Frenemies

A LitRPG Adventure (Tower of Jack, Book 2)

By: Sean Loomer

Narrated by: Johnathan McClain

Jack Atlas: twice as cocky, insufferable, and neck-deep in the Tower—AKA the divine death trap.

Stuck in a dungeon meticulously designed to ruin their lives in the most entertaining way possible, Jack and his best friend, Hannah, are outnumbered and outmatched by monsters with questionable ethics. Jack knows he should be fighting for his life, but where’s the fun in that? Instead, he’s decided to charm the dungeon’s nastiest creatures, turning enemies into reluctant allies, and allies… let’s just say things get complicated.

A civil war is raging outside the dungeon, where things have gone from bad, to ‘the world’s literally on fire’. On one side is his ex-mentor, Rodeo—a guy who makes violating the Geneva Conventions look like a hobby. On the other, his ‘we’re totally over but let’s not rule out hate-flirting’ ex, Sarah, who’s leading the good guys with the moral superiority of a saint and the firepower of a dragon.

Jack’s got a simple plan. Escape the dungeon, avoid getting eaten, or betrayed—or both—figure out whether Sarah wants to kill him or kiss him, and just maybe land a solid punch on Rodeo’s smug face. All before happy hour, because, priorities.

©2024 Sean Loomer (P)2024 Mountaindale Press

Great sequel

This was a solid follow-up act to the first but. I really enjoy the dungeon delving nature of the series. The main character is interesting and more complex than he first appears. The narration was very well done.

I don't like Sam

I enjoyed the story, I just don't like how Sam betrays the people who trusted him the most.

The second act was just wow

I was on the fence for this series. I enjoyed the first book, it was a decent setup and I personally liked Jack's character; but the overall story didn't really hook me.

When I finished book 1, book 2 coincidentally comes out the next day. I thought, "Sure, why not?"

I'll be honest, the first act left me wanting, being stuck in dungeons for prolong periods of time always bore me. They always feel like filler, something to just provide a convient way forthe characters to power up whether by physically, spiritually, mentally, or a mixture of all three.

Then the 2nd act started at the half way point, and it was just...wow.

I honestly have no idea how the author is going to top or even just maintain the level of entertainment I felt listening to the second act of this book, because wow, it was such an excellent payoff.

I am definitely hooked, and excited for book 3 because...wow the writing through the 2nd act of this book was just so good.

These are the type of stories I love, the ones that make me feel, and this one made feel alot of things, and it was just wow.

Of course, the narrator is a personal favorite of mine, and of course he did excellent work here as well; so there's that too.

Amazing

Dear god. The best book 2 I’ve ever heard. I cannot wait for the rest of this series. Easily in my top 3 now.

My new favorite

This is turning out to be an absolutely amazing story, Sam and jack now have a masterful set up to become absolute monsters. Sam because he has guilt and accountability to not be a naive kid and jack has a goal with nothing holding him back.
The first book and half of this book I only thought this was a fun new take on a tower series, now I’m emotionally invested and feel like the end of this book was the real start.

Sam sucks, took a star off for him

I get who he says he wants to be but he just ends up being kind of a crappy friend. He has such an easy time letting go or forgetting the crappy stuff he does when what he is doing will hurt them. But if it’s anyone else, then he actually feels bad.



He is treated like a child because he has the emotional maturity and intelligence of one. He is like that guys who will dump all of his friends cause he has a shot at the popular table. That is his whole thing but dressed up.

Sam is annoying because he isn’t a real person. He is a few entitled and childish ideas that everyone around him is responsible for. He is like a more fake Jack in that sense. Everyone sees him the same exact way. Like a child. But his a grown enough man that was involved in carefully planning murders. Get off your high horse and stop selling your friends out. It’s crazy how loyal Jack and Hannah are given how easily he sells them out.

With almost no effort or justification, he is also one of the most stacked characters shown. He has the most broken core and abilities while being knowledgeable on all the tropes for this world but he is just okay. Everything come VERY easily to him. For all his grandstanding, he is more of a child than Jack. Literally just does what he feels like doing while whining about Jack and Hannah doing the same thing.

And given the circumstances and backstory, both Sam and Sarah are acting with intentional blinders. But it is WAY more understandable and let vicious from Sarah’s perspective.


TLDR;
Seriously, Sam is kind of a a pos friend. I just dislike how his kind of weaponized “ignorance” is played off as inevitable and just the natural course. Like being “good” means you can crap on people if you say it is for the greater good. Sam was completely selfish about his dreams and was more than willing to sell his friends out for them.

What is even more annoying is how completely loyal Jack and Hannah are. It’s a weird plot armor that doesn’t make sense. Hannah doesn’t care about being betrayed? Sam was the story’s golden boy. Literally spoiled by everyone. He even talks like an 8 yr old. And no one even holds him accountable. So I guess he actually gets treated more softly then a child. At least someone who say, hey you did that thing.

So I’m glad it was easy to remember when this happened. Sarah’s order in chapter 50 was disgusting and selfish. It’s like she didn’t consider them people whose feelings mattered. The whole thing is something she shouldn’t be putting someone through but to make them act that way? Disgusting. Get over yourself.