This book had its ups and downs for me, and ultimately it just wasn’t a great fit.
I struggled early on because of the narration. Paul Heitsch delivered every line with slow, heavy emphasis, drawing out words as if to inject extra meaning into each one. Instead of enhancing the story, it made those early chapters feel dragged out and hard to listen to. Fortunately, this style eases up after the first couple of chapters, and the narration improves as the book goes on — but the rocky start definitely colored my experience.
The writing itself also felt overly drawn out. I’d estimate that about two-thirds of the book is weighed down by dense internal monologues and long, meticulous descriptions of every thought, motion, and minor detail around the main character. Once again, it does get better later in the book, but the early slog was tough to push through.
That said, the core idea behind the magic and progression system is genuinely interesting. The concept of “cores” that process magicite, the way skill usage drains it, and the risk of magicite starvation for those without cores — it’s all a very different take from standard LitRPG systems. Attribute points tied to core acquisition is also a neat twist. There’s creativity here, and some of the skill applications are fun.
However, the main character makes a lot of questionable decisions, and both the author and narrator lean heavily into portraying him as painfully earnest. After a while, that tone became tedious, and I found myself increasingly disconnected from the character and the world.
In the end, while the story improves over time, the combination of the narration style, the overly detailed writing, and the general tone made the book a difficult listen for me. I don’t plan to continue to Book 2. I suspect the series may find its stride later, but for my tastes, Book 1 just wasn’t enjoyable enough to continue.