Pilgrim (Pilgrim, #1) by Harmon Cooper

Pilgrim (Pilgrim, #1) Reviews

• 
  Tony Hinde

  This reads like juvenile fiction. One set-piece segues to another with little rumination. The protagonist is never in any real danger. Side characters move on and off stage, leaving no lasting impact.
  
  At one point the protagonist is asked if he has any regrets from his twenty years of assassinating people. To which he replies, "I don't know." Is that what's called edgy these days?
• 
  Soo

  Notes:
  
  In comparison to other work by Cooper, this one was toned down a bit. The concepts for the story were good, but it took too long to establish the characters, setting and overall plot. I enjoyed the story more than I thought I would by the end of the book, but it took over 300 pages to get to the I like it stage. I plan to read the next book at some point. =)
  
  - Cool to see the author trying out new ideas.
  - Uneven pacing, but a nice nod to ronin type tales.
  - I was happy to note that there isn't a harem or wonky relationship in this one. Realistic relationships are one of the downfalls for HC's stories, but not enough of a flaw to keep me from trying out his books.
  
• 
  Joey Stettnisch

  Not bad, a bit random as far as plots go. Also there are clearly fake/bought reviews on this series which I'm not cool with at all, especially because I didn't dislike this book. If your looking at reviews for a litrpg type book and you notice a lot of the reviews have a bold text headline then a review under it, it's a bought or fake review with either 4 or 5 star rating. Annoys me to no end.
• 
  Benny Hinrichs

  I can see the appeal, but I didn't really like this book. I really enjoy big plot arcs that span the whole book and come together at the end (unless it's explicitly a short story collection). This book was somewhere between novel and short story collection, and I wish it would have committed to one or the other. There was sort of a grand plot, but sometimes we went large stretches without making any progress on it, which made it feel like it was dragging. We'd get overlong sections of idle description, e.g. him going to sleep. Whenever these would happen, I'd be on edge waiting for it to tie into the plot, and it usually didn't.
  
  One of the plot points I didn't get is why would the assassins be looking for him? Don't they have jobs to do, money to make? Two years later and their best and brightest are still coming after him. Is the Brotherhood so affluent they can cease operations for two years and send all agents to look after one guy?
  
  There were some annoying cliches, like when he throws the one assassin in front of oxen (Mufasa style), but he's too squeamish to go and look if she's dead (really?). You knew in that second that she was coming back.
  
  They end up going to the supernatural Tavern, which is not foreshadowed at all. I would have liked it a lot better if we'd at least had a mention of this Tavern before they have to go there so far into the book. Really adds to the cobbled-together, incomplete feeling.
  
  Overall, I wanted more cohesion from the narrative. As I said at the start, the semi-episodic nature of the book will appeal to some people, but not to me.
• 
  Gareth Otton

  Pilgrim is the story of Danzen Ravja, a half-human half-demon assassin in a fantasy setting that felt like ancient Japan. The story opens just as Danzen is giving up the assassin life for good, but the people who raised him and taught him to be the killer that he is won't let him go that easily.
  
  This was a thoroughly enjoyable book and one that I wasn't quite expecting to like as much as I did. It is made up of a lot of smaller adventures almost like episodes of a TV series that builds towards a larger story. Though violent and quite dark at times, it also felt like a light-hearted fantasy story that was slowly building to something bigger but luxuriating in taking its time doing so.
  
  This was a book that was never afraid to spend time on the little details in the world-building and the story greatly benefited from that. It was these little details that made this world come to life, and it was the time spent creating characters that, while maybe a little one-dimensional at times, were characters that I cared about.
  
  Overall the fantasy elements were excellent, the action was exciting, the world-building was top-notch, and there wasn't much to dislike about this book. I thoroughly enjoyed myself reading it I can't wait for the next instalment.
• 
  Kay

  If you wonder what type of book this is, you only have to read the 'Prologue' to find out. The reader is pulled kicking and screaming into a world of assassins and their marks, an amazing boomerang sword called Astra, and a guy named Danzen Ravja who, when his blood flows outside his body, releases masses of demons.
  
  Danzen just wants to retire in peace from the 'assassin business' that he's now sickened by, but he doesn't think it's going to be that easy. His employer is not keen on letting him go, and his (ex-)colleagues all want him dead and will hunt him down to the ends of the earth to do so.
  
  This is fantastic. It has everything I enjoy in a book.** The worldbuilding is precise and so believable, as are the characters. The author is so good at the relationships between the characters. They feel real and relatable, emotional, and appealing. The yokai are wonderful, and I'm not going to spoil them for you, but if you are into Japanese folklore then you are going to be so happy that you'll go 'pop'.
  
  Trust me, you will love this book, just as I did. At 630 pages, the story will have you so engrossed and you'll zoom through it so quickly that you'll believe someone got their sums wrong.
  
  Harmon Cooper's writing has matured and, having read all his books, I appreciate all the research and imagination that he puts into his work, and it shows in every page. There's so much packed between these pages that if it was a suitcase, you, and your mates, would have to sit on it.
  
  I chose an early copy of this book which I then voluntarily read and honestly reviewed. All opinions are my own.
  
  ** Funnily enough, I didn't actually know that I enjoyed this kind of genre until I read one of the author's works!
• 
  Jon Koelzer

  A decent story, seemed a bit rambling though, like H.C. wanted to write a wuxia and started without a concrete plot. I’ll not complain too much though, because the lack of a concrete plot doesn’t change the fact that this was pretty enjoyable. Just a bit difficult to finish (put it down and read other things quite a bit)
• 
  SP Harris

  DNF'd at 3%. This book is written for a very specific target audience and I am not that. Which is a shame, because I really wanted to like this. (That premise, those covers!)
  
  The ideas here are cool, but the prose and execution is just not there for me. It's telly, it's clunky, it's melodramatic, and 13 year old me probably would have liked it, but 31 year old me can't stand it.
  
  Another reviewer who actually read the whole thing described the writing as "juvenile" and I can't help but agree. Perhaps if this were a novella I might be able to push through it, but 556 pages is just too much when I could be reading something I'd actually enjoy instead.
  
  At the very least, I bought this book as a part of the charity sale to benefit victims of the Uvalde shooting, so bless the author for that.
• 
  Jarryd Kalideen

  Surprisingly good
  
  The cover and premise grabbed my attention,once I started I saw the length of this book and felt a bit fatigued already - thinking it'll drag along. I was seriously surprised, I have it until 20% to grab my interest and it more than did. To me it reads somewhat like an anime series - with different episodes with their own plot yet always lending to the overall story. The world building was amazing, sort of an ancient Japan (Eastern) feel, the characters are great and the mythology blends well. It is an engaging fantasy story that I feel anime lovers will especially enjoy. Really looking forward to the rest.
• 
  Holly Lenz

  Pilgrim is the story of a super powered assassin who isn’t very good at staying retired. The book includes many shorter stories/ adventures that combine to make up the longer book with all sorts of unusual mystical creatures, otherwise known as Yokai. Pilgrim is a bit quirky, as one would expect from the author, but it is a bit more tame then his other recent work. There are no sex scenes or harems in this book.
  
  I received a complimentary advance copy of this book. This is my honest and voluntary review.
• 
  Jen King

  Stuff just happens
  
  This doesn’t feel like a story but a series of loosely connected vignettes. Main character is overpowered, which Also makes it hard to relate to.
• 
  Liquid Frost

  In this introduction to, assumedly, a series, there is character introduction, overall arc, side quests to keep the action going, character development and nuggets of possible, future storyline.
  
  I didn’t consume this one quickly. Granted, I’m not reading as much or as fast as I have in the prior years, but I went in spurts on this one. However, about half-way through the read, I started to get more engaged and ended up reading through at a faster pace.
  
  The characters are enjoyable. The protagonist, Danzen Ravja (aka Pilgrim) is an orphan turned accomplished assassin. He had one final kill to go before retiring wealthy, but of course, if that happened, the story would have been very short. Let’s just say – don’t trust a leader of assassins. Fair enough?
  
  So, this story is the tragic hero tale. Danzen has killed many and wants to leave that life behind. But he also needs cash and takes on dangerous jobs where his skills are put to use. He gains a core group of friends and battles his demons, literally, as he struggles with what to do when his previous and current life collide.
  
  It looks like book two will follow the same recipe – the longer arc of who/what Pilgrim is and finding answers, action around the Diyu Brotherhood assassins, and smaller action scenes of helping those in need. I also assume there will be continued character development.
  
  In all – I’d read the next installment!
  
  Read September 2020. ARC Provided.
• 
  Mark

  3.5 stars
  
  Super assassin Danzen Ravja decides to retire to a sleepy village at the edge of the world. It goes well at first...
  
  This books (I've read 1 & 2 so far) are told as collection of about 10 mini-stories that gradually lead to a finale. Each story is typically about Danzen dealing with the chaos caused by a spirit/monster affecting the town folks, or about other assassins attacking, or about Danzen's mysterious parentage.
  
  The spirits are inspired by Japanese mythology but almost nothing else in the setting is, which seems a little strange.
  
  I understand the dude is an assassin but I would have much preferred if, say, half of the stories weren't ultimately solved by killing something. For example, find out that a monster is just looking for salt so you can feed her salt to keep her from sucking the blood out of the villagers. Danzen keeps saying that he is seeking peace so maybe further books will have some more peaceful solutions?
  
  For my personal taste I would also prefer that the books were a couple stories shorter.
• 
  Gabriel d'Matos

  Uma pena que o livro não é tão bom quanto a sua capa. Em geral Pilgrin é um bagunça narrativa que consegue o feito incrível de tornar um assassino meio demônio se aposentando em um templo abandonado e lidando com Yokais, sem graça e entediante. O autor disse que se inspirou em Witcher, John Wick, Yojimbo e Inuyasha pra montar essa história e mundo, só que faltou somente um elemento que ele falhou em extrair de todas essas obras, carisma.
  Terminar esse livro foi um desafio, a salvação sendo que o livro é bem escrito, mas em suma essa é uma obra com várias ideias boas que não foram bem aproveitadas e que provavelmente serão todas desperdiçadas se seguir o caminho que pretende. É realmente uma pena.
• 
  Scott

  This new series by Cooper with Narramore doing the narration works wonders. The characters are well crafted with quite a bit of empathy for the listener to bond with the narrative. I also liked how the story had a chance to come to a satisfying point giving this a good length to listen to for your cash, without going into too many details that seem superflous but rather adds to the listeners experience.
  Narramore is very good as I would expect from one of my favourite narrators and he deals with the demon voice and female voices very well weaving the strange creatures into a believable world of interest. My only issue is I don't have a book 2 or audio 2 yet to continue the dialogue.
• 
  John Vann

  A new series from Harmon Cooper - A new major character
  
  This is the start of a new series just what I needed...
  
  I know I should wait until the series is complete before I start reading but I just had to read this one based mainly on the artwork on the front of the book. And it is about assassins and a plethora of yokai (see now you need to read the book to find out about yokai). An oriental flavour to the story and plenty of action. I am really looking forward to the next one.and
• 
  Frank Bertino

  Great Read
  
  Danzen/Pilgrim is an assassin who wants to retire but the assassin's brotherhood won't allow it, and puts a hit out on him. The other assassins are hunting him for the bounty and glory. He finds a quiet valley to settle in and is befriended by local yokai and humans. Unfortunately, the assassins find him. Will he be able to protect his friends and residents of the valley? I like the action, humor, and a touch of romance. I look forward to another book.
• 
  Chris

  I like that this book is not medieval European. When reading, I was instantly transported to the KungFu movies of the 70s and 80s, but with better dialogue.
  I appreciated the little nods to their culture, the spitting and slamming doors when a stranger nears. I liked how the mythical beasts had their own factions, and I liked the constraints the author put on our hero: lay low, don't bleed.
  I look forward to reading the next.
  
• 
  Dave Griffin

  An Excellent beginning to an Epic story
  
  Pilgrim has named himself that to hide who and what he is. He tries to escape his former life, and rebels against what he has been trained for his entire life.
  But, his biggest obstacle is self-doubt.
  
  His life changes when he gets to a special valley.
  But, his past has a way of finding him.
  
  This was a very good read. I very often literally could not put it down.
• 
  Scott Lea

  This was not what I was lead to believe. It is not an assassin story, it is not a cultivation story, it is a slice of life of a one denominational character that you care little about. It wasn't one star because I did finish it but it man it was not what you expect. Its a shame too the world is actually the best part and the Author could have done so many cool things. whole story is lackluster and makes you feel depressed.
• 
  Masenken Rowe Phalen

  Not the biggest fan of the writing style, but kept me interested through the lore and some of the fight scenes. Couldn't give a spit about any of the characters as Danzen speaks so little, the characters don't speak much in turn. Even his thoughts are short and to the point.
  For all that I appreciated the simplicity and could see this working much better as an anime or film. On paper though, I was just glad of was a short read and could easily run right through it
• 
  James

  Don't make him bleed.
  
  I was given a advance copy of this book for me to give a honest review.The action is very interesting as the characters are using some very interesting powers to fight with. The world building is good and I enjoyed the different types of myths that are worked into the story.
• 
  Scott

  Absolutely brilliant
  
  What an amazing new series and im hoping this has quite a few more books to go as i like the idea and the characters that have been introduced to us.
  With friends and enemies in this book then there is a lot to be interested in and to expand on.
  Now hurry up and write more
• 
  Barbara Pierce

  It's a good start
  
  I really like Cooper's books. I know that this one felt like multiple short stories that become one book. But is flow well and the pace was perfect. I can image that the audiobook is going to make wave with a good narrator.oh this book and the immortal series are my favorite from Cooper I hope we get more to this series soon