Portal to Nova Roma: The Rhine (2024)

Book three

Still a really good story, the MC is so overpowering that nothing is really a challenge.
I still don't like dragons as pets, but if you're immortal it does work a bit better.
Looking forward to book four.

8/10

attack of the clones

A good installment - the MC is way overpowered but what he faces in the future makes his power seem needed. I like the new cast of characters. A ton of empire building, which I love.

Rating : 4/5
Cover: 1/4
Narration: n/a
Favorite Line: NA

And the series is back on track! Much much better than book two.

Really good.

The world is exceptional and interesting , my only gripe is that the main character gets slightly annoying as the series continues. Hope MC gets more interesting in the next book

Fun story but has issues

It was a bit slow to start off, but then picked up about 20% of the way in. It was pretty enjoyable, with a nice few interesting plotlines. However, one significant issue was the severe underusage of the word "had". There are probably more than a hundred places where the past perfect tense would have been much more appropriate, such as in flashbacks or scenes occurring in the past from the characters' POV, but it is not used. This makes for sometimes confusing reading where you are unsure as to when the scene is taking place.

Alexander’s story gets getting better

If the second book was kind of dark theme, this one feels very bright and optimistic. And adds a large complexity to the characters and locations. Great read.

Sigh. I'm two chapters in, and how things are going, it looks like the author is going to use some bullsh*t excuse so the protagonist will be angry, and do stupid things.
If the author stretches this sh*t for the entire book and has some bullsh*t anime-esque crap about the protagonist being corrupted by darkness, I'm dropping the series.
I already didn't enjoy how book two went.

I don't know how I'm supposed to read into this. The time period that the protagonist is in, took your hand when you stole (I think), or hanged (the French like to hang, right?). Yet, Crafter Alex went out of his way to arm, and supply the thieves that were exiled from the group.

If he didn't have his spacial bag, they would have already stolen from him, as he doesn't have wards protecting his stuff. Yet he feels so bad for thieves that took from other people who barely had any in the first place, that he makes this big show (to the readers) of helping these souls.
What bullsh*t is this? Are we supposed to feel that the protagonist is a great person? I'm sure I remember him killing someone that tried to steal from him in book one. And the book was going so well, making up for the terrible start.

Why am I getting the feeling that the author played League of Legends? All of these new abilities the protagonist is showing in this book are the exact same as characters like Galio, Garen, Tryndamere, etc. I haven't played League in many, many years, but when these abilities were used, those characters instantly came to mind. Lazy writing on the author's part?

So... We have an A.I. in a magical world, that wants to make an A.I.? So, man was made, then man made A.I, now A.I wants to make A.I... I see ever burning flames in this series' future.

Okay. Now I'm sure the author is cribbing from League of Legends. Vlad and some of his abilities just made an appearance.

The story thankfully didn't go how the start made it look like it was going. There were many things I didn't like in this book, but at least it ended better than it started... although the end was kind of a cliffhanger.

I guess I have two more books and will have finished the series.

I wonder if the author will pick back up Jake's Magical Market after this.

3/5 Stars

From lawful good to chaotic evil (spoilers)

Why?

MC was a good guy wanting to help the world. He still wants to change the world, but his methods have gone full demon lord evil. He's now relishng the terror, pain and death of human beings. I won't be surprised at the throne made out of the skulls of his enemies as he revels in the lament of their women.

First he bonds with an evil spirit who plays with the tormented souls of her victims. But she's a nice girl. Anyway it's OK because he plays with souls too.

Next he suffers demonic corruption and gets a literal inner demon, and is in constant danger of becoming a mindless mass murderer. At least the corruption is in better control by the end of this book. Because his evil spirit girlfriend is helping him manage his mental fortress.

Next he creates evil armor that seeks death and destruction of any kind.

Then he learns blood magic, because of course. He's currently carrying around the blood of thousands of warriors that he killed.

Next, he gets a necromancy perk. Because, of course. He's now raising the corpses of his enemies to fight for him. A literal evil necromancer raising armies of the dead.

Along the way he decides to create some AIs. And teach those AIs to creat more AIs. Because that went so well on his original Earth.

I'm leaving out the introduction of modern weapons and machines. I was OK with that. It seems necessary. Unlike all the rest of his descent.

Then there's the virtue signaling. Pronouns. Why does this stuff have to follow me into my gamelit escapism?

Oh and a cute little flirtation with gay necrophilia subtext. Why not? So random.

I LOVE the plot and I generally like MC's character. In book one he actively shies away from the dark stuff. Now he's the same guy personality-wise, but is casually adopting death magic.

Author is a talented writer but is ruining this for me. I can forgive a lot but necromancy is just gross.

I still find myself constantly ready to jump back into these books and read what happens next.

The MC is skilling up fast and I keep worrying that he's gonna go OP. I've seen it time and again in books and especially TV shows, where they give a character power to defeat the ultimate baddy, then increase it when the next baddy shows up, only to realize they don't know where to go. They're basically capable of ending the universe now and we don't know how to make a bad guy that makes them struggle.

Instead, when the MC of The Rhine levels up and gets really cool powers, they still run into plenty of challenges and stronger opponents. You just realize how weak he and his starting area really were.

I would like to see a little more from some of the other characters. I'd like to see the MC get invested in helping them evolve and grow. They certainly do, but it's off screen and I feel like they are going to end up as an OP character, but not have others near enough to their level to help them. A theme of the series has been having others help the MC and not doing it all yourself. They take the brunt of the work in some situations, but others make it all work.

Other than that, I don't have any complaints. I've enjoyed them all and I'm excited for the next two.

Please sir may I have some more?

Man ho man Mathews you glorious genius! You took the A.I. aspect of the story and made it a freaking lot batter with the new class! Made me think a lot about how A.I. would think and react in real and magical worlds scenarios.

This story was already awesome and one of the best out there but it seems that the author took the reader's comment in real consideration and made the series even better. I just love the fact he took the OP from the main hero by splitting his power but somehow made him even more powerful in the process.

And for the story itself, lots and lots of open world vibes, awesome 1 time random encounters that give our hero some cool insights and interesting powers. The main goal of the story (or more of our hero) is getting clear and we can start to see where this is going. And somehow the author keeps us on our toes and introduces new elements and enemies to the story that makes us think everything all over.

This is an absolute must read series. The only one side for it at the moment is that we need to wait for the last 2 books.

5.5/5 really it's that good.

Alright, I am officially done with this series. Way to many issues.

1 ) The author decided to hamstring the MC with this demonic infestation and then every encounter the author is going into great detail the MC is losing his temper because the demonic infestation. That doesn't make good story telling, you have so many other directions or opportunities to explore the world, the MC has only been to a few cities at most that is just padding the book.

2 ) Character sheet review, wonder if the author knows that each review is longer than 15 mins each time now.

3 ) The scale of difficulty in the bad guys, it's gotten out of hand also. They are scaling with the MC and again he has only seen a hand full of cities. You don't need to do that, sometimes a good ole over powered ass beating is what some bad guys need. What is going to happen is the MC visits a new continent, is he going to run into cultivators or Smog that can level a entire mountain just because the MC maybe able to do that?

4 ) The super advanced AI is still pre teen moron and not learning from past mistakes. Also guns and calibers of said weapons.

MC becomes OP

Some really interesting ideas that lead to fascinating possibilities. Normally, as the cast grows, the narrative becomes tangled because the MC can’t be in two places at once. Everything is simplified with one skill/class

Really enjoying this. I’m very eager to read the next two books.

I do need to point out some flaws. For starters, there’s a lot of talk early on about making Venice, a center of trade. The problem is that at the point where they are discussing trade, Venice does not have a lot of trade partners. The narrative seemed to be leaning on Venice’s historical role without taking into account the current situation.

I would also recommend reconfiguring the character sheet so that the first part reflects the base attributes and common perks or skills. In effect, showing what each will have, and then listing the individual breakdowns.

I will pre-order the next books.

Blood for the Blood God!

My favorite book so far. This one read like a true adventure. The start was a bit 4/5, but from 10% and forth, the story became really interesting. I applaud the Doppelganger class and think it has been the best addition to the story, providing options for lots of interesting paths - which were realized.

The kingdom-building aspect of the story was also nicely done. I didn't care much about the trading stuff, but the conflicts were interesting and didn't feel like some random boorish filler. And Alex wasn't just soloing everything like these random dollar-store overpowered protagonists. His allies got involved, too. Their contribution to the conflicts felt real.

In comparison to book 2, the world grew in size and the opponents became a lot more intriguing.

All in all, a clear recommendation.

I'd rate this book higher than book two in the series. The whole doppelganger process has implications that vastly enhance the plot. Speaking of the plot, the pacing is excellent throughout the story... never lagging.

The scope of the setting has been enlarged, with hints of a much bigger stage in books to come. At the same time, the narrative is mostly delivered in manageable bite-sized chunks. The only large-scale, action set-piece is told well. I was never confused or lost.

My only note is that the Monk seems ancillary to the story. I'd like to see his role be more active, or act as an important catalyst to some major event.

This book was great value. It's a chunky boy and only cost $4. Thank you J.R.

phenomenal work

Honestly one of the best series in the genre. There is depth and volume in the books. Also the books are long enough that I don’t blast right through them in just an afternoon. It seems the author has a real direction where he wants to take the series and he provides plenty of milestones along the way. Also he regularly involves the overarching narrative without getting lost in the side stories. Only unfortunate thing about the story is there are so many acting groups of people that I find myself hoping to hear about previous groups - such as the dark elves in Nova Roma. Though this is not a bad thing - and it allows for further side stories in the future. Looking forward to the next books and really hoping they release this year!

A Favorite Series

Alexander continues to gain power and attributes as he meets challenges to the empire he is building to protect innocents and ones he loves. He has escaped the Pirate King's clutches and defeated the demons, he now decides to investigate the Pirate King's base on Sardinia. After causing a lot of trouble, he decides he doesn't have the power to bring down the Pirate operation yet. So he decides to tackle the frontier surrounding the Rhine river. Battle, barbarians, and monsters ensue. Like the action, humor, alternate history, and tentative romance. I look forward to the next book.

A little all over the place

Quite literally in a sense but puns aside, the book is really unfocused. Coming into part three, we already had half a dozen major important conflicts/stories and all of them are ignored for virtually the whole book. Overall, it does a fair impression of feverishly running around an MMO's world and constantly unlocking new locations, quests and system mechanics... Which is an interesting effect but is not really a good thing.

There are plenty of good moments, interesting side characters and cool ideas sprinkled throughout the book but we rarely if ever get the necessary time to linger and appreciate them.

Keeps getting better

As things settle down, the reader is treated to more crafting and more inventions. New faces join the crew and bring their skills into the mix. Things really take off in this book with the battles becoming more intense and a nice offshoot to the story happens which really adds to the interesting story. We learn that dwarves mothers routinly beat the children with shovel to straighten them up. Great story line, things get more interesting with each new book, so book 4 should really give us an idea of how the war and other things will progress.

My biggest problem with this series is that the main character is supposed to be an AI, yet he makes very emotional decisions and doesn't act logically. As a result, the plot jumps all over the place to whatever whims the MC desires at any given point in time, but it lacks a focused narrative. Also, the series reads more like a D&D campaign despite the author's attempts to drive it forward like a more traditional fiction plot. The MC also has way too much plot armor - half the things he succeeds in (on the first try usually!) would tend to be much messier and take much longer in real life.

Very happy with this series

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series. The development of the characters and the situation are going well. The author handles the battles and magical situations without breaking out the magic wand. The story line is interesting and keeps the reader engaged. I will be definitely purchasing the next book when it's available. Only draw back is having to wait for the next books in the series. Hope the author decides to continue with the series instead of ending it in two more books.

There’s something here for everyone — I think the (one of) the twist(s) in this book ends up as a good way to handle the tendency in this genre to head in too many directions at once by a few books into a series. Still spreads somewhat thin, but does so in a way that feels believable and intentional for these particular characters. Nice for balancing different types of conflict. Looking forward to the next!

read this book you won’t be disappointed. Five stars all the way.

Excellent, what can I say. Fast paced, fun, great MC. The MC has plenty of growth that occurs in the book. Great cast of side characters no slow spots very enjoyable. My only dilemma is what am i going to read now? I tried not to blow through this book right away, but couldn’t help it. You will find this book enjoyable. don’t give many books 5 stars, this one deserves it best of the series.

Enjoyably readable litrpg series

Very readable and re-readable series (3 of 5 books at this time). Well paced story combining a clever magic system, mix of adventures and character development. Avoids common pitfalls— Main character is very powerful but not OP; no gratuitous harem and sex; challenges scale with MC but are not infinite (thinking of web novels with hundreds of chapters and scaling to immortals, gods, senior gods, ad infinitum).

This may be the strongest book in the series to date. It's a good thing too, as if it wasn't good I wouldn't have made it through nearly 800 pages of it.

Normally I'm not overfond of books that have a lot of changing pov, but the specific version here works well. Things are getting bigger in scope and from the two more planned books it looks like Alexander is headed for the big time in this monster apocalypse alt earth. Alexander Imperator!

Another success

The third book in JR's litrpg portal fantasy is just as good as the previous.

The scale of Alexander's influence has grown far from the lone adventurer he was at the start of the first book, this book focuses on his first steps of taking over the Rhine region and building the beginning of an empire.

If you enjoy litrpg/ portal fantasy/ progression fantasy/ alternate magical history you'll likely enjoy this series.

Looking forward to the next book!

This author is awesome!

I have completely enjoyed each and every book that I have read by this author. He is great! There is so much historical, magical, and character background detail that I feel very invested in the book. Also, he does such a great job with action that there are multiple times throughout the book/series that feel as if it’s the climax of the book, only to have the very pleasant surprise that there is a lot of book left. I can’t wait for the next book!

Easy to read, and also well written.

Many newer authors tend to fan service or make Mary Sue/Gary Stue characters. Though the MC here does suffer from power creep, the author does a decent job of matching the level.
He also does a great job of world building as well. His system for how things work is well thought out and though it shows some inspiration from various sources in TTRPGs and MMOs, it still seems to be of his own design. This keeps it fresh and interesting.

I liked this better than the second book, especially the city building and defence chapters. There was a big event at the start of the book that I'm very excited in where it'll lead to. Also, the author keeps coming up with ways to keep the main character's progress interesting. A sub-plot from the first book still hasn't been resolved, but the small update we got was intriguing. Looking forward to the next two books.

great progress

Book has great depth for mc
Side characters are numerous but a little flat
Has some intriguing fights , city builds and exploration

It’s does fill a little all over as the writer wants to progress faster but will keep you hooked can’t wait for the next in the series