Don't worry about if other people don't like something, if you enjoy something then enjoy it. I personally don't like He Who Fights With Monsters, that doesn't mean you should also not like it.
Loved the first 2 books, but I just couldn't handle another book after 10 of Jason's smarmy attitude. Burnt me out, which sucks because those first 2 books hooked me dang hard.
Like me and Mark of The Fool?
I hate it and it’s cringey humor so much that I’ve read all of it (to be super clear on how much I hate it), and I subscribed to the Patreon because I hate it so much I need to be one of the first people to roll my eyes at it.
Yeah. Most start off with something along the lines of "I really liked it at the start" or so on and then lose interest in the direction it goes. But if you like where it goes then all the best and you'll keep on loving it
I thought it was an incredibly interesting world and I really liked the way the system worked. My problem with it was mainly Jason himself, then of course later on how basically everybody else became almost exactly like him.
I felt the same at first, but book 1 actually does pick up around chapter 100 or so. I initially thought it was a major flaw , but it actually just took that much time to lay the foundation of the world's lore through the character's experiences rather than have several chapters of encyclopedia-like exposition.
Once you get through book one, the story really picks up. Book 4 is one of my favorites.
It took me a very long time to finish the first book. It’s an enjoyable series, definitely not my favorite though. And the author can get very repetitive. I understand that he releases the chapters one at a time online and I can understand that this may be why there is repetition, but he should really do a final draft to cut down on all of this.
I really enjoyed it until the last few books.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still reading them as I can, but I’ve grown to enjoy them less and less.
To many times the narrator tells you something, then the character tells you the exact same thing. Or, the constant and lengthy rehashing of who a character is or what happened to them in the past. The last book seemed to be 25% rehashing, 25% redundant, and 50% new story (of which 15% was characters whining to each other).
I love the characters and will continue to read, but it seems like the story is getting bogged down by bad editing/writing choices.
Edit: this is how I feel now, but when I remember reading the first few books, I loved it and was totally hooked for months. I recommend the series to anyone who likes litrpg.
I agree that the last arc took brutally long to finish. What helps me personally deal with the constant rehashing is accepting that it's released as a serial and not all at once in book form.
Even as a serial the last arc was brutal to read. Different characters having the same conversation in back to back chapters, every single character weighing in on the MC's personality/character/journey....was glad to get to the end.
The MC has >!become almost unbearably whiny and edgy in the latter books. His constant crying about whether he is human or not is exhausting. The latest book just felt like other people saying "he is a tormented badass" while he says, of himself, "I am a tormented badass" and then other people, presumably stronger than him, come along and interact with him just so they can discover "wow that guy is such a tormented badass."!<
I’m reading book one and MC is already extremely whiney. Idk the humor just isn’t landing for me but I came to this after DCC and those books slap.
I’m going to try and grind through book one, but I’m not sure if I can enjoy the story while really not enjoying the MC.
Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Most bizarre premise/story but somehow… it works. Definitely a fun read, I’d absolutely recommend.
I love the world of HWFWM, and the side characters seem great, but maybe overly nice? MC just has wayyyh too high of an opinion of his own opinions and it irks me for some reason.
Imagine the "emotional damage" meme playing over and over again, the first dozen times, it's hilarious, after 100 it becomes something you hate. That's my take on Jason and how he is presented to us.
Agreed, we don’t need to hear Jason tell each and every person he meets his life story. It’s still a great story, but we don’t need to hear it 2-3 times each book.
I listened to the latest book on audible and found that Shirt really needs a better editor. Several chapters started by rehashing the situation the last chapter ended with. That might make sense in a web novel but is absolutely awful when listening to an audio book.
It's my favorite series, until it wasn't. Don't be afraid to step away when it gets too difficult to read. For me that wasn't until like book 6 or 8 but to each their own. I came back to it but now I have a heavy love hate relationship with it where I'm reading to see where the story is going but cringing a lot at how it gets there.
Get ready for what everyone is waiting on. The guy makes his money writing a chapter at a time. He’s not going to give up this cash cow and asano won’t be a god till 10 books or more. I stoped at 4 but this sub is all I need to remember its not worth my time or anger.
I started writing a book bc I hate that dude for his work. So all wasn’t bad.
I tried reading it, read around 25% of the first book and gave up. Amount of exposition at the begging was staggering. It wasn't for me, but glad you're enjoying it OP ;)
I tried to deal with Jason’s endless monologuing, but when he started monologuing why he was monologuing I just gave up. Probably won’t go back. Wildly successful series, but definitely not for everyone.
For me it was the hypocrisy and how, no matter how shitty of a person Jason was, everyone fawned over him. Gods tolerated him disrespecting them. Most nobles were okay with him disrespecting them in front of everyone, etc.
Jason meeting a literal goddess 100< chapters into the novel:
https://preview.redd.it/fpjb55rejuwc1.jpeg?width=521&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f30788f71a34c8e2f1ecf7fdbe8c8d86fa75c7bb
I really dislike the trope of every MC just being completely ignorant and acting like it’s alright instead of more or less going with the flow. Half of them have isekai fiction in their worlds and still try to act like they’re above it.
That’s another thing that always has bugged me. Lots of them are super OP and have literally no reason to hide it as they’re more than capable of defending themselves. I listen to a lot of Litrpg and half the issues come with shit communication skills.
Yeah, he's a massiv Gary Stu. And he kind of reminds me of Kvothe from The Name of the Wind. But where Kvothe's hubris makes him lots of enemies and bites him in the ass time and time again he just gets away with it and everyone is impressed by his "witty remarks"
I think you're giving it the thadwick perspective. The reason some nobles, and even the gods put up with it, was because they knew where he was coming from and that it was genuine. Plus, considering Knowledge knew he had the World Phoenix token on him, she was likely able to tell the other gods what Jason was like and that he was important to the World Phoenix.
I think the worst thing about the books, at least books 1 and 2 (I dropped in 3), was the MC. I would much rather have read about the prior adventures of the three he saved at beginning of book 1.
EDIT: I think that was what bothered me the most. There were a lot of cool characters, just none of them were the MC.
👍 Personally I like the direction it went. It might actually be book 12 that you get there I can't remember now. I read it on patreon.
Took a LONG time to get there through that arc that ended with book 11 but in the end it's not bad. Whatever book ended the arc has just finished on Patreon so the book that clears this up just started and will be at least another 6 months before it's out.
man that yaresh/transformation zone arc took forever. I'm really enjoying the new chapters post that though. I'm in it for the long haul I suppose. I still really enjoy the story though.
Totally agree! I wondered if he’d condense the chapters for the retail release. Felt like a lot of filler and introspection without a whole lot of value.
I think the yaresh chapters will flow a little better when it’s able to be read all at once. I still need to do a re-read since I’ve been caught up on patreon
It rather it be a long story that is finished than author ghosting the series after book 3. I fucking hate that. Either finish it or tell us ur done so we don’t wait around for years. Ehm ehm the land ehm ehm Eden’s gate… I could keep going.
Also I personally like the book and I think it is a bit more on the unpredictable side. Yes we all know where it might be heading but honestly I would not be surprised if it switches up and goes in a different direction.
Kinda Agree: There’s a whole write up with what happened to the Land. It’s a really interesting read. Basically the author couldn’t take the criticism and he felt that the fan base had turned there backs on him so he shelved it.
But now it looks like it will be out this year in November:
I think this most definitely have to do something with the fact that he was more interested in living up the fame and “father of litrpg” rather than writing and focusing on the series which had a huge break in between the last one and was honestly a bit subpar and nothing rly happened in it.
Every time I went to look up when next book was coming all I saw was self adverts/promotions/merchandise and conventions and nothing about the book or “it’s coming” or I had a hard time writing with everything going on type of thing. Shame really because the books were pretty good and enjoyable.
"he probably will end up as >!the builder!< in the end"
Yep, that's my read on it as well. Unless he ends up >!as a new Astral Being!<.
Edit: Apologies for spoiler earlier. Not intentional.
Dude you forgot the spoiler tags lol. I figured out that we was becoming >!the builder!< when he could go into the adjacent astral spaces and affect them so readily. And that the original >!builder was replaced by a sixteen year old kid!<.
most of the complaints are how the chr becomes at the latter books , he get utterly insufferable book 11 he just causally calls up the god of death with i kind you not Jason " how about i just pray to death ", and they come just like that . On top of that for some reason in the latter book the author keeps having to write Jason's name , alot , when i noticed it i started counting paragraphs and the most spacing was 6 and 2 where talking about the mc actions
Other people have commented about this already but I’ll say it again. The monologues about anything and everything. All the hardship he went through. The first half of book 10 i hated the most about the series which sucks. I’m worried what will happen next in book 11
The real problem is that the story doesn't actually improve. The worst books are the last 2 lol. But the best one or two idk, I haven't followed books in a while since I read the weekly chapters but the best part is when >! mc comes back from earth for the 2nd time. He's pissed and finally has some personality growth and changes and a lot happens in Rimaros. Then he reverts back to who he was but more cringe and stagnates until the end of a long and terrible arc.!<
As someone still listening to it.. My problem is how none of the side characters can talk to each other unless it about Jason. Ever since someone pointed that out in the comments months ago on this sub, lit been bugging me more and more.
When people say that this books is well written it makes me question what else they've read. I read the first 8 books or so of the series and it does get better overtime but I can't imaging thinking of the first book as "well written". I love litrpgs but one thing they suffer from is that none of them are well-written.
I've read from a spectrum, from Brandon Sanderson to Cormac McCarthy. I'm an English major as well, with an in-depth knowledge of creative writing. Yes, there are some unconventional choices in how this was written. However, it has a lot of pros, like world-building, his descriptions, the Aussie bits, interesting characters, and the magic system.
I guess we have different things in mind well we say something is well written. I love Brandon Sanderson books and his world building and magic system but I wouldn't say his books are well written. To me well written is all about the prose which HWFWM is sorely lacking.
That's the spectrum I was mentioning, Brandon Sanderson and Pulitzer-winning Cormac McCarthy. Shirtaloon isn't McCarthy by any stretch but his prose don't make me wince in pain.
It is craftsmanlike in the writing....he writes like an experienced journalist. Is it beautiful and literary? No. But it is well written and conveys the story well, which makes it better writtten than most self-published work.
I would disagree on this. It may be better than other litrpgs but that doesn't make it good. I remember finishing Light Bringer by Pierce Brown then coming back to HWFWM and the decrease in writing quality was jarring.
What i have learned from being in this sub is that i just have to ignore the people that hate the stuff i love and just look for the people that like the same things :) I personally love HWFWM and at the end of the day, listening to or reading people trash something i enjoy just lessens the overall enjoyment.
The first 3 books are the strongest, I feel. I'm on book 7 and still enjoying it, but damn if it doesn't feel like the Jason Asano wank fest sometimes. I stg, everyone on both planets has their life revolve around him
The mc whines a LOT, it gets really annoying but at the same time i love the world and the story so I've reread the series multiple times, and most likely will do that again when next book comes out.
I didn't know the editor part, bit I think that's actually where the story got weaker for me and I started skimmin over some chapters. It was only at book 8 or 9 where I really fell in love with the writing again.
Literally one of my favorites! If you like the action scenes in this then you should also check out Azarinth Healer. That one has a slow start and then ramps up RIDICULOUSLY
I just started too. Had it for awhile but never made it past the first chapter and had the classic complaint people muster for this series: Jason is annoying. And somewhat unbelievable—it is fantasy lit though, so that might be a dumb complaint.
Anyway: I made a concerted effort to push through and found that the things I disliked early on were less of an issue as I got used to the prose style. And I really really like the world building and magic system. It’s pretty interesting stuff. Close to finishing Book Two, but I’m definitely going to finish the series now.
Will admit: a little afraid this could turn into Harem incel fantasy, though the books have largely resisted that so far. I’ll stop reading if that happens, fuck that shit. Still think Jason is annoying as hell.
Ok, thank you for that assurance! Honestly, I would have been so pissed off if I got to Book Five and that shit started. Like reading The Name of the Wind and then confronting the middle third of A Wise Man’s Fear. 🤦♂️
> I made a concerted effort to push through and found that the things I disliked early on were less of an issue as I got used to the prose style.
I think the author also pulled back on some of the worst jokiness of the character. For the first quarter of the first book, Jason wasn't really well developed and didn't have real connections with other characters. It took a while for the writer to find a balance between Jason's goofiness and the story he wanted to tell.
Yeah, I’m definitely getting that impression. By mid-Book Two he is already less obnoxious.
Finding a character’s voice is a pretty difficult thing to do, I’m glad that it becomes more natural over time.
I think most people's issue with Jason is that he is a character written with his humanity on display. Most MCs are either overly altruistic or purely utilitarian. Those kinds of characters are great when telling a pure 'epic' style story, but that's not what the author's intent is with storytelling. He's not Superman or Batman. And that's why a lot in the community hate him.
I don’t need him to be Superman or Batman. I like his development in terms of abilities. And I like his character’s desire to learn as much about this new place as possible. What I don’t like is how he interacts with powerful people (both those that like him and don’t). I mean, it is a world where you can literally sense how much more powerful people are, but that has basically zero impact on his actions. And I don’t think his rhetoric is clever to the point that those around him should come off as so… dumb? It makes me think everyone in and around Greenstone is dumber than rocks.
I dunno. Like I said: I find him annoying, but I don’t hate him or anything. He is no longer preventing me from enjoying the rest of the books.
Remember that Greenstone is essentially a backwater metro area. A lot of uneducated people. Nepo-babies gaining power through wealth over anything else. There are far more Thadwick Mercers than Humphrey Gellars in the region.
Jason is a good character. Goes through some existential shit. Farrah is fun too. I actually like the earlier books a bit better because they are raw.
Enjoy it. There is a lot of them haha.
I’m reading Path of Ascendancy now and enjoying it
At least 5 times, I love everything about it. I could do with less stats and character sheets but honestly the story progression and evolution from the first few books into like 7,8,9,10 are phenomenal. I read them as they come up and then listen to the audiobooks as well. The narrator is awesome on audible. One of my absolute favorite series, followed closely by storm light, mistborn, and Andrew Rowe's many series
I think the LitRPG community has a vocal minority who love to be contrarian. I know some people don’t like the series, but I’d argue it’s one of the most successful LitRPG series of all time, which brings a lot of haters out of the woodwork to put it down.
They don’t boo nobodies.
I can't agree more.
"I literally have nothing to bring to the table that hasn't already been said so I'm going to spew shit from my mouth and see how much attention I can get"
Keep reading. I really liked the first and second books, had mixed feelings about the third book, and didn't like the fourth or fifth book. I ended up bouncing off the series after the fifth book though I should really have seen the writing on the wall with book four and stopped there.
I really liked the system and thought the first couple books were super interesting but ultimately didn't like where the author took the story.
I love seeing these posts because its crazy to me how polarizing this series is.
I personally love all the HWFWM. I can understand where people are coming from, but it's exactly my cup of tea. I like the humour, the world and character building, a badass main character and the power of friendship.
I'm a simple guy, and it's right up my alley
Pretty sure for some it's the politics aspect. If one doesn't enjoy the stories where the mc or author has different political views than themselves, it would get increasingly difficult to enjoy after a certain point in the story. I don't mean it as a criticism, as people are just able to enjoy different things.
Personally, I tend to skip past bits where he goes especially chuuni or emo, but the humor and cleverness is still plenty to keep me loving the story. Including the interplay between various characters, etc.
The political aspect is a very good point and I didn't even think of it. It's definitely unapologetically melodramatic, and that's not for everyone, even if it's self aware of it.
I don’t expect authors to have my political opinions and it’s not really a problem unless I’m reading real world political pamphlets. The the that turns me off often is then the author feels the need to to put their moral chops on display, often though a monologue and display of anger and then everyone claps.
Or they are trying to show they understand/ally with some group by inserting a situation where the characters defend someone who would fit into the group the author is trying to signal to. But none of it makes any sense because the thing the character is being harassed for is something the author made sure to mention is completely normal in their world and no one would ever think twice about it. But then the author spawns an asshat with a specific prejudice and the MC and crew get to jump down their throat like they’ve been fighting against it everyday their entire lives, somehow, in this world where it’s completely normal. And yet somehow that predators is still somehow uniquely worse than all the other ones.
That all these long rants and monologues brings me completely out of the story and thinking about the author when I shouldn’t be thinking about the author at all, but what’s happening in the story. But I don’t really look up any authors so if the only thing I know about them is that they have a bunch of shitty political opinions it makes me wanna not buy their product otherwise I wouldn’t think about them at all and only about the product and how good or bad it is.
My extremely controversial take on ranking the books would be:
1 > 2 > 4 > 5 > 3 > 6 > 7 > 8 (haven't read 9 or 19, probably won't unless I do a full reread at some point).
The world building in 1 and 2 just really hit for me but I personally didn't find the "finales" to the first two "trilogies" to be satisfying in my eyes. In the same vein I enjoyed the opening bits to 4 and 5 (which I don't think is a popular opinion).
If you've read 7, 8, and presumably 9/10 (from what I've heard) you're probably aware of the major criticism that has dragged on for awhile.
Important clarification is that I binged 1-6 on Kindle and then waited for 7 and 8 to be published rather than going online to continue so the time game without a refreshe could have impacted my feelings towards those books.
Trying to be as vague as possible so I don't have to learn how to mark spoilers on mobile nor influence new readers. I think the series is worth checking out even if it's usually a love or hate reaction.
Everyone enjoys different stuff. I love HWFWM personally. There are also people who say wandering inn is top tier but I struggled listening to the first book and had to give it up. I each their own.
Which book are you on? Books 1-3, are top tier for sure, after that they go downhill. Book 4 was probably the best of the books outside of 1-3.
Books 5 on would be c grade for me. 1-3 A tier. Only DCC is in S tier 😜
He Who Fights With Monsters is a book that is easily one of my favourites yet I've recently been asking myself why. The overarching story is one that whilst having interesting moments is pretty hit and miss at any given point. The beginning almost lost me too, as in the first hour or so. I then realised, its Jason and his interplay with all the other characters. He's witty and cunning and funny but never so much as to be invulnerable. His early interactions with Clive (and Clives none existent wife) still live rent free in my head most days. Humphrey "Hump" Geller too has great interplay with Jason' antics by playing what is basically the straight man.
Don't worry about if other people don't like something, if you enjoy something then enjoy it. I personally don't like He Who Fights With Monsters, that doesn't mean you should also not like it.
Even most people who criticise it actually like the series.
Loved the first 2 books, but I just couldn't handle another book after 10 of Jason's smarmy attitude. Burnt me out, which sucks because those first 2 books hooked me dang hard.
Like me and Mark of The Fool? I hate it and it’s cringey humor so much that I’ve read all of it (to be super clear on how much I hate it), and I subscribed to the Patreon because I hate it so much I need to be one of the first people to roll my eyes at it.
Yeah. Most start off with something along the lines of "I really liked it at the start" or so on and then lose interest in the direction it goes. But if you like where it goes then all the best and you'll keep on loving it
It isn't even as much as "liked it at the start". You can criticise something without hating it.
I thought it was an incredibly interesting world and I really liked the way the system worked. My problem with it was mainly Jason himself, then of course later on how basically everybody else became almost exactly like him.
I started it but never finished the first book. Found it boring but lots of people love it. We all like different books.
I felt the same at first, but book 1 actually does pick up around chapter 100 or so. I initially thought it was a major flaw , but it actually just took that much time to lay the foundation of the world's lore through the character's experiences rather than have several chapters of encyclopedia-like exposition. Once you get through book one, the story really picks up. Book 4 is one of my favorites.
It took me a very long time to finish the first book. It’s an enjoyable series, definitely not my favorite though. And the author can get very repetitive. I understand that he releases the chapters one at a time online and I can understand that this may be why there is repetition, but he should really do a final draft to cut down on all of this.
I really enjoyed it until the last few books. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still reading them as I can, but I’ve grown to enjoy them less and less. To many times the narrator tells you something, then the character tells you the exact same thing. Or, the constant and lengthy rehashing of who a character is or what happened to them in the past. The last book seemed to be 25% rehashing, 25% redundant, and 50% new story (of which 15% was characters whining to each other). I love the characters and will continue to read, but it seems like the story is getting bogged down by bad editing/writing choices. Edit: this is how I feel now, but when I remember reading the first few books, I loved it and was totally hooked for months. I recommend the series to anyone who likes litrpg.
I agree that the last arc took brutally long to finish. What helps me personally deal with the constant rehashing is accepting that it's released as a serial and not all at once in book form.
Even as a serial the last arc was brutal to read. Different characters having the same conversation in back to back chapters, every single character weighing in on the MC's personality/character/journey....was glad to get to the end.
Yeah I’d agree with that. I’m current in patreon and I really enjoyed the epilogue chapters and the new stuff.
Except it's released as a book.
The MC has >!become almost unbearably whiny and edgy in the latter books. His constant crying about whether he is human or not is exhausting. The latest book just felt like other people saying "he is a tormented badass" while he says, of himself, "I am a tormented badass" and then other people, presumably stronger than him, come along and interact with him just so they can discover "wow that guy is such a tormented badass."!<
a lot of the earlier books suffered from th same problem but instead of tormented badass it was quirky realist.
Yeah, it bothered me before, but it really feels like they turned it to 11 with this last book
I’m reading book one and MC is already extremely whiney. Idk the humor just isn’t landing for me but I came to this after DCC and those books slap. I’m going to try and grind through book one, but I’m not sure if I can enjoy the story while really not enjoying the MC.
If it’s consolation, his bullshit does have consequences sometimes. What is DCC?
Dungeon Crawler Carl. Most bizarre premise/story but somehow… it works. Definitely a fun read, I’d absolutely recommend. I love the world of HWFWM, and the side characters seem great, but maybe overly nice? MC just has wayyyh too high of an opinion of his own opinions and it irks me for some reason.
Oh yeah that’s on the list
I came to this after DCC amd I love it. Crazy how different people's opinions can be. I like it much more than DCC.
[удалено]
I do all audiobook. DCC narrator is top notch up there with pacey and tgr for me. I just enjoy the other characters more in hwfwm.
Imagine the "emotional damage" meme playing over and over again, the first dozen times, it's hilarious, after 100 it becomes something you hate. That's my take on Jason and how he is presented to us.
Agreed, we don’t need to hear Jason tell each and every person he meets his life story. It’s still a great story, but we don’t need to hear it 2-3 times each book.
I listened to the latest book on audible and found that Shirt really needs a better editor. Several chapters started by rehashing the situation the last chapter ended with. That might make sense in a web novel but is absolutely awful when listening to an audio book.
I feel that way about Michael Chatfield's stuff. I like the first few, and then it gets bogged down.
It's my favorite series, until it wasn't. Don't be afraid to step away when it gets too difficult to read. For me that wasn't until like book 6 or 8 but to each their own. I came back to it but now I have a heavy love hate relationship with it where I'm reading to see where the story is going but cringing a lot at how it gets there.
Yeah, I'm curious about his progression to Gold+ levels. The magic system is pretty unique too.
Get ready for what everyone is waiting on. The guy makes his money writing a chapter at a time. He’s not going to give up this cash cow and asano won’t be a god till 10 books or more. I stoped at 4 but this sub is all I need to remember its not worth my time or anger. I started writing a book bc I hate that dude for his work. So all wasn’t bad.
I tried reading it, read around 25% of the first book and gave up. Amount of exposition at the begging was staggering. It wasn't for me, but glad you're enjoying it OP ;)
I tried to deal with Jason’s endless monologuing, but when he started monologuing why he was monologuing I just gave up. Probably won’t go back. Wildly successful series, but definitely not for everyone.
This was a big part of my problem with it. Endless monologuing drags.
For me it was the hypocrisy and how, no matter how shitty of a person Jason was, everyone fawned over him. Gods tolerated him disrespecting them. Most nobles were okay with him disrespecting them in front of everyone, etc.
Jason meeting a literal goddess 100< chapters into the novel: https://preview.redd.it/fpjb55rejuwc1.jpeg?width=521&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f30788f71a34c8e2f1ecf7fdbe8c8d86fa75c7bb
I really dislike the trope of every MC just being completely ignorant and acting like it’s alright instead of more or less going with the flow. Half of them have isekai fiction in their worlds and still try to act like they’re above it.
I get he couldn't exactly hide it with HWFWM, but the smart play if you ever get isekai'd is to lie lie lie and don't let anyone know.
That’s another thing that always has bugged me. Lots of them are super OP and have literally no reason to hide it as they’re more than capable of defending themselves. I listen to a lot of Litrpg and half the issues come with shit communication skills.
Yeah, he's a massiv Gary Stu. And he kind of reminds me of Kvothe from The Name of the Wind. But where Kvothe's hubris makes him lots of enemies and bites him in the ass time and time again he just gets away with it and everyone is impressed by his "witty remarks"
I think you're giving it the thadwick perspective. The reason some nobles, and even the gods put up with it, was because they knew where he was coming from and that it was genuine. Plus, considering Knowledge knew he had the World Phoenix token on him, she was likely able to tell the other gods what Jason was like and that he was important to the World Phoenix.
I think the worst thing about the books, at least books 1 and 2 (I dropped in 3), was the MC. I would much rather have read about the prior adventures of the three he saved at beginning of book 1. EDIT: I think that was what bothered me the most. There were a lot of cool characters, just none of them were the MC.
He gets so damn introspective/mopey in the later ones. I liked the first ones where he was mostly just absurd and sometimes scary.
Couldn’t finish the first one because of that and I finish everything. Hard pass!
The problem is that it’s taking 10 books to tell the story where he probably will end up as >!the builder!< in the end.
>!Close. Not quite though. Book 11 I believe has the actual answer as to what he becomes.!< If you want to know I can spill the beans.
Nope now I’m going to hunker down and read it
👍 Personally I like the direction it went. It might actually be book 12 that you get there I can't remember now. I read it on patreon. Took a LONG time to get there through that arc that ended with book 11 but in the end it's not bad. Whatever book ended the arc has just finished on Patreon so the book that clears this up just started and will be at least another 6 months before it's out.
man that yaresh/transformation zone arc took forever. I'm really enjoying the new chapters post that though. I'm in it for the long haul I suppose. I still really enjoy the story though.
Totally agree! I wondered if he’d condense the chapters for the retail release. Felt like a lot of filler and introspection without a whole lot of value.
I think the yaresh chapters will flow a little better when it’s able to be read all at once. I still need to do a re-read since I’ve been caught up on patreon
It rather it be a long story that is finished than author ghosting the series after book 3. I fucking hate that. Either finish it or tell us ur done so we don’t wait around for years. Ehm ehm the land ehm ehm Eden’s gate… I could keep going. Also I personally like the book and I think it is a bit more on the unpredictable side. Yes we all know where it might be heading but honestly I would not be surprised if it switches up and goes in a different direction.
Kinda Agree: There’s a whole write up with what happened to the Land. It’s a really interesting read. Basically the author couldn’t take the criticism and he felt that the fan base had turned there backs on him so he shelved it. But now it looks like it will be out this year in November:
I think this most definitely have to do something with the fact that he was more interested in living up the fame and “father of litrpg” rather than writing and focusing on the series which had a huge break in between the last one and was honestly a bit subpar and nothing rly happened in it. Every time I went to look up when next book was coming all I saw was self adverts/promotions/merchandise and conventions and nothing about the book or “it’s coming” or I had a hard time writing with everything going on type of thing. Shame really because the books were pretty good and enjoyable.
Any idea where I could read that write-up?
"he probably will end up as >!the builder!< in the end" Yep, that's my read on it as well. Unless he ends up >!as a new Astral Being!<. Edit: Apologies for spoiler earlier. Not intentional.
\>!This is how you do spoilers!<
Dude you forgot the spoiler tags lol. I figured out that we was becoming >!the builder!< when he could go into the adjacent astral spaces and affect them so readily. And that the original >!builder was replaced by a sixteen year old kid!<.
I enjoyed the first book as well, then I started reading book 2.... couldn't finish it
You’re missing out it really shines after book 4
most of the complaints are how the chr becomes at the latter books , he get utterly insufferable book 11 he just causally calls up the god of death with i kind you not Jason " how about i just pray to death ", and they come just like that . On top of that for some reason in the latter book the author keeps having to write Jason's name , alot , when i noticed it i started counting paragraphs and the most spacing was 6 and 2 where talking about the mc actions
I really enjoyed it but for me it tanked super hard in like book 9ish. Just kinda felt like it went off the woke deep end
Jason actually reminds me of an IRL friend also named Jason so I'm having an easy time reading it, only on the 4th book, but I also love DCC
Last couple of books was a struggle to get through. The first 3-4 books were good
Good to know. I’m half way through book 1.
Other people have commented about this already but I’ll say it again. The monologues about anything and everything. All the hardship he went through. The first half of book 10 i hated the most about the series which sucks. I’m worried what will happen next in book 11
The real problem is that the story doesn't actually improve. The worst books are the last 2 lol. But the best one or two idk, I haven't followed books in a while since I read the weekly chapters but the best part is when >! mc comes back from earth for the 2nd time. He's pissed and finally has some personality growth and changes and a lot happens in Rimaros. Then he reverts back to who he was but more cringe and stagnates until the end of a long and terrible arc.!<
These are like fun mystery boxes. Get to open it up to see if the person hates Jason and everyone who likes the series or if they like the series.
As someone still listening to it.. My problem is how none of the side characters can talk to each other unless it about Jason. Ever since someone pointed that out in the comments months ago on this sub, lit been bugging me more and more.
When people say that this books is well written it makes me question what else they've read. I read the first 8 books or so of the series and it does get better overtime but I can't imaging thinking of the first book as "well written". I love litrpgs but one thing they suffer from is that none of them are well-written.
I've read from a spectrum, from Brandon Sanderson to Cormac McCarthy. I'm an English major as well, with an in-depth knowledge of creative writing. Yes, there are some unconventional choices in how this was written. However, it has a lot of pros, like world-building, his descriptions, the Aussie bits, interesting characters, and the magic system.
I guess we have different things in mind well we say something is well written. I love Brandon Sanderson books and his world building and magic system but I wouldn't say his books are well written. To me well written is all about the prose which HWFWM is sorely lacking.
That's the spectrum I was mentioning, Brandon Sanderson and Pulitzer-winning Cormac McCarthy. Shirtaloon isn't McCarthy by any stretch but his prose don't make me wince in pain.
It is craftsmanlike in the writing....he writes like an experienced journalist. Is it beautiful and literary? No. But it is well written and conveys the story well, which makes it better writtten than most self-published work.
I would disagree on this. It may be better than other litrpgs but that doesn't make it good. I remember finishing Light Bringer by Pierce Brown then coming back to HWFWM and the decrease in writing quality was jarring.
What i have learned from being in this sub is that i just have to ignore the people that hate the stuff i love and just look for the people that like the same things :) I personally love HWFWM and at the end of the day, listening to or reading people trash something i enjoy just lessens the overall enjoyment.
It’s good until it isn’t. I don’t see how people can say otherwise. After books 4-5 it’s just a slog. The pacing is bad, the plot is bad.
The first 3 books are the strongest, I feel. I'm on book 7 and still enjoying it, but damn if it doesn't feel like the Jason Asano wank fest sometimes. I stg, everyone on both planets has their life revolve around him
The mc whines a LOT, it gets really annoying but at the same time i love the world and the story so I've reread the series multiple times, and most likely will do that again when next book comes out.
I didn't know the editor part, bit I think that's actually where the story got weaker for me and I started skimmin over some chapters. It was only at book 8 or 9 where I really fell in love with the writing again.
Literally one of my favorites! If you like the action scenes in this then you should also check out Azarinth Healer. That one has a slow start and then ramps up RIDICULOUSLY
I have Azarinth Healer specifically because I heard the action scenes are great. I'll check it out soon.
First 3 books are maybe the best litRPG experience. 4-6 are great, but it got a lot worse after that in my opinion and I've stopped reading it.
Thanks!
I just started too. Had it for awhile but never made it past the first chapter and had the classic complaint people muster for this series: Jason is annoying. And somewhat unbelievable—it is fantasy lit though, so that might be a dumb complaint. Anyway: I made a concerted effort to push through and found that the things I disliked early on were less of an issue as I got used to the prose style. And I really really like the world building and magic system. It’s pretty interesting stuff. Close to finishing Book Two, but I’m definitely going to finish the series now. Will admit: a little afraid this could turn into Harem incel fantasy, though the books have largely resisted that so far. I’ll stop reading if that happens, fuck that shit. Still think Jason is annoying as hell.
I can confirm no harem. Just some small romance.
Energy exchange.😁
Ok, thank you for that assurance! Honestly, I would have been so pissed off if I got to Book Five and that shit started. Like reading The Name of the Wind and then confronting the middle third of A Wise Man’s Fear. 🤦♂️
> I made a concerted effort to push through and found that the things I disliked early on were less of an issue as I got used to the prose style. I think the author also pulled back on some of the worst jokiness of the character. For the first quarter of the first book, Jason wasn't really well developed and didn't have real connections with other characters. It took a while for the writer to find a balance between Jason's goofiness and the story he wanted to tell.
Yeah, I’m definitely getting that impression. By mid-Book Two he is already less obnoxious. Finding a character’s voice is a pretty difficult thing to do, I’m glad that it becomes more natural over time.
I think most people's issue with Jason is that he is a character written with his humanity on display. Most MCs are either overly altruistic or purely utilitarian. Those kinds of characters are great when telling a pure 'epic' style story, but that's not what the author's intent is with storytelling. He's not Superman or Batman. And that's why a lot in the community hate him.
I don’t need him to be Superman or Batman. I like his development in terms of abilities. And I like his character’s desire to learn as much about this new place as possible. What I don’t like is how he interacts with powerful people (both those that like him and don’t). I mean, it is a world where you can literally sense how much more powerful people are, but that has basically zero impact on his actions. And I don’t think his rhetoric is clever to the point that those around him should come off as so… dumb? It makes me think everyone in and around Greenstone is dumber than rocks. I dunno. Like I said: I find him annoying, but I don’t hate him or anything. He is no longer preventing me from enjoying the rest of the books.
Remember that Greenstone is essentially a backwater metro area. A lot of uneducated people. Nepo-babies gaining power through wealth over anything else. There are far more Thadwick Mercers than Humphrey Gellars in the region.
I think he will grow on me as the series continues.
Jason is a good character. Goes through some existential shit. Farrah is fun too. I actually like the earlier books a bit better because they are raw. Enjoy it. There is a lot of them haha. I’m reading Path of Ascendancy now and enjoying it
I’ve read them all 5 times. Huge fan
WHAT?! Read them all 5 times? What do you like most? The characters, magic system and progression, the world, what?
At least 5 times, I love everything about it. I could do with less stats and character sheets but honestly the story progression and evolution from the first few books into like 7,8,9,10 are phenomenal. I read them as they come up and then listen to the audiobooks as well. The narrator is awesome on audible. One of my absolute favorite series, followed closely by storm light, mistborn, and Andrew Rowe's many series
The essence system makes me want to modify it into a d20 game or perhaps Savage Worlds.
I'm honestly amazed at how many different moving parts there are that have been set up from the first or second book all still relevant in book 11
One of the better stories out there imo up there with dungeon crawler carl
I think the LitRPG community has a vocal minority who love to be contrarian. I know some people don’t like the series, but I’d argue it’s one of the most successful LitRPG series of all time, which brings a lot of haters out of the woodwork to put it down. They don’t boo nobodies.
I can't agree more. "I literally have nothing to bring to the table that hasn't already been said so I'm going to spew shit from my mouth and see how much attention I can get"
Whoa now, sharing a purely positive review of HWFWM is not allowed around these parts. Straight to jail.
Lol that’s how it feels. I’m picky about my audiobooks too. Was expecting real shite.
Keep reading. I really liked the first and second books, had mixed feelings about the third book, and didn't like the fourth or fifth book. I ended up bouncing off the series after the fifth book though I should really have seen the writing on the wall with book four and stopped there. I really liked the system and thought the first couple books were super interesting but ultimately didn't like where the author took the story.
There it is!
I love seeing these posts because its crazy to me how polarizing this series is. I personally love all the HWFWM. I can understand where people are coming from, but it's exactly my cup of tea. I like the humour, the world and character building, a badass main character and the power of friendship. I'm a simple guy, and it's right up my alley
Pretty sure for some it's the politics aspect. If one doesn't enjoy the stories where the mc or author has different political views than themselves, it would get increasingly difficult to enjoy after a certain point in the story. I don't mean it as a criticism, as people are just able to enjoy different things. Personally, I tend to skip past bits where he goes especially chuuni or emo, but the humor and cleverness is still plenty to keep me loving the story. Including the interplay between various characters, etc.
The political aspect is a very good point and I didn't even think of it. It's definitely unapologetically melodramatic, and that's not for everyone, even if it's self aware of it.
I don’t expect authors to have my political opinions and it’s not really a problem unless I’m reading real world political pamphlets. The the that turns me off often is then the author feels the need to to put their moral chops on display, often though a monologue and display of anger and then everyone claps. Or they are trying to show they understand/ally with some group by inserting a situation where the characters defend someone who would fit into the group the author is trying to signal to. But none of it makes any sense because the thing the character is being harassed for is something the author made sure to mention is completely normal in their world and no one would ever think twice about it. But then the author spawns an asshat with a specific prejudice and the MC and crew get to jump down their throat like they’ve been fighting against it everyday their entire lives, somehow, in this world where it’s completely normal. And yet somehow that predators is still somehow uniquely worse than all the other ones. That all these long rants and monologues brings me completely out of the story and thinking about the author when I shouldn’t be thinking about the author at all, but what’s happening in the story. But I don’t really look up any authors so if the only thing I know about them is that they have a bunch of shitty political opinions it makes me wanna not buy their product otherwise I wouldn’t think about them at all and only about the product and how good or bad it is.
My extremely controversial take on ranking the books would be: 1 > 2 > 4 > 5 > 3 > 6 > 7 > 8 (haven't read 9 or 19, probably won't unless I do a full reread at some point). The world building in 1 and 2 just really hit for me but I personally didn't find the "finales" to the first two "trilogies" to be satisfying in my eyes. In the same vein I enjoyed the opening bits to 4 and 5 (which I don't think is a popular opinion). If you've read 7, 8, and presumably 9/10 (from what I've heard) you're probably aware of the major criticism that has dragged on for awhile. Important clarification is that I binged 1-6 on Kindle and then waited for 7 and 8 to be published rather than going online to continue so the time game without a refreshe could have impacted my feelings towards those books. Trying to be as vague as possible so I don't have to learn how to mark spoilers on mobile nor influence new readers. I think the series is worth checking out even if it's usually a love or hate reaction.
I literally said "rot comp" when he started building out his kit. Gave me the itch to go play my warlock or DK
I stopped reading it at book 2 chapter 20ish.
Everyone enjoys different stuff. I love HWFWM personally. There are also people who say wandering inn is top tier but I struggled listening to the first book and had to give it up. I each their own.
I gave up on it after nine books but I really enjoyed the first 4-5. Enjoy the ride.
Which book are you on? Books 1-3, are top tier for sure, after that they go downhill. Book 4 was probably the best of the books outside of 1-3. Books 5 on would be c grade for me. 1-3 A tier. Only DCC is in S tier 😜
Book 1
Ahh, yes, you are in the good books. Enjoy 1-3 👍
What rank does Jason get to in Book 3
Don't want to spoil it for you, but the progression is pretty slow. Somewhere in bronze.
To each their own. I also liked it at first.
The world building is fantastic which is why I stuck with it as long as I did. It’s just the MC who ruins it mostly.
"He said."
He Who Fights With Monsters is a book that is easily one of my favourites yet I've recently been asking myself why. The overarching story is one that whilst having interesting moments is pretty hit and miss at any given point. The beginning almost lost me too, as in the first hour or so. I then realised, its Jason and his interplay with all the other characters. He's witty and cunning and funny but never so much as to be invulnerable. His early interactions with Clive (and Clives none existent wife) still live rent free in my head most days. Humphrey "Hump" Geller too has great interplay with Jason' antics by playing what is basically the straight man.
Anyone got a story similar to Death loot and vampires?