Chef

From Chef to Crafter to Conqueror, Book 1

By: Gabriel Rathweg

Narrated by: Lee Osorio

Length: 11 hrs

Publisher's summary

Ryo was a chef, an extremely good one at that. That was until the entire universe as he knew it changed.

After his spaceship is attacked and destroyed by an enemy armada, he finds himself in a situation he never could have imagined.

Sent back in time and to an alternate reality, he has quite a few choices to make. Especially considering that the ruthless Kublai Khan and his Mongol Horde are just a few years away.

Accompanied by an extremely advanced Artificial Intelligence, a medieval noble, and his samurai retainers, Ryo sets out to change the known world. At least this dimension's version of it!

With his knowledge of history and the help of his companions can he stop the unstoppable tide of the greatest war machine the East Asian continent has ever known?

Join Ryo as he tries to change history with a little bit of luck, a lot of technical know-how, and some fantastic food!

©2021 Gabriel L. Rathweg (P)2022 Tantor

Interesting start of a story with a lot of potential for the next books

I randomly chose this book by its synopsis and I am glad I did. The story is enticing, well crafted, and I was quickly drawn into it.
I like the setting, the pace, and the characters are, so far, fleshed enough so I care about them. There is some repetitive phrasing used here and there, but it is cool - I am here for the story, but it is noticable. And yet, the story is good (enough. not spectacular. not yet ;)), and I am very willing to listen to how it continues.
The narrator's voice is nice, he does great job with the book, and is one more reason for the whole enjoyable package

The Author needs to learn to say more with less.

This story dies upon the diarrhea of excess words and pointless fluff. Good premise and characters... But endless fluff and word padding is everywhere... The point and story gets weighed down by the mass of unnecessary descriptions and thoughts that doe provide some context or coloring, BUT not relevant...

For a story about a Chef, the story is an perfect example of someone drowning or hiding the natural flavors from the ingredients by added excess seasoning and random favorite ingredients to a functioning recipe.
A massive editing is needed to trim entire chapters out and have the plot devices and scenes thinned down to get the point across.

It was a really great start for a series

This book is a lot fun and wacky at times but has a great story that I can get behind. My one complaint is that it felt that very little was achieved in this first part, but I'm very excited about the upcoming release of part 2.

A good story, but too much fanboy stuff

So the idea is unusual'ish and the story was finally getting interesting when book 1 ended. In general, I liked the story, but there are so many fanboy moments where the author waxes on about some anime thing or another and a lot of filler material that stretched the story length out without providing any real interesting content. I'd be tempted to get book 2 on a $5 sale, but I won't spend a credit to continue this series.

Good Story

The main story is good but the other story was just boring. It doesn’t add to the story to me.

Great story. Thoroughly researched.

The story keeps the reader interested through great imagination and imagery. It leaves the reader questioning what happens next .The characters are well developed and engaging .A must read for those who love hand to hand combat of the Middle Ages combined with AI application. An interesting twist.

A Mesmerizing Journey

From Chef to Crafter to Conqueror takes listeners on a captivating adventure with two interconnected stories that weave seamlessly together. While both stories were engaging, I found myself particularly drawn to Ryo's tale, which left a lasting impression on me.

The decision to focus more on Ryo's journey would have elevated the overall story arc to new heights. Nonetheless, the inclusion of the Marco Polo part, although not my personal preference, became clearer and more significant as the story progressed, ultimately contributing to a better understanding of the ending. It's commendable how the author skillfully connected the two narratives, enhancing the depth and intrigue of the overall plot.

What truly made this audiobook exceptional was the phenomenal narrator. Their ability to captivate and hold my attention throughout the entire story was remarkable. Each character came to life, their voices brimming with emotion and authenticity. As I eagerly anticipate the next installment, I am filled with excitement about the future of this series. From Chef to Crafter to Conqueror has laid a solid foundation, and I am confident that the author will continue to astound listeners with their storytelling prowess.

Excellent premise

This story has an excellent premise and the main character line is very engaging. The secondary story with the princess is not completely clear until very late in the book and was a bit distracting how the story just jumped back and forth without much to tie it together

Needs editing, some rewriting would help

Okay, let's just get right down to it. The research is well done, but there are some issues with this book. There's a fair bit of fluff/padding as others have noted.

In the first chapter, he describes MC's girl like this was a fantasy harem novel. "Her perfect neckline", What does that even mean, what is a perfect neckline? The rest of the description can be imagined by most hormonal teenage boys, perfect ass, breasts, etc. I almost returned the book in the first chapter. I didn't purchase this for some silly harem novel. I felt this was not necessary to begin the story. Write a decent flashback later on how they met, how much they love each other, not just how physically and sexually amazing her body is.

The Marco Polo sections are decent, but I have mixed feelings. It seems like the author just did a truck load of research and needed to validate the hours of research. (Maybe sunk cost/time fallacy applies?)

There are sections that need to be polished later one. The whipped cream/tea scene for example. MC uses a tea whisk to make whipped cream. Everyone is amazed that you can use a tea whisk to aerate something while the servant is literally next to them frothing green tea. It is beyond my ability to believe that no one in that room would not connect the green foam with the white foam. Maybe the modern reader whose never seen/had properly prepared matcha would more readily accept it.

So overall, it's not bad enough to return, but I don't think i'll continue this series unless the rest shows up in the Plus catalog.

great time traveling book

This is a very good book looking forward to book 2 and I hear there is to be a book 3. So far great series.