The Runesmith's Trials

The Secrets of Giantskarl Mountain, Book 1

By: Andrew Karevik

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

This is it, the day I take over my father’s adventuring shop!

Set at the base of Gianskarl mountain, where lies a vast and mysterious dungeon, this is the perfect spot. Many adventurers come to try their hand at the Karl in the hopes of hitting it big. And it’s up to me now to sell them the equipment they’ll need to face the dangers that await them.

But where my father was content selling trinkets for a pittance, I want to turn this modest shop into the industry leader. Heck, I want to make a fortune out of it so I can help grow my poor village, Karlton, into a thriving city and accomplish my dream of building New Valley.

To help me in this endeavor, I can count on my skills as a Level 1 Runesmith. My plan is simple enough: inscribe the items I sell with various enchantments to improve their stats and command higher prices. There’s just one tiny little problem. See, my shelves are pretty much empty. I have no inventory and I also miss the scrive I would need to create the runes in the first place. To add insult to injury, that scrive ought to be fashioned from a magical beast’s body parts; the more magical, the better. And I just happen to know exactly where to get such a rare find: in the boneyard of Giants, resting within the dungeon.

Yep, seems like the only way for me to kick start my new venture is to delve into that death trap in search of items to sell and the magical bone for my scrive. But there’s a reason no one from our village dares to enter the foreboding place. As I’ll soon find out, the Karl is home to all manner of strange creatures and spirits that will not hesitate one second to turn you into their next lunch. One thing is certain, I will need all the skills I learned as an apprentice Runesmith to succeed in my mission and come back alive.

But hey, who said the life of a shopkeeper was a peaceful and uneventful one?

©2023 LitRPG Freaks (P)2023 Podium Audio

Mixed Feelings

I have to agree with the other reviews in that the sex scenes where wildly unnecessary, but thankfully not overwhelming gratuitous. They were just unnatural and felt forced, so much so that it wouldn’t hurt to hire a consultant before trying to write a scene like those again.

solid book

only complaint is some transitions to a different scene were abrupt. other than that it was a good listen.

the magic system is very interesting and the characters feel alive.

The rune magic is very interesting and I like the world so far. the characters are well written and feel real

Great story overall

Super annoying how the MC use diplomacy to solve all his problems. Barely any action. Decent for background noise in my opinion .

Puerile sex scenes / romance plot

What was a pretty decent book got painfully derailed by sex scenes that sounded like they were written by a 14 year old boy. Aside from the ridiculousness of the *how* he got the millennia old “girl” there’s the scenes themselves which had to have been squeezed in with a crowbar. Awkward and I feel sorry for the narrator … also, if this is the final draft, it’s a little scary to think about what got edited out.

Story with a lot of potential

The concept and core of the story is interesting a d has a great deal of potential to it. However the intimate scenes are awkward and don't make a bit of sense at best. The book would have been much better without them. The MC needs some work as well as some of how the world interacts with him (basically he is incredibly entitled and a shitty friend, etc.) Everyone praises him for being a terrible person and lands his genius and character eventhough he is basically using everyone openly. Also he makes terrible decisions with terrible logic to match and the story/world building praises him for it. Also, the progression system needs work as there are a good of inconsistencies and clunky parts to it.

A slice of life

I love fantasy stories I love isekia’s the most but what I enjoy most is a story that can both be a fantasy and touch on real life feeling and emotions. Sometimes stories can have so much going on that they only highlight on instinctual emotions and forget what makes character so interesting. That’s who they are and what they believe. This kid has a dream and I feel it even if it’s made up I’m rooting for him.

Everyone blew the sex scenes out of proportion.

The romance isnt at all overbearing like in some books that completely focus on a side character who adds nothing to the plot. The sex scenes werent evern that overbearing. I think this is the next best form the author. As always you can expect some decent town building, character development, and stats. This is an awsome book and definately a new sieries im going to be following closely.

well written with some issues

the story overall was good. the pacing was nice, but some if not most chapters just stopped very abruptly. also, i found the sex scenes unnecessary. this was kinda going on sounding YA, then sex scene. I get the MC is 24, but acted 16. theses sections really were incongruent and felt bolted on.

overall not bad, just not my thing and I probably won't listen to anything else with the author.

good read, solid narration...

been reading Andrew's 📚 now for a while, he has the ability to give life to his characters... this book was no exception.. looking forward to the next book in the series 😀