This cat man isn’t all that cute and cuddly.
Varnoth’s journey through the lush fantasy world of Albattara continues. After the defeat of the Derelict gang’s vile, crime boss, Atlas Blackthorne, all seems well for the countryside. However, a horrific event occurs that forces the shadow panther to lead a massive group of diverse refugees as they search desperately for a safe haven. Varnoth will battle ghastly monsters and adventure on fascinating quests as he grows into one of the most powerful heroes in all the land.
This time around, Varnoth is not alone. There are new and unique side characters that join the fight alongside the legendary Black Blade.
Will this power be enough when retribution knocks on Varnoth's door? Will the shadow panther be able to keep his people safe?
An army of monsters led by a depraved, blood-thirsty tyrant will test Varnoth’s bravery and skill. Will the shadow panther be able to prevent the slaughter of the very people he swore to protect?
This is an epic fantasy LitRPG adventure that includes leveling, statistics, quests, dungeons and loot!
My Opinion: 331 pages, $2.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
The 2nd book in the series still has many of the same RPG issues that book 1 had, but my expectations for the novel were better managed and while I tried really hard to like this story, it just missed for me.
The novel starts off well enough with good action, which is a highlight throughout the novel. The main character (MC) continues to be rather overpowered and rarely in any real danger of ever losing. The only negative here is that the overpowered aspect doesn’t match the RPG elements, in that his ability to kill multiple foes of equal or greater level isn’t entirely justified by the numbers given. But I knew that going into the novel this time, so I really just ignored that issue. There are a few fun nods to other LitRPG community members and authors, my favorite being to John Son of Ray.
The story itself continues to be action-adventure slice of life with some added town building elements. The MC helps some people, and gruesomely kills some bad guys. No real plot, just some new characters, a bit of town building, some quests, fighting, a bit of leveling, and an action end.
Dialogue is one of the more varied elements. Sometimes it’s really funny, but mostly it is stilted and just doesn’t make sense in this brutal, gory, kill or be killed world. Characters were polarized. Either they were really good and spoke politely or really evil and cursed a lot. There was no in between or really any depth to most of the characters.
I really tried to manage my expectations of what the novel would be and I ignored the overpowered MC whose actions aren't always justified in the RPG element. But the other issues made it so that I did not connect with the characters enough to find them interesting or care about their success. The story didn't work for me.
Score: 6 out of 10