the first place. I hope the next area depends less on the dwarves.
I also think that the author has forgotten some of Joe's powers like his resurrection ability. There do seem to be a few plotholes with bits like that.
All in all this book was OK. Nothing great but not too bad. if you've read all the others, read this.
December 28, 2022
I liked this one much more than invent
Audiobook review : good mixing and narration; only nit is sometimes the narrator changes voice tone for emphasis but it can sound as if it's a different character (usually when trying to make an odd voice for Joe) so that leads to some confusion.
The Dwarves are in hiding, Joe owns a volcano, and a mission is created. Protect the dwarves that remain and find sanctuary for them.
We learn much more about the elves, as well as some of the hidden secrets of the remaining dwarves; we find the equivalent of dwarven mystics and see fascinating parts of how the fringes of dwarven society worked.
A path to Jotunheim is opened! And it sound like it'll be intense.
Looking forward to the next entry.
Audiobook review : good mixing and narration; only nit is sometimes the narrator changes voice tone for emphasis but it can sound as if it's a different character (usually when trying to make an odd voice for Joe) so that leads to some confusion.
The Dwarves are in hiding, Joe owns a volcano, and a mission is created. Protect the dwarves that remain and find sanctuary for them.
We learn much more about the elves, as well as some of the hidden secrets of the remaining dwarves; we find the equivalent of dwarven mystics and see fascinating parts of how the fringes of dwarven society worked.
A path to Jotunheim is opened! And it sound like it'll be intense.
Looking forward to the next entry.
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