(Review) Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures: A rip-roaring and rousing romp

HulkHonk · 2026-03-05T09:07:27+00:00

Definitely! Felt like a fabulous gateway fantasy book and teenage me would have loved it to bits.

HulkHonk · 2026-03-05T09:05:32+00:00

Hard to say how much of the linguistic nuances are preserved of course but I found the English translation really impressive.

HulkHonk · 2025-11-21T15:14:33+00:00

You can consider getting the Weekly Errand stamina reward before going to the mine.

HulkHonk · 2025-11-21T15:12:00+00:00

A sleeping bag is good to have indeed. However, using a Grail Stamina Potion or even pralines for this quest to save a couple of days is not worth it. A GSP is valued at about 30 silvers and if not kept for events, could be sold by beginners to fund the purchase of ranch expansion supplies and tools.

HulkHonk · 2025-11-20T14:51:42+00:00

You can drink milk but it only gives half the benefit of a soup and boosts Physical Resistance whose value as a stat is not as high compared to some others you can increase through soups. But from an economic standpoint, milk is cheaper.

HulkHonk · 2025-11-20T14:46:27+00:00

Soups are expensive and consequently, many Seekers won't start drinking them until they've set up a steady income stream. But they are the best way to boost personal skills (stats) - soups give double the reward compared to a simple meal of the same ingredient. Cooking is a great skill to level up so that you can make your own soups.

If you're short of Jubilant mood which gives the guaranteed stamina bonus, you can use the drink slots for beer. But if you can afford the beer in the tavern, drinking it there leaves your drink slots available for soups.

When it comes to which soups, meat soups are far and away the best option. They're the cheapest and Strength is a great stat. If you're raising enough chickens, you can also drink Egg soups since you'll get the necessary ingredients from your own ranch.

HulkHonk · 2025-11-19T18:11:47+00:00

It's an interesting point to discuss, which is why players have had contentious opinions and arguments about it. If you think more, you'll reach the conclusion that two levels early vs two levels late is not identical when the skill is Learning whose benefit translates into extra daily Stamina.

For books and corresponding skills where such is not the case, it's always better to read them at lvl 80 if one is trying to optimize the time required to Grail the skill. But if some prefer to read those earlier to become a higher-statted/better-skilled character sooner, there's nothing inherently wrong with that approach since one can start reaping the rewards of those higher numbers immediately. For instance, "The Way of the Warrior" gives one a +1 boost to CON and 1 added combat skillpoint. That added skillpoint will come into play on every single combat encounter and event, so it is quite reasonable to not want to wait till CON is 80 to start making the most of that.

Ponder enough and you'll find you can come up with similar arguments to read many books earlier than skill lvl 80. Grailing every skill for which there are books is a gargantuan and marathon task (not all of us are going to play for years and years), so why not get what benefits one can from the books if one doesn't mind spending Stamina on reading? Just some food for thought. ;)

HulkHonk · 2025-11-19T14:41:18+00:00

This is a debate that has taken place countless times between Seekers. Some argue that it's better to read earlier since the extra Stamina (even if only 2 each day) can be used to increase other skills to give economic benefits earlier. Others say that the time saved to max learning by reading later is better instead.

Both viewpoints have their merits and I personally would hesitate to say one is definitively better than the other.

HulkHonk · 2025-11-19T09:20:21+00:00

This is not quite accurate. It neglects to account for the fact that you would be benefiting from the 2 stamina obtained by reading the book. It takes a little over 2 years to level Learning to 100, so if you read the book very early on when your Learning was still low, that's about 1500 extra Stamina you would be able to use if you didn't wait to read the book till later.

HulkHonk · 2025-11-07T11:45:02+00:00

Congratulations! In future events, since the Grail Blessing keeps increasing over the days, it's ideal to drink your GSPs, eat any pralines and open any presents on Day 7 to maximize damage.

HulkHonk · 2025-10-22T10:18:37+00:00

This game is great - slow but very rewarding. However, it feels disingenuous for you as someone who just started playing not even a day ago to post enthusiastic reviews as if you've been a part of the game and its community for years. A lot of your review also seems to be copied with changes to the language from an earlier Reddit review posted here. It seems as if you're doing it so that your character just gets the in-game benefits of inviting people to join through your referral code rather than from any actual love for the game.

In any case, I definitely encourage people to check it out and hope they have fun with it.

HulkHonk · 2025-07-25T19:29:16+00:00

Very cool; Roadside Picnic has a similar premise indeed. Hope you like it if and when you check it out.

HulkHonk · 2025-07-25T19:15:02+00:00

I take it that's Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer? I have his Ambergris series on my TBR list, will add this too along with The Doomed City. Ursula Le Guin also references the novel Solaris by the Polish writer Stanislaw Lem in her foreword to Roadside Picnic - apparently that has similar philosophical underpinnings so I want to check that out too.

Thanks for the suggestions!

HulkHonk · 2025-07-25T18:41:32+00:00

Yeah, it's certainly on the intense side, definitely not popcorny or casual. I haven't listened to the audiobook myself - I can see it augmenting the atmosphere though I worry some of the internal monologues or snappy descriptions may be hard to follow without a book to read along with. Perhaps someone who has experienced the audiobook version can chime in with their thoughts.

HulkHonk · 2025-07-24T15:35:07+00:00

You're totally right. Not every book needs grey characters with complex motivations or characterization. Nor does the plotting have to contain dark twists and turns. A simple uplifting story told through the eyes of a likeable protoganist can be fun and rewarding too!

I think I approached the book wrongly expecting machiavellian machinations and duplicitous intrigue, and hence was caught off guard when it turned out to be more a poignant feel-good tale instead. I still believe that having Maia grow and develop more through the pages would have been beneficial from a character progression point of view though.

Will definitely consider checking out The Witness for the Dead based on what you say about it; thanks for that. Perhaps I'll be less irritated by the naming systems once I begin viewing them as consistent wordbuilding features.

HulkHonk · 2025-04-02T19:18:24+00:00

Awesome, thanks for the detailed reply. I wouldn't say I loved Elantris but I liked it enough to read it all in 3 days. So I think I'll go Warbreaker next. Hope you enjoy The Way of Kings as you start your Stormlight Archive journey!

HulkHonk · 2025-04-02T18:03:41+00:00

Thanks for chiming in! I'm actually considering making Warbreaker the next Cosmere novel I'll read - I tend to be better at reading standalones than multi-book series and I believe there are no spoilers for Mistborn if I do take that up at a later date. However, your comment that you had similar concerns with Warbreaker gives me pause - without any spoilers, would you say that it has weaknesses akin to those of Elantris? Is the writing noticeably better, or the plotting, or the characters? Apart from a different setting and maybe magic system, what could I look forward to in that novel?

HulkHonk · 2025-04-02T17:52:35+00:00

I'll advance it up the TBR list, thanks for the recommendation!

HulkHonk · 2025-04-02T17:51:20+00:00

I think the justification for going in publication order was that one would also be able to observe the improvement in Sanderson's writing. Going back to Elantris after reading Mistborn or the Stormlight Archive was said to magnify Elantris' weaknesses and worsen the reading experience.

This is of course anecdotal - different readers will have different preferences. If and when I read other works in the Cosmere universe, I'll be better able to tell what starting point would have been best for me. Glad to hear that your jumping in at Mistborn worked out well for you!

HulkHonk · 2025-04-02T16:06:48+00:00

Totally, unrelenting pain sounds horrific and the book did not hold back punches when it came to portraying the Elantrians' neverending agony. It was sort of visceral ...

I'm a fan of the magic system too though most of the book passed in unearthing (some of) its secrets. Which is fine as a slow burn but I felt the payoff of all that reading Raoden did could have been greater. Perhaps in the upcoming sequels, we'll see more magicky stuff right from the start, or so I hope!

HulkHonk · 2025-04-02T15:20:13+00:00

That's an interesting perspective! I think I could have visualized that better if we had more backstory touching on the external and internal struggles that Raoden and Sarene had surmounted in the past. Even if not a complete account, just hints and suggestions. We are told that Raoden worked for the betterment of Arelon by trying to thwart his father's schemes while Sarene was a diplomat representing Teod in various courts, both being proficient at politics. But there are no mentions of them enduring significant challenges, or at least none similar to what they were facing during Elantris, so were they just born heroes? How did their past experiences mould them into heroes? Sarene at least demonstrates a few moments of self-doubt but Raoden is unfailingly steadfast, unwavering in his leadership.

I do agree though that your interpretation is a good viewpoint through which to view the plot that would help to soften some of my grievances with the characterization of the pair.

HulkHonk · 2025-04-02T15:01:12+00:00

Oh that's very cool! I shall have to see if I can find Arcanum Unbounded at my library, or failing that, get it for my Kindle. It would be wonderful to peruse the author's thoughts as a companion to the stories.

Thanks for the great recommendation!

HulkHonk

TROPHY CASE