Reviewed by Nicholus Schroeder for Readers' Favorite

Shadebringer Book One: The Land of Irgendwo is a fantasy by Grayson W. Hooper. After enrolling in the military a few months prior, Clyde was now behind enemy lines in the Vietnam War. He was halfway through his first tour, and he would’ve completed his tour had his luck not run out. Because when it did, his entire unit was wiped out. After his death, Clyde woke up in a strange world called Irgendwo. A world that was neither Heaven nor Hell, yet one where life wasn't as pleasant as he was accustomed to. The main reasons for the misery in Irgendwo were an unjust lord, unreasonably high taxes, and last but not least, Irgendwo was swarming with monsters that want to devour you whole. During questioning by the Sages of Mora as to where exactly he came from, Clyde’s description of his origin leads to him being revealed as the Shadebringer. The Shadebringer is destined to put an end to the injustice plaguing Irgendwo. This simply will not do for the unjust Lord Ek Maraine of Mora. To prevent an end to his tyranny, he imprisons Clyde and marks him for death, but rebels save him from his grim fate and ask for his assistance in return during the great war to come. Will he liberate Irgendwo? Or will he die in service for the people once more?

Grayson W. Hooper put a lot of time and effort into his plot. It is captivating from the first page till the last. Both the modern-day realistic war setting and the fantasy world of Irgendwo were very well-written. The Legend of Irgendwo was a genuinely enthralling read, and this is because of its great plot. Other than the incredible plot, another thing that truly had me hooked on this book were Clyde's hilarious lines during his time as a soldier, especially when reprimanding rookies for improper technique, or whilst fooling around with his unit. His lines would always crack me up and there were some really funny moments spread throughout the narrative. The entire cast of characters was one more huge positive for me, as they were all organic and well-written. The action scenes, both modern warfare and fantasy skirmishes, had great choreography. These were really fun to picture, thanks to the choreography and the author’s descriptive style of writing. I enjoyed my time spent reading this book and I’m glad that it is part of a series, as I can’t wait to read book two. I’d recommend that lovers of the fantasy genre give this incredible book a shot.