The Bookwyrm's Review of Tower Climber 3 by Jakob Tanner

 

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Rating: 9.5/10 Stars

Synopsis

The tower's mysteries grow deeper...

Closer to finding his sister than ever before, Max still has more questions than answers.

Why has she left cryptic messages across the lower floors of the tower?

What is she trying to tell him?

And then there's the last question. The one that keeps him up at night. The kind of question that makes him wonder if he really wants to know the answer. 

What kind of climber has his little sister become? 

With a new elite mission assignment that promises insights into Max's search, he plans to give it everything he's got. 

Will Max be able to find his sister before it's too late?

Tower Climber 3 is the third instalment in the best-selling LitRPG/Progression fantasy series from Jakob Tanner, author of Arcane Kingdom Online. The story contains RPG mechanics, stats, and ranks as a form of power progression.

Review

I have had a streak of good luck lately with finding excellent reads. Tower Climber 3 is no exception. Following on from the first two books, it goes in some very new directions that start to point toward where the overall story arc is going. We also get to meet some new allies, as well as see some of the movers behind the grand conspiracy in the tower.

As with the other books in this series, we get some interesting world building, as each floor has it's own architecture and environments. We get to see a wide variety of worlds, with a huge variety of monsters and cultures. The floor filled with giants as tall as the clouds is one of my particular favorites. The final floor of the story, where the bulk of the story takes place, is floor 30, which is very technologically advanced, but has fairly basic climbers. It's an interesting mix, and its a great setting for the Inter-tower Alliance tournament. Mix in the some elitist floor inhabitants, a powerful Tower god and secret plans for chaos and destruction, and you have the makings for a tournament for the ages.

Max Rainhart is still the main character. His progression in the Tower and in power is exceptional, based on factors such as his OP mimic ability and a passive ability that helps him with planning. His goal has never changed: Find his sister Elle. Getting another mysterious message from his sister, he knows he is getting closer to finding her. This drives him more than anything, since protecting his sister and his friends is his goal in life. Mix in a dangerous tournament, and a chance to help find his sister, and you have some great story elements.

The supporting cast is excellent as well. Kasey, Max's best friend and potentially more is a powerful climber in her own right, determined to help Max with his goals. Sakura plays a smaller role in this one, but her role as Zestris Tower Climber President is still developing. Blake, one of Max and Kasey's instructors when they were student climbers, is back as well, and he is just as goofy and bombastic as ever. There are also several other additions to the crew that really help when the chips are down, including a surprising powerful climber Max didn't see coming, as well as a figure from Max's past he never expected to see again, but who gets her own little story arc as well. These characters all get some fleshing out in small flashbacks, really helping the reader feel their needs and motivations.

The villains are not so much villains as opposition for the Tournament, although several teams would definitely qualify as villainous. The Cat folk seem very amoral and vicious, not the kind of people you'd want to meet in a dark alley. The Mercenary team is the true threat, and they are decidedly sketchy. Very powerful and with some truly evil members, you get the impression they have something more planned than just winning the tournament, and the revelations about the team are truly shocking. 

The narration is again handled by the talented Steve Campbell. In some of his best work to date, he does an outstanding job of bringing the characters to life. He brings so much emotional realism into the characters, and the character truly feel real with his work. I like the way he infused the new characters with such a variety of emotions, form joyful innocence to intense menace. It's a mesmerizing performance.

I think the tournament format is an interesting change that really worked, and helped develop the character's powers so much. It also moved the plot along nicely, and set up the next book in intriguing ways. This is the kind of book that will appeal to a wide range of readers, and I highly recommend checking it out today.