A Town Called Bogus (Hiatus)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

I am on Hiatus until Mid October. I am sorry for the inconvenience.

If you like things Sim games, Fantasy, and Scott Pilgrim this may be the book for you!

When 13 heroes are summoned to another world Dooley Jones aka DJ is excited to be one of them. That is until he realizes he's not an RPG bad^ss with awesome powers. No Dooley Jones has the power of building. Join Dooley in this outrageous world as he discovers the greatest hero of them all might just be the one who can build a better tomorrow, or at the very least a working toilet.

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2025
Author: Spade Williams

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 17
Views: 7,408

What readers say about A Town Called Bogus (Hiatus)

“Before I give my full review, I like to preface by saying grammar and style aren't my main focus when reading stories or for a review. What matters to me is the story and characters, as they're the backbone of any great narrative. So, even though this story…”
RGloverRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“I've always been a building sim fan, and the crafting portions of games is usually where I sink the most time, so seeing a protagonist wake up in a world beyond his own with the power to harvest with a whack of the hammer and create with magically endowed b…”
James TadhgRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(7)

RGloverRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Before I give my full review, I like to preface by saying grammar and style aren't my main focus when reading stories or for a review. What matters to me is the story and characters, as they're the backbone of any great narrative. So, even though this story has its grammar and style issues, it still gets a solid 5/5 stars from me.
The characters are the real highlight. DJ feels incredibly real—he's flawed, relatable, and his growth throughout the story is natural. The supporting cast, including Helen, Curare, and Timothy, all have depth, and their relationships are compelling. You genuinely care about their survival and how they evolve.
The story is fantastic. The blend of fantasy elements and RPG mechanics—mana pools, leveling up, quests—keeps things interesting. The survival aspect is refreshing, and the stakes feel real as the group faces challenges. The world-building is great too, especially with places like the Tomb of the Hurricane. It adds a nice layer to the adventure.
Now, about the grammar—it's not perfect, but it's improved as the story has progressed. This is a huge plus for me because it shows the author's growth over time. The earlier chapters had some noticeable errors, but by the latest updates, they've definitely tightened things up.
As for style, I don't particularly love it but it's not bad either. In my opinion, if polished a bit more, it could be even better. I prefer a quicker, punchier approach, but the author's tone still fits the story well. There's humor to balance the more serious moments, and the prose has its charm despite not being perfect.
This story could genuinely be one of Royal Road's rising stars. The author has great potential with this story, and I'm following it as well, so great job author! Your story's pretty good haha!
James TadhgRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I've always been a building sim fan, and the crafting portions of games is usually where I sink the most time, so seeing a protagonist wake up in a world beyond his own with the power to harvest with a whack of the hammer and create with magically endowed blueprints is very satisfying.
We follow Dooley Jones as he and a number of others from Earth wake up in a mysterious world they know nothing about. But the framing device used is quite interesting. The story is told as a recounting of DJ's life, and there are occasional interruptions in the telling where DJ provides insights about an event he's just described - or one he's about to, which is used a couple times to dramatic effect.
There is a strong survival, exploration bent to the story, which creates a ton of mystery about where they are and what lies beyond the small town they begin constructing. The characters play off each other well, with each of them having their moments to shine, and sometimes the author gives us a peek behind the curtain as to who they might've been in the real world and what kind of traumas they bring with them.
DJ's inner monologue is occasionally quite funny, full of references to a world he's no longer a part of, as well as his own doubts about his powers and usefulness amongst a crew of fighters and healers. It's all told in a way that is endearing and never really annoying.
The only issue with the story is the grammar, something the author says they are working on, so I don't want to take off a full star for that. There are a few formatting issues and difficult to understand passages, but it didn't detract from my understanding of the story or characters. With an easy clean-up and a polish I think the storytelling can really shine.
Overall, if you like the framing device used in The Name Of The Wind or Interview With The Vampire and are a fan of building sims and stories of survival, you'll definitely get a lot out of A Town Called Bogus.
Haviel2102Royal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
This story isn't just another run-of-the-mill isekai; it's an adventure that will make you burst out laughing and then, surprisingly, find yourself immersed in moments of heartfelt emotion. What truly makes this work shine is the unique and charismatic narrative voice of its protagonist, Dooley Jones (DJ). From his very relatable "bogus" thoughts, his hilarious self-deprecation, to unexpected pop-culture references, DJ feels like a friend telling you his story, making every page incredibly engaging and vividly alive. I genuinely felt his initial confusion, the bewilderment of being thrown into a real-life "game" world, and the sheer, unadulterated joy when DJ discovers his seemingly useless "Builder" abilities.
The charm of "A Town Called Bogus" lies in its delightful contrasts: a fantastical world populated by all sorts of "cool" races like elves, dwarves, and dragon-people, juxtaposed with a protagonist who "looks like a farmer" but possesses miraculous building powers. This very mismatch creates countless humorous situations, especially when DJ accidentally names their entire settlement "Bogus" in a moment of exasperation. You won't be able to stop laughing at DJ's witty banter, his "epic" internal monologues, or the way he tackles the most absurd tasks. Alongside the laughter, the story skillfully weaves in moments of high-stakes drama, life-or-death battles, and profound reflections on finding one's worth in an unfamiliar place. This is a work you'll adore for its uniqueness, clever humor, and an unexpectedly endearing touch of the "bogus"!
cursedclarkeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
A Town Called Bogus is a chaotic, sincere, and wildly uneven fantasy novel that tries very hard to be clever and ends up being something more interesting: personal. It is a book with real potential buried under layers of rambling narration, repetitive jokes, structural confusion, and the kind of overwriting that screams “first draft with feelings.” It’s not bad in the boring way. It’s bad in the lovable, frustrating way that makes you want to see the author get it right next time.
The story follows DJ, a modern man who wakes up in another world with no sword, no spells, and no social skills. Instead, he has the magical ability to build. His job class is “builder” and unlike every other fantasy story where the chosen one gets a glowing sword, DJ gets a hammer and a scroll interface that behaves like a half-functioning game engine. Everyone else wakes up looking like a model on a Dungeons and Dragons poster. DJ wakes up looking like a background character from a survival sim. The premise is clever and the book knows it. It spends a great deal of time pointing out how clever it is, which is part of the problem.
The voice of the novel is singular. DJ narrates like someone live-streaming their mental breakdown with a laugh track. He is self-deprecating to the point of self-erasure, constantly interrupting the story to make a joke, explain a reference, or reassure the reader that he knows he’s not cool. Sometimes this works. Sometimes it’s like watching a guy try to pull focus at a funeral. The voice is unique and occasionally hilarious, but it never shuts up. The biggest weakness of this book is that the narrator does not trust the story to stand on its own, so he keeps talking over it.
Characterization is realistic uneven. DJ feels real, if exhausting. His anxiety, insecurity, and desperate need to feel useful drive the early chapters and make him a compelling if clumsy lens for the reader. Helen, the elf healer, starts out like a love interest written by someone trying
Mort S. PyralRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
A litRPG story centered around base-building and exploration of some unknown and dangerous world, including a level-up system for base expansion. The general vibe reminds me of a Survival game mixed with a Civilization Sim that slowly expands from a small point, which is a plus since I always dig the snowball effect of progress.
Our dear awkward protagonist wakes up with what everyone assumes to be a meaningless class—a builder—since they're all capable fighters, magical casters and other battle-oriented classes, but swords can't get you a working toilet in the middle of the wilderness, and that's where our bogus dude shines.
I enjoy how the narration style plays into the protagonist's personality and makes it playful and personal. I'm not that familiar with a lot of terms and pop culture references though, so there are moments where I'm sitting there feeling like a third wheel or a child watching adults talk about rocket science.
The characters are enjoyable and their roles and dynamics allow a nice exchange of serious business-like moments with casual banter. Not everyone likes everyone and that chemistry is fun to see.
Grammar is the area that needs a major rework and kills the overall flow for me, mostly an issue of missing punctuations that muddy words and sentences together. Otherwise, command of vocabulary is pretty solid, grasp of grammar rules is decent and the range of words used to describe the same actions was nicely varied in many instances.
Overall, it's a fun base-building story focusing on the aspect of survival and exploration with a large cast of characters.
I recommend at least reading the first five chapters to decide if it's for you.
SK_PaydeRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
I really enjoyed myself with this one. The premise is fun - I don't really read a lot of litRPGs but this seemed like a fresh take to me. I actually liked the way the levelling up system was done as well. It wasn't obtrusive in any way and made sense to me.
The story centres around our MC waking up in a fantasy game-like world surrounded by hero archetypes. The interesting ones, like legendary fighters, mages and healers. The MC is dejected when he finds out his own power - a builder. He can cut down trees in an instant, build huts in seconds, and level up after going to sleep. Totally BOGUS - right?
I really like the idea of the MC being a builder type. It sounds like it would be the most pathetic hero of the bunch but in reality he's really useful to everyone there.
So that's story!
Style is interesting - there's definitely a darkness to it but it's not at the forefront. There's a lot of heart and humorous parts as well.
Grammar could definitely do with a polish, there's quite a few instances where it could be gone over with a fine-tooth comb to really make the story shine even more. I think with a focus on sorting out the grammatical issues - this could be a 5 star story for me. This being said, the story was engaging enough that I could forgive the mistakes and still wanted to continue reading.
The MC's character started off slightly clunky in chapter 1 - might need a little tightening of the voice there but it really comes into its own in later chapters. He's pretty endearing and made me laugh a few times and really does feel like an unlikely/reluctant leader when you witness interactions with other characters. I also like the references to our pop culture he occasionally makes - it really makes you understand what the MC was like in his previous world.
There are a few secondary characters with quite a few being fleshed out with their own personalities and I was never confused by remembering who is who.
Overall, a really fun idea with engaging characters and st
ElorahDannonRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
Bogus is a wildly imaginative and humorous tale that never takes itself too seriously, and that’s one of its greatest strengths. The voice is strong, the characters are vibrant, and the story is packed with moments that made me grin or raise an eyebrow in the best way.
I liked that DJ’s voice is strong. He’s self-aware, neurodivergent-coded, and clearly a geek, which gives him some real-world charm. His rambling inner thoughts, while long at times, feel authentic. I chuckled at moments like “Movie Stars?” and “Gandalf’s kaleidoscope cousin.” Those lines show a ton of potential for building a unique narrative tone that sets your story apart.
What held this back slightly for me was the tendency toward telling over showing. There were several instances where I felt the narrative didn’t quite trust the reader to fill in the emotional or visual gaps, and it made some of the scenes feel a bit more constrained than they needed to be. Allowing the story’s excellent core to breathe through more implication and reader interpretation would elevate it even further.
That said, Bogus is a fun, offbeat read with clever twists and a very distinct personality. A bit of cleanup in the prose and some restraint in exposition would easily push this to a 4-star read or beyond. I’m genuinely excited to see what Spade Williams writes next.