Domestication

John Sutton was brought to another world a decade ago, fought in wars, and grew powerful. But that's over and he's settling down as a farmer. When he embraces the quiet life, the world begins to heal (Doom Points go down), but when he uses too much magic it gets worse. So he's an overpowered protagonist but he avoids using that power.

John grows some crops but the biggest focus in farm life is starting up a dairy. The setting has a frontier town feel like from an old Western and the narrator for the audiobook really leans into it. Locals are standoffish and bandits are the real law of the land. There isn't a “romance” but John does develop a fondness for the young woman who was taking care of the farm since the last owner died.

There is some violence and death, as one might expect from a Western. Antagonists treaten sexual assault but none is carried out.

This book is a bit annoying. The first 3/4 of the book was slow and a bit plodding. There were several times that I wasn't sure I was going to finish. However, I stuck with it, and the last quarter was suddenly very good, comparatively. Which led up to a plot-cliffhanger at the end...

So, now I'm stuck, I haven't decided yet if I'll give the second one a try.

Great introduction to the genre. Being new to the genre, I thought the farmer was a great setup.