Arena Manager

An Isekai LitRPG Teambuilder (The Fantasy World of Dorbin, Book 1)

De: Chad Opo

Narrado por: Marcus Jahn, Alexa Roosevelt

Assemble, Train, Compete, Dominate.

Frank lived for his three sons, busting his back to see they thrived in comfort. His good for nothing wife, she made him the happiest man in the world when she finally agreed to his divorce terms. His glorious day turned to ruin when an explosion hurls him through an unformed portal connection.

Lost to eternity and stuck in the void, a happenstance encounter allows him to relocate to the fantasy world of Dorbin. There's a drawback to Dorbin. It's a violent planet filled with ruthless cutthroats, hideous mythical creatures, and all the activities a heathen could ever wish for. Even the national militaries turn a blind eye to the atrocities, only enforcing the laws when they see fit.

The designer of Dorbin calls themselves the Creator. The Creator established a system of kiosks for trading, point tracking, and quest rewards. The being is all powerful and incredibly uncaring, and yet, they gave him a second chance. He arrives marred from the explosion, unable to speak the local language, and about infinitely cleaner than anyone else on the planet.

The challenges for Frank will be steep, the learning curve arduous, and the chances of going home are slim to none. It doesn't take long for Frank to realize there's no place in Dorbin for the weak or the meek. If he wants to survive, he will have to earn it and the ends sure as hell justify the means; especially when he selects to become an arena manager—a dominus of the pits.

©2021 Chad Opo (P)2025 Royal Guard Publishing LLC

Narrator was the wrong choice, MC plot holes

The narrator subtracted from a very good story. Makes the MC like a Douchebag Frat pledge. in addition he literally phones in some of the other voices with the poorest excuse of giving them no life. The computer generated voice you hear while on hold to speak to Tech Support is livelier and less artificial.

The only flaws in the story's plot, are that while the MC is crippled with severe muscle damage and loss in legs and supporting muscle groups.... which the author does a great job showcasing his limping and mobility issues while going around town.
This same MC who had no previous martial arts, military, or self defense background from his previous life, or gifted talent bestowed upon him in this new life. Is somehow avoiding assassination attempts and attacks by out fighting his stronger attackers with perfect usage of vital strike points.

In addition, he is sent to a medieval type world, where rape and murder is common place and performed by anyone stronger or higher nobility with no fallout or penalty.
But the cocky limping non fighter who pisses everyone off, never get beat up, captured, or injuries by the masses or Nobility who he mouths off to and opposes openly... Even before he gets an Army. Not to mention the secret magic ability he has that EVER magician and Slave Manager would capture and use him for making millions of crowns.

The final huge plot hole is how a nobody, is somehow a master strategist, commander and manager of a diverse species and unfamiliar warfare.

So you have to imagine how good the rest of the story and world building in this book has to be to tolerate those huge issues and force plot devices.
In review I think the author only needs to have the MC beaten and captured a few times. Showcase his powerlessness in being maimed and lack of fighting experience or training.
Have him rescued and outthink his attackers a clue times, but with a severe cost to his body or status. In addition let most of these situations be the result of his mouthing off.
Then let him have a natural talent in one of the roles of being the leader. And fail at the others until he find the right person to cover his weaknesses in role he is trying to handle...

Not for the delicate

Very interesting concept. I would have preferred a steadier relationship and a more complete rescue of a certain little one and her mother in the beginning of the book. I feel a lot of emotional impact was lost because of that, however it does preserve a sentiment held by newly divorced men who are still bitter. It's just a preference.

There were certain parts of the book I felt were just shy of varsity but not bad. worth a listen.

just be aware this is a book meant for adults....trust me.

Delectably Dark

A lot of books claim to be dark fantasy but this one actually delivers a gritty yet fun experience. Chad Opo pulls no punches on creating a brutal fantasy world for us to enjoy, but if you're faint of heart, this one isn't for you. If you like Joe Abercrombie's work, then this is probably right up your alley. The MC has been traumatized into being fairly heartless, but he's not exactly evil, just a bit narcissistic. I enjoyed the MC being morally uninhibited by his Earth sensibilities when thrust into the brutal setting in which he finds himself. It's rare to find this in LitRPG Isikai and even rarer to find it done so well.

Some reviewers have accused this of being a smutty harem book, it definitely isn't. The MC doesn't really care about conventional relationships, but this is a far cry from harem smut. Any scene that could be written as sexually indulgent is fade-do-black and the cast isn't composed of love interests. All the characters are grounded and have their own motivations and perspectives.

The plot doesn't drag despite the book's very satisfying length. The action is well written and fast-paced. The politics are well thought out and robust. It's just a fantastic if dark, adventure. The MC is largely unable to fight his own battles due to a lingering injury and relies on cunning to win the day, which is super refreshing in a genre that is dominated by overpowered morons.

Overall, I can't recommend the book highly enough.

Quite a ride! Worth it though☺️

It definitely was different, but in a good way.

I usually go for OP MC’s. This wasn’t that.
It was so much more then just someone going around as a badass with powers beyond anyone being able to handle much less stand against..
This story has an MC which is not your typical overpowered ass hat with a pure soul lol, it’s more like gladiator meets LOTR.

There’s talk of harems, but our main char doesn’t have one. I don’t mind a good harem read, but this isn’t that. It has a few fade to black scenes, but nothing too over the top.

Having the MC as a cripple, but still able to overcome most obstacles in his way just pushes all the right buttons for me that I didn’t know existed. It’s a refreshing tale that I can honestly say is worth taking part in.

I love how long this listen was, that makes it worth it alone.

Slow going, but good.

Slow going for the first few hours, but starts to speed up by the end. looking forward to the next book.

Good story with lots of tweets.

When you are looking for a book story. I believe you just found it. The MC is not the all powerful hero but a good man. who try to find a good life for him and the people around him.

I hope the story will make it to all three books and I love the audio performances.

Harem

Really should have harem in the summary. Every female character the protagonist sees is immediately described by their breast, curves, and other sexual features. Protag sleeps with or engages in sexual innuendo with every female character he comes across. The protag is fine with enslaving sentient beings and sending them to their deaths in the arena, but whenever a female is in trouble he feels the need to save them immediately. (Then likely sleep with them later). I’m sure this kind of thing appeals to some people, but not me. The premise of the arena management in this dark and gritty world is very interesting, but the harem elements just kind of ruins the mood and tone of the story.

I am Spartacus

Enjoyed the story. Enjoyed the narration. I was entertained. That's basically it in a nutshell. If you like gladiator combat and team management, this is the story for you.

must buy if looking for a DARK LITRPG

slavery, arenas, war, character development, and so much more goes into this masterpiece. it really scratched the itch for a darker litrpg book that wasn't trying hard to be dark, it all flowed nicely.

Good Attempt but lacking

I liked the premise of this book but found it lacking. Author said they were inspired by Spartacus and other series, but it simply misses the mark. Characters are one dimensional and not deep enough. The plot has roots but they aren’t deep or satisfying. Several times in this story I find myself wondering what’s the point or where’s the author going’s. While the world is intriguing it simply doesn’t make much headway into a plot. The story is there but the telling needs to be better.