Big Sneaky Barbarian: A LitRPG Novel

Book 1

By: Seth McDuffee

Narrated by: Johnathan McClain

Length: 20 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

One angry young man is about to take a fantasy realm by storm—or by accident—in the hilarious first book of a new series by the author of Good Boy.

Gabe Skelter has a temper, which he likes to imagine has the effect of causing people to fear and respect him. On the contrary, his pudgy, underdeveloped body and negative personality make him more your standard outcast teenager. Worse still, he kinda knows what a jerkweed he actually is.

Then, in the middle of a class trip, Gabe finds himself spirited away to Regaia: a world of magic, mayhem, and nerd-tastic adventure. Naturally, he’s completely ill-prepared. But in this realm, he’s a monstrous, muscular man of action. Unfortunately, he’s still saddled with the frightfully unimpressive brains of a teenage loser.

Now, Gabe must make his burly, bulky way in a land where the strong dominate, the powerful rule, and picking a class has nothing to do with algebra . . . and everything to do with survival.

Bristling with reckless abandon and antisocial attitude, Big Sneaky Barbarian is Die Hard with dungeons; a must-hear for fans of heavy-hitting action mixed with laugh-out-loud snark—and absolutely loaded with swears.

The first volume of the hit LitRPG adventure series—with almost 100,000 views on Royal Road—now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible!

©2022 Seth McDuffee (P)2022 Podium Audio

Critic Reviews

“This has gotten me very excited at the chance to be one of those authors quoted on a book.”—Shirtaloon, author of the He Who Fights with Monsters series and brazen Australian

“I loved every one of the words in this book! Especially how they followed one another in perfect sequence, each of them dazzling me with their sublime poise, vigor, and panache. Or at least that’s what I think I’d say if I read the thing. Are we done here now? Wait, don’t write that. Stop, what are you doing, don’t hit send . . .”—Luke Chmilenko, author of the Ascend Online series and collector of “antique” eggs

is this a joke?

(I listened for 8 hours and 40 minutes. I DID NOT FINISH so things may have changed by the end but honestly I don't care Im over this) when I think of character growth in litrpg when the story has a young protagonist I think that includes growth in all areas from personality, education, power, skill, stats, and relationships. this book has zero growth at all up till the point I quit and said f this and began writing this. Gabe (the MC) starts as a mouthy pretentious moron and remained a mouthy pretentious moron the whole time. at first I'll admit it was funny how stupid he was but let me tell you that wine did not age well. it soon began to grate on my nerves. if you hate plot armor in books then you will absolutely HATE this one. he should have died 100% at least 4 times after almost 9 hours in. no questions for the reader ever get answered like at all. your left wondering "what is that" "how does that work "how did he survive" and others. to each their own I guess but this mc is so weak stupid and annoying it will make you angry that you wasted a credit on it. I checked the reviews and they were all singing the praises of this novel and that's why I thought it was going to be good. well that's fine I'll be the first to be honest so no one else goes into this uninformed.

Don't look at the one stars.

Great book, it's obvious the one stars reviews paid absolutely no attention to the story, one such asking several questions all of which are answered as the story progresses. One such question asked is "why did the main character get so many upgrades to the sneak skill" which is literally answered 15 minuets later in the same chapter. The other complaints about the character not growing are also given by someone who is only 8 hours into a 20 hour long novel. I don't think you should leave reviews if you did not finish the product. These are the types of reviews left by people because the main character doesn't have a harem of 65 women in the first chapter.


I digress, there are a few places that the story could improve but overall it is a cute book.

Ultimately Disappointing

This starts off great with the humor being fueled by deep understanding of the various character's points-of-view and motivations, but from the moment the character is isekai'd the author starts willfully withholiding exposition. Why is the character here? Who is the curly-haired lady? Why did a seemingly friendly character attack him? What are nodes? How did he get an amazing advancement in a skill? Why are all these people trying to kill the character? Why is the main character not at all effected by guilt after having to kill sentients? Why does he approach a human to stealthily attack him instead of avoiding him or saying "hello"?

While I don't need everything explained immediately, the most unbearable new writer mistake is thinking that withholding exposition creates mystery. On the contrary, it creates a lack of belief in the world and the character. As a reader, I'm confused and I'm so obviously being manipulated by the author that all suspension of disbelief is lost. Plus, it is the most inexpert and boring manipulation by the author possible. Tell us more and more and then add more on top of that. The prologue made a joke about doing an exposition dump and then did exactly that, so I think the author may believe that exposition means dumping a lot of boring lore on the reader that they'll not care about because it isn't attached to a likeable character and narrative. On the contrary, exposition is the art of world-building while attaching it to interesting characters taking part in a gripping, active narrative. Even good mystery writers don't skimp on exposition. Instead, they go the other way and give us so much great characterization and narrative that they've fit all the world-building and clues needed to solve the mystery into the tale along with so much other exposition that it provides camoflauge to the clues that were there all along. Writing is hard, but please beta readers and other writers start giving feedback on exposition early and often.

From the chapters that occurred before the isekai, it is obvious that this writer can write and made a weird, but deliberate choice, to withthold all this exposition after the story got rolling and it absolutely ruined the book. I hope he won't be discouraged and I hope he'll find people who give better advice or learn to listen to it because I think this author could do great if they can take the obvious note not to withhold exposition. Just thinking about the fact that people let him publish like this frustrates me as this could have been a good book if he'd rewritten it. I feel bad for the guy, but not bad enough to give him mine or your money.

Are You Not Entertained?!

Ever wondered what book the offspring of Conan O’Brien and Brent Weeks raised on a steady diet of JRPGs, anime and Weird Al, narrated by the Mike Patton of Audiobooks and directed by James Gunn would be like? Here ya go. The Igby Goes Down/Catcher In The Rye meets Bart Simpson/Beavis & Butthead of LitRPG through the lens of Tolkien and Gygax fantasy tropes packed into a sushi roll of fun.

I laughed, I groaned.

This book was not what I expected. The MC is dumb, but so much more. I found myself laughing frequently but can understand why some won't appreciate it. Highschool humor, pop culture references, and depth of character. The narrator really brings life to the characters and story. Pokes humor at the LitRPG system tropes. I don't imagine this would be as good when read. a fantastic combination of writing and voice acting.


PS: I suck at writing reviews. The book was great.

i did try only made it 6 hrs

i was really looking forward to this book and now nope the story is ok but the mc nope everyone and everything wants to hurt him and i cant blame them

Contender for Best Comedy of 2022

Wow, this was an incredible book. It admits up front that the hero is flawed, and yet you still feel for the guy. His character may use the F word a lot, but he’s actually quite clever. There are so many hilarious moments and bits of dialogue, this will go down as one of the funniest books I’ve read. Johnathan’s narration was as incredible as Seth’s humor and creativity storytelling. I hope this pair teams up for many more projects. Their sense of humor is a perfect fit and I need to know this won’t be my last time hearing them together.

A Great Lesson in Failing Up

This is a very promising first entry in what is hopefully a fun and engrossing series going forward.

Like most people named Gabe, the protagonist starts off being pretty unlikable. His needless anger made me eager for his misfortune, and boy did the author deliver. Listening as the "hero" of the story struggled and bumbled their way through his many perils had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions. Despite Gabe's worst intentions, he still can't catch a break!

What I like even more is that there is rich worldbuilding nestled in all of the buffoonery, and a unique plot that drives everything (which can kind of be a pitfall of the LitRPG genre). There's character to every PC/NPC, and I'm very excited to continue to dive into this world.

Mr. McClain does an excellent job of bringing BSB's many characters to life, and has a knack for narration that is suited for the kind of levity required for reading such hilariously absurd verbiage. Hopefully, he will be able to come back for (hopefully) what will be an awesome follow up.

BSB is a silly, action-packed, somehow relatable fantasy adventure with just the right amount of crunch. Don't sleep on this one!

Honest Brilliance

I may be biased as I’m lucky enough to count the author amongst my short list of dear internet friends and much longer list of mortal foes, but this book has me close to tears multiple time, both from laughter and sympathy, and that has to come from an honest place.

Seth’s writing shows an astounding level of both self awareness and sympathy for the main character who in both of his incarnations could be considered a complete loser, but beneath it all not without his redeeming qualities. Loon’s development as a person and protagonist feels true and honest throughout and without getting into spoilers, may provide a much needed role model for a reader who has gone through similar events.

Beneath its silly trappings, this book has the potential to be important to a lot of people and it takes a powerful writer to pull off that sort of double act. BSB is both hysterical and heart wrenching, which is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Seth McDuffy’s works. Truly a modern literary treasure.

TL;DR this book will make you feel things while you’re on the floor laughing. For the love of god, read it!

Was this a high school writing assignment?

Sorry, but this is just garbage. It's not that I don't "get it". It's just a terrible story with a loose plot about an unlikable character.

If you like listening to a story about a character who repeatedly hits themselves in the head with a hammer while complaining about the pain, then this is the story for you. The MC is a moron. He picks losing fights with everyone and everything because... anger issues or something. The author (quite literally) reminds the reader frequently about how dumb the MC is and how stupid his actions are, but that doesn't make a story more enjoyable.

As an example... At about 7 hours in, the MC has twice been rescued from death by a deity. Both times, the MC gets pissed off at the deity and essentially says "why did you do that?" Apparently in his pea brain, dying was preferable. Also, the deity grants the MC a boon to help him survive, and the MC's first thought is that he doesn't like gifts and would remove it if he could. I don't even know what the author is trying for here. It's just stupid storytelling. Maybe McDuffee was trying a different kind of plot formula or something. Whatever it is, it is HORRIBLE and definitely doesn't work.

Also, I can't trust Audible reviews anymore. The "humor" that the 5-stars rave about is just cringey and not funny. Another reviewer mentioned high school humor, as if that was a good thing. They were right. If you are still in high school, this might have some humor for you. In fact, it seems like it was written by a high schooler trying to target an adult audience. Maybe the high ratings are all kids from the same high school...

The narration was fine. He did the best he could with the material he had to work with.

superb narration

if I could give 6 stars for narration I would. The story I'd OK, but it is really brought to life by the narration.

Awesome writing and performance.

I don't often chuckle from the antics of a narrator. But the way onliners are written and delievered are epic.

End is much better than the middle

I didn't really understand the hype for this book as I was reading it. It made me laugh a couple of times which was nice but beyond that it seemed like a fairly standard LitRPG.

That being said the last chapter was fantastic. Absolutely hit it out of the park and left the book ending (pre-epilogue) on a narrative high with more feeling and emotion than much of the rest of the book managed.

I'm not sure if I'd read book 2 when it comes out. The standardness of much of the book left a lot to be desired but by the end it had sort of grown on me. I think I'll probably give it a go. The narration was great too, really brought the characters to life.

Curses galore if you like that stuff

Big Sneaky Barbarian by @sethmcduffee.

I fucking loved the fucking shit out of this book. Filled with expletives, the mother fucking MC was a total bad arse - an all out survivor & absolute nut case smashing the shit out of an OP boss on the 1st flr. I liked the LitRPG tropes: the MC chooses the barbarian class that allows access to enter into a rage state as well as becoming numb to pain, all of which makes for an interesting fuck tonne of action.

The swearing added 2 stars but I work on a 5 star system. 📚5/5 🌟 #BookReview

Quirky but good with a great narrator

Odd start, wasn’t at all sure if I’d listen to the end, but it improved, dramatically, to a point where I hope book two comes soon - very shouty narration, but it fits the book. One of the quirkiest litrpgs I’ve come across and I didn’t expect to enjoy it, but I did - Loon’s persona should not be likeable, he should be annoying and, yes, you will want to hit him and knock some sense into his head - but, somehow, you will also want him to survive… and his egg amigos too…. Nope not giving you any spoilers, as you scramble to the end of book one, except I’m pleased I stumbled across him.

Slow start, but won me over

The beginning of this book was not funny. Maybe the book corrodes your braincells or it turned around and made me laugh out loud at points. Once in a grocery store. This to me make a brilliant book. McClain did a great job brining this book to life.

Great and engaging

This one had me thinking what is engaging me more - the story or the Narrator - in the end I have decided that it is both, but the quality of the Narrator helps. A couple of other books I've listened to recently by good writers were ruined by the reader - so much so that I had difficulty completing the listen.

However Johnathan McClain is always a great listen and he has great material in Seth McDuffee's book - looking forward to Book 2