Savage Dominion (Savage Dominion, #1) by Luke Chmilenko

Savage Dominion (Savage Dominion, #1) Reviews

• 
  Ozair Sarwar

  Expected more
  
  Expected more from this latest addition to Wraithmarked’s published library. I’ve recently become a fan of Luke Chmilenko (especially after Warformed:Stormweaver) however this book was a bit disappointing. Not to say that it’s bad, it’s rather an okay read, I just expected more. The pacing feels a bit off and too fast paced whereby it moves simply off from one dungeon to the next, the characters simply plod along and you don’t really see any development. The main character pretty much has the same personality, thoughts and dialogue throughout the book despite some of the reality bending experiences he’s having and the supporting characters rarely have a presence outside of their involvement in fights and one line quips.
  
  Even the fights are a bit dull and have a repetitive formula. Hopefully the sequel amps things up a bit!
• 
  Benny Hinrichs

  This book was hard for me to get into for about the entire 600 pages. I'll say that the hardest part was probably the MC being dumb. He never thinks, always rushes into things, and hardly ever uses his heal! He could have leveraged 10x the use of his heal. And of course, whenever the plot needs it, the heal is on cooldown. There are times when it would have been most sensible to rest for 30 minutes and heal completely, but our impulsive MC can't think that far.
  
  I actually really liked the first chapter. Then the first 50% of the book turned out to be just a monster treadmill, with the protags mindlessly thrashing their way through opponents. I got really close to DNFing, but around 50% they find the crystal city, and the conflict gets somewhat more interesting. Unfortunately, it still dips back into monster treadmill at times after that (like the final tower).
  
  The humor didn't land well with me. I'm sure other people love it, but it grated. I think it was the fact that the MC presents himself as dumb, which made me feel like all the jokes are dumb. I got real tired of the Mercy-Maulkin dynamic real quick. Having one character who physically abuses another any time the authors want a laugh is not my type of humor.
  
  All Mercy was good for until 83% through the book was being sassy (in a humor style I didn't enjoy, as I just said). She contributed next to nothing until she finally leveled up some crap over 80% through the book. Until then, she felt largely like deadweight.
  
  There was an editing issue where too often it was unclear who was speaking. Two people would be conversing, then another would start responding without a speech tag so you had no clue who was talking.
  
  The skills became multitudinous and hard to keep track of, especially because they never seemed to manifest in real life. His potency has increased to 35. Great. Can you show me what that means? He got 2/10 on Airstrike. How does that actually affect him? After his initial leveling up, he remains functionally unchanged throughout the rest of the book, despite the purported stat increases.
  
  One of the biggest sins is the complete slaughter of Early Modern English. If you're going to use EME, do it right or not at all. "Thy" is genitive, never nominative. "Thy" is singular, never plural. You don't mix "thy" and "you" when referring to the same person. And you have to conjugate verbs to second person singular. Check out some of these horrendous sentences. "It should come as no surprise that thy condone it." "If thy can be divided, he might strike with flame at the sorcerous bond between." "If you were capable of thinking beyond thy animal impulses to rut for just a moment." "Is that the path that thou are walking, Maulkin?" All of these are gross and should have been fixed in editing. There are many more instances.
  
  There was once where it used "dervish" as an adjective, but it's a noun.
  
  They find this dude who's been there thousands of years, but his native language is Italian... Bro, Italian didn't exist thousands of years ago. What's going on?
• 
  Geoffrey Shimp

  Hilarious Murder Hobos!
  
  An action packed hilarious murder hobo love story of epic lines! Best way to describe this book. The characters are great and well fleshed out. The action sequences are well written and truly bring you into the fight. The story is captivating and drove me to pick up the book every second I could. Highly recommend and cannot wait for the next adventure!
  
  Current Burning questions:
  Where are the other two Eternals?
  What will his Patron think?
  When will he cure his new following?
• 
  Laura Hughes

  I love both Ascend Online and Dungeons of Strata, so it's no surprise that this collaboration between Penman and Chmilenko is mind-blowingly entertaining. If you like fast-paced fantasy, irreverent protagonists, and laugh-out-loud lines, this is 100% the book for you.
• 
  Soo

  Notes:
  
  Good narration, but the story lacked substance. Good concepts, too much forced humor.
• 
  April Hyatt

  Savage
  
  This book was so funny and interesting, it hurt to put it down. Despite being set in another world there are a great deal of laugh out loud pop culture references mixed in with a hearty serving of battles and an underlying tension of how the story is going to play out. There is a balance of humor and seriousness that runs through the book and makes it quite enjoyable.
• 
  Danny Moody

  Fun book with non stop action. Literally, the fighting is constant through the book. The characters are very distinct and have a lot of fun interplay. The game system is unique and I really like the concept of using experience to buy skills.
• 
  Kaleb Barker

  You never quite know what to expect of a new LitRPG series. The great ones capture the feelings of discovery and awe you get when playing a new, well designed MMO and suck you in to their progression the same way Diablo does with its perfectly handled loot progression. They take the best things about games and bring them to fully realized virtual worlds, empowering you to experience, through literature, what it is impossible to enjoy today due to technological limitations.
  
  This is not one of those books. The standard collection of RPG elements – experience gain, crafting, and the like – are all included, but they aren't taken very seriously and certainly aren't the focus of the narrative. If you're here for the type of experience I've described above, you'll be disappointed. This is a fantasy novel with gaming elements, and not the other way around.
  
  The world of Amaranth is deep and interesting, often warping standard fantasy tropes in unique and unusual ways. It is violent, too, sometimes disturbingly so. Savagery was an expectation given its title, and it doesn't shy away from it.
  
  The main character is likeable, as is his supporting cast. These are characters that you want to root for. Their growth from cautious allies to friends and comrades is natural and one of the story's highlights.
  
  Overall, I greatly enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next book in the series. I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a well written, character driven dark fantasy novel.
• 
  Thomas

  Another rip roaring story fully loaded.
  
  Another rip roaring story fully loaded. A great new series, full of action and humor. Brand new world. Different crunchy stats that don't weigh you down.
• 
  Aj Larson

  I've thoroughly enjoyed works by both of these authors before, so enjoying Savage Dominion was no surprise. The fact that it uses such familiar mechanisms (rebirth in a new world and gaming systems) should come as no surprise either. What did surprise me, however, was how well these mechanisms were woven into a rich story that did not go in the directions I expected!
  
  There's a whole lot still left on the table, and many more cards to be played that have only been hinted at; I'm excited for the next book!
• 
  Jacob Lane

  Friggen awesome
  
  This book was freaking awesome. Start to finish, I was always engaged, always smiling and excited for the next adventure. Characters were great, combat was great and not excessive, it was just a really really really well done story
  
  
  My only worry for the future with it, is the cliffhanger is very standard fantasy trope. And I'm kind of hoping it doesn't play out the way it doesn't every single other fantasy story I've ever read
• 
  Ronni Adams

  I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
  
  Having already devoured a Luke Chmilenko collaboration, I was greatly anticipating Savage Dominion by Luke Chmilenko and G.D. Penman. This book did not disappoint!!
  
  From the very beginning, this book reads like the best RPG you have ever played. Three unlikely characters become travelling companions, and then almost friends as they take on challenges and quests together. We see them levelling up and learning new skills and abilities as they proceed on their journey.
  
  Already looking forward to Savage Dominion: Wyrmshard!!
  
• 
  GaiusPrimus

  This was a tremendously fun book, but honestly it's not surprising with the 2 authors that wrote this story.
  
  The only part that sucks is the fact that they had to use up time to write this vs their other series, but after finishing this, it's not really a concern.
  
  Run to your computer to get this book as soon as it becomes available!
• 
  Lee

  This is my first book by G. D. Penman, but I've read everything by Luke Chmilenko. This book is fantastic. The main character is childish and a bit crude, but funny. It's a very quick and enjoyable read.
• 
  Cameron

  Great series opener
  
  What a fun romp this story was. It follows a main character beef cake kind of character, which is a fun difference from the normal char. He does have magic, for those who might not want a non magical char, but it is a very interesting take on the genre.
• 
  Bender

  It was an OK read. Book of two parts. Good start but got stale quick. Won't bother with next book.
  
  Writing/Plot/Pace: + 5/10
  
  Book of two parts. Initial 25% were just awesome. Loved the humour. It was refreshingly funny and made for an interesting start.
  
  Then after things got stale. It became a version of dungeon clearing with no plot progress. We get a rinse and repeat of same fight with different types of races and monsters. Even the fight sequence doesn't change much.
  
  World building is kinda meh. We are treated to a different world with new versions of familiar races in new names. Certain aspects are new but nothing to make the world unique. Old stuff in new wrapper. There's not much development beyond immediate world which is a shame.
  
  Characters: +4/10
  
  The "chosen one" is kinda the antagonist which was interesting, but when he just behaves like a protagonist the difference gets watered down.
  
  Other than that we get introduced to characters and they stay the same all through. There is no maturity or development except for stat levelling.
  
  Snarky quipping in face of danger is good, but when done all through the book, it kinda gets repetitive and worth occasional sniggers only.
• 
  Michel B

  Just a disappointment, I expected more from authors I like . The book is just mediocre, got to 2/3rd of it and simply couldn't keep reading it.
  The MC is just stupid an impulsive, the humor is basic and childish, the setting is not interesting enough, and besides some hp numbers there really isn't a gaming system behind the plot.
  
  I like the idea that Luke Chmilenko is exploring several partnerships to develop new series, but at least this one for me simply does not work.
  
  I'll just hope for more books like Ascend Online and Warformed, and less ones like Savage Dominion.