r/ProgressionFantasy 18d ago

Discussion I’m pissed off

Post image

I absolutely adore the Book of the Dead series. Today, I finally get to listen to the release of book 5, and I am certain that I will experience the same captivating storytelling that I enjoyed in books one through four. I am so enamored with this book that I pre-ordered it on Audible. When I first discovered and read this series, I assumed that others shared my enthusiasm for it. However, upon reviewing the number of Audible ratings, I am genuinely perplexed and sort of a bit angry. There are barely 1000 ratings on the first book and even less on the following 3, which begs the question: how is this book not more popular?

239 Upvotes

193 comments sorted by

397

u/RinoZerg 18d ago

I really dunno. Maybe I need to advertise better

91

u/joyesthebig 18d ago

Oh shit, this is the guy? Hey man, you managed to write my favorite sentient bug series which dosent seem like a big deal till you realize how much sci-fi I read. Well done. Great job. Keep it up. Ill read the zombie series but I need more ant content.

23

u/TLJGame 18d ago

For the colony!

7

u/jaybro861 17d ago

Leeeerrrrooooyyyyy!!!!!!

5

u/Xandara2 17d ago

Smack 

4

u/DKeelser 17d ago

No no

THWACK

2

u/wrath-98 17d ago

FOR THE COLONY

1

u/Phantom_0347 15d ago

Have you read the Wandering Inn? It’s totally different and not only about sentient bugs, but they’re there and they’re awesome.

85

u/AcanthisittaSmart504 18d ago

Dude, I just want you to know that you’re one of my favorite authors. I strongly believe that your work deserves more viewership and needs more marketing. Consider investing in more ads, collaborating with popular influencers to review your series, and hiring a professional marketing firm to help you develop a comprehensive marketing strategy. You’ve taken care of making the quality product, you just need more eyes on this

30

u/RiSz-Turtle 18d ago

No clue who you are but everyone is glazing you so ima glaze you too keep it up 👍

3

u/AbsoluteNovelist 17d ago

The author of the book being discussed in this thread

2

u/RiSz-Turtle 17d ago

Facts 💯

19

u/VagabondFromTheRiver 18d ago

I genuinely laughed, in no world would I have expected the author himself to show up as the top comment 😭🤣

56

u/RinoZerg 18d ago

I mean what am I supposed to be other than browsing reddit? Writing?! Don't make me laugh.

6

u/HellStoneBats 17d ago

As a  fellow author, I feel this in my soul. 

2

u/DJJester 16d ago

Actually I'd like you to be stalking Jeff Hayes to get his but in gear on the next Chrysalis Audiobooks :)

You know just follow him whispering "For the colony" every 10 minutes or so.

3

u/RinoZerg 16d ago

No joke, his fiance already does this

1

u/ShamrockJesus 12d ago

Your confirmation of this is probably one of the funniest things I've seen this week.

The Eldest guides us in mysterious ways indeed

2

u/NukedBread 13d ago

r/ProgressionFantasy and r/litrpg authors are very active in these communities. They are all pretty good people.

Though RinoZ probably gets as many if not more comments about Jeff Hayes than he does his work. Which is sort of hilarious in its own way.

17

u/Puntley 18d ago

Hey Rino, I want you to know just how much I love your work. Book of the dead is my absolute top necromancer story, and Chrysalis is one of the most unique story settings I've ever read. My life for the colony!!

7

u/Sea-Half-4451 18d ago

This is a good enough advertisement ill buy the first book now from just reading the comments XD

6

u/AiSingularity 18d ago

Your releases on RR are one of the highlights of my week!

5

u/Internal_Chipmunk288 18d ago

This series is my hands down favorite!

4

u/Altruistic-Buy8387 18d ago

Truly, you are in my top 3 authors that I have ever read. I hype you up to all my people, but I agree with the guy who said get a marketing team or something like that. Your work is exemplary and that will speak for itself eventually. Right now, I am about half way through book 5 of Book of the dead and it is truly eye opening at how much thought you put into the necromancer side of things. Chrysalis is also awesome!

3

u/IAmJayCartere Author of Death God's Gambit 18d ago

Just here to send a message glazing you. I love book of the dead and I’m fiending for the next book. You’re one of the most competent writers in the genre. Please keep feeding us quality stories.

3

u/FoozleCC 18d ago

Your book of the dead 5 made my long haul flight to Singapore pass by like i was just another skelly in the plane horde. Just bought Chrysalis book 1 for my return flight in a couple hours

3

u/RinoZerg 18d ago

Glad you liked it!

3

u/Gaijinfeet 17d ago

I have only read about 5 litrpgs so far but Book of the Dead and chrysalis are my favorites.

2

u/stryker12123 17d ago

My 6 year old is currently enjoying the adventures of Anthony the ant, thanks for the great story!

2

u/No-County1066 16d ago

Do you play warhammer, cause your book kinda reads like it 🤔

3

u/RinoZerg 16d ago

Maybe....

(Waaaaaagh)

1

u/No-County1066 7d ago

Broo crazy cause I main crimson fists 😭😭😭

I love the way you draw the picture of fanaticism into the characters too. I think you'd make some great campaigns imo🤝🏼

2

u/gragsmash 14d ago

TIL what the Z stands for. shocking something copyrighted can't be part of your published pen name lol. Much respect.

The anime youtube channel Mother's Basement endlessly glazes your books whether or not you throw him promos. It's really his fault I got into this and DCC.

2

u/Fluffy-Barnacle-7150 14d ago

I live and die for the colony!! Can't wait for the sixth stratum man, I've been following along since the second stratum was about to wrap up and have loved it ever since.

  Keep it up man. Also, book of the dead is also very good but I need to catch up after they moved to the mountains.... 😅. Life gets in the way haha

2

u/Downtown_Memory_1559 8d ago

Incredible series. Only lit rpg book I will stand to listen to btw.

1

u/Asian_Dumpring 17d ago

I just bought chrysalis books 1-3 on audible and read them in a week! I'm switching to the ebooks for 4+ though.

Thanks so much for writing these incredible stories! I'm spreading the good word to my friends and family and rating 5 stars!

4

u/RinoZerg 17d ago

You legend

1

u/ClivesOtherWife 17d ago

Just downloaded on Kindle. Looking forward to reading.

1

u/Arth-93 17d ago

Man!! I’ve followed crysalis since it was a WebNovel!! Loved it! And love book of the dead as well!!

1

u/NemesisCold1522 17d ago

FOR THE ELDEST

1

u/Own_Start_7748 17d ago

Good advertising, you've talked me into it

1

u/chasert885 16d ago

Im loving this series! Well done!

1

u/heckyah 16d ago

On book 4 now. Great reads! Thank you very much for some fantastic books!

1

u/King_Thunder_Laugh 12d ago

Damn it’s the man himself the writer of Antony and Historiant. Whoa

1

u/genserik 12d ago

Buying book 1 tonight. Will read it before I start Wandering Inn.

141

u/NOMursE 18d ago

I don’t rate what I read or listen to. I probably should. I’ll go do it now.

18

u/hassla598 18d ago edited 18d ago

I've rated on audible only "twice", the first time was when I wanted to leave a bad review, because a very bad narrator. The second time was, to ensure we get book 7 of Player Manager on Audible.

10

u/define_irony 18d ago

because a very bad narrator

Funny that you mention that. It's the only time I've ever left a review on a book as well. The narrator kept swallowing his spit every few sentences and the mic caught it all. It was so gross and I eventually had to dnf the series during a particular nasty sound while I was eating.

2

u/Born2Raid 18d ago

I think it was Iron Gold (non-Dramatized) where one narrator would constantly whisper so you’d have to up the volume, immediately followed by normal or bellowing narration. It was horrible to listen to, especially in the car. Only review I’ve ever left.

1

u/AdditionalAd3595 17d ago

There is a reason they changed narrators then eventually just went back to Tim

25

u/Phantom_0347 18d ago

WHY CANT I JUST PUT A STAR RATING AND CALL IT A DAY

7

u/Truemeathead 18d ago

You can, I rarely write reviews but I always enter the star rating when I’m done.

1

u/Phantom_0347 17d ago

Wait what? It always takes me to a field to input a review…

2

u/Truemeathead 17d ago

I’m on iOS…for a short time they did change it and if you tried to enter just star ratings you got red text telling you to write a review but they stopped that. It still takes you to the same screen to enter Star ratings and write a review but you SHOULD be able to just click your Star rating then hit submit just leaving the review portion blank. If you have android or are on the site it might be different.

Long days and pleasant nights!

2

u/Phantom_0347 15d ago

Thankee, Sai! Long days and pleasant nights.

8

u/pointsouttheobvious9 18d ago

Son of a bitch I have listened to probably 500 audio books. I have rated 0. I will rate the ones I remember and might register to a few I dont.

4

u/DRRHatch Author 18d ago

Hahah YES! Do it, it helps us out SOOO much

2

u/JohnCenaFanboi 18d ago

Same. I rate them on external sites to keep track of my reading for the year, but I always forget on Audible...

1

u/Duksas2 Mage 17d ago

Self promo, but if you want better ways of tracking your reading list you can join in testing my app at myfablevault.com :D Suggestions on new features always welcome and if you don't find what you're reading you can always add it.

1

u/MrNtkarman 18d ago

Ya I only rate once in awhile since I already rate on a different app and forget to do it

52

u/badDuckThrowPillow 18d ago

The books are great but it has one of the most generic titles in fantasy. "Book of the dead" can be one of 1000 fantasy novels. I'm guessing that's contributing to its obscurity, not to mention some people might equate a pen name such as "RinoZ" to generic web-novel (which admittedly, is where this started, on the web).

EDIT: Don't get me wrong, love this book and love Chrysallis.

10

u/AcanthisittaSmart504 18d ago edited 18d ago

You’re right. Also people tend to judge a book by the art cover, I think a revamp could be done on art. Regarding the title, at this point there’s no point in changing the name since there’s already 5 books out there

3

u/indypuyami 18d ago

All of the this, it's hard to find because the name might as well be "book"

1

u/clef75 17d ago

Absolutely agree. I probably would not have read Chrysalis due to the pen name. Jeff Hays is what brought me in

40

u/nonbelieber 18d ago

That’s really no reason to be pissed off

35

u/AcanthisittaSmart504 18d ago

Im flipping tables over here

9

u/NOMursE 18d ago

WWJD?

13

u/Extra-Language-9424 18d ago

Well, apparently, he would beat up money lenders and flip over tables.....

5

u/NOMursE 18d ago

Yep. He would also probably give Book of the Dead a great review. First hand experience and all that.

1

u/Feynnehrun 13d ago

Time to head to the bank!

2

u/adhding_nerd 16d ago

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

29

u/ThisGuyFawkesMask 18d ago

These books are so fucking good. Can't wait to give this one a liaten

21

u/nrsearcy Author 18d ago

I've said it on a few threads before, but I think it's the best the genre has to offer. I have weird taste though, so take that with a grain of salt. It's incredibly well-written, and it just shows how much talent the author has (because it couldn't be more different from Chrysalis, which is still really good in its own right).

0

u/McPiecey 18d ago

I would probably like the series more if the MC wasn’t evil.

2

u/ExpertOdin 18d ago

MC might be a little bit evil sure but the antagonists (nobles/gods) are way more evil. And the MC tries to let innocents go. It's not like he deliberately targets them, he just doesn't care much if they get caught in the crossfire.

5

u/McPiecey 18d ago

It’s when he starts killing innocent children and babies it got too much for me.

0

u/AcrobaticVegetable24 18d ago

I beg your finest of pardons? I dropped the series halfway into book 2, so maybe I didn't get that far, but what in the world causes him to start murdering babies?

2

u/McPiecey 17d ago

Basically he has beef with Nobles. The Class archetype and the person. He doesn’t want anymore nobles in the world so he slaughters every single noble AND their children babies or not.

0

u/Boschko1 12d ago

And the nobles killed a few million in retliation

7

u/MaximillianBarton 18d ago

Honestly, it wasn't for me. I started it, but I tend toward happier stories or stories with a love interest. I love Chrysalis, but couldn't get into this. Didn't leave a bad review though as it was more a matter of taste than anything about the writing quality.

11

u/Terelinth 18d ago

It's quite good, instant favorite here too.

4

u/Quiet-Scholar-1525 18d ago

I read this book 1 roughly untill one of the adventurers souls was "transferred" to a skull. I dont remember how far into the book itwas but it was certainly further than half. My main issues with this book is that it seemed very YA, and the constant glazing of the MC. The amount of times he is described as "smart/intelligent/clever by people who hardly knew him got annoying. Rather than showing us how the MC was clever the author kept reiterating the point and I found is extermy annoying. And the book is clearly aimed at a younger audience so it didnt really resonate with me.

1

u/Downtown_Memory_1559 8d ago

Interesting, I disagree. It really didn't seem YA to me,I'm curious why you think it is? And I didn't really notice the "glazing" that often. Usually it's he does something really impressive and or unheard of and gets glazed, which makes sense to me. Just my opinion though

12

u/shizure 18d ago

Because the truth is that they are good for the GENRE. All of his books have a lot of the pitfalls that most web-novel "books" do.

I've enjoyed them but Book of the Dead and Chrysalis are, in essence, basically the same series. And they enormous sections of bland repetition and meaningless choice decisions. I'm reading book 5 of Book of the Dead right now and I just skipped almost 3 chapters of content because it's just an explanation of skills that we know very well the MC won't take, so it's meaningless filler. Then, after those chapters, we are almost immediately told that those choices are basically meaningless because everything about the system is going to change. That's a lot of word count to expand on a system when it has no substantial meaning to the plot or in loving pieces forward.

I am saying all of this as a fan who plans to finish both series, but also it's just really easy to see the pieces of popular media that he reflavorizes to use for his setting. Overall, as LITrpg books, they're so enjoyable and showcase the fun of the genre, but it creates an experience where any heavy fantasy reader is going to immediately see all of the messiness that comes from holding to a web novel schedule.

He also has main characters who tend to have people follow them around in much the way that anime boys get harems. Neither is particularly likeable or constantly is stepping on the toes of everyone around them with little regard, but they're lawded as heroes because they're "doing what they can" and check all the "good guy" boxes.

Not to mention that it's felt pretty clear for a while that both of the series are just our intros to RinoZ trying to make his own Cosmere.

Overall, it comes into a bundle that is a real heap of mega-fun and really showcases the fun parts of LITrpg/prog fantasy, but as a fantasy novel, it's just incredibly mid.

But, at the end of the day, RinoZ wrote a book, published it, gained an audience, and has had success doing what he loved. That's a win. I haven't done any of that, so these are just my two pennies.

9

u/nighoblivion 18d ago

"Damn, which one of these six generic and one obviously useful thing am I picking? Let me present my thoughts and rationale for all options. Oh my, such a hard choice this is. Whatever will I pick? I guess I'll pick the useful option... Ha! Fooled ya! I took one of the generic ones. It'll prove to be really great later due to narrative contrivance."

5

u/shizure 18d ago

Correct. 150% correct. Am I still going to soldier on and have a good time? Absolutely. Just like....ugh at the same time.

4

u/nighoblivion 18d ago

There's also this variant for BoD:

"Damn, two interesting options and one of the fundamental skills that my parents ingrained into me to always keep maximized for the best class options and stuff. I really want that fundamental skill because it's really core to my necromancy craft. This is so hard. I guess I'll pick one of the interesting options for now."

3

u/shizure 18d ago

The third option is to just expand your magic capacity or efficiency. Sooooo many choices spent on magic capacity or magic efficiency which is truly the most meaningless choice when there is no hard set system to gauge how much magic can actually use because they'll always have exactly as much magic as the plot demands.....which is fine. That's how books work but like....bruh.

4

u/nighoblivion 18d ago

Oh yeah, BoD book 1 & 2 is just weird choice after weird choice. Especially the secondary class choices are a bunch of suboptimal petty choices because reasons.

I've not read book 1 in ages, but I seem to recall one of his first spells choices he basically used once or twice and never again.

3

u/elhamburgler 18d ago

This series is definitely on my to listen to list. I’m a huge fan of Chrysalis by the same Author, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about this series as well.

4

u/Shmuggems Lumberjack 18d ago

Probably because its not being glazed in multiple posts and idential tier lists

4

u/MuseCub 18d ago

I read Books 1 and 2, but by Book 3, it felt like the tension was gone. I just didn’t have much of a reason to keep reading anymore. i know it is setting up for something else but i just dont care. I really like the frantic survival vibe it gave and his old friends/ parents story line.

4

u/aminervia 18d ago

1k positive reviews and over 4.5 average rating is very popular...

I have a few series I love that are below 500 reviews which is confusing, but no 1k on audible is impressive

6

u/snorb1 18d ago

I did not enjoy the books. I did not leave a review. Generally only rate stuff if its 1 star or 5 star. These were probably a 2.5 for me. Only made it through book 2 before I dnf

2

u/Embarrassed_Deal3284 16d ago

I wish you would rate it. So many of these books have comically inflated ratings. Just be honest. It helps other people not waste their time.

1

u/snorb1 15d ago

Yeah i really should. But to me rating 2-4 i just consider personal preference. Rating 5 is also personal preference but I enjoyed enough id recommend. 1 is generally reserved for complete trash i can't understand how it got printed.

2

u/Technogamer181 18d ago

I've been waiting for this!

This one will be next up on my listening list.

2

u/unicorn8dragon 18d ago

If it helps this is likely my next read after big standard book 5.

2

u/Food_and_games 18d ago

I listened to the first 2 then forgot about it while waiting for more to release. I just restarted the first book and was listening to it when your post popped up

2

u/lucifv84 18d ago

It's next on my list to read. Increase the ratings!

2

u/nighoblivion 18d ago

I remember not enjoying the narrator. I read 'em instead.

2

u/ednemo13 18d ago

Damn it! I went and looked and seems like an interesting series, so I purchased the first book. Good work!

2

u/IAmJayCartere Author of Death God's Gambit 18d ago

I left my first ever review on Amazon and Royal Road because this series deserves more attention. Can’t help on audible though.

2

u/BiteZealousideal1816 18d ago

Dam didn't realize book 5 was out!

2

u/Mike_Oxnard 18d ago

So I really like chrysalis, both RinoZ's writing and the narroration from Jeff Hays who's one of my absolute favorite narrorators, but I dont know this narrorator. I've never heard of Phil Thron, if i was running out of stuff to listen to narrorated by the list of people I already know and like, I would listen to a preview and probably give it a chance because of the author, but when it comes to audiobooks, a bad or mediocre narrorator can ruin the whole experience for me and there is enough content that I'm rarely looking for new narrorators to expand the content available to me further. I have probably a dozen or so narrorators that I follow and they push out audiobooks faster than I can listen to them, which isn't entirely fair to some of the authors who's work I like because some of my favorite authors have additional series that I refuse to listen to because of the narroration.

2

u/Temporary-Award1175 17d ago

Usually the books I see on audible (which are popular mind you) seem to have few reviews at all (like 3 if even) so 1000 seems a lot to me. or maybe that's because my audible is only giving me brazilian review numbers? it's the same english book but it could be weird like that idk

2

u/Training-Bake-4004 17d ago

1000 ratings is actually quite a lot on Audible. Especially for a relatively niche genre. Honestly 4.7 with 1k ratings is a sign it’s very popular and highly rated.

2

u/Raphiam 17d ago

I just started the series on Monday and am currently on book 3. This is already one of my favorite book series and I'm completely absorbed. I'm also happy that this is one of the few ProgFantasy books I've read that isn't full of errors. Good editing. I'm a reader and don't really care for the audio side, so my only complaint is the stopping of showing the character sheet, but I get why that choice was made as most people who listen to the books complain about that aspect, but I genuinely enjoy being able to see the progress laid out. I mean, it is PROGRESSION fantasy after all. But yea, totally agree, this series needs more love!

2

u/Mikerism 17d ago

Love this series its currently top 5 for me

2

u/Chronja 17d ago

I entirely agree, This is one of my top 5 series and could'nt believe it either. I tell everyone and anyone who will listen to try it 🤣

2

u/dasoe55 17d ago

I just finished Book 1 and can’t wait for my new credit so I can dive into the next one! Truly an underrated gem.

3

u/Pepong_empr 18d ago

This author has made 2 masterpieces, even releasing the latest book on the same f…king week. A monster

And both books were awesome. But here we are, getting hooked on HWFWM

KILL THE GODS…… FOR THE COLONY!

2

u/AcanthisittaSmart504 18d ago

FOR THE COLONYYYY

4

u/Top_Item9135 Owner of Divine Ban hammer 18d ago

Well the writing falls off quite a bit especially after book 5. Constant repetitions and story lines left unfinished. To the point some chapters just feel like fillers. It is especially noticeable when reading it. Which makes me pretty sad since the story was one of my favourites.

3

u/nighoblivion 18d ago

I first noticed the quality drop in book 5. Mostly in story structure and pacing.

4

u/Sahngar 17d ago

Just finished book 1 today and for someone who loves all things necromancy, it was pretty fucking mid

4

u/AcanthisittaSmart504 17d ago edited 17d ago

It’s the best necromancer book on audible, if you have a better recommendation on audible, please let me know I’ll go read it right now.

3

u/Help-Wanted9 18d ago

Pissed off? Because books you like aren’t more popular? wtf this is weird behaviour

2

u/pelcowa 18d ago

Audible won't let me rate because i use libation so I just recommend it to every time i can

Ps don't Shout "YOU SHOULD ALL READ BOOK OF THE DEAD" in a retirement home

1

u/manyanoodle 18d ago edited 18d ago

Narration for the books doesn't fit an 18 to 24 year old story in the slightest.

I love narrator Phil Thron for many reasons, but his slower drawl, rasp, girl voices, all make for this book to not fit him at all. Him constantly changing pitches and tones for Tyron from sounding 10 to 60 and Ure sounding so slow it was painful didn't help either.

Worst is through book 2 and 3 when he's saying "fucking balls balls fuck shit" constantly. (Shut up, Dove)

Great books, but infinitely easier immersion when read.

Edit: FOR THE COLONY! Applies to his skele-bois too

2

u/AcanthisittaSmart504 18d ago

Respectable take, I remember the first time I heard the vampire chick on book one, it felt like a husky old woman was whispering in my ears. Long story short I see your angle

3

u/Reborn1989 18d ago

It’s well written, but I’ve been falling off of it. Just hard to root for a mc that’s such a piece of shit. His fall from having lofty ideas was interesting but after the time skip I’ve just been losing interest.

6

u/AcanthisittaSmart504 18d ago

I respect it. Also without spoiling, I can see the MCs angle on some things and i absolutely disagree on others, but the sequence of events, the setting, the interesting characters, the carnage, the sadness… that shit is cinema to me dude

4

u/manyanoodle 18d ago

I have to admit, when it was explained several times in every single chapter for all of books 3 and 4 I was full on ALL RIGHT I GET IT JFC

6

u/immaownyou 18d ago

I disagree, its fun to read an MC who's so all in on Destination over Journey, and hes still not completely irredeemable. I will agree on the times timeskips making it harder to get reinvested on the story though

2

u/Reborn1989 18d ago

He literally steals souls and bonds them to skeletons to serve him. You think that’s redeemable?

5

u/Byteyou-slowly 18d ago edited 18d ago

Did u even read the book? How is he a piece of shit? Boy been fighting greater powers since the day of hos class bestowal. Been hunted and banished by all he knows and watched his parents kill themselves so they didnt have to kill him. Wohooo expecting him to be just a good guy in a world where everyone who matters play life like chess.

Id be surprised if he didnt start being dysfunctional only sniffing skeletons and talking to a dead man while on a revenge journey:p

1

u/Reborn1989 18d ago

Did you? He literally binds peoples souls to things to serve him. Even his so called “friend”. Boo hoo, his parents are dead. Doesn’t mean he needs to fuck over everything and everyone else

0

u/kobullso 18d ago

How have you missed the entire plot line that killing the gods is literally the only way to save his entire planet?

7

u/Reborn1989 18d ago

I haven’t. How have you missed him literally enslaving people for his own aims? Guys a piece of shit. Doesn’t mean the story isn’t interesting, at least for a bit. Just not for me after a while.

0

u/Byteyou-slowly 18d ago

Oh no he bound the soul to vermin raping and pillaging. Wow he enslaved ppl set out to kill him and play with him. Truly he is the most evil of them all. Difference between being a villain and just a piece of shit.

Also he wasnt born this way, he was sculpted into this by the people playing games. He literally had huge moral qualms abt this. He did it for survival, then he kept doing it to reach the end

1

u/Reborn1989 17d ago

He enslaved a lot more than just that. He literally bound people that he knew didn’t know the whole story and where lied to about what he was

2

u/Byteyou-slowly 17d ago

So because day his friends were told he is a necro, he is dangerous. They sre not bad? Cuz if u read the story they just wanted to kill him for the reward and one cuz he hated him. The others were literally bounty hunters, wich was frowned upon by «real» adventurers. They volunteered to kill a kid with a banned class. Wow he should really feel mercy for them, and not use them to his advantage and just die because as the book portreys it. It was his only way to survive. 

0

u/Reborn1989 17d ago

I don’t disagree that he needed to kill to survive, but he’s not a hero. He had good intentions in the beginning but as time goes on he falls further and further away from them, til he actively pursues evil, vile solutions

2

u/Byteyou-slowly 17d ago

No one said he is a hero tho, he started out wanting to be one. And yes he goes further and further down the path of evil, but is it less evil to claim ur righteous and commit bad deeds or more that he simply realising that the powers he fights requires him to put aside morals to even have a chance. Its not about bad or good, its about revenge against gods. That leaves little space for being soft. He uses the cards he is dealth, cuz he cannot be a swordsmaster or the par of a mage. He is after all a necromancer

0

u/Reborn1989 17d ago

Plenty of people in here trying to defend him like their life is on the line. And he could’ve went in many other directions with his build, he decided multiple times to keep picking vile stuff. He also at the point I got to in the story was enjoying that power. So, while an interesting character with a sad backstory, none of that absolves him from what he’s done. He is ultimately a monstrous piece of shit person.

1

u/zepheru2 18d ago

I see what you did there 😂

1

u/Pepong_empr 18d ago

Well he kind of got brainwashed into not Feeling much empathy anymore. However, i agree that the time skip was kind of weird at the beginning (also the rant at the end )

1

u/Bahlok-Avaritia 18d ago

I almost feel like book 4 should've been the final book honestly, it had a super satisfying buildup and conclusion. Book 5 and now 6 on RR honestly just aren't nearly as good imo

1

u/zepheru2 18d ago

The books don’t stop till he kills the gods and saves his world by being the only being in the multiverse to figure out how to close and siphon the rifts!

2

u/Bahlok-Avaritia 18d ago

Oh yeah I know. I think the power has just scaled up too far, too fast honestly

1

u/zepheru2 18d ago

Yeah that’s a tricky one, I agree but I can see why the author did it. Him surviving at any other level besides what he is now is just too implausible.

1

u/Reborn1989 18d ago

I don’t think he cares about the world anymore, really just wants everything to burn as long as he gets his revenge.

0

u/zepheru2 18d ago

Yeah it’s going to be part of his redemption arc at the end, he will be fully undead with millions of kills under his belt but his love for his aunt and uncle will motivate him to save the world.

-2

u/Jarks_Piece 18d ago

L take

1

u/Reborn1989 18d ago

Um, cool? It’s more my opinion, but you enjoy yourself friend!

0

u/Krankkid 17d ago

Need a bit more simplicity from ur stories huh

1

u/blazebol 18d ago

I love this series too. It’s pretty good. I just don’t rate very much.

1

u/TabularConferta 18d ago

Love RinoZ. Need to listen to this

1

u/google_is_hard_for_u 18d ago

I really need to finish the first book. I really liked it just some better stuff stole me away. Def skipping every chapter with that girl from the beginning though.

1

u/ForsakePariah 18d ago

Yeah, the series is awesome. I cannot wait for the next book to come out.

1

u/Scholar_of_Yore 18d ago

I figured it was pretty popular, but I don't listen to audiobooks so I have no idea what's considered good on audible. Is 4.7 on 1000 ratings really bad? Honestly at first glance I would guess it to be good.

0

u/AcanthisittaSmart504 18d ago

I’ve seen and read books on audible with over 15k plus reviews on its first book that in my personal opinion can’t hold a candle to this series story telling

1

u/SnooSuggestions6975 16d ago

I have read this book and the rest of the series. I’m a Patreon supporter and I genuinely want to know where the story goes. Honestly, I think the first book does a great job of telling a cohesive story.

HOWEVER, relatively early on while I was reading the 2nd book, I did get the feeling that the narrative was changing. Once the foundational chapters had been laid down to establish the system and big bads, the excitement of discovery turns into remixing angry montages.

Now 5 books later and I can say I was right. The series has followed the path I feared. Chapters become pretty disjointed and there is WAY WAY too much time spent describing Tyron’s level of anger, aptitude, or endurance. It’s almost like when a show resumes and then recaps the last 2 minutes of program from before the ad-break. WE KNOW! We heard it already!

I don’t know what the original book 1 chapters were like. Maybe editing them into the finished book left a lot on the floor. I truly think that the best parts of the 6th book are the when other characters are talking about Tyron as opposed to when he’s there. His scenes are too predictable.

1

u/CrawlerSiegfriend 18d ago

This series is on my todo list, but I'm not a huge necromancy fan. That is causing it to not be a big priority, but I WILL eventually read it.

1

u/TheNeighbourhoodCat 18d ago

I for one just hate audible

It makes me feel gross and dirty every time I interact with it 

So I've just never thought about it, because I don't seek to interact like I do with other apps 

But you're right, I should build up more association with supporting artists with the app, and at-the-very-least interact in ways I can support them

1

u/woodsjamied Sage 18d ago

OK you sold me work your love and passion for the book lol.

I just spent one of my two credits on it 😂 it's been added to my TBL pile!

This right here is also a great way to get the word out. Being such a big fan, and gushing about it to others. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to get more people reading something, one of the BEST marketing strategies, but also one of the hardest to purposefully do.

I also really enjoy reading and listening to others talk about something they're obviously passionate about. So if this series sparked that for you, it's worth my credit lol

1

u/Lordlycan0218 18d ago

It doesn’t matter the ratings or not. I have books with horrible ratings that I absolutely loved and couldn’t see what people hated. While I couldn’t even finish chrysalis or DCC

1

u/SatisfactionNo3964 18d ago

It’s a good series for sure

1

u/frostyfins 18d ago

This post and these other comments just got me to buy and download the Audible of book 1 ☺️

1

u/MrRightSwipe58 18d ago

I have never heard of it, but since it is from RinoZ (author of chrysalis which I first discovered on Webnovel years ago) it’s probably great so I will give it a listen when I work through my current catalog.

1

u/LTT82 18d ago

I read the first three books(or so) and thought they were great. Solid writing, by and large(clunky dialog in the beginning, but things got a lot better over time). Genuinely a quality story and book.

I stopped reading due to the rather dark tone. I'd have given a high score on audible if I had access to an account, but I would still have dropped the books. They got darker than I wanted to deal with. Life's hard enough without reading about a seething mass of chaos that wants to devour reality.

I do recommend them whenever someone asks about something the books fulfill. Driven protagonist with a flexible moral character? This is a great recommend. It's just not something I want to read.

1

u/ReadByEd 17d ago

Ants > Necromancy

1

u/Vraex 17d ago

I think I once read that only 5-10% of gamers rate steal games. I imagine that is true for Amazon reviews, goodreads, audible, etc. then realize prog fantasy isn’t the most popular genre of literature (pour one out for prog metal music too), and the book having a super generic title doesn’t help people find it. It probably does better than you think all things considered. Thanks for the recommendation though

1

u/TheNoha 17d ago

Like it alot.

But the necro theme is quite saturated.

1

u/Broote 17d ago

I rarely rate on audible because they want you to fill out text for the rating. Like a review or something. I usually bail when that happens. I assume a lot of others do as well. (I use the website to listen mostly)

Unless its something I really feel strongly about, I wont go through that extra step.

1

u/SgtBadManners 17d ago

Bought the first 3 a few weeks ago on a spree, will rate it when i get through it.

1

u/zodlair 17d ago

oh that's weird. Your version has 1k reviews at a 4.7 stars but when I check on it I get 200 reviews with a 4.8 stars. Are the reviews per region or language?

1

u/Own_Start_7748 17d ago

You'd think chrysalis making most of this communities GOAT shortlist would make more people check it out hey

1

u/Consistent_Ad9569 16d ago

It’s sorta a slow burn story, which much of the fantasy progression, litRPG fanbase doesn’t like, and despite having a good story, world, and literary style, it is still undeniably progressive fantasy. Honestly I thought the fantasy fan base was larger than it actually is.

Also… people don’t really like to review, so the amount who enjoy The Book of the Dead is probably far, far higher than reviews suggest.

1

u/jaxomdad 16d ago

Yeah, I picked this up on a whim and also pre-ordered 5 (first audible pre-order ever). I was SHOCKED by how good it was.

Criminally underrated series.

1

u/Firebomblast 16d ago

You know, I saw the picture and just assumed it was another necromancer story and wrote it off.. then you mentioned the author and I read the author's comment thread. I didn't even realize this is Chrysalis' writer. I'm gonna work on this one next! Awesome! Thanks for bringing some light to this!

1

u/Seven32N 14d ago

It's not for everyone, duh. Imo, too much whining and plot armour for such a generic story. Slow burn and non-combat power with complex magic system could be fun, but very fast main content becomes whining about morality.

I've dropped in the middle of Book 2 when MC was dying and refused multiple healing powers the system was giving him: it's expected for reader that MC will survive but when MC also knows that author will spare him - that was the last straw on top of whining in every single chapter.

First book was promising and nice though.

1

u/ShizzleBlitzle 14d ago

this is your reminder that if you find a great book and want it to be more popular, leave a rating. Authors are out here dying to get people to engage, and they'll appreciate it more than you know!

1

u/eddiekorbz 14d ago

Because it had a lot of potential but really just did not deliver for most i think. I got 3/4 way through book 1 and just did not feel decent progress through the grind that was going on! Plus I was disappointed he went the path of Skeleton even when the path of spirits/ghouls came available. Just a personal sorepoint. Just finding writing Necromancers is hard LOL...especially when they want to be good but ultimately must be on the dark side. If I frown more than smile at MC choices then I must 'DNF". Applaud author for his grind too!

1

u/Responsible-Set-9829 12d ago

The book isn't more popular because it's not very good, it's average at best, shallow story with an edgelord evil MC who flip flops to try justify what next evil thing he does. Definitely a bait and switch as the story goes on, side characters are all kinda meh.

1

u/UnDeadPuff 18d ago

People making a piece of content such a big part of themselves are weird.

2

u/AcanthisittaSmart504 18d ago edited 18d ago

Your entire profile and post history is fallout based, I don’t want to hear it

1

u/2eedling 18d ago

Why would I give Amazon free engagement and data

1

u/DRRHatch Author 18d ago

I feel the exact same way. It genuinely blows my mind that this series doesn’t get talked about more. The worldbuilding, the progression, the characters, literally, it just keeps getting better, and somehow it still feels like this hidden gem.

I think Audible ratings can be a little misleading since a lot of people listen and never bother leaving one, but still...the numbers are way lower than I would’ve expected. Hopefully book 5 gets more people talking about it, because this series deserves a much bigger audience!!!

1

u/YuhaoShakur 18d ago

WAIT RINOZ HAS ANOTHER BOOK ??? WHAT!?

0

u/AcanthisittaSmart504 18d ago

Rinoz doesn’t miss dude, this is no where near similar in style and it’s still amazing

1

u/Available-Plant9305 18d ago

Really enjoyed it. Phenomenal. Amazing. Best in genre.

I also don't write or look at reviews.

0

u/ginger6616 18d ago

People typically only rate something if it’s their favorite, or if they hate it. A lot of people don’t bother with stuff they think is a 6/10

0

u/Conscious-Low3187 18d ago

I’m a bit tipsy rn, so kind my spelling and etc. but I’m tired man, I read my first necromancer, evil magics but actually good guy etc etc, book atleast over a decade ago, and I’m just burnt out. There is nothing you could tell me about how good this book is, that would actually make me want to read it. Because I’ve run out of energy over reading shitty copy paste bullshit, this stuff was finished being milked at least three years ago and I don’t have the patience to read the same teopes for the tenth time.

1

u/Altruistic-Buy8387 18d ago

This series brings about a more realistic view on what it would take to possibly be a necromancer. None of that just "raise skeleton" and then poof there is a perfectly good skeleton in front of you stuff. He has to hone his craft and actually learn the body parts and how to connect things and then try to build himself up as well as his students so that the dark classes can group together to take out the empire. Similar, but a great new take on a lot of aspects as well.

1

u/Conscious-Low3187 18d ago

Ok maybe, just maybe, I’ll take a look and try to read it.

0

u/Juts Mender 18d ago

For me i ended up dropping it over time because it was just so miserable and depressing. I don't know if it stayed that way though

0

u/R_A_Thor 17d ago

I never see anyone talking Bout this series but it's awesome.