Rune Seeker

A LitRPG Adventure

By: J.M. Clarke, C.J. Thompson

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Length: 22 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

The Everfail will rise. His enemies will fall.

Hiral is the Everfail, the weakest person on the flying island of Fallen Reach. He trains harder than any warrior. Studies longer than any scholar.

But all his people are born with magic powered by the sun, flowing through tattoos on their bodies. Despite having enormous energy within, Hiral is the only one who can’t channel it; his hard work is worth nothing.

Until it isn’t.

In a moment of danger, Hiral unlocks an achievement with a special instruction: Access a Dungeon to receive a Class-Specific Reward.

It’s his first—and maybe last—chance for real power. Just one problem: all dungeons lay in the wilderness below the flying islands that humanity lives on, and there lay secrets and dangers that no one has survived.

New powers await, but so do new challenges. If he survives? He could forge his own path to power.

If he fails? Death will be the least of his problems.

Don't miss the next progression fantasy series from J.M Clarke, bestselling author of Mark of the Fool, along with C.J. Thompson. Unlock a weak-to-strong progression into power and a detailed litRPG system with unique classes, skills, dungeons, achievements, survival and evolution. Explore a mysterious world of fallen civilizations, strange monsters and deadly secrets.

©2023 J.M. Clarke and Carter J. Thompson (P)2023 Recorded Books

Good story

Liked the story and the world building. Plot is slow paced because of constant fighting which I understand and it didn’t ruin the story for me.
Narrator was hard to get used to with not a lot of difference in character voices

Alright I guess...

I'm about 3/4ths through the book and I felt like making a review now as I don't think it will change much at the end. The narrator is okay, I have a tough time distinguishing which character is talking at times which hampers the story. Also, the MC has really taken a back seat at times in the overall narrative which took away from my initial impression. They became too meek in my opinion, and the rest of the party talks over them all the time. It's them talking their decisions, They truly lack the drive and hunger I want to see in a fighter/academic.

Also I love in dangerous moments,... They. Keep. Talking. like if you're trying to be stealthy, yes, please keep discussing the issues or grievances instead of being quiet. It is minor, but really is a pet peeve for me,

I like the idea for the world, the power system, and dungeons, and I think they really should have double downed on that. I don't know if I'll buy the sequel.

Fascinating Start to a new series

This is a really good beginning to a new Progression Fantasy series. I would have given it a 4.5 but have rounded up based on its potential.

Pros:
1. A likeable and compelling main character who has a major deficit to overcome but has stubbornly refused to give up even in the face of failure for more than half his life. It has left emotional scaars, but he remains a decent guy.
2. The magic system is cool and varied. It also has some really unexpected twists and makes the reader want to see how it grows and develops.
3. The world seems inexplicable in some ways, but the story reveals it's secrets a bit at a time and keeps the reader engaged in trying to fit the pieces together as we and the characters in the book attempt to understand it all.
4. It builds tension extremely well with an enemy no one understands--or even previously new existed--and, like the world and magic system, is revealed in bits and pieces that the characters and we have to slowly figure out.
5. This first book does a good job of engaging my interest and curiosity so that I really want to know what will happen next.
6. Except for a few passages here and there, I liked the writing and didn't find it overly wordy or opaque.

Cons:
1. The number of characters involved in the main action grows very quickly and it's sometimes hard to keep them straight or even remember their names.
2. Other than Hiral, we seem to get glimpses into other characters' personalities only through banter before, during, or after fights. It is possible to get some insights into the other characters through such moments, but only in two dimensions for the most part.
3. This is a small matter, but based on the spelling I expected Hirl's name to rhyme with "spiral", so the pronunciation in the audiobook threw me off. I've been reading this book on Royal Road so my exposure to the name has been far greater than just the Publisher's Summary and it took a lot of getting used to while listening.
4. This is strictly a matter of personal taste, but I would have liked less fighting and more character development, but the nature of the story pretty much forces a virtually unending stream of fights.

I like the narrator and he did a good job overall, but he didn't do as good a job of differentiating character voices as I would have liked... it would have helped in telling all the characters of the group apart.

Generally, I really enjoyed this reading experience and recommend this for those who like Progression Fantasy and uniquely interesting magical systems. I look forward to what comes next.

I liked the story but the narrator doesnt have enough versatility in his voice and everyone just sounds the same.

6/10 needs a narrative that can add more personality to the characters so they dont all sound the same.

well that's a story about a complete Mary Sue.

if you like a main that is the best at everything all the time and the only flaw is he can't use the same power as others because he has a more powerful magic no one else even knows of...

if you like a main that is stronger, faster, smarter, tougher, luckier, and all around better then everyone before getting a broken powerful power set...

this Mary Sue story is for you. it's a simple story with easy comprehension. before the first half the book out 'hero' goes from almost as strong as higher level characters to the strongest man in town. maybe by the 2nd book he'll be standing on gods... not that I'm going to bother trying to sit through another of these... soo drawn out trying to be a LitRPG stuck on the game style, been done better in other books and been done worse in some books... so it's ok. mid rate story overall, better only because the narrator reading it is good at his job!

If you loved Mark of the Fool you will love this

I really enjoyed the process of the main character growing into his powers, and the benter of the party members was my favourite part

pretty darn good

it's been a while since I heard a book by Ralph lister and he nailed this book. it was easy to follow and I appreciated the progression pace, I just wish the second book was out now to continue the story

Enjoyed it immensely

The 22 hour book was very difficult to put down, enjoyed the story and the reading! I would recommend the book for all readers of any age

Pleasantly surprised

I almost didn’t get this book but I was between releases of my favorite series and figured I’d give it a go.

First thing I want to say is that this book does not have any cussing or overt sexual themes. Maybe a slight innuendo here and there but it gets slapped down as being crude by the characters and isn’t normal place.

There is violence though. Lots of killing (as you do when dungeoning) but it is not gory or very viscerally described. Very much leaves most details to your imagination. There are slight horror themes, especially the latter part of the book, where it gets a little descriptive with gore but not more than needed.

Characters are well fleshed out, story is compelling, and the narrator is good enough.

At first it is a bit confusing with the narrator who is speaking sometimes, but once you get used to their voice you can pick it up fairly easily. I personally like them a lot.

In final, I think it’s a great book and a great credit, especially considering the long runtime.

Very easily added to my favorites!

Excellent story! One of my favorite narrators! I'm looking forward to more just like it.