This book does fall off relative to the other 2 in the series. As a LitRPG style book, it follows many of the conventions of this genre, and indeed the world established continues from the other 2 in the series. Without trying to give too much away, I’ll try and detail out some of the issues as to why this book has gotten so many negative reviews as compared to the other 2, though you may infer some heavily hinted at spoilers from this review, if not directly outlined….
First off, there is the whole “quest line” as described at the end of book 2- the MC takes a trip to a hobgoblin city to establish a trade route, to eventually try to be able to see the ultimate expression of his sphere golem creations. This whole thing feels little more than a side quest, but fully takes up roughly 2/3rds of the book- it’s considerably more tedious and less interesting without the stakes that were in the other 2 books. It’s not completely horrible, but it just doesn’t hold your interest. Eventually, the “dread totem” continues to build and plan for the betterment of his people and his eventual revenge against his old guild, the “manapulators” in the last part of the book, which is much like the storyline from other 2 books had been headed.
Second, the last big battle in this book is accompanied by a great amount of expanded sound effects, and even a game themed soundtrack that plays alongside the narration during the battle. It’s ridiculous and annoying, subtracting from the overall enjoyment of the audio performance as opposed to adding to it (IMHO)- it’s just too “over the top”.
Lastly, the apparent conclusion to the series wrapped up in the final 2 hours of the book. The V.i. storyline comes to fruition, and the whole plot line of the 3 books takes a radical shift into a new direction. The characters that you invested in over the 3 books are not well wrapped up in terms of their story arc, to the point that you wonder if this really is the end of the trilogy or not. If it is, then it’s extremely unsatisfying, as I don’t think anyone (with the exception of Vic) winds up with a fully resolved conclusion.
I suspect that we’ll get a 4th book in the series perhaps, as this just does not feel like a satisfying ending, but that will be completely up to the author. Exactly what he has planned for this world and these characters from here out (if anything) is anyone’s guess.