He Who Fights with Monsters by Shirtaloon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There ought to be a non-standard warning attached to this title.

Monsters are far from everything Jason fights. Indeed, this is a much more social Isekai than I thought it would be. I frankly assumed it'd be a solo progression based on what little I gleaned from it, but no. This displaced Australian is a true people person, which seems to be quite at odds with his whole doom/apocalypse DoT Sin-Eater build.

I guess it helps being an all-rounded kind of guy who can fire up a barbie while making his enemies rot from the inside as they run at you. Fun times!

To be perfectly honest, I thought this was a fairly average LitRPG for the first half, and was pleasantly surprised by the new directions by the second. Worth holding onto. I'm going to jump into the next right away.

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Uncapped: An Epic Fantasy LitRPG Adventure by Dakota Krout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have to admit, there were some genuinely punny moments in this book. Just punny enough to make me want to youthenize myself. Oh, truly, rejuvenation has never been so... deadly. Or, at least, to my dad-sense.

And now that we've well moved on from those damn dwarves and we're jumping up and down world lines with summononed-coffee-addled impunity, I'm truly vibing to this. And being a true completionist seems to be truly in our grasp.

And I find it continually hilarious that the system keeps TRYING to give him so many new skills which he must constantly decline. Or that he is OWED so much cosmic karma debt that trying to get it repaid would destroy him utterly a thousand times over. It's truly hilarious.

And this last achievement... has really blown off my hat. I can't wait to see where it goes now. There's still new robes to don. Anger to be had against him.

This LitRPG has had its ups and downs, but it's back in fine form.



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All The Skills: Book 6: A Deck-Building LitRPG by Honour Rae
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cleanup of a massive outbreak of scourge, consolidating his new clan, becoming beast with all his legendary cards, and generally just getting better with ALL the skills, this continuation is, quite frankly, more of the same. Big plot progression, let alone minor plot progression, either passes by without much hassle, or is so minor as to be negligible.

Good thing all other things are going to hell, or there'd be no story.

All told, still a fun read.

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Songs of the Dead by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The good: It reads like an interesting post-UF fiction that really leans into the idea of "You're never truly dead until nobody remembers you" and specifically the consequences of artists who dearly want to be immortalized.

It goes well beyond just musicians, of course, but this is where we stand in the first book. Strata being social-archeological, if that isn't clear. :)

I also really love the whole philosophical discussion going on here between old-school art, being forgotten or supplanted or twisted, becoming the staunch old-guard, versus the rebellion, the one that brings in the fresh. And how so much of that can be twisted the other way.

Subtext on writing is there, too. What is cribbed, what is riffed, what is stolen, but it's buried fairly deep behind the music. Art problems are art problems and I enjoy this kind of thing.

The so-so: the spark just isn't that strong? At least, when I read about artists inspiring awe, I would rather have it SHOWN with something truly inspiring and impressive in the text, in a way that is actually surprising. Not just "he sang and the audience was awestruck". I need to be lead to true awe, too, and I'm an easy customer. I WANT to be awe'd.

This book was not awesome. It could have been. The premise is damn good. The particulars, the music history, real history, and the discussion is genuine and neat. But the execution needed to SHINE.

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The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound 13: A LitRPG Adventure by Noret Flood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Definitely still one of my favorite LitRPGs. In the Nexus, running into a ton of politics while being a drill sergeant to a bunch of monsters who just aren't monstrous enough for this realm, is really funny when you consider just how much of a monster he is now. Planet destroying OP is kinda small, after all.

But what I really loved in this book was the special training session for himself. More of an escape that turns into a massive time dilation as if he's in a black hole that then turned into a "f it, I'm going to ghost myself by training so hard and after years of effort alone in this hellscape I'll arrive back home with only a missing week".

Yeah. Them's beast tactics.

Fun payoff, too, especially with WHAT he's training.

My only complaint is where it ended. I kinda wanted a rather big showdown with a few asshats. Next time, I guess.


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Preaching to the Choir by Adrian Tchaikovsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Half way through, I was reminded of Charles Stross and a very excellent short story he wrote. And so it turns out, Tchaikovsky admits to a conversation with Stross at a previous time.

This is far from a condemnation. This is high praise, for the concept behind this particular novella is excellent. And creepy. And deliciously evil. :)

No spoilers. It's very much an American butting romantic heads with aristocracy story. And more. Muahahahahaha

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The Dark Healer #4 by Alex Toxic
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well, it's getting slightly better with a much bigger quest and some travel and more idiots to trounce along the way. But this is not high-brow. Just your normal super-powerful noble magician toying around with modern idiots.

I have to wonder if it's worth continuing, even with the bigger corruption quest.

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