The Crow Cycle is set in the world of Waldyra, its events echoing the story of Clan Dominance: The Sleepless Ones, a cult LitRPG series by the same author. Nonetheless, The Crow Cycle has a completely standalone plot. Each series is connected to the main storyline and shows certain characters from different points of view, revealing information about their past or explaining the background of events already known to the reader from earlier series.
The world of Waldyra treats its inhabitants differently. Some of them, appearing out of nowhere, suddenly receive unique achievements and quests; they become living legends and idols while basking in the limelight. And there are those who call Waldyra home. They do not play, but rather live in this colorful magic world. They do not get anything unique or legendary in return.
Perhaps they are just unlucky? Or maybe they don't need the hype, and they are content with their simple existence? Or could there be something special about a peaceful and well-planned life? Who knows... As the old saying goes, "Only time will tell."
At the foot of the foreboding Gray Peak lies a desolate valley. These are the backwoods of the world of Waldyra—they offer nothing valuable to players, who rarely visit as a result. Yet this is the very place where the calm and good-natured dwarf named Crow is headed. Straight after leaving the Crèche, he hopes to make a living there. This hero does not crave epic battles with monsters. Quite the contrary. He wants to be a merchant and develop his blacksmithing skills, while staying far away from fighting, long voyages, and clan squabbles. But, as it often happens, if you want peace, be ready for war...
My Opinion: 333 pages, $3.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Full Disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available
This is a story set in the Waldyra (formerly Valdira) universe. You don’t need to have read the Clan Dominance series, but there are some easter eggs in the story if you have. Otherwise this can be read as a completely standalone story.
The story is a slice of life tale about a player who restarts in the VRMMO and uses his high level knowledge to build a character that focuses on early stat gains, blacksmithing, and commerce as goals. The area the player chooses to restart is a newly built outpost that doesn’t even have a player town to support it. Which is exactly what the main character (MC) wants as it gives him a chance to buy land early before trade starts. Most of the early story is about the low level MC toiling away for reputation, non-level gained stats, and any small resource he can gain from the area while sticking to the safe zone of the local outpost. Its probably my favorite part of the story since it shows off a well prepared character willing to do all kinds of small tedious work to gain benefits that will snowball later. Mid story shows off the MC leveling, hitting local mobs, but still trying to gain resources for his goals. More action here. Late story shows off the gains for the MC along with an introduction to other players coming in. There’s a little tie in to the events in the main series, Clan Dominance, but nothing that spoils the story if you haven’t read that series.
Overall, it’s a good slice of life story with a frontier, start from the ground up, kind of vibe. An easy entry in to the story universe that can easily be read on its own.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
The Crow Cycle Book #1: LitRPG Series