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Godclads #1
Godclads: The Broken Cage
Avo was born to destroy New Vultun. Now, he’ll become its only hope for salvation.
Created as a mindless weapon for a doomed war, Avo was obsolete from birth. Too weak to survive in a world powered by chrome, fire, and the corpses of the long-dead gods. His life was destined to be brutal and short.
But taken in by his adoptive father, Avo is granted another chance. He is given a name, learns to defy his violent nature, and hones his skill as a Necrojack—the deadly art of hacking minds and ghosts.
When Avo suddenly awakens in the gutters of New Vultun with an immortal Soul burned into his being, he must unravel the mystery of his circumstances—all before a city of enforcers, chromers and golems hunt him down.
He must grow stronger. Only by grafting greater gods to his being can he avert certain destruction.
Yet, as he ascends to claim the mantle of divinity, a question lingers... what kind of god will he become?
A best rated novel on Royal Road with millions of views, now professionally edited and available on Amazon. Buy a copy or read free with Kindle Unlimited!
Created as a mindless weapon for a doomed war, Avo was obsolete from birth. Too weak to survive in a world powered by chrome, fire, and the corpses of the long-dead gods. His life was destined to be brutal and short.
But taken in by his adoptive father, Avo is granted another chance. He is given a name, learns to defy his violent nature, and hones his skill as a Necrojack—the deadly art of hacking minds and ghosts.
When Avo suddenly awakens in the gutters of New Vultun with an immortal Soul burned into his being, he must unravel the mystery of his circumstances—all before a city of enforcers, chromers and golems hunt him down.
He must grow stronger. Only by grafting greater gods to his being can he avert certain destruction.
Yet, as he ascends to claim the mantle of divinity, a question lingers... what kind of god will he become?
A best rated novel on Royal Road with millions of views, now professionally edited and available on Amazon. Buy a copy or read free with Kindle Unlimited!
586 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 23, 2024
297 people are currently reading
361 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
May 6, 2024
OH MY FUCKING GOD! I cannot believe what I just read. This book is one of the most bat shit insane books I’ve ever read in my life. This is mind blowing in the best way possible. Easy 5/5 book.
Small Rant: This book made me retroactively dislike a lot of fantasy books I’ve read in the past. For the fact of they just aren’t creative enough. I’ve said this before but if you can make any fantasy world you want to write about, why would you choose to write about another generic medieval fantasy world? Like how can you possibly justify writing about elves and dwarves in your story when books like Godclads and worlds like New Vulton exist. The amount of creativity and imagination on display in this book puts so many other stories to shame. You can write a story where the world is in the butt hole of giant and apples are Gods, literally anything. But no, Instead you choose to write about middle earth 2.0. It’s baffling to me and makes me appreciate and respect truly creative works like Godclads, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Cradle, and Immortal Great Souls even more.
Pros
The most important part of this book was definitely the world building! I could list all day all the cool and randomly weird attributes to this world. It has the feel of a fantasy world of the future. There was a whole cutlure, monsters, Gods, universe, and out of world creatures filled lore before we even made it to the future elements. We only saw a percent of this world and the wider universe and I have enough to think about that will keep me up for days. At one point they mentioned the sun was created by a Guild as a gift, nukes are used as suppression fire, pantheons of dead Gods were mentioned as a after thought, Eldritch leviathans are can be formed out of rain drops, curses can attack the very concept of an idea, planes of existence are casually created and destroyed, Interstellar travel and cosmic beings are old news. I can sit here and list all the things I loved about what we learned but that would take too long.
The Guilds are so cool to me. We didn’t see a single active guild member in this book but just their presence and stature alone permeated throughout the book. The fear and sense of awe they bleed on the page as we navigate threats way below them is palpable. The different focus they each have, the different world they live in (literally) and the Godclads that encompass their ranks(even the kids get Gods grafted on them) leaves me in awe of the sheer scale and imagination.
The way the book seamlessly merges and all its different components is insane. The necrojack/Phantasmic, the Cold tech/chrome, the Thaumaturgy/Godclad/Heavens/Hells. Every piece of the power systems are multifaceted and developed. I love love love the idea of a chrome head with weird aesthetics and technology fighting ghost jacks and Ghost filled trauma from their subconscious while being in fear of the Canon’s of Heavens by Immortal Godclads and the rend for their hells. Even just saying that sentence made me giddy. They all exist within this living breathing world and every time they interact you don’t know which one is going to be the dominate force. The Godclads are powerful but even they can fall to a well executed Ghostjack. A necrojack can be killed by a reflex implant before they even know what hit them. A chrome head will never have the sheer force and power that Godclads can wield. It’s like a rock paper scissor relationship and I love it so gawd damn much.
The pacing and action was amazing as well. The book kept things moving with a lot of well done action and big moments. That’s impressive when it has so much world building and new concepts to introduce. I’ve never seen that done so well before, most scifi books I read are pretty slow paced until it can set things up. This book put the pedal to the metal from the very beginning and I fucking love that.
Avo is an amazing character to me in every conceivable way. I’ve been waiting for a “evil� Mc that I can get behind and now I have it. I’ve tried and hated evil Mc’s in the past. Vincent from Death Loot and Vampires, Vita from Vigor Morris, and Ariane from a journey of Black and Red were all horrible characters to follow in my opinion. They all were amoral ass holes that didn’t have any redeeming quality. Avo on the other hand is literally a man eating ghoul and wants nothing more then to tear any and everyone limb from limb to satiate his inner beast. Yet I still love and support him. The main reason is because he puts real effort into being the person he wants to be. He has a code of ethics that he’d rather die then betray. He knows how to show respect and fairness even to strangers. He is a person worthy of our respect because instead of being a victim to his base instincts and giving in to every whim and desire like the others I mentioned, he chooses to rise above it. I respect that and I trust him to follow his ideals even when it gets hard.
I’m fascinated by every character we met but I love Draus. She snarky and badass with a past and ideals of her own. That’s the perfect character to me and I can’t wait to get more from her.
This is not a positive or a negative but I noticed it and I wanted to mention it. A lot of the dialogue read like video game voice overs. Lil viscous’s taunts, Chambers mission statements and even Draus’s snark all felt like game character dialogue that would play as you try to beat a particularly difficult boss in a game. I don’t play a lot of video games but I found it weirdly endearing as I was listening to the audio book.
A Couple small Negatives:
Like a lot of books from Royal road it does have the web seriel problem. I can tell that the book was not formatted with a single book narrative and structure in mind. The plot tends to go on and on with not a real sense of cohension throughout the book. It doesn’t take away from the enjoyment but I do recognize it
The book was tad bit too wordy at times but again thats something I notice with a lot of web serial.
Someone else mentioned this in their review but Avo didn’t have much agency in this first book. Most of it was him being forced, coerced, and threatened to do something. He was either being attacked or made to do something he didn’t want to do. Though I can tell by the end that will change in the next book.
Small Rant: This book made me retroactively dislike a lot of fantasy books I’ve read in the past. For the fact of they just aren’t creative enough. I’ve said this before but if you can make any fantasy world you want to write about, why would you choose to write about another generic medieval fantasy world? Like how can you possibly justify writing about elves and dwarves in your story when books like Godclads and worlds like New Vulton exist. The amount of creativity and imagination on display in this book puts so many other stories to shame. You can write a story where the world is in the butt hole of giant and apples are Gods, literally anything. But no, Instead you choose to write about middle earth 2.0. It’s baffling to me and makes me appreciate and respect truly creative works like Godclads, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Cradle, and Immortal Great Souls even more.
Pros
The most important part of this book was definitely the world building! I could list all day all the cool and randomly weird attributes to this world. It has the feel of a fantasy world of the future. There was a whole cutlure, monsters, Gods, universe, and out of world creatures filled lore before we even made it to the future elements. We only saw a percent of this world and the wider universe and I have enough to think about that will keep me up for days. At one point they mentioned the sun was created by a Guild as a gift, nukes are used as suppression fire, pantheons of dead Gods were mentioned as a after thought, Eldritch leviathans are can be formed out of rain drops, curses can attack the very concept of an idea, planes of existence are casually created and destroyed, Interstellar travel and cosmic beings are old news. I can sit here and list all the things I loved about what we learned but that would take too long.
The Guilds are so cool to me. We didn’t see a single active guild member in this book but just their presence and stature alone permeated throughout the book. The fear and sense of awe they bleed on the page as we navigate threats way below them is palpable. The different focus they each have, the different world they live in (literally) and the Godclads that encompass their ranks(even the kids get Gods grafted on them) leaves me in awe of the sheer scale and imagination.
The way the book seamlessly merges and all its different components is insane. The necrojack/Phantasmic, the Cold tech/chrome, the Thaumaturgy/Godclad/Heavens/Hells. Every piece of the power systems are multifaceted and developed. I love love love the idea of a chrome head with weird aesthetics and technology fighting ghost jacks and Ghost filled trauma from their subconscious while being in fear of the Canon’s of Heavens by Immortal Godclads and the rend for their hells. Even just saying that sentence made me giddy. They all exist within this living breathing world and every time they interact you don’t know which one is going to be the dominate force. The Godclads are powerful but even they can fall to a well executed Ghostjack. A necrojack can be killed by a reflex implant before they even know what hit them. A chrome head will never have the sheer force and power that Godclads can wield. It’s like a rock paper scissor relationship and I love it so gawd damn much.
The pacing and action was amazing as well. The book kept things moving with a lot of well done action and big moments. That’s impressive when it has so much world building and new concepts to introduce. I’ve never seen that done so well before, most scifi books I read are pretty slow paced until it can set things up. This book put the pedal to the metal from the very beginning and I fucking love that.
Avo is an amazing character to me in every conceivable way. I’ve been waiting for a “evil� Mc that I can get behind and now I have it. I’ve tried and hated evil Mc’s in the past. Vincent from Death Loot and Vampires, Vita from Vigor Morris, and Ariane from a journey of Black and Red were all horrible characters to follow in my opinion. They all were amoral ass holes that didn’t have any redeeming quality. Avo on the other hand is literally a man eating ghoul and wants nothing more then to tear any and everyone limb from limb to satiate his inner beast. Yet I still love and support him. The main reason is because he puts real effort into being the person he wants to be. He has a code of ethics that he’d rather die then betray. He knows how to show respect and fairness even to strangers. He is a person worthy of our respect because instead of being a victim to his base instincts and giving in to every whim and desire like the others I mentioned, he chooses to rise above it. I respect that and I trust him to follow his ideals even when it gets hard.
I’m fascinated by every character we met but I love Draus. She snarky and badass with a past and ideals of her own. That’s the perfect character to me and I can’t wait to get more from her.
This is not a positive or a negative but I noticed it and I wanted to mention it. A lot of the dialogue read like video game voice overs. Lil viscous’s taunts, Chambers mission statements and even Draus’s snark all felt like game character dialogue that would play as you try to beat a particularly difficult boss in a game. I don’t play a lot of video games but I found it weirdly endearing as I was listening to the audio book.
A Couple small Negatives:
Like a lot of books from Royal road it does have the web seriel problem. I can tell that the book was not formatted with a single book narrative and structure in mind. The plot tends to go on and on with not a real sense of cohension throughout the book. It doesn’t take away from the enjoyment but I do recognize it
The book was tad bit too wordy at times but again thats something I notice with a lot of web serial.
Someone else mentioned this in their review but Avo didn’t have much agency in this first book. Most of it was him being forced, coerced, and threatened to do something. He was either being attacked or made to do something he didn’t want to do. Though I can tell by the end that will change in the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2024
Enjoyably confused
I went through most of the book not understanding what any of the terms are. Phantasmic? Ghost? Imp? What’s a golem look like? What’s a thaum? What is the environment like? So much confusion it’s hard to picture what’s happening.
When Avo uses rend to go underneath the ground, is it actually ground? Or levels of a building? Different levels of ground? Is the environment a world? In a cave? I want to know, and I want to like the book.
I went through most of the book not understanding what any of the terms are. Phantasmic? Ghost? Imp? What’s a golem look like? What’s a thaum? What is the environment like? So much confusion it’s hard to picture what’s happening.
When Avo uses rend to go underneath the ground, is it actually ground? Or levels of a building? Different levels of ground? Is the environment a world? In a cave? I want to know, and I want to like the book.
February 21, 2024
Punchy prose
Intense, deep, amazing. The author channels Gibson, Barker, Stephenson, and Stross into a gestalt that swept me away and ghosted itself between my synapses.
One of the very rare 5-stars I hand out, and deservedly so. The world building, the gritty characters� I saw the end (of the book) coming (on the progress bar) and wept. I do recommend starting with the glossary - you’ll need it (even if half of it won’t make sense until you’re inside).
Intense, deep, amazing. The author channels Gibson, Barker, Stephenson, and Stross into a gestalt that swept me away and ghosted itself between my synapses.
One of the very rare 5-stars I hand out, and deservedly so. The world building, the gritty characters� I saw the end (of the book) coming (on the progress bar) and wept. I do recommend starting with the glossary - you’ll need it (even if half of it won’t make sense until you’re inside).
March 11, 2024
Like a Kinder Egg, this book manages to be three things all at once. Unfortunately those things are ‘weird�, ‘gross�, and ‘boring�. I was expecting to be at least impressed by its creativity, from all the five star reviews, but it’s just some tedious drivel about ghosts. I guess everyone is different.
February 14, 2024
Great main character.
Great setting.
Great worldbuilding.
Great magic system
Only problem I have is the complexity of the writing, the prose. I think one trait of being an amazing author is being able to convey your information easily. Had to re-read a lot sentences a lot of times to try to understand something.
But overall, amazing. Minus 1 star for the aforementioned reason
Great setting.
Great worldbuilding.
Great magic system
Only problem I have is the complexity of the writing, the prose. I think one trait of being an amazing author is being able to convey your information easily. Had to re-read a lot sentences a lot of times to try to understand something.
But overall, amazing. Minus 1 star for the aforementioned reason
January 29, 2024
A complicated story with a very morally black protagonist
So let’s get it out here first: the MC is a ghoul who eats people, tortures people, and does other things that are enough to leave you squeamish. But he’s not alone, the whole world partakes in these pastimes. This world is as dark as 40k, with little to no hope for the masses and dark powers around every corner. The story is a little hard to follow at times, but it’s definitely interesting once the MC finally starts manifesting his powers. There’s also a lot going on that we don’t get fully fleshed out in this book, but that should have some interesting ramifications for the following books. Will continue the series, even though it’s not my normal cup of tea.
So let’s get it out here first: the MC is a ghoul who eats people, tortures people, and does other things that are enough to leave you squeamish. But he’s not alone, the whole world partakes in these pastimes. This world is as dark as 40k, with little to no hope for the masses and dark powers around every corner. The story is a little hard to follow at times, but it’s definitely interesting once the MC finally starts manifesting his powers. There’s also a lot going on that we don’t get fully fleshed out in this book, but that should have some interesting ramifications for the following books. Will continue the series, even though it’s not my normal cup of tea.
June 8, 2024
DNF at 45% 2.6 stars. I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately, it never clicked. I liked the overall premise, and there are definitely a few parts that I really enjoyed. However, despite all of the action, I found it a bit boring. The story was hard to follow at times, and I didn't understand many of the terms used. I feel like there's too much critical world-building information missing. It's hard to focus on the story when I'm constantly trying to figure out what they're talking about and how things work. This book is definitely creative, and I think I would have enjoyed it better in a different format, like a graphic novel or movie.
April 4, 2024
5 out of 5. Nothing else needs to be said.
This is perfection. *chef's kiss*
Hello, web-novel reader here.
It took me a long time to get into the story properly. I'm someone that likes to connect with the characters I read on a mental and emotional level. You can imagine how that doesn't work with a psychopathic, bloodthirsty, murderous ghoul as a main character. That, the bloody, raw grittiness of the setting, the general lack of care for the sanctity of life from pretty much every single character you meet, and the overwhelming gore-fest that are the fight scenes left me nonplussed and reeling from the sheer intensity and barrage on the senses.
That said, this was an insane, wild, crazy, thrilling roller-coaster ride from start to present and I'm glad I stuck around for it. Every chapter is a sucker-punch. Every battle is a thrill. Every character, from the smallest street squire to the haughtiest Godclad, is a unique technicoloured template.
The story starts off with a bang with the Crucible arc and only gets better from there. I am currently at the beginning of book 2 (chapter 16-4 in the webnovel) and how I feel about the story is worlds apart from when I started book 1. The characters and world have grown on me over time.
The author is insanely creative to have come up with this world. The sprawling structure of New Vultun, conniving politics between the Guilds, colourful body augmentations and modifications, mind-warping neo-biowarfare, metaphysical mental battlefields, and so much more. I have no words for it. Not to mention the Godclad power system and its implementation. I have never seen anything like it in any other fantasy novels.
Fair warning, do NOT read this story if you are not comfortable with:
- gore. And I mean LOTS of gore. We have all the gore.
- cannibalism (is it still cannibalism if the MC is non-human?)
- the occasional massacre
- general apathy towards other living beings
- high-tech-y language and terms. (I mean it's a sci-fi story so...)
- child murder (not explicit, but it's there)
- psychopathic MC
- suicidal intentions
- And murder. All the murder.
And a lot more besides. This story is basically a walking trigger warning. So. Consider yourself warned.
Enjoy (and try not to contract the rash).
This is perfection. *chef's kiss*
Hello, web-novel reader here.
It took me a long time to get into the story properly. I'm someone that likes to connect with the characters I read on a mental and emotional level. You can imagine how that doesn't work with a psychopathic, bloodthirsty, murderous ghoul as a main character. That, the bloody, raw grittiness of the setting, the general lack of care for the sanctity of life from pretty much every single character you meet, and the overwhelming gore-fest that are the fight scenes left me nonplussed and reeling from the sheer intensity and barrage on the senses.
That said, this was an insane, wild, crazy, thrilling roller-coaster ride from start to present and I'm glad I stuck around for it. Every chapter is a sucker-punch. Every battle is a thrill. Every character, from the smallest street squire to the haughtiest Godclad, is a unique technicoloured template.
The story starts off with a bang with the Crucible arc and only gets better from there. I am currently at the beginning of book 2 (chapter 16-4 in the webnovel) and how I feel about the story is worlds apart from when I started book 1. The characters and world have grown on me over time.
The author is insanely creative to have come up with this world. The sprawling structure of New Vultun, conniving politics between the Guilds, colourful body augmentations and modifications, mind-warping neo-biowarfare, metaphysical mental battlefields, and so much more. I have no words for it. Not to mention the Godclad power system and its implementation. I have never seen anything like it in any other fantasy novels.
Fair warning, do NOT read this story if you are not comfortable with:
- gore. And I mean LOTS of gore. We have all the gore.
- cannibalism (is it still cannibalism if the MC is non-human?)
- the occasional massacre
- general apathy towards other living beings
- high-tech-y language and terms. (I mean it's a sci-fi story so...)
- child murder (not explicit, but it's there)
- psychopathic MC
- suicidal intentions
- And murder. All the murder.
And a lot more besides. This story is basically a walking trigger warning. So. Consider yourself warned.
Enjoy (and try not to contract the rash).
June 28, 2024
I stumbled across this book as an Audible Daily Deal and found everything (the description, the reviews, even the author's name) so incomprehensible that it was also irresistible.
The Broken Cage has so much going for it. A very original and cool world in which, with the right training and equipment, you can modify, add or subtract memories - and the extent to which this is exploited as a weapon is explored in very interesting ways. An intriguing, dynamic main character. A virtuoso-level cyberpunk world of violence, crime, gore, technology, and bioengineering. Quite a few very witty conversations. Characters you care about. The name of the author! And yet --
And yet. There was so much about how the mechanics of memory modifications (Necrojacking - awesome word) work that made no sense. So much of some other stuff was so complex and interspersed with graphic violence (often outright cannibalism) that my poor brain was not able to follow.
Let me give you an example. To be "Godclad," the person has an internal Heaven that means they can do really powerful stuff with their blood and affect matter in interesting ways and also an internal Hell that has to vent after using the Heaven. You have to keep killing people to make your Heaven run, and in increasing numbers if you want to get more powerful because you use these things I think are like the captive souls of your victims each cycle. But also a lot of thought about how human eyeballs are the main character's favorite food by far.
I don't think I can take any more Godclads than I already have got. But whooeeee what a ride.
The Broken Cage has so much going for it. A very original and cool world in which, with the right training and equipment, you can modify, add or subtract memories - and the extent to which this is exploited as a weapon is explored in very interesting ways. An intriguing, dynamic main character. A virtuoso-level cyberpunk world of violence, crime, gore, technology, and bioengineering. Quite a few very witty conversations. Characters you care about. The name of the author! And yet --
And yet. There was so much about how the mechanics of memory modifications (Necrojacking - awesome word) work that made no sense. So much of some other stuff was so complex and interspersed with graphic violence (often outright cannibalism) that my poor brain was not able to follow.
Let me give you an example. To be "Godclad," the person has an internal Heaven that means they can do really powerful stuff with their blood and affect matter in interesting ways and also an internal Hell that has to vent after using the Heaven. You have to keep killing people to make your Heaven run, and in increasing numbers if you want to get more powerful because you use these things I think are like the captive souls of your victims each cycle. But also a lot of thought about how human eyeballs are the main character's favorite food by far.
I don't think I can take any more Godclads than I already have got. But whooeeee what a ride.
June 3, 2024
Wow, just wow.
I honestly haven't been inspired to write a review in a while. That ends today. This is the single most innovative and intricate piece of world building I have seen... Possibly ever. And world building is my hobby. So I pay attention. I would go ahead and read the glossary first, just to clue you in a little. But even without doing that, the world is revealed in discreet chunks just bite sized enough to chew. Don't skip the flavor text in front of each chapter, or you'll regret it. Also, excellent pacing, brilliant characterization, and the author doesn't ever let you forget who and what the MC is. Motivations are clear and when they're not, it's part of the plot. Great read, but for fans of world building, this should be required reading. I feel that strongly about it. If you have to read this or Tolkien, from a world building perspective, I'd say read Godclads.
I honestly haven't been inspired to write a review in a while. That ends today. This is the single most innovative and intricate piece of world building I have seen... Possibly ever. And world building is my hobby. So I pay attention. I would go ahead and read the glossary first, just to clue you in a little. But even without doing that, the world is revealed in discreet chunks just bite sized enough to chew. Don't skip the flavor text in front of each chapter, or you'll regret it. Also, excellent pacing, brilliant characterization, and the author doesn't ever let you forget who and what the MC is. Motivations are clear and when they're not, it's part of the plot. Great read, but for fans of world building, this should be required reading. I feel that strongly about it. If you have to read this or Tolkien, from a world building perspective, I'd say read Godclads.
August 8, 2024
A genuinely fun read that was a great change of pace from most of the progression fantasy books I’ve read.
I will go with no spoilers but the characters are interesting and the whole setting has a very cyberpunk vibe to it. If you maybe swap a few pieces of lore out for tech you’d have no problems imagining this story in something like the Shadowrun universe.
Definitely recommend it and looking forward to the 2nd book.
Regarding some of the criticisms I’ve seen� I didn’t bother with the glossary at all until after I’d read the book and didn’t have any issues figuring out what was being discussed, but I’m also a big fan of cyberpunk and progression fantasy so it could just be me. Given that there are books like Ninefox Gambit that are entirely inscrutable for nearly a quarter of the book, I usually just assume that this is intentional when I’m being dropped into an unfamiliar world that has vastly different rules. I’d also avoid having a glossary that spells out slang.
I will go with no spoilers but the characters are interesting and the whole setting has a very cyberpunk vibe to it. If you maybe swap a few pieces of lore out for tech you’d have no problems imagining this story in something like the Shadowrun universe.
Definitely recommend it and looking forward to the 2nd book.
Regarding some of the criticisms I’ve seen� I didn’t bother with the glossary at all until after I’d read the book and didn’t have any issues figuring out what was being discussed, but I’m also a big fan of cyberpunk and progression fantasy so it could just be me. Given that there are books like Ninefox Gambit that are entirely inscrutable for nearly a quarter of the book, I usually just assume that this is intentional when I’m being dropped into an unfamiliar world that has vastly different rules. I’d also avoid having a glossary that spells out slang.
October 22, 2024
I tried to like this book, I really did.
I love most LitRPG esque things but this was just a mess of words thrown at you from the beginning.
I got about 2 hours into this book before I had to put it down. The author seems like to to put a bunch of non-sensical words together to make the setting sound intriguing and interesting instead of just describing the interesting and intriguing scene.
This mainly focuses on a ghoul who loses something like a system that supposedly is supposed to curb the ghouls appetites but nothing is explained why the ghoul exists, why it's a cyber punk type scene, and really: what the actual point of the entire book is.
It's extremely exhausting trying to get through this book.
I'm sure it's good further in but I very rarely give up on books and I just couldn't get with this one. Just lost so much interest in all the dumb names for things and the lack of description of what the actual F$*& is going on.
I love most LitRPG esque things but this was just a mess of words thrown at you from the beginning.
I got about 2 hours into this book before I had to put it down. The author seems like to to put a bunch of non-sensical words together to make the setting sound intriguing and interesting instead of just describing the interesting and intriguing scene.
This mainly focuses on a ghoul who loses something like a system that supposedly is supposed to curb the ghouls appetites but nothing is explained why the ghoul exists, why it's a cyber punk type scene, and really: what the actual point of the entire book is.
It's extremely exhausting trying to get through this book.
I'm sure it's good further in but I very rarely give up on books and I just couldn't get with this one. Just lost so much interest in all the dumb names for things and the lack of description of what the actual F$*& is going on.
March 15, 2024
godclads throws you into a world in motion, and it doesn't cuddle you.
Words were used that had me totally confused (these were conjured words that only made sense in the godclad world) and it took me a while to learn what was, I could only understand them through the context it was been used.
The book centers around Avo a mindless bloodthirsty ghoul that managed to gain sentience.
The book is filled with lots of action and mysteries yet to be unveiled to keep you on your toes. In the first part of the book, the ghoul was quite passive and things just kept happening to him but it was reasonable.
The writing itself wasn't that bad, and honestly when it comes to progression fantasy you take what you can get.
I didn't love love godclads but it's very much better than a lot of books in it's genre.
Words were used that had me totally confused (these were conjured words that only made sense in the godclad world) and it took me a while to learn what was, I could only understand them through the context it was been used.
The book centers around Avo a mindless bloodthirsty ghoul that managed to gain sentience.
The book is filled with lots of action and mysteries yet to be unveiled to keep you on your toes. In the first part of the book, the ghoul was quite passive and things just kept happening to him but it was reasonable.
The writing itself wasn't that bad, and honestly when it comes to progression fantasy you take what you can get.
I didn't love love godclads but it's very much better than a lot of books in it's genre.
February 7, 2024
good story, not crazy about the MC, terminology in the story is unusual, may hold it back.
Are really wild and weird story. Excellent world building but the author is very verbose. There’s only one thing I think that may hold this book back. The problem I see is the terminology, the author includes a glossary at the end of the book, but most people in my opinion are not going to want to read through the glossary to look up words, it breaks the story. They are terminologies that you can figure out on your own, but there are things that you have to go. What, does that mean? Some people may enjoy this book. I enjoyed it, but the unusual terminology put me off a bit. You may like it give it a
Are really wild and weird story. Excellent world building but the author is very verbose. There’s only one thing I think that may hold this book back. The problem I see is the terminology, the author includes a glossary at the end of the book, but most people in my opinion are not going to want to read through the glossary to look up words, it breaks the story. They are terminologies that you can figure out on your own, but there are things that you have to go. What, does that mean? Some people may enjoy this book. I enjoyed it, but the unusual terminology put me off a bit. You may like it give it a
February 6, 2024
This book was an unexpected delight. Biopunk, cyberpunk, dare I say ontological-punk, even? Flavors of everything from Cyberpunk 2077 to John Michal Grist's Soul Jacker Series to influences from Blame! and more, this was an ambitious foray into a bleak and intriguing future. If you like science-fantasy, anti-heroes, unique systems of power (literal, metaphorical, spiritual, and political), this might tickle your fancy.
Fair warning, gory and grim, not for the squeamish or those who prefer their protagonists morally unblemished.
Fair warning, gory and grim, not for the squeamish or those who prefer their protagonists morally unblemished.
March 27, 2025
DNF, barely even started. The *PREMISE* is an interesting one even if the core is LITRPG style and I was looking forward to "the same tune, but played on a different instrument".
However the writing was disjointed, confusing and despite increasingly hitting the skip-page button on kindle, by the time I hit 10% I hit the I don't care about this book button and stopped.
Normally when I'm flying, I'm tolerant of books because I've got nothing else to do except sit and read, but in this case it almost flipped into actively dislikinng
However the writing was disjointed, confusing and despite increasingly hitting the skip-page button on kindle, by the time I hit 10% I hit the I don't care about this book button and stopped.
Normally when I'm flying, I'm tolerant of books because I've got nothing else to do except sit and read, but in this case it almost flipped into actively dislikinng
February 12, 2024
One of the most memorable books for me. If you enjoy dark fantasy (with sci-fi features), this one deserves your attention.
There is so much depth to the broken world of Godclads. Reading this story from the perspective of any normal FATEless being would be tragedy manifest. Luckily for us, Avo is a psychopath thriving in this hellhole of reality.
There is so much depth to the broken world of Godclads. Reading this story from the perspective of any normal FATEless being would be tragedy manifest. Luckily for us, Avo is a psychopath thriving in this hellhole of reality.
October 15, 2024
Genuinely an incredibly fascinating premise and world but the story felt like it dragged on after a while. The MC is sorting of interesting but the side characters were meh, only by the end of the book did I start to like the two side characters.
Fight scenes are a bit chaotic and it's hard to keep locked in but the magic systems are super intriguing.
3.5-3.75*
Fight scenes are a bit chaotic and it's hard to keep locked in but the magic systems are super intriguing.
3.5-3.75*
October 17, 2024
A unique and creative take on the cyberpunk genre
Lacing the grim, bleak, cyberpunk future with the twisted necrotic tissue of undeath and hauntings, OstensibleMammal makes a spectacular entry for a first book. Dive into an exceptional tale of bloody revenge, dead gods, and the haunted ghosts of dying hopes!
Lacing the grim, bleak, cyberpunk future with the twisted necrotic tissue of undeath and hauntings, OstensibleMammal makes a spectacular entry for a first book. Dive into an exceptional tale of bloody revenge, dead gods, and the haunted ghosts of dying hopes!
January 26, 2024
A dark but fantastic read
Humanity has to fall pretty far to make a cannibal ghoul seem likable, but that’s where we are. It’s an incredibly well crafted and very grim narrative that somehow still manages to have momentary breaks in the darkness. Absolutely would recommend- though fair warning on violence, brutality, and gore.
Humanity has to fall pretty far to make a cannibal ghoul seem likable, but that’s where we are. It’s an incredibly well crafted and very grim narrative that somehow still manages to have momentary breaks in the darkness. Absolutely would recommend- though fair warning on violence, brutality, and gore.
January 28, 2024
an amazing story
The author does a wonderful job and describing a world. The details are sublime and grotesque. The horrors feel so real as do the pleasures. What an amazing find and a great representation of the grim dark genre with a progression fantasy twist.
The author does a wonderful job and describing a world. The details are sublime and grotesque. The horrors feel so real as do the pleasures. What an amazing find and a great representation of the grim dark genre with a progression fantasy twist.
February 23, 2024
I do sometimes wish I wasn't as generous in my reviews as I am. This is one of these times, not because this book is middling. But because it is exceptional in all facets. Worldbuilding, characters, "magical systems" and plot, all are exceptional.
April 14, 2024
Extensive well thought out lore, story gets in the way and is extremely linear. Would server better as a graphic novel.
Prose gets very thick and over embellished, but is worth wading through to get to the worldbuilding and ideas within.
Prose gets very thick and over embellished, but is worth wading through to get to the worldbuilding and ideas within.
May 26, 2024
The best sci-fi/fantasy blend I’ve ever read
This minding bending, gut wrenching and churning, sick and twisted and beautiful novel is a joy. I’ve been following it for a long, long time, and I have loved every artistic, philosophical bloody moment. Please do yourself a favor and read this
This minding bending, gut wrenching and churning, sick and twisted and beautiful novel is a joy. I’ve been following it for a long, long time, and I have loved every artistic, philosophical bloody moment. Please do yourself a favor and read this
June 15, 2024
almost its own excellent genre!
An excellent grimdark sci-fi fantasy anti-hero story. I think the last time I enjoyed this sortah fiction was probably sandman slim, nearly 20 years ago. Excellent writing and story
An excellent grimdark sci-fi fantasy anti-hero story. I think the last time I enjoyed this sortah fiction was probably sandman slim, nearly 20 years ago. Excellent writing and story
October 8, 2024
Really cool world and concept, but the lingo can get a bit hard to handle, there are so many unique words to describe different systems it is getting hard to understand it all. But the overall book is really good and you get used to all those words after some time.
February 22, 2025
Peak cyberpunk, Incredible world building with a strong dose of world building with occultism adding an extra layer on an already compelling landscape of megastructures and corporate control
I have a strong weakness for wetware and biomodding within the genre
I have a strong weakness for wetware and biomodding within the genre
January 24, 2024
Awesome
This is an amazing story - not like anything you have read beforw. I love this and can't recommend this enough. This will bend your mind and expand your vocabulary.
This is an amazing story - not like anything you have read beforw. I love this and can't recommend this enough. This will bend your mind and expand your vocabulary.
February 6, 2024
Fantastic, different, refreshing
A very unique and engaging sorry that has you cursing how fast it goes by. I can’t wait for the next one to come ouf
A very unique and engaging sorry that has you cursing how fast it goes by. I can’t wait for the next one to come ouf
February 9, 2024
weird af but also good af
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