Defiance of the Fall 10

Defiance of the Fall #10

by TheFirstDefier, J.F. Brink

A storm of fate is gathering, and Zac finds himself at its center.

Having escaped the Orom's prison, Zac has finally returned to Earth. Much has changed during his years off-world, with war brewing in the Zecia Sector. Struggle is the System's mandate, where the strong thrive, and the weak suffer.

Zac and the Atwood Empire are racing against time to accumulate the power needed to survive. With danger comes opportunity, and all clues point toward the chaotic Million Gates Territory. That's where the invaders are hiding, and that's where Ogras is trapped. But first, Zac needs a spaceship.

Meanwhile, ancient forces from the depths of the Multiverse stir, their gazes pointed toward the desolate frontier.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Action, Adventure

564 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 2, 2023

Reviews

[Gareth Otton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes this series is an exciting, fast paced story of an overpowered protagonist smashing his way through powerful enemies in a one-minded rush to get to the top. It hurries from plot point to plot point like someone sprinting up a ladder, trying its hardest to advance the overarching story to the next really exciting place. This type of story is highly enjoyable and what makes this series so addictive. However, at other times this series is a masterclass in how to get nowhere really, really slowly. Unfortunately this book was the second type of story.

This book falls prey to one of the problems that has plagued this series which is action being mistaken for plot progression. Meaningful action is a good tool to tell an exciting story, but action without meaning is just mindless and repetitive. When you can take a book of this length and boil it down to maybe three significant overarching plot points, then you know that most of the action that fills this book is just filler to stretch the story out.

It's not the first time that it has happened in this series and it's frustrating every time. However, I view this series as a binge series rather than an event series, so in the long run it doesn't seem to matter. This time round I've read this book and it bugged me enough to be three stars. However, on a future reread I am sure that this rating will probably climb a little as it will bug me less as I power through the series and just treat it as easy reading.

So overall, this wasn't the best outing for the series but it hasn't put me off reading the next book and indeed, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

[Roberto Flores · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't make myself care. DNF

After so much time off world, I did not remember who any of these characters were. I got through the first quarter and did not know who these people were, so I did not care what was happening. This has lost the thread due to an overly complex, muddled storyline.

[Elijah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but lacking pizzazz

This is definitely in my top 5 favorite series of books but I will say that a lot of book 10 was filler. Honestly I’d say book 10 was a solid 3.5/5, when normally I would rate the books between a 4.5/5 or 5/5.

I want more epic battle scenes, I want defiance, and I want real struggle in the face of overwhelming odds. Book 10 honestly felt like a long transition piece for book 11 and not a genuine separate book.

The scenes where Zak reflects on the Dao or his goals are all well and good and I can understand the need for those parts (enjoying them for the most part); however, I feel like this took up a lot of book 10 and not very much was accomplished.

I do like the emphasis on Zak’s point of view for most of the book, but I would also say that the transitions to the side characters could be smoother. There was one transition to Ogras early on in the book that was not clearly delineated. It just went from Zak to Ogras with no symbol nor transitional language to denote a POV shift

Grammar, language, and spelling was phenomenal as usual.

To be fair I don’t normally write reviews but I love this series and I would just really like to see a return to the writing style of the earlier books. Thanks!

[William Howe · Rating 5 out of 5]

shameless

Zac continues his locust-like tour of multiversal vacation spots. Starting with a brief return home to drop off the latest loot. If it ain’t nailed down (and someone isn’t watching to make sure the nails remain in place), it goes in the bag.

Onward!

[Danny Moody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series. It is one of the few that I keep current with on Royal Road. I’m enjoying the various intergalactic settings and seeing how our MC stacks up. It is nice that he hasn’t forgotten about earth. I could use some faster advancement though.

[Thomas Baetens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fan of the series but the repetition how hard it is to cultivate in the ruthless heavens or in the system is getting annoying.
When you are 10 books further in a series you do not need reminders about it every 2 chapters. It begins to feel like page filling...

[Ali Haji · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weakest book so far. Felt that it dragged on too long. The adventures of Zac and Vai weren’t the best. Not much juicy power ups in this one too (When will it happen?? -.-)

The last chapter was great though. Finally, reunion.

[Zachery Rizer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite book series of all time

I can never put my finger on it but this story always amazes me. The world building and character designs are fantastic. I’m always surprised by the progression of the story and how well it develops through the books. The first half of this book was a bit slow but it picked up and left me with an ending that leaves me eager for the next. The books feel like they have the right amount of pacing where I feel the series could go on for very long time without getting stale. The progression system is intricate enough that I am always eager to see how Zac will improve himself next. I could talk about these books all day long but I’ll end this review by saying that I will cherish these books until the day I die. Thank you!!!

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine. Everything I expected it to be. Almost no progress by the MC. Deep, complicated dives into the absurdly complex game mechanics. Plenty of filler in the form of side character POVs I mostly skip.

[Alexander Widar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly better than the previous one

[Chris Larsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zac keeps thinking maybe this or maybe that, and ends up being disturbed in his thought process, and there is never any reasoning….
It became so bad I had to skip many sections of “Zac thinking maybe/or maybe”…

Otherwise cool book

[Jack Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series has remained pretty consistent, I'll give it that
Still too much dumb fight scenes. Still a whole lot of set up and a little bit of payoff. But the payoff is good, and the set up makes me want to keep reading

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

[Brooke Neeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ended in the most cruel way imaginable. 10/10 i need book 11 immediately (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

[John Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

more of a setup

I enjoyed the book hut it spent a lot of time on Zac’s cultivation. It felt like more of a setup for DotF 11. Erais having its own story. Second half of the book felt slow. I didn’t need the minutia detail on where the cultivation was going. I am looking forward to book 11 though

[Andi Buchanan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointment

The book could have been about 50% shorter. There is less and less actual forward movement for Zac every book. I think he gained 2 levels the entire book. Everything else was just exposition. Sure, he got a new tempering technique, but that was like 80% through the book, and he has not used it yet. The whole thing left me feeling disappointed. I will continue to read though there could have been so more more actual productive content. This was very lacking.

[Mistren · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a slog but a fun one. To be reviewed

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of the side characters please. Zac is almost completely uninteresting at this point. Endless pages of him "consolidating his gains" which is just another term for booooooring. The few times he got into fights he just completely dominated, so who cares?

I realize a couple more books have probably already been written on Patreon so I'm wasting my breath, but maybe one day in the future something will change. I would literally rather follow anyone else but Zac now, and that's pretty sad. The most exciting Zac-related thing is Alea, and well, that's barely even a thing so far.

Oh, and does everyone brought into the System universe suddenly develop nasal problems? That's the only explanation I can come up with for why everyone snorts so much. I get that there are only so many ways to describe things over and over in books, but snorting? Really?

[Nevergreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book that was supposed to be about gaining the resources to get a spaceship...there was a significant lack of gaining resources for a spaceship. This series has enough to keep me interested and continuing on, however there are large chunks that are hard to picture and fairly boring to read - all the battles fall into this category. Of course the MC is going to make it out alive and the scope of the battles is generally big bad hulk smash, MC pulls a last minute ace and survives/bests the foe. Boring. Also getting bored with the pondering over the Dao moments. I'm in thus for the character moments, which are too few for the number of pages but this series is good to read when I need a mind break and not to think too hard.

[Luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

More metaphysical, incomprehensible, out-of-nowhere nonsense along with all sorts of plot Deus Ex Machina that introduces things we've never heard if before that are now important. Deus Ex Machina may actually be a charitable description of what's going on. Throw in some weird mistakes (1000 meter's isn't a mile) and random Left Hand of Darkness superplot (or something) and this one's a complete loss. I'm invested and not quite ready to give up, so I'll keep skimming to dialogue and some skill updates, but I really don't know what's going on anymore and honestly don't really care to know.

[JENN · Rating 2 out of 5]

kinda boring

The whole book was slow and boring. I liked the first seven or eight books but the last two were to slow. To much contemplating whatever it was…. A heart manual maybe 🤷‍♂️. Only gained a few levels. Omg just get more powerful create a core… be way less boring. Book just ticked me off. Just another never ending series that’s mostly boring filler.

[Ties · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 10 in what is a great series. Did feel as if there's so much soul searching that I was sometimes left with the feeling there is a lack of progress.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Defiance of the Fall #9" is a bit of a mixed bag. It's still thrilling but gets bogged down in detail and lacks significant plot progression. While it's not the series' strongest book, it has its moments and keeps you hooked for what's next.

"Defiance of the Fall #9" continues Zac's journey, but this time it feels like we're jogging on the spot a bit. The series desperately needs an appendix for its ever-growing list of skills and titles. The book is still a dense read, with some scenes so abstract, you're left wondering if you're on the same page as the author.

At its best, this series is a thrilling, fast-paced adventure with Zac steamrolling through challenges. But this installment leans more towards a slow grind with action scenes that don't really push the story forward. It's like filling your plate with appetizers and realizing there's no main course.

The series is binge-worthy, no doubt. Even though this book might feel like a three-star read now, it's likely to age like fine wine on a re-read, blending seamlessly into the series' bigger picture.

Zac's character is still intriguing, but there's so much going on with him that it's hard to keep up. His return home feels underwhelming, and his subsequent missions feel like detours rather than substantial developments. The book introduces new elements to Zac's already crowded storyline, making it feel overloaded.

The book ends on a cliffhanger, leaving us with more questions than answers. It's frustrating, especially since we're left hanging on key plot points like Zac's quest for Hegemony.

While the book is predominantly from Zac's perspective, the transitions to side characters are jarring at times. A smoother shift between different points of view would enhance the reading experience.

In essence, "Defiance of the Fall #9" feels like a stepping stone to something bigger. It's packed with potential but doesn't quite hit the high notes of previous books. It's still a solid read, especially for series fans, but here's hoping the next book ramps up the action and gives us the epic showdowns we're craving.

[Steve Naylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4.0 stars

This is such a weird series. My enjoyment runs the gambit of being very low during some books and very high in others. Sometimes there is non stop action. Sometimes there is non stop cultivating. Sometimes the focus is the story. This book was kind of boring through most of it. There were parts towards the end that I liked but the beginning didn't hold my interest much at all. There is too much going on with Zack. Let us make a list. He has a dual cultivation core - both life and death. He has a technocrat mother which is a huge secret. He has a unique void bloodline. He has shards of both annihilation and creation in his head. He has a lot going on. You would think that the author would focus on one or two of those very important aspects and not add more to Zacks plate, but you would be wrong. Zack finally gets back home but it was a pretty lackluster homecoming. Very quickly he was off the world again on a mission. It seemed almost like a side mission. He needed to find a specific beast core so he could build a spaceship to join the upcoming mission so that he could look for Agross and Billy. While on that mission he adds a couple of new things to that massive list. He has to learn how to body cultivate and he also was given an opportunity to gain another heritage. There were peoples names that were brought up from previous books but it has been so long I can't remember their importance. Overall I still like the series but I thought this was a weaker book in the series.

[Koffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is probably in my top #5 Wuxia for official series- It's kinda funny because I went from hating the start of the first book and dropping the series like twice to forcing myself too continue on the 3rd time and I ended up loving it more than any other long running Wuxia series that isn't a translated chinese novel. I should add that I binged the first 9 books in the series in a row as I started off the series which was only a couple of months ago.

What can I say about this book in particular? Well it's a great continuation off the story and it really throws some surprises your way. It's always a challenge to write reviews on a series with this level of quality without revealing any spoilers. I think Zack is progressing in a very meaningful way that doesn't feel like it's rushed or not in line with how the series has progressed so far.

I like how things never turn out exactly the way you expect in this series. When you think Y will happen for sure in the next book. X will happen instead and I'll feel like WOW how does the author keep writing these amazing events and keep me from knowing what's going to happen next?! Also I think it's hilarious how everyone keeps chasing after Zack especially (Izz Tain) and he keeps getting away at the last moment. As always with Defiance of The Fall if Zack goes anywhere things are bound to go awry for everyone else that are at or on their way to the same area as him.

[Jimmit Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the LitRPG genre has witnessed a surge of newcomers and pretenders, "Defiance of the Fall" rises above the fray by masterfully charting its own trajectory. The series shatters the mold by ingeniously fusing the mechanics of a role-playing game with the pulse-pounding beats of a compelling story. In a world inundated with monotonous level-grinding narratives, this series takes a leap of faith, transcending clichés and forging a narrative path that is as refreshing as it is captivating.

Central to the series' resounding success is the marriage of its intricate world-building and electrifying action sequences. The author, crafts a universe that stands as a testament to meticulous creativity. The layers of spatial landscapes, each with its own rules and enigmas, unveil themselves to readers like a treasure trove waiting to be plundered, the way Zac plunders loot.

What's more amazing is that even after 10 books, the series doesn't even seem to be close to half-way done and there is still a lot of unpack (not to mention the long awaited reunion of Ogras and Zac)

[Dennis Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Defiance of the Fall 10 by JF Brink is now finally moving. After more than a little pacing problems in the last book, this story introduces and resolves the incursion, sets up several broader implications for the big players, tees up a lot of things related to the war, travels to the voice sect, and concludes by resolving an issue. The plot is moving, characters are moving, and things seem to be put back on track. Of course there's still some busy work, and there's a lot of time devoted to the skills side of worldbuilding that seem to serially stack on top of one another every few chapters where there's not some forced fight with nature or enemies, but overall I like the direction this book took. Since this is the last book in the series currently available, I'm going to have to wait a little while to see where things go.

[Murphies_law · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of brainstorming about cultivation.

The despiction of the importance of the protagonist for the multiverse(!!) reminds me more and more of the hilariously dated music clip "Flash" by "Queen" as the entire multiverse is supposed to turn around him *rofl*. Finally his ever growing band of groupies are about to catch up with him..

The new location is an interesting concept but lacks "magic" to make it memorable - the way as it is it is more boring than a level in a game like "Diablo". After the slaughter of trillions of sentinents and countless animals for the sake of progression in the last book the slaughter continues in another place *yay*. The invaders seem totally OP and only plot armor will see the protagonist succeed..

[John-Torleif Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great series, but I’d like stronger resolution between books

While I understand that this was probably a good spot to pause, I wish that Zac ad either been able to finish the sigil quest, or step into Hegemony before this book ended. The last book felt like Zac was caught spinning his wheels, and this one has him revving the engines, but not having accumulated any speed.

Will Zac meet up with Pretty, Catheya, Iz, or any of his other former acquaintances? Will they be rivals or allies? What will happen to the Atwood Empire with the arrival of a Flamebearer? And will Zac be able to unlock chaos in time to help him meet his goals?

[RR Clothier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Series had lost momentum

I usually really enjoy this series but this book just felt like the writer is trying to drag out the story, I found myself skimming over chapters in the hope something interesting would happen, unfortunately I was left disappointed. Nothing overly exciting happens, no major battles, I never felt Zac was in any really danger and he also didn't seem to accomplish anything. Overall it just felt like this was an attempt to squeeze another book out of the series, fingers crossed the next I've us better.