Shadow Runner [LitRPG]

Information

Status

Ongoing

Year

2025

Author

AT Valentine

• Shadow Runner - Up for preorders!
  Oct 13, 2025
• New Series out today! Alchemist of the Wilds!
  Oct 8, 2025
• Chapter 3: Risky Business
  Mar 11, 2025
• Chapter 2: Wild
  Mar 11, 2025
• Chapter 1: Take Me Out
  Mar 11, 2025

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• Dimetrius_NoirRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Man i hate being early to these novels - never enough chapters to binge i will be back in 6 months so theres a big enough stack.
  Anyways, read this if you're even slightly inclined towards it and it won't disappoint. Somehow cosmic horror seems to fit in perfectly with every single genre in existence.
• RobortRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  you played cyberpunk, watched edgerunners? great. now throw some eldritch beasties on top that have something to do with the entirety of SOL and its planets becoming a cognito-hazardous exclusion zone with shoot on sight directive and you might get something like this.
  shadowrunner is definitely better written though. word.
• SmotheredAndScrambledRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Style:
  The style of the story is engaging and immersive, with a strong sense of atmosphere. The writing is smooth, with just the right balance between description and action to make it interesting but not over intrusive. The pacing is well done and the point of view is implemented without fault.
  Story:
  While there aren't many chapters out yet, I can say for sure that I am hooked. The plot drives forward at a consistent pace while really making you feel the suspense, it makes us feel how much Adrian wants the eyes, and the way we see how his actions effect the world feels real and engaging.
  Grammar:
  Again there aren't many chapters out, but so far the grammar is flawless, with no noticeable errors that disrupt the flow of the story. The sentences are well-constructed and the dialogue flows naturally. Also, considering the authors writing in their other books, we can expect this level of quality to be consistent going forwards as well.
  Character:
  Adrian is a relatable and complex character. His motivations are clear, survival and self-preservation, but the way the moral and emotional weight of his choices effect him makes him feel real. Without spoiling too much, the fights are chaotic and tense, Adrian's actions during them and the dialog really drill home the feeling that he just wants to survive.
  Overall:
  This is peak fiction.
• dotblueRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  It's been a while since I've read a LitRPG but Shadow Immortal was everything that I was looking for, LitRPG crossed with Cyberpunk. It's the perfect combination and Valentine has done a good job maximizing the setting.
  I really like the story and the MC is genuinely relatable. Better yet, there's never a dull moment. It feels like every chapter has a new challenge or twist for our MC to overcome. I'm excited to see where this goes.
• mimirRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Style:
  Shadow Immortal delivers exactly what I’m looking for in a LitRPG-cyberpunk crossover. Valentine throws you straight into a brutal, immersive world where survival isn’t just a goal—it’s a constant struggle. The writing finds that perfect balance between atmosphere, action, and character growth, making everything feel purposeful and real. The flow is smooth and gripping, pulling you deeper into the story with every chapter.
  Story:
  The plot is building at just the right pace. Every chapter feels like it matters, layering Adrian’s journey with challenges that actually feel meaningful. What I love most is how the world reacts to his decisions—nothing feels static, and every choice has weight. There’s this constant sense that something bigger is brewing in the background, and Valentine’s slow reveal approach makes it all the more addictive. You can feel the bigger picture starting to form, but it’s not handed to you on a silver platter. It’s the kind of storytelling that keeps you locked in, hungry for more.
  Character:
  Adrian’s the kind of protagonist you can’t help but root for. His motivations are simple—just trying to survive and push forward. But it’s the way he handles everything thrown at him that makes him feel so real. The emotional weight of his choices, the desperation in every fight, the sheer will to keep moving even when everything’s stacked against him—it all just works. He’s not trying to be a hero, and that’s exactly what makes him relatable. He’s raw, flawed, and willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive.
  Writing Style:
  Valentine’s writing hits hard. It’s clean, engaging, and sharp where it needs to be. Dialogue feels natural, descriptions are vivid without drowning you in detail, and the pacing never drags. It’s polished without losing that rough, grounded edge that makes this world feel real. There’s an authenticity to it that just works.
  Final Thoughts:
  Even with the oversaturation of dystopian sci-fi and LitRPGs, Shadow Immortal stands out
• R.C. JoshuaRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I've been following Valentine since his first series, Legend of the Spear Saint. Shadow Immortal is his best work yet. The writing flows, the pacing is tight, and the action sequences are well choreographed.
  More than anything else, Valentine has found his groove by writing in the first person perspective. There's plenty of tension to be exciting but it doesn't feel disjointed from the main character's thoughts/persona. Everything makes sense, which is a lot harder than it sounds.
  Overall, SI is a great story. Can't wait to see where it goes.
• Nowhere OmenRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  It is extraordinarily rare to see someone attempting to combine Eldritch Cosmic Horror with Cyberpunk. The genres are a natural match in existential despair, but complete opposites in belief of the power of humanity to overcome.
  This story is making a fair attempt to pair them together. We are on a distant world in the far future after Earth has fallen to Elder Gods or something like them. (That's not a spoiler, just my personal deduction from the faint hints provided by the author's world building.) Can mankind's drive to innovate and triumph over all obstacles overcome the insanity of powers beyond our ken?
  The main character does not care! He just wants to survive in this corporate hellhole. I want to see if he can survive and maybe even flourish.
• UnholyBadgerRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 4.0

  Overall the story is excellent. Adrian is a good MF and the supporting cast is pretty good. I also enjoy the world building so far
  The action scenes are also pretty well written.
  The problem is the continuity errors.
  Adrian has Jason's gun despite leaving it at the hidie hope. Garren mentions starting a gang called he red lions which I think is a mistake. Mela is the one against Adrian joining now despite being for it before. It acts like it was always this way.
  Overall if these issues were improved it would be a 4.5.
  I also think Adrian is a pretty realistic 16 year old.
• john hissomRoyal Road

  ★★★ 2.5

  The story was nonstop fun and action at 1st, then post eldritch got lost in the weeds.
  Putting in a requirement for extra words is an annoying requirement of these reviews. I was taught to be more succinct  by one of my supervisors who read my notes accusing me of writing a word by word script and suggested I use Hemmingway as my muse.
• TheCharmingSamaRoyal Road

  ★★ 2.0

  yeah, this had promise in the beginning, that just devolved into emotionally moist garbage.
  Expect:
  + A world where sci-fi meets eldritch nightmares, and everyone is worse off
  accurate
  + A determined MC who’s out to make life better
  inaccurate, the mc is a tree that only reacts when acted upon.
  + A unique cyberpunk/eldritch world
  this is why I am so frustrate with the direction the author chose to take this story, because its a genuinely good plot executed like a whiny teen romance.
  +Daily 2k+ chapters
  What NOT to Expect:
  - A story where MC has tons of plot armor
  LIES! the plot armor on this story is over level 9000!
  - A story where only the MC is capable of using his head
  again LIES! the mc only uses his head when he is kicked in the head and knocked out of the emotional pool he too often wallows in like a mangrove.
  - Cardboard side characters
  this is fair, the side characters are actually interesting and worth paying attention to.
  ugh, I kept reading even as I slowly watched a great idea get ruined by the author. its such a rich world, with a great plot but there is an incessant need to focus on the mc's feelings of self pity and anxiety, it voids any sympathy for the trauma the mc experiences because his lack of action and direction makes him walk blindly as he uses his feelings like a blind man to stumble around in the dark.
  the story is in need of a rewrite that has a strong dose of character growth, not character unraveling that the mc is focused on.