The Fusionist

A Fantasy LitRPG Academy Adventure (Magical Fusion, Book 1)

By: Jonathan Brooks

Narrated by: Miles Meili

Length: 16 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

A young man and his axe, along with a magical life he never asked for....

Larek Holsten is different from most people living in the Kingdom of Androthe, where his seven-foot-tall frame is looked at with suspicion and anger from its shorter residents; but as long as it helps him become the best Logger he can be, he doesn’t let it bother him all that much. He and his best friend, an axe with a powerful Fusion that causes it to become sharper and stronger than a normal tool, are feared by the trees in the magical forest north of his home, as he can fell the quickly growing monoliths faster than anyone else in the community.

Unfortunately, after visiting the local village, a deliberate misunderstanding lands Larek in trouble; as a result, he is taken away from his family and the only home he has ever known. Along the way, his dormant magical potential is discovered by those more knowledgeable than him, and he is ordered to attend some sort of academy for Mages.

The problem? Contrary to many who might jump at the chance of wielding powerful magic to fight the monsters that threaten the towns and cities around the Kingdom, Larek has absolutely no desire to become a Mage, especially when he has no choice in the matter. All he wants is to be allowed to return home to his family and to chop down the trees in the Rushwood Forest.

But once he discovers a unique talent that stems from his newly unlocked latent power, he might just have to stick around to see what he can do....

This weak-to-strong MC story contains LitRPG elements such as character progression and statistics, as well as a heavy crafting emphasis. No explicit sexual content or harems.

©2023 Jonathan Brooks (P)2023 Jonathan Brooks

really interesting crafting series

this is from the dungeon core superstar Jonathan Brooks. he wrote a solid non dungeon core book and it is fantastic. I want more

Awesome Sauce!

Absolutely loved it! Love how he overcame his need to self seclude himself! Hope he overcomes his inability to do spells!

Different. Good. Imaginative.

Just keep listening. Takes a while to get into, but worth it.
Great book. Looking forward to book 2.

It was good.

I like the main character and the world building. Hope the sequel comes out soon.

Axe Swinging Mage.

Larek is a big guy, which I can relate to. He just wants to understand people and why they hate him. I loved the battle scene with his best friend. His struggles at being an outsider is amazing. It is like it is my story. I wish I had read this on Royal Road, it was amazing.

Great in every way.

Story was really good, performance was fantastic, looking forward to Book 2… hopefully soon :D

Interesting world, but MC has zero agency.

Biggest complaint is right in the title. Cool world, magic, setting, and plot. However, I found myself practically ripping out my hair every minute or so because of how little the main character actually DOES. Things just happen to him. I understand that this is a fish out of water/coming of age type of story, but we expect more dynamism from our main characters (especially in the progression fantasy/litRPG sub-genres).

There was also the "meta"- issue of how seemingly dumb the protagonist is. Again, its somewhat warranted, but this is an issue that must be addressed from a writing perspective. The reader should never feel like they "know" more than the protagonist of a single person point of view type story. Through context clues and genre savviness, the reader can quickly put together the gist of what is happening while the MC is still ignorant of most things. If these feelings are not quickly addressed by the author "getting the MC up to speed" asap, reading the book will quickly start to feel like you are an adult watching an episode of Dora the Explorer. Every answer will seem so obvious while the protagonist wallows in ignorance. Its not a comfortable feeling.

Still, everything surrounding my complaints was interesting enough. I'm looking forward to more from this series, and hopefully my concerns are addressed.

Awesome!

Started slow, but the writing just draws you in more and more until you're lost in it! I can't wait for the next one!

Magnificent

A wonderful world and magic system. The story throws us in and then teaches us to swim. The pace is great and the characters and world captivating. Truly enjoyable

Wow this is going to make you want book 2

between the awesome narration and the story you will be wanting to punch somebody by the end. A true underdog story that will leave you wanting more.