Stumbling Up

A Loser's Guide to Progression, Book 1

By: Reck Well

Narrated by: Jeremy Frazier, Jessica Threet

Meet Richard: ‘[Immortal]’ banana slug, emotional terrorist, dungeon life coach…Then there’s Cole. He just wants to survive. Richard has goals. Neither of them is optimistic.

In a world split between [Mundanes] and [Adventurers], Cole rolled the worst specialization imaginable: [Self Criticism].

One drunken mistake later, he’s conscripted into the Adventurer's Guild. First stop? A deadly [Trial Dungeon] with a sarcastic slug, a mysterious goth, and two best friends who are absolutely not qualified for this.

Richard is a ‘foot-long’ telepathic jerk with a gift for emotional damage.

Leo is a pink sweater wearing himbo with a double-bladed axe and a hit first mentality.

Tandy is a genius crafter with a deep and irrational hatred of sheep.

And Meredeath? She’s not in Kansas anymore, but she is kicking monster butt in platform boots.

Together, they form [Your Mom’s Party], the dungeon’s least-likely survivors. Join them as they stumble towards glory treasure power adventure.

Welcome to the party.

Try not to die.

Stumbling Up is a heart-wrenching adventure comedy about three friends tackling their quarter-life crisis by pursuing adventure. It's a stat-light LitRPG like Matt Dinniman's Dungeon Crawler Carl and Shirtaloon's He Who Fights With Monsters. These are not your average OP main characters. They're the underpowered losers we’re all rooting for.

©2026 Marsh Douglas (P)2026 Marsh Douglas

Really good start to the series

I loved this book, Richard is the best… Can’t wait for the next book, the shifting of team dynamics makes for an interesting tale

Excellent start

to a new LITRPG series. VA made this come to life and so funny! Can't wait for more.

Absolutely fantastic adventure!

The characters are relatable, well developed, and fun! Richard is hilarious, and the action and adventure just keeps going! Can't wait for book 2!

Who wants a banana slug?

A great story! The mixing of mundane life and being thrust into adventure and coping with the results. The author ‘weaves’ a tale of childhood friendship and the changes an immortal fanged banana slug, an off-worlder, and grudge filled system can impose. Solid start to a series looking forward to the next book

Interpersonal relationships were well crafted!

This was amazing! I cannot wait for the audio versions of books 2 and 3!!