Jack is pretty sure that's the way the saying goes. That's a good thing too, for the war in Ter’nodril which he’d hoped would spell the beginning of the end for the DIR, instead left him corrupted, body and soul.

The good news is that the Fallen had used the Blight that now fills his veins as a weapon in their war against the gods themselves. So he’s sure that he can find a way to use it to destroy Valia Online, once and for all.

He even knows exactly who he'll test its power against first: Manhart.

As he must answer a question he’s wanted to ask since they first met: what sound will the lich make when he’s dying?

My Opinion: 736 pages, $5.9.9, Available on Kindle Unlimited

Long story, good twists

Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.

It's been over 2.5 years since book 2 came out and honestly, I'd forgotten most of the story. Thankfully, the author has a nice recap section at the start to get you up to speed. It's good enough that you could jump into book 3 and not feel like you missed much.

The story is still very slice of life but well written with all the crunchy LitRPG details I like. The main character (MC) continues to plot his revenge, this time using the blight he was infected with and any resource he can get his hands on, including other players. He might only have months before he loses his character but he plans to go out with a bang. That is, if he can survive the NPC armies looking to bind him, the vampires looking for revenge, and the player clans looking to cash in on the bounty on his head.

The game mechanics shift a little bit. Not the fundamental MMO style, but the patch made the notifications, ability, and item descriptions easier to understand. Otherwise, the MC is still trying to build the most badass character he can, exploiting every mechanic possible to get his revenge. There is an expansion in the mechanics as the MC eventually creates a clan and learns about those aspects and clan battles.

Overall, the story continues its action focused slice of life storytelling. Despite its massive page count the story flies by as the MC gets into sticky situations and has to think, plot, and fight his way out.

Score: 7.8 out of 10

Unbound Deathlord: Corruption (Unbound Deathlord Series Book 3)

https://amzn.to/2RPJ4h5

The Guild Core 1: Dragon Bourne (A Dungeon Core LitRPG/Cultivation Epic)

The hero dreamed of ascending. The monk craved redemption.

The dungeon only wished to keep things tidy.

Kai was the least likely young man to ascend. Raised on his uncle’s potato farm, he began his career as an adventurer with empty pockets and little skill. But a foolish attempt to prove his bravery leads Kai to unlock hidden power within himself and acquire a most unlikely ally.

Rhona is a battle-scarred soldier who’s as likely to toss a quip as she is to throw a punch. After setting aside a promising career in the army to pursue the Path of the Bleeding Tiger, she sets out to stop a war and seek atonement for a bloody past.

When Bancroft the Earth Core awakens, he can’t wait to clean up his dungeon and begin building things anew. A recovered item from his past reminds him that more is at stake, however, putting an end to such pleasantries.

Join The Guild Core, a small band of friends determined to restore the world to an age of dragons, heroes, and honor.

The Guild Core is a novel by TJ Reynolds Fantasy LitRPG author of Eternal Online books 1-3. The Guild Core was inspired by the Divine Dungeon series, the Wheel of Time, and classic films like The Labyrinth and The Neverending Story.

This story takes place in an Epic Fantasy world governed by gaming mechanics. It contains light to moderate LitRPG, Gamelit, Cultivation and Dungeon Core elements. Features realistic violence, 3 MC POVs, and more than a few quaint jokes. Language and adult content is appropriate for teen readers.

My Opinion: 506 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited

I enjoyed the depth of the character and world building

Full disclosure - I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.

A slice of life, multi narrative story, set on a fantasy RPG world. I normally don’t like multi narrative stories, but this one is done well.

The main characters include Kai, the half dragon teen who accidentally heals and bonds with a dungeon core. The core itself, sentient, but without most of its former power or memories who does less dungeon building and more adventuring. Third, a disillusioned former female soldier, Rhona, who has given up the way of the sword for a lost unarmed style and goes on a journey of self discovery.

Two of the narratives, Kai and the Core, are fairly close together, commenting on the same events, with slight divergence as the core or the teen goes off to do something alone. But for the most part their story revolves around building up the dungeon to survive the country that wants them destroyed or controlled and getting the teen, Kai, ascended, the story version of leveling up mixed with a basic cultivation. Eventually they get a larger goal, which I won’t spoil.

The three narratives come together eventually, but for most of the story the former soldier, Rhona, kinda just does her own thing, giving background on the world, building her character, and doing a slice of life action story thing. I really liked this third narrative the best and think Rhona had the best backstory, goals, and power set.

The RPG stuff is a bit custom with three levels to each rank with a small bit of cultivation to get to a new rank. There is essence instead of XP. But you still see ability and spell descriptions with essence costs and character sheets, stats, levels, and classes.

Things I liked:

There's a good bit of depth to both the characters and the world building. The author takes the time to develop meaningful backgrounds for the main characters, a complex history for the world, its races, and its nations. The combat was great with visceral well thought out fights and the characters being challenged. The general adventures were well thought out and entertaining. I really enjoyed Rhona’s class and her fighting style.

Things that left me wanting:

There's not much dungeon core stuff. By that I mean, making monsters, traps, and having people come through and trying to kill them. About 10% of the story is that. There's other things the dungeon core does, but in this book not much murder of adventures coming to dungeon dive. The story instead has a dungeon core as a character who adventures with his friend.

The cultivation aspect was minimal too. It showed up when the main character (MC) hit a new rank. He'd get instruction on messing with his core, he'd follow the instructions and be done. There was no mediation to gather ether, no improvement to body, mind, or spirit. It was all very skippable and it felt a little superficial. It honestly could have been eliminated from the story with no consequence.

Overall, it’s a good story. I genuinely enjoyed the depth of the character and world building, the fights, and the slice of life adventuring. I expected more/something different from the dungeon core and cultivation aspects, but once I understood what the story was going to be I just rolled with it and had a good time.

Score: 7.6 out of 10

The Guild Core 1: Dragon Bourne (A Dungeon Core LitRPG/Cultivation Epic)

https://amzn.to/3cmgBJ9

Discovery (Hall of Heroes Book 1)

Life was peaceful in the Valley of Fjall.

Until the Outsiders arrived.

This is the story of a young boy, alone in the world, when a strange visitor changes everything. This is the story of a man, alone in the mountains, until a chance encounter shows him a new side of reality. This is the story of the Hall of Heroes, and how it will never be the same.

Prepare to experience LitRPG from a different perspective as you dive into the Hall of Heroes. A dynamic, expansive world, filled with mystery and adventure. Join the party and begin to explore a massive world, where there is still a lot of area ripe for Discovery.

My Opinion: 459 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited

Cyberpunk elements didn't mesh well with the LitRPG for me

The beginning of the story is a bit unclear about what’s happening in the world but by the 10% mark or so, you start to get the idea that in an MMO a few players accidently gain access to an experimental section of the game, where for some eventually explained reasons, there’s a world where it feels like a simulation of a medieval fantasy village. The story is about how introducing players changes the behavior of the villagers, who don’t know they live in a virtual space, and what would happen if one or more of the villagers took a player's interface. It has a definite Cyberpunk vibe with A.I. trying to break free of their human masters, the NPC villagers starting to recognize how different Players are, and the game company trying to control a system they don’t understand.

Also, the story is not LitRPG for a good long time. Honestly, if I hadn’t gotten a message from the author warning about just how long it was going to take to get to the RPG stuff, I wouldn’t have continued reading past the 15% mark in the story. It has a softer Cyberpunk opening emphasizing the effect of players on the hidden area and its inhabitants. About 25% in you start to get a mention of levels, notifications, some game mechanics, and skill points gained but you don’t actually see a full character sheet until about 40% in. After that you see regular notifications, characters gain levels, stats increase, etc. However, even after the 40% mark the RPG stuff does feel secondary to the cyberpunk theme.

I didn’t dislike the story. On a technical writing level it was good, there was regular action, and I actually liked most of the characters. They had good personalities and the world was fleshed out well once I understood what was happening. However, coming into it expecting LitRPG I was a bit disappointed by the long wait to get there. It felt like the authors wanted to mesh elements of cyberpunk, medieval fantasy, and MMO LitRPG together and it didn’t work for me. I actually think those three don’t mesh together well at all. Cyberpunk is inherently transgressive and often involves breaking the game/cyber system or hacking it to oppose an oppressive authority/rule system. LitRPG, in a general sense, embraces the game rules and makes them as interesting and important as physics or a magic system. Characters seek to understand the rules and work within them to do amazing things and become powerful. When cyberpunk breaks those rules it makes the RPG system meaningless and unimportant. While elements of the story were enjoyable, especially the well thought out characters, on the whole it didn’t work, at least not as LitRPG.

Score: 6 out of 10

Discovery (Hall of Heroes Book 1)

https://amzn.to/32LbCOS

Dungeon Reset

Once it starts up, the dungeon goes through a process called “Reset the Next User”. Why doesn’t this reset process apply to me?! I am the only one left from that endless reset of this dungeon. With simple skills and an overwhelming weapon, Jung-down's game starts inside the dungeon

My Opinion: Chapter 43+, Free & Unlockable Chapters

*Note: There’s a web novel version, but I couldn’t find a good link.

This is definitely one of the more silly stories I’ve read. It starts out pretty serious with the main character (MC) and others being transported to a RPG world and being forced to fight monsters as they clear levels of a dungeon. It's brutal, with most people dying to traps or monsters. The MC is left behind to die after he falls into a pit trap and the surviving group members to the next level. Everyone thinks the MC is dead, including the evil rabbit dungeon guide, and the 1st level is reset. Only the MC isn’t dead and gets healed as the dungeon resets and has to survive on his own in a place filled with monsters and traps. However, the MC doesn’t have any combat skills and is pretty useless, so he develops some seemingly more useless skills like digging dirt which he grinds into the ability to make tunnels, bricks, and even magically craft dirt furniture. It’s a silly turn that pushes the MC into situations where he’s unlocking seemingly useless skills to survive the dungeon, all to the consternation of the evil dungeon guide. The story is full of humor as the MC keeps surviving these events and becomes more powerful even without a direct combat skill.

Score: 7.4 out of 10

Dungeon Reset

https://www.tappytoon.com/en/comics/dungeon-reset

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