The Infinite Library: A LitRPG Adventure

Worth the Candle, Book 4

By: Alexander Wales

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

Always the Dungeon Master, never the bookkeeper.

Juniper Smith thought he'd found a safe haven on the Isle of Poran, building a new nation with his companions. But when a carelessly mentioned name threatens to unleash a deadly infohazard, he realizes that even the most innocent words from Earth can kill on Aerb.

A quick trip to warn the scholars at the Athenaeum of Speculation and Scrutiny should be simple enough. Instead, Juniper discovers that Uther Penndraig left far more than just his legacy behind, and events quickly spiral out of control as the Chosen One's past extends its tendrils into the future. As unknown forces come out of the woodwork, it becomes clear that the future isn't so far away as Juniper thought either: it's quickly going to come knocking on his door.

©2025 Alexander Wales (P)2025 Podium Audio

great series

worth the candle is worth the credit. loved every minute and i cant wait for the next book.

unlike the rest of the genre in all the best ways

I binge through a lot of litrpg as "popcorn listening" to distract my mind through most workdays, so the deep topics addressed in this series were a welcome surprise. Most litrpg just come off as male power fantasy's, so having a flawed protagonist working with a vast cast of equally flawed characters was a great change for me. Worth the Candle deserves more recognition then it receives.

one of the greats

I've read literally thousands of books that could be considered to share a genre with worth the candle, and more that can't. i'm also an extremely tough critic when i care to give critique, which is almost never, at least in a public forum. these books are far from perfect, they ask much from the reader, including but not limited to, at least a passing familiarity with d&d, the conventions of the genre, basic statistics, rhetorical theory, and nerratology. and even if you have a deep understanding of those subjects and more besides they still are far from perfect. this is however my personal favorite series ever. i love nearly every part of it, but special mention goes to the characters of the main cast who are some of the most complex, interesting, and believable people i've ever had the pleasure to read about. i'll probabaly go and post some version of this review, at least on the first book. if you don't have any grounding in the subjects i mentioned above, maybe give this a pass for now, but do yourself a favor, take a day or 2 to learn, and come back. you'll be glad you did.

insanely good

insanly good, great introspective book in a very dark world. if you love character focused books with very flawed protagonist trying to improve this is right up your alley

Deeper than anything else the genre has to offer

This is the best isekai I've ever read. it's genuinely funny how the credit's dumb gamer puns clash with the emotional rawness of the final chapter. I'm here on the verge of tears being told to LEVEL UP my listening.