Jason Asano is a very polarizing character and interesting in that he is an outworlder and sees things through an Aussie bloke, no-frills, eyes kind of way. There are plenty of political intrigues as well and plenty of twists and turns along the way. This book has adventure, dark arts, kickass skills and a protagonist with an attitude that doesn’t always get things right. From that narrow beginning, we are introduced to an eclectic cast of characters all of whom are layered and different as we follow Jason’s adventures and his deliciously dark powers which change and grow throughout the story. Jason Asano our protagonist was a bit of a nobody and it is fair to say he doesn’t get off to the best of starts when he wakes up naked in a hedge maze with no idea how he got there or what to do. It was so much fun and surprisingly nuanced. So I downloaded it and those expectations got blown out of the water. I’d not delved into this subgenre all that much but I kind of knew what to expect. It has to be good right? So I thought I’d take a look.

It also intrigued me, however, because at the end of the day the story has got to deliver. How Shirtaloon serialised his series on Royal Road, built up a following and then on Patreon and finally to Amazon.

5/5 Stars – If you like to start your books with a naked Aussie then you’re in for a treat.Ī friend of a friend sent me a piece posted by some geezer called Shirtaloon (aka Travis Deverell) on how he became a successful writer and I was fascinated by it and found it very interesting.

Travis deverell