Forgemaster and Reforged (Books One and Two of Tower) by Seth Ring
A Book Review
Sometimes it takes awhile to get around to writing a good book. So, like say your name is Jimbo. Let’s say you’ve got Kindle Unlimited and you downloaded a book named Forge Master (Tower Book 1) by a guy named Seth Ring. It really looked good and the description said it was LitRPG. Not only that, but having a title like Forgemaster implied a focus on crafting and I’m the type of gaming nerd that maxes out every single profession in World of Warcraft for every expansion that I play. I love crafting in game and I was really looking forward to a game where the hero makes things instead of just tearing them apart.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m a superhero mark. I’ve spent decades reading and/or watching movies where entire cities, and even sometimes entire planets, get trashed. I’ve been with Honor Harrington as she trashes entire fleets while simultaneously losing many of her own ships. I’ve cheered as multiple Death Stars have exploded. And I watched The Walking Dead and read David Guenther’s Infected World series because I enjoyed watching the world burn. I’m not hating on Speculative Fiction or its habit of trashing everything in sight when the mood strikes.
Still and all, I’m the guy who went and saw The Minecraft Movie with his kids and, having never played Minecraft, got excited about the crafting table (or whatever it’s called. I forgot to ask that part.) I was all hopped up on seeing a character make something to get out of a jam, or get someone else out of a jam or…
Did someone say jam? It’s almost lunchtime and I think I’ve got some bread here somewhere…
Uhh…
Nevermind.
So when I picked up Forge Master and later the sequel, Reforged (Tower Book 2), I was in for a treat. The main character, Thorn, really does craft a lot of stuff. He’s a Titan and, with Tower being a LitRPG series, he advances by crafting things. That’s a Titan trait. He even joins a couple of different trade guilds and sets up himself up a business making some things and fixing others.
And it’s realistic if you’re a gamer too. Those of us who craft in Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Games know all too well the challenges of trying to get the materials you need to make the stuff to make the money. This is an extremely common problem that can only be solved by gathering the stuff yourself (taking up a buttload of time) or shelling out the majority of what you made on your last doohickey to get the money to make your next thingamabob. It’s a never ending cycle of lost time vs lost money. Thorn gets that.
And if you’re into WoW….
My main is a Warlock who is also a Miner/Skinner
My Monk is also an Alchemist/Herbalist
and my Paladin is a Tailor/Enchanter
I have a way to gather literally every freaking material in the game and still end up paying for my crap half the time.
Anyway…
That’s not to say that Forge Master and Reforged are cozy fantasies where the main character spends all of his time building a business in peace and quiet. This is a good thing because, with apologies to people like Nathan Lowell and Travis Baldree who actually do write some truly awesome books, I like a good slam bang slugfest every once in awhile. And the combat in these two books is not just entertaining. It’s part of what is really the central character arc of the series so far. (It’s an eight book series I believe. Don’t ask me what the overall arc is yet. I’m only two books in.)
Forgemaster is the first book in the Tower Series but the Tower Series is a follow on series. The story actually started with the Titan Series also by Seth Ring. I actually had the first book of the Titan Series checked out with Kindle Unlimited and returned it unread, but that’s neither here nor there. The point is that, at least from what I can tell, Thorn was a physical badass in the first series: Big, Strong, Tough, etc. Then (apparently at the end of the first series) he Transcends to a tougher environment where he’s basically chump change physically. This causes him to change his entire fighting style. In Dungeons & Dragons terms, he dual classes from Fighter into Wizard, except that there are no classes and it has more to do with which stats he increases as time goes on and which skills he works hardest to improve.
And it’s not like Thorn is alone. He has Hati, a massive wolf that sounds familiar for a very obvious reason, Eve, the AI mounted in his body somewhere, Akira, who I picture as a Kitsune and the occasional person who he teams up with along the way. I don’t necessarily know if I’d trust all of them, but that might just be my paranoia talking. Too much caffeine twists the brain.
As much as I enjoyed both Forge Master and Reforged, I do have one major concern with them. There are an absolute ton of callbacks to the first series. On one hand, that’s good marketing. I’m totally sold on the fact that I need to read the Titan Series. On the other hand though, it’s kind of a bummer. There were times when I’d be reading along and then get knocked out of the story because I missed a reference somewhere. There is one rather important character that shows up with basically no introduction. I was left trying to figure out who this was, why they were here, and how the related to Thorn all at once. It was a weird experience.
I’m not going to give up the Tower Series totally, but I think I am going to shelve it for a bit and go back and read the Titan Series before continuing on. I just feel like I’m missing too much this way. That much having been said, Forge Master and Reforged are two very good books and they’re worth your time if you’ve read the first series or don’t mind the confusion.
Bottom Line: 4.5 out of 5 Repaired Mirrors
Forge Master (Book One of Tower)
Seth Ring
Aethon Books, 2023
Reforged (Book Two of Tower)
Seth Ring
Aethon Books, 2023
Forge Master (Book One of Tower) and Reforged (Book Two of Tower) are available for purchase at the following links. If you click a link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.
Forge Master (Book One of Tower)
Reforged (Book Two of Tower)