The Karmadont Chess Set (The Way of the Shaman - Book #5) LitRPG series

So the author decided to leave the main hero penniless and shafted by the woman he fell in love with and her family. Stealing everything he has made and built being destroyed. Needless to say do t spend money for depressing books. Started out strong as well the series to end in a author destroying someone's life in a book and having everyone who he trusted betray him as well.

I have followed this series from the beginning and loved it and enjoyed reading about Mahan's adventures. If there is a book 6, I will happily preorder now, but if this is the last book then I will be sorely disappointed because there is too much left undone. Mahan may be the ultimate winner even in this book, but their are too many smiling bad guys at the end of this for my personal sense of justice and I would greatly enjoy seeing Mahan remove their smiles in a book 6. Regardless it was a great read and I have enjoyed every book this author has published on the store. You know that you have a great series when your readers anxiously look forward to the next book and the chance to spend time in the worlds you create.

I started this series after reading some other LitRPG and finding reviews. I kept reading this series because I grew to care about the characters, most importantly the Main, but including his whole extended in game family (IE clan). This book continues the adventures and legendary achievements of the Legends' of Barliona. This book continues to build the world, and the clan, until right about the 95% mark. Which is why I am giving this a 3 star review. I enjoyed most of the book, it hit all my LitRPG buttons, and I will most certainly read the next book(s) because I want to know where the story goes.

That being said, spoilers will follow.

The last 5% of this book destroys everything Mahan has worked for and built with people he thought he knew, cared about, and loved. Some few people are left in question as to whether or not they betrayed Mahan, but all the other players most certainly did, and all for the chess set. The last 4 books have been nothing but a set up for tragedy. When I finished the book, after spending hours on the last 5% desperately wishing it was a joke, I was incredibly pissed off. The only reason I didn't write a 1 star review immediately was because I have never written a review before, and I try to think things through.

I don't like books that end this way. Particularly when I can't go on to read the conclusion. I did enjoy most of the book, and Vasily Mahanenko definitely will have me as a future reader, but I can't give a rating higher than 3 for a book that destroyed my hero.

I despise totally ridiculous betrayal storylines. They make the reader feel like saps! The yin and yang necklaces were earned from deception? Horse rap! Congratulations for pissing away a classic series. This was murder of a friend? Goodbye Shaman.

spoiler alert......

loved the book and can't wait for the next one. hope this is not the end. And seriously hope that the back stabers gets killed off one by one with a pianfull poison.

Now we have to look at what chhaged at the end which we should be happy about. Mahan is no longer a prisoner so he can start defending himself from other characters. he still has the enbrio of an overpowered ship and his castle. althou I dont know how he is going to afford keeping the castle. but maybe teleporting it ontop of phoenixes castles so they get crushed and then clearing their warehouses is a good way of doing business. They wanted to do bad business so can mahan. but that is how I feel.

anyway get the next book on here asap. I need to see how he changes things around again.

also awaitng the second galactogon book

I am absolutely livid at the ending of this book. What a turn of events?! The next book best be about my favorite shaman coming back with a can of whoop-ass and making all his enemies buried beneath his feet. Aside my personal anger, this was a good book and was mainly consistent throughout keeping the reader engaged, however BEWARE to prospective readers, the ending will leave a sour taste in your mouth.

Without ruining the ending I felt that it was kind of a tacked on thing that just ended leaving the reader feeling the whole of the series was worthless. Main character progressed then it is all thrown away at the last moment and the books really had not point...at this point having just finished I now wish I had not bought any of them and feel that the story was just a great betrayal and will not be returning to this author.

For some reason, Russian authors just seem to want to crap on characters within their novels. Not sure whether this is just their personal experience in their country, or just something that Russian readers desire. I know Chinese have a similar bent in their stories as well.... usually everyone dies... happy endings, forget it. It is one of the reasons I steer away from Russian authors. I thought this one might have been different... silly me...

Unfortunately, I can see this author sucking the player back in to being crapped on again.... the authors of this bent just can't seem to help it. Personally I think they need large doses of Xanax in Russia... they need to make it a daily supplement... like vitamins or something.

I am absolutely livid at the ending of this book. What a turn of events?! The next book best be about my favorite shaman coming back with a can of whoop-ass and making all his enemies buried beneath his feet. Aside my personal anger, this was a good book and was mainly consistent throughout keeping the reader engaged, however BEWARE to prospective readers, the ending will leave a sour taste in your mouth.

Without ruining the ending I felt that it was kind of a tacked on thing that just ended leaving the reader feeling the whole of the series was worthless. Main character progressed then it is all thrown away at the last moment and the books really had not point...at this point having just finished I now wish I had not bought any of them and feel that the story was just a great betrayal and will not be returning to this author.

For some reason, Russian authors just seem to want to crap on characters within their novels. Not sure whether this is just their personal experience in their country, or just something that Russian readers desire. I know Chinese have a similar bent in their stories as well.... usually everyone dies... happy endings, forget it. It is one of the reasons I steer away from Russian authors. I thought this one might have been different... silly me...

Unfortunately, I can see this author sucking the player back in to being crapped on again.... the authors of this bent just can't seem to help it. Personally I think they need large doses of Xanax in Russia... they need to make it a daily supplement... like vitamins or something.

I have been keeping up with this series since the first book was released and I have loved every book. This book, however, just takes things in a bad direction in my opinion.

<<<SPOILER>>>

That level of betrayal at the end just seemed like a bit much for me. Many people read books as a form of escapism to forget about their lives and experience a sense of adventure. However, the ending is such a depressing cliffhanger that I stopped reading books for awhile because I just couldn't conjure up the enthusiasm to start a new book. Don't get me wrong this book has done a damn good job of opening up future development. I wouldn't even mind the betrayal so much if it wasn't made into a cliff hangar. Books usually end on a happy or suspenseful mood for a reason. When the last emotion you leave the reader with is sadness and depression it can ruin the whole book for some people like it did for me. And yes I did see the betrayal coming, but I wasn't prepared for the scope of it and I especially didn't expect that to be the ending.

Everything feels sooo, mechanical and badly trasnlated i guess, it's hard to describe. feels like things are just happening without rhyme or reason, no logic to it. Suddenly the main character just knows things he shouldn't because it's convenient, and things that are obvious he doens't because that would be inconvenient. Idunno something went completly wrong, and it saddens me :/

This series is fantastic and this latest installment is a cover to cover read - meaning you won't get up or leave it. VM is a leader in the Litrpg field and maintains his dominncace with installment 5. Can't wait for number six!!!

Most if the way through the book, I considered it just an good work of litrpg. But he but together an interesting twist that really changed the story. It makes me want to read the next book now, to see how it plays out. Well done!

Hated the ending. If its the ending. Everyone turned out to be a s s es. Both the 'hero' and the 'villains".

Disappointed. I don't read this stuff for it to be like a Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

I loved the previous books and this one was great till the jacket punch in the end. There was no explanation of build up and made characters who were fun and original become so one dimensional just for loot or a bigger quest or just minor gains and just seemed to ruin a huge part of the story.

Not usually one to write reviews for anything but thought I would for this was a great book very few books have the capacity to make me feel actual anger and at the last this did and I'm still angry thanks allot russia

*spoilers*
the ending sucked in a totally unbelievable way.

It made zero sense. It is the reverse of a deus ex machina ending. Everything goes to hell in a totally melodramatically bad way.

Screw this series. Screw this author.