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The Primal Hunter #4
The Primal Hunter 4
Now in D-grade, Jake prepares to face even stronger foes: poo-flinging monkeys, even bigger mushrooms, and the most dreaded of all: politics…
The first World Congress approaches, allowing all the forces on Earth to finally meet, reuniting friends and enemies alike. Of course, to Jake, this World Congress is just a good way to finally catch up with old friends as he lets others deal with all the annoying politics, trying to not get involved.
Unless he wants something, that is.
The World Congress reveals more opportunities in the future for Jake and the other denizens of Earth to take part in, making them all begin their own preparations. To make sure Jake is up to the challenge, he must find stronger prey to get those sweet, sweet levels under his belt. Luckily for him, the death of a hated mushroom revealed a prime hunting ground: A Dungeon.
The first World Congress approaches, allowing all the forces on Earth to finally meet, reuniting friends and enemies alike. Of course, to Jake, this World Congress is just a good way to finally catch up with old friends as he lets others deal with all the annoying politics, trying to not get involved.
Unless he wants something, that is.
The World Congress reveals more opportunities in the future for Jake and the other denizens of Earth to take part in, making them all begin their own preparations. To make sure Jake is up to the challenge, he must find stronger prey to get those sweet, sweet levels under his belt. Luckily for him, the death of a hated mushroom revealed a prime hunting ground: A Dungeon.
806 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 176 reviews
December 8, 2022
This is a bit bland.
With the World Congress about to happen, I expected more politics and character interaction. Instead, this was just more of the same. Nothing bad about it, but also nothing even remotely new. It is a fine installment, clearly a set up for the next book, but lacks anything enthralling the reader.
With the World Congress about to happen, I expected more politics and character interaction. Instead, this was just more of the same. Nothing bad about it, but also nothing even remotely new. It is a fine installment, clearly a set up for the next book, but lacks anything enthralling the reader.
December 10, 2022
This was a pretty slow-paced story so I'm surprised I enjoyed it so much... particularly as Jake now seems so overpowered as to run no risks. There's a slow sense of something building. What it's building toward I can't say, but I want to find out.
December 8, 2022
more of the good stuff
Someone else commented on how this seems like a filler book. I disagree.
This story was written in serial format. Therefore, it does not correctly fit in a novel format. It is true that there is no singular event acting as a corner stone in this part of the narrative. But there are several smaller events that are important to the MC’s progression. It is a function of having such a large story.
Next time, the loot! And, the fight against the Sword Saint!!
Someone else commented on how this seems like a filler book. I disagree.
This story was written in serial format. Therefore, it does not correctly fit in a novel format. It is true that there is no singular event acting as a corner stone in this part of the narrative. But there are several smaller events that are important to the MC’s progression. It is a function of having such a large story.
Next time, the loot! And, the fight against the Sword Saint!!
December 8, 2022
Another Epic book in my absolute favorite LITRPG series
Be ready people because there are going to be monkey business going on in this book. The fights are amazing as always and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Jake is forced to grow more as a person in this book and I really love it.
The Viper is doing his awesome shenanigan's as usual, his and Jakes relationship is steadily deepening as they really are like BFF's that loves messing with one another.
There is a lot going on in this book a lot more politics. But unlike politics in most books like this I felt that it was more relaxed and way more interesting.
It is interesting to see how Haven is developing really nice that we get a closer look at things.
Idk if this should be put as a spoiler or not?! Since anyone that is reading the series would know this, but I'll tag it just incase.
Here comes the real spoiler that only people that have read or don't care should read.
Be ready people because there are going to be monkey business going on in this book. The fights are amazing as always and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Jake is forced to grow more as a person in this book and I really love it.
The Viper is doing his awesome shenanigan's as usual, his and Jakes relationship is steadily deepening as they really are like BFF's that loves messing with one another.
There is a lot going on in this book a lot more politics. But unlike politics in most books like this I felt that it was more relaxed and way more interesting.
It is interesting to see how Haven is developing really nice that we get a closer look at things.
Idk if this should be put as a spoiler or not?! Since anyone that is reading the series would know this, but I'll tag it just incase.
Here comes the real spoiler that only people that have read or don't care should read.
May 8, 2023
I need the next book released now 🤣 I hate it when I’m so into the book that I don’t realize I’ve come to the end and I’m especially invested in what’s happening at that moment and the book is over. Not saying that this is a short book by any means, it’s just one of my favorite series and I can get lost in it. There are definitely times throughout the book that I feel go on a bit longer than needed, but it is still well worth the listen, as the characters are interesting and well thought out, while having their own small arcs, they all connect back in the main one, and keep you enthralled in the story.
December 12, 2022
Now we're in book four following up what I thought was an excellent book three.
The first half of the book is a mishmash of activities that simply aren't worth repeating. I kept waiting for the book to grab me, but it didn't. Not until Jake takes a stab at the dungeon in his city of Haven. Only then did I feel like things were back on track.
After the lackluster first half, things do pick up. We have the dungeon, followed by the first human get together of city leaders. After that things continue to improve as Jake does what Jakes does best. Kill things.
I wanted to like this book, but I couldn't which is unfortunate. It's not a terrible book and the second half redeems the first half quite nicely. Jake is as hard to read in public settings as he's always been, enigmatic and hard to approach.
Anyway, I still have high hopes for book five coming out next year. I've given up on Defiance of the Fall and He Who Fights Monsters for the same reasons I disliked the first half of this book: a bunch of nonsense that doesn't go anywhere.
4/5*
The first half of the book is a mishmash of activities that simply aren't worth repeating. I kept waiting for the book to grab me, but it didn't. Not until Jake takes a stab at the dungeon in his city of Haven. Only then did I feel like things were back on track.
After the lackluster first half, things do pick up. We have the dungeon, followed by the first human get together of city leaders. After that things continue to improve as Jake does what Jakes does best. Kill things.
I wanted to like this book, but I couldn't which is unfortunate. It's not a terrible book and the second half redeems the first half quite nicely. Jake is as hard to read in public settings as he's always been, enigmatic and hard to approach.
Anyway, I still have high hopes for book five coming out next year. I've given up on Defiance of the Fall and He Who Fights Monsters for the same reasons I disliked the first half of this book: a bunch of nonsense that doesn't go anywhere.
4/5*
March 20, 2023
Book four
So after four books I have come to the conclusion that the MC is not a hunter, he is just a killer.
The author says that most of the bodies are ruined from the poison. This is just lazy writing and an excuse.
Having magic and control over poison should mean that the MC can extract the poison from the bodies.
However he doesn't even do anything with the bodies that he killed with his gaze. He is wasteful of what he kills and this is in no way how a true hunter is.
Skipped pages of alchemy again. The author goes into such depth that it gets boring for me.
5/10 The MC is more of a powerful alchemists then he is a hunter.
So after four books I have come to the conclusion that the MC is not a hunter, he is just a killer.
The author says that most of the bodies are ruined from the poison. This is just lazy writing and an excuse.
Having magic and control over poison should mean that the MC can extract the poison from the bodies.
However he doesn't even do anything with the bodies that he killed with his gaze. He is wasteful of what he kills and this is in no way how a true hunter is.
Skipped pages of alchemy again. The author goes into such depth that it gets boring for me.
5/10 The MC is more of a powerful alchemists then he is a hunter.
May 23, 2024
I'm enjoying the city politics and all the characters besides Jake a lot. Honestly, Jake's hunts I more or less speed read them because he's just hunting for the stats, and that's not that interesting to me. Fighting for fighting's sake.
I am looking forward to his fight with the Sword Saint in the next book though!
I am looking forward to his fight with the Sword Saint in the next book though!
December 13, 2022
I really like this series. The main character is also pretty badass.
February 6, 2024
I will continue to read the series, but might take a break. Author gets into chapters long descriptions of beating one boss monster. Definitely too long-winded for me in these parts.
Read
December 17, 2022This book is all about the grind. There's nothing wrong with that except that it doesn't get to the thing the entire book hints about. Instead most of the book is grinding.
If I had gone right into this book from the last it would have been too much (rather not enough plot) but since there was a break between books it wasn't a deal breaker for me.
The discussion about slavery....were definitely a thing in here so really don't read if that'll piss you off. The take is not a good one. Keeping in character but not good.
If I had gone right into this book from the last it would have been too much (rather not enough plot) but since there was a break between books it wasn't a deal breaker for me.
The discussion about slavery....were definitely a thing in here so really don't read if that'll piss you off. The take is not a good one. Keeping in character but not good.
August 29, 2023
Excellent read!
Another great book in a great series. The progression is solid without dragging theres enough humor to lighten the pacing without taking away from the atmosphere. Very enjoyable series so far!
Another great book in a great series. The progression is solid without dragging theres enough humor to lighten the pacing without taking away from the atmosphere. Very enjoyable series so far!
February 27, 2023
Recap for when the next one comes out. Spoilers.
Sylvie is blessed by the bird god. She and Jake enter a soul contract to be besties. Treasure hunt is about to start.
Sylvie is blessed by the bird god. She and Jake enter a soul contract to be besties. Treasure hunt is about to start.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2023
a bit preachy and slow
Slow story progression. MC is starting to develop god complex. Not in literal sense. Author is milking it. Concept is still good. Just slow
Slow story progression. MC is starting to develop god complex. Not in literal sense. Author is milking it. Concept is still good. Just slow
July 27, 2023
Other than a tedious dungeon entry at the start of this book, this was comfortably the best book yet in this series. The story flowed so much better than earlier entries and everything that happened felt more impactful than the mindless fighting and level grinding that has plagued the previous novels.
This book also benefited from having Jake interact with other people and intelligent creatures way more often. There's nothing wrong with the lone wolf persona, but unless you are the kind of writer who can craft compelling character studies as a focus of your novel, it's far too easy to go overboard with this. The introduction of Jake's feathered companions has been a breath of fresh air here, as is the time he spends in Haven with the characters who live there.
I was way more engaged in this series by the end of this novel than I was at the start, and this is the closest yet to that elusive 5-star review. It only falls short because of that weak opening and a tendency to fall back into that type of storytelling occasionally. However, I have high hopes for the next book.
One final sub-note that I think is worth mentioning is the strange morality that has started to rise in this series. I am not the sort of person who thinks that just because a character thinks something then the author must think that same thing, so I will definitely not hold this against the author or the series. However, there are a couple of uncomfortable chapters where the story brings the morality of slavery into question and at times seems to be arguing in favour of it. It's quite bizarre and not something I enjoyed reading. There were clear and obvious counters to the points being raised that weren't brought up, which felt like the novel was leaning towards promoting the practice rather than turning against it.
I also was not a fan of Jake's death over slavery ideal to the point where he loses all respect for anyone who does not choose the same. Again, I am not holding this against the author, but it is worth mentioning that this is an uncomfortable attitude for a protagonist to take because it is a moral judgement on anyone who values the hope and potential that can be found in doing what you have to in order to survive and struggle for a better future.
These were personal issues though, and I won't hold this kind of moral philosophizing against this series. Overall I am enjoying this series more and more and I can't wait to get stuck into book 5.
This book also benefited from having Jake interact with other people and intelligent creatures way more often. There's nothing wrong with the lone wolf persona, but unless you are the kind of writer who can craft compelling character studies as a focus of your novel, it's far too easy to go overboard with this. The introduction of Jake's feathered companions has been a breath of fresh air here, as is the time he spends in Haven with the characters who live there.
I was way more engaged in this series by the end of this novel than I was at the start, and this is the closest yet to that elusive 5-star review. It only falls short because of that weak opening and a tendency to fall back into that type of storytelling occasionally. However, I have high hopes for the next book.
One final sub-note that I think is worth mentioning is the strange morality that has started to rise in this series. I am not the sort of person who thinks that just because a character thinks something then the author must think that same thing, so I will definitely not hold this against the author or the series. However, there are a couple of uncomfortable chapters where the story brings the morality of slavery into question and at times seems to be arguing in favour of it. It's quite bizarre and not something I enjoyed reading. There were clear and obvious counters to the points being raised that weren't brought up, which felt like the novel was leaning towards promoting the practice rather than turning against it.
I also was not a fan of Jake's death over slavery ideal to the point where he loses all respect for anyone who does not choose the same. Again, I am not holding this against the author, but it is worth mentioning that this is an uncomfortable attitude for a protagonist to take because it is a moral judgement on anyone who values the hope and potential that can be found in doing what you have to in order to survive and struggle for a better future.
These were personal issues though, and I won't hold this kind of moral philosophizing against this series. Overall I am enjoying this series more and more and I can't wait to get stuck into book 5.
December 11, 2022
Rating 5.0 stars
This is turning into one of my favorite series of the genre. That is surprising to me with how it started. The first couple of books were good but had some issues. This series was probably third on my list following: He who fights with monsters and Defiance of the Fall. That all changed with the last book. He who fights with monsters is still up on my list, but that series has the problem of every third book being kind of a dud. Defiance of the fall stayed about the same. This series though fixed most of the problems I had with it early on. It has the one thing that I have been wishing all other series in the genre had. Balance. There is such a good balance between all the parts of the story. There is crafting, fighting, good character interactions, good world building, interesting magic system and leveling. One of the biggest problems in this genre is the author might do well in some of those categories and completely ignore the others. In Defiance of the fall there is too much focus on fighting. This book (as well as book 3) has that balance. Jake is kind of socially awkward, but he has just enough interactions with people to make it interesting. He has cringeworthy interactions with some people and then has really good interactions with others (friends, family, and Villy). The interactions with Villy and the baby hawk are some of the best. The is a good amount of crafting without it being too much. Book one had a little too much alchemy IMO. Overall, I like Jake as a character. There are interesting conversations with morality, and I agree with Jake the majority of the time.
Jake goes to the world conference and meets up with his old friends and well as his brother. They vote on a few things and end up agreeing to a treasure hunt sponsored by the system. The rest of the book is everyone trying to get strong enough to be ready for the hunt. Not much else to write about. I can't wait for the next book.
This is turning into one of my favorite series of the genre. That is surprising to me with how it started. The first couple of books were good but had some issues. This series was probably third on my list following: He who fights with monsters and Defiance of the Fall. That all changed with the last book. He who fights with monsters is still up on my list, but that series has the problem of every third book being kind of a dud. Defiance of the fall stayed about the same. This series though fixed most of the problems I had with it early on. It has the one thing that I have been wishing all other series in the genre had. Balance. There is such a good balance between all the parts of the story. There is crafting, fighting, good character interactions, good world building, interesting magic system and leveling. One of the biggest problems in this genre is the author might do well in some of those categories and completely ignore the others. In Defiance of the fall there is too much focus on fighting. This book (as well as book 3) has that balance. Jake is kind of socially awkward, but he has just enough interactions with people to make it interesting. He has cringeworthy interactions with some people and then has really good interactions with others (friends, family, and Villy). The interactions with Villy and the baby hawk are some of the best. The is a good amount of crafting without it being too much. Book one had a little too much alchemy IMO. Overall, I like Jake as a character. There are interesting conversations with morality, and I agree with Jake the majority of the time.
Jake goes to the world conference and meets up with his old friends and well as his brother. They vote on a few things and end up agreeing to a treasure hunt sponsored by the system. The rest of the book is everyone trying to get strong enough to be ready for the hunt. Not much else to write about. I can't wait for the next book.
January 4, 2023
Not bad and certainly contains a lot of the stuff we lvoe from the previous books, however its probably the weakest in the series so far.
Partly this probably comes from that fact it seems to be building to an event we'll see in the next book, which I think is more than fair enough. (Of which I'm very much looking forward to)
However I had one gripe about this book, one I cant believe even bothered me as I usually enjoy it. Jake's antics are getting a little out there and he's starting to become a caracture of himself.
What I mean to say is that the author spends a little too much time trying to make Jake funny, usually this is something I find the author usually does this really well, however this time it was starting to mess with the story a little. For example the world congrress should have been awesome, and it was good, but personally I felt a lot of the event was undercut by Jake's uncaring attitude for even basic human interaction, which even someone socially akward like Jake should manage.
Theres mentions to him being glad about having his mask and some good dialogue with the saint, but Jake's internal dialogue and his interaction with Casper's members just totally cut the vibe of the event.
Honestly I'm probably just picking as this was the first time I had to take a break from the series, fortunately I had previously been able to read 1-3 back to back so waiting for 4 probably messed with my own mindset relating to the series.
Dont take my review a bad way its a good book., just I feel we've seen the author produce better.
Partly this probably comes from that fact it seems to be building to an event we'll see in the next book, which I think is more than fair enough. (Of which I'm very much looking forward to)
However I had one gripe about this book, one I cant believe even bothered me as I usually enjoy it. Jake's antics are getting a little out there and he's starting to become a caracture of himself.
What I mean to say is that the author spends a little too much time trying to make Jake funny, usually this is something I find the author usually does this really well, however this time it was starting to mess with the story a little. For example the world congrress should have been awesome, and it was good, but personally I felt a lot of the event was undercut by Jake's uncaring attitude for even basic human interaction, which even someone socially akward like Jake should manage.
Theres mentions to him being glad about having his mask and some good dialogue with the saint, but Jake's internal dialogue and his interaction with Casper's members just totally cut the vibe of the event.
Honestly I'm probably just picking as this was the first time I had to take a break from the series, fortunately I had previously been able to read 1-3 back to back so waiting for 4 probably messed with my own mindset relating to the series.
Dont take my review a bad way its a good book., just I feel we've seen the author produce better.
January 4, 2024
Still going strong
Jake is one of the more antisocial MC's that Ive read, yet the author took time to have him reflect on the experiences and in this case the bloodline that contributed to his emotional stunting. That was interesting as was the developing relationship with Sylvie. As the MC levels, he has zero interest in developing any meaningful relationships, aside from business, Villy and the 3 birds. Its just too weird to me how asexual he is.
There is a vast amoung of alchemy crafting and mystic theory in this series, actually much more than I care to read through. The fight scenes were well thought out and entertaining.
I would still prefer more storyline and character interactions. The other city lords continue to progress and we see glimpses of them as they all prepare for the treasure hunt. Still, 3 books in and we have little sense of these players. For example there was mention of a gargoyle beast and his cohort which seemed to have his eye on Haven, but nothing materialized. We know that the sword saint is quite powerful and has pushed his clan to leadership positions, but whats he about? He would be happy to matchmake his granddaughter with Jake. Ok, good potdntial here.
Iwas intrigued by the boxer that was jailed pre-system. She met with Miranda at the world conference.... then nothing!
Jake is one of the more antisocial MC's that Ive read, yet the author took time to have him reflect on the experiences and in this case the bloodline that contributed to his emotional stunting. That was interesting as was the developing relationship with Sylvie. As the MC levels, he has zero interest in developing any meaningful relationships, aside from business, Villy and the 3 birds. Its just too weird to me how asexual he is.
There is a vast amoung of alchemy crafting and mystic theory in this series, actually much more than I care to read through. The fight scenes were well thought out and entertaining.
I would still prefer more storyline and character interactions. The other city lords continue to progress and we see glimpses of them as they all prepare for the treasure hunt. Still, 3 books in and we have little sense of these players. For example there was mention of a gargoyle beast and his cohort which seemed to have his eye on Haven, but nothing materialized. We know that the sword saint is quite powerful and has pushed his clan to leadership positions, but whats he about? He would be happy to matchmake his granddaughter with Jake. Ok, good potdntial here.
Iwas intrigued by the boxer that was jailed pre-system. She met with Miranda at the world conference.... then nothing!
December 31, 2022
A book about skills…. no real story
The author likes to ramble on and on about skills and levels. The actual story is maybe a few chapters at most.
To facilitate the the story about skills the author creates Dragon Ball Z like fights that are entertaining to a point. The reader will find out in each of these moments the author can’t help himself but make over estimate/embellish the size or power from the last fight. Example would be in book 1 he hit a guy he moved back 10 meters. Book 2 hit a dude he moved 100 meters. Book 3 hit a dude he moved 1000 meters or 1 kilometer. By the end of 3 we were at 1,000 kilometers. Book 4 we are at 10,000 and in some fights 100,000 kilometers. Frankly I spot trying to visualize it because the author throws out stupid numbers each and every time.
The author is killing any perspective the reader might have had on power. We’re on D grade and somehow Mach 8 - 30 are no big deal. While at the same time talking about how C grade is supper powerful. Though he and others have legendary level skills.
So the book is extremely shallow. However does spend a ton of time on writing about skills…..
Or putting all free stats into perception, why? It’s boring and quiet frankly unoriginal.
The author likes to ramble on and on about skills and levels. The actual story is maybe a few chapters at most.
To facilitate the the story about skills the author creates Dragon Ball Z like fights that are entertaining to a point. The reader will find out in each of these moments the author can’t help himself but make over estimate/embellish the size or power from the last fight. Example would be in book 1 he hit a guy he moved back 10 meters. Book 2 hit a dude he moved 100 meters. Book 3 hit a dude he moved 1000 meters or 1 kilometer. By the end of 3 we were at 1,000 kilometers. Book 4 we are at 10,000 and in some fights 100,000 kilometers. Frankly I spot trying to visualize it because the author throws out stupid numbers each and every time.
The author is killing any perspective the reader might have had on power. We’re on D grade and somehow Mach 8 - 30 are no big deal. While at the same time talking about how C grade is supper powerful. Though he and others have legendary level skills.
So the book is extremely shallow. However does spend a ton of time on writing about skills…..
Or putting all free stats into perception, why? It’s boring and quiet frankly unoriginal.
December 9, 2022
Excellent, but too many POV...
Far too many POV shifts, and way too many characters are shifted to over the course of the book. Needless to say, there were many immersion breaking events because of this. The other major detail is that half of the book felt like filler. Plot basically went Monkeys - world Congress and very tiny friend/family reunions - alchemy - cool parts with villy - bird stuff - ending. Which in theory is okay, but the important stuff like family and friend reunions were mostly glanced over, while grinding alchemy was focused on. Again, far too many characters had POV shifts and the book felt like it had multiple main characters which didn't feel natural or fun to me.
Other than those very valid complaints, the story was excellent, the ending was at a decent spot, and the humor was still great. The bromance between villy and Jake felt good as did his family relationships with the birds. I'll keep reading the series, but I am a bit concerned for the long-term life of my interest due to the above complaints, as it's a slippery slope for authors. I do wish the wait wasn't so long in between books, it feels like it honestly takes forever.
Far too many POV shifts, and way too many characters are shifted to over the course of the book. Needless to say, there were many immersion breaking events because of this. The other major detail is that half of the book felt like filler. Plot basically went Monkeys - world Congress and very tiny friend/family reunions - alchemy - cool parts with villy - bird stuff - ending. Which in theory is okay, but the important stuff like family and friend reunions were mostly glanced over, while grinding alchemy was focused on. Again, far too many characters had POV shifts and the book felt like it had multiple main characters which didn't feel natural or fun to me.
Other than those very valid complaints, the story was excellent, the ending was at a decent spot, and the humor was still great. The bromance between villy and Jake felt good as did his family relationships with the birds. I'll keep reading the series, but I am a bit concerned for the long-term life of my interest due to the above complaints, as it's a slippery slope for authors. I do wish the wait wasn't so long in between books, it feels like it honestly takes forever.
January 21, 2023
Just keeps getting better.
Deserves a review. I love it when a series doesn't just hold steady but actually just keeps becoming more. Some really nice craft work. You almost miss the skill level involved. The story expands and deepens without becoming scattered or resorting to superfluous detail. Character development steadily progresses and interactions are insight fully realistic. Genre tropes are multifaceted and woven into the story. Kudos.
The closest thing to a criticism I can offer is that some kind of graphic or other indicator when a scene shifts in time, location, or character would be nice. It takes a bit to realize there's been a change and it's sometimes disconcerting enough to pull you out of the story momentarily. At most, a minor format issue. Nowhere near as bad as some I've encountered that leave you totally confused and searching to put things back in context.
Deserves a review. I love it when a series doesn't just hold steady but actually just keeps becoming more. Some really nice craft work. You almost miss the skill level involved. The story expands and deepens without becoming scattered or resorting to superfluous detail. Character development steadily progresses and interactions are insight fully realistic. Genre tropes are multifaceted and woven into the story. Kudos.
The closest thing to a criticism I can offer is that some kind of graphic or other indicator when a scene shifts in time, location, or character would be nice. It takes a bit to realize there's been a change and it's sometimes disconcerting enough to pull you out of the story momentarily. At most, a minor format issue. Nowhere near as bad as some I've encountered that leave you totally confused and searching to put things back in context.
April 18, 2024
The Primal Hunter 4 is more of the same. Some of the character interactions remain good, even quite strong, but there is a warped, forced sense of morality that permeates the text. The topic of this book, or at least part of it, is centered on slavery in a world where the system can enforce slave contracts. We get Jake's opinion: death before and above slavery every single time, but the narrative doesn't want to leave it at that. Some of the dialog is interesting, but it comes across as yet another forced morality play. Its clear Zogarth wants to spend more time talking about dungeons and monsters, letting the story circle around video game mechanics. Jake is, of course, super special awesome and now his awesomeness can rub off on people to propel their path forward. Still, some of the character stuff is good, and the plot does seem to be going somewhere... if slowly. So, I guess I'm still in this.
December 11, 2022
Long, but it kept my attention pretty consistently. There were a few hunting bits where I felt the fights dragged, so some fat could be trimmed there, but overall there was enough forward movement in the plot and characters.
One minor gripe: I feel the stuff about "slavery bad" was overdone. It's pretty well established that it's bad, and it's obvious that Jake has strong feelings against it, but a bit less page-count could have been allocated to establish (and reaffirm!) that. It felt like I was being preached at, and I don't like that. Something that I suspect Jake could identify with.
There are several open issues leading up to the Treasure Hunt, so we'll see how these people come to meet Jake. I feel the ground was prepared for him to meet a woman who is relationship material, but that's TBC.
One minor gripe: I feel the stuff about "slavery bad" was overdone. It's pretty well established that it's bad, and it's obvious that Jake has strong feelings against it, but a bit less page-count could have been allocated to establish (and reaffirm!) that. It felt like I was being preached at, and I don't like that. Something that I suspect Jake could identify with.
There are several open issues leading up to the Treasure Hunt, so we'll see how these people come to meet Jake. I feel the ground was prepared for him to meet a woman who is relationship material, but that's TBC.
January 27, 2023
Jake attends to the meeting, goes into dungeon and that's it storywise
"Now, just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s bad. In fact, many things tend to get popular because they’re good. Movies, games, brands, and even things like books. Of course, sometimes they only get lucky because the consumers don’t know better and keep consuming products despite the obvious lack of quality."
Primal Hunter 4
So, this book is hard to break away. However, this is still kind of boring storywise. Jake attends World Congress, finishes special dungeon, levels up and upgrades/replaces his gear and does alchemy. I kind of regret I didn't skip it whole, just to read the summary at the begining of the next book.
If you like this kind of writing - focused only on OP MC and just skimming over world descriptions, NPC relationships and others perspectives, this is for you.
"Now, just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s bad. In fact, many things tend to get popular because they’re good. Movies, games, brands, and even things like books. Of course, sometimes they only get lucky because the consumers don’t know better and keep consuming products despite the obvious lack of quality."
Primal Hunter 4
So, this book is hard to break away. However, this is still kind of boring storywise. Jake attends World Congress, finishes special dungeon, levels up and upgrades/replaces his gear and does alchemy. I kind of regret I didn't skip it whole, just to read the summary at the begining of the next book.
If you like this kind of writing - focused only on OP MC and just skimming over world descriptions, NPC relationships and others perspectives, this is for you.
January 31, 2023
this was a long walk to nothing.
By that, I mean a long story that went absolutely nowhere. The MC didn’t grow in maturity. the story didn’t advance much,, very little action with a lot of slice of life bits. Plenty of crafting, alchemy, fights with monkey Pooh, one dungeon in the entire book and rescuing hawks. By the way, how can a hawk sit on your head? how big is this Hawk that sits on the emcees head? This was a mediocre book at best. The only reason I’m not returning it is because I want to see how the story and series progresses. I know the MC is a little broken but he too can grow and change, These things need to occur to make him more likable. As I said, I will read the next book because the storyline itself is interesting some mysteries, but not a lot of payoff in this book. Somewhat enjoyable.
By that, I mean a long story that went absolutely nowhere. The MC didn’t grow in maturity. the story didn’t advance much,, very little action with a lot of slice of life bits. Plenty of crafting, alchemy, fights with monkey Pooh, one dungeon in the entire book and rescuing hawks. By the way, how can a hawk sit on your head? how big is this Hawk that sits on the emcees head? This was a mediocre book at best. The only reason I’m not returning it is because I want to see how the story and series progresses. I know the MC is a little broken but he too can grow and change, These things need to occur to make him more likable. As I said, I will read the next book because the storyline itself is interesting some mysteries, but not a lot of payoff in this book. Somewhat enjoyable.
February 17, 2023
Amazing as always
Zogarth definitely doesn’t disappoint, i love the balance between implementing other characters perspectives in short and detailed ways meanwhile not breaking the moment of the story, no “side stories” break away from the overall direction of the story, i have to say the issue of morality is something im not a fan of due to the clearly contradictory views of the characters involved, a matter believed by the mc to be subjective while acting up certain morals as though objective, especially the whole ordeal with sultan, but hey this exact element is what makes the characters feel
more “real” so im no saying it’s a bad thing, with that said as jake always says “keep it simple and deal with the complexities as they come” thanks as always for an amazing read :D
Zogarth definitely doesn’t disappoint, i love the balance between implementing other characters perspectives in short and detailed ways meanwhile not breaking the moment of the story, no “side stories” break away from the overall direction of the story, i have to say the issue of morality is something im not a fan of due to the clearly contradictory views of the characters involved, a matter believed by the mc to be subjective while acting up certain morals as though objective, especially the whole ordeal with sultan, but hey this exact element is what makes the characters feel
more “real” so im no saying it’s a bad thing, with that said as jake always says “keep it simple and deal with the complexities as they come” thanks as always for an amazing read :D
July 8, 2024
Skim the boring bits
This is my second time reading this series. The first time I was a bit worried about Jake becoming evil. This time, I know that's not a concern. So the major downside is that Jake (and the author) are way too enamored of his fighting skills. Reading a book is not the same as playing DnD; I really don't care to spend chapters watching Jake kill his way through similar types of monsters. The author has (prior to this) done a decent job keeping things interesting for the reader, even when most of what happens is Jake hunting things. We have 2 times in this novel where that balance is lost: the tri-tail monkeys and the deep dweller dungeon. My recommendation would be to skim and get back to the good parts. The characters and their interactions remain interesting, and the story worth following... even if parts of this book are a slog to get through.
This is my second time reading this series. The first time I was a bit worried about Jake becoming evil. This time, I know that's not a concern. So the major downside is that Jake (and the author) are way too enamored of his fighting skills. Reading a book is not the same as playing DnD; I really don't care to spend chapters watching Jake kill his way through similar types of monsters. The author has (prior to this) done a decent job keeping things interesting for the reader, even when most of what happens is Jake hunting things. We have 2 times in this novel where that balance is lost: the tri-tail monkeys and the deep dweller dungeon. My recommendation would be to skim and get back to the good parts. The characters and their interactions remain interesting, and the story worth following... even if parts of this book are a slog to get through.
January 21, 2023
I really enjoyed this book!
Lots of humor, growth and backstory throughout this book held my interest and had me laughing loudly at times. Excellent job and arc of Jake’s story.
The path to godhood for Jake is one of growing his power and his ability to apply his personal power. Personal power can mean so many things for so many different people and creatures. Sylphie is growing stronger and stronger and we see all 3 hawks jump in levels. Jake finally puts his focus into beating the dungeon, and then his alchemy in preparation for a System event, a Treasure Hunt!
Jake is a monster and we see a little into his history here in bits and pieces as well as get a clear picture of some of his dislikes, mushrooms being high on the list.
Lots of humor, growth and backstory throughout this book held my interest and had me laughing loudly at times. Excellent job and arc of Jake’s story.
The path to godhood for Jake is one of growing his power and his ability to apply his personal power. Personal power can mean so many things for so many different people and creatures. Sylphie is growing stronger and stronger and we see all 3 hawks jump in levels. Jake finally puts his focus into beating the dungeon, and then his alchemy in preparation for a System event, a Treasure Hunt!
Jake is a monster and we see a little into his history here in bits and pieces as well as get a clear picture of some of his dislikes, mushrooms being high on the list.
May 29, 2023
Primal Hunter: 4
With the first 100 Pylons of Civilization claimed, the system announces the first World Congress. Jake of course, would rather go on a killing spree to test out his new skills. This again features Jake massacring his way trying to find a challenging opponent, leveling and stats galore, with bits of plot movement to change things up. Basically more of the same of the previous two books, so if you liked them, you will like this one too. I found the rising kill count out in the real world (instead of the dungeon where everything resets upon leaving) a bit hard to take. Jake is hard on the environment, both flora and fauna, it's ridiculous. The World Congress ends with a vote on the next System event, and the Treasure Hunt is chosen. Story ends before this starts, though.
With the first 100 Pylons of Civilization claimed, the system announces the first World Congress. Jake of course, would rather go on a killing spree to test out his new skills. This again features Jake massacring his way trying to find a challenging opponent, leveling and stats galore, with bits of plot movement to change things up. Basically more of the same of the previous two books, so if you liked them, you will like this one too. I found the rising kill count out in the real world (instead of the dungeon where everything resets upon leaving) a bit hard to take. Jake is hard on the environment, both flora and fauna, it's ridiculous. The World Congress ends with a vote on the next System event, and the Treasure Hunt is chosen. Story ends before this starts, though.
August 2, 2023
At some point in this series I'm a little worried where Jake is going. He seems to be a sociopath in the making in which ultimate power will corrupt ultimately. I forgot the lines he said but yeah, very questionable power corruption.
I understand the reasoning behind Jake but his asocial tendencies sometimes are a bit annoying and tedious compared to having a more social character. His interactions with the malefic viper are the more amusing. Then they go into descriptions of the skills and paths and I fear this world/system will turn into one of the more boring ones where the hero has to get cores and other upgrade materials.
I'm still enjoying the series so as long as it doesn't go more like Defiance of the Fall with the system I'll keep reading.
I understand the reasoning behind Jake but his asocial tendencies sometimes are a bit annoying and tedious compared to having a more social character. His interactions with the malefic viper are the more amusing. Then they go into descriptions of the skills and paths and I fear this world/system will turn into one of the more boring ones where the hero has to get cores and other upgrade materials.
I'm still enjoying the series so as long as it doesn't go more like Defiance of the Fall with the system I'll keep reading.
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