Shadeslinger: The Ripple System, Book 1 (A Fantasy LitRPG Series)

**Shadeslinger** is the first LitRPG novel I've read. The blurb for this book makes it sound like it’ll be all about PVP, but there’s no actual PVP in it; I expect subsequent books will be centered on PVP, however. I found the story and the characters engaging, especially the AI characters. The AI “guide” to the game, a talking axe named Frank, has the strongest character arc in the book. Because the story takes place entirely inside an MMO, the worst possible outcome is always along the lines of “the protagonist might lose his in-game progress and perhaps become so dispirited with the game that he quits playing.” The author does a great job of selling these stakes as meaningful, and that suffering major in-game setbacks would be harrowing. In fact, for me, he did too good a job of selling it. I began the book on April 6, read the first third in a few days, but didn’t finish it until last night, April 23. Much of that slowdown was “the story went from ‘fun romp’ to ‘nerve-wracking because of the obstacles in place.’” This is an observation about my reading habits, not a criticism of the book. I have a few actual quibbles with the book -- a few times where the protagonist took so long to figure something out that I wanted to shake him, and one case where there was a glaringly obvious “why don’t you do [thing]” and no one even mentions the possibility of [thing] and I was just like “if you are not going to use this Chekov’s gun to shoot anyone would you AT LEAST tell people you have no bullets or something???” But overall, it’s a great book. Lots of learning a new game and figuring out how to best apply one’s abilities in it, and with interesting combat setups where the AI has unexpected tricks to use and the players need to improvise counters to them on the fly. Plus the joy of finding phat lewt and watching one’s powers advance. I tended to skim over the character-sheet dumps and other stat blocks, but it didn’t hamper my enjoyment and it’s there for the people who like it. Also, while this is prominently marketed as "BOOK ONE", it ends on a satisfying note, with a solid climax and some significant plot points resolved. There's plenty of room for sequels, but it doesn't feel like a cliffhanger ending. If you like the LitRPG genre, or are interested in trying it, I’d recommend this book.

Shadeslinger is entertaining from start to finish. Solid writing, enjoyable characters, fun action, an interesting world, and a good story that takes a few twists and turns to keep things interesting along the way. The authors debut novel, it most certainly does not read that way and I cannot wait to see where their work goes from here. Solid character development throughout, I was especially happy to see the 'sassy companion' trope well done here when it so often is done poorly. Action is good, fight scenes are easy to follow and interesting. Fun, slightly out of the norm race/ class choices though i will say I would have liked to see the change in play style from the class evolution a bit more. Maybe a bit more highlighting the feel, sounds, and visuals of the new casting implements in use would have been good? System seems well done, the 'find out by trying stuff' approach seems like it might not fly in a real game where folks like to plan out builds and strategies. Plus wikis popping up would pretty quickly let the cat out of the bag there. It does however make for a good system in a novel where the reader can learn along with the players and have the periodic reveals to enjoy. The only other real quibble I have is it felt odd to see 'spiked' used for sudden drops in health as well as rises. A very minor thing and it could just be me. Most definitely recommend giving Shadeslinger a read and keeping an eye put for future works from Kirrin!

I read reviews deriding this book's MC before purchasing, and I'm glad I ignored them. It's true that the MC, Ned, seems to emulate the 'poor little rich boy' concept with a dash of business incompetence. But anyone who read the full story would learn that Ned's horrible father negatively effected his life and despite that, he was a great businessman who intentionally allowed his father's business to fail. Besides Ned's father, the only terrible rich guy is Earthblood Online CEO Kline; whose lack of integrity is evident from his first introduction. Despite the head-start period, Ned still has the game world stacked against him. But he manages to persevere and even flourish using his own determination and some help from allies. Earthblood Online having massive world-altering changes created by the players is a great concept. However it does lead to the issue that later players will miss out on content because of the Ripple System, which is exemplified in this book. Furthermore, the ranking system for renown seems off, as if the points needed to rank up are different for each player. The humor of the story is fairly natural without having to rely upon the LitRPG staple of overused memes and pop culture references. Frank the Axe was extremely grating to me, but he got better as the story progressed. Overall, the story is a well written, above average LitRPG novel with likeable characters. I look forward to future books in the series.

First about 10% of the way through the book was odd but there was bits and pieces that kept you going. But the rest of the book extremely good. Loved it thank you!!!

...likely due to the lack of light(n)ing. Fantastic book. I was skeptical for the first 100 pages or so that this was a dupe on what Seth Ring had created, and I guess you could argue there are a lot of similarities, but the litRPG systems in place and the story are quite fun. By about halfway through the book, I couldn't put it down. Stoked to see what the Funktastic Frank has to offer in book 2!

This is probably my favorite novel and it makes me a little crazy to know the author doesn’t advertise the books very much. This whole series is SO well written, the characters are so lovable. Even the nepo-baby you think you’re going to hate at the beginning! Plus, the character development through the book series may be some of my absolute favorite in any books I’ve read. I can gush about this book and the whole series for hours

So far this is already one of my favorites from Portal Books, maybe it will even be my flat out favorite in another book or two. To start, the class and character creation systems were pretty fun, kinda hope the author will maybe write something on the side that shows us the full list of starting race and class combos, if only because it'd be awesome for people like me who enjoy daydreaming about if we were playing the game. Plus while yes, MC with a dark magic class is getting kinda overdone in LitRPG Ned's adventurers have still been fun to read. And Frank? I both love him and want to hold him to a grindstone until he goes from an axe to a cudgel then turn him into a wand. Eager to see how things turn out with the other characters as time goes on too, like House and Darling. Part of me feels like one could end up a love interest for Ned, and I know that'd be cliche but could still turn out fun. And most importantly though? The author surprised me in the. Very. First. Chapter. And that never happens. Usually everything seems so predictable for me, even if it is still enjoyable, with maybe one or two big shockers per book if I'm lucky. Takes away some of the fun. But this was a very intense exception, and I can't wait for the next book.

I would recomment starting with the second book (which I rated 5 stars). Then read the first book if you want more background info. The first book is more of a 3.75 for me. The beginning is rather slow and seems to go into too much detail about the reasons for why he has to do what he does. A LOT of foundational work and little action. This actually becomes the basis for the rest of the series, but I almost didn't read the entire book because of not having much action. Once Darling is introduced, the book begins to pick up and the last 25% had more action. The ending was strong enough for me to get the next book. Glad I did!

So I was hesitant at first about this book. The premise did not immediately sell me and the first few pages neither did Ned. But oh boy was I wrong. This book is an outstanding example of what LITRPG can be. With a real focus of how it feels to be a player in a big game and take part in raids. A high point is actually the raid mechanics very detailed and interesting. Now in terms of plot it's got twists it's got turns its got a main character who does make mistakes and isn't perfect. It's also got Frank and Frank is great. Be more like Frank. I actually laughed out loud at several points one of the interesting part of the characters on this is,several are based on ai's yet somehow they were some of the most Human. Even if game mechanic and LITRPGS are not your thing I would still recommend it! And if it is then what are you waiting for. Buy this now. Tell your friends so they can buy this now.

Great book from this new author! Funny, captivating characters that have you laughing out loud and slapping your forehead. Easy to read, amazingly well written and edited, great story flow. Can't wait for the next book to see what Frank and Ned get up to, and see how poor House develops.. Hard to put down.

Whats to say? It's litrpg with a solid foundation. Dark gunslinger class was a nice touch, really hope the whiny ceo is used less. Less is more!

Frankly for a new author this book was a great read, funny, great plot line and character building. Looking forward to the next installment

This is by far the best LitRPG I've read in 2021. Literally my only gripe with this is it's the authors debut novel, and the sequel isn't available to read yet. Let's look at the things the author gets right: - The EXP and stat system actually make sense, yet he doesn't waste pages of exposition where the MC wanks about fretting about min maxing - The MC is human and fallible. He isn't OP, isn't a terrible person. He has some crazy advantages in life, but also the penalties those advantages come with. - There is actual dialogue with personality! The characters are actually entertaining, unlike other litrpg attempts at being funny where it's obvious that all characters are just identical reflections of the author's personal sense of humor. I snickered out loud at one point, which is a first for me for LitRPG. - Actually uses game mechanics. Most LitRPG authors seem to be primarily D&Derers, and their dramas are mostly resolved by "brilliant" loophole exploitation which honestly tends to be pretty stupid. Kyle obviously played MMOs competitively, because he knows no matter how smart you think you are theres always someone smarter - and no individual holds a candle to collective teamwork. +10 bonus points for writing a LitRPG debut without the MC swanking about feeling smug about what a cheat he is.