Synopsis
On just another average day, Jake finds himself in a forest filled with monsters, dangers, and opportunity…
It was a day like any other when suddenly the world changed. The universe reached a threshold humanity didn’t even know existed, and it was time to finally be integrated into the vast multiverse. A place where power is the only thing anyone can truly rely on.
Jake, a seemingly average office worker, finds himself thrust into this new world. Into a tutorial filled with dangers and opportunities.
His new reality should breed fear and concern. His fellow coworkers falter at every turn. Jake, however, finds himself thriving.
Perhaps… This is the world Jake was meant to be born in.
Review
This Review covers Books 1-7 of the series
This is a bit of difficult review for me to write. I did start Book 1 close to when it was released and somehow dropped it halfway. But then seeing consistent top reviews, I gave this a second chance….and ended up binge reading all the released 7 books in 5 days or so. Glad I gave this a second chance, esle I’d have missed something really good.
The series starts off in a very similar fashion to pretty much most other series out there, with the integration of Earth into the multiverse. Like every other book, this is hard on humanity, who are woefully underprepared for the raw power based survival tutorial that serves to prepare them for the integration and to cull those who can’t adapt. From the name/cover, obviously the character chooses to be a Archery based Hunter class. This is where I gave up on my first read as despite good prose, there was very little setting this book apart.
Read on, so you don’t make my mistake….
The story elevates itself when a Jake attracts the attention of a mysterious all powerful God like being. From them on, the macro world building shines and the series sets itself as a clear frontrunner in this genre.
Most of the book follows pov of the MC, Jake Thayne. He’s a fantastic character to follow around and from the get go, Jake somehow seems to adapt almost instantly when compared the rest of his group, which flounders. It’s like a missing piece that suddenly was revealed that Jake himself does not understand. He understands the future challenges and takes it upon himself to be the strongest around. The mental element of the integration is portrayed well through Jake and his Group. We see the good, the bad and the ugly as the primal nature of people come to the fore as they realize there is no society to live in, no laws to govern, where fighting skills rule supreme, a dog eat dog world. The contrast between Jake & Jacob deserves a special mention as they both take different approaches to the same objective. Which approach is right? Who is wrong? Both? Neither? Was fun to read.
As we move to the later books, the involvement of the Gods and wider universe becomes more material and significant and I just loved these. The universe is detailed and realistic, the major and minor characters all make a impact and play a defined and specific role with the prose giving them opportunities to make an impact despite being side characters. The political schemes of the Gods with Jake and the rest of humanity as just set pieces in their game is superbly plotted and written.
Have to give special praise to the prose. The book just flows through smoothly with just enough details to make the world rich and immersive without detracting the pace with purple prose. Despite it’s simplicity, the prose is elegant and engaging making this very easy to read. The character work is exceptional too. So many characters (from humans to Gods to Monsters) all with their own perspectives and outlook to wider world, this just makes the world complete and adds the moral dilemma complexity that gets the series from Good to Great!
Not just purely combat (although there’s enough to satisfy an adrenalin junkie), the book also delves sufficiently into City Building, Alchemy, Smithing and other crafts which is a personal plus for me.
Note: The coming critique is personal to me and not really a flaw in the books. There are many readers who enjoy these and really want more, so consider this as a perspective and not as a drawback.
The book is littered with heavy doses of game elements. We get detailed skill descriptions (even to those which are discarded) and repeated stat tables which I felt was heavy even for a eBook and I wonder how audiobook listeners fare. There is also lots of pure levelling segments. The dungeons and monsters are varied and fascinating, but in the end I skip read most of these as I felt they slowed down the pace of the overall plot.
Have to reiterate that, despite my personal preferences, the overall quality of the series is so good, that I can overlook this and still feel engaged. If you are someone who likes this, then consider this as added benefit to read.
Highly recommended. I consider this as one of the top series in this genre.
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