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Crystal Core #2

Crystal Core 2

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Ryan is free... or is he?Incursions through the Divided Realms continue to pick up. Ryan seems to have escaped from those who summoned him, but could it be that their just letting him out on a longer leash? Even if he can escape them, he can't escape the monsters who are spreading through the realms.Worse, his shadow is filled with all types of spidery things and doesn't want to let him out of her sight. Crazy can be good right?

560 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 21, 2024

351 people are currently reading
63 people want to read

About the author

David Burke

38 books137 followers
David Burke is a mild manner something who tries to enjoy each day a bit more than the last. It dawned upon him at some point that life was racing him by and he wasn’t nearly as young as he used to be.

So now he spends his nights and lunch hours and any other free time he can putting down on paper all the stories that have collected up over a life time.

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5 stars
693 (64%)
4 stars
277 (25%)
3 stars
91 (8%)
2 stars
15 (1%)
1 star
3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
123 reviews
April 29, 2024
I would have preferred this as an isekai harem which, is what I said in my last review. The cultivation is basically background noise while the interactions of the characters are what really keeps my interest. The world is terribly dull with nothing helping it out at all. Any gains Ryan has are just handed to him while simultaneously there is never a question he is going to lose.

As an aside there are some of tropes here that just serve no purpose really. Ryan now likes to eat a lot of food and it's mentioned like every other chapter. He also growls a lot in situations that I'm pretty sure have no need for that word. There is also the trope of I'm gonna hide out secretly in this place and then immediately the character does the exact opposite.

Will be dropping this series and only really gave it a 3 due to the well done interactions of the main cast.
824 reviews4 followers
July 27, 2024
Interesting story but sometimes painful

Book 2 is mostly about continuing Ryan's training as well as getting closer to the assassin wife. As the story unfolds you learn just how bad Shumo's past with her mother really was and how it still affects her.

The daughter of air was hard to read as you learn her father beats her for not being perfect and not being the first choice wife. Watching the struggles she endures (both physical and emotional) is heartbreaking.

This book has a ton of grammatical\sentence structure issues that continuously pulled me out of the story so that I could figure out what was happening. Not sure if this book was originally in a foreign language and had issues with translation or if the author's friends never took the time to point them out.

Have fun!
313 reviews6 followers
October 12, 2024
I found this to be an improvement upon the first book in the setting. That said there are a few things about it that limits it to a 3/5 rating.

-- Vague Spoilers below --

1. One of these things that connects with other issues in the writing is how the MC never uses his Axe properly.

The MC's Axe has I think 3 different enchanted attacks/abilities fused into it, at least two variable aoe damage and one 10 minutes of flight, if I recall correctly, which the MC has the use of and not only that, he can increase the strength of these magic/techniques/game mechanic like attacks if he supplies extra mana to said weapon.

The thing is the MC has SSS++ grade mana, so it takes little imagination to think that ought to impact said enchanted skills greatly, or even just blowing the freaking Axe up if he enhances said strikes more than minimally with his solid state mana.

As I said though, The MC never once makes use of these, and he's actually about to surpass the item's material/cultivation rank, which soon will result in the Axe being unable to stand up to him using it at full strength.

2. I also find the authors continuation of the contrived plot surrounding the MC's third wife, Lian, to be eyerolling in its stupid Slow - motion - train - wreck progression.

3. Whatever happened to the portal intruders being aware of the Hero if he gets close? Maybe that was only for the nominally non sapient mobs? Anyway, I find the world building far to vague, nearly non-existent in this the second book where I'd expect such to be spread throughout the tale to let the reader build a picture of the greater world outside of the MC's current doings in preparation for book 3. Instead there is this sense that nothing exists outside of the previously mentioned places from this and book one.

4. I found the wrap-up of this part of the story to be sloppy when it concerns the Town of Eno and the conclusion of all that occurred in its environs during this book. The lack degrades a lot of the many minor aspects of this arc especially the MC's interactions with the regular people (non cultivation aspects) of the world. It just came across especially pointed since the MC promises things to the freed slaves at the mines but no follow through is mentioned. The MC just returns to town, from the last battle in this book, has some closed door cultivator interactions then a short harem interaction + sleep and then literally flies out of town after stepping outside his loaned Cottage the following morning.

Plot issues like these, small(Axe) to large(Town of Eno), are annoying because they lessen or invalidate parts of the story, making them feel like throw-away parts of the story and ultimately word padding. Its also very odd since just some minor additions to the story not more than maybe half a chapters text addition to the story could remove the issue.

5. The MC is still an annoying pain, even though the character portrayal is more solid in this the second book its still not great especially considering the perception/mental acuity stat gain. He is still plot-driven-unnaturally dull witted.
681 reviews11 followers
March 28, 2024
Another excellent iseki story by David Burke

Arrogant cultivators and Orc invaders collide with a human (but maybe not) summoned from earth. His sensibilities and expectations are shaped by American culture and upbringing which clash with the world he finds himself in. He also has a better understanding of science and principles of physics than those in the Divided Realms. Though they have a greater grasp of mana manipulation and live as warriors who must fight to survive in a harsh world. He must level up to survive the coming conflict while also trying to revise the mindsets of his allies to incorporate teamwork and synergy rather than personal strength above all and crush anyone too weak to stand against you. This mindset has flaws obvious to the MC, but are blindspots to the inhabitants, especially cultivators, in the Divided Realms.

There are exiting battles, training montages and three high powered female prodigies that have been assigned as his wives. As the MC develops relationships with the three women of different competitive clans, he is also receiving his first taste of personal freedom, after having been a bedridden invalid. Most of the story focuses on the MC and his wives, so the supporting characters dont really get much development. The only exception being Lian's abusive father, who is despicable in his outlook even for a "might is right" warrior culture. I look forward to seeing him humbled, rather than merely killed off.

Some interesting twists and turns were brought up in the epilogue. The MC's actual bloodline, the invaders gameplan and his mother-in-law's escape from imprisonment. There will also be political intrigue between the cultivators and mortals with the MC in the middle. Otherwise assassins wouldnt be a thing now would they?

Book 3 wont be out for a long 3 months so I will wait patiently until June arrives.
Profile Image for Dannan Tavona.
1,032 reviews12 followers
March 28, 2024
Crunchy cultivation

Alternate universe, fantasy races, portals, cultivation, harem fade to black

As per the cover, much of focus switches between the cultivation ranking of Ryan and his three wives, and Ryan developing a relationship with his second wife, Shikumo, or as Ryan calls her, Kumo. More testing and battling while Ryan works on his own emotional development while getting his wives to see normal people as being valuable in their own right. Usual amount of errors. A lot of potential beyond defeating the invaders who want to conquer and kill. Instead specialty mages, the cultivators have affinity to one or more types of ki they call mana. There are elemental types besides the usual four, creature mana, poison mana, and more.

If the next book doesn't deal with the yeti in storage, I'll be irritated, because I hate when problems, tasks, or whatever are introduced as needing resolution or just attention, but then never come up again.

Part of the fascination of harem stories for me is the relationships that can develop, how each character reacts not just to the MC but to each other as well, and that the interactions be believable. Thus far, this series is holding its own. Pre-ordered book 3. Satisfied with the tale so far.
139 reviews6 followers
August 21, 2024
For the most part this is a worthy sequel to the first book. I do have a few complaints though.

First, near the end of the book the MC has a major Idiot moment. Thankfully it's the only one in the book, but he makes a decision that has a whole lot of risk and very little reward. His reasoning for why is flimsy at best.

Second, the relationship between the MC and Lianhua is taking too long to get anywhere, and the reasoning why is getting frustrating. I agree with taking their time, but as it stands there's no progress being made at all.

Lastly, the setup for the next book basically has them rushing for no reason to a place that the MC will undoubtedly dislike. Why not take their time? They have plenty of it.

Complaints aside, I did enjoy the book. It's worth noting that all of my dislikes were near the end. I will continue reading the series and hopefully some of these will be addressed soon.
Profile Image for Brian Hurt.
16 reviews2 followers
July 27, 2025
Only one small complaint about one section

I did really like this one and I'm always down for a crazy yandere chick. Burke normally does a good job of balancing "learning their ways" and "fighting against their way" but there was a section somewhere around the halfway point where losing face and honor kept coming up. Instead of balancing him being against it or learning the best way to handle it that works with his own code he kept backing off. It just felt like one or two of them were wrong for him to back down on and there were too many of those moments back to back to back.
29 reviews
March 25, 2024
Really needs a proofreader

This is a great second book in the series - we get a slice of normal life, complications from the issues in the world that Ryan ran away from, a gradual acceptance of responsibility, some good character development and a big battle.

However.
The text is littered with misspelled words, tags left behind following wording changes, and incorrect usages. It felt like I couldn't go two pages without running into an obvious typo like "sone", rather than "song".

If the text can be proofread and fixed, I'd award it at least one more star.
Profile Image for Steve.
1,645 reviews63 followers
March 27, 2024
4.5 stars. Overall I liked it, but I find the MC is a bit of an idiot. This is understandable given his background and he does pretty well all things considered, but I found his portrayal uneven.

Regardless, it moves well and this one ends at the obvious beginning of the next story arc. And on one significant revelation; it isn't all that much of surprise, but puts in blunt terms something I had a formless suspicion of for the first two books. I look forward to book 3 and how many other clans will try to bind themselves to him, as well as the glimpse of the Gotterdammerung in the future.
226 reviews7 followers
April 7, 2024
A decent continuation

So, overall I enjoyed the story progression. Even kept more PG-13 the plot is good enough to not require smut.

Why 3 stars? Any way is not the same as anyway. That, along with a fair bit of other errors lose major points. There are affordable editors out there, and to not use one and put that proper polish on a work disrespects it.

It's an engaging story, but don't pull one out of the moment of the story because they have to try to figure out what you mean.

Hopefully those issues are fixed for people who read it after me.
19 reviews
July 9, 2024
Love the story and the characters

I love the characters and the plot. Shikumo is awesome!

There are a ton of editing issues, though. Is Shikumo's clan and last name Nijamae, like in the first book, or is it Ninjamae, like how it's so abundantly misspelled in this book. Is Senetria still Senetria, or did it become Senetra? Why was Tree Walking called Elu's skill when it's Shikumo's?

The story and characters can easily make this a 5-star book, but the continual editing problems drag the quality down.

Having a quality editor will make this series ASTOUNDING.
141 reviews
April 5, 2024
The cultivation world theme isn't my favorite, but I have to say I'm really enjoying this series so far. You see real growth and change in the characters which is unfortunately rare in this genre, and the plot and worldbuilding are solid, too. Another big thing is that it's a relief to read a fade-to-black story in the genre; I skip over any sex scenes I encounter, and not having to do so is a relief.
Profile Image for Andy Murphy.
330 reviews1 follower
December 30, 2024
Crystal Core 2

Ryan has escaped from the controlling plans of the clans. Having said that, even if they don’t know where he is, one of his more possessive wives might know where he is as well. To make matters worse, incursions seem to be happening closer to him bringing with them a wave of monsters!

It still surprises me that I enjoyed a harem novel this much! It certainly helps that it is suggestive and fade to black rather than going NSFW. The story is fantastic and the character development of all four main characters is getting deeper! Daniel Wisniewski and Rebecca Woods do a fantastic job with the dual narration!

Content Warning: Fade to Black sex
87 reviews1 follower
August 6, 2025
Book 2 was great!

This one definitely got into the relationship between Ryan and the three love interests going full bore. A good amount with Shikumo and then all three of them as a whole. I can definitely see a deeper dive on Lianhua in the next book. We also learned a good deal more about the world outside of just the cultivators. It has way more going on. Looking forward to book 3 and even more about the wider world and the conflict to come!
Profile Image for Zachary.
726 reviews16 followers
April 10, 2024
Getting the team together

Ryan gets to head off by himself and even spend some one-on-one time with his secretive assassin wife. But, before long, his other wives join him and they start to learn to work together as a team.

Fun story and I'm enjoying the characters. Looking forward to reading the next book 👍
386 reviews2 followers
April 22, 2024
Excellent

Builds on book one and you find more about his wives and what being the hero really entails more fighting more sect shenanigans and just a bit of slice of life, no stupid "oh I should be a simpering idiot around multiple females ", just honest facts how a real man should honour and respect his wives, some times listen some times ignore.
Profile Image for Garrett.
45 reviews
June 7, 2024
Great Progress

Good progress for the characters as well as the story. MC is coming to his own and making waves.

I want to give 5 stars for how much I enjoyed the book, but had to remove one star for editing. There are a lot spelling errors as well as wrong words in sentences. Simple mistakes, but very easy to fix with another round of editing.
97 reviews
March 28, 2024
this was an addictive story!

I really enjoy this story, a lot. The characters are fun and unique, the growth in this story was obvious and I loved every second of it. Can’t wait for more!
49 reviews2 followers
March 28, 2024
Great book

Found it hard to put the book down and can't wait for the next in the series. Great characters especially as they are not shown as perfect as they struggle with their problems. Worth reading.
1,503 reviews16 followers
April 2, 2024
Wow!!

What a great series!! Lots and lots of growth in the MC and his growing family as well as some dark injustice that they definitely won't be standing for in the future!!! I'm really looking forward to the next book for some answers about the MC's bloodline!!!!
107 reviews3 followers
April 30, 2024
Great second book for this new series

From the very beginning of this series I completely enjoyed the story and the characters. I enjoy all of his books and look forward to any new release.
1 review
May 1, 2024
Well Written and Extremely Enjoyable to Read

Both books in this series have been so much fun. I could not put either one down.without finishing. Im so looking forward to Crystal Core 3.
195 reviews
May 19, 2024
Now that Ryan is finally (mostly) united with all 3 wives, it seems the risk to the world is getting bigger. This focuses mostly on his time in Eno and we find out that Shikumo is not nearly as just plain crazy as initially expected.
38 reviews2 followers
June 12, 2024
Great story in cultivation

Loving this story. The characters are strong and well thought out. Lots of variety. Not really understanding the FTB on relations. Maybe something of an experiment. Good storytelling makes up for it. I'll definitely finish the series.
123 reviews
March 27, 2024
Good stuff!

I gotta say this is hell of a book I liked it even better than the 1st 1 and I loved it the 1st 1. I can't hardly wait for the 3rd 1 you cannot let it out fast
15 reviews
March 27, 2024
Outstanding

Still the most complex cultivation series I've read so far. An enjoyable story even if it is fade to black.
3 reviews
March 28, 2024
Very good series

An excellent world and a diverse cast of characters. I am enjoying the series and can't wait for the next book.
806 reviews11 followers
March 28, 2024
Very good book

This is a fine fantasy harem adventure novel. It is well written and edited. I especially like aunt Dara. I anxiously await the sequel.
420 reviews1 follower
March 30, 2024
Good book

Very good book and a wonderful series. Thr Mc is bad ass and his girl are really freaking cool. Look forward to reading more from the series and the author 😀 😄
Author 16 books141 followers
April 1, 2024
Enjoyable read

The mechanics are great and I enjoy the complexity of the love interest. Protagonist is imperfect but makes reasonable decisions without being a jerk.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews

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