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Defiance of the Fall #16
Defiance of the Fall 16: A LitRPG Adventure
The board is set, and the game has started anew.
After braving the dangers of the Imperial Graveyard and overcoming betrayal, Zac has succeeded in his goals. The Kan'Tanu leader is dead, and the Eternal Guardians were unleashed upon the cult.
Betrayal left Zac wounded and exhausted, yet time waits for no man. The competition for the Ultom Courts is starting, and it soon becomes clear there is more to the trial than meets the eye.
Ancient plans compete with new ambitions as past and present collide.
The Limitless Empire is stirring.
Book 16 of the hit Defiance of the Fall LitRPG Series is here. Grab your copy today!
After braving the dangers of the Imperial Graveyard and overcoming betrayal, Zac has succeeded in his goals. The Kan'Tanu leader is dead, and the Eternal Guardians were unleashed upon the cult.
Betrayal left Zac wounded and exhausted, yet time waits for no man. The competition for the Ultom Courts is starting, and it soon becomes clear there is more to the trial than meets the eye.
Ancient plans compete with new ambitions as past and present collide.
The Limitless Empire is stirring.
Book 16 of the hit Defiance of the Fall LitRPG Series is here. Grab your copy today!
588 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication June 17, 2026
750 people are currently reading
353 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
December 27, 2025
Can anyone actually keep track of all the various gobbledygook concepts at this point? There’s barely any dialogue; it’s mostly nonsensical navel gazing.
January 16, 2026
I want to love this. I really do. I mean, what it does really well is kinda mind-blowing:
Cultivation on a scale that reads like pre-godlike buddhism and endless reincarnation from the level of Trump to the Enlightened One himself. And every book is a bewildering display from broken soul foundations to world-shattering power displays to infiltrating new areas to plunder for more godlike powers to eat and use.
Which is fantastic.
But you know what I'm missing?
Story. Just people having actual real conversations and plots being progressed and setbacks that aren't directly tied to one's Foundation.
Other than that, I'm good. But that missing bit is kinda HUGE.
Cultivation on a scale that reads like pre-godlike buddhism and endless reincarnation from the level of Trump to the Enlightened One himself. And every book is a bewildering display from broken soul foundations to world-shattering power displays to infiltrating new areas to plunder for more godlike powers to eat and use.
Which is fantastic.
But you know what I'm missing?
Story. Just people having actual real conversations and plots being progressed and setbacks that aren't directly tied to one's Foundation.
Other than that, I'm good. But that missing bit is kinda HUGE.
December 26, 2025
I enjoyed this book but this arc is dragging. I hope the story makes some nice leaps at the end.
January 4, 2026
Sunk Cost Fallacy. I've spent so much time on the series I'm sticking to it purely to hope it'll end soon.
A lot of the other reviewers have hit the nail on the head. barely any dialogue, and a lot of gobbledygook and terms that's really hard to follow.
Oh and this book makes like the fourth or fifth book to still be about ultom and it's still not over. And honestly I'm not sure it ever will be.
I honestly can't remember the people or their moveset at this point, and that's not great. other books do a much better job of keeping things interesting.
A lot of the other reviewers have hit the nail on the head. barely any dialogue, and a lot of gobbledygook and terms that's really hard to follow.
Oh and this book makes like the fourth or fifth book to still be about ultom and it's still not over. And honestly I'm not sure it ever will be.
I honestly can't remember the people or their moveset at this point, and that's not great. other books do a much better job of keeping things interesting.
January 4, 2026
With each part, it gets more and more confusing. Complicated, convoluted descriptions that could justify anything. It's getting harder and harder to find passages that don't need to be deciphered.
Without a summary of the previous parts, I would have given up already.
The only thing keeping me going is the hope that someday reading will be as enjoyable as it was at the beginning. I would expect fewer details, even if the book loses 60% of its content.
Without a summary of the previous parts, I would have given up already.
The only thing keeping me going is the hope that someday reading will be as enjoyable as it was at the beginning. I would expect fewer details, even if the book loses 60% of its content.
January 2, 2026
Fantasy gibberish. This used to be my favorite series. The characters used to do things and have personalities. Feels like we’ve lost the plot to the technical details of a universe whose laws are governed by a toddler who can go “nu-uh” any time they want.
January 1, 2026
Rating 3.5 stars
I still like the series but it has fallen a bit in my opinion. It is too complicated, too many things going on. It gets very hard to conceptualize. Zack is supposed to be OP, a monster in the making with insane luck and every advantage. He seems to have to struggle very hard to achieve anything and it is never easy. In the last book he ended up with damaged foundations with a poor outlook. This one was better as the author spent time making things better. He has so much to do though. Zack has to work on body tempering. Tempering his soul, tempering his heart. He has to work on his cultivation in both his human and his draeger body. He has to work on his skills in both bodies, and work on the cultivation of both his tool spirits. Then the author needs to work on the story. It gets very complicated and hard to follow. I do miss all the support characters, a lot of them made an appearance in this one but only for a short period of time. Overall, I will still continue the series unless something drastically changes but I haven't read a really good book in the series for quite a while.
I still like the series but it has fallen a bit in my opinion. It is too complicated, too many things going on. It gets very hard to conceptualize. Zack is supposed to be OP, a monster in the making with insane luck and every advantage. He seems to have to struggle very hard to achieve anything and it is never easy. In the last book he ended up with damaged foundations with a poor outlook. This one was better as the author spent time making things better. He has so much to do though. Zack has to work on body tempering. Tempering his soul, tempering his heart. He has to work on his cultivation in both his human and his draeger body. He has to work on his skills in both bodies, and work on the cultivation of both his tool spirits. Then the author needs to work on the story. It gets very complicated and hard to follow. I do miss all the support characters, a lot of them made an appearance in this one but only for a short period of time. Overall, I will still continue the series unless something drastically changes but I haven't read a really good book in the series for quite a while.
January 5, 2026
Solid but a little one-note. Entering the Left Imperial Expanse wasn't what I expected, in a good way. I enjoyed Zac's journey of discovery and learning about the underlying purpose of the Left Imperial Expanse. A lot of pieces of the Limitless Empire came together to start forming a coherent picture.
That said, there were really only three main characters with a bunch of cameos and temporary side-characters in this book. This author is at his best when he has a nice mix of characters, each pursuing their own agendas, with entertaining banter filling the space between bouts of violence. When Zac is too isolated, the narrative tends to become introspective and a little dull. While the idea of the memory domains is definitely interesting, you need some relief between just running from one scenario to the next. Even just a glimpse of Iz was great and refreshing; having more of her and Catheya alongside Ogras would have made the book much more successful imo; the author excels when he has their interactions to lean on.
The last quibble is that there were too many confusing shifts in context between Zac's two bodies. From one paragraph to the next, we'd suddenly be in the other-Zac and not even realize it until he interacted with someone who wasn't with the old Zac. It felt clumsy; some kind of indicator or page break would have been appreciated.
Looking forward to cracking some outer courts.
That said, there were really only three main characters with a bunch of cameos and temporary side-characters in this book. This author is at his best when he has a nice mix of characters, each pursuing their own agendas, with entertaining banter filling the space between bouts of violence. When Zac is too isolated, the narrative tends to become introspective and a little dull. While the idea of the memory domains is definitely interesting, you need some relief between just running from one scenario to the next. Even just a glimpse of Iz was great and refreshing; having more of her and Catheya alongside Ogras would have made the book much more successful imo; the author excels when he has their interactions to lean on.
The last quibble is that there were too many confusing shifts in context between Zac's two bodies. From one paragraph to the next, we'd suddenly be in the other-Zac and not even realize it until he interacted with someone who wasn't with the old Zac. It felt clumsy; some kind of indicator or page break would have been appreciated.
Looking forward to cracking some outer courts.
January 19, 2026
What happened? I have loved this series. In previous books I would get excited about putting everything else down and immersing myself in the world. But sadly, that is no longer the case.
I no longer have any idea of what is going on, it feels like you need a science degree in the theory of time in order to follow what is happening. This is further exacerbated by the fact that Zac has two bodies and the experiences are often illusions, whats real and whats not I have no clue anymore.
Ogras, my favorite side character in any litrpg, has become a wet blanket hanger on, who just constantly expresses his happiness at following the lucky guy. He no longer keeps his independent thoughts while getting up to shenanigans. Why did he not have his own road to follow in the trial?
The trial itself, where are the exciting battles between contestants, where are the lucky finds (not illusions converted into such), the clashes between factions, the joyfall encounters, the comedy, the heroism? It's all so confusing. I get it. There is a big plan behind it all, yet it has become so convoluted that the enjoyment is gone.
I no longer have any idea of what is going on, it feels like you need a science degree in the theory of time in order to follow what is happening. This is further exacerbated by the fact that Zac has two bodies and the experiences are often illusions, whats real and whats not I have no clue anymore.
Ogras, my favorite side character in any litrpg, has become a wet blanket hanger on, who just constantly expresses his happiness at following the lucky guy. He no longer keeps his independent thoughts while getting up to shenanigans. Why did he not have his own road to follow in the trial?
The trial itself, where are the exciting battles between contestants, where are the lucky finds (not illusions converted into such), the clashes between factions, the joyfall encounters, the comedy, the heroism? It's all so confusing. I get it. There is a big plan behind it all, yet it has become so convoluted that the enjoyment is gone.
December 25, 2025
I wonder when the Ultom arc will end.. (not that I want it too). I was pretty sure the courts etc would start in this book, but it was about the way there, kind of.
i think the author, compared to alot of other Litrpg, don't have an ending that have to be reach no matter how it happens.
I hate plots that need the characters be incredible stupid to work. In this series you don't have to worry about that. I don't think I have thought that once in 16 books.
(my only concern is if I never ends up in a system world, what will I do with all the knowledge about Dao, body/soul/heart tempering and what to do when your core crack up. because I really hope I can use all the information I get from this book for something 🚬🤡
i think the author, compared to alot of other Litrpg, don't have an ending that have to be reach no matter how it happens.
I hate plots that need the characters be incredible stupid to work. In this series you don't have to worry about that. I don't think I have thought that once in 16 books.
(my only concern is if I never ends up in a system world, what will I do with all the knowledge about Dao, body/soul/heart tempering and what to do when your core crack up. because I really hope I can use all the information I get from this book for something 🚬🤡
January 7, 2026
Another reviewer described this as "gobbledygook". I'm not willing to go that far but he has a point. I don't want to drop the series but I need to start thinking about it.
What I would like to see: reduce the gobbledygook, focus on bringing the plot to an end, and give closure to some of the secondary character subplots.
The parts of this book that I enjoyed most were the development of the background story on the Limitless Empire and the Left Imperial Court. The parts I enjoyed mildly were catching up with some of the 200(?) secondary character stories. Finally, the "and then for the 16th book in a row, Zac sustains major injury, heals himself, becomes stronger, and has a new insight into the Dao" parts do nothing for me at this point.
What I would like to see: reduce the gobbledygook, focus on bringing the plot to an end, and give closure to some of the secondary character subplots.
The parts of this book that I enjoyed most were the development of the background story on the Limitless Empire and the Left Imperial Court. The parts I enjoyed mildly were catching up with some of the 200(?) secondary character stories. Finally, the "and then for the 16th book in a row, Zac sustains major injury, heals himself, becomes stronger, and has a new insight into the Dao" parts do nothing for me at this point.
December 27, 2025
It’s always a joy to return to this series. What I continue to love about it is how detailed and alive the world feels, and how much space the story gives itself to explore and develop over time.
This installment was a lot of fun for me. I especially liked how the progression felt more balanced this time around, particularly when it came to Zac’s two sides, and I found it much easier to follow which state he was in compared to the previous book. It was also enjoyable settling back into the rhythm of exploration, growth, and seizing opportunities, along with seeing some familiar faces again. I also appreciated the recap to ease me back into things.
This installment was a lot of fun for me. I especially liked how the progression felt more balanced this time around, particularly when it came to Zac’s two sides, and I found it much easier to follow which state he was in compared to the previous book. It was also enjoyable settling back into the rhythm of exploration, growth, and seizing opportunities, along with seeing some familiar faces again. I also appreciated the recap to ease me back into things.
December 30, 2025
I DNFed this book about 40% of the way in, and am abandoning the series. The author has created a rich universe, so rich that I can't even keep track of what's going on. There isn't any summary of what happened in the previous books, no glossary, nothing to help me remember who the factions are or the various courts of the Limitless Empire. I read LitRPG for fun, and sadly this series has become a chore.
January 2, 2026
A bit complicated
This series although good has become convoluted and sometimes a little confusing despite that the action and some good creative moments make this worthwhile for most to keep on it.
A nice breakdown summary would be helpful as this does take quite a lot of concentration to keep track of everything that's happening and how the relevant characters are powering up.
This series although good has become convoluted and sometimes a little confusing despite that the action and some good creative moments make this worthwhile for most to keep on it.
A nice breakdown summary would be helpful as this does take quite a lot of concentration to keep track of everything that's happening and how the relevant characters are powering up.
January 8, 2026
Oh lord
700 plus pages of absolute goobledegook. Bouncing from sub plot to sub plot. Books like this should be fun, and this wad not fun. If I had paid for the book, I would be demanding my money back. Futher, the MC is miles away from his conclusion, thus we , as readers are faced with reading many more books until he achieves success and all of the characters combine in an ending.
This book is terrible, please avoid.
700 plus pages of absolute goobledegook. Bouncing from sub plot to sub plot. Books like this should be fun, and this wad not fun. If I had paid for the book, I would be demanding my money back. Futher, the MC is miles away from his conclusion, thus we , as readers are faced with reading many more books until he achieves success and all of the characters combine in an ending.
This book is terrible, please avoid.
January 4, 2026
worth the wait
Really great instalment to this series. There been a marked improvement since your first book and it's still a great series to find the next instalment waiting to be read. Really looking forward to the next book and will be going back and reading from the beginning when I've caught back up on my current books. Thanks for writing a fun series.
Really great instalment to this series. There been a marked improvement since your first book and it's still a great series to find the next instalment waiting to be read. Really looking forward to the next book and will be going back and reading from the beginning when I've caught back up on my current books. Thanks for writing a fun series.
January 9, 2026
still Amazing
Heavy on cultivation, but it’s all good. It adds to the story and fleshes out the characters. Action is well done, and the MC is very well done. Supporting characters have their own story arcs and are not just talking heads or plot pushers.
JF, I want to see the Terminus. Please continue to write your story and I’ll continue to ride along.
Heavy on cultivation, but it’s all good. It adds to the story and fleshes out the characters. Action is well done, and the MC is very well done. Supporting characters have their own story arcs and are not just talking heads or plot pushers.
JF, I want to see the Terminus. Please continue to write your story and I’ll continue to ride along.
January 18, 2026
what a struggle to read. loads of destiny crap and not much battling what happened to the MC in the first books, now it is loads of Buddhist stuff and no action. if book 17 is the same l will be giving up on this series
November 14, 2025
Read on Patreon -keeping up the brilliant progress of Zac(s) in new ways to swing an axe
January 1, 2026
2.5*
Getting hard to make sense of it all. This is pretty much the second filler book in a row.
Getting hard to make sense of it all. This is pretty much the second filler book in a row.
January 3, 2026
Nice, looking forward to the next book
A few slow spots, but overall a great book in the series. Keep it going. Looking forward to the next one.
A few slow spots, but overall a great book in the series. Keep it going. Looking forward to the next one.
January 9, 2026
These waters? They're definitely muddy. Fish at your own risk.
January 9, 2026
The storyline advances
The book had a great deal of technical details and backstory. To me this did create a story that was somewhat of a slog to get through.
The book had a great deal of technical details and backstory. To me this did create a story that was somewhat of a slog to get through.
January 17, 2026
good
Another good one from this series and the plot is progressing very nicely and the characters are really interesting too.
Another good one from this series and the plot is progressing very nicely and the characters are really interesting too.
January 18, 2026
Fanfreakingtastic!
What an amazing book! I absolutely loved this book and such wonderful characters! I can not wait for the next book to come out!
What an amazing book! I absolutely loved this book and such wonderful characters! I can not wait for the next book to come out!
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews