by J.R. Mathews
Release Date: June 30, 2026 (Originally published independently in 2021)
2026 Aethon; Vault
Hardcover & Ebook Editions; 576 Pages
ISBN: 978-1638493464
ASIN: B09HWX11N9
Audiobook: B09MDLDT2C
Genre: Fiction / Fantasy / LitRPG
Source: Review copy from publisher
4.5 / 5 Stars
Summary
Jake is working at the neighborhood market under
his apartment when the world ends. He expected nuclear war, a computer
virus, or even climate change burning everyone to a crisp to bring about
the downfall of civilization. But cruel and arbitrary gods from another
world? Who would have guessed that?
Jake, wasting his day slacking off in the cooler, as he usually did, found himself alone in a completely new and very dangerous world. Can he learn to survive? Can he collect enough cards and create a good enough deck to fight back against the monsters that have overtaken his former home? And why are these strange people that look a lot like elves knocking on the door of the market he is hiding in and asking to buy some of his goods?
Jake, wasting his day slacking off in the cooler, as he usually did, found himself alone in a completely new and very dangerous world. Can he learn to survive? Can he collect enough cards and create a good enough deck to fight back against the monsters that have overtaken his former home? And why are these strange people that look a lot like elves knocking on the door of the market he is hiding in and asking to buy some of his goods?
My Thoughts
Jake's Magical Market was quite a bit different from what I was expecting. I have read a lot of LitRPG from progression fantasy to portal fantasy to cozy ones to dungeon-core ones, but what I first thought was going to be a nice slice-of-life fantasy turned out to be something a bit different. Yes, I was drawn in by the more cozy elements at the beginning of the novel, but that did change when Jake's life took a major turn about a third of the way into the book, and I was there for the ride.
One of the things I enjoyed was Jake's personal growth. You can have all the great worldbuilding you want, but if the characters don't grow and develop, the book always falls short for me. Jake is one of those characters who was at a crossroads in his life, not really caring about his job and not really sure where his ambitions lay after leaving college to take care of his mom. With the collapse, Jake was forced out of his comfort zone to do things he would never have done and we see him slowly develop from this lackadaisical figure to one who takes charge and takes chances. He also reflects on his growth as a person and discards those things he doesn't like about himself and works on improving himself so he can do better in the future. He learns to cultivate friendships and to understand how his depression impacted his life. I actually thought the theme of depression was very well depicted in this novel as well as trust and Jake struggled with both throughout the book. And some of the things that happened to him definitely would have impacted both of these. It was interesting to see how Jake dealt with a lot of the things that happened to him in this novel and I thought the author did a great job at showing his growth as well as the challenges his faced while dealing with things. Yes, he may have done some questionable things while suddenly dealing with new threats, but he was the type of character who didn't really do stupid things and learned from his mistakes so I liked that about him.
The secondary characters were also well done, and while not quite as well developed as Jake, were still interesting in their own right.
And now, the plot. I understand why the author chose to do things the way they were done and I understand the title of the book is more of a play on words as it certainly led me into a false sense of what was going to happen in this book. But that is what reading is all about, isn't it? To get caught off guard. To be unpredictable? And the story definitely sent me in a spiral and caught me off guard. But it was fun!!! I didn't know what to expect from about one-third of the way in and just enjoyed the journey Jake was on and the characters that were introduced. I thought the world-building was great and liked how the story and what was happening developed. Yes, he does some questionable things in order to do what needs to be done, but Jake also develops as a person as he realizes he doesn't want to be the person who does these things and makes choices that are good for him. Of course he makes mistakes, otherwise how would he learn for the future. That whole concept bothers me to no end as there is not one person in this world who doesn't make mistakes. It's how we learn from them that shows our character and our growth. The only thing I found to be a problem is that I never really felt that Jake was in real danger or worried that anything would happen to him, and he definitely developed his powers quickly. But that is more a me issue than an issue with the book. There are a lot of themes to unpack in this book as well, including depression, self-isolation, loss, death, growth, family, trust, found family, abuse of power, and the list goes on.
Verdict
Jake's Magical Market was a fun read, and yes, it totally caught me off guard, but that was why it was so much fun. I expected a slice-of-life book and got something a bit different; once I wrapped my head around that fact, I really enjoyed the world-building and the characters. I would have liked to have seen a bit more use of the cards as I found them fascinating, and I did think Jake's growth in the second half was a bit much, but I personally like the struggle as much as I like the action so it's probably just a me issue. Highly recommend this book if you are looking for an interesting post-apocalyptic fantasy litrpg.
0 comments:
Post a Comment