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Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer
Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer · Book 1 · 2024
Shrubley is an awakened shrub with an ambitious career plan: become an S-grade adventurer. The guild usually treats monsters as targets, so he and his fellow low-tier creatures must prove they can be heroes while confronting a threat from another realm.
From the author’s blurb
“He's a walking, talking, shrub.”Read the full description at James T. Callum and K.H. Sohmer, author description
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What makes it funny?
The party includes Cal, a skeleton who needs more milk, and Smudge, a pink slime whose squeaks can give way to perfectly useful sentences. Readers in fantasy book groups also single out the small jokes and puns scattered through the adventure.
The comedy at work
Shrubley takes the heroic career path completely seriously, even when the people he wants to join cannot believe a monster belongs there. His earnestness keeps colliding with their assumptions; punning chapter titles supply another running joke.
Try this if…
For readers who like an optimistic underdog, unusual adventuring companions and steadily growing powers. Readers praise the lighthearted listening experience and Travis Baldree’s narration; the humor is gentle rather than a stream of huge comic set pieces.
Good to know
This is the first book in the series. Readers warn that the danger has consequences and not everyone can be saved. Samuel Hinton’s review also flags frequent shifts in viewpoint and explanations of the magic system that interrupt tense scenes.
A few distinguishing details
- A monster applying for the job of adventurer
- Deliberately groan-worthy chapter-title puns
More funny progression fantasy LitRPG
Sources & further reading
- Reader discussion
Reader discussion
- Publisher description
Publisher
- Author launch and commentary
Author commentary
- Samuel Hinton review and excerpt
Review
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