The Runic Artist

Blurb

Where there is a Rune, there is a way!

Nate is a kid from Sydney, Australia who spends his free time indulging in his one true love - art. Graffiti specifically. That is until his ‘hobby’ catapults him into a new world filled with danger and magic.

Finding himself alone in a forest that is clearly not on Earth, he must learn to navigate this new world and more importantly, the System that governs it. Armed with nothing but his trusty penknife and a Legendary Class, Nate will fend for his life. He’ll conquer dungeons, discover runes and be drawn into battles against enemies he didn’t even know he had, all while making new friends along the way. Torn between returning to his old life and the friends he left behind, or making a new home in this world filled with magic, he will have to decide where his heart truly lies. No matter what he chooses he’ll leave his mark - and hopefully - a little art.

Thoughts

As of writing this review, I’ve read all four Kindle books and book five off Royal Road.

The Runic Artist is my latest on a side-quest to read more crafting-focused MCs. Unfortunately for poor Nate, life does not give him luxurious years in which to slowly develop his art and his place in the universe. As soon as one catastrophe or problem is solved, the poor man is roped into another. Give him a break, Ellake!

So, Nate is an artist; that’s in the name. He’s also a very analytical MC who, like many crafters, excels when he’s able to plan and design perfect counters for his opponents. To balance his caution is Kiri, his partner in crime (as best friends, not in a romantic sense), who is your hotheaded up-close-and-personal “bash them in the face” battle manic. And joining the two is Frick, Nate’s goblin familiar, who deals in one-liners, sarcasm, and humour.

It occurs to me that this setup is almost a trope at this point. My own series has analytical male Vashi, battle-crazed and hothead Raysha, and a spirit companion to provide a bit extra (cuteness). Cradle has analytical Lindon, battle-crazed Yerin, and Dross for drollness. Path of Ascension has analytical Matt, spear-wielding stabber Liz, and Aster (for cuteness). Industrial Strength Magic has analytical crafter Paradox and shapeshifting manic Heather (plus Natalie, for cuteness). Mage Errant with Hugh and Talia. Arcane Ascension with Corin and Sera. Cybergene has Ripley and Diana. Sky Pride has Tian and Liren. I digress.

When Nate met Kiri, I had some Outcast in Another World flashbacks, but the relationship there sticks to friends, and the two are wholesomely supportive of each other in the best way. There’s some light romance and flings in the series, but none are a focus or plot-significant, to the point where I actually do wish they were explored a bit more, just so I was invested in them even in a small way. Even now I couldn’t really tell you anything about Britt except for “She seems like a happy person?”, which is a shame given how well Nate, Kiri, and Frick are developed.

This is mostly because there’s a large cast. Some, like Luc, steal the show when they’re around. Developing all of them to such a degree would bog down the pacing too much, but each plays a role, and each has their own goals. Characters do not exist just to serve the MC or highlight how amazing he is.

One reason for that is because the progression is slow. Nate becomes very powerful, but this takes at least four books, many skills, skill evolutions, and class improvements. The LitRPG aspect feels a bit pointless in many scenarios (a common thing for me to feel, I’m not singling this story out). I skip the repeated part of skills, over how one point in intellect reduces the mana cost by whatever percent, over all low-rarity skill and class options that are obviously never going to be picked, and past skill level ups outside of any multiple of twenty (when they evolve), because it doesn’t really add anything to the story. There are some rather large walls of text with Nate ruminating on skills and interactions and various specific bits of the System, but they were simply for me to skim over and get back into the meat of the story - characters, plot, worldbuilding, creative magic.

I was pleased to see less System shenanigans in the last book, in a way I won’t go into because of spoilers, but I know this shift away from a stat-focus has been done by other works (like Defiance of the Fall) and it helps to fix the number bloat problem lots of LitRPGs get stuck in after the first couple of books.

Now, in terms of plot and the problems Nate has to solve, there’s a nice gradient from minor problems to literal universe stakes as the books progress. And through all of it, Nate is trying to get back to his art, or at least beat people down using his art, and this becomes more and more hilariously overpowered as time goes on. Life Imitates Art is a beautiful skill to read in action, so kudos to the author.

Anyway, I had fun. You’ll have fun if you like weak-to-strong, and an analytical while artist MC.