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The Greystone Chronicles #5
The World at War
King Alexander and his guildmates have expanded Elysia into a formidable kingdom. Their ongoing battle against the Dark One and the drow wizards is escalating. Alexander works to bring together the Elves, Dwarves, and Human Kingdoms to establish the alliance proposed by the Dragon King. But the dark magic of the drow has infiltrated even the highest offices, blocking his efforts.
War comes once again to the gates of the keep, and Alexander must find a way to defend his citizens before he can go on the offensive and take the fight to the stronghold of his enemies. All of Io, citizens and players alike, are pulled into war as the forces of darkness strive to destroy or enslave every surface city.
Olympus is still under siege, and the threat intensifies as doctors determine it's necessary to wake Jules from her months-long slumber. Jules and Alexander prepare to meet face to face for the first time, with a little help from their friends.
Join the Greystone Guild for this epic conclusion of a LitRPG tale of magic, monsters, wizards and dragons.
War comes once again to the gates of the keep, and Alexander must find a way to defend his citizens before he can go on the offensive and take the fight to the stronghold of his enemies. All of Io, citizens and players alike, are pulled into war as the forces of darkness strive to destroy or enslave every surface city.
Olympus is still under siege, and the threat intensifies as doctors determine it's necessary to wake Jules from her months-long slumber. Jules and Alexander prepare to meet face to face for the first time, with a little help from their friends.
Join the Greystone Guild for this epic conclusion of a LitRPG tale of magic, monsters, wizards and dragons.
- GenresFantasy
364 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 10, 2019
211 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Dave Willmarth
31 books633 followersDave is a part-time author who would love to live full time in the game worlds he creates.
A gamer since the 70's, he loves the idea of being able to mix the science of virtual reality with the fantasy worlds inspired by great writers such as JRR Tokien and CS Lewis.
Dave has always wanted to be a writer. Over the past three decades he started and put away a dozen novels, distracted by work or life.
The dream of being an author seemed distant.
That is until recently, when he discovered the LitRPG/GameLit genre full of books that combined his love for video games and epic fantasy adventures. He was inspired by the books he read, and the authors who wrote them. So much so that he sat down and wrote the first two books of The Greystone Chronicles in just over a month. He published the first as an experiment, and was shocked at the response. These days he sits in his man cave late at night and writes the stories of characters he'd like to be, in worlds virtually without limits.
A gamer since the 70's, he loves the idea of being able to mix the science of virtual reality with the fantasy worlds inspired by great writers such as JRR Tokien and CS Lewis.
Dave has always wanted to be a writer. Over the past three decades he started and put away a dozen novels, distracted by work or life.
The dream of being an author seemed distant.
That is until recently, when he discovered the LitRPG/GameLit genre full of books that combined his love for video games and epic fantasy adventures. He was inspired by the books he read, and the authors who wrote them. So much so that he sat down and wrote the first two books of The Greystone Chronicles in just over a month. He published the first as an experiment, and was shocked at the response. These days he sits in his man cave late at night and writes the stories of characters he'd like to be, in worlds virtually without limits.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
April 26, 2019
Motivation & Lack of RPG
I finally had to put this series down, I wasn’t able to finish the final book. I had such a hard time believing the motivation of the main antagonist and his minions. People being radicalized for a god or major belief is one thing, someone screaming “he told me you killed his mom” as she’s about to be arrested for terrorism was when I put the book down. Overall the story was interesting (obviously I stayed with it till book 5), but it really didn’t seem to fit the rpg genre. The leveling system didn’t really seem like it was a important factor. Skills and stats were left at the wayside, and I’ve never in my life played any rpgs where none of the players cared about the loot. They would loot everything but rarely use it, and just upgrade occasionally or at their own leisure. They would frequently talk about not unbalancing the in game economy but would throw around gold like it had no value. Just felt like maybe the author would have been better off in a general fantasy setting, as he didn’t show a lot of interest in the rpg development.
I finally had to put this series down, I wasn’t able to finish the final book. I had such a hard time believing the motivation of the main antagonist and his minions. People being radicalized for a god or major belief is one thing, someone screaming “he told me you killed his mom” as she’s about to be arrested for terrorism was when I put the book down. Overall the story was interesting (obviously I stayed with it till book 5), but it really didn’t seem to fit the rpg genre. The leveling system didn’t really seem like it was a important factor. Skills and stats were left at the wayside, and I’ve never in my life played any rpgs where none of the players cared about the loot. They would loot everything but rarely use it, and just upgrade occasionally or at their own leisure. They would frequently talk about not unbalancing the in game economy but would throw around gold like it had no value. Just felt like maybe the author would have been better off in a general fantasy setting, as he didn’t show a lot of interest in the rpg development.
November 16, 2019
TL;DR - author behavior makes me uncomfortable, changing rating from 4 to 1 stars.
A generally good ending for the series, with most of the major threads that had been present tied up. There are still lots of things that can happen, so it is a bit in media res, but that's not a bad thing in an ending.
Fibble gets a present on what feels like the last page (hard to say with a kindle)...and that just feels a little weird as an ending point though.
I remember hitting a comment from another LitRPG author who felt like he was being attacked by Royal Road writers. Hitting a crooked cop who gets their face shot off with the same last name as AN author I read (can't remember if it was the same one or not) left me feeling a bit uncomfortable. That's a level of animosity and violence that's not cool.
Having written that, I had to go look. Yup. Same author. I don't remember noticing anything plagarized as I read. Further... having read Cheek's and Willmarth's posts about this, I don't even see how Willmarth is involved. So arranging the violent death of someone in your novel who never actually even harmed you? Not cool.
Now I'm conflicted. This feels not right. I enjoyed Greystone, but I don't want to reward author bad behavior. This is a complicated issue, but the more I think about it, I may be tempted to describe several of these works as derivative (and not of each other - the idea of being naked, not where you belong, in tough conditions, and in a timed scenario is way older than litrpg) - and derivative isn't plagarized. Further, Willmarth A. never seems to claimed to have been directly harmed and B. just wrote the violent death of a real-world person. This makes me really uncomfortable.
So, crap.
Here's what I'm going to do. I'm changing my rating of this from 4 star to 1 star as a result of the shooting death scene.
I'm going to have to stop reading Willmarth, which is a shame. I was looking forward to the next book in his post-apocalyptic litrpg. Not reading authors who behave badly is about all I can do. In this case, at this point, that scene leaves me feeling like I have to stop. If I'm wrong about Cheek, Willmarth's scene is still unacceptable.
A generally good ending for the series, with most of the major threads that had been present tied up. There are still lots of things that can happen, so it is a bit in media res, but that's not a bad thing in an ending.
Fibble gets a present on what feels like the last page (hard to say with a kindle)...and that just feels a little weird as an ending point though.
I remember hitting a comment from another LitRPG author who felt like he was being attacked by Royal Road writers. Hitting a crooked cop who gets their face shot off with the same last name as AN author I read (can't remember if it was the same one or not) left me feeling a bit uncomfortable. That's a level of animosity and violence that's not cool.
Having written that, I had to go look. Yup. Same author. I don't remember noticing anything plagarized as I read. Further... having read Cheek's and Willmarth's posts about this, I don't even see how Willmarth is involved. So arranging the violent death of someone in your novel who never actually even harmed you? Not cool.
Now I'm conflicted. This feels not right. I enjoyed Greystone, but I don't want to reward author bad behavior. This is a complicated issue, but the more I think about it, I may be tempted to describe several of these works as derivative (and not of each other - the idea of being naked, not where you belong, in tough conditions, and in a timed scenario is way older than litrpg) - and derivative isn't plagarized. Further, Willmarth A. never seems to claimed to have been directly harmed and B. just wrote the violent death of a real-world person. This makes me really uncomfortable.
So, crap.
Here's what I'm going to do. I'm changing my rating of this from 4 star to 1 star as a result of the shooting death scene.
I'm going to have to stop reading Willmarth, which is a shame. I was looking forward to the next book in his post-apocalyptic litrpg. Not reading authors who behave badly is about all I can do. In this case, at this point, that scene leaves me feeling like I have to stop. If I'm wrong about Cheek, Willmarth's scene is still unacceptable.
May 13, 2020
The epic conclusion has arrived! So, one of my favorite litRPGs comes to a close. I love this story, it brings a smile to my face so many times while listening. The characters, the world-building, everything was excellent. The performance by Soundbooth Theatre was extraordinary. I must agree with others that the ending was rushed and quite anticlimactic. There are also many loose ends and questions left unanswered. All this time I never knew Fitz’s true background. I wondered if I had missed something all along or if this was a big reveal? What of the Dragon Empire, did they not have a battle as well? Ky and Lea, the baby dragons, Fibble and his bonded dragon, the Mithril worms, and the Guardian. There certainly seems to be enough material for another volume or the beginning of a new series. I look forward to seeing more from Dave Willmarth.
February 7, 2026
Mostly satisfying end
Alternate universe, LitRPG, save the world, base building
Things plunge into constant action through most of the novel. Was disappointed that Alexander, after being give the ability to raise the dead, didn't use it to raise many of the NPCs. Nor did he check on the elves or dragons after the attacks were done. Future quests, I suppose. Editing improved partway through to above average, with main hangup being punctuation. If the author chose to fix the errors, I'm positive it would help sales and story ratings, as he deftly builds and maintains interest in the characters and story throughout. Enjoyed. Maybe one day he will write a sequel to Mars System Reboot.
Alternate universe, LitRPG, save the world, base building
Things plunge into constant action through most of the novel. Was disappointed that Alexander, after being give the ability to raise the dead, didn't use it to raise many of the NPCs. Nor did he check on the elves or dragons after the attacks were done. Future quests, I suppose. Editing improved partway through to above average, with main hangup being punctuation. If the author chose to fix the errors, I'm positive it would help sales and story ratings, as he deftly builds and maintains interest in the characters and story throughout. Enjoyed. Maybe one day he will write a sequel to Mars System Reboot.
January 13, 2019
Book five
Mistakes: the charts in this one seemed sloppy and harder to read.
Plot: the end of a good series. However, I had a problem with the MC being able to beat an enemy forty levels above him. As well as the birding of skill points. The MC called himself a glass cannon multiple times, so hording points or beating an enemy so far above himself didn't fit. I'm also disappointed we didn't learn what loot was gathered from inside the enemy base.
Characters: Fibble is still my favorite character.
Mistakes: the charts in this one seemed sloppy and harder to read.
Plot: the end of a good series. However, I had a problem with the MC being able to beat an enemy forty levels above him. As well as the birding of skill points. The MC called himself a glass cannon multiple times, so hording points or beating an enemy so far above himself didn't fit. I'm also disappointed we didn't learn what loot was gathered from inside the enemy base.
Characters: Fibble is still my favorite character.
August 5, 2021
I hope there is a book six 😡
Man, talk about an abrupt ending to a book. I really hope there is a book six. I almost have this four stars, because of the end.
SPOILER Alert!!!!!
Another thing is if they have like a dozen clerics, and Pally's who can rez, why didn't they use it on a certain NPC draining that died in the middle. And they received massive loot, from a World Event, and First Kill and they didn't check it out first thing??? What gamer anywhere would do that??
Man, talk about an abrupt ending to a book. I really hope there is a book six. I almost have this four stars, because of the end.
SPOILER Alert!!!!!
Another thing is if they have like a dozen clerics, and Pally's who can rez, why didn't they use it on a certain NPC draining that died in the middle. And they received massive loot, from a World Event, and First Kill and they didn't check it out first thing??? What gamer anywhere would do that??
January 13, 2019
Seriously Good Series!
Brilliant action, with sad sad moments, ending in exhausted triumph. I enjoyed this book from the moment I started reading it and at the end wished it wasn’t over. Dave Willmarth has created an enchanting world filled with amazing characters that you just can’t help but cheer on in all their adventures. And the best character of all in the series? That four foot nothing, green, smelly cookie and bacon thieving goblin, Fibble!
Brilliant action, with sad sad moments, ending in exhausted triumph. I enjoyed this book from the moment I started reading it and at the end wished it wasn’t over. Dave Willmarth has created an enchanting world filled with amazing characters that you just can’t help but cheer on in all their adventures. And the best character of all in the series? That four foot nothing, green, smelly cookie and bacon thieving goblin, Fibble!
January 14, 2019
Need more stars
I need more stars than five for this one. Fantastic series. The world Dave Willmarth created is simply fantastic. The characters are believable and real to me, even Fibble. The only thing I can possibly say against it is that it's over. I hope he has future projects that will at least let us know how the gang is doing. Overall, an absolutely outstanding end to an amazing series.
I need more stars than five for this one. Fantastic series. The world Dave Willmarth created is simply fantastic. The characters are believable and real to me, even Fibble. The only thing I can possibly say against it is that it's over. I hope he has future projects that will at least let us know how the gang is doing. Overall, an absolutely outstanding end to an amazing series.
March 4, 2019
Another great book
So again another great book for the end of the series, it had humerus parts emotional parts and everything in between. I would have loved to have more of an ending to wrap everything up, cause it's the last in the series so we might not see our favorite characters again, and it felt a bit rushed at the end but like I said great book and good ending to the series.
So again another great book for the end of the series, it had humerus parts emotional parts and everything in between. I would have loved to have more of an ending to wrap everything up, cause it's the last in the series so we might not see our favorite characters again, and it felt a bit rushed at the end but like I said great book and good ending to the series.
March 25, 2019
Great series
I always know I’ve just read a engaging series when I am sad to have it end. I will miss all of the characters and hope they stop in again some day. I’d like to thank the author for creating two interesting and realistic worlds that provided me hours of enjoyment. The focus on friendship, loyalty and acceptance of “ others” is something we badly need in our dire keep.
I always know I’ve just read a engaging series when I am sad to have it end. I will miss all of the characters and hope they stop in again some day. I’d like to thank the author for creating two interesting and realistic worlds that provided me hours of enjoyment. The focus on friendship, loyalty and acceptance of “ others” is something we badly need in our dire keep.
November 7, 2019
Worst ending
Ok great series until how they ended it. Spoiler alert!!!! The guy dies and with one page the entire series ended with so many questions unanswered and just a dead pan stop. Won’t be reading another book from the author since he has no clue how to truly end a book series. Nothing about fibbles new levels, nothing about fighting the rest of the crow, and literally nothing on the other drow wizards.
Ok great series until how they ended it. Spoiler alert!!!! The guy dies and with one page the entire series ended with so many questions unanswered and just a dead pan stop. Won’t be reading another book from the author since he has no clue how to truly end a book series. Nothing about fibbles new levels, nothing about fighting the rest of the crow, and literally nothing on the other drow wizards.
January 19, 2020
What an ending
That was excellent and what an epic tale this has been. Loved this series and meeting all the characters especially Fibble 😉
This was a well written and with great pace and had me wanting to keep on reading right to the end. Shame there isn’t more to come as knowing how Elysia develops would be great and also if they get Fibble properly levelled.
Oh well onto the next 😁
That was excellent and what an epic tale this has been. Loved this series and meeting all the characters especially Fibble 😉
This was a well written and with great pace and had me wanting to keep on reading right to the end. Shame there isn’t more to come as knowing how Elysia develops would be great and also if they get Fibble properly levelled.
Oh well onto the next 😁
August 27, 2024
An enjoyable saga
A story of our little rich boy versus the world. Actually, it's not. It's far better. Poor little rich boy and his friends inside a computer game against the world they are playing in.
Meanwhile, outside in the actual world an idiot and his son are wageing war against the company that runs the virtual world.
Thankfully the bad guys are too stupid to see what is right in front of them and so they rage against the machine.
A story of our little rich boy versus the world. Actually, it's not. It's far better. Poor little rich boy and his friends inside a computer game against the world they are playing in.
Meanwhile, outside in the actual world an idiot and his son are wageing war against the company that runs the virtual world.
Thankfully the bad guys are too stupid to see what is right in front of them and so they rage against the machine.
January 13, 2019
Wait...is this series end?
This book definitely had a lot of action and intrigue but it ended too abruptly! No epilogue? The story was quite enjoyable with improved editing, but it felt as though there was so much ramping up and everything fell over the cliff. If not for the ending, this would have been a five star book.
This book definitely had a lot of action and intrigue but it ended too abruptly! No epilogue? The story was quite enjoyable with improved editing, but it felt as though there was so much ramping up and everything fell over the cliff. If not for the ending, this would have been a five star book.
January 14, 2019
Amazing end to the series, though I wish it wasn’t
This last book is the best of the series in my opinion. It ties up the major plot lines and closes with their resolutions. However I would personally like to have seen the resolution of the personal plot lines that were left open. Still for the proclaimed end of a series, it does better than most.
This last book is the best of the series in my opinion. It ties up the major plot lines and closes with their resolutions. However I would personally like to have seen the resolution of the personal plot lines that were left open. Still for the proclaimed end of a series, it does better than most.
January 14, 2019
Excellent conclusion to a great series
This was a great conclusion to one of my favorite LitRPG series. I’m really bummed they’re over. I’d highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys LitRPG adventures. It’s hard to find a good series that does a good job at both character building and kingdom building. I think those were the best part of the whole series.
This was a great conclusion to one of my favorite LitRPG series. I’m really bummed they’re over. I’d highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys LitRPG adventures. It’s hard to find a good series that does a good job at both character building and kingdom building. I think those were the best part of the whole series.
January 20, 2019
Very good
I have enjoyed this book and the journey of the Greystoke Chronicles which has got better and better as it's gone along, in my opinion. My only slight disappointment was that the story ended quite abruptly and could have had a nicer wrap up. But overall this was a good series, with good characters, kingdom building and great story arcs.
I have enjoyed this book and the journey of the Greystoke Chronicles which has got better and better as it's gone along, in my opinion. My only slight disappointment was that the story ended quite abruptly and could have had a nicer wrap up. But overall this was a good series, with good characters, kingdom building and great story arcs.
March 2, 2019
Really liked this
Thank you for another great book. I can't wait for the next one.
The rest of this review is filled with blah. A specific number of words are required for this to actually post. The first sentences are my review. So are the number of stars. I read the stories, I do not write them.
Thank you for another great book. I can't wait for the next one.
The rest of this review is filled with blah. A specific number of words are required for this to actually post. The first sentences are my review. So are the number of stars. I read the stories, I do not write them.
March 9, 2019
Awesome book. Great read.
My husband got me hooked on your books. I binge read all the books in this series. I totally loved the Fibble character. There were many times that I laughed out loud and a few that I cried. Was very good and look forward to more of your books and new series.
My husband got me hooked on your books. I binge read all the books in this series. I totally loved the Fibble character. There were many times that I laughed out loud and a few that I cried. Was very good and look forward to more of your books and new series.
March 24, 2019
Quite Sad
I bought this book when it first came out and it took me ages to read it, not because of it being bad but because I love this series and didn't want to read it's ending. The depth of the characters whether players or npcs is what makes this series stand out. Dave Willmarth is definitely one of the greatest authors in this type of genre.
I bought this book when it first came out and it took me ages to read it, not because of it being bad but because I love this series and didn't want to read it's ending. The depth of the characters whether players or npcs is what makes this series stand out. Dave Willmarth is definitely one of the greatest authors in this type of genre.
September 26, 2019
Great Story
Can you complain about minor inconsistencies and typos on a series that you read non stop for 4 days? I've been reading Willmarths other series and you can tell that he matured at lot as a writer since This one and this one was pretty friggn good. There were issues but I still read it all and enjoyed it imensly. Definitely recommend it to other fans of the genre
Can you complain about minor inconsistencies and typos on a series that you read non stop for 4 days? I've been reading Willmarths other series and you can tell that he matured at lot as a writer since This one and this one was pretty friggn good. There were issues but I still read it all and enjoyed it imensly. Definitely recommend it to other fans of the genre
May 20, 2020
A great book
I couldn't stop reading I loved the series I am sad that it ended n book five. It is a wonderful story great characters and a vivid world I got hours of joy from reading all 5 books if you have not read them please do so it was worth the time. I hope that there Will be more stories in th future .Thank you for your hard work.
I couldn't stop reading I loved the series I am sad that it ended n book five. It is a wonderful story great characters and a vivid world I got hours of joy from reading all 5 books if you have not read them please do so it was worth the time. I hope that there Will be more stories in th future .Thank you for your hard work.
September 14, 2020
Didn't like the ending, however it was another great read.
I felt like everything came to a close in an abrupt and sudden way. There were questions left unanswered. Since that seems like a personal preference I still gave the book four stars. I wish another would come out to round out the ending, however, I'm looking forward to any other books this author writes.
I felt like everything came to a close in an abrupt and sudden way. There were questions left unanswered. Since that seems like a personal preference I still gave the book four stars. I wish another would come out to round out the ending, however, I'm looking forward to any other books this author writes.
December 6, 2020
A fitting ending
I came late to the Greystone Chronicles party, and was able to binge read the entire series. I came over from his BattleBorne book, and truly enjoyed the series. The characters truly grow over the series, and the twists and turns the plot takes the book in the final destination that ended the book and series well.
I came late to the Greystone Chronicles party, and was able to binge read the entire series. I came over from his BattleBorne book, and truly enjoyed the series. The characters truly grow over the series, and the twists and turns the plot takes the book in the final destination that ended the book and series well.
February 1, 2021
AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME
Sorry to seen redundent AWESOME ... Fantastic Fantasy ... Fantastic Characters ... Fantastic Characterization ... Storyline is ... Awesome ... Maybe one of the best things I have read in the half century I have been reading fantasy Fiction ... and I read EVERYTHING I can find ... AWESOME
Sorry to seen redundent AWESOME ... Fantastic Fantasy ... Fantastic Characters ... Fantastic Characterization ... Storyline is ... Awesome ... Maybe one of the best things I have read in the half century I have been reading fantasy Fiction ... and I read EVERYTHING I can find ... AWESOME
July 15, 2021
Amazing series
I have to say after reading a recommendation on good reads I was apprehensive when read such good reviews about the book. I've lived through all the books in the series have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the read little fable is a legend and thank you offer for a well-written series.
I have to say after reading a recommendation on good reads I was apprehensive when read such good reviews about the book. I've lived through all the books in the series have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the read little fable is a legend and thank you offer for a well-written series.
January 13, 2019
Fantastic conclusion to the seriez
Much Fibble cuteness.
A great extended battle sequence that is really well written. The HEA was expected, I personally would have liked a showdown with Matt, but that's just me. Well worth the wait!
Much Fibble cuteness.
A great extended battle sequence that is really well written. The HEA was expected, I personally would have liked a showdown with Matt, but that's just me. Well worth the wait!
January 14, 2019
The only bad thing about this series
All books have at least one or two bad things...... I did find one
Like most book series....it ended.
However...nothing can go on forever. Really good story
All books have at least one or two bad things...... I did find one
Like most book series....it ended.
However...nothing can go on forever. Really good story
January 14, 2019
Amazing
The final book in the series. I am so very sad that the story ended. It did so well. The story as a whole was paved well. The book ended but I am hoping that there may now be more stories in and on io.
The final book in the series. I am so very sad that the story ended. It did so well. The story as a whole was paved well. The book ended but I am hoping that there may now be more stories in and on io.
January 16, 2019
OMG FANTASTIC
Left me wanting more! Thanks for the laughs and tears. One of the best series I have read yet. I believe that you should continue the series somehow, I hate to see it ended.
Left me wanting more! Thanks for the laughs and tears. One of the best series I have read yet. I believe that you should continue the series somehow, I hate to see it ended.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews