Condemned Book 7: A Progression Fantasy LitRPG Series

Смертник из рода Валевских #7

by Vasily Mahanenko

Death is not the end. Maximilian Valevsky was slain, but rune magic has returned him to this reality. There are still enemies to destroy and evil forces to expel from this world. The only question what will he do with the person who finally did him in? Will he forgive and forget, or take action to ensure his killer can never pull of such a trick again? But before resolving this issue, he must find a way to remove the rune magic. What’s the point of killing someone if they just keep coming back?

Genres: Fantasy

357 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 30, 2023

About the author

Be the first to know when Vasily Mahanenko’s next book is available! Follow him at https://www.bookbub.com/profile/v-mah... to get an alert whenever he has a new release, preorder, or discount!

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.

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 - 4 Stars

Book #7
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…

[John Galt]

Finished but dnf the rest of the series. Story follows MC as he rinses and repeats the same objective plot: Rich and Powerful beings need MC's niche special powers in order to protect their own interests. MC leverages this during negotiations in order to "Max"imize payment for his services. MC must rationalize his efforts and wield laws in defense of his gains which he cannot retain by power alone. MC is reminded he is a small fry but gets slightly stronger. Rinse and repeat. Common russian morality in the events and nature of MC, which is to say - little to no morality except that of $ power and sex whenever a woman is willing to throw themselves at him and are impressed with everything he does. The MC just happens to have enough plot armor that he can obtain vast sums of precious resources and whenever he needs something new, it is just what he needs to keep progressing. Surrounded also be interested persons who help him behind the scenes. Book 7 had a terrible plot twist at the very end that tells me author is running out of ideas and is beginning to throw in the towel to close out the series. Im just not interested in the MC or in his battle against presiding the forces of his world.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have reached book seven in the series and things seem to be heating up.
I received an ARC of this book to check the translation from Russian to English.
I'll admit that I have done this one while very sick, so there might be more than just the three mistakes that I found and sent for correction. So if you find something that is just wrong please feel free to report it so it gets fixed.

I admit I enjoy the series. Lots of loots. So I was disappointed when the keys to the otherworlder vault were lost.
I'm glad that the mentor finally got some of what he deserves. Got really tired of his I kill you I punish you stick. Got old fast. But give some folks a smidge of power and that is what they turn into.

7/10 looking forward to book eight. Hope to be feeling better so I can better enjoy the read.

[Monty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Along with some quality issues in the text I perceived to much contrived gimping and stupidity in the story.

Nearing the end the author has the MC do something spectacularly stupid so as to gimp his progress and power. It was so blatant and obviously contradictory to the MC's supposed intellect that I could but knock off another point from my rating, which at 3/5 was already rounded up and so I kept it for the 2/5- but my rating would be 1.8/5 if possible.

Then there is the ending itself.. while not bad per se and rather intriguing it gave me the sense of another sort of story reset.

[Ford Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its ok. Not great. Very tedious.

There is not much to say anymore. The plot is meandering along with the character never getting ahead of the situation as plot holes and plot events direct his actions whenever needed to foil ever getting ahead or having agency. I'm bored at this point. Its hard to recommend as it has such basic plot points that are starting to have more and more holes.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a review copy of this book.
I was having trouble with my computer and internet access, so did not leave a review of this book at the time it was read. I can only assume I liked the book, since I've liked the others in the series, but since that was about 3 months ago, I can't tell you more than that. I am fixing to read book 8 in this series though, so there's still something keeping me reading. :)

[Murphies_law · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shockingly, the MC got another life (for which twenty persons were sacrificed). He keeps on being a mercenary and survives due to plot armor. The damsels in distress stay annoying and i got thoroughly sick of his constantly enhanced antagonist by now.

The family plot was contrived and caused plot holes.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lost 2 stars for NOT writing a Recap.

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.

[Tomasz Zaremba · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author is amazingly developing

New books by Mahanenko are more and more thought through. The world is evolving into something more captivating and involving.
Cant wait for more.