Blight of the Necromancer: Khthonia Book 3 by C. Rains.
The problem with this book is that it’s the last in the series. It was a pleasure getting lost in this fantasy world for the third time and as pleasurable as the first two times. What makes this stand out from other LitRPGs is that it’s a well-rounded and well-crafted novel. Many are just a series of battles, which isn’t my favorite kind of story. This one has a lot of character and emotion in it that keeps the story moving forward and pulls the reader farther into this made-up world.
Khthonia is familiar and new, which is an irresistible combination. Part of this made me very sad. Not many books get emotion out of me, so that’s a good thing. And I took something away at the end, about the true love. Maybe it’s not what the author meant, but I took it to mean something other than another person.
No one rational ever wants to play a bard, but Nora Quinn believed she could use her class’ skills of perception to her advantage as an investigator. As Essaerae the elven bard, she regrets picking the role now that the players are trapped in the dark realm of Khthonia. She desperately desires to go home, but her friends want to stay in the fantasy world, causing a rift in the party. To lift the Specter Plague curse from the land and win the game, the heroes must defeat the conniving necromancer. Yet he’s shadowing them with death the entire way.
Seeking the tools they need, Nora and her friends must survive perilous side quests and hordes of undead. The answer to how to slay the villain lies in the western ruins, but Nora is certain he is the only one who can get her home. And for that, he needs to stay alive.
Nora must choose between killing the necromancer and lifting the curse or siding with him and going home. Neither choice feels like a victory.
A fantasy LitRPG/GameLit for fans of table-top role-playing games.
