The Menocht Loop

The Menocht Loop, Book 1

By: Lorne Ryburn, caerulex

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

Ian Dunai is trapped in the only maze an arch-decemancer can't escape: time.

Only 1 percent of the population is blessed with magic affinity at birth. Fewer still have high enough affinities to rule. Ian’s decemancy eclipses all, granting him ultimate control over Death. He conquers cities with a thought and turns them into ruins with a gesture. But overwhelming power isn’t enough to escape the time loop or reveal its purpose.

When Ian discovers a critical clue that he missed years ago, escape is finally at his fingertips.

Little does he know, he's been stuck on layer one.

©2021 Lorne Ryburn (P)2021 Podium Audio

Love the Layers

wow I love this book and can't wait to go thru the whole series in the next week or 2

Amazing story can't wait for book 2

I heard good things about this story and i had a credit to spend so why not try this. This was totally worth the credit and now im hooked on this series. The MC is OP right off the bat from where we start the story. I enjoyed all the character interactions and everything flows smoothly and doesnt seem forced. The author added depth in the world building which really adds to the whole time loop theme. And i really love his powers of decemancy and how he utilizes them.

For the Performance of the narrator. This is the first time i listen to this narrator and i thought he did a good job. Characters had their own voices and ascents. His speaking never pulled me out of the immersion which i value a lot.

Surprisingly unique and entertaining

I wasn't quite sure what to think going into this book, but I'm very pleasantly surprised. The protagonist feels strangely real in that their attitude is reflective of the trauma that they've endured in the years stuck in the loop. There is a strange detachment, and the thoughts that they have a reminiscent somebody suffering from PTSD. I appreciate the author making this point relevant in the second loop, such as when the protagonist goes to a therapist and the therapists makes it clear that the years of isolation have done a number on him. Obviously there's no real way to fully show the trauma, but it's a far cry better than most other books that completely gloss over traumatic events happening to the protagonist and them taking it in stride like a Sunday afternoon stroll. Anyway, the entire premise of the book is very interesting and I look forward to seeing where it goes. The power progression is a bit skewed because we as the viewers come in towards the end of the year-long struggle of being stuck in the loop, but it's still there. The narrator does a fine job. Their voices for all the other characters seem on point and I have no complaints. Hopefully he stays as the narrator for the rest of the series. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books. I highly recommend!

Loop me!

The Menocht Loop is one of my first loops stories and it has made me want to dive deeper into the sub genre.
I really enjoyed my time getting to learn about Ian and his predicament. The air of mystery is palpable. So much so that I’m gonna go and read the next part of the story on Royal Road.
The audiobook was well done and the performance was top notch. Even with all the new terms being thrown at me I was still able to keep up and eventually understand what was going on. I highly enjoyed my time listening to the story and I’ll probably be keeping an eye out for the next one in the series.
Thank you for the wonderful story, book, and audiobook!

Wow, I wasn't expecting this book to be fantastic

Seriously - give this book a shot.

I'll admit, when I bought this book I didn't expect it to be much more than something to make my drive a little more interesting. As it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised.

The plot is both unique and interesting, the characters are likeable, and the pacing of the story left nothing to be desired.

I was surprised!

So much in such a short book! I really enjoyed this book. Quite a good listen!

Absolutely Phenomenal- Best Time Loop I Ever Read

There wasn't a moment of this book I wasn't fully invested in it. I feel hungry for more and haven't enjoyed a series this much since I started reading Cradle and Bastion. I highly recommend these.

not much of a time loop

it really doesn't feel like much of a time loop due to the fact that the loop amost never repeats itself through the course of the book.
instead it opens with the main character having already having spent years in the loop.
instead the book is more about beating levels, and i can only really recall maybe one or two times that a time loop is actually triggered.
the book reads more like the final book in a Trilogy than the first book of a story

it feels like the author wanted to capitalize on the curent popularity of time loops that was jump started by mother of learning without having to actually write a any time travel into the story, and by the end of the first book he gets free from the loop.
this means that the series isn't going to have anything even remotely time loop related as part of its story structure moving forward.

if you are thinking about geting this book because your looking for a time loop stoy then you should skip it, and read something else instead.
other than the fact that the stories entire premise was basicly a lie it was a perfectly fine story.

This surprised me.

It was much better than the time filler book I got it for. I will be checking the rest of the series out.

Aftermath of a loop... or is it?

I have to admit, I went into this story without reading the description on the strength of the word 'loop' and it took a while to really understand what kind of story this is. Is it about a necromancer - sorry, 'decemancer' - facing down impossible odds with the strength of his loop-granted magical prowess? A story of the afterward, of someone insanely powerful who has faced death on an unprecedented scale and suddenly returns to his mundane life as a student? Or is it something else altogether?

I'm pretty confident in saying, the answer is 'yes'.

While I can see remnants of other looper stories engrained in Menocht's DNA, it very much stands on it's own merits. It is a delightful mix of strong and vulnerable, battle and mystery, character and chaos.

However, there is one fatal flaw which holds this story back from claiming supremacy among the many loops I have read and listened to through the years: it ends too soon. So abruptly I never saw it coming, just chapter end and final credits roll. The major questions of the story remain unanswered, in a cliffhanger so gentle and unobtrusive it feels merely like an absence. I keep feeling like I set down the story partway rather than actually finished it.

I'm not going to say 'don't bother'; the story is fun and I don't regret listening in the slightest. But be aware, if you're looking for a complete and satisfying arc, you may have to wait a while.

If you're one who's fine with lingering uncertainty between books, then this lovely little loop has my full endorsement.