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Hi Megan!
Im glad you're enjoying the series so far. The first draft of book 3 is nearly finished. It'll take several months for me to edit it (the har…moreHi Megan!
Im glad you're enjoying the series so far. The first draft of book 3 is nearly finished. It'll take several months for me to edit it (the hard part), but I'm aiming for an October release.
As for other books to recommend, I have to admit I've been so focused on my own writing that I haven't been reading much fiction recently.
You could join the Sci-fi and Fantasy Book Club group here on Goodreads, though (it covers both genres). They read two new books every month, one from each genre.
Best regards,
John(less)
Im glad you're enjoying the series so far. The first draft of book 3 is nearly finished. It'll take several months for me to edit it (the har…moreHi Megan!
Im glad you're enjoying the series so far. The first draft of book 3 is nearly finished. It'll take several months for me to edit it (the hard part), but I'm aiming for an October release.
As for other books to recommend, I have to admit I've been so focused on my own writing that I haven't been reading much fiction recently.
You could join the Sci-fi and Fantasy Book Club group here on Goodreads, though (it covers both genres). They read two new books every month, one from each genre.
Best regards,
John(less)
John Graham
Hi Vladimir!
I'm aiming to publish book 3 this October, since October is the month when I published the first two. If not October, then certainly befor…moreHi Vladimir!
I'm aiming to publish book 3 this October, since October is the month when I published the first two. If not October, then certainly before the end of this year.(less)
I'm aiming to publish book 3 this October, since October is the month when I published the first two. If not October, then certainly befor…moreHi Vladimir!
I'm aiming to publish book 3 this October, since October is the month when I published the first two. If not October, then certainly before the end of this year.(less)
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Voidstalker (Voidstalker #1)
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Fictional Science in Science Fiction
The Science of Science Fiction: Star Trek vs Mass Effect
Besides plot, character development, dialogue, and everything else that goes into story writing, another major consideration when writing science fiction is world-building. That’s an extremely broad topic, but world-building in science fiction inevitably centres on another particular consideration: the science. Whilst I was writing my first n Read more of this blog post »
Besides plot, character development, dialogue, and everything else that goes into story writing, another major consideration when writing science fiction is world-building. That’s an extremely broad topic, but world-building in science fiction inevitably centres on another particular consideration: the science. Whilst I was writing my first n Read more of this blog post »
Published on October 28, 2018 11:01
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altered-carbon, fiction, krakenscourge, mass-effect, sci-fi, science, science-fiction, star-trek, technology, voidstalker
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Well, the same lowlife has periodically come back posting the same misspelt all-caps threats if I don't buy whatever shitty review service he's suppos
Well, the same lowlife has periodically come back posting the same misspelt all-caps threats if I don't buy whatever shitty review service he's supposedly offering, but each time I've reported the accounts they get banned.
At this point it's a mild nuisance cleaning up the comments this loser posts, and of course each time it's actually the same comment posted sixty times over. I'm SO intimidated, LOL. ...more " |
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Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "Also, librarians can only move their own threads as we are volunteers.
You can move it though (possibly only from Deskt Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "Also, librarians can only move their own threads as we are volunteers. You can move it though (possibly only from Desktop view) Questions (not edit requests) would probably be the best folder to c..." Thanks! I've just moved it to the suggested folder. Sorry about posting it here in the first place, but it was kind of urgent. By the way, I received a flurry of abuse from the same scam accounts I was warning about (all of them have now been reported), so my urgency was vindicated. ...more " |
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I'm pretty late to this thread, but years ago I paid for a review from BlueInk for my first published book. Based on what I got in return, I can say w
I'm pretty late to this thread, but years ago I paid for a review from BlueInk for my first published book. Based on what I got in return, I can say with certainty that the anonymous so-called professional who wrote the review only read the first three chapters plus the final chapter.
It was a lazy and thoroughly dishonest screed written by someone who skipped two thirds of the book and made selective quotations to make it seem as though they'd fulfilled their contractual obligation to read the book from cover to cover. The final insult was that the review came in the form of a shoddy PDF which downplayed the actual page count, making the book seem shorter than it actually was. But as a newly self-published author, I felt there was no point in arguing since it was my word against this anonymous reviewer's word, so I quietly killed the review. I have tried other editorial review services (not Kirkus) and gotten much better quality reviews and feedback, notably from people who have enough integrity and professionalism to attach their names to what they write, but were those reviews worth several hundred dollars a piece? Not really. Amazon customer reviews are worth far more. ...more " |
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The Adventure Continues and the Stakes are Rising Andrew Jones from Florida was summoned to a new world to save the Goblins from extinction at the hands of the evil sorcerer Vogrim and has now well and truly established himself as their saviour. (view The Adventure Continues and the Stakes are Rising Andrew Jones from Florida was summoned to a new world to save the Goblins from extinction at the hands of the evil sorcerer Vogrim and has now well and truly established himself as their saviour. (view spoiler)[Having slain the plague beast that was corrupting the Drowned Lands, and barely surviving the fight in the process, he and his companions have returned to Gillamoor with the magical shield the plague beast was guarding. (hide spoiler)] There is only one more item left to retrieve before they can take on Vogrim: a magical sword hidden in the far northwest that’s guarded by another, even more monstrous creature. But that’s much later in the book. First, our hero has to build a house for himself and his four future wives – Lossia is now the cover girl for book four – all of whom are now pregnant, on top of training and improving the city’s armed forces, inventing better suspension for wagons, managing diplomatic and trade relations with the Elves – the Goblins’ hated former slave masters – and spending each night impregnating as many Goblin women as possible. There’s a lot on the MC’s plate, and this explains why the fourth book is the longest yet. Unfortunately, it’s also the most poorly written. It’s Worse Than Just Typos Book four represents a significant drop in writing quality compared to the previous three books. The other books had typos and the same formatting error in which paragraphs are stuck together without a line to separate them, and these are also present in abundance in the fourth book. The typos and formatting mistakes were always irksome but tolerable, but now they actually make the reading experience qualitatively worse, and it’s only the enduring charm of the story and my investment in the characters that stopped me from giving the book two stars instead of three. It’s not just the confusion of homophones like “canter” and “cantor” or forgetting to add a word here or there. The magical housebuilding scenes make abundantly clear that the author doesn’t know the difference between “raise” and “rise” or between “lift” and “rise”, making for unintentionally comical lines in which the logs, stones, and other inanimate building materials “raise” or “lift” some unspecified other objects into the air. In fact, all four books so far have proven that the author doesn’t know the difference between “lay” and “lie” or their respective past tense forms “laid” and “lay”. For example: “I lay bricks for a living, and I lie down for a nap” versus “I laid bricks all day and then lay down for a nap”. Another pathetically common typo, which I didn’t notice in the other three books, is that the author frequently misspells the names of his own fictional characters and places. The city’s wainwright (wagon-maker) is introduced as “Fennal” with an “a” but is then referred to as “Fennel” with an “e” for the rest of the book. The city of Gillamoor, where most of the series takes place, also gets misspelt a couple of times. Then there’s the case of chapter 13. One of the numerous women whom the MC sleeps with is introduced as “Nalia” but is then referred to as “Kalia” for several paragraphs before reverting to “Nalia”, then “Kalia”, then “Nalia” again. I reread the chapter carefully to make sure this wasn’t a threesome; it’s not, this is the same minor character who apparently has two different names because the author couldn’t be bothered to pick a name and stick with it. The fourth book reads like a second draft that was hastily uploaded, and the end of chapter 39 makes clear that this was the case. As Andrew and Cirro approach her hometown, the city of Holmar, Cirro explains that the city only has a hundred archers to deter Orc raids. There’s a pause in the dialogue before Andrew turns to Cirro and asks her about the thousand archers of Holmar, and Cirro explains that the city actually only has two hundred archers. This isn’t the first time that characters contradict themselves on how many archers Holmar has, and whether it’s a thousand or a hundred matters far less than the fact that the author did do at least one partial rewrite but apparently didn’t have it in him to do a proofread. All of that is just the technical writing quality; the storytelling quality also takes a nosedive late in the book as soon as our hero crosses the river to talk to the Orcs. The Subplot with the Orcs is Terrible Way back in book one, the MC had the idea to build a railroad between the various Goblin cities, but to do that they would need not just locomotive technology (magic will fix that) but copious amounts of steel. As of book four, the Elves to the east have begun trading magical items in exchange for the Goblins’ delicious wine which the MC plans to use to build a self-powered locomotive for the Goblins, raising questions about why these trading caravans would be permitted to sell valuable magical items to their former slaves, but never mind. However, only the Orcs to the west manufacture enough steel to build a railroad, so Andrew sets out on a one-man diplomatic mission to persuade the Orcs to a) stop launching raids against the Goblin city of Holmar and b) sell the Goblins their steel. Once this is done, he, Ulenor, and Nerras will go north to retrieve a magical sword to be paired with the shield, the final item they need to take on the evil sorcerer Vogrim. I wrote in my review of the third book that the author might have bitten off more than he could chew with his writing of the Elves as part of the worldbuilding, and given his handling of the Orcs, I’m convinced of it. Orc Subplot Summary (view spoiler)[As soon as he crosses the river, The MC meets an Orc woman named Smirna – Orcs are really just taller, stronger Goblins but with little tusks extending from their lower jaws – who explains to him that Orc women and slaves spend their days fetching water from the river for the Orc men, fearsome warriors who only respect strength. The MC decides to offer to build the Orcs a well with his magical powers, now massively improved since he first acquired them in the first book, in exchange for no more slave raids and lots of steel. He’s promptly captured, although not before killing a dozen Orc warriors with magic in various gruesome ways. He wins a fist fight with an Orc champion and the Orcs grant his demand to speak to the high chieftain Krugg. The MC makes his offer to Krugg, but then after Krugg agrees to his terms, The MC decides that he doesn’t like the fact that the Orcs hold slaves and demands that Krugg release them, especially the Goblin slaves. Krugg says no, so the MC kills him and appoints his terrified Goblin slave-advisor Shalizor as the new high chieftain (by what authority?). When the MC emerges, Orc warriors come at him in droves, hoping to kill him and claim the title of high chieftain for themselves, and he kills them all without even touching them. Our hero has become so proficient in magic that he tears them apart limb from limb with his mind or cooks them alive in their armour – which the Orcs already knew he could do, but they keep coming at him. The MC tracks down Smirna and recruits her to guard him while he uses his magic to excavate a hundred-foot deep well to fulfil his end of the bargain – the one struck with the high chieftain whom he recently assassinated before the deal was formally sealed. Andrew then appoints Smirna as the head of the new royal guard for Shalizor and asks her to recruit other Orc women to form the guard to defend against any male Orc challengers for the title of high chieftain, and then, Andrew “Moses” Jones leads an army of Goblin ex-slaves back across the river to the safety of Holmar. (hide spoiler)] Orc Subplot Full of Holes the Author Can’t Fill The Orc subplot isn’t unnecessary. The MC wants to build a railroad and the Orcs have the raw materials necessary to do so, and the story also has to tie up various loose ends before the final showdown with Vogrim; but it’s so incompetently executed that I was tempted to give the story two stars instead of three. It raises countless problems which the author barely makes an effort to solve, and the half-baked solutions only raise even more problems: (view spoiler)[Q – Why should the Orcs accept an ex-slave (and a Goblin at that) as their new high chieftain, given that his “claim” to the title is that a pink-skinned alien who assassinated his predecessor pointed at him and declared him the new high chieftain on the spot, having arrived on Orc territory literally the day before? A – Shalizor is the only one with a brain and would make a much better and more enlightened ruler than the killer and rapist Krugg or any other Orcs who might replace him. Q – The MC knows nothing about Shalizor besides his name, species, and occupation. He has no way of knowing whether Shalizor would be more enlightened, and as a former slave, he almost certainly lacks real leadership skills. Besides, administrative competence is no match for the cutthroat world of Orc politics, as should have been clear from every mention of the Orcs’ violent society and martial prowess, hence why Krugg used the Goblin slave Shalizor as his advisor to begin with. What’s to stop an actual Orc from assassinating this timid technocrat and installing himself as the next high chieftain? A – The MC killed all the warriors in the Orc capital city, so there’s no one left to challenge Shalizor for the title of high chieftain. Q – Really? The Orcs are a warrior society who relish violence and only respect strength. Did the MC kill the entire male population of the city, or just the ones who were stupid enough to come at him directly? If it was the former, this was an act of genocide, and I don’t think he’ll be offering his repopulation services to the Orcs any time soon. If it was the latter, then there are still plenty of potential challengers out there waiting to renege on a bargain struck with a dead ruler assassinated by the counterparty with whom it was brokered. A – But Andrew recruited Smirna to create an all-female bodyguard unit to protect Shalizor and having encouraged her to see herself as more than just a water carrier and sexual plaything for Orc men, she’s definitely going to do what this pink-skinned alien man told her to. Q – Assuming Andrew didn’t massacre the entire adult male population of the Orcs’ capital city (are there any outlying settlements or do all Orcs live in this one city?), what’s to stop an ambitious Orc warrior from leading a coup to overthrow Shalizor and have his way with Smirna and her female bodyguard unit? Come to think of it, what’s to stop Smirna herself from deposing Shalizor and installing herself as the first female high chieftain? Smirna doesn’t get nearly enough time on the page to flesh out her character and personality, resulting in a glorified plot device with a face and a name who is both a downtrodden water bearer waiting for a strong Orc man to force himself on her and claim her as his wife (yes, that’s how the Orcs find mates), and also a fearsome warrior woman who’s handy with a spear. She expresses only mild disapproval at the MC for slaughtering hundreds, possibly thousands, of her fellow Orcs with magic – something the Orcs hate and fear – and graciously defends him against her own people while he excavates a well for them instead of stabbing him in the back or throwing him down his own newly excavated well. (hide spoiler)] The Orc subplot is such a ramshackle construction, and the “resolution” so full of plot holes and logical flaws, that it ought to collapse as soon as the MC has returned to Goblin territory. I have a suspicion that it won’t because that would be inconvenient to the plot of the fifth and final book and would complicate the supply of Orc steel to build that railroad. Conclusion The charm at the core of this series remains, complemented by an interesting cast of secondary characters, and (mostly) solid worldbuilding, and this is why I didn’t lower my score to two stars. Frankly, the Orc subplot alone warrants one star; the fact that it would have required a lot of work to fix is no excuse, and it absolutely doesn’t excuse the poor quality of the writing. Judging by the bestseller scores and the number of other reviews, this series has sold incredibly well, well enough for the author to afford to hire a professional editor or proofreader to fix all the typos and other problems. It’s certainly sold well enough for the author to take the trouble to properly read and edit his own work before selling it to us. I’ve stuck with this series throughout, and I’m looking forward to reading the fifth and final instalment, although not with as much anticipation as I otherwise would like. Goblin Breeder 4: Goblin Defender: This One is Still Mostly Slice of Life ...more |
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Apr 04, 2024 06:34AM
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One Fetch Quest Done, Two More to Go I’ve been so entertained by this series so far that I finished the second book in three days and immediately moved onto the third book. The third book expands on the story and worldbuilding established in the first One Fetch Quest Done, Two More to Go I’ve been so entertained by this series so far that I finished the second book in three days and immediately moved onto the third book. The third book expands on the story and worldbuilding established in the first two books, and all while maintaining plenty of raunchy sex and growing relationships between the MC and his three beautiful wives-to-be, to whom is added a fourth. Plot Summary (Spoilers from Previous Book) Andrew Jones continues his adventures among the Goblins, helping them to repopulate after the evil sorcerer Vogrim rendered the male Goblin population impotent and sterile with clouds of poisoned rain. (view spoiler)[Having retrieved the magical amulet necessary to safeguard against the poisonous air in the Drowned Lands – and having killed the evil necromancer Odewyn by boiling his blood in his veins – (hide spoiler)]Andrew is now ready to venture into the lair of the plague beast, the source of the miasma and corruption in the Drowned Lands, and the creature which guards the magical shield which he’ll need to defeat Vogrim. Before leaving however, he has a lot of other work to do to help the Goblins survive and thrive in a world surrounded by enemies. Not only does he have to procreate with as many Goblin women as humanly possible, which he does every night, but he also draws on his experience as an Army Ranger and multiple tours in Afghanistan to beef up and professionalise the Goblin military. At the same time, the Elves – who once held the Goblins in bondage for a period of a thousand years – have tentatively agreed to establish a wine trade with their former slaves, who still hate them with a passion. What could possibly go wrong? The Core of the Story Remains Strong There isn’t much to add as far as the action & adventure, meaningful characterisation, and the titillating sex scenes because there’s nothing really to criticise. The action & adventure is even better in the third book as Andrew and company head into the Drowned Lands with the help of the magical amulet to protect them from the poisonous air that’s turned everything into a diseased and grotesque parody of life. If you’re a fan of Warhammer, think of Nurgle and you’ll have a good idea of what the Drowned Lands are like. On the home front, there’s a new wife to join the harem: Anna the blue-haired schoolteacher depicted on the front cover of book three. She’s intelligent, fun, and bisexual, much to Cirro’s delight, and she knows more about the Goblin’s painful history than most. Meanwhile, Thilli has finally given up the contrived contraceptive tea and is pregnant by the time they enter the Drowned Lands – she’s only one or two months along, so her belly isn’t an encumbrance. The Issue with the Elves I’ve praised the author’s attention to the worldbuilding in this series because it strengthens a story premise that could easily degenerate into an extended porn scene with fantasy trappings, and I maintain that praise in this review. However, I’m starting to sense that the author might have bitten off a little bit more than he can chew in the world. On their way to the Drowned Lands, Andrew and company cross paths with an Elven trading expedition – now a regular occurrence thanks to the wine trade that the MC brokered in the previous book. The Elves enslaved the Goblins and held them in bondage for a thousand years before the Goblins rose up in revolt 150 years before the events of the series, escaping to form their own independent kingdom. For obvious reasons, getting his adoptive people to agree to have anything to do with the Elves was a hard sell for the MC, softened only by the fact that they overcharge the Elves for the wine. Due to this history, the Goblins’ supposed pacifism wears very thin when it comes to the Elves, and the latter’s haughtiness and contempt for their former slaves are palpable in their interactions; all of this is very well done – until this meeting. The leader of the Elven trade caravan addresses Thilli and gives a bizarrely apologetic speech about having read up on the history of the Goblins as slaves and their treatment at the hands of the Elves. This feels more than a little contrived and very out of character given the behaviour of the Elves in earlier scenes. It feels like the author is trying to nudge along the rapprochement with the Elves so that they don’t pose a threat when the time comes to take the fight to Vogrim. Ultimately, the wine trade with the Elves is a subplot, and this doesn’t detract from the story. I just think it could have been a little less forced. Conclusion Three books in, and the series remains a thoroughly entertaining read for all the reasons given in this and prior reviews. I still can’t give it more than four stars, however, due to the presence of the same proofing errors as before. There are too many typos and misused words for a story this good, and formatting errors are still a problem with paragraphs stuck together without an empty line to separate them. A single round of proofreading could have fixed all of these errors. Even so, the series has gone from strength to strength for three books in a row, and I’m looking forward to the climactic finale in the fifth book. Goblin Breeder 3: Goblin Settler: A Slice of Life Base-Building Harem Fantasy ...more |
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Apr 03, 2024 02:17AM
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The Harem Fantasy Action Adventure Continues As I type this review, I’ve already finished four of the five books in the Goblin Breeder series. I don’t remember the last time I breezed through a book in only three days, but that was my experience with The Harem Fantasy Action Adventure Continues As I type this review, I’ve already finished four of the five books in the Goblin Breeder series. I don’t remember the last time I breezed through a book in only three days, but that was my experience with the first instalment, and as soon as I’d finished, I bought the second book. I’m mostly pleased to report that the second book expands on its premise and kept me invested all the way to the end. I say “mostly” pleased because although it builds on the strengths of the first book and adds some of its own, the same goes for the weaknesses. Plot Summary (Spoilers from The First Book) Andrew Jones, originally from Florida, has well and truly been embraced as the saviour of the Goblin people. The evil sorcerer Vogrim is using clouds of poisonous rain to render the Goblin male population impotent and sterile while leaving the women unaffected, but the MC has begun to impregnate Goblin women in earnest, giving the Goblin people the first glimpse of hope for their future that they’ve experienced in five years. (view spoiler)[On top of that, our hero is also fresh from leading a successful defence of the city of Gillamoor (where most of the first book takes place) against a raiding party sent by Vogrim, even killing a 12-foot-tall minotaur with a knife and barely surviving the encounter – no one from the raiding party was so lucky. (hide spoiler)] Andrew has his work cut out for him as he spends his days helping the Goblins to build proper defences for their city, professionalise their military – a tall order for a pacifist society – and planning his first expedition out of the city. He also has to spend his nights procreating with up to half a dozen Goblin women each night while also spending time with his three wives-to-be, the so-called “Mothers of a New Age” Cirro, Thilli, and Lossia. The long-term goal is to defeat Vogrim once and for all. To do that, Andrew has to retrieve a magical shield and sword forged specifically to kill Vogrim, and these items have been hidden in dangerous regions guarded by a horrifying monster. The shield is hidden in the southern realm of the Drowned Lands where the very air is poisonous, so Andrew first has to retrieve a magical amulet from the necromancer Odewyn which will protect everyone in the wearer’s vicinity from the miasma of the Drowned Lands. The Action & Adventure Kicks into Gear – Accompanied by Strong Side Characters Fetch quests are a common trope in action & adventure stories precisely because they work, and Andrew’s trip into the desolate lands to the south to kill the necromancer and retrieve the amulet is the best part of the book. He’s accompanied by the wizard Ulenor, the veteran soldier Nerras, and Thilli, one of his future wives who’s depicted on the front cover with black hair, and who’s also pretty handy with a sword – I think this detail is just so the author can have an excuse to have sex scenes in the middle of the hero’s adventures, but that’s fine by me. The author does an excellent job of describing the uninhabited lands to the south, which become more and more sinister and cursed as they approach the necromancer’s lair. Our hero is also honing his skills with magic along the way, tutored by Ulenor in between sparring with Nerras in the evenings, punctuated by steamy night-time sex with Thilli – who also takes part in the sparring and magic practice instead of just being there for the sex. I haven’t read any harem fantasies other than Goblin Breeder, and I’m now loath to do so for fear that they’ll fall short of the standard set by Goblin Breeder, especially because a strong cast of side characters is something that really sets this series apart. Ulenor is still the wise wizard who mentors the hero but has enough personality not to be limited by this; Nerras is the best fighter in the group, being equally handy with a sword and a bow, and saving the group’s lives from an ambush. Instead of emasculating him to elevate the MC, the author makes him an indispensable character who’s just as likeable as the MC. (view spoiler)[Since the end of the first book, Nerras has also begun living out in the woods in strict secrecy because, as it turns out, the effects of the infertility rain aren’t actually permanent. (hide spoiler)] Strong Worldbuilding Made Stronger The best thing about the first book is that the fantasy element isn’t an afterthought. The author has put real effort into creating a believable and compelling fantasy world, and he builds upon this in the second book. Not only do we explore lands beyond the Goblins’ traditional territory, but we get our first encounter with the Elves. Early on in the first book, it’s revealed that the Elves had enslaved the Goblins for a thousand years – erasing their history before then – until 150 years before the events of the series, when the Goblins staged a violent uprising and escaped westward, establishing their own independent kingdom. (view spoiler)[The presence of an Elven expedition in what is technically Goblin territory is almost as suspicious as their presence so close to the cursed lands where the necromancer – himself a former Elf – lurks. (hide spoiler)] The Goblins are supposed to be pacifists, which doesn’t really square with the fact that they only won their freedom through violent revolution and escape, and their apparent aversion to violence breaks down completely when our Human hero and his three Goblin companions meet the Elves, although it wouldn’t make sense for them to react in any other way. (view spoiler)[The author uses this encounter to set the stage for an eventual thaw in relations. (hide spoiler)] We also get some interesting hints about Elven society and culture, but not too much as to overload the reader. The Trouble with Thilli The leading lady and literal cover girl of the first book was Cirro. For the second book, that honour passes to Thilli. Her father is a general, so she’s not a pacifist and knows how to handle herself in a fight. Although she’s mostly warmed up to the MC and enjoys having sex with him, she’s apparently supposed to be the most standoffish of the three female leads, and also makes clear to the MC that to win her over he has to impregnate as many other women as possible and thereby save her people from extinction – all while taking a fictional contraceptive brew. It always irritates me when fantasy authors try to crowbar modern conveniences into quasi-historical settings, and this is especially true of birth control. The Goblins are at a late medieval stage of development – in the first book, Andrew teaches the Royal Chemist how to build a fractionating column – so there’s no way they would have potions with the pharmacological effect of modern contraceptives. But it’s far worse in this case because, in a society where mass sterility has meant no live births for the past five years, why would contraception of any kind even be legal? Thilli’s use of contraception is an act of unconscionable selfishness that flies in the face of her demand that Andrew save her people by fathering as many children with other Goblin women as possible – children who will be taller and stronger than the average Goblin and, most important of all, immune to the poisoned rain keeping the men impotent and sterile. It’s worse still that Thilli is supposed to be one of the “Mothers of a New Age”, although, as the MC (and narrator) tells it, she’s already done her duty to her people by making sure he’s safe for other Goblin women to sleep with and can afford to postpone getting pregnant herself. Given the stakes involved, pardon me for finding this unconvincing. Perhaps the author wanted to keep her from getting pregnant long enough to make her useful in the action scenes, which is all well and good, except that it won’t be considered a problem in the third book. Still Needs Proofreading, But Still a Fun Read As with the first book, there are more typos than I’d like to see in a story this fun, not to mention the bizarre formatting error in which the author forgets to separate paragraphs with an empty line, which makes them look stuck together. There are far too many instances of this, which is easily spotted and easily fixed with one tap of the return key. Even so, the second book expands on the strengths of the first, maintaining a compelling cast of side characters who complement the MC, developing the worldbuilding and lore even further, and introducing some exciting adventure and action. Given that the MC’s principal duty is to breed as many Goblin women as possible, the sex scenes are frequent and titillating. As with the first book, it only took me three days to get through the second book. Goblin Adventurer: A Slice of Life Harem Fantasy ...more |
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Apr 01, 2024 07:02AM
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Surprisingly Enjoyable and Glad I Read It Andrew Jones is hiking in Florida when he steps through a magical portal and arrives in another world. The Goblin wizard Ulenor, who summoned him explains that an evil sorcerer named Vogrim has used clouds of Surprisingly Enjoyable and Glad I Read It Andrew Jones is hiking in Florida when he steps through a magical portal and arrives in another world. The Goblin wizard Ulenor, who summoned him explains that an evil sorcerer named Vogrim has used clouds of poisoned rain to render the Goblin male population impotent and sterile but leaving the women unaffected (presumably because he has other plans for them). Facing extinction and surrounded by hostile races, the Goblins need Andrew to impregnate as many Goblin women as possible to produce a generation of taller and stronger children who will be immune from the poisoned rain. He also has to collect a series of magical items from across the land in order to defeat Vogrim and his army once and for all. If your reaction to this premise is to sneer or roll your eyes, then this story, and the subgenre to which it belongs, probably aren’t for you. Goblin Breeder is a harem fantasy blending action & adventure with male fantasies about being the object of sexual attention of countless beautiful women. I bought this eBook on a whim because I wanted something new to read and thought I'd try a genre I hadn't engaged with before. I’d read several reviews of other harem fantasy stories and had serious reservations about what I’d find, which makes me all the gladder that Goblin Breeder is my first taste of the harem fantasy subgenre, because it avoids all of the traps that I feared it would fall into. The Protagonist Is Interesting Andrew Jones is an everyman who I found to be likeable and compelling as a main character. He’s neither an unattractive wimp suddenly surrounded by busty beauties who inexplicably lust after him – I’m so sick of that trope in anime – nor an alpha Mary Sue who’s spectacularly well-endowed in every sense of the term. As it happens, he is stronger and better endowed than his Goblin hosts, but that’s because the average Goblin is less than five feet tall. He’s also given magic powers thanks to a special potion, but he has to learn to use those powers over a time. He’s smart, resourceful, and committed to the daunting tasks set for him, and he also brings with him a headful of knowledge about technology from the real world which will revolutionise Goblin society; but he’s also fallible, needs help from others, and can be injured, sometimes quite seriously, which makes you all the more invested in his success. The Male Side Characters Aren’t Pussies Being a harem fantasy, there really is only room for one major male character, but whereas lesser stories would put down any other male characters to ensure they don’t threaten the MC, Goblin Breeder uses its cast of male side characters to complement the MC, making for a much better story as a result. Ulenor, the wizard who brought the MC to their world, acts as a mentor and confidant, teaching him how to use his newly acquired magical powers, helping him to enhance his weapons and armour, and providing wisdom and guidance along the way. We also get hints of his painful past and, through him, the toll that Vogrim’s infertility rain has taken on Goblin society. The story doesn’t dwell on it too much, but the impact on the Goblin people of five years with no births and no ability of the Goblin men to perform sexually isn’t glossed over either. I suspect that other, lesser harem fantasies wouldn’t even bother to allude to these consequences. There’s also Nerras, a Goblin soldier who befriends Andrew and trains him to fight with sword and spear, frequently besting in him sparring matches while also helping him to improve and professionalise the pacifist Goblin people’s meagre military. Nerras suffers from the same impotence and infertility as the other Goblin men, but it doesn’t lessen him as a character, and he serves as a strong complement to the MC, even though he’s come to do to their women what the Goblin men can’t. The Female Characters Aren’t (just) Sex Objects Of course the women are sex objects, just look at the front cover! If you find that off-putting, then you’re in the wrong category. Having said that, Goblin Breeder does itself and the readers a tremendous service by making its female characters well rounded in places other than their chests and backsides. Given the premise of the story, this would be the easiest trap of all to fall into, but the author gives us female side characters who complement the MC just as well as the men do and are more than just their tits and ass, curvaceous though those are. For one thing, they don’t immediately throw themselves at him when he arrives in their world. Indeed, when the three women pre-selected to be his brides, the “Mothers of a New Age”, are presented to him, Andrew quickly realises that they’re actually terrified. They don’t know anything about this six-foot tall, pink-skinned alien from another world; in fact, before they laid eyes on him, he might have turned out to be a hideous monster or an abusive brute. And yet these three women still volunteered to be the first to sleep with him to make sure that he’s safe for all the other women, and to sacrifice themselves if he wasn’t. Andrew sits down with the three women and goes out of his way to assuage their fears. They then have a light-hearted foursome which serves as the inaugural sex scene of the story, after which the women start to warm up to him. Once word gets around that the sexual saviour of the Goblins is also a decent man, that’s when the women start to throw themselves at him. Cirro, the green-haired Goblin woman on the front cover, is one of the three Mothers of a New Age, and the one who takes the quickest liking to him. On a related note, the sex scenes are written for maximum titillation (does it matter if the pun is intentional?) and fine to read. There isn’t much else to say about these scenes, except to say that the MC has other tasks to busy himself with besides procreation. There is that one scene when Andrew arrives in the capital city for a one-week visit and is given a hero’s welcome; a random Goblin woman climbs onto the wagon and Andrew publicly mates with her in the back of the still-moving wagon while the adoring crowds cheer him on. That was a fun scene to read, especially when the satisfied and grateful woman is feted like a heroine herself. The Story Isn’t “Gamified” Being a lit-RPG, it would be very easy to transpose video game mechanics into the story with a contrived points system and skill tree through which the MC has to level up, but Goblin Breeder wisely eschews that temptation. You can certainly see the video game elements in the background, like how the MC acquires magical powers or enhances his armour and weapons, but everything is presented in a way that makes sense within a fantasy setting. It emphasises the “lit” and downplays the “RPG”, and this makes for a better fantasy story. The Fantasy Part Actually Matters Speaking of fantasy stories, my biggest concern was that the fantasy part would be no more than an afterthought, a superficial backdrop to a story about an ordinary man doing nothing but having sex with gorgeous, green-skinned beauties for several hundred pages. Thankfully, the author puts real effort into the worldbuilding aspect, sketching a believable fantasy world that feels lived-in and compelling. The execution of the worldbuilding is also very well handled. The reader is spoon fed enough information about the history and lore as and when it’s needed without being overloaded with irrelevant details that will be promptly forgotten. This aspect matters because it buttresses what would otherwise devolve into a tedious string of orgies with a big fight scene at the end. The worldbuilding not only makes the story more than just its erotic premise but provides believable answers to questions that might otherwise prove fatal to the premise. For example, the Goblins are enemies with the other races, some of whom are aligned with the evil sorcerer Vogrim, which explains why they couldn’t recruit a breeder from one of those races. These and other potential plot holes are competently filled thanks to the time and effort put into the fantasy aspect of this harem fantasy. Needs a Proofread, But Still a Solid Story I breezed through the book in a few days, which should tell you how much I enjoyed reading it, but unfortunately, I can’t give it five stars. I counted half a dozen typos as well as numerous instances in which two paragraphs were stuck together without an empty line to separate them, a bizarre formatting error that can be fixed with a single tap of the return key. I also don’t understand why the author habitually ends a chapter and begins a new one in the middle of a scene when nothing of significance has yet happened to justify a new chapter. There are also cases where Goblin characters use colloquial American speech even though the MC, being from Florida, is the only one who would talk that way. It’s not a huge problem but it does take you out of the story a bit. All of these problems could have been fixed in a single proofread, and they take some of the shine off of what is otherwise a very enjoyable story. As I type this review, I’ve already finished reading four of the five books in this series, and I look forward to the final instalment which will be released on 8th April. Goblin Breeder: A Slice of Life Harem Fantasy ...more |
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Mar 31, 2024 08:03AM
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Surprisingly Enjoyable and Glad I Read It Andrew Jones is hiking in Florida when he steps through a magical portal and arrives in another world. The Goblin wizard Ulenor, who summoned him explains that an evil sorcerer named Vogrim has used clouds of Surprisingly Enjoyable and Glad I Read It Andrew Jones is hiking in Florida when he steps through a magical portal and arrives in another world. The Goblin wizard Ulenor, who summoned him explains that an evil sorcerer named Vogrim has used clouds of poisoned rain to render the Goblin male population impotent and sterile but leaving the women unaffected (presumably because he has other plans for them). Facing extinction and surrounded by hostile races, the Goblins need Andrew to impregnate as many Goblin women as possible to produce a generation of taller and stronger children who will be immune from the poisoned rain. He also has to collect a series of magical items from across the land in order to defeat Vogrim and his army once and for all. If your reaction to this premise is to sneer or roll your eyes, then this story, and the subgenre to which it belongs, probably aren’t for you. Goblin Breeder is a harem fantasy blending action & adventure with male fantasies about being the object of sexual attention of countless beautiful women. I bought this eBook on a whim because I wanted something new to read and thought I'd try a genre I hadn't engaged with before. I’d read several reviews of other harem fantasy stories and had serious reservations about what I’d find, which makes me all the gladder that Goblin Breeder is my first taste of the harem fantasy subgenre, because it avoids all of the traps that I feared it would fall into. The Protagonist Is Interesting Andrew Jones is an everyman who I found to be likeable and compelling as a main character. He’s neither an unattractive wimp suddenly surrounded by busty beauties who inexplicably lust after him – I’m so sick of that trope in anime – nor an alpha Mary Sue who’s spectacularly well-endowed in every sense of the term. As it happens, he is stronger and better endowed than his Goblin hosts, but that’s because the average Goblin is less than five feet tall. He’s also given magic powers thanks to a special potion, but he has to learn to use those powers over a time. He’s smart, resourceful, and committed to the daunting tasks set for him, and he also brings with him a headful of knowledge about technology from the real world which will revolutionise Goblin society; but he’s also fallible, needs help from others, and can be injured, sometimes quite seriously, which makes you all the more invested in his success. The Male Side Characters Aren’t Pussies Being a harem fantasy, there really is only room for one major male character, but whereas lesser stories would put down any other male characters to ensure they don’t threaten the MC, Goblin Breeder uses its cast of male side characters to complement the MC, making for a much better story as a result. Ulenor, the wizard who brought the MC to their world, acts as a mentor and confidant, teaching him how to use his newly acquired magical powers, helping him to enhance his weapons and armour, and providing wisdom and guidance along the way. We also get hints of his painful past and, through him, the toll that Vogrim’s infertility rain has taken on Goblin society. The story doesn’t dwell on it too much, but the impact on the Goblin people of five years with no births and no ability of the Goblin men to perform sexually isn’t glossed over either. I suspect that other, lesser harem fantasies wouldn’t even bother to allude to these consequences. There’s also Nerras, a Goblin soldier who befriends Andrew and trains him to fight with sword and spear, frequently besting in him sparring matches while also helping him to improve and professionalise the pacifist Goblin people’s meagre military. Nerras suffers from the same impotence and infertility as the other Goblin men, but it doesn’t lessen him as a character, and he serves as a strong complement to the MC, even though he’s come to do to their women what the Goblin men can’t. The Female Characters Aren’t (just) Sex Objects Of course the women are sex objects, just look at the front cover! If you find that off-putting, then you’re in the wrong category. Having said that, Goblin Breeder does itself and the readers a tremendous service by making its female characters well rounded in places other than their chests and backsides. Given the premise of the story, this would be the easiest trap of all to fall into, but the author gives us female side characters who complement the MC just as well as the men do and are more than just their tits and ass, curvaceous though those are. For one thing, they don’t immediately throw themselves at him when he arrives in their world. Indeed, when the three women pre-selected to be his brides, the “Mothers of a New Age”, are presented to him, Andrew quickly realises that they’re actually terrified. They don’t know anything about this six-foot tall, pink-skinned alien from another world; in fact, before they laid eyes on him, he might have turned out to be a hideous monster or an abusive brute. And yet these three women still volunteered to be the first to sleep with him to make sure that he’s safe for all the other women, and to sacrifice themselves if he wasn’t. Andrew sits down with the three women and goes out of his way to assuage their fears. They then have a light-hearted foursome which serves as the inaugural sex scene of the story, after which the women start to warm up to him. Once word gets around that the sexual saviour of the Goblins is also a decent man, that’s when the women start to throw themselves at him. Cirro, the green-haired Goblin woman on the front cover, is one of the three Mothers of a New Age, and the one who takes the quickest liking to him. On a related note, the sex scenes are written for maximum titillation (does it matter if the pun is intentional?) and fine to read. There isn’t much else to say about these scenes, except to say that the MC has other tasks to busy himself with besides procreation. There is that one scene when Andrew arrives in the capital city for a one-week visit and is given a hero’s welcome; a random Goblin woman climbs onto the wagon and Andrew publicly mates with her in the back of the still-moving wagon while the adoring crowds cheer him on. That was a fun scene to read, especially when the satisfied and grateful woman is feted like a heroine herself. The Story Isn’t “Gamified” Being a lit-RPG, it would be very easy to transpose video game mechanics into the story with a contrived points system and skill tree through which the MC has to level up, but Goblin Breeder wisely eschews that temptation. You can certainly see the video game elements in the background, like how the MC acquires magical powers or enhances his armour and weapons, but everything is presented in a way that makes sense within a fantasy setting. It emphasises the “lit” and downplays the “RPG”, and this makes for a better fantasy story. The Fantasy Part Actually Matters Speaking of fantasy stories, my biggest concern was that the fantasy part would be no more than an afterthought, a superficial backdrop to a story about an ordinary man doing nothing but having sex with gorgeous, green-skinned beauties for several hundred pages. Thankfully, the author puts real effort into the worldbuilding aspect, sketching a believable fantasy world that feels lived-in and compelling. The execution of the worldbuilding is also very well handled. The reader is spoon fed enough information about the history and lore as and when it’s needed without being overloaded with irrelevant details that will be promptly forgotten. This aspect matters because it buttresses what would otherwise devolve into a tedious string of orgies with a big fight scene at the end. The worldbuilding not only makes the story more than just its erotic premise but provides believable answers to questions that might otherwise prove fatal to the premise. For example, the Goblins are enemies with the other races, some of whom are aligned with the evil sorcerer Vogrim, which explains why they couldn’t recruit a breeder from one of those races. These and other potential plot holes are competently filled thanks to the time and effort put into the fantasy aspect of this harem fantasy. Needs a Proofread, But Still a Solid Story I breezed through the book in a few days, which should tell you how much I enjoyed reading it, but unfortunately, I can’t give it five stars. I counted half a dozen typos as well as numerous instances in which two paragraphs were stuck together without an empty line to separate them, a bizarre formatting error that can be fixed with a single tap of the return key. I also don’t understand why the author habitually ends a chapter and begins a new one in the middle of a scene when nothing of significance has yet happened to justify a new chapter. There are also cases where Goblin characters use colloquial American speech even though the MC, being from Florida, is the only one who would talk that way. It’s not a huge problem but it does take you out of the story a bit. All of these problems could have been fixed in a single proofread, and they take some of the shine off of what is otherwise a very enjoyable story. As I type this review, I’ve already finished reading four of the five books in this series, and I look forward to the final instalment which will be released on 8th April. Goblin Breeder: A Slice of Life Harem Fantasy ...more |
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Mar 30, 2024 11:43AM
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