Author of LitRPG, Gamelit, Sci-Fi, Progression Fantasy & Historical Fiction Books.
Author of LitRPG, Fantasy, Coming of Age, Sci-Fi, Murder Mystery & Historical Fiction Books.
The Fusionist
9/10
Jonathan Brooks
LitRPG, Gamelit, Progression, Fantasy, Magic
The Story
A young man and his axe, along with a magical life he never asked for....
Larek Holsten is different from most people living in the Kingdom of Androthe, where his seven-foot-tall frame is looked at with suspicion and anger from its shorter residents; but as long as it helps him become the best Logger he can be, he doesn’t let it bother him all that much. He and his best friend, an axe with a powerful Fusion that causes it to become sharper and stronger than a normal tool, are feared by the trees in the magical forest north of his home, as he can fell the quickly growing monoliths faster than anyone else in the community.
Unfortunately, after visiting the local village, a deliberate misunderstanding lands Larek in trouble; as a result, he is taken away from his family and the only home he has ever known. Along the way, his dormant magical potential is discovered by those more knowledgeable than him, and he is ordered to attend some sort of academy for Mages.
The problem? Contrary to many who might jump at the chance of wielding powerful magic to fight the monsters that threaten the towns and cities around the Kingdom, Larek has absolutely no desire to become a Mage, especially when he has no choice in the matter. All he wants is to be allowed to return home to his family and to chop down the trees in the Rushwood Forest.
But once he discovers a unique talent that stems from his newly unlocked latent power, he might just have to stick around to see what he can do....
This weak-to-strong MC story contains LitRPG elements such as character progression and statistics, as well as a heavy crafting emphasis. No explicit sexual content or harems.
My Review
It’s clear to me that Mr. Brooks writes in a way (and a genre) that I enjoy. It’s also clear that Miles Meili is a narrator that I can listen to over and over.
But this book offered something different from the usual dungeon core fun that the author is well known for, and very talented at.
This is a LitRPG… with stats!
Larek is a big lumberjack, though finds himself on the end of some rotten luck and is whisked away to a magical academy (best trope ever). While there he discovers that he has the ability to create fusions (essentially enchantments).
Enchantments are the name of the game for this book and are detailed exactly how you would want them to be - in depth.
The enchanting system is a multipart process depending on multiple skills and stats, and it’s very nice to see that it isn’t just a ‘you get the skill and you can do it’ kind of thing. It’s very clear that the author’s previous genre focus has lent itself very well to this kind of system, because it is detailed, in depth and makes a lot of sense.
Larek is very OP, though it’s balanced by the fact that he’s OP at making fusions, but not much else. He’s big and strong, but generally the enemies we see are better fought with magic and by spellcasters - which he isn’t (this isn’t always the case).
I found myself wanting more and more as the book went on and there was less and less to come - which is exactly how it should be!
I’m really looking forward to book 2 in this series, a great transition from Dungeon Core to LitRPG from Jonathan Brooks!