Step 1 - Find beautiful monster girl Step 2 - Bed beautiful monster girl Step 3 - Make half-monster-half-human child that has magical abilities with beautiful monster girl Step 4 - Go to Step 1 with different monster girl until an unstoppable horde is made Step 5 - Conquer the world
I always have a lot of fun with Michael Scott Earle's books and this one was no different.
In many ways, this one was familiar to his Tamer series, only much, much faster in pace. On the one hand that is a benefit as his Tamer series, probably my favourite by this author, has a tendency to drag its feet a little. However, there were a lot of moments through this where I felt things were a little too rushed and I could have done with some more time spent developing characters and the world.
I suppose that this one is just on the wrong side of the Goldilocks zone, but it's a lot of fun regardless.
4-stars with 5-star potential for future stories.
WARNING - I feel like I have to add this just in case, but if you're not a fan of, or can't see the fun in unrealistic adult situations (the kind that you normally find in the guilty dreams of a lot of men), then this book isn't for you.
This is pretty text book bad writing. So bad that I gave up after 26% of the way through and, in writing this review, I'm now surprised I made it that far.
I'll admit I wasn't paying close attention to the opening sequence where the MC is a soldier on patrol in Iraq since that was clearly just set up. I mention this because I didn't notice any problems with how that combat was written but the next two fight scenes are inexcusably terrible.
The MC is transported to a D&D type world, ends up in the middle of a village where everyone is trying to kill him and HE DOESN'T USE HIS GUN. Plus he may as well just walk out of the middle of the murderous crowd this scene is written so ridiculously. The MC is being mobbed FROM ALL SIDES and yet he can see every attempt to harm him, like the knife he just pushes aside (while still holding his gun).
AND YET IT GETS WORSE . . . The author provides every thought that goes through the MC's head about female bodies but can't be bothered to have the MC think about why he isn't killing the villagers trying to kill him. One thought on why he isn't killing the villagers and this scene becomes bearable (although it would still suffer from the unrealistic treatment of being mobbed by a crowd).
Next the MC ends up running out of town and into a cave containing kobalts. He actually does shoot 2 of the kobalts BUT THEN THEY RUSH HIM AND THE MC DECIDES HE DOESN'T HAVE THE TIME TO SHOOT THEM ALL. HE DOES, HOWEVER, HAVE THE TIME TO PUT HIS GUN AWAY, PULL HIS KNIFE AND TRENCHING TOOL AND FIGHT THEM??????? BUT WAIT, IT GETS WORSE . . . If the author was so in love with this scene all he had to do was have the MC choose to fight this way, after all the MC only has 3 magazines for his handgun. But the author is too busy describing boobs to think of this INCREDIBLY OBVIOUS approach.
Not only are the fights terribly written but every female (except the old crone) is present in the story to become a potential sex partner for the MC. Before the kobalts the MC meets a farmer's daughter who wants to have his children, but there isn't time. While in the cave, however, he meets a goblin woman that is insanely beautiful. It is the goblin woman the MC rescues from the kobalts. So, of course, this trained soldier can't wait to get to safety before having sex with her. The sex is apparently magical as well since it somehow means the goblin woman really is trustworthy.
Bottom line: I really can't imagine a bigger waste of time than this book.
The most rushy wish fulfillment style book I've ever read.
"Generic tough guy finds beautiful women who are ok with him sleeping around" is a pretty common trope in this genre of books but this one has the added twist of the reason for it being that he intends to... breed an army of monsters. I'm making that sound more interesting than it sounds though, since it's essentially the loose reasoning for the whole adventure.
My main problem with this book is how rushed everything is. Instead of writing in the passage of time, the author gives some vague reasoning for the fact that everything is happening so fast. It's a weak plot device and the story would be far better had he decided to do it another way.
All that being said I may still continue this story just to figure out what sort of absurdly beautiful monster woman he runs into next.
Oh Michael-Scott :/. I really enjoyed Michael-Scott's Lion's Quest Series, but every other one of his series I try are 75% wank fantasy. It's sad because the story going on around that here is pretty good. If he just dialed back the horn and spent more time flushing out the world, characters, and events, it could have been really good.
Recommendations for improvement: 1. Cut back on the repetition - I was getting extremely tired of the goblin mc's because one had to say 'Ken Jewel' in every sentence, and the other only said 'holy shit'. It gets grating.
2. Over use of 'beautiful' - Learn a new descriptor! Not every love interest needs to be 'beautiful' in the first place, but even if they do, there are other ways to say it. When everyone is beautiful it makes them seem samey.
3. Quality over Quantity - Being told they're doing things 2 or more times a day isn't interesting. Rapid production of children that are instantly self reliant isn't meaningful (especially when we're told to think of them, essentially, as canon fodder).
MSE puts out so many books, one could reasonably expect them to be the exact same formula... they would be wrong. Each series is its own universe with its own rules and realities. Monster Empire is the kind of book that will stand out within his repertoire due to his personable characters, realistic action and building descriptions, and dialogue that had me laughing maniacally. Don’t miss this series, it is promising both as a guilty pleasure and soul restoring.
It's missing a plot, a main character you like, hot women, and sex. Other than that, this book has all the elements of a best seller...it has words and a cover. Despite the main character having a retarded half-goblin kid (retarded jokes are hilarious), this book made me call asleep. I was going to suggest that the book would be perfect for starting a fire or tp for your bunghole but I didn't finish the last 20 pages....maybe the author turned it around and made it good?
Another entertaining series from my favorite author. An easy and enjoyable read. Sawsaw and Nika had me laughing out loud multiple times. MSE has created what promises to be another great cast of characters that leave me eager to see what they do next. I can't wait to see what kind of monster girls and up on the cover of the next book. I've always enjoyed monster girl anime and manga so it is very exciting to read such a story from MSE.
I never should have doubted the author but I did. I ended up reading this new book in a single read and can't wait for the next book! If you are a fan of any of his other books you will be more than satisfied. Michael Scott earl just crushed it again. Can't wait for book two and more monster wonan, warrior kids and mermaid baby harasses and LOOT!!
Ken Jewel falls down take proverbial rabbit hole and is introduced to an entire new world. A modern day Alice in wonderland. Except that Ken is able to bond with the monsters that live in the underdark and bring them into the light. Thankfully for Ken, the monsters that he is able to find are beautiful women looking to make a life on the surface. As expected, the locals do not take kindly to him and neither do the denizens of the underdark and wanton adventure and excitement insures. This is the fourth series of Michael-Scott Earle that I have read and although a fun and enjoyable read, it doesn’t top the Tamer series that I couldn’t put down. This one does have all the typical adventuring and fighting that I have come to expect and Ken has his fare share of beautiful women to partake and create a new army from but the book just didn’t grab my attention as much. Ken falls for Nika and I felt that she is not as fun a character as Mr. Earle has had in his other books. She seems to pushy and Ken’s adventures don’t have quite the suspense that I have seen in some of his other books, although you always know the hero wins I do like a little suspense in how he will get there. The concept of the underdark does create a very wide sandbox to play for Mr. Earle in his future books and all sorts of potential adventures, creatures and mates are possible but the book just didn’t grab my attention as I would have liked. Although a good potential start and a book that does leave you with some questions about how Ken will fulfill his goals and what powers he or.his future wives and offspring may have, I will probably wait to pick up the next one for a little while. I have tried his other series trying to grab the same connection that I found with the Tamer series and none have really done it for me. This is a nice book and one that was worth the time to read it but Ken may have to adventure on his own for awhile before I joint him again.
A Sergeant, Ken Jewel, that was in charge of a crew in the Syrian Desert, somehow gets teleported to another reality world (isekai). In this World, everybody understands each other (never explained fully by the author), main character, Ken Jewel, becomes enemy number one, the moment the Hamstead town augur (local magic-teller), Granhelga, finds out that his first ability is to "allow monsters to rise from the underworld" (ability to bond with monsters). Augur woman had a second ability she had to tell, and just at that moment, dies from the news. So everybody in that town, seeks to lynch and beat to death, Ken, and he escapes to the underworld. With his special ability to "free" the monsters from the underworld, Ken starts to create his own personal harem, and then his own personal army through breeding his children. This first volume has 300+ pages and just 16 chapters (over 20 pages per chapter which allows for character development, governance, plot development, etc.) Ken spends his time creating a home for his harem and family, and then pillaging and defending his home from the monsters and humans that attack them constantly. Story is straightforward, not that original, nor interesting. It's just Okay.
This is definitely a top tier stinker, which is surprising because Michael Scott Earle has two other series that i love (Tamer and Viking Rune-Smith). I mean, is this his first ever book or something? There has to be a reason why such a capable author put out such a piece of trash as this. I don't know. Anyway, the story is boring, the characters are one dimensional and banal, and i swear, MS Earle wrote them that way just to troll the reader. Nika, whom MC saved and then she insta-joined his harem, only talks about eating, fucking, and building up clan Jewel to take over the world. That's all she ever talks about. Her child only says 3 fucking things, Saw-Saw, Da-Da and holy shit. And Calli, whom MC saved and then she insta-joined his harem, only talks about how good looking MC is, and how much fun she is having.
What a terrible story. Even Eric Vall reads this story and thinks "damn man, that story is pretty weak." That's saying something. Not only am i dropping this series, i wish i could reach into my head and scoop out the chunks of brain which house the memory of reading this travesty. Oh well.
I love the author and many of his works. I thought Death Ship was his weakest series to date, this one is kinda, worse. It's not bad it just didn't draw me in and felt like it had some serious flaws.
1. It felt, rushed. The entire introduction to new world, getting to knowm the locals and snatching Nika, building up their homestead etc felt incredible rushed.
2. There isn't really a plot. No overarching villain, no overarching danger beyond a vague "nobody will accept us", nothing to really drive the story produce suspense and draw me in.
3. I didn't really like Sawsaw, from his name to everything else surrounding him. Nika is okay but, felt a bit shallow. Calli didn't get much time to develop.
I'll still get book two in the series, it was entertaining enough to fill some spare time but the series so far feels. Very weak.
So is like interface this by saying Amazon has a more negative review system than goodreads, but this review gets posted to both so for me it means that I liked the book. It was an enjoyable read that is mostly set up for things to happen in the future with some cute lines and action. I wish there was some more character interaction instead of building descriptions because at times it feels sort of like a "how to" book. Overall if recommend reading it for a pretty quick fun read.
Fun story about a human soldier who falls through a "stargate" whilst defending a temple in the middle east. After a witch dies after revealing his powers of bringing underdark monsters to sunlight, he runs for his life to the Underdark to escape. His adventures and discoveries in the underdark lend action and a tongur-in-cheek comedic bent to the tale. These harem stories are much fun to read, and aside from some minor editing errors, it is a tale that should not be missed.
Monster Empire is a fun story with an intense beginning that pulls you in from page one. There are monsters, including some really hot ones, there is building, there is fighting, and there is baby making. If that sounds up your alley, then read away! This is the beginning of a series, but works fine on its own too.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Interesting combination of Empire Building and Monster Girls
This story is a fun tale for fans of Tamer and MSEs other works. It fits well within the self contained story it starts... and should continue with another great book - it left off in a place with room to grow, and was a fun jaunt into the universe.
Yet another incredible work from MSE. I can see this one quickly becoming one of my favorites, right up there with Tamer, Space Knight, Star Justice, and Dragon Slayer. It is unique and enjoyable that leaves you feeling enthralled with the story and characters!
Now I have read the majority of the authors books. So I am immediately inclined to buy one of his books. This one was fun from the beginning. A little army life then into dungeon survival and creating a self sustaining homestead. The jokes were funny and the bye play was great. Can’t wait to see where this story goes next.
3.5 to 4 stars, another great book/series start for Michael. This is a lot like his Tamer series. I have enjoyed his books a lot and if you like this type of book I can't see how you would not enjoy the read as well. With all of that said this book will not be for everyone but those of us that like this type of book you are in for a treat.
Loved it’s a interesting take on protagonist gets teleported to another world type book.. can’t wait to read next book in series.. has harem and monster girls so if you’re not a fan of these types of books wouldn’t recommend for you.. but if you like both those genres and cool fantasy type settings then this is a definitely must read.
This book takes the transported to a fantasy world in a completely new direction. Not only are most of the monsters enemies, so to are the humans in this book. The author knows how to make great protagonists.
This was a great new addition to the legacy that is MSE. The concept is definitely intriguing, the story was exciting, and the characters were all engrossing. I can't wait for book 2 and to see where this series goes!
Things first t he start of the book from where he showed up in the new world felt like it was lacking. The second is he uses a gun in the treasure room an it apparently duzent make easy noise where they should of been found out by the gun shots
Okay now we have monster girls and world building....what more do you need. Details about the plot? Nope. Stats about the characters? Nah. All you need to know is that MSE knows building and hit girls. 'nuff said.
Fun little empire building sorry, characters are likable and story fast paced and interesting. Lots of violence, sex and cursing, like there should be.
Michael-Scott Earle has done it again this book is awesome the characters a well written I enjoy this book from start to finish the author did a great job with the story. 5 out of 5 stars.
This is such a fun book. I possibly look at it differently than male fans because I'm not into the harem fantasy! LOL! But, I have to say that it's a most enjoyable story! I think it's definitely on a par with Tamer and Star Justice. Some sex and bad language.
Another great story line and can't wait for the next book to come out. It was a very refreshing story and leaves you wanting more. Can't wait to see his family grow
I loved how everything started and then progressed. Yes there are a lot of far fetched things in this book but that isn't necessarily why you reed books like this. You reed them to be Entertained.
This is another series for this author that is known for a romping good time in a harem adventure. Battles with monsters in humans winning above all else now has two wives and one son and one on the way have fun