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Pyresouls Apocalypse #1
Rewind
When Pyresouls released, it was a brutal new virtual reality game with a twist: be the first to beat the game and win billions of dollars. But after the Burgon Beast couldn’t be defeated, Pyresouls turned very real and unleashed an apocalypse of undead, monsters, and a System of levels and stats onto the world.
For many years since, Jacob Windsor has fought with sword and shield to survive Post-Collapse Earth where only ancient, Guilt-soaked weaponry can harm the monsters from Pyresouls.
While defending his bunker with some of the last refugees of humanity, yet another friend loses his life to secure one final hope. An enigmatic artifact capable of sending one person through time.
In a cruel twist of fate, Jacob becomes humanity’s best chance for survival. He takes the plunge into the past of the terrifying, fractured realm of Pyresouls, where every player is out for blood, and the monsters are more vicious than anything on Post-Collapse Earth.
Armed with knowledge of game mechanics, secret loot and enemy weaknesses, along with well-honed swordsmanship from years of battle, Jacob has every possible advantage against the competition. But the choices he makes have long-reaching ripple effects on the timeline.
Can Jacob beat the clock while grinding out Levels and manage to avert the apocalypse, or will his every action darken the timeline even further?
From the #1 Bestseller author of Beastborne Chronicles comes the first book of a new Dark Fantasy litRPG / progression fantasy series. This post-apocalyptic gamelit includes battle, leveling and gear enhancing mechanics inspired by the Dark Souls games.
Start your time travel dark litRPG adventure today!
For many years since, Jacob Windsor has fought with sword and shield to survive Post-Collapse Earth where only ancient, Guilt-soaked weaponry can harm the monsters from Pyresouls.
While defending his bunker with some of the last refugees of humanity, yet another friend loses his life to secure one final hope. An enigmatic artifact capable of sending one person through time.
In a cruel twist of fate, Jacob becomes humanity’s best chance for survival. He takes the plunge into the past of the terrifying, fractured realm of Pyresouls, where every player is out for blood, and the monsters are more vicious than anything on Post-Collapse Earth.
Armed with knowledge of game mechanics, secret loot and enemy weaknesses, along with well-honed swordsmanship from years of battle, Jacob has every possible advantage against the competition. But the choices he makes have long-reaching ripple effects on the timeline.
Can Jacob beat the clock while grinding out Levels and manage to avert the apocalypse, or will his every action darken the timeline even further?
From the #1 Bestseller author of Beastborne Chronicles comes the first book of a new Dark Fantasy litRPG / progression fantasy series. This post-apocalyptic gamelit includes battle, leveling and gear enhancing mechanics inspired by the Dark Souls games.
Start your time travel dark litRPG adventure today!
500 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 23, 2020
817 people are currently reading
475 people want to read
About the author
James T. Callum
21 books214 followersMy name is James T. Callum and I’m not going to talk to you in the third person or make it seem like I’ve got some publisher or editor who has a bio on me.
I'm always available to talk, connect with readers, fellow authors, and lovable book nerds:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JamesTCallum
Website: https://www.jamestcallum.com
Twitter: @JamesTCallum
This is just me, talking to you, the reader. I’m no different than you, I love reading and gaming just the same as everybody else.
In fact, I’ve loved reading for as long as I could remember. From the very first fantasy book I read, The Wizard of Earthsea, I was hooked.
For just as long I’ve also been an avid gamer and DND player (as well as other tabletop RPGs). Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, Illusion of Gaia, and on through the years as stories and graphics became better and better.
You’ll be able to find hints of inspiration from all sorts of RPGs and video games in my works. From the Final Fantasy series to Warcraft, Age of Empires to Anno, and games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Because who doesn’t love a little cosmic horror thrown in for fun?
These games (and countless others) have inspired me ever since I was a kid, and they continue to serve as my muse now that I’m much older.
Writing has always been my greatest aspiration and with your help, I hope to make it a full-time job. At the time of this writing, I still work a day job like most people. It is only thanks to Patreon that I was able to dedicate some of my spare time to writing.
So, if you’d like to provide direct support and help me achieve my goal of writing full-time (so I can write even more stories for you awesome people!) you can hop on over to my Patreon page where you’ll find tons of content.
Patrons get access to advanced chapters of upcoming books, special discord roles and discussion channels, early releases of books before anyone else, maps, cover reveals, voting, and a lot more.
And if you spot a typo or error, shoot me an email at: typos@jamestcallum.com, and I will get it fixed and re-uploaded ASAP. I aim to provide the best possible reading experience and as soon as I find an error I fix it. Once it’s fixed and updated, your reading device should update automatically with the improved version.
I'm always available to talk, connect with readers, fellow authors, and lovable book nerds:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JamesTCallum
Website: https://www.jamestcallum.com
Twitter: @JamesTCallum
This is just me, talking to you, the reader. I’m no different than you, I love reading and gaming just the same as everybody else.
In fact, I’ve loved reading for as long as I could remember. From the very first fantasy book I read, The Wizard of Earthsea, I was hooked.
For just as long I’ve also been an avid gamer and DND player (as well as other tabletop RPGs). Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy, Illusion of Gaia, and on through the years as stories and graphics became better and better.
You’ll be able to find hints of inspiration from all sorts of RPGs and video games in my works. From the Final Fantasy series to Warcraft, Age of Empires to Anno, and games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Because who doesn’t love a little cosmic horror thrown in for fun?
These games (and countless others) have inspired me ever since I was a kid, and they continue to serve as my muse now that I’m much older.
Writing has always been my greatest aspiration and with your help, I hope to make it a full-time job. At the time of this writing, I still work a day job like most people. It is only thanks to Patreon that I was able to dedicate some of my spare time to writing.
So, if you’d like to provide direct support and help me achieve my goal of writing full-time (so I can write even more stories for you awesome people!) you can hop on over to my Patreon page where you’ll find tons of content.
Patrons get access to advanced chapters of upcoming books, special discord roles and discussion channels, early releases of books before anyone else, maps, cover reveals, voting, and a lot more.
And if you spot a typo or error, shoot me an email at: typos@jamestcallum.com, and I will get it fixed and re-uploaded ASAP. I aim to provide the best possible reading experience and as soon as I find an error I fix it. Once it’s fixed and updated, your reading device should update automatically with the improved version.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
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May 1, 2023Another LITRPG i will eventually read, but i got a funny thought about the title of the series.
Do you know in Egypt we have Insecticide with the name Pyrosoul? (it's Pyrosol but the joke is better this way!)
Do you know in Egypt we have Insecticide with the name Pyrosoul? (it's Pyrosol but the joke is better this way!)
September 17, 2020
Rating 3.0 stars
This is a very dark story. I have read stories with similar plots. The world has ended and someone needs to go back in time to save the day/change things. The tower of heaven series had the same plot. The reason for the end of the world in this book is that a game called Presouls online came out 10 years ago and when one person failed to defeat the boss monster. That monster broke out of the game and turned the whole world into the game. The game was full of monsters and horrors. So, the rest of the world turned into that. The dead came back to fight the living and the living that died came back as well. The magic and game mechanics that were in the game were also released into the world. That was how someone was able to come up with a way to go back in time. Jacob was sent back. The first half of the book was interesting though as I mentioned above a bit dark. I think everything was made to make the reader more depressed As I mentioned above the first part of the story was interesting and then I had a problem with some of the authors choices. The ending for me was less than satisfactory. This one is not for me. I need at least a little joy or hope in my reading, and this basically had none.
This is a very dark story. I have read stories with similar plots. The world has ended and someone needs to go back in time to save the day/change things. The tower of heaven series had the same plot. The reason for the end of the world in this book is that a game called Presouls online came out 10 years ago and when one person failed to defeat the boss monster. That monster broke out of the game and turned the whole world into the game. The game was full of monsters and horrors. So, the rest of the world turned into that. The dead came back to fight the living and the living that died came back as well. The magic and game mechanics that were in the game were also released into the world. That was how someone was able to come up with a way to go back in time. Jacob was sent back. The first half of the book was interesting though as I mentioned above a bit dark. I think everything was made to make the reader more depressed As I mentioned above the first part of the story was interesting and then I had a problem with some of the authors choices. The ending for me was less than satisfactory. This one is not for me. I need at least a little joy or hope in my reading, and this basically had none.
August 31, 2020
This book is very...derivative
First, let me say this is a good author, and highly recommend you read his Beastborne novel it is exponentially better.
Second, If you're looking for a litrpg apocalypse novel where the MC who is not the ”Hero” in the original timeline, is sent back in time to prevent the incoming calamity, I recommend either Cameron Milan’s Towers of Heaven or Lm Kerr Reborn: Apocalypse.
The Good- The lore that the author is building up and creates is finely tuned. The game world is extremely intense and sets an entire tone for the novel. And while it becomes repetitive the fight scenes are cool.
The Bad - this novel is a mash-up of so many different works that it jars me from the novel at points. The outside world plot is basically Ready player one meets Assassin's Creed and when he enters the game world it's all DARK SOULS I mean the man has to light pyres throughout the novel and it's so damn bleak, I was actually looking forward to the inevitable cliche ”hey you're the mc and we want to mess with you simply for plot progression”
This novel has good action scenes but there's is only so much Wind Parts Grass into Falling Rain I can take sometimes sword forms just take place and mobs die and I'm left wondering what in the hell just happened.
I will read the next installment but hopefully, the author steps back from the repetitive meaningless action scenes, clearly derivative blueprints, and focuses more on characters and progression.
First, let me say this is a good author, and highly recommend you read his Beastborne novel it is exponentially better.
Second, If you're looking for a litrpg apocalypse novel where the MC who is not the ”Hero” in the original timeline, is sent back in time to prevent the incoming calamity, I recommend either Cameron Milan’s Towers of Heaven or Lm Kerr Reborn: Apocalypse.
The Good- The lore that the author is building up and creates is finely tuned. The game world is extremely intense and sets an entire tone for the novel. And while it becomes repetitive the fight scenes are cool.
The Bad - this novel is a mash-up of so many different works that it jars me from the novel at points. The outside world plot is basically Ready player one meets Assassin's Creed and when he enters the game world it's all DARK SOULS I mean the man has to light pyres throughout the novel and it's so damn bleak, I was actually looking forward to the inevitable cliche ”hey you're the mc and we want to mess with you simply for plot progression”
This novel has good action scenes but there's is only so much Wind Parts Grass into Falling Rain I can take sometimes sword forms just take place and mobs die and I'm left wondering what in the hell just happened.
I will read the next installment but hopefully, the author steps back from the repetitive meaningless action scenes, clearly derivative blueprints, and focuses more on characters and progression.
July 26, 2021
This is an awesome read. It's an excellent representation of the human condition. If the technology were invented, I can definitely see people acting and reacting how they did. Power, greed and pain will show you who you really are.
The game in this story seems impossibly hard, With little to no guidance and safety found only after brushing lips with death. On top of that you experience real pain, including the pain of players inevitable fate of the afore mentioned death.. Players might be quick, but enemies get quicker. No one can escape. Being a billionaire will give anyone motivation to delve into the unknown. Which leads to the scary end of days predicament and tinkering with the notoriously dangerous yet impartial Time.
I love video games but I've never been great at playing them. It brings back memories of hanging out with my little brothers and figuring out a new game.
The game in this story seems impossibly hard, With little to no guidance and safety found only after brushing lips with death. On top of that you experience real pain, including the pain of players inevitable fate of the afore mentioned death.. Players might be quick, but enemies get quicker. No one can escape. Being a billionaire will give anyone motivation to delve into the unknown. Which leads to the scary end of days predicament and tinkering with the notoriously dangerous yet impartial Time.
I love video games but I've never been great at playing them. It brings back memories of hanging out with my little brothers and figuring out a new game.
September 5, 2020
Book one
Mistakes: I found nothing wrong with this book. As a matter of fact, let me say that I was highly impressed with this book.
Plot: What if a video game was the cause of the apocalypse because the boss monster wasn’t beaten? What if you had a chance to go back in time to get things right?
Characters: Well done characters made me keep flipping pages just as much as the action did.
10/10 highly recommended!
Mistakes: I found nothing wrong with this book. As a matter of fact, let me say that I was highly impressed with this book.
Plot: What if a video game was the cause of the apocalypse because the boss monster wasn’t beaten? What if you had a chance to go back in time to get things right?
Characters: Well done characters made me keep flipping pages just as much as the action did.
10/10 highly recommended!
May 26, 2025
Not sure what to think about this book. Parts of it were great, maybe largely due to the fact that it's basically Dark Souls in the form of a book. This is actually also my first big complaint. This work is a veritable clone of Dark Souls. Safe for some of the wording, the lore of the world feels like an exact copy of what Dark Souls does. The Themes are the same, with lots of talk about fire, ash and dying worlds. The game mechanics are the same, down to the bonfire/pyre system. What's missing though are the bosses. Even though their existence is implied, the main character fights exactly one, and that one fight is so drawn out that it takes a good 10-15% of the book.
Which leads me to my second complaint. Bad pacing and unrealistic "time management". Not sure what else to call that, but there are instances in the book, where the timing doesn't add up. The biggest example of this are: 1. Even though the main character is a hardened fighter who lived the reality of a world dictated by the rules of Pyresouls for 10 years+, and knows the locations of the best gear as well as the best routes to take through the world of Lormar, he is for some reason slower than a veritable horde of gamer kids who play Pyresouls for the first time. I get that it's a race, and people try their best to rush through all of it, but this still feels very unrealistic to me, especially with how the "game" is apparently set up. 2. There is one instance where the MC and another player clash, and mere hours after said clash, that player sets up something that in my opinion would take at least one or two days to orchestrate. Probably more with how meeting people is made difficult in Pyresouls.
My final complaint is how the framework story, the story outside of Pyresoul itself is handled. Because it doesn't make sense. It's made up to be a big deal, how the MC's actions in the past affect the future, but the fact that him changing the past could prevent what happens in the present, hindering him from going into the past, is completely ignored. And honestly, with that ending, that should have been the case.
Maybe I'm simply still mad at the dumb epilogue that tries to explain the making of the Pyresouls game (in the most predictable and boring manner imaginable), but i can't help but feel dissapointed I bought this.
Which leads me to my second complaint. Bad pacing and unrealistic "time management". Not sure what else to call that, but there are instances in the book, where the timing doesn't add up. The biggest example of this are: 1. Even though the main character is a hardened fighter who lived the reality of a world dictated by the rules of Pyresouls for 10 years+, and knows the locations of the best gear as well as the best routes to take through the world of Lormar, he is for some reason slower than a veritable horde of gamer kids who play Pyresouls for the first time. I get that it's a race, and people try their best to rush through all of it, but this still feels very unrealistic to me, especially with how the "game" is apparently set up. 2. There is one instance where the MC and another player clash, and mere hours after said clash, that player sets up something that in my opinion would take at least one or two days to orchestrate. Probably more with how meeting people is made difficult in Pyresouls.
My final complaint is how the framework story, the story outside of Pyresoul itself is handled. Because it doesn't make sense. It's made up to be a big deal, how the MC's actions in the past affect the future, but the fact that him changing the past could prevent what happens in the present, hindering him from going into the past, is completely ignored. And honestly, with that ending, that should have been the case.
Maybe I'm simply still mad at the dumb epilogue that tries to explain the making of the Pyresouls game (in the most predictable and boring manner imaginable), but i can't help but feel dissapointed I bought this.
April 5, 2021
This was surprisingly readable. Not "mind-blowingly-amazing" (5stars), nor top in its class (4stars), but satisfyingly... solid, hence 3 stars. But good foundation to build upon.
Plot-wise, this really worked for me. I'm a known sucker for the do-over trope, and this book is an instance of the trope being used well. The stakes were high enough, without being totally overwhelming.
The MC's prior knowledge is not so OP that it makes all fights inconsequential, which is a very nice touch. He does benefit from Deus Ex Machina more times than should be allowed , but it's ok. The book is not too stats-heavy; very much appreciated. The game mechanics are underused at this point, especially the very interesting concept of racial curse/boon; may flesh out in later volumes.
Fight-time was hard to gauge. It globally felt accurate. Because the MC was soloing most of the time, there was little chance to fall into the battle-time speech trap that annoys me so much. On the other hand, the constant use of sword move names, so reminiscent of TWOT's forms, I personally found very irritating, for the same reason I disliked them in TWOT: it felt like dodging actual fight choreography, by making the forms into characters of their own. That was a systematic eye-roller for me.
The support characters do lack a bit of depth , but they thankfully don't all act like the predictable sidekicks we're used to, dropping everything to be at the MC's beck and call. The author tried really hard to give them their own trajectories, even if he didn't always succeed.
There are still questions that remained unanswered and deserved exploring within this first book, imo . But nothing that should deter one from enjoying a really well-written piece of LitRPG. A very solid entry in its category.
Plot-wise, this really worked for me. I'm a known sucker for the do-over trope, and this book is an instance of the trope being used well. The stakes were high enough, without being totally overwhelming.
The MC's prior knowledge is not so OP that it makes all fights inconsequential, which is a very nice touch. He does benefit from Deus Ex Machina more times than should be allowed , but it's ok. The book is not too stats-heavy; very much appreciated. The game mechanics are underused at this point, especially the very interesting concept of racial curse/boon; may flesh out in later volumes.
Fight-time was hard to gauge. It globally felt accurate. Because the MC was soloing most of the time, there was little chance to fall into the battle-time speech trap that annoys me so much. On the other hand, the constant use of sword move names, so reminiscent of TWOT's forms, I personally found very irritating, for the same reason I disliked them in TWOT: it felt like dodging actual fight choreography, by making the forms into characters of their own. That was a systematic eye-roller for me.
The support characters do lack a bit of depth , but they thankfully don't all act like the predictable sidekicks we're used to, dropping everything to be at the MC's beck and call. The author tried really hard to give them their own trajectories, even if he didn't always succeed.
There are still questions that remained unanswered and deserved exploring within this first book, imo . But nothing that should deter one from enjoying a really well-written piece of LitRPG. A very solid entry in its category.
March 19, 2021
This was another great book by the author. Made all the more impressive considering how new he is, and that this is only a part time thing for him. He writes like he's been at it for years with no distractions.
I hated this book for the best reasons as it made me feel like there was an apocalypse, it draws you in like his beastborne books do not wanting to put it down and having to find out what happens next. Which makes the cliffhanger really suck but I can't wait for the next book.
The characters are well written and relatable. Jacob is the kind of hero I'd want to be, as in he's seen a lot of hardships but still has a deep sense of honor and right.
I hated this book for the best reasons as it made me feel like there was an apocalypse, it draws you in like his beastborne books do not wanting to put it down and having to find out what happens next. Which makes the cliffhanger really suck but I can't wait for the next book.
The characters are well written and relatable. Jacob is the kind of hero I'd want to be, as in he's seen a lot of hardships but still has a deep sense of honor and right.
Read
December 12, 2020Dark Souls inspired LitRPG with an apocalypse.
August 28, 2020
Finally a truly grimdark litRPG! With a moving, incredible story. If you're looking for a story that's in the same kinda reincarnator subgenre like Towers of Heaven and Reborn Apocalypse, this is it.
There’s no waiting for the MC to get through his moody phase or slogging through some character development for the MC to be less annoying until the story ‘gets better’, because that isn’t a problem to begin with. The MC starts off already a badass. He’s hardened and experienced from living through the apocalypse, but not an unfeeling robot either.
But when he goes back through time, he starts at lvl 1 everything.
Characters: 9/10
Story: 10/10
Mechanics: 10/10
Very enjoyable to read, couldn't put it down, with crisp writing of swordsmanship and battle. I can’t wait for the next one.
There’s no waiting for the MC to get through his moody phase or slogging through some character development for the MC to be less annoying until the story ‘gets better’, because that isn’t a problem to begin with. The MC starts off already a badass. He’s hardened and experienced from living through the apocalypse, but not an unfeeling robot either.
But when he goes back through time, he starts at lvl 1 everything.
Characters: 9/10
Story: 10/10
Mechanics: 10/10
Very enjoyable to read, couldn't put it down, with crisp writing of swordsmanship and battle. I can’t wait for the next one.
September 20, 2020
Dark Souls LitRPG...
OK. I’ll freely admit I’m not a Dark Souls fan. However, I actually enjoyed several aspects of this book. That’s saying a lot, as the story also manages to combine three things I hate in gaming - lost progress, timed quests, and speed running. On the positive side, it sure doesn’t waste any time getting into the action. It also skips the sappy romance with an annoying partner and the whole angsty teen protagonist act. And while this is a darker type of story, the protagonist isn’t some scumbag doing whatever he wants and abusing those around him. Jake is very much a hero willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of others.
First off though, I have to highlight what bothered me throughout the book. Jake is in a constant rush and it’s *really* annoying. Nevermind that he starts with weak gear and can barely defeat basic opponents, his whole focus is getting to the end game boss first. I get that the story is predicated on having a very small window of opportunity, but this strategy doesn’t fit his capabilities. Even when given a ridiculous opportunity to quickly grind a fortune in souls to power level, he barely makes use of it because he’s in such a damn hurry. Other than plot armor, how would this strategy allow him to defeat vastly more powerful opponents, much less the server wiping end boss? What’s even worse is he’s inconsistent about rushing, casually making some unnecessary delays that jeopardize his mission. The whole premise is just so stupid.
That being said, Jake does have an edge in the time loop. A lot of emphasis is placed on how his memories won’t be lost, especially in terms of his veteran combat experience. This is backed when his in-game weapon skills increase rapidly due to past familiarization and techniques are regained. Makes sense and fits the time looping story premise. However, Jake then chooses to buy an extremely exotic weapon he has no experience with because it looks cool. Of course, this new weapon becomes a convenient plot device but there’s just one glaring problem. It’s a silly contradiction that undermines his main advantage of retaining past knowledge and experience.
And there’s yet another contradiction, this time with game stats. Jake goes on at length to explain how important Endurance (END) is at the start of the story. This is because it generates stamina, which is used for nearly everything. From a tactical standpoint, it’s the foundation of fight management as actions such as running, attacking, blocking, and dodging all cost stamina. This makes a lot of sense and I was glad the author paid so much attention to a relatively boring but essential stat. Of course, Jake then goes on to totally ignore upgrading END for a dozen levels without any issues, totally undermining its importance. This oversight also amplifies a glaring problem with how shields work. It costs stamina to block with any excess being taken directly from health. Basically, you can die from blocking. Aside from being a terrible mechanic, one would think a veteran shield user would have invested in END to reduce the risk. That or not use a shield and just dodge/parry.
This ties into the LitRPG game stats in general. I think the author actually does a good job of laying out an interesting system that has meaningful impact on the story (for the most part). From the very beginning, stats influence the MC’s decision making. In particularly, I found the concept of Guilt to be both the most interesting and problematic. It limits the use of enhanced quality equipment by adding another layer of requirements and penalties. Very novel but also progressively more annoying as Jake constantly has to juggle what gear he can use. This ties into the author using stats as filler. It’s not uncommon to have several pages of character sheet fill the screen only to display one or two changes. Also, the use of highly artificial game mechanics detracts from the atmosphere of gritty realism the author tries to build. Plenty of LitRPG books have these same issues though, so this is as much a criticism of the genre as the author.
As for the writing quality, it’s good for the most part with a few notable issues. While the grammar is functional and fun to read, I did run into numerous poorly worded sentences. Also, the author has a bad habit of repeating himself. One of the most egregious examples is when Jake acquires a [Repair Kit]. It must have been really exciting to write about, because the author explains its use and importance at least three times in the same chapter. The author must also really like the phrase, “with all his might” since he uses it at least eight times throughout the book.
Unfortunately, the author’s grip on logic starts to unravel towards the last quarter of the story. Maybe he was in a rush to publish. Maybe he was just tired of the story. Whatever the case, many of his statements had me wondering what the heck he was thinking. For example, Jake meets a weapon’s Strength (STR) requirement but he says the weapon will be unwieldy until he raises his STR. That’s pretty much the definition of not meeting the STR requirement. In another example, Jake is paralyzed but is still able to move. Pretty impressive, since being paralyzed usually means one can’t move at all. There’s plenty of other examples, but this last one is my favorite. Jake takes up two weapons, explicitly stating that he’s neither good at nor trying to dual-wield them. He then proceeds to use both weapons at once to make a coordinated attack. Unless I’ve lost my mind, that is precisely the act of dual-wielding.
All criticisms aside, if Dark Souls had a story half as good as this one I would have enjoyed it more. But like Dark Souls, finishing this story was a test of my perseverance and sanity. I’d like to rate this book higher, but the last stretch of the story was such a mess it was a real chore to read. So Praise the Sun, with this book I am done!
OK. I’ll freely admit I’m not a Dark Souls fan. However, I actually enjoyed several aspects of this book. That’s saying a lot, as the story also manages to combine three things I hate in gaming - lost progress, timed quests, and speed running. On the positive side, it sure doesn’t waste any time getting into the action. It also skips the sappy romance with an annoying partner and the whole angsty teen protagonist act. And while this is a darker type of story, the protagonist isn’t some scumbag doing whatever he wants and abusing those around him. Jake is very much a hero willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of others.
First off though, I have to highlight what bothered me throughout the book. Jake is in a constant rush and it’s *really* annoying. Nevermind that he starts with weak gear and can barely defeat basic opponents, his whole focus is getting to the end game boss first. I get that the story is predicated on having a very small window of opportunity, but this strategy doesn’t fit his capabilities. Even when given a ridiculous opportunity to quickly grind a fortune in souls to power level, he barely makes use of it because he’s in such a damn hurry. Other than plot armor, how would this strategy allow him to defeat vastly more powerful opponents, much less the server wiping end boss? What’s even worse is he’s inconsistent about rushing, casually making some unnecessary delays that jeopardize his mission. The whole premise is just so stupid.
That being said, Jake does have an edge in the time loop. A lot of emphasis is placed on how his memories won’t be lost, especially in terms of his veteran combat experience. This is backed when his in-game weapon skills increase rapidly due to past familiarization and techniques are regained. Makes sense and fits the time looping story premise. However, Jake then chooses to buy an extremely exotic weapon he has no experience with because it looks cool. Of course, this new weapon becomes a convenient plot device but there’s just one glaring problem. It’s a silly contradiction that undermines his main advantage of retaining past knowledge and experience.
And there’s yet another contradiction, this time with game stats. Jake goes on at length to explain how important Endurance (END) is at the start of the story. This is because it generates stamina, which is used for nearly everything. From a tactical standpoint, it’s the foundation of fight management as actions such as running, attacking, blocking, and dodging all cost stamina. This makes a lot of sense and I was glad the author paid so much attention to a relatively boring but essential stat. Of course, Jake then goes on to totally ignore upgrading END for a dozen levels without any issues, totally undermining its importance. This oversight also amplifies a glaring problem with how shields work. It costs stamina to block with any excess being taken directly from health. Basically, you can die from blocking. Aside from being a terrible mechanic, one would think a veteran shield user would have invested in END to reduce the risk. That or not use a shield and just dodge/parry.
This ties into the LitRPG game stats in general. I think the author actually does a good job of laying out an interesting system that has meaningful impact on the story (for the most part). From the very beginning, stats influence the MC’s decision making. In particularly, I found the concept of Guilt to be both the most interesting and problematic. It limits the use of enhanced quality equipment by adding another layer of requirements and penalties. Very novel but also progressively more annoying as Jake constantly has to juggle what gear he can use. This ties into the author using stats as filler. It’s not uncommon to have several pages of character sheet fill the screen only to display one or two changes. Also, the use of highly artificial game mechanics detracts from the atmosphere of gritty realism the author tries to build. Plenty of LitRPG books have these same issues though, so this is as much a criticism of the genre as the author.
As for the writing quality, it’s good for the most part with a few notable issues. While the grammar is functional and fun to read, I did run into numerous poorly worded sentences. Also, the author has a bad habit of repeating himself. One of the most egregious examples is when Jake acquires a [Repair Kit]. It must have been really exciting to write about, because the author explains its use and importance at least three times in the same chapter. The author must also really like the phrase, “with all his might” since he uses it at least eight times throughout the book.
Unfortunately, the author’s grip on logic starts to unravel towards the last quarter of the story. Maybe he was in a rush to publish. Maybe he was just tired of the story. Whatever the case, many of his statements had me wondering what the heck he was thinking. For example, Jake meets a weapon’s Strength (STR) requirement but he says the weapon will be unwieldy until he raises his STR. That’s pretty much the definition of not meeting the STR requirement. In another example, Jake is paralyzed but is still able to move. Pretty impressive, since being paralyzed usually means one can’t move at all. There’s plenty of other examples, but this last one is my favorite. Jake takes up two weapons, explicitly stating that he’s neither good at nor trying to dual-wield them. He then proceeds to use both weapons at once to make a coordinated attack. Unless I’ve lost my mind, that is precisely the act of dual-wielding.
All criticisms aside, if Dark Souls had a story half as good as this one I would have enjoyed it more. But like Dark Souls, finishing this story was a test of my perseverance and sanity. I’d like to rate this book higher, but the last stretch of the story was such a mess it was a real chore to read. So Praise the Sun, with this book I am done!
August 29, 2020
Darksouls the book
If you liked Darksouls you will probably like this, it borrows extremely heavily from the game. Honestly Im suprised he hasnt gotten a cease and desist.
If you liked Darksouls you will probably like this, it borrows extremely heavily from the game. Honestly Im suprised he hasnt gotten a cease and desist.
March 30, 2025
My first foray into the litRPG genre and uh... It might be my last. By all accounts this book should be perfectly tailored to my tastes. Supposedly it is very grim. I also love the Dark Souls games which this novel heavily borrows from, in fact I would not hesitate to call out plagiarism here. And these review scores looked so promising.
But no. I can only conclude that the litRPG community must have exceptionally low standards. This book reads like bad YA fanfiction and coating it in Dark Souls paint doesn't hide that in the least.
I regret having read over half of this soulless and derivative rag before I came to my senses.
But no. I can only conclude that the litRPG community must have exceptionally low standards. This book reads like bad YA fanfiction and coating it in Dark Souls paint doesn't hide that in the least.
I regret having read over half of this soulless and derivative rag before I came to my senses.
February 8, 2023
Rating: 3.75 (Rounded up to 4 due to goodreads.)
So, let me just get this out of the way. This is a decent book, it's readable, enjoyable, with a fun and dark atmosphere. But, it is flawed, hence why I rate it at 3.75, just above average and borderline on 4 stars, pretty good. If you're looking for a story set in a dark world with game-like mechanics, a realistic and relatively smart main character.
But I feel like I must primarily speak about what this book is...n't. It's not 'Darksouls, but a book'. It's a grim-fantasy litrpg (Literary Role Playing Game), with time travel mechanics. Not Darksouls, not Bloodborne, not Elden Ring. It lacks some of the most integral parts of what makes the Darksouls world and story so interesting, but I'll get to that.
As an avid fan of Darksouls and just about every Fromsoftware game since DS1, I have gotten to experience the core of what makes a 'Darksouls' narrative. And I think a phrase I came up with while finishing off this book will be a good jumping off point to explain that.
"Pyresouls is a book about Darksouls for someone who has never played Darksouls."
When I think what makes the narrative of Fromsoft games so interesting and memorable to me, I think of 2 primary aspects. Character, the people the player meets, their quests, their lives, their deaths, and Environmental Storytelling. The places the player goes, the things they do, see, the little nuances, the descriptions they read of items they pick up.
On both of these aspects Pyresouls is lacking, and I'll tackle them one at a time.
Character
Apart from Jacob there is basically only 1 character of any real importance. Sure, there's Alice, Ian, and Alec from the future and Kimberly (another player and hinted love interest of Jacobs.). But within the game there is only Camilla. Camilla for all intents and purposes is a NPC, a non-player-character, in Pyresouls online. Jacob saves her early in the book and they become partners for a bit before seperating and going on their own quests. And... that's about it. We get a bit of her characterization, we know there's something she needs or wants to do, but we never learn or are hinted at what that is as when she returns near the end of the book, Jacob comments something to the effect that she's done what she needed to do and after that, she just rejoins Jacob on his quest. Risking life and limb (yes, she and he can respawn) for what is essentially a stranger to her. Their relationship is simply shallow, Camilla only exists when the story needs her to exist.
And though I say she joins him on his quest, by the main goal is in sight Camilla is sent away to play meat shield against another monster Jacob aggravated and is hunting him down. She doesn't take part in the fight against the Burgon Beast and the only reference we have of her during that fight is various pillars of fire sprouting from where she's fighting the Gnawing Hunger. After that she just doesn't exist anymore.
There is one other character of interest though, Mack. If you've read chinese Wuxia novels you will have an idea of the 'young master' archtype. If you've read litrpg or mmorpg based novels, you'll know of the 'richkid' archtype. Mack is both of these. He's a comically egotisical, seemingly rich, narcisitic character who's main purpose is to simply be annoying and act as a plot device to a certain contrivance I'll get to. Mack wears highly expensive armour that Jacob has never seen before, he controls a small gang of people and offers an 8k bounty for Jacob's head. Where did he get this armour? Where did he get the money? Don't know, it doesn't matter. He just does. He's there to act as the PvP (Player vs Player) interaction in the book and to simply just be a plot device.
So the main crux of this novel is that Jacob has 14 days in the past to kill the Burgon Beast and prevent the apocalypse. 75% of the book takes place in 4-5 days. leaving about 9-10 days left for the remaining 15%... except, because of Mack, that's not quite right. Because Mack kidnaps Jacob, locks him in a cell and drugs him with sleeping drugs that knock him out until there's only 4 days before all hell breaks loose. in total, 5-6 days are skipped and act as this contrived time skip to manufacture more tension and urgency in this disjointed, ill-fitting manner.
Environmental Storytelling
A big, possibly the biggest, part of Darksouls, Bloodborne's and Elden Rings narrative is something known as Environmental storytelling. Something which is almost (very, very ALMOST) exclusive to video games as a medium. Dark souls thrives on placing you in a setting, a dying kingdom, for instance, and moulding this narrative around the things you see around you. People. corpse, how enemies shamble and how much of the world is connected. It thrives on giving places a personality. Quelaag's domain isn't just a grungy, poison infested swamp (don't get me wrong, it's exactly that), it's a sewer. It's where all the bilge from the kingdom high above collects, travelling down through the rotten Blighttown built on the underside of the aquaducts where masses of bugs and poison hang precariously from rock walls.
There's a story there, an implied one. There is the kingdom at the top, the rich, the prosperous. Beneath them is Blighttown, hanging on by a thread and scratching at their heels, and belowe even them there is Quelaag's domain. Where the bilge makes a swamp of poison, where Quelaag and her sister, Quelana remain, abandoned aberrations. There's a throughline there. And each area is filled with these small details, spinning waterwheels, the buildings hanging on to the walls. The large, cocoon like nest of Quelaag at the bottom, surrounded by an ocean of scum, a prison and a sanctuary for her sister. These area's just have personality.
Pyresouls just does not. It's too focused on jumping from one area to the next. You can boil down each area Jacob visits into a formula. 1) Introduction, appearance, how does it make Jacob feel. 2) Jacob fights through the area and tries not to die. 3) Move on to next area.
There are at the minimum, 5-7 different areas that appear in the book. None of which are particularly memorable except one and that's only because I like the idea of what it would feel like to play dark souls and enter into this unnaturally quiet asylum where there is literally just no sound. You don't hear the wails of prisoners, you don't hear the grunt of the wardens, nothing but ominous silence. By far the asylum is the most interesting area because of the rest, it's unique and Jacob spends the most time there. There's enough time to actually develop the asylum as a character. It's interesting, it has personality, and it's unnerving. And sadly, it's the only one. Every other setting is shortlived and I can only remember a bunch of smoke in one of them because it appears at the very end of the book and I'm writing this immediately after finishing it.
Other
I won't say much else. But the actual LitRPG aspect of this novel is... ill-suited to the setting. Stat-sheets and mathematics do not a grimdark fantasy make. But that's a quirk of the genre, decimating story with unnecessarily long, overly detailed stat-sheets practically no-one is going to care about bar thinking 'oh, look at that, they're a bit stronger then they were ten minutes ago.' It does nothing to ellevate the story, if anything, it detracts by bloating the page count. If you skip over the stats sheets, you will miss nothing.
My final real complaint is that the actual fight scenes are plagued with 'sword forms.' Think yoga poses but more violent. It's another bit of what is just lazy writing. Jacob has about a dozen of these things called 'sword forms' or techniques or whatever. They're these specific motions he can use with weapons to do certain effects. What effects? good question. You don't get told that.
For example, there is, Hummingbird kisses Rose. Take a minute to guess what this attack (often done with a sword,) is. Yes, you are correct. It's a thrusting attack. It will never be referred to as a thrust. If Jacob stabs something its 'Hummingbird kisses Rose killed the [forgettable enemy]'. It's like this for EVERYTHING. There is no slashing, there is no chopping, no upwards diagonal cuts, only these obtuse technique names that only serve as an escape from writing gripping fight scenes.
Final Thoughts
Again, this isn't a bad book. It's good, it's decent. An entertaining enough read to pass the time with a decent dark setting.
But it's shallow. This is a book inspired by the mechanics of Darksouls and not the story of Darksouls and it shows in the writing. The lacking environment, the rushed, checklist-like nature of the various areas. The complete and total lack of bosses, side-quests, characters, and more.
There's a lot more I could talk about but honestly I did not take enough notes to write an in depth review on this. But I believe something I mentioned, about this book, to the guy who recommended it to me fits here and it's the last point and thing I'll say.
But Pyresouls is not a story inspired by Darksouls. Pyresouls is a Darksouls fanfic that for legal reasons cannot be called Darksouls. Much like it's title, Pyresouls is just darksouls but the Dark has been replaced by a Pyre.
So, let me just get this out of the way. This is a decent book, it's readable, enjoyable, with a fun and dark atmosphere. But, it is flawed, hence why I rate it at 3.75, just above average and borderline on 4 stars, pretty good. If you're looking for a story set in a dark world with game-like mechanics, a realistic and relatively smart main character.
But I feel like I must primarily speak about what this book is...n't. It's not 'Darksouls, but a book'. It's a grim-fantasy litrpg (Literary Role Playing Game), with time travel mechanics. Not Darksouls, not Bloodborne, not Elden Ring. It lacks some of the most integral parts of what makes the Darksouls world and story so interesting, but I'll get to that.
As an avid fan of Darksouls and just about every Fromsoftware game since DS1, I have gotten to experience the core of what makes a 'Darksouls' narrative. And I think a phrase I came up with while finishing off this book will be a good jumping off point to explain that.
"Pyresouls is a book about Darksouls for someone who has never played Darksouls."
When I think what makes the narrative of Fromsoft games so interesting and memorable to me, I think of 2 primary aspects. Character, the people the player meets, their quests, their lives, their deaths, and Environmental Storytelling. The places the player goes, the things they do, see, the little nuances, the descriptions they read of items they pick up.
On both of these aspects Pyresouls is lacking, and I'll tackle them one at a time.
Character
Apart from Jacob there is basically only 1 character of any real importance. Sure, there's Alice, Ian, and Alec from the future and Kimberly (another player and hinted love interest of Jacobs.). But within the game there is only Camilla. Camilla for all intents and purposes is a NPC, a non-player-character, in Pyresouls online. Jacob saves her early in the book and they become partners for a bit before seperating and going on their own quests. And... that's about it. We get a bit of her characterization, we know there's something she needs or wants to do, but we never learn or are hinted at what that is as when she returns near the end of the book, Jacob comments something to the effect that she's done what she needed to do and after that, she just rejoins Jacob on his quest. Risking life and limb (yes, she and he can respawn) for what is essentially a stranger to her. Their relationship is simply shallow, Camilla only exists when the story needs her to exist.
And though I say she joins him on his quest, by the main goal is in sight Camilla is sent away to play meat shield against another monster Jacob aggravated and is hunting him down. She doesn't take part in the fight against the Burgon Beast and the only reference we have of her during that fight is various pillars of fire sprouting from where she's fighting the Gnawing Hunger. After that she just doesn't exist anymore.
There is one other character of interest though, Mack. If you've read chinese Wuxia novels you will have an idea of the 'young master' archtype. If you've read litrpg or mmorpg based novels, you'll know of the 'richkid' archtype. Mack is both of these. He's a comically egotisical, seemingly rich, narcisitic character who's main purpose is to simply be annoying and act as a plot device to a certain contrivance I'll get to. Mack wears highly expensive armour that Jacob has never seen before, he controls a small gang of people and offers an 8k bounty for Jacob's head. Where did he get this armour? Where did he get the money? Don't know, it doesn't matter. He just does. He's there to act as the PvP (Player vs Player) interaction in the book and to simply just be a plot device.
So the main crux of this novel is that Jacob has 14 days in the past to kill the Burgon Beast and prevent the apocalypse. 75% of the book takes place in 4-5 days. leaving about 9-10 days left for the remaining 15%... except, because of Mack, that's not quite right. Because Mack kidnaps Jacob, locks him in a cell and drugs him with sleeping drugs that knock him out until there's only 4 days before all hell breaks loose. in total, 5-6 days are skipped and act as this contrived time skip to manufacture more tension and urgency in this disjointed, ill-fitting manner.
Environmental Storytelling
A big, possibly the biggest, part of Darksouls, Bloodborne's and Elden Rings narrative is something known as Environmental storytelling. Something which is almost (very, very ALMOST) exclusive to video games as a medium. Dark souls thrives on placing you in a setting, a dying kingdom, for instance, and moulding this narrative around the things you see around you. People. corpse, how enemies shamble and how much of the world is connected. It thrives on giving places a personality. Quelaag's domain isn't just a grungy, poison infested swamp (don't get me wrong, it's exactly that), it's a sewer. It's where all the bilge from the kingdom high above collects, travelling down through the rotten Blighttown built on the underside of the aquaducts where masses of bugs and poison hang precariously from rock walls.
There's a story there, an implied one. There is the kingdom at the top, the rich, the prosperous. Beneath them is Blighttown, hanging on by a thread and scratching at their heels, and belowe even them there is Quelaag's domain. Where the bilge makes a swamp of poison, where Quelaag and her sister, Quelana remain, abandoned aberrations. There's a throughline there. And each area is filled with these small details, spinning waterwheels, the buildings hanging on to the walls. The large, cocoon like nest of Quelaag at the bottom, surrounded by an ocean of scum, a prison and a sanctuary for her sister. These area's just have personality.
Pyresouls just does not. It's too focused on jumping from one area to the next. You can boil down each area Jacob visits into a formula. 1) Introduction, appearance, how does it make Jacob feel. 2) Jacob fights through the area and tries not to die. 3) Move on to next area.
There are at the minimum, 5-7 different areas that appear in the book. None of which are particularly memorable except one and that's only because I like the idea of what it would feel like to play dark souls and enter into this unnaturally quiet asylum where there is literally just no sound. You don't hear the wails of prisoners, you don't hear the grunt of the wardens, nothing but ominous silence. By far the asylum is the most interesting area because of the rest, it's unique and Jacob spends the most time there. There's enough time to actually develop the asylum as a character. It's interesting, it has personality, and it's unnerving. And sadly, it's the only one. Every other setting is shortlived and I can only remember a bunch of smoke in one of them because it appears at the very end of the book and I'm writing this immediately after finishing it.
Other
I won't say much else. But the actual LitRPG aspect of this novel is... ill-suited to the setting. Stat-sheets and mathematics do not a grimdark fantasy make. But that's a quirk of the genre, decimating story with unnecessarily long, overly detailed stat-sheets practically no-one is going to care about bar thinking 'oh, look at that, they're a bit stronger then they were ten minutes ago.' It does nothing to ellevate the story, if anything, it detracts by bloating the page count. If you skip over the stats sheets, you will miss nothing.
My final real complaint is that the actual fight scenes are plagued with 'sword forms.' Think yoga poses but more violent. It's another bit of what is just lazy writing. Jacob has about a dozen of these things called 'sword forms' or techniques or whatever. They're these specific motions he can use with weapons to do certain effects. What effects? good question. You don't get told that.
For example, there is, Hummingbird kisses Rose. Take a minute to guess what this attack (often done with a sword,) is. Yes, you are correct. It's a thrusting attack. It will never be referred to as a thrust. If Jacob stabs something its 'Hummingbird kisses Rose killed the [forgettable enemy]'. It's like this for EVERYTHING. There is no slashing, there is no chopping, no upwards diagonal cuts, only these obtuse technique names that only serve as an escape from writing gripping fight scenes.
Final Thoughts
Again, this isn't a bad book. It's good, it's decent. An entertaining enough read to pass the time with a decent dark setting.
But it's shallow. This is a book inspired by the mechanics of Darksouls and not the story of Darksouls and it shows in the writing. The lacking environment, the rushed, checklist-like nature of the various areas. The complete and total lack of bosses, side-quests, characters, and more.
There's a lot more I could talk about but honestly I did not take enough notes to write an in depth review on this. But I believe something I mentioned, about this book, to the guy who recommended it to me fits here and it's the last point and thing I'll say.
But Pyresouls is not a story inspired by Darksouls. Pyresouls is a Darksouls fanfic that for legal reasons cannot be called Darksouls. Much like it's title, Pyresouls is just darksouls but the Dark has been replaced by a Pyre.
October 24, 2020
Pyresouls Apocalypse by James T. Callum is a great book. Admittedly, it was my first in the LitRPG
I’ve had a lot of people recommend that I get into Dungeons and Dragons. I’ve always felt intimidated and like I didn’t have the time. When it comes to video games, I like to watch people play. I don’t always like to play so much. Usually, it depends on the game, but if it were a game like the one we see in this book — full of action, drama, and death — I don’t know. Sometimes I can’t hang.
Since I enjoy watching the games, that really helped me enjoy this book. I have written throughout my notes, multiple times, that I felt like I was just kicking back on the couch and watching a buddy play a video game while I read this book. I mean that in the best way possible, as well.
There is intrigue with the relationship between the game world and the regular.
There is drama centered around the time travel, which I can’t get too much into here without getting into the spoilers.
The main character, Jacob, is a strong main character that I had no trouble attaching to.
There is drama surrounding his life.
The author spent time on finer details of the story that really helped someone like me, unfamiliar with video games outside of enjoying the visuals, understand how things worked.
The story had a good pace and didn’t drag out too long.
All things that made me really enjoy this read.
There’s a preview for the author’s other novel, entitled Beastborne in the back. I haven’t read that preview yet, but mostly because I haven’t had time. I intend to read the preview, but I’m also planning on buying the book, because it got even better reviews than Pyresouls. If that’s the case, I’m in for an even better treat.
I couldn’t tell you whether fans of this genre would like it or not, since I haven’t read many others to compare it to. Yet. For me, however, this acted as a great gateway into the genre. It didn’t deter me from it. If anything, it made me want to read through books like this even more.
Something else that I wrote in my notes was the comparison of a text like this to both video games and movies. In video games, I love seeing how far animation has come. In movies, I don’t like how CGI-heavy the graphics have become. It takes me out of the story because it reminds me that it’s not real. It isn’t innovative the way older movies that didn’t have that type of technology were.
When it comes to the text itself, there’s not that type of issue.
Especially when it’s written as a video game, obviously. But the intricacy of the detail in here made the read that much more inviting and that much easier to get through.
As much as I loved it, I will also say this:
It wasn’t one of those books that, like, blew me out of the water.
I still rated it a 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5 here) because I thought it was really well done. It was also strangely one of those books I feel like I kind of forgot about as soon as I finished reading for the day. If I didn’t keep my chapter by chapter notes, I’m not sure I would remember as much as I did.
That isn’t meant as a bad note, however. I’d still recommend it.
Overall, I think this is a great read for anyone who’s curious about the LitRPG genre, or just fantasy fans in general. Judging by the book’s ratings, it seems like other fans of this genre also give it favorable feedback. I agree with them.
For me, this was a great entry into the genre. I didn’t have high expectations, but it managed to impress me either way.
To read my spoiler-filled review or check out my chapter-by-chapter analysis, head over to https://getwriteonin.com/2020/10/18/p...
I’ve had a lot of people recommend that I get into Dungeons and Dragons. I’ve always felt intimidated and like I didn’t have the time. When it comes to video games, I like to watch people play. I don’t always like to play so much. Usually, it depends on the game, but if it were a game like the one we see in this book — full of action, drama, and death — I don’t know. Sometimes I can’t hang.
Since I enjoy watching the games, that really helped me enjoy this book. I have written throughout my notes, multiple times, that I felt like I was just kicking back on the couch and watching a buddy play a video game while I read this book. I mean that in the best way possible, as well.
There is intrigue with the relationship between the game world and the regular.
There is drama centered around the time travel, which I can’t get too much into here without getting into the spoilers.
The main character, Jacob, is a strong main character that I had no trouble attaching to.
There is drama surrounding his life.
The author spent time on finer details of the story that really helped someone like me, unfamiliar with video games outside of enjoying the visuals, understand how things worked.
The story had a good pace and didn’t drag out too long.
All things that made me really enjoy this read.
There’s a preview for the author’s other novel, entitled Beastborne in the back. I haven’t read that preview yet, but mostly because I haven’t had time. I intend to read the preview, but I’m also planning on buying the book, because it got even better reviews than Pyresouls. If that’s the case, I’m in for an even better treat.
I couldn’t tell you whether fans of this genre would like it or not, since I haven’t read many others to compare it to. Yet. For me, however, this acted as a great gateway into the genre. It didn’t deter me from it. If anything, it made me want to read through books like this even more.
Something else that I wrote in my notes was the comparison of a text like this to both video games and movies. In video games, I love seeing how far animation has come. In movies, I don’t like how CGI-heavy the graphics have become. It takes me out of the story because it reminds me that it’s not real. It isn’t innovative the way older movies that didn’t have that type of technology were.
When it comes to the text itself, there’s not that type of issue.
Especially when it’s written as a video game, obviously. But the intricacy of the detail in here made the read that much more inviting and that much easier to get through.
As much as I loved it, I will also say this:
It wasn’t one of those books that, like, blew me out of the water.
I still rated it a 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5 here) because I thought it was really well done. It was also strangely one of those books I feel like I kind of forgot about as soon as I finished reading for the day. If I didn’t keep my chapter by chapter notes, I’m not sure I would remember as much as I did.
That isn’t meant as a bad note, however. I’d still recommend it.
Overall, I think this is a great read for anyone who’s curious about the LitRPG genre, or just fantasy fans in general. Judging by the book’s ratings, it seems like other fans of this genre also give it favorable feedback. I agree with them.
For me, this was a great entry into the genre. I didn’t have high expectations, but it managed to impress me either way.
To read my spoiler-filled review or check out my chapter-by-chapter analysis, head over to https://getwriteonin.com/2020/10/18/p...
October 2, 2020
This sort of book greatly disappoints me because it feels like it's simply taking advantage of the community's low standards rather than trying to elevate the expectations for the genre. There are a lot of authors that seem to think longer and more frequent books are the order for the day and copy basic game formula to get it done. The creativity of this story is as lifeless as the enemies the characters fight within it.
It's one thing for something to inspire you, it's another to pay homage to it with a few tips of the hat, and then it's something else completely to rip off someone else's work and want money for it. You can guess which camp this belongs to.
I went 35% before stopping. That's actually an improvement compared to the previous work from this author, Beastborne, which I found unreadable from a grammatical standpoint. I will say that the writing has improved in that regard. The prose is still basic and riddled with grammar issues, but it's functional and approaching average for the genre.
The biggest problem is that this story rips off the Souls series (and Dark Souls in particular) for its locations, mechanics, enemies, equipment, etc. Just calling a chicken a duck doesn't change what you're doing either. There are some minor and often nonsensical changes that the author has made, but mostly for the worse (like giving sword forms dumb names). I wished that I was just reading a novelization of the games instead.
This book is honestly kind of gross and I deeply regret spending as much time with it as I did. I expected what I got, so shame on me, but as a fan of the Souls series I felt like I had to at least check it out on the .0001% chance it was good.
I don't recommend this for anyone, and I have no intention of reading anything else from this author for at least a year. Unfortunately, there are many litrpg authors that never improve their skill because they focus on cranking out story after story. Will James Callum be one of them? Probably. But feel free to prove me wrong because, at the end of the day, all I want is to read stories that are good...though hopefully without the plagiarism.
It's one thing for something to inspire you, it's another to pay homage to it with a few tips of the hat, and then it's something else completely to rip off someone else's work and want money for it. You can guess which camp this belongs to.
I went 35% before stopping. That's actually an improvement compared to the previous work from this author, Beastborne, which I found unreadable from a grammatical standpoint. I will say that the writing has improved in that regard. The prose is still basic and riddled with grammar issues, but it's functional and approaching average for the genre.
The biggest problem is that this story rips off the Souls series (and Dark Souls in particular) for its locations, mechanics, enemies, equipment, etc. Just calling a chicken a duck doesn't change what you're doing either. There are some minor and often nonsensical changes that the author has made, but mostly for the worse (like giving sword forms dumb names). I wished that I was just reading a novelization of the games instead.
This book is honestly kind of gross and I deeply regret spending as much time with it as I did. I expected what I got, so shame on me, but as a fan of the Souls series I felt like I had to at least check it out on the .0001% chance it was good.
I don't recommend this for anyone, and I have no intention of reading anything else from this author for at least a year. Unfortunately, there are many litrpg authors that never improve their skill because they focus on cranking out story after story. Will James Callum be one of them? Probably. But feel free to prove me wrong because, at the end of the day, all I want is to read stories that are good...though hopefully without the plagiarism.
September 13, 2020
Alert
First, my review: “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Over the past year it has become apparent that my reviews are somewhat antagonistic and I apologize to those of you that have taken offense. I think I had hoped to change peoples’ minds about reviewing works of art and that seems to have backfired spectacularly. However, I am still going to be true to myself and write what I believe.
To the author: Thank you for this chance to escape reality and enjoy the world you created! Keep up the good work.
To my fellow reviewers: Messaging me and reviewing my reviews is as productive as trying to shovel water out of the ocean. Stop. I get it. Let’s just all live peacefully.
To potential readers: Art needs to be experienced at an individual level. You are the only one that can determine what you like and don’t like. Don’t let others make that decision for you. You should definitely read the book and completely ignore all of the reviews. You are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.
Cheers
First, my review: “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Over the past year it has become apparent that my reviews are somewhat antagonistic and I apologize to those of you that have taken offense. I think I had hoped to change peoples’ minds about reviewing works of art and that seems to have backfired spectacularly. However, I am still going to be true to myself and write what I believe.
To the author: Thank you for this chance to escape reality and enjoy the world you created! Keep up the good work.
To my fellow reviewers: Messaging me and reviewing my reviews is as productive as trying to shovel water out of the ocean. Stop. I get it. Let’s just all live peacefully.
To potential readers: Art needs to be experienced at an individual level. You are the only one that can determine what you like and don’t like. Don’t let others make that decision for you. You should definitely read the book and completely ignore all of the reviews. You are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.
Cheers
July 22, 2021
The perfect atmosphere
I don’t know how he has done it, but the essence of soulsborne has been captured perfectly. The grim, despondent, apathetic world; the unyieldingly obtuse and vague system; the unbridled terror embedded in some of the worst areas - but most of all the sheer animosity and malice the environment feels for any human influence is palpable. The setting is perfect, and acts as an amazing antagonist and plot drive for the Novel.
Yet Callum is not afraid to stray from the course, and that’s what makes the book format viable over the game. There are characters with actual personalities and motivations, rare for the genre currently (however, there is the occasional 2D exception to the rule). There is an actual human element that drives the connection we all feel to the protagonist.
And this is far from a copy and paste - there is unique, original lore that breaks expectations for veterans of the genre that is refreshing - or as refreshing as the bleak, bleak world can be.
Overall, I am incredibly impressed with this original work.
I don’t know how he has done it, but the essence of soulsborne has been captured perfectly. The grim, despondent, apathetic world; the unyieldingly obtuse and vague system; the unbridled terror embedded in some of the worst areas - but most of all the sheer animosity and malice the environment feels for any human influence is palpable. The setting is perfect, and acts as an amazing antagonist and plot drive for the Novel.
Yet Callum is not afraid to stray from the course, and that’s what makes the book format viable over the game. There are characters with actual personalities and motivations, rare for the genre currently (however, there is the occasional 2D exception to the rule). There is an actual human element that drives the connection we all feel to the protagonist.
And this is far from a copy and paste - there is unique, original lore that breaks expectations for veterans of the genre that is refreshing - or as refreshing as the bleak, bleak world can be.
Overall, I am incredibly impressed with this original work.
October 4, 2020
Quite the Page Turner
Rewind starts the Pyresouls series off with a serious bang. The pages flew by. Jacob is a deep character, the world is fun, and I very much want to know what comes next.
My big complaint: the world is not so much based on Dark Souls as entirely copied _from_ Dark Souls. The setting is different, but the rules, items, damn near everything is taken whole cloth from the game series. It felt a little... lazy might be a little harsh, but it gets close. It ripped me from the world several times.
That being said, I believe the series will diverge the longer it continues. So I’m in. One ticket for Pyresouls 2, please.
Rewind starts the Pyresouls series off with a serious bang. The pages flew by. Jacob is a deep character, the world is fun, and I very much want to know what comes next.
My big complaint: the world is not so much based on Dark Souls as entirely copied _from_ Dark Souls. The setting is different, but the rules, items, damn near everything is taken whole cloth from the game series. It felt a little... lazy might be a little harsh, but it gets close. It ripped me from the world several times.
That being said, I believe the series will diverge the longer it continues. So I’m in. One ticket for Pyresouls 2, please.
September 13, 2020
Not too bad
The early parts of the novel suffer the folly of info dumping. What makes it worse is how obvious that this makes it clear that the authors entire idea is what if the game Dark Souls became real, and I don't mean the approach to lore and world-building, I mean the literal game mechanics with MMO elements added.
The early parts of the novel suffer the folly of info dumping. What makes it worse is how obvious that this makes it clear that the authors entire idea is what if the game Dark Souls became real, and I don't mean the approach to lore and world-building, I mean the literal game mechanics with MMO elements added.
October 14, 2020
It's been done before, and while this retelling was a decent enough read, when you get to the end, if you were enjoying the story, and having a good time, that all comes crashing down as the ending is revealed. That's a pretty dirty trick to play on the poor unsuspecting reader. I realize it sets it up for another book in the series, but it's one of those expecting great things at the end, only to find out it's all built to ... (absolutely nothing). Now go back to the beginning and do it all over again, and for what?
I don't mind a rewind type book when the rewinding serves a purpose, but in this for instance, it comes off more as a tactic by the author to force reading of the next book rather than any real story telling reason, and that kind of thing bothers me greatly. I haven't decided yet whether I'll continue with this series or not, maybe one more, but I swear if it ends the way this one did, I'll blacklist this author from my reading list for all eternity.
I really don't like reading a book just to find out the entire story was useless.
Especially when it's an LitRPG book, there's supposed to be progression, that's kind of the whole point of it being LitRPG, and to have the main character struggle through all that he did, then come up short at the end, not because of anything he did, but because the author wants to write another book in the same vein doesn't suit anybody.
Sorry, that's just my opinion, but a story is supposed to tell a story, (which this book does), but especially if it's an LitRPG style book, having all that wiped away for no other purpose than to set it up for another go 'round so there can be a second book just irks me.
There's better ways to handle this sort of thing, and I'm not at all sure the author even considered such a thing, the way it ends is a big F.U. to all the character accomplished.
I don't mind a rewind type book when the rewinding serves a purpose, but in this for instance, it comes off more as a tactic by the author to force reading of the next book rather than any real story telling reason, and that kind of thing bothers me greatly. I haven't decided yet whether I'll continue with this series or not, maybe one more, but I swear if it ends the way this one did, I'll blacklist this author from my reading list for all eternity.
I really don't like reading a book just to find out the entire story was useless.
Especially when it's an LitRPG book, there's supposed to be progression, that's kind of the whole point of it being LitRPG, and to have the main character struggle through all that he did, then come up short at the end, not because of anything he did, but because the author wants to write another book in the same vein doesn't suit anybody.
Sorry, that's just my opinion, but a story is supposed to tell a story, (which this book does), but especially if it's an LitRPG style book, having all that wiped away for no other purpose than to set it up for another go 'round so there can be a second book just irks me.
There's better ways to handle this sort of thing, and I'm not at all sure the author even considered such a thing, the way it ends is a big F.U. to all the character accomplished.
November 5, 2020
Not recommended
This was decently edited for grammar and punctuation.
I don't recommend because of 2 main reasons.
1. Repeating over and over how sad the MC is that the world ended.
2. The nonstop may. We can hardly get through a single encounter without the MC droning on about which weapon use more stamina compared to damage. Every time I was thinking to myself, "dude, shut up and hit things!" The author was just upping the word and page count with all this crap and eventually, I just started skimming fight scenes because I didn't want the seemingly endless monolog on statical comparisons.
Several other points irritated me but I did not take off stars for them.
10% of this book is previews for other books. That's 48 pages of previews.
Continuity is lost several times. The biggest one is at the end, where the MC equips his mace and puts away his sword. A couple of paragraphs of mindless drivel and the MC does it again.
This MC would never have survived if this had ever come true. The MC has no clue how to manage his health.
This game was supposed to be the biggest thing in the world, yet it is a game that would have crashed and burned. Believe it or not, humans are social creatures and a depressing single player online game would not have been as popular as the author made it. The stat system is overly complicated and health is kept artificially low for no other reason than the author wanted to handicap the players so they couldn't win.
The more I start listing items that make no sense other than making a player's life miserable and the game unwinnable, the more I want to remove another star. Therefore, I am ending my list of irritations here
This was decently edited for grammar and punctuation.
I don't recommend because of 2 main reasons.
1. Repeating over and over how sad the MC is that the world ended.
2. The nonstop may. We can hardly get through a single encounter without the MC droning on about which weapon use more stamina compared to damage. Every time I was thinking to myself, "dude, shut up and hit things!" The author was just upping the word and page count with all this crap and eventually, I just started skimming fight scenes because I didn't want the seemingly endless monolog on statical comparisons.
Several other points irritated me but I did not take off stars for them.
10% of this book is previews for other books. That's 48 pages of previews.
Continuity is lost several times. The biggest one is at the end, where the MC equips his mace and puts away his sword. A couple of paragraphs of mindless drivel and the MC does it again.
This MC would never have survived if this had ever come true. The MC has no clue how to manage his health.
This game was supposed to be the biggest thing in the world, yet it is a game that would have crashed and burned. Believe it or not, humans are social creatures and a depressing single player online game would not have been as popular as the author made it. The stat system is overly complicated and health is kept artificially low for no other reason than the author wanted to handicap the players so they couldn't win.
The more I start listing items that make no sense other than making a player's life miserable and the game unwinnable, the more I want to remove another star. Therefore, I am ending my list of irritations here
July 26, 2023
Brilliant RPG apocalypse series! I've listened to the two books that are out now and am eagerly awaiting the next one.
What I like most is how immersive the story is, especially once you get a few chapters in. If you liked the game Dark Souls, you will feel right at home in the RPG world and if you like complex time travel stories where the butterfly effect is a real thing, you will definitely enjoy that aspect as well.
The MC is really sympathetic and the story-progression is good. Sometimes litRPG gets bogged down by too many pointless battles and stat sheet updates, but this story doesn't just deliver violence and a "let's play" feeling—it's good at emotional gut-punches as well. Warmly recommended for anyone wondering what they will listen to after System Apocalypse, Defiance of the Fall, etc.
What I like most is how immersive the story is, especially once you get a few chapters in. If you liked the game Dark Souls, you will feel right at home in the RPG world and if you like complex time travel stories where the butterfly effect is a real thing, you will definitely enjoy that aspect as well.
The MC is really sympathetic and the story-progression is good. Sometimes litRPG gets bogged down by too many pointless battles and stat sheet updates, but this story doesn't just deliver violence and a "let's play" feeling—it's good at emotional gut-punches as well. Warmly recommended for anyone wondering what they will listen to after System Apocalypse, Defiance of the Fall, etc.
October 10, 2025
I quite liked this book. It was a slow burn, descent into hell. However, Jacob is a great main character, one who tries to do the right thing even to his detriment. I have a soft spot for main characters who are inherently good, but has to make decisions in which there is ruthlessness involved. This is a brutal world. I do appreciate the friendships formed despite everything. It can't be all doom and gloom. That's too emotionally draining for me. Also, generally, I'm not a huge fan of time travel stories, but this series does a good job of almost forgetting that it's a thing. So, I'm glad I took a chance on this series. I'm about a quarter of the way into the next already. Keep up the great work.
September 16, 2020
Honestly and pleasantly suprised in a good way
At first thought it was more of a end of the world system in our time type book and then was disappointed as I read since I had gone in thinking about something else. then I kept going and was quickly impressed with the book and story and also that such a dark novel kept me. Kept reminding me of dark souls and the evil within at points. I was concerned about how the story would progress after this book and got antsy toward the end. I was both upset and excited for the turn of events even as the world dropped put from me just as it did for the MC
At first thought it was more of a end of the world system in our time type book and then was disappointed as I read since I had gone in thinking about something else. then I kept going and was quickly impressed with the book and story and also that such a dark novel kept me. Kept reminding me of dark souls and the evil within at points. I was concerned about how the story would progress after this book and got antsy toward the end. I was both upset and excited for the turn of events even as the world dropped put from me just as it did for the MC
March 15, 2021
Kind of gloomy and a get that what's what the author was counting on is just that it wasn't tons of people die gloomy it was just nothing happening gloomy sure things did happen but the outcome was just boring, there weren't that many character interactions and I don't mean buddy buddy interactions I just mean in general plus the world building was just not that entertaining.
I thought this would be like a super op goes back and is surrounded by noobs but that's not the case, sure he's strong but I have read some pretty amazing books with this general premis and this books was just meh you know not bad but not exiting enough to stay up all night reading
I thought this would be like a super op goes back and is surrounded by noobs but that's not the case, sure he's strong but I have read some pretty amazing books with this general premis and this books was just meh you know not bad but not exiting enough to stay up all night reading
March 9, 2023
Gives off very Diablo vibes, and that’s good!
If you like your litrpg darker and grittier, then this is for you! The world of Lormar/Pyresouls could very much feel like a stand in for Sanctuary, it’s dark, dirty, and dangerous! From the moment you start things can and will kill you, with no remorse. It’s also a lower magic system so far, which is an interesting change up from so many of the genre being high magic from the get go. The time travel aspect is interesting because you can see the changes happening in somewhat real time. Very enjoyable, will definitely be going on to book 2.
If you like your litrpg darker and grittier, then this is for you! The world of Lormar/Pyresouls could very much feel like a stand in for Sanctuary, it’s dark, dirty, and dangerous! From the moment you start things can and will kill you, with no remorse. It’s also a lower magic system so far, which is an interesting change up from so many of the genre being high magic from the get go. The time travel aspect is interesting because you can see the changes happening in somewhat real time. Very enjoyable, will definitely be going on to book 2.
October 5, 2020
Dark souls the novel
This was a great take on the LitRPG genre. I really enjoyed the setting as I am a fan of the Darksouls titles. The author does a great job of instilling the lonely depths and otherness of the twisting darkness that is the hallmark of the Souls-like games. I find the particulars of the lore behind how the game affects the world to be genuinely intriguing, and I really look forward to learning more about the origins of the game. I hope this series processes sooner rather than later.
This was a great take on the LitRPG genre. I really enjoyed the setting as I am a fan of the Darksouls titles. The author does a great job of instilling the lonely depths and otherness of the twisting darkness that is the hallmark of the Souls-like games. I find the particulars of the lore behind how the game affects the world to be genuinely intriguing, and I really look forward to learning more about the origins of the game. I hope this series processes sooner rather than later.
October 28, 2020
Yay, a mature novel for mature people
What would it be like if your life became dark souls. It would suck, be terrifying, and full of horrors, depression, and painful memories.
But it doesn't have to be full of harems and 12 year old cuss-fests. Thanks to that author for exploring darker, harder themes while keeping it realistic (no harems)!
Beyond that, the writing was pretty good. The end felt a little forced, but there was enough setup that it worked. Overall excited to see the next book and try his other series.
What would it be like if your life became dark souls. It would suck, be terrifying, and full of horrors, depression, and painful memories.
But it doesn't have to be full of harems and 12 year old cuss-fests. Thanks to that author for exploring darker, harder themes while keeping it realistic (no harems)!
Beyond that, the writing was pretty good. The end felt a little forced, but there was enough setup that it worked. Overall excited to see the next book and try his other series.
January 4, 2021
Wow!
This book was AMAZING! I have read SciFi/Fantasy for three decades. I love Anthony, Brooks, Rosenberg, and so many others. Yet, Mr. Callum has written a book that is decidedly among the best. Few foul words, a compelling story, a character that envelops the reader, and chapters that flow one to the next.
His writing is very good and draws pictures in the reader’s head (what I love about good writers). His continuity is simply expert.
Well done, well written, and I look forward to more.
This book was AMAZING! I have read SciFi/Fantasy for three decades. I love Anthony, Brooks, Rosenberg, and so many others. Yet, Mr. Callum has written a book that is decidedly among the best. Few foul words, a compelling story, a character that envelops the reader, and chapters that flow one to the next.
His writing is very good and draws pictures in the reader’s head (what I love about good writers). His continuity is simply expert.
Well done, well written, and I look forward to more.
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