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Trickster's Song #1
The Road to Noviel
Transported to a fantasy world, a young man discovers his magical talents on adventurous quests, in the first book of a humorous new gamelit series.
One moment Robin is imbibing an elixir of his own creation as he practices casting spells, and the next he’s lying naked in a cave about to embark on a mysterious quest. It seems the God Rhyth has vanished from the realm of Mayaser, and Robin—altered from human to shadeling—has been chosen to find out what happened to the deity and its worshippers.
In search of a way out of the cavernous tunnels in which he awoke, Robin encounters the Sisters Sharp, a party of human, dwarf, and halfling adventurers led by the elf Lantha. The warriors are journeying beneath the mountains on their way to the city of Noviel, collecting enchanted artifacts to defend their land against the growing forces of Urkhan, God of Tyranny.
In need of allies (and clothes!) Robin tags along with the Sisters, joining them in battle against reptilian kobolds, goblins, harpies, and other dangerous cave-dwelling creatures. For the servants of Urkhan—including the priest Gis and Basgar the Blinder, who rules the subterranean trade route beneath the mountains—are determined to spread their empire and stop the people of Noviel and elsewhere from uniting against them.
As Robin confronts one evil after another, his magical abilities grow stronger, forging him into a powerful bard. And he’ll need all his newfound mesmerizing and illusion-casting talents to uncover the truth behind Rhyth’s disappearance before Urkhan does . . .
One moment Robin is imbibing an elixir of his own creation as he practices casting spells, and the next he’s lying naked in a cave about to embark on a mysterious quest. It seems the God Rhyth has vanished from the realm of Mayaser, and Robin—altered from human to shadeling—has been chosen to find out what happened to the deity and its worshippers.
In search of a way out of the cavernous tunnels in which he awoke, Robin encounters the Sisters Sharp, a party of human, dwarf, and halfling adventurers led by the elf Lantha. The warriors are journeying beneath the mountains on their way to the city of Noviel, collecting enchanted artifacts to defend their land against the growing forces of Urkhan, God of Tyranny.
In need of allies (and clothes!) Robin tags along with the Sisters, joining them in battle against reptilian kobolds, goblins, harpies, and other dangerous cave-dwelling creatures. For the servants of Urkhan—including the priest Gis and Basgar the Blinder, who rules the subterranean trade route beneath the mountains—are determined to spread their empire and stop the people of Noviel and elsewhere from uniting against them.
As Robin confronts one evil after another, his magical abilities grow stronger, forging him into a powerful bard. And he’ll need all his newfound mesmerizing and illusion-casting talents to uncover the truth behind Rhyth’s disappearance before Urkhan does . . .
503 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 24, 2023
32 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 3, 2023
Gay
This would have been a good book but I'm not gay and I don't want to read about gays,you can delete this if you want but I will not read a book about gays.
This would have been a good book but I'm not gay and I don't want to read about gays,you can delete this if you want but I will not read a book about gays.
February 12, 2023
LitRPG is a fantasy subgenre I hadn't previously been aware of, in which the protagonist explores a fantasy world while having their interactions with the world partially mediated through the mechanics of a role-playing game - quest prompts, experience points, perks, etc.
In 'The Road to Noviel', a human presumably from 'our' world wakes up in a fantasy world and finds his vision accosted by an augmented reality style interface giving him quest prompts and tutorial tips. The novel is split into three arcs which correspond to three major quests in three different locations which Robin must complete to progress. In the course of doing so, he learns more about the world he's found himself in, gains new skills, and encounters a wide variety of flora, fauna, and humanoids.
There's a lot of potential for humour in having a modern day viewpoint in a medievalist fantasy setting, especially when coupled with bardic and trickster skills. Not being the best fighter, Robin often has to talk or trick his way out of danger, which gives us plenty of comedy in various forms - silly insults, misunderstandings, deceit, pop culture nods, and slapstick.
I listened to audio version narrated by Will M. Watt, who does a stellar job, really committing to giving the characters distinct voices, and even giving the game interface and quest prompts comically exaggerated distinctive voices.
The chapters are very short and the story fast-paced, which made it a great listen to dip in and out of when I only had a bit of time to spare. The combo of a fun story, witty writing, and an amazing narrator made this a great listening experience, and I would very happily have gone straight into the sequel, which I'll be pre-ordering when I get another credit.
In 'The Road to Noviel', a human presumably from 'our' world wakes up in a fantasy world and finds his vision accosted by an augmented reality style interface giving him quest prompts and tutorial tips. The novel is split into three arcs which correspond to three major quests in three different locations which Robin must complete to progress. In the course of doing so, he learns more about the world he's found himself in, gains new skills, and encounters a wide variety of flora, fauna, and humanoids.
There's a lot of potential for humour in having a modern day viewpoint in a medievalist fantasy setting, especially when coupled with bardic and trickster skills. Not being the best fighter, Robin often has to talk or trick his way out of danger, which gives us plenty of comedy in various forms - silly insults, misunderstandings, deceit, pop culture nods, and slapstick.
I listened to audio version narrated by Will M. Watt, who does a stellar job, really committing to giving the characters distinct voices, and even giving the game interface and quest prompts comically exaggerated distinctive voices.
The chapters are very short and the story fast-paced, which made it a great listen to dip in and out of when I only had a bit of time to spare. The combo of a fun story, witty writing, and an amazing narrator made this a great listening experience, and I would very happily have gone straight into the sequel, which I'll be pre-ordering when I get another credit.
March 4, 2024
Mediocre
Not a terrible book, but not great. The book leans to heavily on going to a character screen over and over again and really diving into the talents, quests, and skills area. The character status sheet is pulled up no fewer than at least 15 times in the book reading up 2+ pages every time. Wish it focused more on the story itself. The insults the MC uses for cutting words aren't really that funny. They works also take do long to say (several sentences) to be effective in combat
Not a terrible book, but not great. The book leans to heavily on going to a character screen over and over again and really diving into the talents, quests, and skills area. The character status sheet is pulled up no fewer than at least 15 times in the book reading up 2+ pages every time. Wish it focused more on the story itself. The insults the MC uses for cutting words aren't really that funny. They works also take do long to say (several sentences) to be effective in combat
June 16, 2024
Confusing, needed to go through a couple editing phases and the story is pretty boring, the mc has no motivation to do anything that he does and he just does it for shits and giggles, random facts are brought up only to make him have an advantage or to explain how he knows how to do certain things(growing up on his grandma's farm, and him being a pagan witch which is only brought up two time and one one them was so vague that you wouldn't know what kind of wit h he is just that he does witchcraft)
May 7, 2023
Please note before reading that the main character is LGBT, and whilst there is barely anything sexual in the book, I believe its best to be prewarned. I would also like to add that the ratings for this book must be taken with a grain of salt, as it's been unfairly rated due to this.
This was fun read with an interesting spin on the typical LitRPG. The world and magic system is somewhat unique, and I can't wait to learn more about it.
This was fun read with an interesting spin on the typical LitRPG. The world and magic system is somewhat unique, and I can't wait to learn more about it.
February 10, 2023
A good time. Amiably quippy main character, appealing supporting cast. Progression fast enough to be interesting without an immediate dive to OP ridiculousness. Enjoy the low key bisexuality of the main character as well.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews