(Book 1 Complete!) Runeblade: A Delving LitRPG Survival Adventure [Runic Magic & Skill Merging]

There are few stories I've read that start out with such a strong premise. Usually when an MC is dumped into a precarious situation there isn't much meat on the bones of the story. But here we see a, seemingly, unique litRPG system, that keeps unfolding as the story progresses. We have a mysterious entity and it has not been spoiled! 

The style is simple but it works with the genre. The sentences are structured well enough and the author does well enough on letting the story flow naturally. There aren't any excessive flourishes or unnecessary descriptions. One can tell that this is not their first story.

The progression aspect is very satisfying and well-paced. There are many instances where the story could slow down, but the author is wise enough to not get hung up on the story beats that don't matter to us gamelit fiends. 

The grammar is serviceable. There are some light spelling mistakes, that while irritating, are easy enough to ignore. (It's millennia and millennium. Singular for millennia. Two n's and two l's.) 

What makes this series stand out are its characters. We have an MC and his companion that are unique. They live and breathe. The MC isn't a typical shounen character and his bond is a delightfully violent and loyal beast. Reading about their adventures and well-deserved growth brings joy to this cynic's heart.

From me, a well deserved recommendation. 

Story: The story is well paced, there is never a moment where things go too fast, and it doesn’t drag either. The storyline is very immersive, and though it takes many stereotypical concepts like system and labyrinth (sort of? Like tower but downwards lol) it has its own twist and builds of such concepts into a unique story.

Grammar: stellar grammar, nothing much to say. Readable and fight scenes and details are stellar.

Characters: only 2 expanded characters, but I like them both and feel 3D with multiple sides to them. This may fluctuate as more characters are introduced, but from what I see author does a great job fleshing out characters.

Style: only demerit I see is info dump like sections that some may not like. If this is ever STUB I’d suggest cutting down on some info. I usually enjoy extensive lore but sometimes there is so much info that it bogs down the story, especially in fight scenes. Make those more concise, and the story would be more readable. Still I enjoy all the content I get! It’s really a minor detail.

Overall, great book! As of this review book 1 is finished, and I’m looking forward to book 2!

I have completed book one, and read a significany way into book 2 as writing this review. The first thing I would like to point out is that the Story so far and the overall way of introducing information into the plot is wonderfully done. It gives you just enough information to leave you wanting more, but not so little that you feel unsatisfied with what you've read.

The introduction of new characters since the beginning of Book Two and the arrival of Porkchop have been absolutely perfecly written so far, with beautiful foreshadowing leading up to them.

Overall, I would say Runeblade is an amazing story, there are some areas where it could be improved afterall, you can only read about an enemy being decapitated so many times before you want to a new Coup De Grace to be introduced, though I do understand that beheading may be the most effective way our MCs have to overcome the natural regeneration of most of their enemies at this point in story.

Otherwise, The plot has been well put together with no noticeable plotholes or contradictions to ruin my immersion during reading and I highly recommend others give it a try and explore the Author's Patreon with a massive cache of 50 chapters ahead of the mainstory at the time of this posting.

It seemed to have a lot of potential for the first few chapters with some interesting world building and hints of a conspiracy.  But, then, as soon as the MC enters the dungeon, it starts to get dull quickly.  I’m sorry, but I need an actual story with an interesting ensemble of fully developed characters.  This is just endless grinding in a dungeon with one monster fight after the next, after the next, after the next.  The fights are at least well written, so if that’s your cup of tea, you’ll probably love it.  But, personally, I need more from my novels.

Great stuff Bacon!

Style: original and creative spins on the themes and system in execution, cohesive professional style throughout. The style feels like high fantasy in the way the world is built and seems vast and magical despite healthy levels of crunchy stats and skills, everything flows naturally without feeling forced towards a redesigned plot while still having clear plot arcs and progression

Story: real stakes broken down into meaningful smaller goals that feel like actual wins when accomplished, as of book one’s completion it feels like the characters have made real progression towards their goals and growth without feeling rushed 

Grammar: haven’t seen any mistakes, the use of grammar is well integrated and helps the story flow without being excessively verbose or word padding

Characters: the highlights of this story are the characters and the world building (and the style that executes them), not just the main characters but everyone introduced feel like real people with real motivations and backstories, which helps as ultimately I see this as a character driven more than plot driven story (a sign of great writing), also the characters have actually grown and developed in natural seeming ways

This is as of the end of the first book, no complaints, great pacing and execution, great plot and characters, excellent style, please keep writing, thanks.

Well paced, good battle scenes and a classic dungeon dive. An interesting magic system, exited to see where the main character takes their skills.

The world seems large and we've only seen a small slice of it so far.

I especially like the first book, interested to see how the story develops

TLDR: In general, this is a great story with good characterization, a fantastic magic system, good combat scene writing, and interesting world lore. Enjoy the ride!

I've been having a ton of fun reading this story over the last few weeks. Kaius is an interesting character who is flawed, but personal progress working on those flaws is measurable throughout the chapters I've read so far.

Grammar is probably the weakest part of this story. Every chapter has several instances that I have added as suggestions in the comments. None of the issues detract from the overall story, but they certainly pull me out of immersion and the flow of the scene when a word choice is wrong, or punctuation does not follow conventions. None of that makes me want to stop reading. I expect that once this story is picked up by a publisher, all grammar issues will be fixed after a professional editor runs through the text.

The skill merging is probably my favorite part of this story and magic system.

Combat against the dungeon denizens is interesting, although it can be a bit unbelievable at times because of the massive level/stat disparity that is displayed even when the MC comes out on top. I understand the author's reasoning behind why, but I think sometimes it isn't quite supported to the point it removes all doubt about his ability to win against these incredibly difficult opponents.

The world is rich and diverse enough that I have been enthralled by the tidbits of history and lore that are revealed through conversations with Kaius' companion. I will say that I think the name of his companion is very annoying to read and is a bit disrespectful to such a regal creature, but it doesn't detract from how awesome the companion is.

This story has a great buildup for the system lore, and world building. Skills can be trained but there is a value to a good heritage. 

From the whimsies of youth to the likely burden of being a strong adult this one has it. (or at least hopefully if he survives his youth). 

The writing is clean and consistent, fun perspective on how skills are incorporated. For fans of litRPGs I recommend. 

Beyond that, just that this dungeon arc is too long. It has become so repetitive. Fight, injury, turnaround, win. Rinse, repeat.

Hopefully you'll do better for the future arc.

Update on my original review:

This story is really good. On of my top stories I’m following right now and with an amazing chapter release rate. If you enjoy litrpgs, interesting world building and male protagonists then pick this up. Read it and you won’t regret it. The only author I’m currently subbed to on Patreon if that’s any indication of how much I’m enjoying the story.

I think I’ve noticed the rare occasional grammatical error but they were fixed pretty quickly once pointed out by readers.

Other nitpick would be that:

1. I wish the chapters were longer

2. The author can be a bit too descriptive of scenes at times. The main example I can think of is the legacy skill merges. I have mixed feelings on them as I personally enjoy detailed descriptions that invoke the senses on principle but I also feel like they got a bit wordy. I understand the intent behind them and the need for them to be substantial to get the feeling across but maybe there’s a way to streamline it more? Either way legacy merge levels of detail probably aren’t going to be happening that often so it’s not a big issue.

Original review:
I’ve been enjoying the story so far. The mechanics of the system seem solid from what’s been shown and implied. It’s still early on so a lot of the world’s lore in unknown but it seems to be a different take on a dungeon integration world with a single super dungeon dimension and a world that already had a magic fantasy base pre-integration. The characters are likeable and haven’t done anything ridiculously dumb or silly that wouldn’t make sense for the setting and character backgrounds. This will be one of my main follows going forward. Looking forward to reading more!