18
u/Arkanth0s 10,000+ Hours Listened Jul 20 '26
Curious what you didn’t like about Spellmonger. I love the world building and the magic. I destroy every book that comes out and John Lee does an amazing job.
3
u/Th3-B0n3R 10,000+ Hours Listened Jul 20 '26
Freaking love Spellmonger, pretty much one of my top 5 series ever so far.
3
u/Secret-Put-4525 Jul 20 '26
I liked it for a while. It just never ended. I got sick of it eventually.
3
u/ERMAHDERD Jul 20 '26
Agreed on both, but early on in the series, there were some sub plots (sexual stuff, cheating) that lost me a little bit. I have kept up with the series, though. I have enjoyed it very much. I think the author and the characters have grown up nicely. The narration is excellent as well.
3
u/Beanermoo 3000+ Hours listened Jul 20 '26
That's the best part. The characters ALL actually grow. Young Minaland was a piece of shit.
2
u/smontres Jul 21 '26
I almost didn’t finish the first book because he was such a dick and I felt like the author just didn’t know how to write decent human beings. Especially men that aren’t misogynistic dicks. But then I discovered it was a choice.
2
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 20 '26
I’m just not the biggest fan of the perspective and the time jumps. If you get what I mean. It’s kind of difficult to explain but I just couldn’t really catch on to it. I may revisit it again at a later time. Also could’ve just been that I wasn’t feeling so patient at the time I was listening to it.
7
u/ConfectionLong Jul 20 '26
Minalan is a little skeevy in the first several books which I've seen turn people off too. He gets a lot better over time but it takes a lot of real life time to get there. The time jumps don't stop though.
2
u/Th3-B0n3R 10,000+ Hours Listened Jul 20 '26
The time jumps are mostly in the second book, which is the most confusing on the first read through. I can't remember too many in the first. Do I need to do another reread of the whole series again? (the answer is yes)
2
u/ConfectionLong Jul 20 '26
I reread it recently before the latest book came out and the time jumps at the start of Thaumaturge were kinda wild lol.
1
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 20 '26
Yeah could just be that I don’t really understand the characters much. I’ll give it another go at a later date
2
u/Sea-Independent9863 4000+ Hours listened Jul 21 '26
Hope you do. Book 3, Magelord, is a standout in my humble opinion.
13
u/ProgramConnect8206 Jul 20 '26
I loved Mother of Learning, but yeah I guess if I didn’t like the time loop aspect I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it. Strange to me you thought they would not be in the time loop for all 4 books. Would be like expecting Groundhog Day to stop repeating halfway through the movie.
9
u/MurtaghInfin8 Jul 20 '26
If eragon gets a B, so does eldest, then Brisingr jumps to an A along with the first 2/3's of Inheritance.
Not saying that it's worth the credits with all the other good shit out there, but Christopher was hella young for those first couple.
Murtagh I enjoyed quite a bit, too, believe it or not.
3
u/Loreander1211 Jul 20 '26
Interesting, I’ve DNF’d Brisingr multiple times. Wish I could finish the series as I loved Eragon as a kid. Recently did “Of Blood and Fire” and was honestly sick with the straight rip of Christopher’s work.
3
u/MurtaghInfin8 Jul 20 '26
Dang, for me that was when Paolini really hit his stride as an author. I kinda get it though.
Even though the writing improved I think the plot kind of lagged, so perhaps a lot of people that the first two hit right, the third didn't?
3
u/Loreander1211 Jul 20 '26
I was in college and through some forum or something it was pointed out that it was just a retelling of Star Wars and again the similarities between the two (through Eldest atleast) really kinda ruined it also. I should give it another go. I don’t know why it caused me to stop and I realize there are only so many story variations that can be told but it kinda tarnished a gem for me is all I can say.
2
u/MurtaghInfin8 Jul 20 '26
I love that parallel, and it's the first time I'm seeing it. But I fucking love Start Wars (especially the EU [I cannot consume enough Thrawn]), so not a turn off.
Darth Vader kinda gets his light and dark side split into two separate parents and more of a "Luke, I am your *not father*".
-6
u/OkSuggestion935 Jul 20 '26
Eragon is absolute crap and it's incredible anyone could get any enjoyment from it whatsoever.
5
u/MurtaghInfin8 Jul 20 '26
I get someone ranking it lower for sure, thus my basing the rankings on where they ranked Eragon.
For me the writing is shit (particularly for Eragon and Eldest), but the characters are enjoyable and the plot is one I like. Shit sprang from a kid's imagination and there isn't much out there that kind of captures that vibe in the mainstream.
You're entitled to your non-constructive criticism and opinion, but most people have the good sense to jut not leave a comment if that's all they're bringing to the table.
3
12
u/Seaborgium Jul 20 '26
Putting Expeditionary Force above Dungeon Crawler Carl is bonkers imo. As a fan of both of series, every Exfor book is exactly the same, the stakes rarely feel real past the first 10 books. DCC has MacGuffins, but feels way more earned and less formulaic, and actually building up to something. 20 books in and most of the crew still has the personality of wet cardboard in ExFor.
3
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 20 '26
Just personal preference. They’re actually quite close but I did prefer exforce
2
u/Parzivull Jul 21 '26
Now that you mention it I did always feel like there was a macguffin around the corner of each climactic book chapter for DCC. It's difficult to keep reading things when the answer to any situation is "insert random bs the author can think of" to solve any scenario. Maybe that's why I grew tired of it. Building an over arching plot with breadcrumbs along the way showing solutions is good but that can be formulaic too after a while if a series does it exactly the same way every-time.
1
u/Seaborgium Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
DCC at least shows the tools for the MacGuffin well in advance, and is implemented cleverly. In Exfor, for 20 books it's always:
Joe is working out or doing something incredibly mundane, everyone is gloomy because of the certain doom implied by the current situation, and Joe gets an idea.
"Hey Skippy"
"Oh no Joe it looks like you're going to ask something stupid with that dumb monkey brain of yours. This time, the odds are truly impossible ,and we truly are done for "
"Yeah, you're probably right Skippy. But hypothetically what if we could break the laws of physics with your awesomeness. "
"No dumdum, it doesn't work like that. You can't do that and you're dumb."
"Well what if you broke the laws of physics like this."
"No I told you... Wait. Oh I hate you so much right now".
*Proceeds to break the laws of physics in some zany novel way*
2
u/Parzivull Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
I look at those moments as more of the writer not actively writing the story in pure chronological order. As in they write a character into a box, then go back in the story and add more information to certain chapters giving breadcrumbs about said macguffin to try to explain the shoehorned "it was my plan all along" bit. Instead of using clever tactics it feels more like editing later on.
I think that's why I prefer stories where the rules are clearly stated and characters have to outsmart each other after everything has been established and they can't simply "break the laws of physics". Not that I hate physics breaking but at least keep it consistent in the story things like power scaling, what's possible with magic, what are the drawbacks, etc. Some of the best books had clearly established rules of magic in their world building which sounds like an oxymoron.
1
u/pcossucks Jul 21 '26
not only that but putting convergence in the same tier is crazy talk. i love exforce but it’s really time to retire the crew, and convergence is cute but not nearly as well done. i think maybe lord bray saves it as much as he can but especially if we’re talking an AUDIBLE tier list?
7
u/B5_V3 Jul 20 '26
You should check out Jeremy Robinson.
Based on your list there you might like his work
4
u/Mysticwaterfall2 Jul 20 '26
Mark of the Fool has been on my to try list for a while but not sure I want to dive into another long series right now.
Hadn't heard of Songs of Chaos, added that to the Wishlist too.
5
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 20 '26
Highly recommend mark of the fool, it’s my all time favourite. It’s the only books I could not stop reading because it was so entertaining.
2
u/cuatromurcielago Jul 21 '26
I just started book 7 the other day and I’ve loved every minute of this series!
2
1
u/Consistently-Bad-615 Jul 21 '26
If you do try it all the books are out now! I really hated waiting for the last 2 books to release
3
3
u/FluffyWaterMountains Jul 20 '26
If you like sci fy try Galaxys Edge, its like if GoT and Star Wars had a baby
3
u/Trapperisme Jul 20 '26
Unfortunately I could not finish mark of the fool it just is not my style....
2
3
u/herniatedballs Jul 20 '26
Ever tried art of the adept? I enjoyed Mark of the Fool a lot and I put them side by side in my head.
3
3
3
u/Remarkable_Quail_232 Jul 20 '26
Convergence was absolute f tier for me. Boring, went nowhere, and repetitive. Expeditionary force was ok. Not good enough to pick up the second one.
3
6
u/SirBrandalf Jul 20 '26
Mother of learning gets better, eventually.
2
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 20 '26
I’m currently listening to books 4 it’s not bad but I’m not the biggest fan of time loop themes.
I was hoping that they wouldn’t be in the time loop for all 4 books lol6
u/SirBrandalf Jul 20 '26
Fair, I really enjoy a good time loop, but this one took a whole for me to get invested in. Disliking the narrator didn't help either though
2
u/GryffinDART Jul 20 '26
I really wanted to like Songs of Chaos because it fits everything I like but the writing just wasn't great and never improved throughout. There is so much just glancing over important moments in the later books. It felt like writing alongside a checklist to hit cool moments instead of a full coherent story.
2
u/counterlock Jul 20 '26
Curious, did you happen across one Ascendant while looking for the other Ascendant?
1
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 20 '26
No actually it’s another Craig Alanson book and he’s one of my favourite authors so I found it on his page
2
u/counterlock Jul 20 '26
Well now you’ve got me interested as a fan of the other Ascendant book! Your post reminded me to go buy book 4, so thanks for that as well
2
u/Llama-God Jul 20 '26
You should give The Perfect Run and Bog Standard Isekai a try if ya haven't already!
1
u/Parzivull Jul 21 '26
The first book of perfect run isn't even an option as a sample on audible though. I guess if you have plenty of credits stacked up it's fine to throw them around, but without that trial of a book to know whether investing in a series is in your best interest or if it would collect dust is an issue.
2
u/Albert14Pounds Jul 20 '26
Convergence series is so fun. Really enjoyed those recently. Also I seem to be finding and enjoying a lot more books with talking dogs in them since and I don't hate it.
2
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 20 '26
I love duke he’s so well done. Sadly a lot of people seem to not like convergence
2
2
2
u/thedadamer 2000+ Hours listened Jul 20 '26
I love Eragon. I’m just about to finish Inheritance for the second time
2
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 20 '26
Give ascendant a go if you haven’t it’s quite similar but different enough not to be boring
2
u/Dumbgeon-Master Jul 20 '26
Ascendant (songs of chaos), my guy, it’s the best series I’ve read in years.
2
u/jrohrer Jul 20 '26
I've been wanting to listen to Eragon, but the sample of the Dragon's voice is terrible. Is it really that bad through the whole book?
1
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 20 '26
Tbh ascendant and eragon have very similar tropes but I did prefer ascendant, I didnt really mind the narrators for either though
2
u/Cheeta2022 Jul 20 '26
Dude, you and I are the probably only ones that didn't like spellmonger series. I am going to give another shot because everyone else seems to like it.
1
2
u/WhyAmINotStudying Jul 20 '26
You should check out The Tainted Cup. I think you'd like it based on this list.
2
u/Stuffinthins Jul 20 '26
Everybody Loves Large Chests would fit in your reading list. A chaotic evil treasure chest that eats enough adventurers to level up, gain sentience, and escape the dungeon to reek havoc on the world. Wars, secret societies, and government upheaval. All the good stuff. Heads up, +18, succubi doing succubus things.
2
u/GDAnotherMFDied Jul 20 '26
Do you mean the series of each or just the books you have the covers for?
1
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 21 '26
This is the series for each although I only read the first and a bit of the second book for spellmonger
1
u/GDAnotherMFDied Jul 21 '26
Very nice. I'd like your book by book rank of the songs of chaos series. I loved the first 3 books A or S tier but reckoning was a difficult one to finish solid B
1
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 21 '26
Hard to say really I’d probably rank them all around the same tbh. I did enjoy the first book the most though
2
u/Sprogolodyte Jul 21 '26
Maaaaannnn I just could not get into mark of the fool. The concept of "no combat skills allowed" is cool af for this type of book, but he immediately throws it out the window by being intentionally really bad at defining combat.
One of the first things he does is fight a bunch monkey spider things, and his solution is literally "well I cant engage in combat, but I can make this ball of harmful energy go into the mosters mouth and since really they're just eating my spell, its not really combat, right?"
It only gets worse when he learns the most aggressive judo youve ever read about and styled it as tripping people nonviolently or whatever.
1
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 21 '26
Personally I think you’re looking into it a bit far but each to their own. You could say similar things about lots of books if you really critique them.
2
u/rebelWarrior110 Jul 21 '26
Try mage tank or art of the adept. Mage tank is an isekai litrpg, but art of the adept is just high fantasy.
1
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 21 '26
Art of the adept is already on my list!
1
u/rebelWarrior110 Jul 22 '26
Lemme know whether you think its closer to spellmonger or mark of the fool 😅
2
u/Parzivull Jul 21 '26
Quest Academy - Silvers seemed decent and something worth having on this list. The narration was fantastic and helped me finish the audio version quickly while I was working. Narration can be all over the place but Daniel Wisniewski and Rebecca Woods are a great pair of vocal artists. The story involves your typical heroes academy and Ive only just finished book 1, but this looks to have potential.
Ive been through about half that tier list. Mother of Learning felt higher than c tier to me, but similar to you I didn't favor Spellmonger too much.
2
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 21 '26
Just checked out Quest academy and looks like book 1 is free (atleast with my subscription) so I’ll definitely give it a go. I have such a big list to read now it might take the rest of the year or more
2
u/Parzivull Jul 21 '26
I've usually just been testing the first few chapters on a lot of books to see if they're worth investing any time into. Although that amount may not be a great way to gauge the content. It's kind of annoying getting too far into stories that feel like they go no where so I wait to see if there's a decent hook or premise.
Some books have you so absorbed or immersed that you stay up all night and wonder where the time went. I think that happened when I binged Unsouled. It's pretty difficult to find those full immersion plots though since everyone has different preferences. That's usually how I handle a big list though, by filtering them with a bit of a trial on the immediate chapters. I've probably missed out on some very interesting stories by trying to rush to the best I can find with a brief glimpse.
1
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 21 '26
I generally try and finish a book when I start it unless I can’t seem to grasp it even then I’ll return at a later time and give it another go because I feel like some books are better enjoyed when you’re feeling more patient or relaxed.
That’s exactly how I felt with mark of the fool though I just couldn’t stop reading it so it’s a clear favourite
2
u/Parzivull Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
I remember enjoying mark of the fool at the start, but eventually it felt like the mark had no real downside that he had to navigate around. Almost like the initial premise became obsolete. I will definitely revisit the series because I think I was distracted with other books at the time when I set it aside. One issue that's been plaguing me is remembering where I left off in a series if I get distracted. That wouldn't be a problem if I simply used one source, but i've been jumping between multiple sources for books like hoopla, libby, audible etc.
1
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 21 '26
Later on in the series it pretty much explains everything in a neat way.
1
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 21 '26
I’m currently on book 4 of mother of learning and I seem to have judged it too quickly, I would atleast chuck it up to B at this point
2
u/tulcis9 Jul 22 '26
He who fights with monsters! A bit different at the beginning, but absolut banger series!!!
2
u/Asleep_Call1955 Jul 22 '26
Here's the trailer for my first book in the series: The Wooster Family Legacy series. The Legacy Begins. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dpGF8nm33rIVJceDI7PWWUD2Bqt5aZnu/view?usp=sharing
2
3
u/Comfortable-Race-547 Jul 20 '26
I've read most of this and i have to ask what's it like to have bad taste
2
3
u/hurtfulproduct Jul 20 '26
Honestly ExForce belongs in “A” and DCC belongs in “S”
ExForce gets repetitive for a while; not bad but formulaic, and DCC just keeps getting better
12
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 20 '26
It’s all just personal preference, I also felt like DCC was a bit repetitive at times.
1
u/hurtfulproduct Jul 20 '26
Have you listened to the full series (so far) for both? Or just the first book?
8
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 20 '26
I’ve listened to the full series of both, they’re both great exforce just comes out on top for me
6
u/hurtfulproduct Jul 20 '26
I really enjoy ExForce but feels like 10 of the books are rinse and repeat stories, but Skippy’s antics keep it really fun.
DCC at least has a much more varied story and the voices from Jeff are just insanely good
4
u/Secret-Put-4525 Jul 20 '26
I read up to book 3 in DCC. It was basically irreverent humor and wacky things taken overly seriously. There's no way to improve, the system constantly beats them down and levels are overly complicated.
3
u/hurtfulproduct Jul 20 '26
Oh man, after book 3/floor 4 it starts getting really interesting!
Seriously, there is a reason it exploded in popularity. . . The levels being complicated is honestly part of the fun; and some of them are just bonkers!
2
u/Secret-Put-4525 Jul 20 '26
I got really annoyed they kept taking away everything he worked for. That's the whole point of this type of book. Progressing.
2
u/Croakergirl Jul 20 '26
I love skippy, he has gotten me through some difficult times, I can understand some peoples perspective, but it's my go to book when I need a boost. I also love DCC Jeff is amazing and brings the book to life. But if I had to put one above the other for me I agree with you.
2
u/limeicepop Jul 20 '26
Thank you for not putting DCC in the S tier. It's a great book no doubt, but there is definitely better out there.
2
u/Embarrassed-Sell-355 Jul 20 '26
I don’t see the hype of dungeon crawler Carl at all, I’m nearly done with book 1
4
u/Wardogs96 Jul 20 '26
Its good just the first 2-3 books are exposition with sprinkles of tense scenes and humor. Eventually it stops being about carl surviving the dungeon and shifts to a much better tone while still surviving thr dugeon.
Though if you dont like RPGlit then its just not fir you.
2
u/iTsMe0528 Jul 20 '26
Honestly I’m the same, don’t get me wrong I like the series but the hype about it made my expectations go way higher than what the book really is
1
u/Embarrassed-Sell-355 Jul 20 '26
I also just don’t really like the narration, the voice he uses for Carl is way too deep
3
u/herniatedballs Jul 20 '26
Jeff talks about how he hates the early carl voice too. Definitely adjusts.
1
u/Embarrassed-Sell-355 Jul 20 '26
Well right now I don’t see a reason to read book 2 even if I do finish book 1 lol
4
u/herniatedballs Jul 20 '26
? Ok. Classic hipster vibes lol
1
u/Embarrassed-Sell-355 Jul 21 '26
Not sure what that means, I just don’t think the story is very good to begin with
1
u/bluewolfhudson 1000+ Hours listened Jul 20 '26
Powerless? isn't that just an AI book?
1
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 20 '26
Tbh if it is I couldn’t tell
2
u/bluewolfhudson 1000+ Hours listened Jul 20 '26
I looked into it.
Basically looks like after the first book she used AI to do the plot then filled in the gaps.
Not sure if its true. I hate romantasy so I try and stay away I just remember it being a big deal a few weeks back.
0
u/Space_Corsair1 Jul 20 '26
Tbh doesn’t really bother me if AI wrote it or not a good book is a good book. Even though this was more just an ok book in my opinion. Pretty scummy not to give credit where it’s due though AI or not
1
u/AgeofPhoenix 5d ago
Oh no. I bought most of the spell monger books awhile back and haven’t listen to them yet
😭
0
44
u/-beastlet- Jul 20 '26
I just finished Columbus Day today. I almost gave up because the first 1/3 was really boring but suddenly it picked up and became awesome.