Age of Conquest

Rise of Mankind, Book 8

De: Jez Cajiao

Narrado por: Neil Hellegers

The divine war is over, but humanity's greatest battle is just beginning....

In the aftermath of a divine level conflict, Matt and his people need to unite a fractured world against a rapidly closing invasion. The Orcan are coming, and only a united front stands a chance against their savage might.

But unity is a hard thing to achieve in a world still reeling from apocalyptic change. As Matt strives to forge alliances and build a coalition strong enough to face the looming threat, he finds that humanity's old vices—greed, ambition, and short-sightedness—may prove deadlier than any alien force.

With time running out and options dwindling, a fateful decision is made. The Age of Conquest has begun.

Now, Matt and his people have to navigate a treacherous world where yesterday's allies could become tomorrow's enemies. He'll need to master the delicate balance between diplomacy and force, weighing the cost of peace against the price of victory.

In a world where dungeons shape the land and power can corrupt even the noblest intentions, can Matt unite humanity before it's too late?

Or will the Age of Conquest spell the end of mankind's rise?

©2025 Jez Cajiao (P)2025 Tantor Media

The thing with Thor kinda bothered me

Just going to start and say that I really enjoy this story but Matt’s hole deal with Thor is just weird and his outbursts was unnecessary and kinda dumb.

Love the progression!

So overall the book was great, let me get that out of the way. The only thing I could complain about is at times the “meetings” of the leadership could go on and on and on. So it would bounce back and fourth from long long planning to some kick ass combat.

Love this series BUT……

Ok let me just preface this by saying I’m in love with this series. I genuinely believe that it’s the most underrated series in the LitRPG space. I put it up there with DCC, HWFWM, Primal hunter, and Cradle. That being said there is one thing about it that I have always HATED. The MCs relationship with the Raiju has always been annoying to me. It’s always felt like an irrational and irritating waste. Here we are 8 books in and he’s still exploding in a fit of rage every time he sees it. I thought by now he’d be begrudgingly calling the thing master by now, and theyd have a “he’s an asshole, but he’s my asshole” type of relationship. I don’t know it just seems dumb to me to have such a badass possible familiar but instead you spend the whole time raging at it nonsensically.

This book shows why you shouldn't pick a fight with the Sepenear

Round 1... Fight
Add. Cat people not furry are intens and still enjoy cool battle poses.

heck yea

the first 10 chapters are trash. after that, this is my favorite book in the series

Tiger Sensei!?

I really enjoy this. The ongoing sarcasm/witty banter in response to sudden violent changes at the end of the world. The expansion of the dungeon parallels the advancement of our main party’s abilities and understandings grow. The tension between time to consolidate gains and address the next threat makes the problems feel real and relatable. The magic system is still fun to explore but its softer aspects sometimes underwhelm solution of the tension. I want more on the god stuff and tiger folk and group success rather than just Matt great story overall. Voice actor is dope!

I Really want to Love this Series!

I really love the concept of this series. There are so many awesome ideas in this book. The reason I gave the story a 3 is because of the plot holes and the ridiculous sex scenes.

From a plot perspective—why is the dungeon not secured? After the first intrusion, any reasonable person would have implemented protections to ensure it couldn’t happen again. Once the kids were threatened, internal security measures should have been a given. Why does the team continue to openly discuss security matters? Why are potential threats, like the London government officials, invited to a dungeon event where they can speak freely with other dungeons, question every potential lie, or even try to recruit a dungeon from another source?

Why are outsiders allowed to roam around freely? There's a person who can see the skills and classes of others—why isn't that ability integrated into a focal orb so everyone entering the dungeon is scanned? There are just too many details being left to chance, especially considering how many military types are part of the team. Yet they continue to YOLO everything, then get angry when someone acts out.

Also, why does an IT-type character absolutely hate his notifications? That’s just not believable. Of all the characters, Matt should be excited to go through his notifications and strategize ways to improve himself and his people. Instead, it's constantly portrayed as a chore he’d rather avoid.

And honestly—does the author have the mindset of a teenage boy addicted to sex? Are the leaders adults or children? It’s incredibly off-putting to have a story centered around the survival of the human race, while the characters can't even make it through an important meeting without being distracted by sex.

All that said, I still give it 4 stars—I really do love the core ideas behind the story.

Awesome as ever

Thanks Jez, another great chapter in this GREAT Series. Can't wait for the next! Keep them coming.

Just wow

Such an incredible story, I love the joking between mat and Chris, always makes me laugh, the flow of the story is incredible and Neil’s vocal range is just crazy, 10/10 every time with this series

Setup of antagonist cringe

I like the series, and I'll finish the book eventually, but the setup of the antagonist situation in the second and third chapter is so contrived it's cringe.

Not because of the situation, but because of how all the characters respond to it, "OMG someone didn't negotiate in good faith with us, attacked us, demanded to imprison, possibly execute our friends, and we killed them, omg how could we have done such a thing, we all should have known better, we better give them everything they need to continue to antagonize us and threaten us, because this was all our fault."