LitRPG Podcast 148
LitRPG Podcast 148
Dec. 20th, 2018
I’m Ramon Mejia. I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews. I have 6 new reviews just for you.
Before we begin, I want to thank our newest Patreon supporter Steven Miller for helping to support the podcast. Thanks man.
New Releases and Reviews:
The Great Filter: A Post-Apocalyptic Gamelit Novel (14:58)
A good RPG Apocalypse story
Score: 7.6 out of 10
The Song Matron: A LitRPG Journey (Uniworld Online Trilogy
Book 3) (18:20)
A good ending to the series
Score: 7.4 out of 10
True Hero (Champion Is Playing Book #1) LitRPG Series (20:47)
Russian translation; Combines LitRPG with RTS
Score: 7.7 out of 10
Rogue Games: A litRPG Adventure (27:47)
Got bored
Score: 5 out of 10
Realm of Noria. [LitRPG series. Book 1. The Birth] (32:38)
Russian translation, misses for me
Score: 6 out of 10
Dungeon Mauling - A LitRPG GameLit Novel (The Good Guys Book 3) (39:20)
A good dungeon crawl
Score: 7.6 out of 10
(Play Music 2)
LitRPG News
The first book in the Endless Online series will be on sale till 12/24 for just $0.99.
Caverns and Creatures: Volume I (Books 1 - 4) is also on sale for $0.99 till 12/24. That’s right, the omnibus which includes the first 4 books is just $0.99.
Dave Willmarth, author of the Greystone Chronicles, has put book 1 of the series up for FREE on Amazon from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd.
In the spirit of giving, I also did a quick search for perma-Free and $0.99 LitRPG that I thought you’d enjoy.
Free LitRPG
AlterWorld: Play to Live. A LitRPG Series (Book 1)
Patch 17: Epic LitRPG (Realm of Arkon, Book 1)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A LitRPG Novella (King Arthur LitRGP Book 1)
$0.99 LitRPG
Desert Runner (Puatera Online Book 1)
Author Interview with Charles Dean, author of War Aeternus and the Bathrobe Knight series, is now available on the LitRPG Podcast Facebook page and our YouTube Page. It was really fun. We talked about his writing philosophy, beards, his dislike of goatees, which muppet he looks like, and more. Though I should warn that Charles uses adult language.
https://www.facebook.com/litrpgpodcast/videos/359963651250460/
Mountaindale Press interviews Jay Boyce, Author of A Touch of Power: Siphon
https://www.facebook.com/MountaindalePress/videos/395925044490828/
Christmas Themed LitRPG stories
The Goblin that stole XMas by Apollos Thorne
https://bookbrawl.com/books/5a274811bbb20f0a7298409a
Freehaven Online: Winter Dungeonland (Book 3)
Cooper's Christmas Carol (Caverns and Creatures)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: A LitRPG Novella (King Arthur LitRGP Book 1)
Out Now!
Freehaven Online: Winter Dungeonland (Book 3)
-The author asked that we mention that the story does have some winter/christmas themes for those looking for something holiday oriented.
-Set in the Threadbare Universe
Blackthorne: A Beautiful Nightmare
-One of Scottie Futch’s oldest series is finally on Amazon!
Refuge (Land of Dreams Book 3)
Ipseity (The Stork Tower Book 5)
Beyond the Boss, A LitRPG Adventure (The Adventures of Horc Book 3)
Rules-Free VRMMO Life: Volume XVIII - Divine Favor
New LitRPG Audiobooks
Betrayal: A LitRPG Adventure (Monsters, Maces and Magic, Volume 2)
Back in the Game: Bloodfeast, Book 2
First Login: Chronicle, Book 1
Upcoming LitRPG:
Finding a Body (The Dark Herbalist Book #4) LitRPG series (Dec. 27th, 2018)
Break: EvoBorne: Book One - A LitRPG Saga (EvoBorne - A LitRPG Saga 1) (Jan. 1st, 2018)
World's Unbound: An Apocalyptic LitRPG (System Apocalypse Book 6) (Jan. 1st, 2019)
Rexus: Side Quest (The Completionist Chronicles Book 3)
(Jan. 1st, 2018)
Level Up: The Knockout (Book #1) LitRPG Series (Jan. 9th, 2019)
*A side story set in the same Level Up universe, different MC*
Dungeon Wars (Jan. 11th, 2019)
The Steel Hounds (The Artar Chronicles Book 1) (Jan. 19th, 2019)
Neverfall: Catacombs (Book 2): A Gamelit Lit RPG Series (Jan. 29th, 2019)
Four: The Loot: A LitRPG/Gamelit Adventure (The Good Guys Book 4) (Feb. 14th, 2019)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
(Play Music 3)
New Releases and Reviews
(Picture 1)
The Great Filter: A Post-Apocalyptic Gamelit Novel
The end of the world had arrived just as many had predicted, in a global exchange of nuclear weapons.
What no one predicted was the sudden message that appeared before every living soul moments before impact, a message from 'The Administrators' revealing our entire world and everything in it to be a species simulation. According to the message, Humanity had been reset over a million times and every single time we could not prevent our own extinction.
No more resets for humanity. No more chances.
They would leave our world an irradiated disaster, but to keep things interesting, they would convert our species simulation to a game for their twisted entertainment.
Digital or not, real or not, I have a family to protect. A wife and daughter who need me, universe be damned. I say bring it on. Welcome to the end of the world.
Welcome to The Great Filter.
My Opinion: 214 pages, $3.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
This is an LitRPG apocalypse story. The game portion of the story is divided into two sections: the Assessment section, and the RPG Apocalypse. I only mention the division because a lot of the RPG aspects, like the character sheet, stats, perks, etc., don’t start until after the Assessment section. However, the entire novel does a really good job of bringing the zombie apocalypse vibe out in the story. There are survival elements, monsters to fight, survivors to recruit, and survivors to fear. These elements are combined with RPG mechanics that are pulled from Fallout, and Metro: Last Light.
Game mechanic wise, things are pretty thorough after the Assessment section. There’s XP, skills, stats, and item descriptions, and some base building mechanics. Additionally, there are purchasable perks that are very reminiscent from Fallout and a slug currency system that reminds me of something pulled from the apocalypse Metro series. In particular, I liked that XP felt like a precious resource and could be earned from non-combat activities like crafting or exploration.
Overall, this is a pretty good RPG apocalypse story. Though be aware that things get kinda dark at times in the story.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
The Great Filter: A Post-Apocalyptic Gamelit Novel
(Picture 2)
The Song Matron: A LitRPG Journey (Uniworld Online Trilogy Book 3)
Cadence, the extraordinarily-powerful Bard-based Song Mistress, is back for the final installment of the Uniworld Online Trilogy! Joined by her friends, she embarks on a journey to – somehow – bring peace to Uniworld, all while avoiding attempts from her own faction to kill her.
Now knowing who brutally attacked her – if not his real-life persona – Cadence must get stronger, learn more about her abilities, and devise a strategy for him to confess to his involvement. To do that, however, she needs to survive long enough; which is going to be hard with the entirety of the Light faction out to get her.
With the only avenue for escape among their “enemies”, Cadence and her friends travel to the Dark faction, where she learns much-needed information regarding one of her oldest and most important quests. From that information stems an expedition into the unknown, which will bring her closer to her goal…and her destiny.
Is Cadence strong enough to embrace her fate and bring justice to her attackers? Find out – in the thrilling conclusion to the Uniworld Online Trilogy today!
Contains LitRPG elements such as stat tables and character leveling.
My Opinion: 300 pg??, $3.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
This is end of the Uniworld Online trilogy and it does a good resolving all the story threads. There are a few pieces of the story felt a little forced and a couple items were clearly OP but the big resolution at the end made it worthwhile and things wrap up satisfactorily.
Score: 7.4 out of 10
The Song Matron: A LitRPG Journey (Uniworld Online Trilogy Book 3)
(Picture 3)
True Hero Champion Is Playing
A simple man, lacking in knowledge, but quick of wit. He is flung into the future, where everything is different. Now, he has to make a name for himself, carve his own path in life. He decides to play a game, the biggest one in the world. A strategy game, focused on tactics, used to select the top managers of the largest international corporation. Now, he has to prove his mettle and earn a place for himself in the future...
Watch as he enters the competition, chooses his class, creates an army, and shows everyone in this new, future world the spirit of a player from the 2010s. Will he be the champion in the end?
My Opinion: 243 pages, $3.00, Available on Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy of the novel for review, I purchased a copy when it became available.
This is a translation of a popular Russian LitRPG novel, that incorporates real time strategy (RTS) elements, competitive play, as well as more traditional RPG elements like levels, classes, HP, and Mana. According to the translator, the story is also considered rather humorous in Russia. Some of that may be lost in translation but there are definitely some good humorous moments.
The story revolves around a massive full immersion competitive RTS game where success means getting a good paying job in this future society. Even doing moderately well means doubling your current salary. Of course the front runners are the rich and power aristocrats who have trained their whole lives for tournaments like this. Unfortunately, they’ve never met someone like our main character (MC), who is willing to try the most unconventional of tactics to get an edge. The story cycles around the MC and his unusual and often lucky strategies. Then tells the same events from his defeated opponents POV, who often attribute their defeat to the MCs genius and not just him taking advantage of lucky situations. The story cycles through this, with each battle getting progressively bigger and more epic. Eventually becoming something requiring multiple alliances, legions of powerful troops, and complex tactics from both sides. Even though the story does cycle through the same setups, it’s not ever boring. There are always new powers, new minions, upgrades, new tactics, new allies or enemies, and of course the fights increase in their epicness.
Game mechanic wise, this does a good job of bringing RTS mechanics to life without the tedious resource gathering. The MC initially has to choose his class option and starting strategy and since he chooses an unconventional path, new options open up to him that give him an edge. He gets unique units that he can upgrade, his stat choices affect his place in battle, eventually there are even kingdom building elements to the game. There are still the expected RPG elements too: Levels, HP, Mana, Armor, Damage notifications, Classes, special skills and abilities, etc. Though at higher levels the MCs personal level growth is not the main focuses of the story since he has an entire army to manage and use in battle.
The action is a little light in the beginning as the story gets setup, but quickly becomes pretty epic. The switching POVs are initially a little confusing but once you recognize them, it’s a neat way to show things in the battle that the MC didn’t personally see. Plus I think it’s a running gag that his enemies think he’s a genius.
Overall, this is a really good story with some very nice large scale action that just draws you in and makes you stay up late to see how it plays out.
Score: 7.7 out of 10
True Hero (Champion Is Playing Book #1) LitRPG Series
(Picture 4)
Rogue Games: A litRPG Adventure
Matthew Morgan used to be the best thief in the business. No lock was too hard to pick; no safe was too secure for him to crack. But when he was double-crossed by an associate and sent to the penitentiary, he didn’t just lose decades of his life… No, he lost the agility and quick reflexes that made him such a successful professional.
Now freshly out of prison, old Matthew has to find a way to survive in a world that has evolved without him. Robbing art galleries was all he knew, but if his mind is still sharp, his body is no longer what it used to be. So he tries to find an honest job, something to pay the rent and secure him some food, but who’s going to hire an ex-con? No option seems opened to him… That is until he learns about some virtual game called Federation Feud. According to an old acquaintance of his, there’s money to be made there for people with their kind of ‘expertise.’
Skeptical, Matthew gives it a go as all other venues seem closed for the time being. He figures he has nothing to lose, and so he joins the game as a rogue. The very first sessions leave him perplexed as, being a low-level character, he’s still limited in what he can do. But as he sticks with it and gains enough experience, he finds that his former occupation does give him an edge over other players.
Soon, he’s raiding dungeons solo, using his stealth to navigate the dangerous grounds and his lockpicking skills to unlock the treasure chests. Soon, he’s making real money…
But still, he needs to act fast. Whatever small cash he had left is dwindling fast. And with rent to pay and food to put on the table, he needs to up his game if he is to ensure his survival both in and outside the game.
My Opinion: 313 pages, $3.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
This is one of the most tedious stories I’ve read in a while. The main character (MC) kind of just wanders around the game world exploring, fighting monsters occasionally, and leveling up so that he can hit level 10 and unlock the ability to transfer game currency into real money. Unfortunately, with the exception of the occasional times he meets another player, the story itself is mostly described as a fantasy not as an MMO. Additionally, though game notifications are seen regularly, they don’t matter to the story and 90% of the time aren’t even acknowledged by the story or the MC. It really felt like most of the notifications were inserted after the story was already written. Another thing that just didn’t make sense was all the times the MC logged out of the game. It broke immersion, and served no purpose in the story.
Score: 5 out of 10
Rogue Games: A litRPG Adventure
(Picture 5)
Realm of Noria. [LitRPG series. Book 1. The Birth]
The vast forests of the elven kingdom, full of wild animals; the wastelands of the orcs, with everpresent drought and death; the dwarven mountains, on top of which the wyverns and harpies have built their nests; the majestic Ilian ridge that protects the great lands from the evil of the Sunset Empire, cursed by all the gods.
Kraven has a new home now, the World of Noria. It would be great if he were just a carefree traveler in this beautiful world.
But it's not that simple. His body is imprisoned in a regeneration capsule, an imprisonment he needs to live, and his mind is now part of this new, virtual world. Who is he now? What is he? He's become an unusual player, a unique bit of code that has appeared as the result of a system error.
All he has now is his character and his will to go on. His goal is to become stronger and survive in this cruel world. And who could be stronger than the “Shadows”, the most famous assassin's guild in Noria?
My Opinion: 266 pages, $2.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
This is a translation of a Russian series and according to the author, it has 5 books in the series that he plans to get translated as well as another scifi Litrpg series. As a translation, be aware that there are some semi-regular issues associated with that. Some phrases don't translate perfectly from Russian. Like Ring-Ring instead of Ding for notifications. Or slightly odd translations of colloquialisms like: A happy 13.
Now, as for the review, the story just misses being good for me. The setup is trapped in the game with the main character (MC) not being able to access the outside world through game features. There are some minor storylines with outside family and girlfriend looking for him in game, but it doesn’t really amount to much. The in game storyline is a little confusing, not in what happens but in how it’s able to happen. Without getting spoilery, the main storyline with the MC feels more like something that belongs in a normal fantasy story or a transported to a game world story, not one set in an VRMMO.
The game mechanics in the story are fairly detailed and there are some very believable MMO moments on the rare occasions when the MC interacts with players. Fairly normal MMO stuff: Character sheets, stats, item descriptions, quests, XP, etc. There are a couple things that feel out of place, but I’ve already mentioned that.
Overall, the story is decent. Good action. Lots of RPG stuff. It ends up being rather slice of life, where you follow the MC around as he trains and some stuff happens to him, but besides a couple interesting mini story arcs, that’s kind of all that happens. Additionally, the end is just left in the air without much resolution to the big plotlines.
Score: 6 out of 10
Realm of Noria. [LitRPG series. Book 1. The Birth]
(Picture 6)
Dungeon Mauling - A LitRPG GameLit Novel (The Good Guys Book 3)
What do you do when the game resets around you?
Just when Montana thought he had life in Vuldranni figured out, the rug is pulled out from under him. He’s alone once again, but now he's in the crosshairs of the man who would be emperor, and a whole host of people are counting on Montana to provide a safe haven for them.
Montana has one hope of actually completing his quest of forming a dukedom: he needs to bust Nikolai out of prison.
A prison that no one has ever escaped from alive.
A prison whose only exit is little more than rumor and probably doesn't even exist — through a sentient dungeon, hell-bent on causing torture, inflicting pain, and extracting the ultimate price: life.
Montana and his hirðmen are down to their last chance. So they get themselves arrested and enter Osterstadt prison. Can the Good Guys do good by going bad?
Dungeon Mauling is LItRPG adventure cruising at breakneck speed. There are epic hobgoblin battles, hordes of monsters, insane leveling, otter hammer throws, relentless mimics, the most revolting water slide you’ll ever hear of, and one cocktail you can only hope to forget.
My Opinion: 308 pages, $4.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review but purchased a copy when it became available.
A very good continuation of a good LitRPG series, thought it’s a little light on RPG in the early part of the novel. This is a transition novel, it does a good job of transitioning the story between two big plotlines. It’s still very entertaining, but most of the story is about the dungeon crawl with a little clean up from the big event at the end of book 2. This is a good action filled dungeon dive with monsters, mazes, and some neat twists, but it doesn't advance the storyline much.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Dungeon Mauling - A LitRPG GameLit Novel (The Good Guys Book 3)
That’s it everyone!
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Thanks for hanging out with me today. Until we can hangout again, remember to go read some LitRPG!
(Music 4)
Music Credits
"Blip Stream" "Mighty Like Us" "Big Shift" "Vivacity"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/