Rise of the Lycanthrope

Crossroads of Fate, Book 1

By: Brock Walker

Narrated by: Samara Naeymi

Joss is an ordinary freshman college student–or she was, until magic irrevocably changed her life.

When her brother is kidnapped and her family murdered, it awakens something deep inside her—something primal. Joss' unwavering resolve to save her brother and deliver retribution leads her to discover a perilous realm, brimming with power, danger, and death.

The realm of the Fae.

But despite the many supernatural dangers, Joss and her best friend Mike discover they are not powerless in this new world. Mike delights in newfound spell-casting abilities as Joss awakens her own dark strength. Her power is something deeper and more feared than any spell....

The power of the Lycanthrope.

However, this new strength brings new enemies. Every decision in this new world is fraught with treachery and betrayal. This realm—governed by magical RPG-like mechanics—is far from safe. Beasts fused with elemental energies, monsters from myth, and terrors of the night all hunt the duo as they try to unravel the secrets of the Fae.

In this world filled with dangerous dominions, bloodthirsty monsters, soul-consuming dungeons, and even deadly flora and fauna, every encounter can mean increased power or a quick end. Joss and Mike venture into the unknown, discovering secrets, leveling their abilities, creating enemies, and disturbing powers better left alone. They do it all in search of the one thing that might prove stronger than the Lycanthrope–Joss’ quest to restore what is left of her once ordinary family.

About the series: Join Joss and Mike as they explore the Fae and the origin of many of Earth’s myths and legends. Growth here is measured by level progression, skill acquisition, abilities, professions, and unique classes. This isekai story is fraught with tension, battle, and high-stakes choices. Joss discovers a path to domination through her powerful lycanthrope ability and her control of a living dungeon that can assist and grow as she levels. Those who like the dark gritty world of the UnderVerse or the home-building mechanics and loot of The Land will find themselves at home within the Fae realm of Tarshook.

©2023 Brock Walker (P)2023 Portal Books

Starts a bit rough, but smooths out by the end

In the beginning the story was somewhat choppy, and slow. Things happening somewhat randomly and individuals not really reacting quite right. It was somewhat off putting and i was afraid that this was going to be another story with an interestimg premise that i would be forced to give up on due to poor writing. However after the MC'S reached the new world things started to dramatically improve. The author still needs to work a bit on their environmental and personal descriptions, felt somewhat like the world was being described by a near sighted person who kept losing and regaing shoes at random with no comment as to how. Fight scenes can be a little too turned based rather than legit free for all. Why does the evil wizard wait until AFTER the mc kills his guards to attack? Tother than that i had no problems. The characters are really likable, and their motivations and morals are certainly sympathetic. All in all i found myself growing more and more attched to this world and am looking forward to what is going to happen next.

P.S. Just to warn those who aren't into personal relationship drama, there seems to be a lot of future foreshadowing of that throughout this book. Nothing really like that in this book, but i have a feeling it will become a thing in the next installments.

better then most of similar books

This was an enjoyable book. The characters seemed more "real" and as if the author didn't need to push the characters to an outlandishness to keep your attention. Granted sometime the main characters (Joss & Mike) where a bit dense or slow to grasp their new reality. But overall think was a reasonable transition from Our world to this Fae world. The hints of future romance was a bit too much, but hay sex sells.

I was hoping the author wouldn't do the standard predictiable current resolution with Joss and the Dark Mage. Saw the happenings int he leaders chambers and the tunnel at end of battle a mile away. Was hoping for a more Lycanthrope result in the leaders chambers than the human one.

Pretty good!

Over all I enjoyed this book a great deal. The only bad thing I have to say is that sometimes the story dragged a bit. We didn't need nearly as much time on the prisoner/torture part. I get that you wanted to mirror the time spent with the other character but it was unnecessarily drug out and who wants to hear about that kind of stuff in detail?

Anyway other than that it was great!

Enjoyable

This story was a nice spin on something we are all familiar with. I will say that as it progressed I started to enjoy some of the side characters more than the MC. She did make a strong return in my eyes but, I could almost stand another series from her companions pov all the way through.

Like listening to a movie

This is my first lit-RPG audiobook. Loved the fantasy world (prompts in general were new to me, but folded in to the story well) and unexpected creatures and their interpersonal connections/storylines. Seriously cannot believe the narrator did all those voices. Definitely felt like I was listening to a movie, it was descriptive I’m invested in what comes next. Can’t wait for book 2 and other books to come from Brock Walker!

Great story- I’m hooked.

This book draws you into the story right away. I loved all the characters and the narrator did an amazing job with all the different voices she could perform. The book keeps you drawn in the whole time and I didn’t really feel there was a dull moment in the book. I can’t wait for the author’s next books in the series to become available.

Great book

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book, interesting characters, interesting concept , translated into an exciting story. The narrator brings the story to life, she has an amazing range in voices, and kept me engaged in the book.

Few Chapters in and I can’t take it

The MC is the issue. She’s painfully unlikeable. The writing is clunky and overly descriptive. Prolog has a character mentioning no less than 3 times that she’s there on a mission from the Queen. No, she doesn’t elaborate, she just mentions it.

I’ll keep reading and hope it gets better.

paint by numbers teen drama with a litrpg spin

Not to bad probably better for YA listeners. Supposedly the chars are in college but they act like children so much teenage drama and angst. The world building story and litrpg aspects were solid but teen drama and torture were a bit drawn out and excessive for me.

Excellent start to a new series!

The story moves along quite nicely. The characters are intriguing and reacts somewhat like what you’d expect in those situations.
It’s a captivating story and I’m really looking forward to the continuation.
The narrator does a great job in pulling us in and keeping us engaged throughout.