Ash Forged: An Urban Fantasy LitRPG

Death Smith, Book 2

By: Joost Lassche, Osirium Writes

Narrated by: Tim Campbell

A young man possessing the ability to reforge the dead embarks on a quest for justice that crosses the line into revenge—and threatens to corrupt his soul.

For more than a decade, Earth has been plagued by black spheres known as Rifts that form in towns and cities without warning and transport people to alien landscapes where monstrous creatures hunt them mercilessly. Anyone lucky enough to escape returns home with an unusual side effect: supernatural powers coursing through their bodies from white crystal shards fused to their chests. With abilities ranging from uncanny agility and strength to immeasurable spell crafting, these Rifters are warriors and mages, battling extraterrestrials whenever a Rift appears.

Lance Turner was once a nurse at a hospital in London, England, dedicated to saving lives. Now, he is a particular kind of Rifter known as a Death Smith, capable of reforging and controlling the dead. It is a power he channeled when he tried to revive his best friend, Thomas Walker, only to create a barely sentient corpse who obeys his commands. Rechristening him Ash, Lance embarks on Rift missions to practice wielding his otherworldly talents, meanwhile training his undead companion to fight monsters.

Because Lance has a mission of his own. Forging Ash into an indestructible weapon, he will stop at nothing to see the three Rifters responsible for Thomas's death pay for their crimes. But as Lance resurrects more beasts to join his undead army, he risks losing his very humanity to the vengeful darkness consuming him . . .

The second volume of the hit LitRPG fantasy series—with more than 350,000 views on Royal Road—now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible!

©2024 Joost Lassche (P)2024 Podium Audio

Great story continues

Book 2 of this new LitRPG series. The concept is terrific; the characters seem genuine and the pacing flows smoothly, the point of view smoothly focuses the listener in a natural way. You're definitely engaged throughout the story and while the story does provide the stats, the story is not stat heavy like other LitRPGs. The narrator is fantastic and definitely brings the characters to life.

As others have mentioned the book (like book 1) runs on the shorter side and leaves you feeling like you just listened to the novella instead of a full novel. But it's definitely focused on the MC learning his power and the world. if you want a good LitRPG story and characters, spend the credit.