This is a gem

I picked this up and expected to listen to this over the space of a week or two but I managed to listen to it in about 2 days, it goes without saying how good this book is....

You have the tale of an egocentric, egotistical and huuugggggely self centred AND STUBBORN (and ignorant) dragon. He forms a partnership with a mere human. I say partnership what I mean is a king and a minion contract. (They are a hilarious pair)

This book is amazing it is hilarious and entertaining and the story/journey makes sense. The author created a gem! Moreover the narrator has done an amazing job creating vivid character voices and loveable minions!! haha Mooorrreeee! I want more!!!!!

Warning! Please listen somewhere in private becuase random spurts of laughter will occur.

4 people found this helpful

Loved it.

TLDR
Comedy/satire about a dragon that becomes an adventurer, which actually had be laugh allowed in places.
Background
After foolish human Victor accidentally wakes the read the dragon Vainqueur and makes the mistake of explaining the leveling system. Vainqueur decides he wants in and that adventuring may be...profitable. With his "loyal" (terrified) new minion as a guide, and a dragon invented levelling system (for who other than a great dragon could come up with such an invention) to discover, Vainqueur takes to the world with GREED in his eyes.
Why I liked it.
Let's start with the dragon in the room. Vainqueur (best dragon) is AMAZING, the narration uses special effects to give his voice a rumbling and gravitas that really leads to the character. He is a dragon in the truest sense of the word, not a noble creature (though he will say otherwise) with a long view on the world, he lives for his horde, to gather riches and collect Princesses (for bragging rights, which he would naturally release unharmed to go forth and make more Princesses, such is the cycle of life). Vainqueur is assured highly egotistical (in the most wonderful way) assured, that dragons are infalliable and all other creatures are lesser (though he doesn't hold it against them for not being born dragons). Yet with all of this Vainqueur is written as a character that grows throughout the story, he has his own insecurities and as his world view is challenged, he has parts of genuine character growth.
Likewise in contrast to the immortal dragon, is the rather squishy minion Victor. A mortal from our world, who still wants to go home, but now finds himself as the chief minion and second in the foodchain (an important place to be) to Vainqueur. He is a character in direct juxtaposition and serves to balance and showcase the dragon, at the same time he too begins to learn his place in the world and grow.
The story is a comical/satirical one, which is shown in all aspects of the story, from the interaction fo Vainqueur and his minion to the actual world building, the nature of the Gods, but the comedy is all played straight. Vainqueur is a hypercapitalist, one dark church purchases corpses (under luctrative contracts) with the intention to spark a revolution in the labour force, and while there are absolutely ridicilous moments (which I will leave you to discover) they almost get really easily folded into the story and so get folded into the tapestry of the narative rather than glaringly stand out.
As I mentioned previously Vainqueur is a Dragon and played as a horde loving one and the reason I bring this up again is that what this does is really change his priorities, as he meets other people in the world there is always this glorious clash in ideals and priorities which keeps occuring, as people struggle to fully understand one another. Vainqueur is really written as an alien creature and ultimately this adds to a marvelous read.
Jack Vorhess does an amazing job with the narration, knowing when to ham it up to 11 and when to play things straighter. The voice modulation on Vainqueur really makes him stand apart.
Why you might not like it.
If you are looking for a serious book or epic 10 book fantasy then this isn't for you. As of yet there are 4 books (3 narrated) out so far, but having read only book 1, I don't see how it will go past 5 (and hopefully won't).
For the first half of the story there is little threat to Vainqueur with parts later feeling less tense (because he is a huge freaking dragon) than other stories. This worked really well for me and my current mood, but might not float your boat.
Overall.
I held off starting Defiance of the Fallen as I enjoyed this book so much. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this goes and highly recommend it for anyone looking for something a bit different or lighter. I really struggled working out whether to write this review as I do my others or in an in-character voice (I may do that at a later stage). Loved it.

1 person found this helpful

Funniest thing I've read in a while

I totally recommend it if you want to have a laugh and don't care a lot about a serious story with serious character moments.

1 person found this helpful

This was AWESOME!!

Highly entertaining!
Different from other LitRpg books.
On a good way.
I hope it'll be more like this.
Cheers!!

1 person found this helpful

great fun

yes it's was very good. story a bit different,performance strong. can't wait for the next book.

1 person found this helpful

An entertaining take on litrpg

I received a review copy of this fun and entertaining book. The dragon is delightfully clueless and the "hero" is along for the literal ride. The narration is excellent, with the dragon and other non human creatures all given their own styles that bring the story to life. The only issue I had with the book were a couple of points in the first half where some twists and scene changes felt a little jarring.

1 person found this helpful

It's different!

It's amusing and the narrator did an excellent job but I find it difficult to follow sometimes, it jumps to chapters without continuation, like where did the Wyvern come from, and after killing the Duchess how did the end up under attack in their cave?
I really liked the 5 Cobalds, they are funny.

1 person found this helpful

Hidden gem

this was surprisingly good but made me laugh which I haven't done while reading for a long time. strong characters and litrpg themes made this a really good time for me at least.
looking forward to more!

1 person found this helpful

Joint review for book 1 - 3

Since I listened to book 1-3 in one go, this review covers the first three books.
Quite fun series about the Best Dragon (his own opinion) who befriends a lowly human after waking from a long nap. While sleeping, the lowly humans has discovered leveling and quests. And most important for the dragon, the shiny gold coins completed quests will grant as reward.
Narration/Performance: With exception of the voice of the Dragon which felt artificial, the narration was overall good, and gave life and individuality to the different characters.
Story: A houmous take on LitRPG with just a few status updated along the way. These first three books do not quite manage to engage me enough to make me crave more. On the positive side, the side characters lift the listening experience.
After listening to the first three books, will I buy the fourth and last? Yes, mostly just to get the conclusion to Victors love life.

Funny light hearted book.

I loved the book. The Narration was amazing. The characters in the story are amazing.