I READ HE WHO FIGHTS MONSTERS and Here's What I Learned

[@DanielGreeneReviews]

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[@alananimus9145]

O' Daniel you sweet summer child. The best part is how Jason flirts with the darkness and has to be pulled back. Jason is a better Rand Al'thor

[@Molikai]

THere are, I tends to say, Three basic forms of litrpg. Isekai (See: Hew who fights, The Wandering inn) System Apocalypse (My favourite is probably Defiance of the Fall, hint hint you should look at that one - you might like) And VR (Where we may ro may not find out that this 'state of the art, never before seen immersive game is actually taking place in a fantasy world through evil shenanigans!) where it's just a really good VR game with full AI and full immersion. I would also throw you at, for more traditional progression fantasy, Millenial Mage - and of course, someone should throw Mother of learning at you.

[@maizeblu2099]

The reason the book feels like an anime arc rather then a fantasy novel, is because it's intended to be that way. 'He who fights with monsters' began as a webnovel with a patreon attached, and for that it's quite important to make your webnovels last for as long as possibe. That's why you will see many with 300+ chapters. :3

[@jchinckley]

@@alananimus9145 Not even. I love the series, but you cannot compare Jason to Rand Al'Thor. At. All. They are nothing alike. Rand never flirts with the darkness (at least in any part I've read to) he just sort of pretends to so no one knows what his plans are. Jason, otoh, does at times flirt with the darkness, but always either pulls himself back or his team mates somehow manage to. Jason was forcibly pulled away from his world to another. Rand never left his world like that. He left under his own power and he never left for long. There is too much difference in how these worlds and the characters in them are written to validly compare them.

[@jchinckley]

I did start skipping through those system "reports" to the point that after the first book (maybe sooner) I began just skimming them for any new information and ignoring them if nothing new caught my eye. Those things are hard on immersion. Sometimes really hard.

[@shirtaloon8834]

Thank you for the excellent review. I found the criticisms to be very much in line with my own perspectives, looking back on the early entries in the series. I learned a lot writing this book, as every author does with their first. I was delighted with how you latched on to so many themes and concepts that I consider central, and the series goes on to explore in more depth. I'm extremely proud of this series and the success it has had, while also being aware of how much I have learned by doing in the process of writing it. I do admit that I was one of those who thought you would bounce off this series, especially the mechanics-heavy elements that you commented on. They become much less prevalent in later books, always an important part of the world building but less intrusive and more of a background element. It's part of the learning process that this series has been for me, especially coming from an online serial origin, rather than a more traditional approach to novel writing. I look back at especially the earlier books and see so many flaws that I've learned from, and have this mad urge to go back and fix everything. In that, I suspect I am very much a typical author.

[@ipm123456789]

I agree, I thought Daniel would bounce off Jason's personality and call him borderline insufferable. But I'm glad he did not, your series deserves more recognition and this will be a great boost for sure! I would love for Daniel to see your growth as a writer, both story wise and in prose/ general flow of the text. I want to thank you personally as well. I read through HWFWM at the start of the year in less time than was strictly healthy, but it helped me get through some particularly rough days. Reading about Jason's concern for his and others' mental health made it easier for me to search for help myself. I can't wait to see what you come up with next, so please keep writing!❤

[@nickcarlson2708]

Thanks Cobber.

[@meganmarkert5686]

oh hello!! I just want to say that I love HWFWM. it's such a comfort series for me and I'm so excited to keep seeing where you take it

[@launchedplane3632]

HE'S HERE! THE AUTHOR IS HERE!

[@MRDrum88]

You have done an amazing job on HWFWM!! I love the characters and I love Jason. You absolutely crush the dialog. I laugh out loud multiple times with each book. I also love listening to Heath’s rendition! I know you don’t listen to it Shirt, but still such a great choice with him, and helps for us non-Aussies with the hearing the accent. Thanks for the amazing series can’t wait for the next book! ❤

[@wightrat1207]

I really like the first book in this series. Love the essence magic system. Love the characters. Clive is the best. I heard Jason slept with his wife.

[@bendingsands87]

You will learn that Clive's wife gets around 😂

[@dallasreynolds2962]

​@bendingsands87 LOL. Boy does she.

[@jeppusahn]

How about the other books?

[@dualxsurvival155]

It gets pretty tedious in the middle but I enjoyed all of it and am anxiously awaiting the next book.

[@TheCrazybloo3]

In the more recent chapters the adventurer society admits that they have been trying to identify Clive's wife for many years.

[@reirei7086]

Damn, Daniel is really entering his web novel era 💅

[@DanielGreeneReviews]

Honestly I do feel like I’m finding my stride as a reviewer better than before and learning how to review these longer meandering (in a good way) stories has helped a lot!

[@jonathandixon7760]

Dungeon Crawler Carl does that to people

[@signspace13]

​@@DanielGreeneReviews Someday, You will read A Practical Guide to Evil, and realise why I have been recommending it whenever WN's come up. If HWFWM is what a standard Viewer thinks you would like, I feel like PGTE is what one would think you would love. Edit: It is not a LitRPG, it is more classic epic fantasy.

[@V_Alex_M]

​@@DanielGreeneReviewsPlease give Lord of the mysteries a shot, it is by far the best web novel available and in my opinion rivals or even outclasses some of the pillars of fantasy like the cosmere, first law, the wheel of time and even malazan. Webnovels for the most part are written with a low quality but lotm is just a masterpiece that i cannot praise enough, please give it a shot. The power system, setting, world building and character development are exquisite.

[@husseinhassan6750]

@@V_Alex_Mthe prose isn’t there for LOTM because it’s a translated work. Although it is in my top 10 series.

[@BirdMorphingOne]

Suprised not to see more Mother of Learning and Perfect Run suggestions

[@John-lo2wn]

Those are solid series.

[@Mauro-sn2kt]

yeah a MoL review would be amazing

[@aComplexName]

These would be so cool

[@6601]

God Perfect Run is so great I need him to read it

[@davidwalsh9780]

Perfect Run is the best time loop story I've ever read. Recommend it to all my friends. I'd add chrysalis to the list as still the book I look forward to getting a new chapter from every day. The system elements in the early books would probably drive Daniel mad though, thank god they have toned down

[@CoconutMigrating]

Time for Beware of Chicken. It’s a cozy slice of life farming story that plays with the tropes of Xianxia.

[@sann7564]

Second this, one of my favorites.

[@johnbryan1862]

Yes

[@razmilic]

Yup another vote for that one, he did mention thinking about looking into other genres and I thinks that this take on “Cultivation” will fit perfectly

[@wargboyz]

Yes please do this. But you definitely need to give a ground level explanation of both eastern and western xanxia tropes.

[@leifr233]

Waiting for the day Daniel finally trys Beware of Chicken. Each series we get him to binge in Progression fantasy/litrpg the more he will fall like the rest of us, never escaping the unending releases of content that you cant even keep up with because its so much so fast, for both good and bad. Join us Daniel. Join us.

[@averlinbc5680]

And we have to get him to read (The perfect run) by Maxime J. Durand and (A Journey of Black and red) by Alex Gilbert 😊

[@BirdMorphingOne]

​@@averlinbc5680and Mother of Learning

[@tmanti5641]

I really hope he eventually does it would be so much fun to see

[@TheEnthraller]

Perfect run and mother of learning Really good novels

[@John-lo2wn]

The coziest

[@rantalmore]

Jason’s mental health is a MAJOR theme of many of the books to come

[@retrogecko2859]

Surprised he hasn't completely snapped by this point. SPOILER: If he had stayed on Earth the second time he probably would have.

[@evanflynn4680]

"The combination isn't evil." "But you checked to make sure as soon as you heard it, didn't you?" "Yes. Obviously."

[@evanflynn4680]

Snarky Australians: Dude, we base our entire cultural identity on making fun of those in charge. Our cultural pastime is to lie to tourists about everything, just because it's funny. I will take your snarky comment as a compliment, sir.

[@Bandi1138]

Second this as a fellow snarky Australian

[@georgeclancy5005]

one of my fav books, but bro He who fights WITH monsters

[@TheStarMachine2000]

It buggers meh . . . Ples hlep . . .

[@rainer333]

Goblinbro?

[@gotelc]

to be fair it's a very tiny word on the cover.

[@codestusdy2962]

Bro would hate defiance of the fall

[@ianlandseadel9989]

The title is actually very important and kinda telegraphs Jason's story arc. Because, yeah, as Harry Dresden said "Fuck subtle."

[@EdBurke37]

To quote Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, "FUCK SUBTLE!"

[@WindGunner]

Jason Character growth over the Books is really great to watch. The best part He even grows in bad ways and has to later del with those bad habits and lessons he learned

[@NiceBeard]

Very recommend Lord of Mysteries, A Gothic, steampunk, Lovecraftian fantasy.

[@HallowedError]

I was not expecting a vid about this I fucking love HWFWM. I somehow got a coworker to read it and she was like, the main character is just you hahaha. Edit: Daniel either can't afford a whiteboard or is flexing that he can afford to pay someone to hold up some cardboard. I do agree that sometimes the story kind of harps over the same point over and over even if it's doing it from different character's perspectives. As the reader I'm lie 'I get it can we move on' but at the same time it's kind of interesting to see that you'll have to go over the same stuff with new people because they weren't there for everything. As you go through the books there's a neat ebb an flow from light witty scenes to really grim psychological dark moods where you end up really frustrated with what Jason has to go through to try and do the right thing. And afterwords follow through with the mental aftermath of the decisions he made. Sometimes when you look at the overall story it can feel a bit cardboard cuttout with the overt character and story tropes but I think it's put together pretty well and the glue of the character relationships ends up pulling everything together pretty well even if it's bit 'in your face' with it's message. I want to hear a Scottish person say 'particularly articulate. The litrpg elements become a little bit less overt as the series evolves but does still pop up at random times. My favorite LitRPGs are the ones where the characters can't just do what they want because they're level 5 and the real players are like level 200+. Some of my favorite scenes are from random people encountering Jason doing his weird shit without context and them being like 'what the fuck' Combat scenes are kind of up and down with how interesting they are. There are definitely some where I'm just like 'is this over yet?' but a lot of them have a bit more of a top down perspective instead of a scene by scene. Jason's 4D chess planning becomes even more of a thing as the series continues and it's great because it does not tell you what he's trying to do so you're along with the side characters asking what the fuck is going on. Thank you for reading my Ted talk I don't disagree with the criticisms at all really but I'm more lenient especially with the speed the author was putting these out for the first like 8 fucking books before he had to slow down

[@vol94]

Sorry to bother you, but I've looked around in the comments and searched it up and heard Daniel's take, but it is still unclear to me what the litrpg style of worldbuilding is; like what are its main distinctive features.

[@HallowedError]

@@vol94 I'm not really sure how to break it down succinctly. The "System" is usually an integral part of the world for everybody except for the person who got isekaid. So the mc has to learn situation of the world and how t get the most out of the system. And usually the high level people keep the good builds secret or mc relies on "fortunate encounters". Minor Spoilersb HWFWM sort of turns some of this around. Jason is the one who has the system so that he can interpret his powers and the world a bit, but the system is just wonky magic and he finds people who can train him and teach him. A lot of LITrpgs the mc is put through more and more ridiculous circumstances with less help but because of willpower or niche power come out of it stronger. This still happens to Jason but at least he has some emotional damage afterwords.

[@tyedye367]

A few months back on a live stream I asked Daniel if he was into Lit RPGs and reccoemnded Dungeon Crawler Carl and He Who Fights with Monster. I'm so happy. I love both of these series

[@ScadrianGhostblood]

I really recommend reading lord of the mysteries if you want to experience the actual peak of webnovels. It's a dark story with a really unique and detailed magic system and excellent worldbulding with lovecraftian elements

[@Nspark9001]

Daniel you should try Forge of Destiny. It’s quite well written Chinese fantasy inspired series that’s probably considered litrpg. The spiritual battles are downright poetic, good character development, and certainly more subtle than the stuff you’re been reading so far. The audiobook is really good.

[@crimsoneclipse0618]

Man Forge of Destiny is so good

[@AnotherNerdyPerson]

Daniel is a goblin-brained hypeman for fantasy... absolutely NOT a fuddy-duddy, lol

[@paugh846]

I have re read that whole series like 5 times. It is one of my favorite series over all for the genre. Glad to see it get some praise. You have good taste my friend. Thank you for the content

[@ninnusridhar]

Jason goes through an absolute banger of a character arc. The thing with the intimidation at the end is sort of the point of his arc though. He's someone who tries to do the right thing, but the right thing and the correct thing aren't always the same. Ps. Neil is absolutely one of my most favourite characters in the entire series. The interpersonal relationships and the side characters are the best part of HWFWM.

[@evanflynn4680]

@ninnusridhar yeah, he's a pretty good character for a chunky elf with bad dress sense.

[@ninnusridhar]

@@evanflynn4680 hey his clothes look fantastic! His aunt said so

[@supremegodemperorderpfestor]

The right thing and the correct thing literally mean the same thing tho.

[@ninnusridhar]

@@supremegodemperorderpfestor they're almost the same. Atleast imo. Being right is about morality. Being correct is about practicality. Talking to someone and slowly convincing them to make a decision is the right the thing to do. But when you literally have only 5 minutes or the world burns, the correct thing would be to order or intimidate them coz otherwise a lot of people may be affected. Right and correct are often synonyms. And even I use them as such. But there is this slight semantic difference. Ps. If you still believe there isn't, consider my original statement to be poetic. A word is only what it is intended to represent in a poem

[@supremegodemperorderpfestor]

@@ninnusridhar You could have just said good and right or good and correct.

[@module1095]

I am once again gonna scream "worth the candle" into the void. I think the world building is really interesting. Even if it's a kind of mess of things jumbled together, it's pretty intentional. Plus, the fantasy ideas are original or have some kind of twist on them. Also, it’s the only one that's made me really deeply care about the game mechanic stuff the main character has and what that does to him and people caught up in his wake. I wouldn't say it's subtle, but I do think it's thoughtful.

[@YashPatel-ez4um]

In one of the later books they actually give out the recipe to Jason's lemonade, I tried it out. It slaps.

[@John-lo2wn]

It’s sooo good.

[@lodgin]

That's book 4 iirc

[@johnbryan1862]

Liked the first bit. The MC getting a 10 ft pole, lantern, vial of acid, etc, was great. It got less interesting, especially when he left that world. I'll suggest Beware of Chicken, and soon to be on Kindle The Butcher of Ghadobhra.

[@ianfc5747]

I know you were joking that the title should be he who makes friends but the title really fits the overall vibe. It should be mentioned the title is a quote from Nietzche cautioning against becoming evil - "“He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you”"

[@joshuakallen]

Exactly. It even comes up in the story at one point. 🙂

[@sagarkc9786]

Why not try Lord of the mysteries next. I think you may like it since some of the concepts are inspired by death’s end and bloodborne.

[@afeathereddinosaur]

Now I just need to wait for the day he reviews Lord of the Mysteries... Whenever it gets an actual official western book release. Any day now... Any day now...

[@John-lo2wn]

Glad you like it! This is one of the few series I read the chapters 3x a week as they come out. It’s so addicting.

[@Beanie28]

An Neil good character who becomes more significant in later books and who also plays off Jason really well

[@killfacebalor2474]

They make a great comedic trio with Clive's wife, who is possibly my favorite character in the series.

[@johnmoore6440]

I am so glad to see Daniel reviewing this series. It’s one of my favorites!

[@noshei21]

Glad to hear you enjoyed this book. I've found this to be a great series overall. When you decide to read some more litrpg's here are some of my favorites: Millennial Mage The Path of Ascension Divine Apostasy Ends of Magic Tree of Aeons

[@rekzors]

Daniel a absolutely needs to get into Beware of Chicken.

[@ducklee]

Thank you so much Daniel for getting to this book! Your TBR is extremely long so, personally I appreciate it. This series has meant so much to me over the last 4 years. It got me through some rough times with a job I held during that time. You giving it a read and a review means the world to me, even if you don't get to read the other 10 other books out at this time. Thank you, thank you so much! Hope to see more great content and book reviews!

[@connorhale341]

I've really loved this subgenre detour into litrpg reviews! Do you think you'll do more sets of reviews like this in the future with other subgenres?

[@martinkubat3925]

You didn't mention the greatest villain of them all. Clives wife I mean how could she.

[@killfacebalor2474]

She's probably still my favorite character in the series. (Also the audio Narrator's Clive voicing makes her even better IMO)

[@23Stopher]

Objectively the best character.

[@Read-to-Breathe]

Who is Clive? I'm trying to remember but I just can't 😭

[@killfacebalor2474]

@@Read-to-Breathe the magic Society official who validates that Jason's Spirit coins are genuine. Team biscuits magical researcher

[@ShinyGreninja14]

@@Read-to-Breathe The magic society guy whose wife Jason slept with.

[@aaronlandry3947]

The psychological issues that Jason goes through get delved into much deeper later in the books. You're exactly correct that most people would be freaking out in Jason's situation being thrown into a magical world... But he does a very good job of burying those issues deep into his brain and causing himself more issues later on that a therapist needs to work with him over many years to fix.

[@hwaryun7042]

Two recomendations for less stat and mechanically focused Litrpg. One is defiance of the fall where the main character gets stranded on an island when earth gets combined with a few other planets and is stuck with an invasion of demons that paid to get access to the new planet in the multiverse. The other is Primal Hunter where the world is put into a tutorial while everything on earth levels up to becoming mega deadly.

[@Two_More_Years]

Really enjoy you reviewing more books that come from the litrpg/progrssion fantasy side of things. Totally understand you taking a break as well, but it's still nice to see reviews for a growing subgenre that often feels very self contained within the greater Fantasy community. Really enjoyed the video, thought it was a very fair review of the book.

[@aaronlandry3947]

The name of the book becomes much more relevant as the story progresses and he has to deal with the psychological impact of everything happening to him.

[@meganmarkert5686]

oh man! I'm so happy you liked HWFWM. I have many thoughts 1. finding it really funny about your comment on the author not necessarily setting up big forward planning things, besides what you saw wrapping up in book 1. keep reading. there are a LOT of nuggets dropped in the first book that show up WAY later 2. the stat-focused stuff is the worst in the first 2 books, and starts to ease up and is definitely more at that 4/10 by book 4 onwards, and maybe even easing up more honestly at the current point in the series 3. I agree with your comments on the book being very on the nose with telling you things, but I honestly didn't mind it with this. I just love the whole cast of characters and sometimes a good old power fantasy is just what you need 4. it sounds like you read the book instead of listening to the audio book - I promise you the audio makes it even better. Heath Miller is a gem. if you plan to continue the series I 100% recommend switching over 5. shirt commented!! love that he and this series is getting more attention. it's been a comfort series since I discovered it at the beginning of last year

[@Tirlex]

Lord Of the mysteries.

[@exiled666]

I cant remember if Stash is introduced in the first book or not but he is by far my favorite character.....Biscuit!

[@maniactoon5563]

I binge read this series. I loved book 1 and book 4. The other entries I had a lot of problems with, but it was such an easy read I just kept going. I'd be very interested in hearing you thoughts on the later entries, Daniel.

[@Dead_L4st]

Fun drinking game for those listening to the audiobooks: take a shot everytime someone glazes Jason. Bonus round: wash down with a beer everytime he dies.

[@Nickfurchert]

You should check out Arcane Ascension by Andrew Rowe, it’s a traditional fantasy novel with LITRPG tendencies and it blends both really well

[@aerynmusick4548]

Oh man I love this series! I’m so excited you read it (I have been in a full Star Trek immersion program for about 4 months and haven’t been watching YT)

[@gotelc]

Dominion loves that guy! 20:01

[@jakeslack1592]

Finished A Witch's Sin the other day. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Can't wait for the next one in the series!

[@vadersfist20videos38]

I just wanted to say a profound thank you, I’ve discovered and enjoyed a couple fantasy series based on your recommendations and this past week I finally was able to acquire The Wheel of Time books (all of them) and I am now about 15 chapters into The Eye of The World and can’t seem to put the book down.

[@MRDrum88]

So glad you read and reviewed HWFWM Daniel! I love this series. Definitely fair on some of your critiques, but like you said the major thing is it is just super fun read and especially listen. I hope you keep reading the series, I’m very curious to hear your reviews. Also for a recommendation for a less toned down LITRPG I’d recommend “Arcane Ascension” by Andrew Rowe. I think he does a good job of making it more seamlessly included into the story and definitely less than most LITRPGs. Cheers.

[@Samven-r6b]

Hey Daniel, If you're looking for a less typical webserial I'd recommend Pale by Wildbow. It's an urban fantasy of three teenage girls in modern day Canada learning magic from old-school faeries, goblins and cannibal rituals. The combat has a performative aspect to it similar to DCC, except the "audience" are the spirits of Karma that make the universe tic. The magic system makes Law litigation hype, somehow.

[@DarkTyrany22]

Any of Pale, Pact, or Worm I think would be great to see, lots of good Wildbow works to choose from

[@stephenjohnson9745]

WORM WORM WORM WORM WORM (just finished claw and going insane)

[@Samven-r6b]

@@stephenjohnson9745 I stopped reading Claw to wait until it's finished. The anxiety was killing me.

[@stephenjohnson9745]

@@Samven-r6b it just wrapped, still trying to figure out how I feel about the ending. Kinda want to do a reread of the whole thing

[@Phillylove100]

I love this! I hope you do each book in the series.

[@ElysLuke]

Literally had just started reading this last month. And Almost finished. It was recommended to me by my best friend. Lovera books unfortunately passed away from cancer on behalf of me and my best friend. Thank you for all the book recommendations. You've done for us over the years

[@0MrScruff0]

nice to see this review and you enjoyed the book

[@andrewcoyle7]

I love that you've reviewed this book, it's one of my favorites. I've reread it five times actually. And some of the points you made... I can't accurately express the feeling of anticipation I feel at the idea of your reaction to the rest of the series... but I'll try! *rocks forward and back in front of the computer, fists clenched tightly to his chest, chuckling in a mildly deranged manner with a far off look and smile*

[@gregorymurdock6195]

I literally just searched to see if you had done a review of this series yesterday! Series is a lot of fun, like junk food, and Collin is a good boy!

[@HiAndHello-w9l]

HWFWM got me through university and beyond, it has a special place in my heart. I does a great job with world building and changing things up now and then. I remember people having some mixed feelings about the earth arch but it had some of my favourite moments (and I got multiple first coments so I feel proud 😊)

[@SicklingBrandon]

Downloaded the first four books last week on Audible. Glad to see this was a good choice. Gonna check them out soon!

[@willn703]

Funny that you reviewed this as I just read it myself a couple weeks ago. I enjoy Lit RPGs, and this was a good start. I love the magic system and how its woven in the world.

[@TheBrickThrower]

Fuddy Duddy Daniel Back at it Again!!!

[@microwaevy]

I'm obsessed, about 50 chapters into Book 8 of my reread, and would love to see you review the rest of the series, as a lot of your complaints do get addressed, and I just want to see your thoughts on Jason's character arc and the other members of the cast + world getting fleshed out!!!

[@will2462]

I really really hope you continue reading this series. Read at least the first 3 books, I adore this series and the first 3 are my fav of the series.

[@killfacebalor2474]

I love these books! Probably more than I should. I am trying to decide when to start my fourth read through. Even the pieces you criticize to help me understand some of the things that I like about it or some of the things I thought were weird. We need you to review the rest!

[@NorskDaedalus]

I will say, HWFWM has an *amazingly* strong book 1, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the people who expected you to not like it are more thinking about the series as a whole, because it does... kinda fall off after a bit (speaking as someone who read it as it was first being released on RR but fell off it somewhere around book 9-10), as a lot of the charm wears off and its flaws become more apparent.

[@PadishahEmperor1]

@@NorskDaedalus 10 books is a great run in my opinion.

[@NorskDaedalus]

@@PadishahEmperor1 It was sheer momentum at that point, book 10ish is just when I finally gave up on the story ever getting good again because of how much it just kept doubling down on its flaws. General consensus among litRPG communities is that it falls off *hard* at book 4 and never quite manages to recapture what first made it fun, though there's a bit of back and forth with moderately interesting stuff before it just slides down the long slope of turning Jason and Pallimustus into basically caricatures of themselves.

[@Phillylove100]

I loved it from start to book 11 because I love Jason Asano. He’s one of my favorite characters in fiction. At no point does he stop being entertaining to me, but I can see how he can be grating and whiney to others. And I also understand why books 4 to 6 were a struggle for some and why the lasting effects of that “arc” caused some to quit the series even if I absolutely do not share that the opinion.

[@PadishahEmperor1]

@@Phillylove100 agreed! I really loved the main characters and thought the world building was very creative and much more sophisticated than most litrpg. I loved the discussions on economics, politics and philosophy and it had good action. I believe most litrpg fans just want action and over powered main characters but I found it all very compelling.

[@NorskDaedalus]

@@PadishahEmperor1 Some do... but by and large the people who I know (and myself) who fell off HWFWM are the kinds of people who don't just want a story that does nothing but tell you how uniquely awesome the MC is at all times. Justice for Humphrey.

[@jakespacer]

Daniel: weirdly combat oriented wizards Me, looking at my main character of my first story i am writing... feeling extremely called out 😶

[@mikemorrow8065]

HAHA this is one of my favorite series. The books don't always have arcs that make sense but i love so many of the characters

[@CassiusDrake]

You are the first person I've seen do a good job of putting words to the real problem with this series (which, to clarify I love and have read all of), because you are absolutely right its biggest weakness is how little it trusts its audience to pickup on subtext and instead spends a lot of time stating (and then re-stating and re-stating) what Jason is thinking and feeling. Its a prime example of why "Show don't tell" is advice that gets bandied about so much (even if it is generally not very helpful advice), as it really doesn't feel like it trusts the audience to understand what is being shown if it isn't constantly being explicitly stated.

[@TheFrigidMidget]

I did NOT see that "Eating the cats & dogs" bit coming. Legit laughed out loud on the bus.

[@KillerHawke007]

@@TheFrigidMidget Even funnier since he implies Kamala is a good person 👍

[@chandlerguptill2113]

Heath Miller absolutely crushed the audiobook performance, too! Also very curious for Daniel’s thoughts on the later books, especially books 4-6

[@EdBurke37]

One of my favorite ever DND character was very much the "aesthetically evil but wants to do good" character. They're so much fun!!

[@TimmyNC11]

If you are going to read more Web Novels, you have to read "Shadow Slave" and "Lord of the Mysteries". I have read HWFWM till Book 8, but its still no Comparison.

[@LukasJampen]

A series I enjoyed a lot is "The Primal Hunter" but it has some of the tropes you mentioned like not bowing to divinity and he even becomes best buddies with a god. One that will not help him fight but still gives him a lot of good info and support. A story that has no litrpg elemtents (the author wrote one of those as well) is "A Journey of Black and Red" which is about a young woman from Louisiana a few centuries ago get's turned into a vampire and immediately sold by her master into service for another clan who don't really like her. Really great story about her growing stronger and establishing a place in vampire society for herself.

[@JoaoSilvaWrites]

Go for 'Beware of Chicken' next. Yes. Not joking. trust me, bro!

[@wargboyz]

I love how Daniel mentions Jason going through all this trauma without any therapy. Because that becomes a central plot point later on and he actually spends a significant amount of time in therapy. And recommends it to others

[@mary-janebrewington8503]

You been doing my favourite books recently. Wandering Inn and He who fights monsters. The next best is Seth Ring’s Titan series

[@ianlandseadel9989]

I am really glad you pointed out Jason going against his stated values when he leans on the lower class woman to keep her silent. That's because, as pointed out by a few others already, the title of the book is He Who Fights With Monsters. When I started the book series, I knew that phrase sounded familiar, but a few books in it clicked. It's a less well known part of a famous quote from Nietzsche. "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster . . . when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you." More people are familiar with the later Abyss part.

[@trussell1531]

He Who Fights With Monsters has the best character building I've ever seen. By book 11, it is second to none.

[@michaelbodell7740]

IMO the series gets better as it goes along and expands the perspective to a wider world/universe.

[@christinac928]

I'm on book 7 in HWFWM. I love it. I did read The Land LitRPG chaos seeds series first. Very similar. I actually plan to go to Sandwich MA for fun because he visits it in the book and I had to Google if it was a real city LOL. HWFWM is just such a GREAT way to relax. I love cleaning while listening to the audiobook. What's beware of chicken? :O going to have to read this next :D

[@Liesmith424]

I've been very much enjoying the series; the audiobooks are a lot of fun too.

[@killfacebalor2474]

This series is particularly enhanced by the audiobook narrator IMO. Especially in future books as he perfects the voice for system messages and such

[@rekzors]

Great review!

[@chedzeesheeda1019]

You should really, really, really read Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint. It goes HARD on Dark Tower and metanarrative stuff, and it's really excellently done.

[@mariacaldartdeu919]

I was thinking exactly this while watching this video. It's good and criminally underrated (as a fantasy novel, not as a webtoon). And it definitely has a different flavour from other LitRPG

[@mechalith2791]

I think you'd probably enjoy The Mark of the Fool series, which is classed as LitRPG but I think of it as being more standard fantasy (no reincarnated Isekai-guy protagonist, no overt gamelike System).

[@prestonc992]

One of my favorites books. A lot of these type of books tend to be juvenile or young adults meaning that there premises do not withstand logical and common sense thinking.This book does thank you daniel for talking about it.

[@Molikai]

and Jason's powers get increasingly more dramatic as he grows, yes. THe butterflies come to mind. As do the familiars. And the way some of his spells develop....

[@davidchehab3450]

This reminded me why I used to love HWFWM, too bad it dropped in quality after book 6 imo, I am excited for you to read more of the books and hear your thoughts

[@davidwilcock2416]

I'm not sure I'll ever get on with this genre. RPG mechanics exist to provide me with a vehicle to more completely enter a fantasy world or story and give me more control of events. I don't mind a story inspired by an RPG game, but the mechanics should be something that COULD explain an event or occurrence and kept unmentioned in favour of the event it represents. But hey ho, this sounds kinda fun - hope everyone enjoys it.

[@jester42100]

I have listened to the whole series three times. I love it so much. I do feel like it is a comfy novel for me lol.

[@jkl1110]

Is your partner really your partner if they don't steal your cloths and lightly gaslight you about it? :P

[@odins_eye3257]

The books just get better, by far my favorite litRPG series

[@TheCrazybloo3]

If you want a litrpg that is completely different, then read The Experimental Log of the Crazy Lich. The system is a character too. It threatens to turn the main character into a girl on multiple occasions.

[@Christopher-rp3bi]

It would help if you read up to book 11. As you move on, the stat listings fade to the background. It takes a bit, but it happens. Listening to this book is excellent. I have started the series from the beginning for books 9, 10, and 11. I’m also a very big fan of Dungeon Crawler Carl.

[@SyrinEldarin]

Another webnovel review video, another opportunity to mention that you should absolutely read Ar'Kendrithyst. It even satisfies the requirement that you mention here that the next "litRPG" novel you read should be more than just a vehicle for extant tropes.

[@JJ_PapaOfFiveKids]

Seriously, HWFWM series is one of the best literary pieces that illustrates Friedrich Nietzsche's saying "He who fights against monsters should see to it that he does not become a monster in the process." The struggles that Jason goes through fighting against monsters, both literal monsters as well as monster in human form, show how much taking on the role of "monster hunter" can really ruin your outlook on the world and life as all you see is hate and the dark things day in and day out. I love his series!

[@fireneco8818]

I am so happy, he picked up he who fights WITH monsters! It's one of my favorite series and I hope he continues it (we will see other videos then, because HOLY SH*T stuff happens). Also for the story arcs: 3 Books are one Story arc with some closing chapters. For Thadwig as the main villain... You have not yet met the main villain of this arc, don't worry they are scary. And it gets more convoluted, the longer the story goes on (in book 10 is still stuff referenced to book 1). And for no suddelty... you have missed stuff that will be explained in book 8 so I would call it enough. I love that you read it now and hope you have a great day.

[@Swattimi]

I’ve been looking for another book series to start as I am reading book six in Dungeon Crawler Carl. I was concerned about finding something else to start up. Thanks for giving me something else to start afterward.

[@killfacebalor2474]

Yes! I love HWFWM maybe more than it deserves, but it's amazing! (Highly recommend the audio books if that's an option for you. Aussie narrator who does a great job!)😊

[@prestonyardley3255]

Literally I've been reading he who fights with monsters since the second volume dropped on audible. I highly recommend you keep reading if you've only read the first volume. I'm 12 in and man they're so good. Things kinda hit a slump in volume 3 but after wards it's just a straight gem in my opinion. Tight narrative and world building. Fleshed out characters and character growth, immersive action and lots of really hilarious moments. The way Shirtaloon intersperses the exposition with the commentary from characters ruitunely makes me die of laughter

[@VoidTheorem]

Audiobook version enhances the banter between the characters 1000%. Narrator does such a great job with the dialogue its incredible

[@rainer333]

The audiobook is read by Heath Miller, who brings a great quality to the story. Please check out the audiobook as well!

[@bendingsands87]

I don't know if you are listening or reading, but man. You gotta get into the audio. Heath Miller narrates beautifully. Bless him for his narration of the character Taika... Sooo good.