LitRPG Podcast 169 - The Mountain Valley War, Earth Force (Relict Legacy Book 1), Harem Trash: A litRPG Satire, Galactic Fist of Legend 4: Life Werx
LitRPG Podcast 169 - The Mountain Valley War, Earth Force (Relict Legacy Book 1), Harem Trash: A litRPG Satire, Galactic Fist of Legend 4: Life Werx
May 3rd, 2019
Hello everyone, welcome to episode 169 of the LitRPG podcast. For the full show notes visit us at: https://litrpgpodcast.com/litrpg-podcast-169
I’m Ramon Mejia. I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews. I have 4 new reviews just for you.
Before we begin, I want to give special thanks to Chris for his/her support of the podcast. He/She recently became a Patreon supporter both are helping to cover the costs of the show and keep it ad free and free for all to enjoy. https://www.patreon.com/geekbytespodcast
New Releases and Reviews:
The Mountain Valley War - 2nd Dive Concludes (World Tree Online) (14:15)
More of the stuff you love about the series: Action, adventure, training, and fun characters
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Earth Force (Relict Legacy Book 1) (19:48)
Lighter LitRPG but good sci-fi alien tech exploration
Score: 7.4 out of 10
Harem Trash: A litRPG Satire (24:42)
Shorter story, skippable harem start but lots of good laughs
Score: 7.4 out of 10
Galactic Fist of Legend 4: Life Werx (28:49)
Little haremy at the beginning, but good fun parody and action-adventure. Now with a whole anime dream scene.
Score: 7.2 out of 10
(Play Music 2)
LitRPG News
The Hear Now Festival has announced its schedule for the event which is scheduled for June 6-9, 2019. It’s a convention that focuses on audio stuff like audiobook narration, music, and podcasts.
This year there is a GameLit awards category for the audiobook and Dakota Krout will apparently be presenting the award. In addition, there will be a GameLit/LitRPG panel will be moderated by me! On the panel will be Charles Dean, Dave Willmarth. On the narrator side: Jeff Hays, Justin Thomas James, Annie Ellicot, and Andrea Parsneau. Other folks that are going, Dawn Chapman (she’s nominated for an award).
http://www.hearnowfestival.org/
(Play video 0)
Anneliese did a commercial for M.A. Carlson’s novel The Curse of Hurlig Ridge: 1st Dive: World Tree Online and put it on ESPN.
It's around 01:53:03 into the show:
Dakota Krout, author of the Divine Dungeon series and the Completionist Chronicles, and the head of Mountaindale Press did a live stream this past week and he made some really great announcements and he did a Q&A.
The Divine Dungeon (book 5): Dungeon Eternium will be out May 31st!!
Divine Dungeon is getting all new cover art and structural editing (happy grammar and punctuation)!
The Divine Dungeon anthology will be the start of an expanded universe within this world! (Artorian and others, woo!)
New books written co-written by different authors but still in the same story universe.
https://www.facebook.com/TheDivineDungeon/videos/2838744436351149/
Out Now!
Limitless Lands Book 3: Retribution (A LitRPG Adventure)
Starbreak (Rise to Omniscience Book 2)
Breaking Rules - A LitRPG Adventure (New Game Minus Book 3)
ReDeath 1 - Raven: A Scifi LitRPG
The Kingdom Rises: A Dungeon Core Epic (Station Cores Book 4)
Tower Of Sol: A GameLit Novella
Spy: Reborn: A litRPG Adventure (Actor's Method Book 1)
Camelot Resurgent: An Arthurian LitRPG (Camelot LitRPG Book 4)
New LitRPG Audiobooks
The Final Trial: Level UP, Book 3
Path of the Necromancer, Book 1: A LootRPG Series
Galactic Badlands: A LitRPG Space Western
Black Flame in the Barren Steppe (Realm of Arkon, Book 8)
Upcoming LitRPG:
The Azure Dragon: A Heroic Fantasy Saga (The Artar Chronicles Book 3) (May 7th, 2019)
Monster [LitRPG series: The Beetle] (May 14th, 2019)
Rapture (Apocalypse Gates Author's Cut Book 1) (May 15th, 2019)
Guardians Of The Round Table 5: Crystal Mine (May 18th, 2019)
Web of Worlds (Reality Benders Book #4): LitRPG Series (May 20th, 2019)
Scurfifer (Alfarome. Book 2) LitRPG Series (May 21st, 2019)
(No Cover Art yes)
Dungeon Eternium (The Divine Dungeon Book 5) (May 31st, 2019)
Realm of Noria [LitRPG series. Book 2. The Life] (June 1st, 2019)
Kingdom Come: A LitRPG Dragonrider Adventure (The Archemi Online Chronicles Book 3) (June 1st, 2019)
Apostle of the Sleeping Gods (Disgardium Book #2): LitRPG Series (June 10th, 2019)
Home, Siege Home: A LitRPG/GameLit Novel (The Good Guys Book 6) (June 13th, 2019)
Code Hero (Champion is Playing Book #2) LitRPG Series
(June 15th, 2019)
City of Freedom (Adam Online Book #2) LitRPG Series (June 20th, 2019)
Djinn Tamer: Evolution: A Monster Battling GameLit Adventure (Djinn Tamer - Bronze League Book 3) (June 20th, 2019)
Shyft - Book 2 - Stealthcaster: (A LitRPG Adventure) (June 25th, 2019)
The Time Master (Interworld Network Book I): LitRPG Series (July 18th, 2019)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
(Play Music 3)
New Releases and Reviews
(Picture 1)
The Mountain Valley War - 2nd Dive Concludes (World Tree Online)
Thrown into a conflict beyond the scope of anything Bye-bye ever imagined, he will be tested in ways he never imagined. Whether that means stopping a war or just taking the girl he likes on a date, he certainly has his work cut out for him.
Tensions are rising and if Bye-bye and his friends can’t put a stop to a brewing war, Anvilton and Hammerton might just destroy each other. That is, if the other adventurers don’t destroy them first. With the odds stacked against them, will Bye-bye and his friends survive the Mountain Valley War? Or will the flames of war consume them, leaving nothing but ash in their wake?
My Opinion: 670 pages, $5.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
This novel is huge, over 600 pages. So a really good KU read and is still reasonably priced at less than one cent a page. It also has some really solid storytelling combined with a likable group of players that are easy to root for. It expands on the big events of book 2 with a pretty satisfying conclusion. There is a bit of a cliff hanger that doesn’t affect the resolution of the novel's plot, but is a big tease for the next book’s plot.
Overall, book 3 continues to give all the stuff you liked about the series. There is a good likeable group with lots of banter, good action-adventure. The novel continues to be one the more crunchy LitRPG series with lots of stats, magic, and ability descriptions. Lots of numbers.
The training scenes are well fleshed out as they have been for the series. I think some people may get a little tired of them since the book is a bit longer, but I like them. Especially the ones in the puzzle room/simulation. I always like the holodeck like vibe there.
While the action is well written, I found that the most memorable moments came from the interpersonal stuff that give secondary characters interesting stories. Baby's gamer fiance, the shaman's totems, the relationship between MC and Rose.
Overall, I thought the novel was entertaining and full of interesting quests and RPG progression. The last 25% in particular did a good job of bringing the big plotlines to a satisfying conclusion even if there is a little wand waving.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
The Mountain Valley War - 2nd Dive Concludes (World Tree Online)
Earth Force (Relict Legacy Book 1)
On the first day, a mist descended from the heavens blanketing earth.
On the second day, a cryptic message, ‘Infusion commencing’, appeared in the corner of everyone’s eyes.
On the third day, the sick were healed and the crippled walked again.
On the fourth day, celebration and joy spread across the globe.
And on the fifth day, the warping began…
There was no warning.
A mist descended from the sky, disabling all technology and causing a weird message to appear at the corner of everyone’s eye. The situation grew even worse as animals and people started to warp, transforming into terrible monsters that prey on the livings.
Within months, human civilization had crumbled. Unable to fight the seemingly-indestructible beasts, the survivors are reduced to cowering in reinforced shelters. Waiting for the end to come. Helpless.
All seemed lost until a few brave souls discovered the secret of their new reality: the Tec and how to use it to level up.
Together they represent humanity’s last best hope for salvation. But they first must find the answers to the mystery of their new existence.
Their journey will require them to quickly adapt to alien technology, operate strange spaceships, and even befriend an extra-terrestrial merchant with an Inferiority Complex.
My Opinion: 412 pages, $4.99, Not Available On Kindle Unlimited
A slice of life sci-fi alien tech adventure set against an RPG cataclysm. The story isn't quiet an RPG apocalypse story because of the lack of survivalist stuff or any real apocalypse like tension. But it's a close cousin. The story starts several months after an RPG cataclysm when all the world's tech failed, everyone got RPG interfaces and levels, and 10% of all life mutated into monsters. People have figured out how to survive, a few of the new rules, and how to build safe areas. The twist with this story happens when three humans find a crashed alien ship and get a boost to their tech and RPG powers. They use that advantage to start to take back their area from the tech fused monsters and the gangs of power hungry humans and learn about just why the cataclysm happened and how they can help humanity survive.
The story leans a little more towards sci-fi action, and is a little lighter on RPG stuff than the author’s other series, Life Reset. It still has levels, stats, classes, notifications, and RPG progression. But much of the story deals with earth being bombarded by alien tech, the unintended consequences, and the MCs learning about it and mastering that tech all to help mankind survive.
Overall, the story is pretty slice of life but still interesting. Good fights, reasonable RPG progression, and interesting alien sci-fi.
Score: 7.4 out of 10
Earth Force (Relict Legacy Book 1)
Harem Trash: A litRPG Satire
Obi Imsi enjoyed his life as an overpowered paladin tryhard filled to the brim with beautiful women who loved him unconditionally for all the wrong reasons.
Everything was going great until he tried to woo the wrong one and was polymorphed into a literal trash can.
Starting back at level 1, he must find someway to regain his power and hopefully return to his real body.
He soon finds that his new life won't be easy, and he embarks a fantastic fantasy adventure that's so bad, it's good (terrible).
My Opinion: 102 pages, $0.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
Don't let the harem part of the story dissuade you. That part exists but is mostly parody and is all finished however by the 15% mark when the main character, an overpowered hero with a harem, is polymorphed into an inanimate object. He’s turned into a trash can or specifically a recycler, a special item-class entity that can gain XP, level, and has RPG progression paths.
There biggest draw is going to be the humor. There are some genuinely funny moments in the story. This novel definitely uses adult humor, sometimes potty humor, and sometimes sexual humor. While there are no graphic sex scenes, there are sex jokes and adult humor. There are also several places describing sexuality and fetishes. They are jokes, but it is there.
The end is a little forced but it's a minor issue. Overall, I thought the novel was pretty entertaining outside of the harem opening.
Score: 7.4 out of 10
(Picture 4)
Galactic Fist of Legend 4: Life Werx
Fresh from the battle with zombie mecha pilot and grand necromancer, Waldo, Scott and his team take a much needed breather back on Hellespont. Of course, rest and relaxation are not allowed for long. Old problems coupled with new possibilities join together to create a fantastic new ability that will reshape the very foundation of how he will play the game going forward.
Even as the call to adventure draws him from his comfortable apartment, and life of harem related shenanigans, a bigger threat looms in the distance.
Galactic Fist of Legend is one of several series of books that are part of the Project Scott multiverse. One Scott soul, infinite possibilities. Cool guys. Hot videogame babes. Epic boobery, exploding lesbians, and a battle against the dread cosmic entity known as... Global Warming?
Come! Witness the spectacle!
My Opinion: 348 pages, $2.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
If you liked the other novels in the series, you’ll like this one. There’s definitely less zombie killing action and a kind of reset of the MCs powers, but it continues with the slice of life adventuring and parody humor that pulls in pop culture, anime, harem (no sex), and lots of video game references.
Fun, but not the most action oriented in the series.
Score: 7.2 out of 10
Galactic Fist of Legend 4: Life Werx
That’s it everyone!
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(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