THE ORDER OF ARCHITECTS (Book 3)

The Order Of Architects (Book 3) by Oleg Sapphire and Yuri Vinokuroff
Book 3 in The Order Of The Architects series
Narrated by Kevin T. Collins
Genre: urban fantasy / portal progression fantasy
Format: hardback, ebook & audiobook

About The Order Of Architects (Book 3):

It seems that my former power is gradually returning to me in my new body. I still have all my past experience, however, and everything is proceeding just as it should.

How quickly can I earn money and build my reputation? No, I'm not going to resort to killing and looting. I'm an Architect, after all! I'm going to craft and build things! That's how Architects work! The time has come to rebuild my empire. So… I might end up having to do some killing and looting, after all. I'm not short of enemies…

Source: Info in the "About The Order Of Architects (Book 3)" was taken from amazon on 02/05/2025.

Buy Link(s):

 

My Thoughts:

Another chunk of a bigger book with cliffhanger ending. Not recommended to be read on it's own.

Grimrock has arrived! I would love to know how this particular thread in the story would pan out...

In this installment we meet the Proudhearts and that is the little bit of plot that is "whole" in this this book. The rest of the "plot" was started in book 1 and presumably will be continued in subsequent books.

I also have an issue with the cover art. That chinese woman in Theo's store is more appropriate in book 2 than in this book because Lu Chen was in book 2 but there aren't any chinese characters nor lady(ies) in this book. So what is that cover art all about??!

Sometimes I still hear the distinct singsong of this narrator and it makes me wince.

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 3
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 1
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 3
Pace = (9 hrs and 54 mins listening time)
Plot = 2.5
Narration = 4

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Order Of The Architects Series:

 

Meet The Authors

About Oleg Sapphire:

Oleg Sapphire was born in April 1993 in the city best known as “Little Paris”. He’s always been a good-natured banterer constantly in the thick of his fun-loving friends. This didn’t prevent him from getting two degrees though, in law as well as in IT. He used his expertise in both areas to pen his LitRPG series. His hobbies are archery and reading, but the one pastime that really moves his soul is coin collecting, hunting for rare specimens with quite a bit of history behind them. Ever since childhood, he’s been an artist at heart. His other passion is painting, and he’s made his way through an inordinate amount of books.

Oleg has been surrounded by pets from an early age, so animals take a large place in both his heart and in his books, much to his readers’ joy. Writing is his life and his livelihood; he relates to every moment of his characters’ journeys, sympathizing with them in both his heart and his mind.

facebook | amazon | goodreads

About Yuri Vinokuroff:

Yuri Vinokuroff was born in 1976 in Sevastopol. An avid reader from an early age, he was especially fond of fantasy and science fiction. Already back then, he knew he wanted to write books rather than just read them.

But as it often happens, all of his time and energy were consumed by his successful career, his family and his French Bulldog breeding kennel. His professional activities involved designing and constructing power plants and facilities, which couldn’t be further removed from his teenage dream of writing fiction.

Still, Yuri didn’t give up. Eventually, he began writing for Facebook and even created a small challenge for himself, completing 100 posts in 100 days. It was there that he gained his first fans. During the 2020 lockdown, he used the opportunity to enter a major LitRPG competition. Although his novel didn’t win, it still went viral, soon followed by the rest of the series.

amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Kevin T. Collins:

Kevin T. Collins is an actor, singer, and recording artist with a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He has performed in numerous theater performances, including Angels, City of Angels, Paradise Lost, and on television in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, As the World Turns, and The Guiding Light.

www.kevintcollins.com | twitter | instagram | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The printed book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

THE SWORDSMAN RETURNS

The Swordsman Returns by Oliver Law and Andrei Tkachev
Book 1 in The Swordman Returns series
Narrated by Robb Moreira
Genre: portal progression fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About The Swordsman Returns:

To save my world, I had to enter the portal and close it from the inside. After fighting endless hordes of demons, I finally found a way home.

But instead of the tranquility I sought, I got something very different… my world has changed, but it’s still rife with danger, so my job is far from done. For now, I need to figure out what happened during my absence and deal with these new threats.

I have returned, and I will carve a new path with my sword.

Source: Info in the "About The Swordsman Returns" was taken from amazon on 17/07/2025.

Buy Link(s):

 

My Thoughts:

First chunk of a bigger book with cliffhanger ending.

This book reads like Ajax's Ascension series by Keleros. Instead of "Rift", they call it "dungeons" in Ajax's Ascension series. They call it the "focus" in The Dark Healer series by Alex Toxic and Nadya Lee. Or maybe I am just reading too many LitRPGs.

I read this book because I needed something to read! And I have also got hooked into LitRPG stories lately. However, I struggled to get into the story. So, it took me sometime to finish this book even with the convenience of the audiobook format.

I am not opposed to confidence. But too much arrogance is a bit too much for me.

I like Robb Moreira's voice. However, I am not fond of the singsongy reading he sometimes gets into. But I would still buy audiobooks by him.

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 3.5
Story itself = 3.5
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 2
World building = 5
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = (8 hours and 12 minutes listening time)
Plot = 2
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Swordman Returns Series:

 

Meet The Authors

About Oliver Law:

Oliver Law was born in 1995 in a small seaside village not far from the Chinese border. Ever since his childhood he was attracted to fantasy and stories of portal and time travel. He took an especial liking to strong charismatic characters with a good sense of humor which would later serve to inspire him to write his own books.

His first attempt at writing was a LitRPG story based on the Path of Exile system. Even though it remained unpublished, it gave Oliver the desire to write for a living. At that point, he was already an accomplished lawyer with eight years of court practice behind him. But legal work took too much out of him, until one day he realized it was time for him to go back to what brought him real joy: writing.

These days, Oliver creates exciting and lighthearted fantasy novels inspired by the genre of web novels, primarily Xiānxiá and LitRPG. His style was also influenced by authors such as Er Gen and Mars Gravity, and The Black Company series by Glen Cook. Oliver is dreaming of one day adapting his stories for the big screen – whether as a TV series, an anime or a movie short. In the meantime, he still has quite a few stories within him, awaiting their hour of lecture.

amazon | goodreads

About Andrei Tkachev:

Andrei Tkachev writes heroic and martial fantasy and tells stories of time travelers and survivalists, which often explore the mysterious disciplines of the East

He began writing the day he finished the last book in the library and turned to the internet in search of something new. He ended up writing that new book himself, and has been creating new worlds ever since.

Each book in this series hides a certain something special – but what that is, dear reader, is for you to discover.

amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Robb Moreira:

Authentic, Casual, Sensual and Real

What’s in a name? For Robb Moreira, it’s obvious. When you trust your next voice over project to Robb, you get so much more than just an audio file. You get More acting ability with Robb’s Off-Broadway theater chops… More than one language because Robb is bilingual speaking both English and Spanish… and More authenticity and personality with Robb’s down-to-Earth, real-person reads. You simply #GetMore with Moreira!

Robb is a successful, and currently, working Voice Over Talent and Coach who specializes in both Spanish and English commercial work. With over a decade of acting training through the Fame School of the Arts and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, his acting pursuits in theater took him to the world of voice over, where being bilingual has truly paid off for him and his clients.

Robb also has experience in IVR and has done medical training videos in both Spanish and English. He’s read descriptions for the blind on TV cartoons like Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Nina’s World and Rusty Rivets. Robb is currently the voice of “Pushy the Push Pop” in the US and Canada, and has worked commercially with McDonald’s, Lunazul Tequila, Pepsi, National Geographic, Fisher Price, AT&T and most recently campaigns with Giorgio Armani in English and Yves Saint Laurent in Spanish.

www.robbmoreiravo.com | twitter | facebook | instagram | linkedin | soundcloud | youtube | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.