Mark of the Crijik, Books 1-4

A LitRPG Adventure

De: ThinkTwice

Narrado por: Neil Hellegers

Hours of epic LitRPG Action await in Books 1-4 of the Mark of the Crijik Series.

A warrior reborn. An enemy fueled by death. A fight for humanity.

Andross Silver had a nice life... Until he was pushed off a building and found himself in a new world.

Reborn into a family that wants to kill him, gifted with a System, and armed with determination, Andross must rise to the challenges of a strange new world he suddenly finds himself in.

His only blessing is the Mark of the Crijik, a magical gift from a divine being that bestows great powers onto those that possess it.

It also kills them at the age of twenty five.

Andross must master magic to help him carve a path to greatness, and overcome the countdown of death that has been placed upon him.

Experience this Isekai LitRPG Adventure Series about an unexpected hero coming of age in his new home, progressing in power and abilities as he unlocks the secrets of magic and a System that may not be as trustworthy as it seems.

©2024, 2025 Aethon Books (P)2025 Aethon Audio

barely a litrpg

Calling this series a litrpg is a bit of a stretch, the aspects of it ARE there, just barely, but they don't really hold any relevance to the story. This series would be much better titled as a fantasy drama. It's not bad, just not what I was looking for.

This book bundle is just AwesomeSauce! You need to it for your collection!

For a book bundle I always write separate reviews for each book,

1) Mark of the Crijik

I pretty much jumped into this litRPG without any expectations of what I was getting into, I only knew that it had a weird title and that Neil Hellegers had a great voice, which is well suited for voicing a litRPG.
And wow, I wasn't wrong. Neil Hellegers was great and Crijik was a weird title and along with that title was a very weird beginning. But I was curious enough about the Mark of the Crijik that I continued listening. It's definitely a Isekai adventure as Andross Silver falls to his death, he's reborn as a baby with no ability, but still retaining
all his memories... only in this body he can't even hold up his head, walk, or talk... and I found myself likin' it more and more!

Here's some quotes that I found amusing...

"I'm not afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens."

"Ouch, you hit me below the diaper."

"I even had to work in tech support."

"Finally, a good reason to punch a toddler in the face."

2) Koshima Academy

The Mark of the Crijik is one of the most unique Isekai litRPG that I've ever read. And it's not being reincarnated into a system world. That's a trademark of the isekai adventure, but to be dumped into the system as an infant is new. So here's Andross Silver, man with all his memories intact, he finds he has to power up quickly, just so he can communicate, and with that grow up his body too. So by 3 he looks like a 13 year old. Albeit a very powerful thirteen year old at that. And he's ready to head off to school. My they grow up fast... I ❤ academy books. Another thing ThinkTwice does that's different is their pacing is subdued/slower than I'm use too or generally like, but I still find myself mesmerized by the tale.
So grab the audiobook and let Neil Hellegers the voice performer, tell you Andross Silver, and Gold his bird companion's story as they attend the magical school, wearing the mark of the Crijik.

I noticed that in one review someone thought that the chapter headings were onerous. I found them hilarious... 😂 here's a couple of the best.

"There's nothing better than a friend, unless it's a friend with chocolate."

"This will pass like a kidney stone, but it will still pass."

"I welcome change as long as nothing is altered or different."

"Whatever you do, always give 100%, unless you're donating blood."

"I didn't hit you, I high-fived your face."

3) Gesti Sky

What a great read. After the terrible fight with the monster Oubliez, at the end of bk2. Andross managed to gain his class and that in itself was peculiar and interesting. His grandma decided that it was high time for he and his friends to take a break, just to recover, to relax, and have some fun at what amounted to a magical amusement park the Gesti Sky, to take in the rides. Little did they know that wasn't all they were in for.
So yeah grab the audiobook of this character-driven litRPG then sit back and let Neil Hellegers tell you a story...

Here's just one of those chapter headings:

Tactics are like bricks, you can build a strategy with them or sink a dead body in a lake.

4) Burning Lake

Wow, another great read! This book introduces a new very fun character Kyle, read the book to see what I mean. And it's full of action as Andross Silver steps up, and joins in on the school tournaments. Inorder to win his chance to go to the Burning Lake for a treasure hunt. Nothing is a given at the Burning Lake. And even though it's being chaperoned, it holds unfathomable dangers as well as treasure. But Andross Silver and friends motto is "you're a looser, if you don't take a chance." Only this time it bites 'em in the rear. With Gerial’s life on the line, it turns into a life and death struggle to make it to safety.
And this story is the perfect reason for getting the book bundle, whether you get it in ebook, or audio format. What you'll have is 4 great books for a single price. And Burning Lake the best book, is saved for last!!! The best part is that ThinkTwice isn't done!

Different but the same

There is nothing wrong with being different. New takes on already established tropes can be very fun. So I’m not criticizing the different take on things but I will say some hit different. Many of these type of stories can spend up to a character in the characters original life. Setting up personalities and character motivations before the reincarnation. This story took less than a paragraph to setup the original life and then the character dies and is reincarnated. It seemed… empty.

There is a system but it’s rarely is brought up. When it is made more prevalent in the story, it’s just pad the story as the main character looks at their status screen and reads off stats.

The main character is in a world we’re powerful magic ages babies dramatically. So our hero is physically 12 years old who me year after his rebirth. He starts magic high school with a mix of teenage toddlers and regular teens.

All this is to say that this isn’t your typical reincarnation system story. It is interesting and pulls you in and tends to zig when you think the story is about to zag.

If you want a more traditional rehash of this kind of system story, you will probably be disappointed. If you like new twists on established story lines, you will very much enjoy this series.

Looking forward to more!

This is a fun fantasy story. Very light on the stats portion of the LitRPG. The MC is strong without being overpowered. Interesting twist with the Isekai having to start over as a baby is different and leads to some amusing moments. Great listening value for a single credit! Looking forward to more in the series as it isn't over yet!

Disclaimer: I was given a review copy for free and have voluntarily left this review.

Improvement over Book 3

I already purchased Books, 1-3 separately but decided to purchase the 1-4 Publisher's Pack to listen to Book 4. In all, I enjoyed the book, it moved the story significantly. There are a few twists and the end of the novel finishes with what wold rightly be called an epic boss fight; although, it was drawn out more than I liked and the ending of the battle was a bit deus ex machina-ish. Still, I plan to continue on with the series.

Neil Hellegers', as expected, performed extremely well,

The chapter headings are hilarious

All in all i loved this Bundle.
Sometimes it drags a bit but overall it's a great storie.
Can't wait to see how it develops.

reincarnated as a demi-god, what could go wrong

Andross Silver died on earth only to find he is now a baby on a similar word that lives by magic. soon he learns he has been marked by Crijik (a god). he grows quickly, but can't live past 25. Follow him & his sidekick Gold, a puffer bird as they progress through this world & meet all sorts of wonderful friends . give it a listen you will be happy you did.

Main characters journey isn't just the same old story you see in every other litrpg

Loved it. Fun and unique take on the genre. Way less repetitive use of giant and tedious stat upgrades to pad out each chapter.

Incredible book/series and well worth your credit

Favourite Moment: Finally getting to talk
Funniest Moment: Dragon baby

This book follows the life of the MC from the moment of their birth in the start of the new world to the point they enter high school. The MC is self aware, does not do dumb stuff for dumb stuff sakes, and LEARNS from their mistakes and experiences. If you are after a well thought out, well executed Isekai/LitRPG then you will not be wasting your credit on this 50 HOUR! adventure.

At the time of this writing, book 5 is out, and is also an additional 20+ hours of content to draw you in even more.
Finally, the author has another series in the making, in the same universe which I am about to pick up, look up "The Root of All Evil by ThinkTwice" which is also another 20+ hours of content. Frankly, this is an author I can get behind.

Not a fan

Some potential, but rushed. Not a fan of the setting. It's like a poor Lovecraft world. The magic makes me think druids. Also, where is the skills? They get mention, but it's more cultivator instead of system.