Aster Fall is a must-read! Although it takes its time (the whole series, I mean), it is still a compelling continuation to one of my favorite litRPG series now! The story events start directly after the first, so be sure to read in the correct order.
Thoughts (In Brief)
The plot continues from Battlefield Reclaimer, the first book in this fantastic litRPG series offering. In this sequel, the complex characterizations from the first book are worked upon some more, and the much-needed world-building gets some time out in the sun.
In this installment, the layout and geography, the weird and humanoid but alien races that cohabit with the humans, and even the politics of Aster Fall are also slowly expanded. This makes the investment in this average to promising debut worth it as all aspects of the series are slowly enhanced.
Synopsis
Sam Hastern slowly levels up and journeys onwards from the Outsider outpost ruins. He finds himself and his dad trapped in one of the cities within the Kingdom of Aethra.
Hints of the over-arching storyline and lore backdrop are expanded in this one, where readers finally get a glimpse of what a fantastic story might lie ahead.
Thoughts
This thrilling albeit slow sequel from David North continues in the vein of the debut, giving us the same slowly evolving backdrops of character-building, leveling, and magic system together with the world-building of his fantastical universe.
It also gradually sets up the events leading to the third book, in which the author pushes all of the first two books’ lack of pace and world-building into a non-stop and frenetic addition to his carefully thought-out game-lit universe that contains a mixture of tropes from classic Sci-fi and GrimDark Fantasy in a wholesome package.
The fantastic and complex magical system is explained better, and more progression of litRPG system info dumping occurs (just as in the first book). Although it’s a bit more organized, nevertheless, it can be a turn-off for impatient readers.
If I’m being honest, It dramatically enhances the experience of the reader while managing to include some detailed and expressive battle scenes.
An awesome series so far!
Wrapping Up
Aster Fall comes highly recommended, just like the debut, for a variety of readers that enjoy Progression Fantasy and Wuxia/litRPG
Not all readers will endure the slowness and massive info dump well past the first two books and into the last half of the third. But it was totally worth it for me.
