Chrysalis 2: Upping the Ante: A LitRPG Adventure

I was originally attracted to this book due to it being narrated by Jeff Hayes and Annie Ellicot. Two of my favorite narrators, when on their own, together in one book. The book descriptions and cover arts made me hesitant at first (very misleading). But I would give anything a shot with these two narrating it and I’m glad I did. This book is truly unique and a lot of fun to read/listen to. It’s pace never feels frustratingly slow and the tempo is smooth and even. The MCs thoughts are always in sync with the perceived passage of time. Something Authors in this genre seem utterly incapable of getting right these days. Rather than list all my gripes that the author successfully avoids. I will sum it up by saying my frustration levels never once got to noticeable levels and I was able to spend the entire time enjoying the story instead of cursing the author. Which has been increasingly more rare to find these days.

More ant-ventures. A bit more background, both for the MC as well as the world and system. It is hard to see where this will end up. I look forward to the next book.

I was so, so worried about how the monster/human interactions would go, and it turned out far better than I'd hoped!The inclusion of religion, something I've seen go wrong time and time again in a rather predictable manner each time, was both wholly unexpected and very interesting! I love the progression, including enough colony building and diplomacy so that the leveling and monster hunting doesn't get too stale/repetitive.Truly good, just absolutely loved it. Also, the teasing out of the protagonist's human history (rather than forcing it in every few pages as most litrpg authors do) actually makes you interested in his story. And once you find out, it just kaes that much more of an impact.An absolutely fantastic piece of litrpg (though I have to say the covers of both books have had absolutely nothing to do with the story...).

This book is a direct continuation (mid-fight, even) of the prior book in the series. However, unlike the first one, this one had some problems. First, the first 1/3rd or so was kind of boring. Instead of ramping up, it ramped the action WAY down. Instead of going further into the dungeon, the ants go to the surface, where everything is weak, and that was rather dull.Second, the author seems to have forgotten that his main character is an ant. While in the first book that was front-and-center, and the ant had to learn how to communicate using pheromones, how to see through compound eyes, and so on, in this book the verbs switch to "scream" and "hear" and "whisper". I know that those are supposed to be analogs to hearing, but since the author started using them the treatment has changed. For example a "scream" is "heard" immediately by all ants in the vicinity rather than treated as a scent that needs time to reach others. And the other ants have voices that are gentle or whiny or shrill... it just feels less like a story about an ant when the author's words AND how they're used have changed to make it read like a person in ant shape rather than an actual ant, and that detracts from some of the fun in the story.I do like that the MC is going for more of a magic build in this book than in the first one, and the treatment of it is generally pretty good. But again, now that there are so many skills and mutations it feels like the author's lost lock. For example some skills go up to rank 5 and despite the MC having tons of skill points available, he does NOT upgrade them. And some skills seem to be used without actually being purchased. For example, Dash is used quite a bit before the MC gets around to buying it. Capitalized, even, so we know it's a skill rather than just a verb.Overall this book is far less polished and slightly less fun than the previous one, and I hope that trend reverses itself with the third or I'll probably stop reading this series. It's still worthwhile at this point, though!

If you liked the previous one you will like this one too. It goes more or less to the same direction just ups the ante.

Seriously, I love this series so much! It’s so enjoyable and funny to read from the crazy priest, Croca-beast shaming, and definitely poor Tiny being compared to dumb bricks! Surprisingly, I’m really enjoying Anthony’s sparse encounters with the humans and how he has a love/hate relationship with them in a sense. Overall, I highly recommend this series.

Kicked right where the first book left off. Story moved quickly. Author does a great job at multitasking training so it doesn’t seem like such a slog fest when training the multitude of skills. We get a little deeper into this world and the characters at play and even why he was brought to this world. I felt very satisfied upon the end of the book. Still a cliff hanger but not really one of any consequence.

Anthony continues to be the best ant a former human can be. We get a bit of insight into his former life as a human, which helps explain why he so fully embraces the ant life he has now.We're also granted a greater understanding of the world and the true power (if not the full scope of purpose) for the Abyssal Legion fighting on behalf of of the surface races without their knowledge.Definitely looking forward to the next one!

No livro 1 dava raiva de ler. MC muito infantil. Neste, entretanto, amadureceu um pouco. Espero que o autor não decida deixar o MC em formato de formiga para sempre. Espero que siga a lógica do Hunters and Hunters.

I’m already waiting on the next book. I am loving the ants and how different it is to see them as the main characters! The author spins the story so well threw his main character and really gets you to see threw his eyes why he does as he does. I’m so excited to see what happens in the next book!

Antony continues to be excellent and, as a monster, really cool. I like the fact that he sticks to the strength of an ant works to build it and make it better.The story has been going on a fantastic pace, and I suffice to say I enjoy the struggles and tribulations of Antony.The system is quite fun and brutal in its own way. I look forward to the future of Antony and his team.

It only gets better from here.

A page turner. After 2 vols. I am eagerly awaiting the third for the further development and understanding of this unique world - hope there are many more installments!