Memories of the Reborn

Spellheart #3

by Marvin Knight

A Cultivating Gamelit Harem Adventure

One man’s will forged a clan from scattered and broken tribes. But when enemies from afar eye his tiny forest, can he defend what he has built?

The Hearthwood Clan now exists in more than name. Theo has crowned himself patriarch, and most of the tribal chiefs are now matriarchs at his side. But his troubles are not over. Not all the tribes have sworn their fealty, and Theo will need every elvish cultivator he can muster to oppose the ominous shadows that loom over the forest.

Undead plague the land.

A four-tailed monster lurks in the woods.

Honorless slavers eye elves with greedy eyes.

An unblinking eye gazes down, filled with malevolence.

To face these threats, the Hearthwood Clan must rise to new heights and cultivate their way to power beyond anything they have ever dreamed of.


Written by and for fans of Harem, Base building, dungeon cores, and cultivation novels.

Approximately 170,000 words.

Genres: Harem, Fantasy, Smut, Audiobook, Magic, Erotica, Fiction

598 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 18, 2020

About the author

Long time reader, now a hoping to be an author himself.

Formerly known as Marvin Whiteknight

Reviews

[RoRo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book does not makes sense.

Power levels in this book make no sense. If sorcery level is supposed to be two stages above true mage and a mage acolyte is a level below true mage, this book doesn't work because of the power gap. Because of this power gap, this whole premise of a war with another clan does not work. True mages can easily wipe out mage acolytes. We have seen this before in this book and the previous one. We also saw that a Wizard mage/creature can easily handle a few true mages (before the war with the other clan/player), and a Wizard mage is a tier below Sorcerer Mage. So, now having people break through to true mage is meaningless. The whole premise just doesn't make sense to me. I just don't get it. The war with the enemy is with Sorcerers and Wizards mages and your really trying to tell me that mage acolytes can fight back. Poppy Cock!

If the last book focused on everyone of the main protagonist's group becoming true mages INCLUDING THEO and this book had focus on Theo and his women trying to break true to Wizard stage, it would make a whole lot of more sense. This would allow this book to be a lot more believable as it is shown, with some cunning you can take down an opponent that is a stage higher than you. But when you trying to make me believe that a mage acolyte can out smart and essentially beat a Sorcerer mage your taking things too far. When in an MMORPG can a level 19 take down a level 41. Maybe if a pro was smurfing on the level 19 account and the level 41 was a 5 year old who is playing on their parents accounts. Maybe then!

I am not saying this is way better, but I think this is the way these book should have been written.


The first book should have been about him breaking through to use Zeal and focused on him obtaining mage acolyte. If he had now reach the mage acolyte at the end of the first book and taken down the matriarch of the red dragon clan this would have made a whole lot more sense. Then Theo can be taken more seriously. Instead of stagnating Theo because of "reasons" have him always able to progress the the final step in the whatever tier he is in. The reason for why he is having trouble progressing and why the other girls are always able to breakthrough to the next stage before him, is because he is missing something the the wanderer wants him to figure about the next stage. Example the reason Theo should have been struggling in breaking through to mage acolyte is because he has to understand that earth is comprised of a lot of different aspects and Earth isn't limited to just controlling dirt and stone. There are many different aspects that comes from the earth eg. Lava and Metal. Once he understood this, only then would he be able to progress. You can also leave in the whole mind zeal thing.

Then in the second book Theo and his girls must focus on them obtaining the next stage to fight with their new big bad. After reaching mage acolyte then next thing that should motivate then to progress fast is true mage. Even with Theo's advantage of controlling multiple aspect of Earth he realizes the power difference between a true mage and a mage acolyte. As usual Theo should be able to progress through till the last stage with ease, but once again there is a hurdle. He needs the Aura of a true mage to reach that stage. This is where dungeon divings should have heavy emphasis. Just look at the name of the series for pete sake. Secrets of the Heartwood. Through heavy exploring of dungeons he finds out more about the history of his friends and learns the secrets of reaching true mage and the dragon memory potion. Let's be generic and say there are several Trials that Theo and his group must complete to obtain these things. Each dungeon setup things for example History of the six age and how Dean and Sam influenced it, Beginnings of the Eye of Whatever, the importance for Mind magic, build a community, etc. etc. You get it.

Now the third book show be them focusing on raising true mages in their clan and the main group focusing on becoming Wizard stage. With the constant annoyance of the wizard level monster and the ever looming villain that is Tim who is sorcerer ranks this is the power level they should be working towards. This time, have Theo reach the last step before anyone in true mage. But then they are stuck. He doesn't know what to do. Dean nor Sam left any info about wizard mage. Ah but they did. Sam or someone foresaw that The girl Theo was with in the brothel would have been reborn as Savha, so they left the dragon potion recipe alongside with the dragon for them. Now this book should have had a second, perspective of Sahva as it's POV. Every night or whatever, we get to see what she recalls in her previous life. How she ended up on Earth, how her adventure with Dean and Sam went and how she started the River Weed tribe and some fallout that occurred leading to all the current clans we know now came into fruition. Also she remembers how to become a wizard level mage and they all become Wizard level mage to compete with Sorcerer Level.

This isn't perfect but is still, in my opinion, a better way to approach the power system and use the titles of the books so they actually mean something.


Also, this series is really grinding my gears. I have a pet peeve of authors writing books where they actively avoid the protagonist progressing in power by having him do other shit to manufacture drama. This is especially annoying when some mega big bad is looming over everything but the author insist on keeping the MC the same level of strength even though if they just focus on getting stronger, they won't feel so hopeless. This book takes that premise and runs with it. The author essentially nerfs the main character hard, so he can build tension throughout the book. Normally when done right, this is somewhat effective in building that tension but the way that this book went about doing it, was the worst way to do so. Also, this series suffers from focusing on the wrong things.

More spoilers here, so be warned.

With a title called Memories of the Reborn, we don't get any memories of the reborn. Five people took the potion, but we the readers never really get any of the memories that they recollected. Only Ulie gives us some of her memories but no one else. Everyone just keeps it to themselves. So what is the purpose of titling the book Memories of the Reborn when we don't get any payoff of anyone who are remembering their past in their new reborn bodies.

I get there are some benefits that came with the memories, but all we get are the end product. We don't get to see or hear any of the crazy shit that must have happened in the previous life or any immediate knowledge that would help the protagonist advance in his magery. The Title should be changed to :How Not To Prepare For War When A Enemy Much Stronger Than You Declares It". Now that is a more accurate title. Very Isekai!

Let me explain my pet peeve here. I generally hate it when authors have the MC stagnate in the same power level for so long, just the draw out the book.

Let's use this book as an example. The MC finally reach mage acolyte, but his reasoning of waiting for so long in the last book is still never explained. Was there a purpose for him not advancing as soon as he can? If so, it was never explained or I missed it entirely. Then as soon as the story begins, he effectively stops the protagonist from progressing. Why, because reasons. I don't know, maybe to show us how strong he is with the Orc version of cultivating? Maybe, if that was the case where was that portion of the story or did I miss that as well? Then he just magically gives a power boost to the MC at the weirdest time. But none of this matters. Throughout the majority of the book the author has everyone including his son progressing at ungodly rates, but Theo essentially remains the same. Even when he levels up Theo, it still never matters as his level is too low for anything.

(He leveled up Theo by 3 levels making him 17 to fight a wizard level opponent which is somewhere between 30-40. I am going to assume 39 because he need some iron to progress to the next level. If it wasn't for the circumstances of him basically having the beast life in his hand he would have been run overed. Yet after that experience, at no point in time does Theo think, "Yo I really need to get stronger!". Many times Theo understands that he is too weak to be of any real use, yet still he does nothing. HOW IS THIS REMOTELY INTERESTING TO READ.)

The reason why I say none of this matter is the way the author set up the power system. His clan are constantly in fights with true mages and a single true mage can destroy his clan at a whim. This is true for the majority of the book. Also his clan is being targeted by a Sorcerer mage and a Sorcerer mage is two stages above true mage. These are the foes he is constantly in fights with. If we look at this as a MMORPG game Theo is below or around level 17 for the majority of the book, yet is waging war with enemies just under level 30. Levels matter in this world like it does in those type of games, but instead of focusing on reaching higher levels so he can fight toe to toe with these enemies, the author does the stupidest thing possible. Every single time Theo has to fight the 25+ enemies he also, and without fail pulls some stupid trick so Theo can maybe have a chance. This is so fucking stupid and aggravating to read. Either having them massively wounded before hand or literally having higher level mages be zombie like, some stupid reason must always present itself so Theo and his clan can have a slight chance. To me this is boring and unentertaining. I Hate it.

Also I don't like the fact that everyone else is progressing and Theo is left behind. This is very unappealing to read, especially so given his status and importance. The author makes it a point to show us that Theo can progress stupidly fast, but chooses not to. Why you might ask? Now that is a good question. Imagine this, if you were in a game and the level of your clan averages around 14-16. You, yourself are only level 16-17. Then a clan declares war on you and one of their members is around 40-50 in level, what do you do? Also take this into consideration, you have a way to effectively power level yourself and your clan to a level to compete as well as have the resources and equipment to produce weapons that can deal devastating blows to your enemies. How would you go about handling the situation?

Well don't be like Theo and depend on the author to write some bullshit that weakens the highest level person so you can win. It's cheating and boring. This is why this series sucks ass. The author must always write in some bullshit so Theo can win. No one likes a salty cheater and that is what this book feels like. Someone who cheats drastically so they can win.


I just don't get it. Theo is the patriarch. The leader that should stand above the rest. In fantasy, a good leader/ruler is someone who is stronger than the rest. Who goes out and defends their people. They are suppose to be at the pinnacle of the people. That not to say that others can't be at the top in terms of power with him. But have the leader the weakest person in terms of power is something I hate. If you are the leader, then you must be the overall strongest person, so you can protect everyone. Theo is so weak, that is daughters and son (who were only recently born) need to protect him instead of the other way around. Maybe some people like this but I loathe it.

When I pick up a power fantasy story, I want to read about how strong the MC his. I want to see him be challenged even though he has all this power. I want a strong maybe OP Main Character especially so if he is the leader of something. Seeing that Theo is the one being protect rather than the other way around isn't my type of story. Plus what really made me go on this angry rant was at the end Theo is still a mage acolyte. I just..... I just..... I want a refund.

Also, why not focus on cultivating. Most readers, (at least most of my friends who read books like this) like to read about cultivating. The system you created is just interesting enough to warrant a read, but then you actively avoid that element. Your essentially asking people to care for your story when you ignore the core aspect that makes a power fantasy good i.e. The actual power system and having the MC raise through the ranks faster and better than anyone else to instead focus on collecting crab, drawing on paper and worst yet writing scenes where the MC does nothing to improve himself, having him actively avoiding his son and doing nothing to actually strengthen the clan like making solid weapons like artillery that uses Iron. Having other characters doing things are fine but I would much prefer to see the MC doing something rather than him waiting. If you want to have the women be so essential, give me a POV so I can see their actions first hand. This would allow for Theo to have downtime as the story isn't solely dependent on him.

(I am not saying that it's a bad thing that the women are essential to the plot, what I am trying to say is that if we only have one POV, then the POV character should always be involved in things of importance i.e. All important battles, important meetings with other clans, being more involved in the clan that he is making. Because these books have so much moving parts, the author shot himself in the foot by limiting himself to one POV. We the readers have to learn everything from his perspective, and when Theo is in a room drawing on paper instead on forging new alliances or making important decision on how things are in his clan, it's very boring to read.)

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read.

The action was very fast paced with some good character development taking place in this book. The MC continues to grow in power and the world building is very interesting.

[Steve Naylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4.0 stars

This is still pretty good though it is a little bit frustrating. There is a lot of world building in this book. The clan is trying to grow and improve, but every time they advance a little they get attacked and almost have to start all over again. The odds against the group are insane. Even with how fast the MC is advancing, his enemies are worlds stronger than him. It makes it hard to think of him as OP. There was some sex in this book, but the fact that the MC is one of the only males and is surrounded by elves who feed off his vitality, there should have been a lot more sex. I am still looking forward to the next book.

[Cody Hatch · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story meanders on. If you were enjoying the first two books, you'll enjoy this.

If you tolerated them, the schtick might be getting a bit old now.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the wait

I'd been waiting a long time for this book to come out, and I wasn't disappointed. The story continues along the same lines as it was before, and this is a good thing. Cultivation, fantasy, town building, and a generally interesting story.

This book was quite long. A lot of story happened, some lore happened, and some very interesting twists and turns. While this story arc came to an end, there's enough content for the story to head in a few different directions. I'm definitely going to check out the next book.

There were a few grammatical and/or spelling errors throughout, which is why I dinged it a star. There is also a section of the story that was a little dry, that dragged little, but I made it through eventually.

All in all, very good, and will continue with the series.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of fun keep it coming

Good series. This series, though harem as well, is a great fantasy story with a slowly broadening story arc. The world that the MC is in is an elfin world but there are hints of more. I enjoy the adventure and grind the heroes must partake in as the need to progress is intense. I do worry about the high end as the characters improve themselves . As in what's next. My only complaint is the need for the impossible final battle. Kinda pulls the realism (funny in fantasy) and believably down. I Like grind with challenging fights not hail Mary fights. Still I eagerly await the next book.

[Charlotte Cumming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author improves with each book

Mr Whiteknight, I was not completely enthralled with your first offering, but as you stated, your writing did improve. Aside from some grammatical errors that make me think of voice to text mistakes the books were very enjoyable. Well plotted and paced and above all NOT two hundred pages long. The MC while extremely powerful was not hyper powered like in most of these offerings and instead used his brains and cunning. For that alone you earned five stars but again the grammar errors had to bring you to go out and one half. Eagerly awaiting your next installment. Well done.

[Kieran Corrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good continuation

I lost track of this series for awhile. I'm glad I picked it back up. It's not a perfect book, but it's got nifty cultivation liteRPG feel, and an interesting setting.

I like that the MC isn't a Gary Stu, he gets beat up a fair bit, but it's knowing he can rely on others to help that lets others shine too and not have them be cardboard cutouts completely like usually happens.

The smut is okay, nothing special, but it doesn't detract from the flow, and at least it's not beyond terrible like sometimes happens. I'll eagerly go about continuing to read the series.

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action! Action! Action!

There are likely cardiac stress tests that contain less action than the amount that this plot has stuffed into it! From sentence one the bell rings and the horses are out. This is not a bad thing at all, but boy howdy it takes some focus. You may also want to read the ending but of the last book too, because this one starts almost right where it left off. It’s a great story though, and recommended (16+). Enjoy.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't as fun as the previous books. I don't know if it's because he (the protagonist) spent more time being stagnant (in one place), the robot being annoying, or the author spending too much time on side character building, or a myriad of other things.

Something was off, but I did enjoy the story by the end. I will pick up the sequel, hopefully whatever didn't agree with me will be absent in the next book.

3/5 Stars

[Bliss Bomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely binged this series. The storyline is EPIC. The only thing that let it down are the lacklustre s€x scenes, and the authors obsession with having an impossibily huge di€k spraying copious amounts of c¥m.... if you can overlook the sub-par s€x scenes, the rest of the series is really, really good. if I were the author, I'd collaborate with a female author who REALLY knows how to write s€x scenes, and he'd increase his reader base to include so many ladies.... who knows - the men may learn a thing or two as well......it would be a win/win, and a service to unsatisfied women everywhere 🫶

[Zayn Bakir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful!!!!!

Loved the action and progression of this story and I can’t wait for the 4th installment, you really have made a wonderful world and I hope we get to see other world like Yorik’s Homeworld but wish there was more scenes with Segolas and hopefully more info on the status of Dean and Sam

[Dwayne Tranbarger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memories of the Reborn

Theo His come along way I believe he's on the brink of becoming a true mage I know he has the loving respect of his clan he has a new future opportunity to grow but I bet you he wants to keep his clan together as the entity I can't wait for the next arca books

[Anthony Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

What are the good things about this book is that there is plenty everything in it. Tons of plot development and character development as well as action and some surprise twists. It was a pretty long book but it was also very good and well written. Looking forward to reading the next book

[J.C. esq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great addition to the story

Much longer than expected, at first I thought it might be a bit long but it moves quite quickly. There's a great sub plot with his son, who's more than just a glowing orb now. I really like the character depth and development.

[Christopher Ruotolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent 3rd book

Continuing on with the fun characters, solid world building, action, and adventure, we come to the end of book 3, with so much more to hopefully come. Looking forward to the next books!

[John DeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good stuff

Memories of the Reborn: A Cultivating Gamelit Harem Adventure, book 3 of Marvin Whitenight's Spellheart series delivers the goods. This is a great series and I eagerly await the next book.

[Mark Richmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth a read

It's good read of your into this kinda of thing, good chars , interesting world and magic system.
It's like Dr who meets dungeons and dragons with a little matrix and of stuff.

Emjoy

[DWIGHT D MILLER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awsome book

The story was thrilling and suspenseful that you can't put it down.The flaws of the main character shows he is human.The action and love made this book and series a must read.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

not tired of this series yet

I normally start to loose interest after 2 or 3 books, but I am still interested in what can come next. I have to go out and get the next one! Story is still good, and writing is just as good as the previous 2 books. Pick it up.

[James Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

Very good book and a excellent series, the characters are so cool and the world building is very good. Can't wait for the next book in the series and reading more from the author 😀

[Benjamin Rudd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Getting better and better

Love this series. I've waited for this book for a while and can't wait for the next few. It seems like they get better each time.

[David Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exhalent read

A fitting end to this story arc while still setting up the next leg of Theo's journey without resorting to a forced cliffhanger. Can't wait for more.

[Stephen Spratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Another fantastic installment in a great series. The world building and the pacing are very well done I can't wait for the next book.

[Lauren & · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good golly

I need moar. I can't stop reading your books once I've started so I tear through them in a day or two. Fantidlytastic job

[Johnie C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I enjoyed reading this book very much and would recommend it highly to anyone that like litRPG type of books cultivating.

[michael hooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Great series so far I can't wait for book four. Highly recommend this series. Fast paced page turner with interesting characters that you can instantly root for

[Chau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not bad

Another good book in the series. Writing has gotten better with each book. Now the wait for the next one begins!

[Irizumi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally worth the wait

Really great read and the book ended on a great arc. Really looking forward to read the next one when it comes out.

[Kyle Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great series

This is a great LitRPG series. It has an interesting system and the characters grow in power in a believable manner. Can't wait for the next book.