Path of the Divine (Way of the Immortals #1) by Harmon Cooper

Path of the Divine (Way of the Immortals #1) Reviews

• 
  James

  A new twist on wuxia cultivation.
  
  I received a advance copy of this book for a honest review of it. Overall I enjoyed the book and really liked how the author worked to make this series unique to their own quirks and experiences. The pacing was good and I was truly surprised by the author's spin on the Tropes that I was expecting. The MC was interesting and fun to read about and he made me laugh at the antics he got into. The reincarnation aspect of this book was a new twist on the genre to me and made me look forward to seeing how this would play out in future books. Overall I give it a 4.5out of 5rounded up.
• 
  J

  Wastes interesting scenes with bad telling. Like how it just says a spark of electricity exploded, or they were just suddenly on a breakwater. Don't tell me the character is on a breakwater, show it to me--describe what happens around them, and I promise your readers can figure it out.
  
  The action isn't well constructed either, which is a problem in a wuxia/xianxia. This is related to the telling problem.
• 
  Paulo

  Very poor plot. The idea was a common trope which I've seen done well often. The problem here is execution, mainly how everything seems to go the MC way, all abilities are either innate or easily learned and he's a bit of a clueless idiot.
• 
  Mahesh

  The second half made this book a good read
  
  The first 40% of the book is literally cringe. And i hated it but stick with it and it didn't disappoint. The story gets a lot better when a talking bird comes into the picture. Now I'm intrigued to read the second book.
• 
  Kay

  What a book!
  
  I so loved this. I've not read anything in this genre before, so this was a new thing for me. I not only loved the story, but also the wee explanatory chapter at the back of the book containing some historical information, the author's experiences, and how these fit into the tale. One in particular will make you laugh out loud! It's amazing the things that have gone on, and still go on now. It's fascinating.
  
  This book actually took my breath away. It's beautiful, heartfelt, and full of Buddhist imagery which I enjoy very much. Needless to say that there are quite a few lessons to be learned between these pages. The reincarnation parts of the story intrigue me a lot, and I'm looking forward to reading more about it.
  
  Having said all that, at the heart of this is a man called Nick. Drawn into a place and time that he has no understanding of. Yet he, and other characters, build on, and positively change their natures. It's wonderful to see. The action scenes are fabulous, and the humour giggle-tastic. Before any males think, "Oh, this is just a female book.", you couldn't be more mistaken. But, yes, this is a review from only a female perspective.
  
  This is an outstanding piece of work, in my humble opinion, that's a wee bit 'off the track' from the author's usual books, and I love that it is based on Cooper's own understanding and lore evidence.
  
  I WANT MORE! Write faster, please (if that's at all possible...)
  
  I chose this from a larger selection, which I then voluntarily read and honestly reviewed. All opinions are my own.
• 
  Stephen Morley

  It’s a nope
  
  Didn’t enjoy this book. The start should have of stopped me from finishing but I foolishly pushed forward all the way to the end.
  
  The set up just doesn’t work for me. Authors sometimes make the intro to their book so fast paced because they want the reader to gloss over the weak points to their plots. Their were too many holes for me at the beginning that ruined any enjoyment I could have found at the end.
• 
  Scott

  Magical Kung Fu Fantasy
  
  This one is a bit different from Coopers usual style , the main hero is simliar as is some of the intriguing characters i have found to keep you hooked on his books, but this takes less of a tech route and more the mystical Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon feel to martial arts, and the mysticism of it all in a fantasy world.
  There is still the elements of level up as you progress the understanding of this all but its surprisingly good reading with a bit of tame sex glossed over.
  Probably suitable for YA and above im looking forward to the next in the series.
  Ps the Blurb at the back is quite intriguing as well
  
• 
  Frank Bertino

  Karma
  
  Nick is sucked through a portal to another planet along with his friends. He is disoriented as he doesn't know where he is. After suffering through several problems, he begins to find some enlightenment and power. Nick is an interesting character since he doesn't see himself as hero. I look forward to the next book.
• 
  Em

  Wuxia LitRPG. I like the infusion of principles from Buddhism but doesn’t pass the Bechdel test. Definitely feels written by a dude for dudes.
• 
  Pablo García

  A teleportation-worm-hole shows up at a Bachelor Party of 5 guys... without any reasons, without common sense, logic or any science, then, these 5 guys (that aren't even friends or family) get sent to another world (called Lhasa), that has cultivation, magic and an inexplicable tendency towards having sex with strangers, spiritual and ghost orgies and possessions, and other weird sexual liaisons. So this is an isekai (teleported to another world) fantasy novel series. It has so many plot holes and so little character and world development, it would have been a better comic, manga, manhwa, story (where illustrations and action are more important than writing and common sense)...
  The main character, Nick Barnette, has the strangest "landing into another world ever"...and nobody explains anything (to the travelers/wanderers/isekai-ed ones) but they all understand and speak English in this other World (Lhasa)...Then, main character understands Chinese calligraphy "hànzì" or "Han Characters" from the runes (tattoos, scrolls and wall writings) and he barely speaks and understands English (only Tom spoke Spanish, but Spanish is not spoken or understood in Lhasa)...or has ever been out of his Massachusetts State or Country.
  This story does not have main plot arc or subsequent arcs. The story isn't really going anywhere. Nick wants to find Tom, and in the Goodreads summary of this book (apparently wants to go home).
  The five isekai-ed guys have not gotten together since the Bachelor Party. Main character has gotten more "action" in this alternate world (Lhasa), than back home...Yes! This story actually has a pair of sisters have a sexual assault encounter with the main character in the beginning of this story.
  So if you like random sexual encounters and stories that do not make any sense, this story might be for you... One of the five guys at the Bachelor Party is considered an enemy by the main character, so there isn't really a reason why those 5 guys went to this Bachelor Party at all...Nick runs away and leaves his friend to get captured by soldiers at the beginning of being in this other world. So not even the main character, Nick, is a good friend to Tom (the one that was getting married to Lidsay Hale and having the Bachelor Party). So with friends like these, who needs "Dragon-like serpents", "rapist sisters" or "carnivorous tree-beings" to spoil your travels to another world?
  This story is supposedly about "cultivation" but has no martial arts training, no meditation, no real cultivation, not even the alchemy that supports cultivation with homeopathic pills that clear the organism, etc... So, how can Nick get good at martial arts and magic if he never practices any of it?
• 
  A Shrimp

  DNF 75%
  
  It reads like a 14-year-old's first D&D campaign - complete with a ton of weirdly named mc guffins, lacking focus, constant over the top fight scenes and weirdly sexually aggressive women around every corner. Sloppy writing, unbelievable plot, constant magical items with cringeworthy names. The main character is apparently something called "the golden one" - I cringed every time that one was mentioned.
  
  The worst part about it is the main character's random super power (that's basically what it is) that just serves as the cheapest deus ex machina imaginable. Due to the randomness of when it triggers, the author has full reign over whether or not the character gets randomly saved, depending on whether its convenient to the "plot". It's also just kind of boring to have a main character with no talents except a magical power that saves his ass through no fault of his own.
  
  None of the characters are interesting or at all likable. I just wanted all of them to go away, including the MC and the super flat monk sidekick whose only somewhat fleshed out character trait is being overweight.
  
  Not to mention that some nerd and a science teacher immediately get hired by one of the world's leaders into leading positions. I just don't buy any of it.
  
  And let's not get started on the way the author writes female characters, holy hell. The character who I'm assuming is supposed to be a love interest to the MC is running around in "scantily clad" armor (that is super magical though, so it's okay) and literally is described as having a "pink aura".
  
  There have been two incredibly awful sex scenes in the book so far. And when I say awful, I truly mean it - just incredibly shitty. I have no idea why they are there. The main character, for some unfathomable reason, doesn't care about pregnancy - both times of course the women want to get pregnant by him (power fantasy much?) and he just goes with it, not even thinking about that tiiiiny detail. How am I supposed to like a character like that, seriously!?
  
  Don't bother with this, it's not worth your time.
• 
  Scott

  This is a new genre for Cooper but i had read a lot of his newer stuff and i liked the karmic and emotional draw of his writing path. Having travelled that way in his travels the realism was very good and worked well against all the films i used to regularly watch.
  This is almost a return to the past and it works surprisingly well and i was excited to hear this audio, Hellegers had done previous work on Coopers House of Dolls series so i expected good things. 
  The karmic path of cultivation was done very well and Nick the MC is much what i imagined. The character who i liked the best was Roger on the audio and he was better at quips than i managed in my head so good work all round.
  I will be back for further listening on this and it gets my stamp of approval.
• 
  A G

  This was my first foray into the cultivation fantasy. I enjoyed it greatly. The idea of cultivation (performing tasks to strengthen powers) is not a new one to literature, but this subgenre takes it to a higher level. And Harmon Cooper does it well. The story flowed well and sets up well for the next in the series.
  
  Lovers of gamelit, litrpg, dungeoncore, and other similar genres will enjoy. However, as a boon to those who find stats and leveling tedious, the book offers clear progression without defining those increases.
  
  Started on book two immediately.
• 
  Danny Moody

  Fun progressive portal fantasy with a hint of wuxia. The plot was fast paced full of interesting challenges. The premise is familiar but almost novel in an almost comical fashion. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and look forward to exploring the next one.
• 
  Randy Harmelink

  I liked the story and the characters, but too many times where I had to go back a page or two because a scene wasn't turning out the way I had originally envisioned it from the writing.
• 
  James Riley

  Really good
  
  I really enjoyed this book. It grabbed on and never let up. There are quite a few very humorous parts.
  
  I highly recommend.
• 
  M

  IMPORTANT *** Author is not COMPLETING this series. Don't bother wasting your time. It was great story but Harmon has abandoned this series.
• 
  Eric Davis

  Fun book.
• 
  Richard

  I tried I really did but I could not get through the book long enough to understand the magic system or get a grasp on the World building. I kept getting pulled out of the story because every time someone asked him where he was from he said Massachusetts instead instead of Earth or u.s.a. what really made me hate the main character is that after he was shown sufficient evidence that they were not on Earth anymore and that the natives were hostile to anyone who was foreign, clueless and or defenseless. he acts like he's unable to pick up social cues or lacks a self-preservation instinct. after almost being killed by the first 4 people you meet, you think the next people you meet will be different because they didn't try to kill you after they become aware of your presence. at the point where the old man said you should impregnate with my both my daughters just because you saved my daughter's life no marriage no nothing . No. just. NO. no Earthling is that gullible (i hope). I mean you saved my daughter's life, and now I shall now allow you to impregnate both my Virgin daughters as a sign of my thanks. P.s. they drugged him and enslaved him immediately after they where finished with him.
• 
  Andrew Saunders

  Couldn't keep going..
• 
  Liquid Frost

  A small group of friends get sucked into a portal and land in a new world. Immediately, they are separated; each on their own journey or perhaps already dead. The protagonist, Nick Barnette, has a long arc waiting. Readers follow his tale as he tries to figure out where he is and find his friends. This in itself is a storyline. However, that would be rather dull.
  
  So, it takes the backseat. Nick just happens to have some major Matrix-esq powers in this world. Time slows considerably when he is in turmoil. He can’t control this power, but it definitely helps keep him alive. And he will need it. From evil spirits, slavers, drug-lords, and mystical animals, Nick Barnette is in for the fight of his life.
  
  He can speak to animals in this world (or at least two). He befriends a bird, Roger, who is the comic-relief in this adventure. Nick escapes slavery and finds a monastery where he befriends Lhandon, a portly monk. It is here that Nick begins his path of enlightenment – to control and enhance his new powers in this land: the Kingdom of Lhasa.
  
  The first installment provides foundation, character introduction, growth, and several bits of action. It definitely leaves the door open for more books, but still provides a fun story to entice continued reading.
  
  Read November 2019. ARC Provided
• 
  Clinton Stanturf

  I'm not sure how I feel about this book part of me like individualism and uniqueness of this book there not many like it. The one plus side is the MC is not dumb however everyone else seems to be to the point of insanity and the other part of me is kinda annoyed with the book if I'm being honest. It's a very conflicting book in my opinion.
  
  The basis of the story is intriguing but it's filled with the MC repeating the same thing over and over that he's from Massachusetts as well as other comments like that it was just a bit much for me to enjoy it I get it the MC keeps meeting new people however repeating the main character's life story over and over and over again throughout the book is just fluff and it takes away from the book that being said I found the whole first part of the book annoying and nonsensical.
  
  However, once you get past the forced meditation part in the book it does start to have kind of a point and a purpose and there's less repetition and that does make up for a lot of the shortcomings in the first part overall the narrator was great with what he was given and if you look past all the extra repetitiveness and just look at the story it's an intriguing concept.
• 
  Dawn

  This is the first book I’ve read in this genre, and I was not disappointed. It was a departure from what Harmon usually gives us, but the characters and humour are still there. The pace of the story was good, and I could feel myself becoming immersed in the story.
  
  The main character is Nick who is drawn into a place that he does not know, yet he adapts well and grows. The characters that he meets are intriguing and some are comical, all of whom keep you hooked. I liked the way that Nick was up front with the other characters which enabled their story to come through which made them all relatable (even Roger the bird). Towards the end of the book Nick reminded me of a shaman with his fire elemental helping him fight.
  
  The very last part is really intriguing and informative providing an insight of Harmon and his life.
  
  I would highly recommend this book.
  
  Disclaimer: I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book, that in no way influenced this honest review.
  
• 
  David

  A real delight - a Fantasy "Tibet" cultivation story
  
  I love it when an author studies hard, does his homework, reads real history, then throws away all but the best bits to write a well informed but fanciful story "Never let the Truth get in the way of a good Story" as the saying goes.
  
  Loosely a Cultivation or "Progression" portal story, it's a very interesting mixup of stories of the Divine, and the very earthy and fowl (and foul) mouthed. If you are a student of Tibetan Buddhism, you will find this story hilarious or offensive if you take your self to seriously. Make sure you read to the very end - the authors note is one of the best parts. It's where we find the details of the inspiration of the story and that sometimes fact really is more outlandish than the fiction it inspires
• 
  Nick James

  Could have been great, but was just okay.
  
  I like many of the overall concepts in this book, but I just wasn't the biggest fan of the execution. The cultivation aspect isn't touched at all really, other then called out by that name. Things get repetitive, just say you're from Earth, everyone saying Massachusetts is hard to say gets old. Don't describe the rune ever time when there are pictures (maybe for audio book...but still). I will say the last 20% was the best, before that I was having trouble picking it back up at points. May read the second...if I see folks saying it is better.