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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Well...
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The were some very explicit (group) sex scenes. And a little plot thrown inbetween.
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The were some very explicit (group) sex scenes. And a little plot thrown inbetween.
funny
fast-paced
DNF at 54%
Sex scenes are the main highlight, the actual plot is respectable but hampered by poor characters including a super OP MC that knows everything and is instantly loved by almost every female character and way too much exposition about the statistics and mechanics of the game world. This was my first experience reading a LitRPG and I'm not sure whether this is a feature of the genre or an issue with this novel specifically. If it's the former, then the genre is clearly not for me.
The cringeworthy dialogue was the final straw, particularly when Brynn was introduced, who upon introduction, ends every sentence directed towards the MC with "sexy", "handsome", "cutie" etc. At that point I was done, especially as there had been a run of like six chapters leading up to it without any sex scenes which were only thing keeping me reading at that point.
Also in dire need of proper editing as prose tends to be clunky and the spelling of characters' names changes on the fly (is it Sir "Malcolm" or "Malcom"?).
Sex scenes are the main highlight, the actual plot is respectable but hampered by poor characters including a super OP MC that knows everything and is instantly loved by almost every female character and way too much exposition about the statistics and mechanics of the game world. This was my first experience reading a LitRPG and I'm not sure whether this is a feature of the genre or an issue with this novel specifically. If it's the former, then the genre is clearly not for me.
The cringeworthy dialogue was the final straw, particularly when Brynn was introduced, who upon introduction, ends every sentence directed towards the MC with "sexy", "handsome", "cutie" etc. At that point I was done, especially as there had been a run of like six chapters leading up to it without any sex scenes which were only thing keeping me reading at that point.
Also in dire need of proper editing as prose tends to be clunky and the spelling of characters' names changes on the fly (is it Sir "Malcolm" or "Malcom"?).
This is a hard review to write, because the first book is quite good, the next three books are acceptable, and then the fifth book runs off a cliff.
Book one - that is, this book - is a ton of fun. It's a great blend of humour, sex, fantasy, and an interesting world. It grabs you quickly, and runs along nicely.
If there are weak points here it's probably weak characterization and character development, a plot that moves a little slowly, and too many sex scenes. But it's still good, and I had to give it 4 stars.
[b:Book two|50766616|Herald of Shalia 2|Tamryn Tamer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568784354l/50766616._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73432683], [b:book three|48987076|Herald of Shalia 3|Tamryn Tamer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574798758l/48987076._SY75_.jpg|74401913], and [b:book four|53067438|Herald of Shalia 4|Tamryn Tamer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586396302l/53067438._SY75_.jpg|79639647] are…fine. But they make very little meaningful progression, and some of the quirks of this book start to become increasingly tedious.
The setting is still cool, the fundamental concept is great, but…there's just so many repetitive sex scenes, and for some reason the author seems to both desire plenty of conflict, but have no ideas for creating it other than having everyone fight for more of the main characters time. Meanwhile the plot is just…stalled. Books two through four almost feel like fanfics written about book one than actual sequels. Although book four had some flashes of brilliance, mostly revolving around the side characters. I think I'd rather be reading a series about them at this point.
And then we get to [b:book five|55924426|Herald of Shalia 5|Tamryn Tamer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605668475l/55924426._SY75_.jpg|86873785] which just…runs off a cliff. There are a few issues here:
1) This book introduced a new character/harem member, the harpy Ka, who I found extremely unpleasant, to the point I had to skim scenes with her. Her dialogue is written in a way that reminds me of Jar Jar Binks, and a lot of her scenes are just embarrassingly awkward, like the reader is meant to laugh at her. She shows flashes of brilliance, but it's not fleshed out enough.
2) An early source of conflict in the series is the steadily growing harem of the MC, and his partners competing for his time. At some point, that starts getting boring, and we need to move on. Instead that seems to still be the go to source of conflict. And I mean, yeah, the MC is a horndog who does exactly what he wants, but it's made clear that his existing consorts are *extremely* attractive and he's very in love with them. Based on the motivations given (it's even stated explicitly repeatedly) what he wants most is to just stay home and have orgies with his consorts, which is exactly what they want him to do, and then he doesn't. Seemingly just so there can be a scene of them being upset. Just handwave, say "he asked the Arachne to make him a bed big enough for a dozen people, then got Desdamona to schedule things so everyone stopped fighting" and move on. We've established nobody is actually jealous; all the conflict is self inflicted, and it's boring.
3) We need new conflicts. The first four books focused on the MC figuring out the basics of the world and conflicts with Zira, but at the end of book 4 that conflict is mostly resolved. Rila is apparently an ally. We need something new. A very interesting area to focus on is how Pluma can continue scaling. It's mentioned repeatedly how much and quickly it's growing, so it'd be fascinating to see more about this. The raid group, the new towns, delegation, economy. We get hints, but no payoff. I'd be thrilled to get some scenes where a couple of Pluma raid group kicks ass against a human army or something.
4) Brynn's plot arc is still unresolved, and I find it very annoying. Yes, at the end of book 4 she made an (arguably) poor choice, prioritised her own desires, and risked the lives of people around her. Now, it did work out, and you could argue that she was justified and didn't really do anything wrong. But I can certainly see the argument that she screwed up...in the precise way the MC screws up about once every three chapters. The MC repeatedly kills people because he feels like it, even in cases where it is obviously counterproductive and risks the lives of people he loves. In the case of the guard tower where he crucified the guards, we find out it didn't even have a deterrent effect, it's strongly implied not everyone he killed was guilty, and it nearly started a war. Brynn's actions, even if you view them as bad, were not wildly different than what the MC does weekly. So...just stop making a big deal out of it (my preference) or kick her out of the harem (which I'd dislike) but either way resolve it.
5) I'd like to see more character development, especially of the MC. He's the herald of the goddess of love; he thinks he's a terrible herald, but his goddess thinks he's good. Let's make some progress unpacking this. Maybe some hints about the power of love, or the meaning of love. Maybe the MC starts to realise that what sets him apart is, in part, his ability to love? I dunno, give us something!
6) This book just doesn't seem to go anywhere. A bunch of stuff happens, but there's no real direction. It's possible that it's setup for the next book, but until we see that, it feels more like filler. And on that note, the sex scenes are a bit too numerous, a bit too long, and a bit too repetitive. Don't get me wrong, I like them individually; I'm reading this series for a reason! But it feels like in this book, especially, they're being used to bulk it out and hide the fact there's not much of a plot.
It's an okay book, but in a way it feels worse than it otherwise would, because it came after book 4 which seemed to promise so much more.
If book 6 ever drops, it needs to be good to make up for this. Otherwise my head cannon is going to be that the series is 4 books long, and after the end of book 4 since that's what I think was needed to fully wrap up the plot of the first four books.
Book one - that is, this book - is a ton of fun. It's a great blend of humour, sex, fantasy, and an interesting world. It grabs you quickly, and runs along nicely.
If there are weak points here it's probably weak characterization and character development, a plot that moves a little slowly, and too many sex scenes. But it's still good, and I had to give it 4 stars.
[b:Book two|50766616|Herald of Shalia 2|Tamryn Tamer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568784354l/50766616._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73432683], [b:book three|48987076|Herald of Shalia 3|Tamryn Tamer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574798758l/48987076._SY75_.jpg|74401913], and [b:book four|53067438|Herald of Shalia 4|Tamryn Tamer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586396302l/53067438._SY75_.jpg|79639647] are…fine. But they make very little meaningful progression, and some of the quirks of this book start to become increasingly tedious.
The setting is still cool, the fundamental concept is great, but…there's just so many repetitive sex scenes, and for some reason the author seems to both desire plenty of conflict, but have no ideas for creating it other than having everyone fight for more of the main characters time. Meanwhile the plot is just…stalled. Books two through four almost feel like fanfics written about book one than actual sequels. Although book four had some flashes of brilliance, mostly revolving around the side characters
Spoiler
Slade and HestiaAnd then we get to [b:book five|55924426|Herald of Shalia 5|Tamryn Tamer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605668475l/55924426._SY75_.jpg|86873785] which just…runs off a cliff. There are a few issues here:
Spoiler
1) This book introduced a new character/harem member, the harpy Ka, who I found extremely unpleasant, to the point I had to skim scenes with her. Her dialogue is written in a way that reminds me of Jar Jar Binks, and a lot of her scenes are just embarrassingly awkward, like the reader is meant to laugh at her. She shows flashes of brilliance, but it's not fleshed out enough.
2) An early source of conflict in the series is the steadily growing harem of the MC, and his partners competing for his time. At some point, that starts getting boring, and we need to move on. Instead that seems to still be the go to source of conflict. And I mean, yeah, the MC is a horndog who does exactly what he wants, but it's made clear that his existing consorts are *extremely* attractive and he's very in love with them. Based on the motivations given (it's even stated explicitly repeatedly) what he wants most is to just stay home and have orgies with his consorts, which is exactly what they want him to do, and then he doesn't. Seemingly just so there can be a scene of them being upset. Just handwave, say "he asked the Arachne to make him a bed big enough for a dozen people, then got Desdamona to schedule things so everyone stopped fighting" and move on. We've established nobody is actually jealous; all the conflict is self inflicted, and it's boring.
3) We need new conflicts. The first four books focused on the MC figuring out the basics of the world and conflicts with Zira, but at the end of book 4 that conflict is mostly resolved. Rila is apparently an ally. We need something new. A very interesting area to focus on is how Pluma can continue scaling. It's mentioned repeatedly how much and quickly it's growing, so it'd be fascinating to see more about this. The raid group, the new towns, delegation, economy. We get hints, but no payoff. I'd be thrilled to get some scenes where a couple of Pluma raid group kicks ass against a human army or something.
4) Brynn's plot arc is still unresolved, and I find it very annoying. Yes, at the end of book 4 she made an (arguably) poor choice, prioritised her own desires, and risked the lives of people around her. Now, it did work out, and you could argue that she was justified and didn't really do anything wrong. But I can certainly see the argument that she screwed up...in the precise way the MC screws up about once every three chapters. The MC repeatedly kills people because he feels like it, even in cases where it is obviously counterproductive and risks the lives of people he loves. In the case of the guard tower where he crucified the guards, we find out it didn't even have a deterrent effect, it's strongly implied not everyone he killed was guilty, and it nearly started a war. Brynn's actions, even if you view them as bad, were not wildly different than what the MC does weekly. So...just stop making a big deal out of it (my preference) or kick her out of the harem (which I'd dislike) but either way resolve it.
5) I'd like to see more character development, especially of the MC. He's the herald of the goddess of love; he thinks he's a terrible herald, but his goddess thinks he's good. Let's make some progress unpacking this. Maybe some hints about the power of love, or the meaning of love. Maybe the MC starts to realise that what sets him apart is, in part, his ability to love? I dunno, give us something!
6) This book just doesn't seem to go anywhere. A bunch of stuff happens, but there's no real direction. It's possible that it's setup for the next book, but until we see that, it feels more like filler. And on that note, the sex scenes are a bit too numerous, a bit too long, and a bit too repetitive. Don't get me wrong, I like them individually; I'm reading this series for a reason! But it feels like in this book, especially, they're being used to bulk it out and hide the fact there's not much of a plot.
It's an okay book, but in a way it feels worse than it otherwise would, because it came after book 4 which seemed to promise so much more.
If book 6 ever drops, it needs to be good to make up for this. Otherwise my head cannon is going to be that the series is 4 books long, and after the end of book 4
Spoiler
the MC and his consorts have a big group hug, forgive Brynn, and agree to stay home and focus on running raid groups, exploiting the crafting system, and having orgies.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The whole series is very thin. There are elements from a lot of different genres, each feels not quite fully implemented, like it's gamlit, but not really. No numbers, and a lot of the early dialog is very cringe, if you can't tolerate the bard, you can probably give this up, that doesn't stop until book3. If you can tolerate it, there is a long series here that you can read and probably find entertaining. But don't expect anything specific element to stand out. I personally wanted the kingdom building to have progressed further than it had by book 5, but that is just me. The antagonists are all laughable inept, I don't usually point it out, but it was egregious in most of the books. The MC always the smartest person in the room, very wish fulfilly
No issues with the writing itself, from a technical perspective, only a handful of errors through the whole series. I did lol a few times so mildly entertaining. Way too much sex scenes.
This book is a 2, the series as a whole is a 3. Relative to other stories of this type it's a 4 on the enjoyment scale.
No issues with the writing itself, from a technical perspective, only a handful of errors through the whole series. I did lol a few times so mildly entertaining. Way too much sex scenes.
This book is a 2, the series as a whole is a 3. Relative to other stories of this type it's a 4 on the enjoyment scale.