Scott's Take: I’m Not The Hero: An Isekai LitRPG by Tommy Kerper, aka Sourpatchhero

I’m Not The Hero: An Isekai LitRPG by Tommy Kerper, aka Sourpatchhero, is a series of webnovels that have done so well they have been published into actual physical books. An Isekai is something where the main character is transported into another world. A LitRPG is something that is an RPG game in Literature form. Dungeon Crawler Carl was my introduction to this genre. Hoopla put a selection of books that they recommended under this genre as part of their monthly advertisement and I selected it.

 

Daniel and Orrin are lifelong friends who are basically brothers because of Orrin’s tragic backstory. Daniel is a natural born hero. When both are simultaneously hit by a truck, they are transported to a magical world where the AI that runs it decides that Daniel should be the hero. The AI assigns Daniel a quest.

 

But what do with Orrin? Orrin is given a new class (think power set) that is uncommon in this magical world and off they go. That is basic gist of the initial premise. Things are way more interesting and detailed than that, but the book blurb only tells you so much.

 

This tale is told from Orrin’s perspective who has his own struggles and issues with his new powers and magic. Daniel and Orrin are the leads of this series. Along the way they make new friends and enemies. I think the author did a very good job of making both characters interesting and powerful in their own right.

 

The second book in the series, also available on Hoopla, is titled Secrets and Strife: An Isekia LitRPG. Daniel and Orrin just are exploring a dungeon (underground realm with monsters) and along the way are caught up in a war between humans and elves.  There are currently five published novels four of which are on Hoopla. These reads are also on Kindle Unlimited. There is a sixth novel that is being posted in installments by the author online.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4zCBoT6

 

 

I read this by way of Hoopla through the Dallas Public Library System.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple © 2026

KRL Update

Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 2 more fun cozies-"All Aboard for Murder" Golden Motel Mystery by Ellen Byron and "Bubble, Bubble, Tea and Trouble" Tea by the Sea Mystery by Vicki Delany https://kingsriverlife.com/08/22/pair-of-cozies-from-ellen-byron-vicki-delaney/

And a review and giveaway of "Beach Blonde Betrayal" by Elaine Viets, along with an interesting guest post from Elaine https://kingsriverlife.com/08/22/beach-blonde-betrayal-by-elaine-viets/

And a review and ebook giveaway of "The Ginger Jay Deception" by Jinty James along with a fun interview with Jinty https://kingsriverlife.com/08/22/the-ginger-jar-deception-by-jinty-james/

We also have a crime short story by C. Inanen https://kingsriverlife.com/08/22/crime-short-story-fair-trade/

Up during the week, another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author Yvonna Russell about her new short story collection "Big Apple Whodunit" https://kingsriverlife.com/08/19/big-apple-whodunit/

For those who enjoy fantasy, up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and ebook giveaway of "The Last Shard" by Debbie Atherton https://www.krlnews.com/2026/08/the-last-shard-by-debbie-atherton.html

And a review and giveaway of "The Cloak and Dagger Club" by Jackie McMahon https://www.krlnews.com/2026/08/the-cloak-and-dagger-club-by-jackie.html

Happy reading,

Lorie

Scott's Take: Paladin’s Strength by T. Kingfisher (The Saints of Steel series)

Paladin’s Strength by T.  Kingfisher is the second book in The Saints of Steel series that began with Paladin’s Grace. Each book in the series spotlights a different Paladin.

 

In this one, the Paladin featured is Ishtvan, a large man who sort kind of leads what is left of “The Saints of Steel.” Ishtvan and Galen (another character from the previous book) are, allegedly, providing escort for a merchant who is in fear of bandit attack. The real mission is that they are hunting the head cutting off people from the first book.

 

Things are going slow, but predictable, until Clara, a slave who is actually a nun, is won in a duel with the locals. As soon as they have her, Clara says she is not the only nun that has been kidnapped. She and the rest of her fellow nuns were taken away during a fire at their convent. Someone has kidnapped a group of nuns for some reason.

 

Of course, Clara and Ishtvan are hiding things from the other, but agree to work each with each other. Of course, there is some sort of attraction between the two of them from the moment they lay eyes on each other. As they search for the nun kidnappers as well as the folks cutting off heads, they become closer.  And that’s the plot-- can their connection survive each other’s secrets?

 

If you like the first book, this is a lot like it, but with different main characters. Ishtvan here and Stephen from the first book share a lot in common since they were picked by the same God. Their main driving emotions are duty and guilt. Clara is more of an action hero character, than a typical Kingfisher female lead, because of her own secrets. I enjoyed this book, but it has the same flaws as the first book. The fact that the god being dead does not matter and that the read is very predictable as it follows the usual template.

 

The third act has some horror elements that were unexpected. They also did not fit the tone of the book. They were a surprise and did not seem to be a natural outgrowth of the story.

 

The third book in the series is Paladin’s Hope. According to the plot synopsis, Piper is a “lich doctor” (basically a fantasy version of a coroner). He teams up with Galen (the same Galen from this book), to investigate a grisly series of murders. Galen, who suffers from violent night terrors, is supposed to protect Piper while he works. Of course, Galen wants to do more than just protect him or the read would not be a romance fantasy book. But, can Galen control himself?  They are assisted in their investigation by a Gnole. What is a Gnole you ask? Think dog/monkey/goat hybrid thing and far more helpful than the man/bear/pig on Southpark. Yes, Gnoles are also weird.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fbKEE5

 

 

 

My reading copy came through Hoopla and the Dallas Public Library System.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026 

Thursday Treats: 7/30/2026

Some reading opportunities of interest this week.

 

SMFS list member Armand Rosamilia announced that his flash fiction short story, Coffee And A Glazed Donut, was published online at The Yard: Crime Blog. You can read it for free here.

 

SMFS list member Chuck Brownman announced that his short story, Rendering the Truth, was released as Episode 13 of Season 9 of the Mysteries to Die For podcast anthology series. You can listen for free at https://m2d4podcast.com/. As is done at the close of the season each year, a book will be generated of all the episodes and available at a variety of vendors.

 

Black Cat Weekly #256 is out and includes short stories by SMFS list member Michael Bracken (Satan’s Wings) and others. You can pick up the latest issue here. 

 

SMFS list member James W. Ziskin  latest novel, The Prank, is now out. “Set in Christmas 1968, a thirteen-year-old sociopath befriends his teacher, unaware she loved the man his prank accidentally killed.” Published by Level Best-Historia, the read is available in both digital and print formats at Amazon and other vendors.

 

Also now out is the new anthology, What the World Needs Now: Mystery Stories Inspired by the Music of Burt Bacharach. SMFS list members Joseph Goodrich (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance) and Josh Pachter (Me Japanese Boy) are included in the charity anthology edited by Martin Edwards. Funds raised are for autism charities in the US and UK. It is available at Amazon.

 

 

Speaking of musical themed anthologies, In Too Deep: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Genesis, is once again released into the world. Edited by Adam Meyer, the new publisher is Audecyn Books. The read contains short stories by Kathleen Barber, Eric Beetner, Michael Bracken, Austin Camacho, Barb Goffman, Debra H. Goldstein, James A. Hearn, Smita Harish Jain, Hugh Lessig, Adam Meyer, Tom Milani, Alan Orloff, Josh Pachter, Rob D. Smith, Joseph S. Walker. You can get it at Amazon or other vendors.

A reminder that by this time next week, another anthology will be out. Edited by SMFS list members, Editors Gigi Pandian and Tom Mead, All the Crime in the World: Locked Room Mysteries and Impossible Puzzles. According to the synopsis, the anthology will feature 14 short stories by “Victor Bonini, James Scott Byrnside, Shelly Dickson Carr, S.A. Cosby, Anne van Doorn, Martin Edwards, Sulari Gentill, Paul Halter, Christopher Huang, Vaseem Khan, Josh Pachter, Masaya Yamaguchi, Ovidia Yu, and a brand-new collaboration from the editors.” It is currently available for preorder at the publisher, Crippen and Landru.

 

As Gigi Pandian posted to the SMFS list recently and I quote: “We've got several SMFS members in the anthology. Josh mentioned his story, "The Allegory of the Five Senses," which is terrific. Tom Mead and I wrote "The Problem of the Poison Garden" as a nod to our favorite author, John Dickson Carr. I had no idea co-writing could be such fun!”

 

  

Until next time…. 

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Scott's Take: A Parade of Horribles (Dungeon Crawler Carl series) by Matt Dinniman

A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman is the eighth book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. I read this as an eBook so I did not have access to the short story. At the time of writing this review at the end of May, the hardback version is still on order at the Dallas Public Library System. I have a hold on one, whenever they get them in, so that I can read the short story.

 

In this action-packed installment, Princess Donut, Carl, and the remaining Crawlers, compete in various races and must try to survive and win them. Then, once the races are done, the evil AI is planning to have “A Parade of Horribles.” The AI is calling it a coming out party for himself.

 

This one is heavy on the lore building at the end. There is a lot of violence, but it is a lot less than one would expect in this series.  I also found the races to be very different than what I was expecting. I was kind of disappointed in that aspect of the read.

 

Carl and Donut get some more quality character development but some of the gimmick jokes drag on longer than I think they should have. Also, a lot of the plot points that have been running in the background for more than one book are still not followed up on  here. I kind of wish we would get a novel focusing on the kinder facility or the human resistance on Earth against the aliens.  Instead of a few sentences here and there. I feel like a lot happened in this book,  but mostly towards the end.

 

I enjoyed this read, but maybe I was overhyped for it. I thought this one was one of the weaker books. In the next book,  The Ascendery Games begin as the Crawlers will attempt to escape various floors while trying to stop one of the gods from becoming the King of The Gods.  There should be quite a lot going on as the large cast of the series has been scattered to so many other places by this point. It is going to require some very good scene switching to make it all work.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4dCSpDE

 

 

My reading copy came through the Libby App by way of the Dallas Public Library system. I have a hold on the hardback through the system. Sometimes the short stories are important, sometimes not, but either way I want to read it.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026

Thursday Treats: 7/23/2026

Some reading opportunities of interest this week.

 

SMFS list member Mia Dalia announced that her short story, B Minor, was published online at The Sunlight Press. You can read it for free here.

 

SMFS list member James Patrick Focarile announced that his short story, What Whiskey Won’t Cure, was published online at The Saturday Evening Post. You can read it for free here.

 

Black Cat Weekly #255 is out and includes short stories by SMFS list members N. M.  Cedeño (Mirror Life Meltdown), Stacy Woodson (She Loves You), and others. You can pick up the latest issue here. 

 

SMFS list member James W. Ziskin announced that his latest novel, The Prank, comes out on the 28^th. “Set in Christmas 1968, a thirteen-year-old sociopath befriends his teacher, unaware she loved the man his prank accidentally killed.” Published by Level Best-Historia, the read is available in both digital and print formats at Amazon and other vendors.

 

As I told you earlier this month, Level Best—Level Short is scheduled to release on the 28^th the anthology, What the World Needs Now: Mystery Stories Inspired by the Music of Burt Bacharach. SMFS list members Joseph Goodrich (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance) and Josh Pachter (Me Japanese Boy) are included in the charity anthology edited by Martin Edwards. Funds raised are for autism charities in the US and UK. The digital version is up for preorder at Amazon.

 

Coming early next month. and edited by SMFS list members, Editors Gigi Pandian and Tom Mead, All the Crime in the World: Locked Room Mysteries and Impossible Puzzles. According to the synopsis, the anthology will feature 14 short stories by Victor Bonini, James Scott Byrnside, Shelly Dickson Carr, S.A. Cosby, Anne van Doorn, Martin Edwards, Sulari Gentill, Paul Halter, Christopher Huang, Vaseem Khan, Josh Pachter (The Allegory of the Five Senses), Masaya Yamaguchi, Ovidia Yu, and a brand-new collaboration from the editors. It is currently available for preorder at the publisher, Crippen and Landru.

 

And, finally, for something completely different, the fantasy novel, Immortalized Memories of the Omniverse: Rise of the Draconic Hero, by Alex Rosen  is now out. Epic Fantasy and more are present in this read. I am reading more than one book right now, always a dangerous practice on my part, and this is one of them. I am not one for fantasy these days, but I am enjoying it. Sent to me by the publisher, you can get it at Amazon or many other vendors.

 

 

Until next time…. 

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Faw...:   Reviewed by Jeanne Winter in Montreal can be very cold and snowy indeed, and Agnes Aubert is desperate to find a new place for her cat...

KRL Update

Up on KRL this week reviews and giveaways of 2 fun cozy mysteries perfect for your summer reading-"The Chowder House Murder" A Downeast Maine Mystery by Lee Hollis, & "A Cyclist’s Guide to Poppies and Predicaments" by Ann Claire https://kingsriverlife.com/07/18/pair-of-cycling-food-cozies-for-summer-reading/

And a review and giveaway of the first in a new series by Elaine Orr, "The Handyman's Last Bite", along with a fun summer recipe from Elaine https://kingsriverlife.com/07/18/the-handymans-last-bite-by-elaine-l-orr/

And a review and ebook giveaway of "A Death After Dinner" by David S Pederson https://kingsriverlife.com/07/18/a-death-after-dinner-by-david-pederson/

We also have the latest Crime Writers of Color coming attractions https://kingsriverlife.com/07/18/crime-writers-of-color-coming-attractions-july-september-2026/

And a mystery short story by Albert N. Karz https://kingsriverlife.com/07/18/a-complicated-life-a-mystery-short-story/

Up during the week, another special midweek guest post by mystery author Annelise Osborne https://kingsriverlife.com/07/15/the-second-language-hiding-in-my-chapter-titles/

And another special midweek guest post, this one by mystery author Allie Pleiter where she talks about the supporting characters https://kingsriverlife.com/07/15/best-supporting-actors/

Up on KRL News and Reviews this week we have a review and giveaway of "Abigail Trench" by Randy Overbeck https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/abigail-trench-by-randy-overbeck.html

And a review and ebook giveaway of "Murder in La Galeria D'Arte" By Paula B. Mays https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/murder-in-la-galeria-darte-by-paula-b.html

For those who also enjoy fantasy novels, we have a review and giveaway of "What the Gods Left Behind" by Zephyr Trillian https://www.krlnews.com/2026/07/what-gods-left-behind-by-zephyr.html

Happy reading,

Lorie

Scott's Take: Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan is a book I would not have gotten except for the fact that when I was scrolling through Libby the cover made me take a look at it. There was a blurb comment attributed to Leigh Bardugo that she liked it. I like Leigh Bardugo’s books, so I picked it up.

 

This first book in the Time of Iron series is a strange read with a lot of metafictional elements making fun of adult fantasy novels. In this novel, a woman who is dying of cancer is given a second chance at life by going into a book series she has somewhat read. Without spoiling the read, there is a way for her to come back to the real world and be well, if she escapes into the fictional series and does what she had to do. This is not explained in the book synopsis.

 

So, she goes into the fictional world and ends up taking over the body of a villain that is going to be executed. She thinks that by paying the role of a villain, and using her knowledge of the series, she can find a way for the bad folks or, at least the bad woman she now inhabits, can win. This is also not really explained well in the book synopsis. I think the book synopsis does a bad job of explaining the book, but a good job of describing elements of the book.

 

There is humor, action, adult sexual content, violence, and more, as this book weaves through multiple perspectives until its abrupt end. This is a read that I think you will enjoy more if you have read a lot of these kind of fantasy novels. There are jokes that one character makes that another does not like, such as calling his horse, Google Maps, since it never gets lost.

 

It gets weird since it’s a book about someone becoming part of another book, which is changing the original plot line of the book that the real person got inserted into, which also gets even weirder because of spoiler reasons. Having a normal person interacting with fictional archetype people is a big part of the fun. The next book,  All Hail Chaos, is already out and I have put a hold on it through Libby. 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/432zZpW

 

 

As mentioned, my reading copy was a digital read through the Libby App and the Dallas Public Library System.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple © 2026

Thursday Treats: 7/16/2026

Some reading opportunities of interest this week.

 

I am leading off with this publishing news as I am in the new issue this week. Black Cat Weekly #254 is out and includes my crime fiction short story, A Plan Comes Together. Also in the issue are frequent guests here, Tom Milani (Andrea Gutiérrez) and Paula Messina (A Little Help). You can pick up the latest issue here. 

 

 

Also now out is the latest issue of Kings River Life Mystery Magazine. In addition to the book giveaways, reviews, and other pieces, Leslie Budewitz announced that publication of her short story, Pepper Reece and the Ghost of Arthur Goodwin: A Spice Shop Short Mystery. You can read it for free here.

 

Janet Rudloph announced that the latest volume of the Mystery Reader’s Journal was now out. Mystery Readers Journal: Mysteries Set in France (Volume 42:2) is available here. By the way, if you are not already paying attention to her great Mystery Fanfare blog, you should be. I watch a lot of British, and elsewhere, mystery television and I get most of my news on the programs via her blog.

 

 

Author James H. Lewis announced that his latest novel, The Boy in the Mirror, is now out. You can pick it up direct from the author here, or through several vendors including Amazon.

 

 

Author Allen Wyler announced that his latest novel, Deadly Odds 9.0 was out. Published by Stairway Press, the latest in a long line of techno-thrillers is available at Amazon and other vendors. Aubrey reviews it Monday here on the blog. 

 

 

SMFS Derringer Coordinator Mark Schuster sent word that John Joseph Adams has curated the Magic & Mystery collection scheduled to be released on July 28^th. These are seven Amazon Original Tales on Kindle. Learn more at Amazon. 

 

 

Speaking of SMFS, recently re-elected President Joseph S. Walker posted his latest compilation of recent publishing news of the members. News of the various books and short stories can be found here.

 

By the way, Joseph’s post title reminded me of the great blog, Make Mine Mystery. While it is dormant now, you can still read the posts if you go to the Make Mine Mystery blog here.

 

The anthology, Bad Intentions: A Crime Fiction Anthology Based on the Music of Warren Zevon, has been released by Literary Garage. Edited by Michael K. Downing, the read features fifteen stories from authors, Chance Adorjan, Colin Brightwell, Jesse Binger, Geonn Cannon, Andrew Careaga, Dylan Demasi, Zakariah Johnson, Whiskey Leavins, Scott MacLeod, Bruce W. Most, Joel Nedecky, Nathan Pettigrew, Keith Roysdon, DJ Tuskmor, and Mike Zimmerman. Cover design by Frank Vatel. All proceeds go to benefit Philabundance, a Philadelphia-based charity working to end food insecurity. You can pick it up in print or digital formats at Amazon and other vendors.

 

 

Until next time…. 

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026