Book Review: Heroic Deeds by Robyn Wideman

I was in the mood for an action filled romp, with massive fights, witty party chatter and as much gaming jargon as I can fit in so I can pretend to be in the world. Fantasy Tree. I love LitRPG because I can ascend and grow alongside the characters, Heroic Deeds by Robyn Wideman.

The book gave me exactly what I wanted from it early on. As Ryan and his party attempt to recover their fallen empire, negotiate with dwarves, and fend off monster hordes, the level grind continues to drive them insane. The humor worked for me from the start, particularly during one drunk dwarf party that went so far off the rails I couldn’t stop laughing:

Congratulations hero! Or should I say raging alcoholic? You have learned poison resistance +5.

That line was exactly the tone-setter it needed to be. It was like a DnD game where the DM stopped trying and said fuck it work amok. I was right at home with the banter and the notifications popping up as though it were actual in-game text.

But as I kept reading, I hit something I didn’t expect. I thought the political alliances and kingdom management would be side quests, but they take up a lot of space. There are long, technical sections about crafting systems, city defense, and mana stone economics. Honestly, sometimes I felt like I was stuck in a strategy meeting instead of an adventure.

Still, there’s no denying the depth of world-building. Wideman really thinks through how magic works. The arcane towers, mana stones, and anti-magic chaff all make sense and add weight to the tactics. One moment really landed for me:

What kind of anti-magic nonsense is this? Terry asked.

I felt the frustration there I was just as annoyed as the characters when their fancy spells went haywire in battle!

What didn’t go as planned for me was how formulaic some fights got. It was often plan, banter, execute, loot, repeat. The characters are funny, but they rely heavily on their class archetypes and jokes, with not much growth.

Even so, I think Heroic Deeds is great for LitRPG fans who love seeing the nitty-gritty of empire-building and gaming systems. It’s not an easy entry point (you’ll be lost without the first three books), but for returning readers, it expands the world in satisfying detail.

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Images from the online copy of Heroic Deeds}