Review: Rise of the Class Smith by Leon West
Review: Rise of the Class Smith
Quick sideword, thank you for reading this review. Doing these have always been a fun way for me to share experiences and conversations with others that share what I enjoy. An author I respect and converse with regularly here on the platform reminded too, that these reviews, are for other readers, and if a review keeps a reader from possibly buying a book they weren’t going to enjoy anyway, then that is a positive for the community as a whole. That hit differently for me and I appreciated it.
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SMALL RANT:
So I will start with the elephant in the room of my own creation — I thought the blurb of this book really undersold the premise, or at least more specifically some of the unique details that I feel really separate and probably resonate with the general audience. This series has become one of Leon’s more or even most popular series based on number of reviews logged in Amazon and Audible (1,002 reviews on Amazon and 140 on Audible at time of writing). So maybe this is technically spoilers or something from the author’s POV but I feel it’s worth it to mention for anyone still looking at this series. Also, everything mentioned below are in the first few chapters.
\- This takes play on a real version of earth and not some fantasy world. Mostly modern day.
\- The stakes the dungeons have on the world at large are quite more real than let on.
\- Death by dungeon is another real consequence that can and does happen to even those that may or may not deserve it.
\- Dungeon diving becomes just another hazardous job that for most pay little better than most other jobs. Still have to pay rent, pay bill, pay for groceries. This brings a real weight to an otherwise fantastical job as depicted in many other books.
Realistically, I don’t know how much of this could have been expressed in the short blurb, but it really helps flesh out context for the story at large.
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LITRPG Cool Stuff
This is also what I would call LitRPG lite. It carries every feature that I have come to expect from a LitRPG, but does it in a why that is probably my most favorite ways. It’s never number hungry. Stat sheets are not tossed at you constantly. Abilities are constantly ‘activated’ having a wall of ‘system text’ tossed at you to remind you what the ability does. You get the definition once, then every subsequent use is a reminder through action. Heals talk about healing, stealth talks about going stealth. It is one of the best LitRPG examples of “Show don’t Tell”.
The RPG ‘mechanics’ on show here are unique enough to me and well thought out. The class smithing ability it gets its namesake from is a core mechanic and it really feels good. It uses a combination mechanic that I won’t go into a lot of detail on that feels intuitive and yet extremely flexible. The rules governing the system are also believable and grounded in common understanding if you have played any amount of dungeon crawlers.
As for the use of ‘kin’ which is a mutation of the human genome to create essentially new species and races of humans and that they go through their own prejudices is a great unique touch. Those born from kin parents carry that trait allowing families of unique species to grow and gain fame or notoriety.
Dungeons themselves are a cool unique design. Once again, keeping a bit vague for spoilers, they act as a buffer for another faction that add some real tension and true weight to the story that I hadn’t expected to be so prevalent.
I think however the most fun mechanics of the dungeon was the creation and acquisition of mob, fodder, creatures, whatever you want to call it. It reminds me of one of my favorite games growing up, Age of Wonders. You take a basic unit and customize it in different ways to change what role it plays. Take the same frontline creature and give it a shield and it’s a tank, take the same mob and give it a staff and it’s a caster or healer. It allowed for some super creative creature design without having to make new units/mobs for each class helping keep immersion smooth and not jarring.
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Awesome Characters
The characters really stand out here. Levi, the main character is a standard trope of a harem MC, with stoic morality, warm tenderness, and protective nature, but there a few standout qualities that help make this character someone I have really enjoyed. For one, he’s smart. Not super calculating or over intelligent, but smart in that he has basic comprehension and competence with the real felt ability to learn from mistakes. He feels the mistakes he makes, feels the weight of his decisions, and makes less than optimal decisions sometimes which feels realistic. And he is humble and not blindly trusting of every nice pair of tits that walk in front of him, regardless of how nice they look.
Blair and Maddie are stand outs too, each for their own strengths. Blair is calm and confident with a sense of protectiveness for Levi that goes beyond battle. She makes sure he gets the rest he needs, doesn’t push himself, and eats when he forgets too. It loving and sweet. Maddie on the other-side is calm and sweet. She is more of a artsy thinker, with a unique outlook on a lot of things. When Levi can’t solve a problem, which the MC shouldn’t be able to solve everything, she steps in with a new look or way of thinking that is genuinely juxtaposed from how Levi approached a problem while still feeling natural to her character and grounded.
Both girls are well written and each have strengths and weaknesses that play off each other instead of feeling blurred or blended and getting lost in the mix.
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WRITING
The writing is pleasant. I will say it feels a bit long winded in places. Monologues feel a bit longer than they needed to be and repeatedly retrace thoughts. This is an odd criticism for me, because I don’t actually think I want it to change. I find in the moments, I am invested to these characters and want to know and hear how they feel, see their pain and strife. Their crushing desires.
The prose is also something that I find more and more important to me. How an author writes. The words they chooses and how they put them together.
Leon here is quickly become someone I really enjoy. He writes in a way that his diction changes to match the character speaking/thinking and even to match the tone. If a sex scene is more quick and dirty, the words and flow of it match in contrast to a scene that is more intense and intimate, this scene will be more drawn out and have words that I would associate with ‘romanticism’ or ‘flowery’. Some might say “well duh” but you would be surprised how much that makes a difference. As an example, I don’t think the word cunt is used a single time in the first book. At least not in a pointed way, until a character in the second book uses it in an internal monologue and it just hits different because of it. Makes that characters identity and language feel distinct from the rest. Even depending on the POV of the sex scene seems to change how it is written which for me is a super win. I love unique and distinct POV voices.
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CONCLUSION
Rise of the Class Smith is my first major journey into Leon’s bibliography, and I can say it doesn’t disappoint. The book is well written, has good length and depth. Characters feel real and decisions have weight and consequences that aren’t always visible then and there. If you like fantasy genre in general, then this will scratch a lot of itches. If you like classes and D&D or Diablo style mechanics and dungeons crawling, then this is a must buy.
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As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reply to the post. I enjoy making these reviews in part for the conversation and engagement I get in the comments.
Also thanks Shane for giving me the push in confidence to get back out here and write these. I had a lot of fun.