Here are mini reviews for progression fantasy books I read from September to October 2023. Give them a shot if they sound interesting.

The links lead to the book page on goodreads, from where I've also copied a portion of the blurbs for this post.

Whispers from the Poisoned Isle (Jekua #4) by Travis M. Riddle

Blurb

Ever since he was a kid, all Balt Vana wanted was to be a world-renowned Jekua Summoner like his grandmother, battling other Summoners in front of audiences of thousands. But from where he stands now, living up to the Vana name feels impossible. When his best friend Alani, an initiate at the local Church, is sent on a pilgrimage to find her path in life and the god she will follow, Balt sees the perfect opportunity to launch his career by escorting her across the archipelago and its purple seas. The islands are filled with monsters to imprint and Summoners to battle, with every victory bringing him one step closer to his dream.

Review

The starting few chapters were a bit tough to read due to the horrors of the plagued island. I resorted to skimming the nastier descriptions. Other than that, this was another good addition to the Jekua series. It was good to see the banter and slice-of-life scenes continuing alongside training and action. I especially liked the team work in handling the fights. We got answers to some of the mysteries built up from the first book and the ending promised more exciting stuff to come.

Father of Constructs (The Janitor Killed the World Boss #1) by Aaron Renfroe

Blurb

When the Plagued janitor Harvey stumbles into a mysterious wreckage and accidentally kills the missing World Boss, he gains a million experience points, making him the target of almost all the would-be adventurers of the world. Burdened with ancient knowledge, and hunted by countless rivals, he must join with unlikely allies to do the find the reincarnated World Boss and defeat it again, before it can ravage the world anew.

Review

After the starting few chapters set up the plot, it was an enjoyable read and the pacing was good as well. The Janitor's good nature, past problems and an easy going attitude despite his old age makes you feel as if he earned his legendary class instead of getting lucky. Add a bunch of well meaning side characters coming to his aid and a wonderful robot-like character, and you get a heartwarming experience. Given the epic nature of the plot, there are fights and villainous characters as well, but overall this book was a lighthearted read. The stat sheets were a bit too dense for me to parse, but thankfully most of the details could be skimmed.

Thumbs-up from me (you'll understand the reference after reading the book).

Loremaster (Ascension of a Street Rat #1) by M.E. Robinson

Blurb

With a knife in his gut, Rowan figured he was destined to become just another corpse littering the slums of Taureen. So, he was fairly surprised to wake up in the back of a moving wagon with a couple of adventurers. Turns out that Rowan had been given something most street rats can only dream of. A second chance.

Review

The author did a great job of describing the street life and how it shaped Rowan as a person. We get glimpses of his past throughout the novel and even came in handy during a couple of tricky situations.

There were action scenes that reminded you of the dangers of adventuring, politics, etc. There were even deaths that were a bit too dark for my liking. However, they were largely offset by magical training and cozy slice-of-life scenes. Some might find the pacing slow as a result, but I found it a compelling read and finished this rather long book in about a day.

Tree of Aeons by Spaizzzer

Blurb

Matt is reincarnated as the most unlikely of heroes... Being reborn as a tree wasn't first on Matt's wish list. It's not all bad, though. For he's not just any tree, but an overpowered one in a fantasy world that serves as the battlefield for an ongoing conflict between demons and the heroes summoned to oppose them.

Review

I've read the three books published so far.

The main plot was a recurring invasion of demons, who were then defeated by heroes summoned from Earth. The local people also participate in large numbers, but aren't powerful enough to defeat the demons on their own. The main character is from Earth as well, but he ends up as a tree instead.

The short nature of chapters in the first book (sometimes just a line or two!) were a frustrating experience, despite the intriguing plot. They eventually gained more depth and events became more interesting too. The first three books have already spanned more than a hundred years, and thus many chapters summarize things. Still, I found it an enjoyable read, especially the research stuff and kingdom expansion — only wish it wasn't darker than I'm comfortable with. I thought about DNFing after the end of the second book, but somehow kept reading and the pay off in the third book was great.

Mark of the Fool 5 by J.M. Clarke

Blurb

The Fool has been hunted. But he must become the hunter. Accompanying an expedition of wizards, Alex has proved himself against the dangers of Greymoor, calling upon summoned servants to defeat the Ravener’s hunters. But with the death of his pursuers, no answers are apparent, only more questions.

Review

Another great addition to this series. At first, events moved smoothly from the end of the fourth book (planting of the Aeld tree, experiments with the dungeon core, etc). When it moved to the swamp sub-plot, I found it a bit tedious despite the interesting stuff about the witches. Thankfully, the fight turned out to be awesome and tougher than I expected. The rest of the book flowed well — I especially liked the Heroes working with the expedition team and coming to terms with the revelations. The power-ups for characters at the end were great.

I just wish there were more scenes based on the academy classes.

Eight 3: Undaunted by Samer Rabadi

Blurb

The stakes are higher, the enemies fiercer, and the Long Dark's shadow looms ever closer. Can Eight's years of wisdom, honed skills, and sheer determination carry him through? He's faced hungry beasts, explored the wilderness, and survived first contact with civilization. But this time, the challenge is greater, the danger more insidious.

Review

It's been a while since I read the first two books, so the summary and characters list at the start of the book helped a bit, as did the little callbacks to events from the past in the chapters themselves. Still, it took me about 20% of the book to get really comfortable with the setting and magic system.

Overall, I enjoyed this latest addition to the series. It felt more dangerous compared to the first two books — the serial killer on the loose, assassination attempts and the Long Dark. The political maneuvers on top of all this meant that Eight and the villagers were hard pressed throughout the book. It was good to see them handle these events as best they could and progress ahead.

I especially enjoyed the slice-of-life stuff and the villagers supporting each other amidst all the perils. Some of the newly introduced side-characters were really interesting and the plot seems to be slowly, but steadily raising the stakes with each book.

The God Machine by EmergencyComplaints

Blurb

When Luke Bennet wakes in a world where time flows differently than it does on Earth, he discovers his family, gone missing over the last year, has been dead for a hundred years here. Left to survive in the wilderness as marmots, murderous goblins, giant spiders, and a two-ton raccoon all try to kill him, Aros’s latest off-worlder must depend on his newly acquired System to help him level up and live to fight another day.

Review

There are plenty of LitRPG books these days. I tended to avoid books with too many stat screens, prefering cultivation novels and those with minimal stats. I still don't like detailed stats, but don't mind them much these days. For this book, I was drawn in by the premise that the main character has to deal with the System itself.

The writing was easy to follow. The pacing was good throughout, with plenty of action and some twists here and there. The ending was great, though I would've prefered another chapter or epilogue that explained a few things. Another thing I liked were the POV chapters from side characters and antagonists. The main character Luke did reasonably well to adapt in this hostile world and I hope he'll grow as a character.

Antimage (Ends of Magic #1) by Alexander Olson

Blurb

A scientist from another world. A mage seeking deadly knowledge. A power that could topple an empire. Nathan's life was defined by labs and lectures until an Archmage yanked him into Davrar and made him a tantalizing master magic in exchange for Earth's scientific secrets. Yet, Nathan can't shake off the feeling that darker truths lurk beneath such promises. The world of Davrar is a dangerous place teeming with dungeons and monsters – ruled by levels, Talents, and a near-infinite progression of power.

Review

The premise was very interesting — an archmage reaching out to Earth to pluck a scientist so as to exploit modern technology on their fantasy world (Davrar). Only, the archmage and their entire culture turns out to be evil. Somehow, the main character (Nathan) escapes, with a bit of help from the System, his own science background and an adventure team (who are opposing the evil empire). Rest of the book was about Nathan learning to be an adventurer and making use of his knowledge from Earth.

The world of Davrar was pretty interesting, even though there were plenty of mysteries left uncovered in this book. The plot was good in the first half, meandered a lot in the second half and ended strongly. Apart from Nathan, many of the side characters were interesting too, especially the adventure team who rescued him and the team he joined for training. A few chapters/interludes from their POV would've been welcome.