Crystal Core

Crystal Core, Book 1

By: David Burke

Narrated by: Daniel Wisniewski, Rebecca Woods

Ryan lived his life on Earth trapped in his own body.

The doctors couldn't explain what was happening to him, but slowly, his body was crystallizing.

Then, a portal opened up on the ceiling of his hospital room. He'd seen that one in enough anime to recognize what was happening. It couldn't possibly be worse than the hell that was his life on Earth, not that he was given any choice.

Now, those who summoned him expect some type of hero. That isn't Ryan. Ryan wants freedom. He wants to live his life his way. He'll do the right thing when confronted with it, but he isn't out to be anyone's savior.

Of course, in a world under a brutal siege and surrounded by powerful cultivators, Ryan realizes the only path to freedom is becoming strong enough to make his own path. For once, the mysterious disease will work in his favor as he forms his Crystal Core.

This story features slow-burn romantic interests, world-building, a cultivation system with LitRPG framework, making fun of cultivation tropes, powerful supporting characters who have their own motivations and backgrounds, and an MC who has potential, but is still growing in power. Be warned, there is some mild cussing from some of the characters, and the MC undergoes a great deal of personal growth in this book so that he will be in the place he needs to be for the rest of the series.

©2023 David Burke (P)2024 Podium Audio

Great start to a fun world

Enjoyed the world building and characters. The system seems fun and I can’t wait to read the next book

good book

this book has some potential in the future I really liked it. I really wonder where it will go

Can't wait for the next book.To come out

I listen to the story i'm very happy Just waiting for the next one to come out.

it's a harem novel

when i picked it up i didn't realize that, but yes...harem. not an extremely gross one, but not my thing.

MC is weird, but not terribly so. story is alright, but i won't get the next one because i don't like harem stories personally. if that's your thing, this is a good book for you.

Great story!

The story was awesome and voices were well done. The only drawback was the audio at times was not level

Fantastic start to a cultivation series

Crystal Core

Ryan has had an incurable disease that is slowly turning his body to crystal. After 11 years of this disease, he can’t move at all and can barely breathe. That’s when a portal opened above his bed and isekaied him into a cultivation world called the Divided Realms. Just thrilled to be able to stand up again, Ryan learns that he is the Hero destined to protect the Realms from invasions of the Horde. One more thing, he now has three wives.

Harem is not my thing, so I passed up this series back when it first came out. I probably wouldn’t have given it a shot if it wasn’t going to intersect with Welcome to the Multiverse. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the female characters actually had personalities and were not just there to throw themselves at the MC. Having said that, sex is a part of story and is brought up quite often. However, everything is kept PG-13 and everything Fades to Black. All in all, this is a great story and it stand strong on its own, even without the connection to Welcome to the Multiverse. Daniel Wisniewski and Rebecca Woods do a fantastic job with the dual narration!

Content Warning: Fade to Black sex

Very good first book

I think the story was unique. The narration was great. There were no fine points to pick at. I thought the author started a great story

Great stuff

This was just a fun story with what is really a pg-13 rating. It had some elements of romance but no insta-love. It had a hero with power, but not so much that he was overwhelming. He just definitely hits above his weight class.

The first 3/4 weren’t good

Hated the MC. So much whining. You would’ve thought he would’ve grown a pair early on. I almost quit the book. The MC was so bad but the last 25% of the book somewhat redeemed the character, but I am still not a fan.

Fantastic book one!

Original take on the sickly main character summoned from earth to another universe. In this case the main character is likable, honorable and honest. Plenty of scheming and conniving characters surround the main to keep things interesting