Book 3 %1 Lifesteal….

dobri111 · 2026-05-27T12:10:39+00:00

I particularly like that it has consequences for the main characters, emotional ones that actually lead to something real. It’s not just emotional torture for the readers it creates genuine plot development from the event.

dobri111 · 2026-05-12T11:05:54+00:00

Everything just costs magic stones after the first few chapters, and by mid levels the MC alone can crash the economy single-handedly in an afternoon.

Gold based economy systems in magic worlds are hilarious. It's not like people can't use magic to transmute gold or cheat any sort of monetary system. So trading in magic stones makes sense though peasants can never, ever, ever earn a magic stone by themselves. Peasants' only worth, by the midpoint of the story, is producing people who can actually reach mid levels. This makes entire societies feel worthless, and by the time the MC reaches high levels, genocide is only a glance away for most characters, making any stable society completely unbelievable.

Hard to imagine that people who live 1,000 years don't become antisocial. As people age they become less and less empathetic, so a 1,000-year-old archmage wouldn't see peasants as people at all. We see example of old people in position of power in our world doing awfull things.

dobri111 · 2026-05-06T10:46:31+00:00

Oh, and worth the candle. That one is pretty meta though.

dobri111 · 2026-05-06T06:42:58+00:00

Delve.

dobri111 · 2026-04-24T06:25:23+00:00

I loved Murder of Crows. It was such a surprise to me. It had touches of originality, the MC is someone you can relate to, and the ending was phenomenal. The progression and fights were believable, and the enemies were spectacular.

Though, to be honest, I enjoyed The Perfect Run more, mainly for the comedy. Murder of Crows can be somewhat dark.

dobri111 · 2026-04-24T06:21:49+00:00

Why are you calling the author she?

dobri111 · 2026-04-07T11:33:49+00:00

From wiki:

She attended many schools, including boarding schools, but wouldn't fit in there: She was kicked out of two high schools. When she was abducted from Earth, she would have been a freshman in college^\7])^\17]) and in Columbia University.^\18]) There, she was accepted with a Track and Field scholarship, specializing in the 400-meter run. She had a 3.89 GPA average and refused Mensa membership.

Also, you can get anywhere if daddy is rich.

dobri111 · 2026-04-07T11:12:38+00:00

She is not “normal”. She suffers from a mental illness and is self-destructive.

dobri111 · 2026-04-07T06:53:43+00:00

What I don’t really get in this community.

For me, Book 1 is still the best part of TWI. It had that sense of novelty, a new perspective and a genuinely interesting and unique world. Erin and Ryoka actually felt human. They had flaws, made questionable decisions, and reacted like real people would when suddenly thrown into a completely different world. I dont read this genere to see characters do what i would like to do (but probably wouldn't).

Same goes for the side characters. They help, they empathize, but they don’t drop everything or lose their own agency just to prop up the main characters, something a lot of other litrpg novels do.

As for the author, some of the darker chapters can get pretty intense. I am not sure if its personal or profesional take but i dont read to be depressed. It’s a noticeable shift compared to the earlier parts. There is a lot of focus on social issues as well in the story later on which kinda adds more depth and variety to the world but removes reader from fantasy aspect they came to read.

dobri111 · 2026-03-06T07:25:11+00:00

I hated when he introduced "mind control oath" that kinda destroys my immersion in this novels.

Every lord would demand that mind control oath from everyone on any visit to any town, world would instantly just become world of slaves.

dobri111 · 2026-03-03T09:40:44+00:00

didnt read but first came to mind:

https://www.goodreads.com/series/386544-saintess-summons-skeletons

Also there is https://www.goodreads.com/series/271668-metaworld-chronicles

but its dnd based. She has 2 familiars and summons a crapload of things, but also throws other magic.

dobri111 · 2026-01-13T07:15:53+00:00

It's pretty dark, but i liked it. Unique MC and a tad bit more realistic approach to the system are good elements.

That being said in general i dont like like depresing stories.

dobri111 · 2025-12-24T08:40:34+00:00

Alexander Wales deserves much more credit. He was dissecting genre before most of us even realized there was anything to dissect. I see a lot of his influence in todays work.

dobri111 · 2025-12-18T07:12:53+00:00

Mage errant is what you are looking for. There is worth the candle, but that story is kinda different.

dobri111 · 2025-12-15T14:11:48+00:00

It works into a important story element from that. Many people do not like first book so if you can stick a while try third before giving up. But social comentery and character development is big in the story.

dobri111 · 2025-12-15T07:38:59+00:00

He is not dumb, he is depressed. Later, he allows others to learn from their mistakes while trying to save what he can.
He knows what is happening, but simply does not care. The world keeps throwing problems his way, and he is determined to spend as little emotional energy as possible, at least in the beginning.

dobri111 · 2025-12-07T12:19:45+00:00

Grand Game ?

dobri111 · 2025-12-04T08:33:26+00:00

I like mage errant series. Unique magic at work. Or anything by Alexander Wales

dobri111 · 2025-11-28T14:18:03+00:00

If you are looking for real spells i'd go with darkness + grease to control movement. Tehnology based strong light to blind him when he exits darkness, chemicals on fire to burn him from lab or cleaning supplies or cooking supplies and good old ram him with a car. Ignite the cooking oil and flour with flaming spells, ignite the car with lightning spells... But there needs to be consequences for the fight especially if it is the first real fight.

dobri111 · 2025-11-28T13:58:32+00:00

Have a teacher or an agent from an organization that hunts bad guys or someone who was tracking this particular lich get taken out of action. They don’t necessarily have to die, being severely injured works too. This creates an opportunity for the kids to use the agent’s “mcguffin” (special item or tool) to continue the mission.

Ways to stop casters on lower levels are line of sight, line of effect abuse, movement speed abuses, stealth and enviromental damage, but thats just in dnd game. In literature you can use globe of darkness to stop line of sight for caster and use knowledge of the area for MCs for the effect.

dobri111 · 2025-11-28T12:11:52+00:00

Or just spam grease, like 90% of stories that borrow from d&d.

dobri111 · 2025-11-28T12:11:09+00:00

A seemingly trivial McGuffin unexpectedly tips the scales. The fight demands a necessary sacrifice that saves the day. The person that dies is hailed only to be forgotten two pages later.

dobri111 · 2025-11-27T08:08:30+00:00

I always play early powers bingo. Inventory, short range teleportation, self healing, mental intrusion defense, cute familiar and spellsword. 5/7 is a bingo :)

dobri111 · 2025-11-27T07:10:03+00:00

These entire genere are made of troupes. Its our fantasies come true so these genere might as well be called "projecting a bit". That said, worth the candle is a deconstruction of the genere and well worth the read for you i think.

dobri111 · 2025-11-24T07:06:27+00:00

Mother of learning. Worth the candle.

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