Darth4Less

unfortunate

Reviewed: 02-19-21

like most Russian authors in this genre characters are allways viewing the world through a jaded lens. that's not always a bad thing. Klevansky , Stone ,Kornev all made such characters. They all could be rooted 4. that is not so in this case. the character is not a hero or even an anti-hero. he's psychotic. like Chinese authors MC's this one will do anyting 4 power & survival. for me it makes the story unlistenable as this character is unrelatable. I pulled the plug about halfway through. Gabriel Vaughn is a new narrator for me. he's flat. He does not color the words into a picture.. he did get a little bit better as the book went on. however crisp delivery does not make up for a lack of emotional resonance. I liked the story, mechanics and premise. I won't say that it was inspiring writing , but the author is solid . it just really sucked that the MC was not somebody who's fate I could care about.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

A Fine installment

Reviewed: 10-02-20

A little too much happened for it to be called a filler book. It still kind of felt that way. Mr Klevanski"s worst effort however is better than most"s Magnus opus. very enjoyable.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

a buy

Reviewed: 08-20-20

as is typical of the breed, this Russian author paints a grim, broken world full of death. it's an imaginative world that's full of action, but deep in it's lore, history & rules . it's told in an organic way without ever becoming a text book or detailed ad nauseam. while I wish the Woodhead's would take a little more artistic license with translation they are good.. the narrators solid. looking forward to the next.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

solid addition

Reviewed: 08-18-20

Mr Wong inserts a bunch of author's notes on Chinese culture in the story. definitely takes me out of the moment. half of them I liked the other half were distracting. still can't wait for the next book

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

I can only sacrifice so many brain cells

Reviewed: 07-31-20

This will be the last book I buy by MH Johnson. I can no longer take sentences the size of paragraphs. I almost loved endless online, at least the first book. it was rough but I thought it was Johnson's first outing and could get better. I couldn't make it a tenth of the way through the second installment. Johnson came across as wanting to be Shakespearean , without the requisite level of talent. wuxia is one of my favorite sub genres so I had to give this a chance. I should have thrown in the towel earlier and received a refund. the main narrator goes from campy, to over-the-top, to stereotyping. I'm not going to say he's a bad narrator though. I think it was more of a content problem. the main female narrator is pretty good though. it's too bad as Johnson has a very fertile imagination. sentence structure is just too weak. Johnson's tendency to often make flowery speeches and structures especially in some situations are simply too frustrating. the lack of a diverse large cast also contributed to a less enjoyable story. I made it 80% of the way through this book.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

4 magic combat Junkies

Reviewed: 11-10-19

probably not as good as cradle, but definitely at the same table. detailed imaginative fast paced. more RPG than cultivation.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

26 people found this helpful

super fun

Reviewed: 11-03-19

glad I stumbled across the series. fast paced smart fun and extremely imaginative. ending battle in this is great., can't wait for the next.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

do yourself a favor and check it out

Reviewed: 10-01-19

if you're a fan of superhuman gritty fantasy epics, this is a series for you. a well-thought-out world. has light RPG elements. evilness abounds but it's not dwelt upon unlike so many authors who seem to savor pain. a lot of repetition of theme but in a good way. some humor however the author doesn't over reach. very bloody. Ultra cool. a lot longer than most of these novels run , but it almost never gets bogged down. great value for your dollar. narrator has a salivation problem, didn't care for some of his pitch choices and his female voices suck. he is tolerable though.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

everything a great litrpg should be

Reviewed: 05-11-19

if you're a fan of the genre, then you should pick up the series. fast paced action, thoughtful writing, humorous, there's only a couple of minor problems with some unrealistic scenarios.
par for the course , Jeff Hayes does a greatl job.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

If I didn't have so much idle time....

Reviewed: 05-09-19

.... I would never have finished this book. This book just wasn't my cup of blood. The MC's is an op psycho only out for power. Those are not uncommon but in a protagonist it's unacceptable. The veneer of justification is so thin that it oozes, and I'm not talking like a hotties hormones. With the massive kll numbers it sometimes became a vaguely nauseating blur. It's this type of mob , then that kind of mob. The same with people. It doesn't matter what the author selects as the MC's new target. Kill kill kill. It wouldn't be so bad except the descriptions are just not there. Mob or NPC. I don't even know why the author bothered naming 25% of the characters. I think they could have gotten that number down to 5%. That wouldn't be a good thing though. I felt like I pushed my way through a video game boulder and saw that it was only razor deep. There's little sense of first impressions from most characters, like I was listening to the novel version of stick figures. I'm sure that the author got feedback of the same sort as they put an addendum at the end of the audiobook covering some of these points. That still does not excuse the lack of detail. There is a reason I rated it as enter at your own risk, rather than lower however. There are things I like about this book,, pacing, thoughtful power scheme, easy visualization, game mechanics and some entertaining writing. If the author can tweaked a few things and flesh others out they could be someone whose books I would pickup on a regular basis.
PS
I did not like the narrator. He's not a bad voice but too many missteps on pronunciations and enunciations. He strains to keep in the moment. John is English but the narrator does not even do an English voice. Jack Voraces might be able to run with this.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful