4 stars. An interesting premise, a couple of interesting twists.
Instead of reading one of the books on my To Read list, I decided to pick up something new called Rune Seeker.
The premise of the book is rather interesting. There are two races living separately above a planet, who rarely interact. Actually, the two races live on different floating islands above the clouds, and the planet itself is wild, untamed and only visited for hunting by one of the races.
Of course, our MC, Hiral, is woefully underpowered – the weakest person on one of the flying islands. Through some heroics, he manages to save a little girl from the other island, earning a bit of trust from the other race. And then joins a rescue mission to the planet’s surface for a hunting party that hasn’t returned.
Of course, things don’t go exactly as planned. I won’t give much away. But the team is almost always constantly fighting on the planet’s surface, and the environment is very unhospitable. There’s a reason why nobody lives on the planet or stays there for very long.
There are some mysteries to unravel, such as why things are the way they are.
Things I liked about the book:
- The MC goes from being underpowered to discovering something about himself
- There are some interesting dynamics in dealing between the two races of people who rarely interact
- There are some interesting dynamics in dealing with an environment which is itself like an enemy
- There are some interesting dungeon dynamics
- Some humorous elements
Things that could be improved:
- There are some basic inconsistencies around how long the races have been exploring the surface, and the very basic things they don’t know about the surface and easily discover.
- Why isn’t there some type of structure on the surface (like a bunker) designed to protect anyone trapped there from harm until its safe again?
According to the book, people have been going down to the surface “for millenia”. That’s 1000+ years. Yet, the characters of the book seem to be discovering some really basic facts like how to open the dungeon interface, how to survive the rain, how to use their powers for things other than fighting, encountering monsters never seen before, the powers some of those monsters possess, gaining achievements, quests, etc.
Perhaps others know these things already and they’re kept secret from the public. But the idea that using your vines to create a shelter to protect you from the rain grants an achievement should have been discovered 1000 years ago.
Plus, I just don’t understand how unprepared these people are for some disaster striking when down on the planet’s surface. There are no “emergency” ways of getting back up, nor emergency protections, nor communication methods. What is even so important on the surface (animal quills?) that is worth risking several lives over?
That said, I finished the book. The book does get better near the end. I applaud the author for there being very real consequences for the teams being in a dire situation constantly.
