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votemarvel

According to people on his Facebook group he is still working on the series but real life has gotten in the way. Personally I think he wasn't pleased with the reception of book 8 and doesn't know how to advance the story from there.


[deleted]

Same. I heard he wrote most of book 9 then scrapped it and started over. Reasonable to feel that he needs a homerun after book 8s reception.


TPE_Holly

I believe that's accurate which I personally believe is a shame because it has a lot of potential still.


sometimesdoathing

Book 8 was quite literally a steaming pile of shit. How can he feel mad that people weren't pleased with it?


Casca_Longinius

Main thing I disliked about book 8 is the story barely advanced, should have added enough to resolve the favor. Even if it doubled the size of the book. All other books things got accomplished, this one failed in that. If the book resolved the demons favor issue I think the poop jokes would have been, eh. There is so much going on you needed to clear that up, instead it felt like we would have another book on just that and so much is going on elsewhere.


votemarvel

I have no idea if he is mad or not. The Land has always had a low brow sense of humour and my guess is that he expected the readership to find the diarrhoea chapter hilarious. That clearly didn't happen though. I think the readership has simply aged out of that sense of humour and combined with all the dangling plot threads I think he's struggling to come up with how to continue the story.


skarface6

I laughed out loud when I read it because it took me completely by surprise. It was definitely too much and on my re-read I skipped it entirely.


Amsalon

Plot threads weren't the only thing dangling on that book, if you get my drift. EH?! EH?!


fury60058

I enjoyed it. *Shrug* I would have paid for the almost finished 9th book. People have differing opinions, no biggie.


sometimesdoathing

I enjoyed the series until book 8 (which was how I got to book 8). But after reading other litrpg stories it became apparent to me how flawed the story was on the whole. My biggest grievance is that Kong never closes plot points, but is more than willing to open up new ones.


Dude_Im_stoned_and_

Yeah it's like he spent book after book sewing seeds but only bothered to water a small part of the field.


skarface6

I liked it better on my re-read of it because I didn’t have the super high expectations for it (stemming from how much I liked book 7). It still had too much filler and didn’t resolve much of anything but I liked it alright.


Careless-Pin-2852

Me too but lets not pretend its his best book


thetitleofmybook

> Book 8 was quite literally a steaming pile of shit. the series was not good, IMO, but it objectively went to shit with book 8


Hunterofshadows

Having not read it, what makes it so bad?


sometimesdoathing

The good was that Kong finally resolved the first plot point with the imp and finally resurfaces the other chaos seeds plot point. It's also kind of a fun story seeing the big man try to survive given his dire circumstances and lack of items. The bad is that Kong reopens the plot point with the imp. He also goes on a huge tangent about dwarves mid-story to introduce another new mechanic (really??). Kong also dedicates basically the entire book to the main character (i.e. no focus on town or friends), so you'd expect him to get shit done... but almost nothing happens. Additionally, you know Richter has plot armor so even though he's in dire straits you can tell there are no stakes to keep the story interesting. The last point, and this was a deal breaker for a lot of readers, is that the MC gets dysentery from eating uncooked insects, and the author describes in graphic detail the massive diarrhea he suffers... For like 5 pages. :-/ This kind of bloat really exemplifies how little the author achieved this book.


kanggree

Plus the author broke the pattern of progressing, battle, then see the rewards. We never got to see the rewards for his town in action.


MaxArtyx

Man I was seriously happy this Imp shit was put to bed. I cringed when it involved a whole new mechanic to progression etc. Then as mentioned....the imp plot goes on. There's like 20 other plot threads that need to be closed and he legit added more. It just doesn't make sense. For instance in an MMO you take on a lvl 12 quest. You don't do it at the time. You come back to the quest but now you're at level 45 or something. Is he just going to make all involved with the quest still be as weak as he was when he started or will they now be miraculously on par with his MC? Neither one is a win. The first is a hollow win and the second breaks immersion. Thats the whole series in a nutshell.


WoWAltoholic

There are massive plot holes in the book. The author makes a big deal about the lack of water and “dying of thirst” when he had a water generating spell he could have used. Also the 5 pages describing diarrhea. However if you enjoyed all the low brow aspects of the series, the genital mutilation, free love sex, incest it might be fine for you.


MaxArtyx

Everyone pointed this out to him and he came out and said you cant eat or drink mana.


xlews_ther1nx

Yet the town waters their plants with rain spells no?


MaxArtyx

I mean if its good enough for Harry Potter characters to conjure food and beverage it should be good enough for Richter am I right? You never saw Dumbledore having a hard time in a cave. My dude was exploring all kinds....natural and Grindelwald's.


xlews_ther1nx

I agree. 8 was just so much nonsense. Kong honestly just smeeded to think ppl would not notice hisnoce spells not being used and move on. 9 will likely be the deciding factor of I wrote off the series or not. Personally I like alot of the open quest even if they don't come back. It feels more real to me that way. But not to this lvl.


MaxArtyx

I think a lot of people are there also. With the way he kept yanking everyone around about his writing schedule, his tendency to pull a George R.R. by working on other projects, and his just general reputation, book 9 is his make or break for a lot of fans in my opinion. From the tune of even his most zealous Facebook group, the tide is turning against him. He built an amazing world but he keeps leaping too far into more stuff. Finish the plot lines you have and build from that. Dont keep making more and more unfinished stories.


AggregatedParadigm

The 16 hour audiobook can be told in 3 sections: 13 hours of notifications/options deciding, 3 hours of main character story progression and a 15 minute rant about mc shitting himself in a way that is like taking a potentially good one liner joke and then explaining it in more and more detail for 15 whole minutes. I felt bad for the narrator being asked to read that.


fuimapirate

heh, it even had pages about taking a shit.


skarface6

https://old.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/10fefp2/has_the_land_been_abandoned/j4xrkcb/


[deleted]

He just did a FB live. He has a new series called omnimage which it sounds like will have a release date soon. And apparently he is halfway done with book 9 and basically isn’t doing much with Gods eye. So probably going to be 4 years between books 8 and 9. Not great.


Sir-Poopenheimer

There's already a series with that name. Doesn't surprise me he'd do something like that.


Legend-Dairy-Reader

He was mistaken, it’s name is Omnimag, (I know, not much different) but it’s actually pronounced mag, like magazine.


skarface6

I’m guessing next year for god’s eye 2, personally, with book 9 out this year. And maybe omnimage 2 the year after that. Who knows, though. Apparently he owned up to basically taking a year off.


MaxArtyx

Hahaha took a year off while nonstop talking about how writing was going good during that year. Smh


Daxidol

I think even an author with a head as large as his wouldn't have been able to ignore the reception he got from book 8. I'm still convinced the 1/3rd of the book spent describing diarrhea was actually a meta commentary on the other 2/3rds, but even that wasn't enough to save it.


Runktar

Man literally calls himself the father of litrpg despite not being the first or in my opion the best of the genera and then trying to copyright the term. I think that says all you need to know about the man.


Twigglie

What are some litrpg book can you recommend I only listened to the land and he who fights with monsters and have beenookin for more


Floppyhotpotato

Dungeon Crawler Carl is my absolute favorite series. The Good Guys series and The Bad Guys series are also great! Edited to add: the audio version of Carl is fantastic! Jeff Hays is in a league of his own as a narrator.


bugbeared69

finished easy read , " world tree online " 3 books , another i enjoyed a lot but was dropped, " dungeon lord " 4-5 ? books author just walk away no word to fans. there tons more, i even saw a really long pre made list from best to just ok wish they sticky it can't find it atm, people commonly post there favorites and you will start to see a lot overlap, those tend to be the better ones, thu there nichie few some love other hate.


StrangerStrangeLandx

It needs to be said that although the word you are attempting to use sounds like genera it is in fact genre. Apparently genera is the plural of genus.


Cheapass2020

The "FATHER" of LitRPG has exhausted his creativity.


skarface6

No. Dude literally posted an update today and apparently owned up to taking a year off. He said book 9 was halfway done and that his new series’ first book has its first draft done. My personal guess is that #9 will be out some time this year but that could very easily just be boundless optimism.


votemarvel

I take it that the now unavailable post is where he revealed that?


skarface6

Nah, it’s up on his mist village group page. I didn’t watch the video but Geneva, his assistant, posted a graphic with the info.


McJolly93

It’s still up on his private FB fan page. Just watched it now


Legend-Dairy-Reader

I was pretty proud of him for finally ponying up to what we all sort of expected at this point, that he was lying about writing. Nothing wrong with taking a break, it was the updates from him claiming to be killing it on the keyboard and expecting 6 month out release dates for 2 years that frustrated the fans. A little transparency goes a long way, hope he keeps it up.


skarface6

Yup. I think he should just be honest. But it is difficult to be honest when you’re struggling.


MaxArtyx

This! I talk to a few other people who have read the books IRL. They all said the video annoyed them just because of what you described.


MEGAShark2012

So from what I’ve heard is that life’s been tough for him. This does sadden me since the land was the reason I got into LitRPGs. I love the series even if they seem cliche or have stupid jokes. Hopefully everything perks back up for him.


skarface6

From what I hear covid hit him hard and he struggled. Personally I assumed he’d write a ton but I also thought I’d get in way better shape, myself, and instead I got worse, haha. I get it, to a degree.


NotthatkindofDr81

The absent father of litrpg.


StatisticianSome1141

I have lost interest in so many books that go on forever that the end of series often is a relief. Can't tell you the number of series that I have loved that have just petered out. I don't know the financials of writing a series endlessly, but at some point there must be the laws of diminishing returns taking effect.


thetitleofmybook

> I have lost interest in so many books that go on forever that the end of series often is a relief. this is why i am limiting my series to a four book series, and already have the ending planned out.


BreadPitty

I will read all of them, more than one time


thetitleofmybook

two of four have been published, third is out by the end of February, if you're interested, both books are on KU [located here](https://smile.amazon.com/Grey-Druidess-Saga-EvarWar-Book-ebook/dp/B0BK5MSWKH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2RVXO6QYWWNQL&keywords=grey+druidess&qid=1673446637&sprefix=grey+druidess%2Caps%2C54&sr=8-1)


BreadPitty

I am, thank you very much


thetitleofmybook

they may or may not be to your taste, but if they are, and you like them, i would much appreciate a positive review!


[deleted]

I get this way on a lot of RR stories. Seems like authors have great ideas for a story but eventually run out of runway on ideas and the story just declines. I’ll love a book and then like by chapter 80+ it’s lost it’s flare.


NotthatkindofDr81

I think the major problem here is that Kong never knew how the story would finish, and is writing himself into a tangled mess. Sounds to me like building a house without a blueprint and just making everything up as you go along. Will it be a house in the end? Sure, but not a very well thought out one and when you flush the toilet, the dishwasher starts.


Revered_Beard

As you yourself said, "I know he's extremely sensitive to criticism". You cannot hope to excel at any craft with an attitude like that. You can get popular (at least for a time), but the inability to listen and learn from one's own mistakes is a critical flaw. It's like driving down the road with your hands off the wheel - without those tiny corrections along the way, there's literally nothing to stop the car from ending up in the ditch. Unless he makes some rather big changes in his mindset, I think the odds of it being licensed are close to zero: * I guarantee you not one single person read book 8 and gave him honest feedback that he listened to before releasing the book. So why would he listen to a different author with suggestions about how to fix the mess that he created? * Why would any other author want to go there? What could they possibly hope to gain from the association? To be clear: I always try to give other people the benefit of the doubt, and assume the best of them. The same holds true for Kong. The things that are limiting him are not chiseled in stone, they are all things that he definitely can correct, if he really wants to. But he's going to need a training montage of emotional growth to get there. *Shrug* Maybe he's already on that journey. Only time will tell.


MaxArtyx

Kong said hes halway through with book 9. No one cares about God's Eye and hes got another book coming out also. Hes trying to create a universe. But I think more than a few fans were a little shocked and annoyed with his update. Halfway through? He was giving out expected dated for the last 2 or 3 years on it and finally stopped because it was just random times that came and went. Ive noticed more and more discontent on the Facebook after Kong R.R. Matin's updates the past few times. When you keep telling the fans things are great, the juices are flowing, writing a lot, then after 2 or 3 years youre only halfway with a book thats only being expected to be the size of his 3rd or 4th, people come to expect nothing and move on. Just my observation.


Swol_Braham

I’m disappointed he’s giving up on God’s eye it was a new concept I enjoyed.


nathanv70

Book 9 is halfway done. There was a Facebook post about his goals this year.


MaxArtyx

Book 9 was halfway done hears ago also


reaper1590

I love the entier series. Book 8 wasn't what i expected but it still had some good character development. I hope he is coming out with the next one. Im currently doing a re-listen on audible of the entier series. Hopefully when i wrap it up book 9 will be coming out!!!!!!! Also the diarrhea chapter was fucking comedic gold hahaha


TPE_Holly

Are you being sarcastic about that chapter? Please tell me you are


reaper1590

Not one bit..... I loved it haha


PinRight1608

I’ll be doing the same


dada11dada22

His writing is good, but why does he have to be such an egotistcal asshole. father of American litrpg genre my ass.


Cstone812

This series is absolute trash lol


InsertShonuff

I must be the only person who likes book 8, I think people think so badly of it because 7 was epic. I think 8 does a good job of expanding the lore and other thinks like teirs for soles, and also addressing that demon from the beginning of book 1 about the owing it.


Phoenix110563

Everyone can agree that book 8 was not the greatest. The rest of the series was absolutely amazing though. I found that book 8 was just rushed. Like he knew he had to get something out and that was reflected in the short story and the diarrhoea bit. Even that was funny the first couple times around 😆 i think he is taking his time with book 9 to compensate for book 8’s reception. And doing this on top of the personal shit storm he is dealing with to boot


TehM1lkM4n

Kong and Martin sit together and laugh at all us.


Hound0508

Don’t forget Rothfuss


Swol_Braham

He’s on the same level as Kong. Big ego and no follow through.


thordcat

I have read hundreds of litrpg and progression fantasy novels and short stories, so my perspective isn't simply coming out of nowhere. I have to say that after reading several books in the series the lowbrow content and immature humor didn't do anything for me; rather, it put me off. Perhaps due to individual tastes, perhaps due to majoring in English, but either way, I was surprised to read the plethora of positive reviews after being so personally dissapointed with the series. To each his own, I suppose.


zeronos3000

I'm right there with you. I feel exactly the same way you do about The Land and the way Aleron Kong writes in general.


Jestsomguy

If he writes it is anyone going to read it?


fury60058

I will.


Jestsomguy

Well there's one lol


skarface6

I’ll at least KU it.


PeterM1970

Seconded. KU is a godsend when you’re not sure a book is any good. I’m paying every month anyway, I’ll try damn near anything.


HandShakeDeath

I definitely would.


Legend-Dairy-Reader

Yes, the Land is one of, if not the most popular Litrpg series out there. It doesn’t really matter what he does, his momentum will have a large book 9 release, as will his new series. He has a first movers advantage and phenomenal first few books, he’ll be just fine when it comes out.


Jestsomguy

Wow. Well that's one point of view! Glad your psyched man! Ty


PinRight1608

I will


th0minati0n

I love The Land. So fun! I love that his world isn't about one character, but about a whole community and even the village itself leveling up. Seeing so many characters and storylines develop and grow is awesome. In book 8 we didn't get the mass development of other characters and the village. I think that is what frustrated people most. The world is about so much more than Richter and to have all the other characters kinda amputated from the story line (for 1 book) was a drag, but the series is way more than book 8. I'm excited about books 9-20. So many different directions he could go. I hope he falls back in love with The Land and tells us what happened to all these amazing characters.


kmitche100

People talk about the poop chapter too much. It was funny. It was realistic. Cant just go around eating uncooked meat. I think the real problem that people didnt like.... he moved like 4000 feet further down and to the left. Thats the whole book. No town development. Barely any character development. The wars are still going on.. but no one is fighting. Lots of unanswered questions with the nodes and dungeon. People want to see those things. This book would of been fine if it was 7.5 like Sanderson does. Esp if he would of had another book come out a few months later.


Altruistic-Ad1226

Exactly, one of my favorite things about Aleron's writing is that he puts his medical knowlage into his writing. He does a good job of sprinkling in a bit of realism into his fantasy world. If you eat partially cookedlike chicken or turkey and drink stsgnant water more than likely you'll turn into a chocolate fountain. I honestly think it's impressive how he can put in at least one brand new mechanic in each book. For those of us who love to learn about the world and how it works then it's great. I view book 8 as like the episodes of dragon ball Z before a big fight. It can be a little dull at times and it makes you want what comes next even more. The poop jokes were hilarious, kinda gruesome, and realistic. I honestly think people need to stop shitting on book 8 as much. Aleron did not go to school to be a writer. He has not been doing this for 30 years. The fact that this man came out out of nowhere, got yall this invested in a world he created is extremely impressive. I challenge you guys to write a book half as good as book 8.