Review: Unbound 9

Title: Crown: A LitRPG Adventure (Unbound Book 9)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CJQNP43Y/

Author: Nicoli Gonnella

Rating: 4.5/5

Comments:  Nine books in, and I'm still reading, that alone is remarkable.  This story is into at least it's third arc, and honestly it's tough to keep things together that long.  It suffers from the "Who is this?" issue with the minor characters when you pick up a new book, and also because of its length you have semi-regular digressions to a non-protagonist point of view.  

Now with those quibble clearly stated, the main arc remains very strong.  I am invested in seeing how the storyline with the Pathless' Chose plays out.  To say that storyline had some significant developments would be a gross understatement, and he left it hanging at the end.  Book 10 can't get here fast enough.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Heretical Fishing

Title: Heretical Fishing

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CVD8D7H6

Author: Haylock Jobson

Rating: 4.8/5

Comments:  This has been (fairly) positively compared to Beware of Chicken, and it definitely shares elements, but it is its own story.  I enjoyed it quite a bit, and it helped me get past some of the dreck that has been covered here recently.  

It has some isekai tropes (Hello Truck-kun) but it pokes fun at them and then things go a bit sideways.  

Highly recommended if you need a feel good story.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Heavenly Chaos

Title: Heavenly Chaos

Author: Daniel Schinhofen

Rating: 4/5

Comments: First my requisite disclaimer that I like DJ, and read almost all his books.

When you pick up a Schinhofen book there are some things you can expect to find.  You will find a protagonist that has some kind of trauma or issues.  You will find Sally Love Interest with the some other kind of issue, and probably Betty Love Interest with no obvious problems, but they'll be there.  You'll also find food.  To quote City Slickers, it will be hot, brown, and plenty of it.  In other words, the best kind of food.  There will also be a magic system.  Sometimes certain traits might be missing, or might show up later, but you'll find most of those things.

Dan, as they say "has a type."  This is not a bad thing.

Heavenly Chaos, is quintessential Schinhofen. It's really a very good story, with and it brushes up against some of the "Cozy" genre stories in its stakes.  Ben might be the most traumatized protagonist out of any of his books, but he gets some help with that.  If I had one quibble with the story, it's that Ben's uncle's portion of the story is more truncated than I would have liked.  That could have been drawn out more.

Bedroom Activities: None

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Review: Dungeon Diving series

Title: Dungeon Diving 1-5

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTC6X22G

Author: Bruce Sentar

Rating: 3.75/5

Comments:  I've tried a lot of Bruce's books, and generally haven't been overly impressed. I haven't finished one of his series, until now. (Not that it's finished)

The characters in this series are actually pretty good, and there's a good amount of humor and tongue-in-cheek gags.  It's not a serious story, and that's what I needed to balance out some of the slogs that I have been finding. Right story at the right time for me I guess.  I do think that it's Bruce's best work so far, but I might have to check out some of his newer series to see if it was a fluke.

Bedroom Activities: Mixed, mostly FTB with a few explicit scenes

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Review: Apocalypse Troll

Title: Apocalypse Troll

https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Troll-David-Weber-ebook/dp/B00APADQPG/

Author: David Weber

Rating: 4.9/5

Comments: I read this story years ago, and really enjoyed it.  When I was looking for a new audiobook I thought it was a good candidate.

I honestly had forgotten how good it was.  David Weber, when he's at the top of his game, is an excellent author.  As he's gotten more successful, he's been allowed to meander out of his wheelhouse, and has produced some less than stellar books.  He also LOVES to switch points of view, and my tolerance for that foolishness has lessened as I have gotten older.  This book runs right across many of my annoyances, but it's so good I don't care.  

Great story, and a rare standalone by Weber.

The audio performance is excellent also, the voice actor did an excellent job.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Nocturnus

Title: Enemy Below (Nocturnus Book 1)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CP333MRZ/

Author: Devon C. Ford 

Rating: 3.4/5

Comments: I think I found this from the Kindle "You might like" section.  It does a lot of things I don't like from a story, for example, POV shifts, antagonist POV shifts, and actions of questionable logic.

If you eliminated the questionable logic of why the whole story kicks off, and the protagonist engages with the story it would be a reasonably decent story.  The ending was actually fairly strong, but the foundations of the story were weak.  There's a very slight chance I might take a look at book 2, mostly for the side characters, but my backlog is so large I don't know when I'll be that desperate.  

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Apocalypse Me

Title: Apocalypse Me: A LitRPG Adventure

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM76YYN5/

Author: Noct

Rating: 1.5/5

Comments:  I picked this up because the publisher put out a request on their Discord to get traffic on it because it had a bad launch.

I think I would have done them a favor by not picking it up because then I wouldn't be writing this.

So take a System Apocalypse type story, but for the one that survive, you BECOME the apocalypse that is inflicted on the world.

Seriously?  I can't conceive of why anyone would want to read this kind of story. It's like a drug fueled hallucination puked into a book.

If you like the System Apoc genre, it might be a "fresh new take" on the genre, and I hope you love it.  I doubt I even made it to 25% before I was bored to the point I was ready to self-inflict a serious injury to escape it.

Bedroom Activities: N/A

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Review: Undying Legion 1

Title: Invisible War: A Military Sci-Fi Series (The Undying Legion Book 1)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQ6BH6BD/

Author: Joe Kassabian

Rating: 2.9/3

Comments: I had intended to give this the "it doesn't suck" 3.5 rating, but the more I thought about it, it kind of does suck.  Protagonist that (at least initially) has no redeeming characteristics, check.  Multiple dystopian civilization, check.  After finishing it, I can't really think of anything in the story that I can say I liked.  Maybe the fact that the protagonist loved his wife, that I can find to be redeeming. Even that however is shallow and self-serving and has no lasting effects.  

Anyway there's zero chance I'm going to read book 2.  If you really like futuristic dystopias and want to see the dark ending of our social media obsessed culture, maybe give it a look.  From a mil-sci-fi standpoint there are tons of examples that are infinitely better.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Quest Academy

Title: Quest Academy Series

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMVWJBPC

Author: Brian J. Nordon

Rating: 4.5/5 and 4/5

Comments: There are a few fairly prevalent tropes in certain slices of the Kindle Unlimited library, and the "guy with unrecognized potential goes to a school and dominates" is fairly common and has been for decades, I mean Harry Potter fits that trope.  So when you pick up another one of these stories, what makes the story worth your time to read is not the basic narrative, it's the characters and the setting, and both have to be good or things are boring.

Quest Academy has both. I think it was a Discord recommendation (Mal again) and I really enjoyed it and blew through both books in a day or two.

The story has some holes in it, but they aren't fatal.  I will definitely read book 3.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: Cavalier's Gambit

Title: Cavalier's Gambit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CV1ZV8ZY/
 

Author: William D. Arand

Rating: 3.9/5

Comments: I have read a lot of Arand/Darren books, and I consider him a friend.  I got a bit over-exposed to his books and had to quit reading them for a while.  This was a nice little dip back into his universe.  I'm not sure about his other current series but I'll check out book 2 of this when it comes out.

Bedroom Activities: FTB

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Review: The Dwarves of Ice-Cloak Book 2

Title: The Mouth of Fire (The Dwarves of Ice-Cloak Book 2)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BY5VH3ZZ/

Author: A. Trae McMaken 

Rating: 4/5

Comments: After the emotional gut punch at the end of book 1, I was apprehensive to start book 2 because I wasn't sure what I was getting into.  There's a big time skip between the books, but you get that fed to you slowly.  The Mouth of Fire is a good story, but there was a lot of thinking "This is a mistake" and "Oh don't do that".  I had to eat it in small doses.  It was worth the time, but it's not a "light" story and I honestly needed to shift to something lighter after finishing it.  It's really quite remarkable how McMaken has managed to create a culture that feels "real".  That's one of the things that I find most interesting about this series.

Bedroom Activities: N/A

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In Memoriam: Ai Loves

This is the first post of its kind, and hopefully the last.  Ai Loves (Ai is Japanese for "love/affection"; the "Love love" was a very typical joke for her) was the penname of a woman who was very private about her real identity for many reason.  I reviewed her book and gave it a very qualified review because it explores a lot of kinks that I don't share and I will freely admit I find some a bit baffling, but that's not really a problem.  That review was the genesis of a very odd friendship.  Ai was a fascinating person with a wide array of experiences and skills.  She could brainstorm an entire fictional world in no time at all. It was amazing and a bit awe inspiring.  She was fluent in multiple languages and helped me dip by toe in kanji for some art purposes.

Unfortunately, Ai had a great many health issues, which frequently manifested as personality quirks.  She was stunningly self-aware of these issues, and would freely admit to them and explain them if asked. She knew that her problems would lead to her untimely death, and she accepted that fact with a grace and dignity that I can only hope to emulate if I am ever in a similar situation.

I think the thing that I will remember most about her is her unfailing Grace and Generosity. She was always willing to give you some of her precious time, and listen with grace to your problems.

I do, and will miss talking to her.  She helped me with a game I was running at a convention and as a "thank you" I added a character for her.  She picked a Tenuki and I had to dip into eBay to find a suitable miniature.  Below is her tribute mini.  The kanji on the kimono is Ai.

May you find Grace, Healing, and Peace Ai.  I hope to see you on the other side.