Embrace the flame’s rage or leave the future in ruins.
The tutorial is over. The rules of Pyresouls have changed for the worse. Defeating the Burgon Beast should’ve been the end of it, but it was only the beginning.
Beating the next boss monster that invades Earth will only stave off the Collapse, not prevent it. The future devoid of all life but a single Pyre proves that.
Jacob refuses to accept that future. He’s done playing their games. Even if he must walk through the fires of despair and glory to be rid of them.
Back in the past, the Gnawing Hunger roams free, monsters run unchecked between the shards, and abominations of unfathomable power lurk beneath the surface of Lormar.
Otherworldly beings pull the strings behind Pyresouls, twisting the challenges Jacob faces at every turn to exploit his weaknesses and thwart his progress.
Trapped between two timelines, having lived a second life he can’t remember, can Jacob find the dark truth behind Pyresouls and uncover the secrets of Lormar’s demise, or will he leave the future a grave and Earth a long-rotten corpse?
Or somehow, something even worse?
With leveling and gear progression mechanics, Pyresouls Futures Grave is the second novel in the bestselling Dark Fantasy LitRPG/gamelit series, Pyresouls Apocalypse. Perfect for fans of the Dark Souls games, Powder Mage, and cosmic horror
My 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:
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.
One of the things that I both really enjoy, and that really drive me crazy is the continually altering timeline Jake finds himself in when he goes forward in time. It makes sense that things would change, but it’s a little frustrating to me because we lack so much context. But the rest of things are great! Love the story as it continues, and the characters. The power ups are pretty darn cool! I really want a book 3, like right now! Lol and it’s at the end of the book that we finally get some introduction to the wider universe that’s used in the other series! Though with that introduction I’m really curious now as to how all the timelines for the various series fit into each other, or if they’re all simultaneous I’m some sort of weird multiverse thing.
Just like in the first book, the ending to this one completely blindsided me. A line at the end said, “Hugs and kisses, love Midarian.” I thought Midarian was only in the Beastborne books? Does this mean that the two series will intersect?! If so, that’s cool.
The book itself was good, if a little confusing. I have a hard time understanding stories with time travel and alternate realities and stuff like that. It was interesting how each time Jacob exited the FIVR pod, the things around him changed. But it was confusing as well. How did his actions in the pod change things so drastically?
Camilla’s role is interesting. She’s apparently a goddess? Or a reincarnation of one? I’m not sure. Hopefully there will be more information about it in the next book.
Mistakes: I found one actual mistake. Nobody talks in abbreviations. So while nbd is fine when written in a note, having a character say it is lazy writing. The different sword forms seem to be just pulled out of thin air instead of actually describing the fights.
Plot: Fighting a war on multiple time lines how can one man survive, much less win?
Characters: I'm thinking that trying to track multiple time lines would drive a person insane.
5/10 Would be better without the random sword forms since they aren't learned and have no description of what they do, like a skill would have.
It's not the type of book I'd normally read, it a bit too dark and grim for me, but its also so well written that I still plan on continuing the series. I feel like the entire book is just fight scenes though, just lots and lots of fighting with little else for the characters to do, it's still a good book but it bugs me. The ending though was super good and has really piqued my interest in Midarian, I think I'm spelling his name right. Either way I'm curious if the author plans on making a series for him because he's just really interesting, mysterious, and relevant to both series.
The first book, while dark, was not in my humble opinion quite as brutal. While there was a bleakness in the first, the sheer horror of the bodily horror in the second makes this quite a bit more disturbing. Nonetheless, I found this to be quite enjoyable. A good guy trying to do right, even if right may still be terrible. It certainly put me in a questioning state of mind. How would I handle these horrific circumstances? Would I remain as stalwart and still have my moral compass intact. I very much look forward to the next, and I thought the plot twists added some unpredictability to the series. Well done.
Usually, I try to be eloquent in my reviews. With this series, it is far too complex to put my thoughts into words. I recommend reading Beastborn first, then this series. Once you are caught up, then read each book as the author releases them. I am seeing ties between the two, and have a strong feeling that reading both at once, as the author is releasing them, will be the most rewarding experience. While they are separate stories, the overlap feels similar to when Marvel Universe brings heros (and villians) together.
Doesn't quite live up to the first book. The first half is full combat that, frankly, isn't that interesting. One can read about this or that sword form only so far before it becomes a bore, the plot and character are definitely the more interesting part of this story. That's why the last third of it improves as the story becomes much more prominent, yet the story direction doesn't quite sit with me well so in the end I'm left with a sour taste in my mouth. Still, it's a decent book that makes me await for the third one.
While the first book just managed to hold my attention, this one failed. I ended up starting and stopping multiple times and gave up readinv at 90% through. The overall idea of the story is good, but the decisions the MC makes often goes against what he is actually saying is his plan.
Even better than the first book. James is really hitting his stride.
Some kind of brief recap would be really helpful at the start of the book, there's a lot of time bending and lore that's hard to remember after a few months.
Guess I'm spending my next month playing Dark Souls!
Really enjoyed this second book in this series. So much happens back and forth how things change. If you like Apocalypse and dark souls you will definitely want to read this series.
Solid book great story and it's just really nice the unique spin on the genre. Additionally the overarching plot is really out there, interesting turn this book to see how it plays out may over extend. It not in this novel.
I still would like some more character development but the universe is a great evolution of the DS universr. The plot is also just as mercurial as the lore from DS, which leaves me with mixed feelings...Overall still a fun read.
Shifting timelines and constant danger makes a man an interesting hero. Although the Beastborn series more to my taste, I'm looking forward to the coming adventures and a few characters from other worldshards.
Avid dark souls fan here. You continue to truly capture the essence of the game. What an enjoyable series. Now, Go go go go! Make more of these please.