u/Anth0nyC4

I finished reading Mark of the Fool not too long ago. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Had its flaws, but it was an enjoyable romp through and through.

I was on the hunt for a new progression fantasy when I stumbled across Rune Seeker. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was written by the same author! So me, trusting in the process, jumped in head first.

It started out pretty decently. Not as great as Mark of the Fool, but set up some interesting plot hooks. I was interested in seeing the struggle Hiral was facing, and found his interactions with his father and tutor engaging. I was interested in seeing how his relationship with his mother and sisters would pan out.

Then we got to the Grower island stuff. Pretty interesting bits there, and arriving on the surface was engaging and interesting. Hunting down Seeyala and her party and discovering the Shapers secretly on the surface was a treat.

And then the story ended.

I’m currently near the end of book 2, but nothing has really happened since. Sure, it’s been revealed that Fallen Reach is failing, but that’s it. It’s just been one fight after the next followed by another dungeon. Meanwhile I’m sitting here wondering when we’ll get back to the story that hooked me in the beginning.

The dialogue has basically devolved into skill explanation dump, I’ve lost the ability to tell what everyone’s personality is, and my engagement with what little bits of info we get is draining by the minute. I can only hope that they are indeed traveling back into the past with each of these Lost Dungeons, because that’s the only way I can cope with otherwise having read over a thousand words of something completely unrelated to the plot hooks I was promised.

What even happened? Where did the story go? I saw a post about how the first five books are all dungeon crawlers, is that true? Do I have to wait five books before the story starts up again? It feels like the author took the worst bits of Mark of the Fool, and decided to make that the whole series.