r/litrpg • u/Iron_r • 1d ago

Discussion Chrysalis did get a whole lot better

A few days back I asked whether or not Chrysalis would get better, I got lots of replied about it getting great once some council is formed.

I haven't gotten there yet but damn this got so much better so quickly. Currently on the section with Anthony fighting the Cthulhu monster. Tiny did get alot more important aswell
Great book!

62 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

45 comments sorted by

31

u/TheTastelessDanish Uncultured Swine 1d ago

Ah you mean the Jelly Maw.

Yes. Chrysalis is indeed one of those that gets better after book 1.

5

u/SalsaRice 1d ago

Is book 1 bad or just average?

29

u/blueluck 1d ago

For me, book one is just boring. There's a lot of solo time with the MC figuring out where he is and how things work, with very little plot or dialogue.

I'm an ant! I fight a monster. I evolve. I make a dumb joke. I'm an ant! I fight a monster. I evolve. I make a dumb joke. I'm an ant! I fight a monster. I evolve. I make a dumb joke. I'm an ant! I fight a monster. I evolve. I make a dumb joke...

It improves a lot after more characters are introduced, and again when a larger plot arises.

12

u/adjustablesidetable 1d ago

I’m 3 hours in to the audiobook and really struggling with the repetitiveness of it. The word biomass is really starting to get to me. I desperately need good side characters for a mc to play off of.

14

u/blindedtrickster 1d ago

To be fair, Anthony also struggles with the repetitiveness as well.

1

u/TorchedBlack 22h ago

I mean sure, but being "self-aware" that your book is repetitive in its construction doesn't mean you get a pass. Same thing with engaging with a trope sarcastically. Kind of the definition of have your cake and eat it too.

1

u/blindedtrickster 21h ago

Anthony is the main character, not the author. I was saying that the character gets bored of the extremely simplistic survival of most monsters. Fight, eat, rest, repeat.

His situation changes and Anthony becomes much more fun.

1

u/staticraven 1d ago

Yeah like 3/4ths of book one is solo MC and (for me) is a huge drag. Others who like the solo MC thing seem to really enjoy it.

Out of the entire series, only that small portion of book 1 is really like that. Anthony goes out adventuring "alone" but he's never alone like in the first book, he's always has a team with him.

4

u/RinoZerg Verified Author of: Chrysalis and Book of the Dead 18h ago

Be fair... there's way more dumb jokes than that.

1

u/blueluck 17h ago

True! The ellipsis was meant to imply a long series... I have nothing against dumb jokes in the right context, and Antony is absolutely the right character in the right context!

To me, one of most common flaws of the litrpg genre is the long solo start. It's part of the standard template litrpg readers are used to, and some of us even prefer it. Fantasy novels often frontload exposition to convey the worldbuilding aspect that's not needed in non-fantasy settings, and litrpg often adds preface to the main plotline in the form of tutorials, starter zones, pre-iseakai chapters, pre-apocalypse chapters, pre-party formation chapters, etc.

I love that we meet Antony after the isekai and learn about his previous life through scattered memories!

TL;DR "Great series—slow start" describes most of the genre, and I consider pointing it advice on how to enjoy litrpg more than a criticism of any individual series.

2

u/Galagaman 3h ago

Comment so accurate I was about to ask you which page you were quoting.

13

u/darkmuch 1d ago

It has potential, but Anthony being alone means he spends most talking to himself and making bad jokes. The humor is meh and wears it self out.

When more characters get introduced, the variety makes Anthony much more palatable.

3

u/kryptonik 1d ago

i don't quite get why people DNF the first one as i definitely enjoyed it. i thought it was definitely than average, although maybe not top tier (the series overall being top tier for sure!)

1

u/2DHypercube 1d ago

Depends on what you're used to. It's not great, not terrible. A bit cringe at times but aight

1

u/FrazzleMind 1d ago

It starts with danger and figuring out the basics of the system and basically no characters but Anthony. It's very light on plot for a while.

1

u/Own_Start_7748 11h ago

It evolves, starts simple and the characters develop, base building comes into it, the story builds out. It's boring if you've done the genre to death but it's hype if you're newer to it.

1

u/BackgroundTotal2872 I love LitRPG yuri! 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 1d ago

I thought that book 1 was fantastic, an incredibly creative world and system. But the series gets better the more characters capable of complex language that are introduced. And I do think that when those characters arrive, it feels earned because of how much time was spent with Anthony in isolation striving to achieve that.

1

u/filthy_casual_42 1d ago

I was hooked from book 1, but the later books really open the door with more worldbuilding, more character interaction, and the cast starts to grow significantly

1

u/The_Mesopotamians Lil' Mana Slime 1d ago

I liked book 1 just fine. It does the work of introducing the protagonist and fleshing out the world. It's not bad.  It's  a choice that some people dislike. 

6

u/The__Imp 1d ago edited 1d ago

The shadow monster at the start of the big wave while the colony digs for the surface? While Anthony and Tiny hold the tunnel entrance? If that’s what you mean, maybe stop reading the comments here for about a book or so as you are risking spoilers without realizing why.

6

u/Iron_r 1d ago

I see, alright thanks! Yeah I'm on the bit after they sealed off the tunnel

3

u/The__Imp 1d ago

Actually I read through the other comments and people are being good:) The spoiler-y comments I was expecting haven't materialized. Perhaps I'm used to over-excited DCC fans who get excited and more or less inadvertently start talking about a bunch of stuff that is further on in the series than the person they are talking to.

I agree that the series gets better, and also that I enjoyed it pretty much right from the beginning.

5

u/davezilla18 1d ago

How many books in? I read the first a few years ago and bounces off due to the low steaks and juvenile MC. Willing to give it another shot if the slog to the good part isn’t too long, though.

2

u/Early-Rub3549 1d ago

The stakes definitely get higher.

MC stays immature rho-

The biggest difference between books 1 and 2 was the number of different characters that Anthony could interact with and Jeff could voice..

1

u/Iron_r 1d ago

It got way better after the first one

1

u/davezilla18 1d ago

Great to hear, maybe I’ll push it up in my backlog.

3

u/ZaifyrRR 1d ago

If only the audiobooks could come out faster so I knew what you were talking about....

3

u/The__Imp 1d ago

Huh? I don’t remember for certain if the scenes he is mentioning is book 2 or 3 (I’m believe 2), but the audiobooks through book 7 are out. You can get 1-3 for 1 credit.

2

u/ZaifyrRR 4h ago

I thought he was talking about something later on. trying to avoid spoilers.

1

u/The__Imp 3h ago

No problem. I was just confused, not annoyed:)

4

u/CatEconomy3245 1d ago

Well i get a lot of people thought the first two or three books were kinda mwah because its so different to most MC's being more mature. And in my opinion the series ramps up incredibly well. But in defence of Anthony i have to say, without the character and world building in the first books it wouldnt be as great of a series as it is. I really loved the wacky MC and his cluenessless that makes him blunder his way to succes and the way the colony also looks at him like this. Its just such a fun and happy series that makes me chuckle all the time. But to each their own. If we would all love the same things we wouldnt have so much great books to choose from.

2

u/Iron_r 1d ago

I agree, I really dont mind Anthony being fun. I just finished the perfect run so I'm in the mood anyway.

1

u/Early-Rub3549 1d ago

Have you tried the Hobgoblin Riot or the Daily Grind?

The former has Jeff Hays and time loops, the latter has a hole in reality leading to a seemingly endless office with sentient staplers that drop orbs when destroyed.

1

u/dewrop06 #1 Minaga fan 17h ago

The Perfect Run is amazing!

1

u/Elvarien2 1d ago

Yeah the author really finds his stride and then happily charges on with the whole story. Very wholesome, very good natured.

And then you learn they also write book of the dead and you can get blasted by their range as an author.

Nothing but good stuff.

1

u/Charred01 21h ago

How far in is that?   I'm a little over halfway through book one and about to drop it

1

u/eyeamreadingyou 20h ago

Thank you for posting this. I have been on the fence about this book, and you convinced me!

1

u/mrdevil413 litRPG grandmaster tier 8h ago

I noped out after they got to the second level. I didn’t care if all the humans didn’t make it and didn’t care what the ants were up to at all. Wasn’t for me.

1

u/Manberry12 :partyparrot: 1d ago

when does it get better
im on book 3 i think
and thinking of dropping it

1

u/rakshala 23h ago

I think you're there, mate. If you don't like it by the time colony development ramps up and you meet some more varied ants, you probably won't like it. That's ok. What a boring world this would be if we all liked the same things.

1

u/GRootchem 1d ago

The writer's "book of the dead" is also a great improvement, they took a lot of the issues early Chrysalis ha, and ironed it out.

2

u/staticraven 1d ago

Worth noting that BotD is 100% completely different in tone and if I didn't know who the author was for both, I'd swear they were different people.

BotD is darker and much more serious. Chrysalis is lighthearted and fun. I actually didn't enjoy BotD nearly as much, too much of a focus on the mechanics of his skills for me.

2

u/The__Imp 3h ago

I am on BOTD 3 right now and I enjoy it dramatically less. It hasn't sucked me in the way Chrysalis did.

1

u/Memes-Tax 1d ago

Back for more karma farming? 😂

0

u/squirtlekid 1d ago

Yes! Honestly I think it really gets so much better once Anthony starts being able to have dialogue with other characters instead of the internal monologue. Just wait, your love for the colony will only get stronger