What is it like for a small flap-eared goblin herbalist to play the role of the Dark Sovereign, the main antagonist for Boundless Realm’s hundreds of millions of players? What is it like to find one’s self the standard bearer for an army of man-eating giants, cyclopes, skeletons, ghosts and other hellspawn, who don’t give a damn about their modest little ruler?
Our hero didn’t desire such an unenviable fate, but there is no way back now. He’ll just have to tighten the straps and play the ghastly overlord to the innumerable hordes that now threaten all Boundless Realm. But the longer our hero plays, the better he understands that this world is much more complicated than it seems at first glance and he is just a pawn in someone else’s game. And lots of things depend on whether he can figure all of it out in the short time he has left, including his own life.
My Opinion: 499 pages, $6.99, Not Available on Kindle Unlimited
This is the final novel in the Dark Herbalist series, though the author has stated that he may return to the universe in the future.
As with any final story, the author goes through great lengths to try and tie up all the major and minor storylines from the series. He does a pretty good job with the major plotlines, but the minor ones feel a bit rushed. The major storylines are resolved in rather epic fashion, both in-game and IRL, and there are several interesting twists I was surprised by. There are some kingdom building elements added to the game world story and some pretty epic fights as the main character’s (MC) new in-game kingdom is attacked from all sides. The plans the MC enacts to counter the many factions trying to beat him are really smart and well thought out. Good stuff.
However, some parts of the story feel a little rushed since the author was trying to tie everything up in this last book. Several minor plot arc from the series are resolved in a couple sentences and the end might not be as epicly satisfying as you’d think with all the buildup that comes before it. Mind you, this doesn’t take away from how enjoyable the novel is on the whole. That's kind of the only minor complaint I had. That basically I wanted more story. Sadly, again, this is the end of the series for now.
Score: 7.8 out of 10