Maximilian Valevsky quite unexpectedly finds himself with spare time on his hands—time he can even devote to studying. Learning all the intricacies of runecraft, becoming Magister Meram’s best pupil and making his statement to the world!
It all sounds like a dream, but reality is quick to put him in his place. Padishah Bayazid the Third wants to personally meet with Maximilian and our hero will have to do unprecedented things just to survive. But could a former doomed soldier do it any other way?
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Vasily Mahanenko is a fantasy author working in the new genre of LitRPG - the MMO-based fantasy and sci fi. His Way of the Shaman series took Russian literature by storm in 2012.
Vasily dipped into his college-days insider knowledge as a hardcore gamer in order to create a believable world of the virtual-reality MMO game. His bestselling series combines fiction and video games, telling the story of Shaman and his friends stuck in the ruthless reality of Barliona. He used his more than ten years' experience as an ERP implementation project manager to approach his writing in a well-organized manner, working to a strict schedule, a set of deadlines and even a budget. At the moment, the series boasts six novels with the seventh one in the works - this time the author expands on stories of Shaman's companions and those who helped and supported him in his trials and tribulations.
The first book of the series has already been translated into English, with more translations to follow, aiming to make the Way of the Shaman series available to the English-language reader in its entirety.
Vasily's other passion is space exploration which is why he now works on a follow-up series entitled Galaktiona. Set in a space-simulator based world, the first book of the series in already finished while Vasily works on its sequel.
Book #6 The Lord Valevsky: Last of the Line Series by Vasily Mahanenko is a gripping blend of dark fantasy, political intrigue, and relentless personal struggle. Across the ten books (with more on the horizon), the series follows Max - formerly Maximilian Valevsky - on his harrowing journey through a world where light dominates and darkness is hunted. What makes this saga stand out is its moral complexity. Max is not your typical flawless hero - he’s cunning, pragmatic, and often forced to make brutal choices. His quest for vengeance is both deeply personal and intricately tied to the fate of the realm. Mr. Mahanenko excels at showing how power, loyalty, and survival often clash in unpredictable ways. As expected, the world-building is rich, with a unique magic system and a society shaped by the tension between light and dark forces. The political maneuvering is as intense as the battles, and the pacing keeps you hooked - each book ends with enough intrigue to make you reach for the next. If there’s any drawback to this collection at all, it’s that the series can be emotionally heavy at times - as Max’s journey is filled with much betrayal, loss, and moral dilemmas. But for us readers who enjoy character-driven epics with shades of grey, then this is a strength rather than a flaw. A dark, intelligent, and addictive fantasy series with a deeply layered story and a protagonist you can’t easily forget. Happy Reading…
I received a review copy of this book. Condemned book 6 continues the adventures of the main character here, but not every thing goes his way in this piece of the story. There's some major storyline changes that could prove to be either interesting, or screw up the series entirely. We'll have to wait to see what happens, but if you've read this far, no point in stopping now. Do love the way Max continues to surprise and astound many folks that try to stop him from doing things. If you haven't started this series yet, then I ask you, what are you waiting for? Just go tet the books, they're a fun read.
I've enjoyed the series OK so far, but at this point it is starting to feel very repetitive. I even started the next book (because of Teflon-memory) and immediately got reminded about what I don't like.
My main issue is the Schrödingers alignment going on. MC is constantly being shafted because he is dark and/or light at the same time. Additionally, he is always having to bow down to the supposedly smart, old and powerful characters- However, since it doesn't really feel like they are that smart it just comes of as cynical Russian view on power dynamics that tend to become tedious unless well argued.
I will stop at this book. At least until I get desperate and/or forget why I stopped (again).
I often enjoy series by Russian authors, the dark world, view, etc., but this book was very, very hard to finish… Essentially, he’s amazing, bad things keep forcing him to do certain things, he has no empathy or interest in anyone other than himself, people do bad things to him and so on… it’s hard to feel any sympathy for him, and in almost every situation he’s massively overpowered, except where the author decides to do bad things to him and then he’s completely helpless
The constant intrigues and especially the machinations of the chancellor stay very intriguing but the city building aspects fall very due to the many quests of the MC.
The MC is op and very full of himself but keeps being outplayed all the time.
By now i got really tired of the ridiculous harem of the MC who constantly needs saving while staying only minor support characters.
The series has always bordered on objectifying women, but the protagonist's threat to rape his fiancee is going too far for me. Fortunately the protagonist dies at the end so either (a) the series is over or (b) the author is just flipping us off, either way no reason to continue.
The storyline continues to be fun and entertaining, but the book itself - English version at least - is rife with grammar and punctuation mistakes that stilt and interrupt the flow of reading, that I am forced to rate it lower than I would otherwise.
I think every reader needs to start doing this to force authors to write a quick Recap chapter, which readers can skip if they remember, and those who don't won't stop reading the series.
I am just going through the tedious time as I bought the books.....and they are boring because nothing is ever resolved. Plot holes and logical actions are slipping and showing more often.... Its ok, but nothing worth a second read.