Zeke and his comrades have only been in their new world - Brindolla - for a short time, but every minute has been amazing. Kicking butt and not bothering to take names, the group has been moving forward in their quest to push back the galactic tyrant, War.
Then the unthinkable happens; their friend is banished to the darkest Hells. Poof. Gone, just like that. Now, not only are they on a quest to stop the vanguard of War, but they are going to need to get stronger, faster, and better than ever if they want to have any hope of busting into the Hells and getting their friend back. The Brindollan Gods plan to help as much as they can, but will it be enough to allow them to complete a task that even Orpheus couldn’t in Earth’s mythology?
With the odds looking bleak, and the world they’re trying to defend turning on them, they’re going to need to seek help from unlikely spaces, travel to new places, and break some faces.
My Opinion: 458 pages, $5.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
The story continues on with most of the things I liked about book 1 while having fewer of the issues that stopped it from being good for me. Essentially there are fewer forced moments in the story where unrealistic advancement takes place or unearned power gains occur. Though there still are some early in the story.
The story still has the elements that fans enjoyed: really good group banter, good action-adventure, good fight scenes, crafting, and slice of life adventuring with the group going on a power leveling trip. In this novel, there are additionally some class quests, and the introduction of new team members to replace a certain missing one. Don't expect much forward progress on that plotline by the way.
Overall, the story still feels a lot like the kind told by a DM to his group. Which means there are sometimes some incomplete explanations to move the plot forward, and odd twists or side adventures. It’s something you either really like or dislike about the story. For me, I noticed that happened less often in book 2 and that the good outweighed the annoying, so I had a better time with the story.
Score 7.1 out of 10
Into the Dragon's Den (Axe Druid Book 2) (April 26th, 2019)