Bronze Rank Brewer

By: James Ghoul

Narrated by: James Ghoul

Just one sip of ale leaves Hawkin with a life-changing decision.

Isolated in the northern wilderness, Hawkin—an adventurer turned hermit—is fulfilled by the small joys of his simple life. He hunts and forages for food, tends to a small garden, maintains his humble cabin, and patrols the meandering trail that leads down to the sea.

After celebrating ten years alone in his woods, visitors begin to arrive. First an ancient monster, then a trio of monks with a peculiar set of skills. When the monks share their flagship ale with Hawkin, a transcendent experience leaves him with a choice: engage with the system screen he'd gladly disabled long ago, or pass on the chance to brew magic beer. Unable to forget the wondrous ale he tasted, Hawkin accepts the Brewer’s path.

The MC of this cozy, slice of life fantasy is an in-world character. He follows a quest path that allows him to level up on his own terms by picking the quests he is willing to take, and ignoring the rest. Along his crafting journey, Hawkin is joined by an OP monster with an insatiable appetite, a talkative goblin with a deep love of onions, and a blue, squirrel-like creature that's always in the mood to shoot dice. An interest in real-world beer brewing isn't necessary to follow the story or Hawkin’s progression.

©2022 James Ghoul (P)2022 James Ghoul

Good all around

Talented all around... the author narrates his book as well as he writes. I'd say one of the best new authors to cross my path in the past year..

Slice of wholesome happiness

Well written, extremely relaxing, very well performed. A breath of fresh air. It cleaned the inside of my brain while I listened and I feel new. It transports you better than a coached meditation exercise and to a much more enjoyable world. Buy this book, listen to it, let worries drift away!

Slice of life

Nice to have an mc not being an overpowered 16 years old boy on a quest to save the world. The book has a sedate and pleasant pace. It does not need to go from battle to battle, all to update a long character sheet at the end of a chapter.
It does have a diverse set of characters, some battles, some humor, but above all an interesting storyline without to many cliches.
To be short: one of the better books recently purchased.

A great story and reading

This has been one of my favorite stories on Kindle and was happy to find it here. I was pleasantly surprised with the author's own reading of his book as those are not always the best but he has done a great job here in bringing his story to life. Hoping for Silver Rank!

Relaxed story and pace

Very slow start, so slow I almost didn't continue, but I am glad I did! As more characters enters the story, the narration and story comes to life. It is not a tale of grand dangers and adventures, but rather of the small adventures in Hawkins life like improving ones hobby or dealing with unpleasant people in a good way. And then, of course, there is the horror-totoro-like monster named Trush - a fun and unique character to be sure.