Stumbling Up

Read Time: 2 Minutes

Stumbling Up sounded right up my alley. An underpowered hero, a LitRPG world, and a telepathic banana slug called Richard? I was sold before I’d even hit play. Unfortunately, it never quite fully came together for me.

Cole is about as down on himself as a protagonist can be, managing to turn self-criticism into an actual character class. Alongside his friends Leo and Tandy, he drunkenly signs up as an adventurer and is promptly thrown into a trial dungeon to prove they’re worthy of joining the guild. Joining them is Richard, an immortal banana slug whose idea of encouragement mostly involves emotional damage.

The progression side of things is solid enough. Much of the book revolves around the party learning new abilities, losing them again, levelling up, and generally trying to survive long enough to become competent adventurers. If you enjoy the slower early-game grind common to LitRPGs, there is plenty of that here.

For me though, the characters never really clicked. Richard’s constant snark felt more mean-spirited than funny, and much of the group’s success seemed to come from luck rather than clever decisions. By the time the story reached its conclusion, I realised I wasn’t especially invested in whether they succeeded or not.

The narration was a mixed bag. Jeremy Frazier captures Cole’s anxious, self-doubting personality well, though I found the delivery a little whiny early on before settling into it. Jessica Threet provides a second perspective, but a few of the character voices didn’t quite land for me. There were also some inconsistent pronunciations between narrators, a handful of obvious retakes left in, and a few minor production noises that pulled me out of the story.

Overall, there are some interesting ideas here, and I can see why the characters might resonate with listeners who enjoy flawed, anxious protagonists finding their confidence. It just never quite found its footing for me, and by the end I wasn’t left with enough curiosity to continue the series.

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