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bookslikegranola's review against another edition
3.75
A huge improvement in technical execution from the Divine Dungeon series while preserving (or even improving) the progression strengths.
Axiom follows Artorian, an elder of a rural village whose village is massacred and the children stolen. He must learn cultivation (magic) to become strong enough to rescue them. I thought the much tighter plot and smaller stakes really benefited the story and the characters were certainly much more sympathetic, relatable, and fun to follow than those in the Divine Dungeon series. I really liked the in depth exploration of cultivation, although for some people might find this slows the book down drastically. I’m explicitly reading for detailed descriptions of magical theories, strengthening organs with magic, etc, so I was quite happy. Overall, the prose is still simplistic and the plot/character motivations are pretty black and white, so if you want complex literature, this is not it, but I really enjoyed it for what is was. I found the affable, wise, and endlessly motivated character of Artorian both believable and compelling. I do think you should potentially have read at least some of the Divine Dungeon series prior to this as not everything is explained. I listened to the audiobook so I have no opinion on the many reviews saying italics are overused.
I would recommend this to wider fantasy readers; however, understand this is meant to be progression LitRPG so there will be a lot of time spent on explaining/experimenting with magic.
klieber's review
1.0
DNF. This book just didn’t capture my interest and, after the first few chapters, I gave up. There just wasn’t anything to really get me invested in the story and I felt myself losing track of what was supposed to be going on.
izzo's review against another edition
3.0
It's a good book, I enjoyed it. The problem I had with it, way more character building then plot progression. In relation to the character building, it was only a tiny tiny bit of the book. I like books with a good amount of character building but it needs to be balanced. It was still a worth while read though in my opinion.
vailynst's review against another edition
4.0
Mini-Review:
Rating for Audiobook
4.5 Stars for Narration by Travis Baldree (He is one of the main narrators in LitRPG/Gamelit Genres & did a great job of making the story come alive.)
4.5 Stars for Main Character Elder/Artorian
4 Stars for Artorian's Training/Cultivation
3 Stars for General Pacing
The ideas behind the story are pretty great. The main character is an old man that becomes a warrior to project the children that have become a part of his chosen family. I love Artorian. He's not perfect. He's not the nicest man. He's a man who drives all of himself to become a person that can protect those he has taken into his heart. The ideas for the way he trains himself to reach that goal were cool.
However, the writing does not come across as completely polished. The writing seems to be simple and do not always convey the complexity of the character, event, setting, etc. I like the story enough that I am going to venture into the Kindle version of the next book in the series. *crossed fingers* I hope I like it!
Would I recommend the audiobook? Yes! It was fun to listen to the story.
Rating for Audiobook
4.5 Stars for Narration by Travis Baldree (He is one of the main narrators in LitRPG/Gamelit Genres & did a great job of making the story come alive.)
4.5 Stars for Main Character Elder/Artorian
4 Stars for Artorian's Training/Cultivation
3 Stars for General Pacing
The ideas behind the story are pretty great. The main character is an old man that becomes a warrior to project the children that have become a part of his chosen family. I love Artorian. He's not perfect. He's not the nicest man. He's a man who drives all of himself to become a person that can protect those he has taken into his heart. The ideas for the way he trains himself to reach that goal were cool.
However, the writing does not come across as completely polished. The writing seems to be simple and do not always convey the complexity of the character, event, setting, etc. I like the story enough that I am going to venture into the Kindle version of the next book in the series. *crossed fingers* I hope I like it!
Would I recommend the audiobook? Yes! It was fun to listen to the story.
traditionson's review against another edition
4.0
4.5*
I am loving seeing Artorian’s story and how he came about. It is enthralling and a very different cultivation method to all the other books in the divine dungeon series. I did find that as someone who already knew a bit about the levelling or growth system in this world it was frustrating and slow at times but even then I was hooked. The characters the sly changes and the growth was amazing! I am highly looking forward to the next book!
I am loving seeing Artorian’s story and how he came about. It is enthralling and a very different cultivation method to all the other books in the divine dungeon series. I did find that as someone who already knew a bit about the levelling or growth system in this world it was frustrating and slow at times but even then I was hooked. The characters the sly changes and the growth was amazing! I am highly looking forward to the next book!
theaudioauditor's review against another edition
4.0
Audio book review.
Wow, this one was really good! Based on the cover, I was anticipating it being similar to a LitRPG novel, and I suppose it's sort of like that in how it spends so much time describing Essence. But the story behind it was really intriguing! I loved getting to follow the Elder as he's off on his quest to rescue his children from the evil tyrant who stole them away. I know I missed important details in the middle there, the shift from village tragedy to info dump on the magic system was a bit jarring, and it took a bit for my interest to catch up. But the ending was so satisfying and bloody! But in a good way, I swear. Would definitely recommend for anyone who likes a good revenge tale and a sassy old man as a protagonist.
Wow, this one was really good! Based on the cover, I was anticipating it being similar to a LitRPG novel, and I suppose it's sort of like that in how it spends so much time describing Essence. But the story behind it was really intriguing! I loved getting to follow the Elder as he's off on his quest to rescue his children from the evil tyrant who stole them away. I know I missed important details in the middle there, the shift from village tragedy to info dump on the magic system was a bit jarring, and it took a bit for my interest to catch up. But the ending was so satisfying and bloody! But in a good way, I swear. Would definitely recommend for anyone who likes a good revenge tale and a sassy old man as a protagonist.
jasonabbott's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jlrosen's review against another edition
4.0
This is an example of what I like about progression fantasy. Less focus on the hard rules and numbers, more focused on the characters and being clever.
vailynst's review
4.0
Mini-Review:
Rating for Audiobook
4.5 Stars for Narration by Travis Baldree (He is one of the main narrators in LitRPG/Gamelit Genres & did a great job of making the story come alive.)
4.5 Stars for Main Character Elder/Artorian
4 Stars for Artorian's Training/Cultivation
3 Stars for General Pacing
The ideas behind the story are pretty great. The main character is an old man that becomes a warrior to project the children that have become a part of his chosen family. I love Artorian. He's not perfect. He's not the nicest man. He's a man who drives all of himself to become a person that can protect those he has taken into his heart. The ideas for the way he trains himself to reach that goal were cool.
However, the writing does not come across as completely polished. The writing seems to be simple and do not always convey the complexity of the character, event, setting, etc. I like the story enough that I am going to venture into the Kindle version of the next book in the series. *crossed fingers* I hope I like it!
Would I recommend the audiobook? Yes! It was fun to listen to the story.
Rating for Audiobook
4.5 Stars for Narration by Travis Baldree (He is one of the main narrators in LitRPG/Gamelit Genres & did a great job of making the story come alive.)
4.5 Stars for Main Character Elder/Artorian
4 Stars for Artorian's Training/Cultivation
3 Stars for General Pacing
The ideas behind the story are pretty great. The main character is an old man that becomes a warrior to project the children that have become a part of his chosen family. I love Artorian. He's not perfect. He's not the nicest man. He's a man who drives all of himself to become a person that can protect those he has taken into his heart. The ideas for the way he trains himself to reach that goal were cool.
However, the writing does not come across as completely polished. The writing seems to be simple and do not always convey the complexity of the character, event, setting, etc. I like the story enough that I am going to venture into the Kindle version of the next book in the series. *crossed fingers* I hope I like it!
Would I recommend the audiobook? Yes! It was fun to listen to the story.