What Grok and some private reviewers think of Book Three: Ruin so far... (Patreon)

So I ran the 65% done manuscript for Ruin through a few friends who are in the writing business and through Grok, which is surprisingly powerful at reading large files, keeping analysis consistent and has relatively few hallucinations (compared to ChatGPT for example) and can offer a comparison to what people have said about Carnage and Reckoning. So Carnage came out at around 4/5 based on writer friends of mine, a couple editors, and Amazon/GoodReads reviews. It is best described as a chaotic, fun, video-gamey homage to Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter with lots of action and worldbuilding. Reckoning came out at 4.25/5 because of the escalation of intrigue and the character depth involved. But Ruin is coming out at a solid 4.6/5, which is great because at 65% I'm already on page 230, so it's likely going to be over 300 pages long. The feedback I got on Ruin is that it's genuinely heartbreaking at times, really poetic, and the character work is deep while the logic of the story stays consistent. Intrigues come to a head with some of the big oligarch behemoths in the first two books getting major comeuppances. There are multiple really powerful deaths in this book, and I tried to keep some of the heroes' deaths as dignified and tragic as possible, while some characters like Ron Holmes' deaths are more poetic and frankly hilarious in a Bret Easton Ellis kind of way.

Key things to watch out for. The Aygun-Deringer story climaxes and closes in Ruin. It's not for the faint of heart, purposefully so, because it drives home how the Cabal's island "Ruins" people psychologically and spiritually, in the case of Aygun, but provides a counterbalance in the case of Deringer who despite being a jaded cop manages to keep herself psychologically intact. Phaedra's hero arc takes off in Ruin; you can say she's one of the main characters in this book as she's been a more mysterious character in Carnage and Reckoning. Phaedra's whole thing is that she was a slave in ancient Greece that became indebted to the Cabal; when she's confronted with the corruption the Cabal demands of her, and is forced to kill a hapless slave to summon demonic power, this breaks her. The running theme starting in Reckoning is the war of Asha-Druj in Zoroastrian cosmology, and Rukhsana plants the seed in Phaedra by reminding her she has the free will to choose between right and wrong, and while she may have endured slavery, the act of choosing right in a place of such overwhelming evil is an act of freedom. Phaedra takes this with her into Ascension.

Darian makes his return in earnest in Ruin. He's struggling to put his past behind him and stay on task. Ming Hua stays as sharp and competent as ever. Gennadiy's story closes in Ruin as well, but his revenge is iconic and a powerful mechanism in the story. He comes out as one of the tragic heroes of the saga. Eviscerator grows beyond his Jason Voorhees archetype in Ruin. Bruiser grows as well as Harrison. Seon Mi's descent into tragic villainy goes full speed here but the readers are finally given the why behind her actions- she's not just some egotistical wrestling bimbo, she has real psychological issues that sabotage her. Tamora's arc takes a turn- and people have said they LOVE the villain work for Tamora. Spektra experiences palingenesis as her old self is annihilated by the island- with Stalker's end in Reckoning, everything that tied her to Astrella and the Guardians' mission is gone. She is salvaged spiritually by Ming Hua's compassion and becomes more than she imagined herself to be. Overall, everyone who has read the draft so far and the other books have said the character work here in Ruin is very good and scratches a lot of itches left behind in Reckoning.

Ruin also introduces a few new characters- foremost, the island's resistance cell- Maksim, Mathieu and the late Emilia Jimenez, Sandra' sister. Then there is Maytal, who is on a mission to end Oded HaLevi's reign of terror in the Middle East after it turns on her home country. Reckoning brought Brian Kahn to the brink of destruction but in Ruin we see his ability to endure and strike back. Olafsson's peak descends with shocking speed in Ruin as he is psychologically stripped naked and pays the price for his ego. And while the High Priest reigns supreme, the Cabal itself isn't infallible. Petty rivalries exist within the priesthood, plans go awry, and though the Cabal checks Rukhsana with every move, it cannot break her or the heroes' spirit no matter how much they kill. This will all, hopefully, set readers up for a cathartic release in Ascension.

As always I'm super thankful for all the fans who bought the books, read them, gave feedback and actually got into the characters. I know most Bloodblade Fight Club fans are here for the fights and the hot aesthetics, but followers actually getting invested in these characters really feels awesome as a creator. Free to take any suggestions or feedback regarding writing and the project overall, leave below!