LitRPG Podcast 201 - Delvers LLC: Surviving Ludus, PrimeVerse: Forced Login, Battlefield: Evolution, Shooter: Hunting Beasts Book 1, and more
LitRPG Podcast 201 - Delvers LLC: Surviving Ludus, PrimeVerse: Forced Login, Battlefield: Evolution, Shooter: Hunting Beasts Book 1, and more
Nov. 22nd, 2019
Hello everyone, welcome to episode 201 of the LitRPG podcast.
I’m Ramon Mejia. I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews. We have 9 new reviews just for you.
New Releases and Reviews:
Delvers LLC: Surviving Ludus (Artifice Universe Collection Book 1) (07:44)
All the short stories were good, but none amazing. Nice to read other Ludus stories.
Overall Score: 7.4 out of 10
PrimeVerse: Forced Login (17:40)
Obvious villains, but good action, thoughtful RPG mechanics made this a good read.
Score: 7.7 out of 10
Battlefield: Evolution (Litrpg) (22:10)
Neat evolutionish ability, decent to good action
Score: 7.1 out of 10
Shooter: Hunting Beasts Book 1 (24:56)
Not much game mechanics, odd writing style, got bored
Score: 5 out of 10
Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week (28:36)
(Pic 0)
New Segment from Ian Mitchell a long time LitRPG community member who reads and reviews as much as me. He was nice enough to agree to join the LitRPG Podcast family as a new reviewer.
The finish line
Score: 8.7 out of 10
Warrior Academy: Hiro's Fall - Episode 5
I'm glad to see Hiro is back
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Delvers LLC: Surviving Ludus (Artifice Universe Collection Book 1)
A battle in every bite
Score: 8.6 out of 10
Adapt: The Scourge Wars Book 2
A bit grim
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Intro story
Score: 7.6 out of 10
(Play Music 2)
LitRPG News
The New York Times published their top audiobooks on Audible for the month and guess who made the list? One of my favorite LitRPG authors Dakota Krout! His latest audiobook release was number 10, Raze: Completionist Chronicles Series, Book 3. A huge congrats to Dakota and his publishing company Mountaindale Press.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/11/19/business/ap-us-audiobooks-top-10.html
Out Now!
Stranger Among Strangers. (Realm of Arkon) (Dark Covenant Book 1)
Arcane Kingdom Online: Death Match (A LitRPG Adventure, Book 4)
Hard Mode: A LitRPG and GameLit Fantasy Series (Chronicles of Ethan Book 2)
New LitRPG Audiobooks
Blood of Fate: World 99 Series, Book 1
Raze: Completionist Chronicles Series, Book 3
Quest for Roshan: A Fantasy LitRPG - Enora Online, Book 2
Limitless Lands Book 4: Opposition
Hard Mode - Chronicles of Ethan, Book 2
Distortion - Somnia Online, Book 5
Upcoming LitRPG:
World Tree Online: The Endless Savanna: 3rd Dive (Nov. 25th, 2019)
Axiom: A Divine Dungeon Series (Artorian's Archives Book 1) (Nov. 29th, 2019)
Chaos Rising: The Realms Book Six: (An Epic LitRPG Series) (Nov. 29th, 2019)
Darkness Conquered (dARkness: Online Book 3) (Nov. 30th, 2019)
Rebel Star: A LitRPG Post-Apocalyptic Space Opera (System Apocalypse Book 8) (Dec. 1st, 2019)
Lost in the Game (Dream State Saga Book 4) (Dec. 3rd, 2020)
Downtime and Death (Apocalypse Gates - Book 5) (Dec. 5th, 2019)
Level Up: Update (The Knockout Book #2): LitRPG Series
(Dec. 9th. 2019)
The Last Time Loop, Book #1: LitRPG Series (Dec. 10th, 2019)
Quest for Justice: A LitRPG Saga (Hero Online Book 3) (Dec. 13th, 2019)
The Bare Hunt: A LitRPG/GameLit Novel (The Good Guys Book 7) (Dec. 14th, 2019)
Path of Darkness: BlackFlame Online Litrpg/Gamelit Universe (Glory of Formation Emperor Book 1) (Dec. 15th, 2019)
Respawn: Nightmare Mode (Respawn LitRPG series Book 4) (Dec. 18th, 2019)
Karma's Touch: A LitRPG and GameLit Fantasy Series (Chronicles of Ethan Book 3) (Dec. 20th, 2019)
The Wastes (Underdog Book #2): LitRPG Series (Dec. 23rd, 2019)
No Mistakes (World of the Changed Book #1): LitRPG Series (Jan. 6th, 2020)
The Destroying Plague (Disgardium Book #3): LitRPG Series (Jan. 9th, 2020)
Dragon Heart: Sea of Sands. LitRPG Wuxia Series: Book 4 (Jan. 22nd, 2020)
Quest for Dominion: A LitRPG Saga (Hero Online Book 4) (Jan. 24th, 2020)
Skull and Thrones: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (The Bad Guys Book 3) (Feb. 6th, 2020)
An Equation with One Unknown (Invasion Book #2): LitRPG Series (Feb. 10th, 2020)
Gods of Ash and Amber: A Gamelit Novel (Seeds of Chaos Book 4) (Feb. 29th, 2020)
The Incarnator (Project Stellar Book 1): LitRPG Series (March 9th, 2020)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
(Play Music 3)
New Releases and Reviews
(Picture 1)
Delvers LLC: Surviving Ludus (Artifice Universe Collection Book 1)
A collection of seven stories from seven different authors, all taking place on Ludus.
Ludus is a dangerous fantasy world from the series Delvers LLC and Nora Hazard.
Surviving Ludus can be enjoyed by fans of Delvers LLC, or any readers who enjoy sword and sorcery fantasy, dungeon exploration, survival, portal fantasy, magic-on-monster violence, or touching moments of love and honor.
***
Blaise Corvin - "Missing in Action"
A story about redemption, family, and loyalty. This story will directly tie into the Delvers LLC storyline, and contains a major reveal for a Delvers LLC main character.
Bastian Knight - "Friends and Enemies"
With a little bit of luck, could an ordinary guy survive on Ludus? What if he meets the wrong sort of people? Then again, what if he meets real friends?
Raymond Johnson - "A Guiding Hand"
Everything Peacehatchet ever cared about has been ripped from him. Does an ork have a soul?
Jon Svenson - "Beyond the Village Borders"
Poor villagers can become adventurers too. Some people on Ludus fall into this lifestyle, but some search for it.
Cory Gaffner - "Enemy Mine"
When a World War II American soldier and a German soldier are transported to Ludus at the same time, will they be able to repay a debt, or kill each other first?
Daylan Ethridge - "Just Another Life on Ludus"
During an attack on Mensk by demons and cultists, many will lose their lives, but some will step up to become heroes. Will an orphan girl defending younger children be a victim, or a shield for the helpless?
Austin Eberle - "Engineering Ludus"
A wide variety of people have been transported to Ludus over the last thousand years. Will an engineering student have any advantage? Is it possible to thrive on Ludus through using brains, not brawn?
My Opinion: 447 pages, $5.98, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Overall a good short story collection. There were a few cultural continuity issues. Nothing major, but you could tell some authors where huge fans that had read every Delver's book and understood the cultures and others were less comfortable with that setting. That polyamory with multiple wives was a necessity, that women had the power, and took all the risks. Stuff that would shift the gender roles. Also, a few small issues with details about how orb bonded got their powers. Again, small things, but it made some stories mesh better than others with the story universe. Overall though, there was nothing bad with any of the stories, but nothing really outstanding either. Very solidly good.
Overall Score: 7.4 out of 10
Engineering Ludus By Austin Eberle
A really good start to the anthology. Good slow character development at the start, mid story power and prep, and it ends with some good action. An engineering student with a logical mind, a Mohali friend, traps, a dungeon, and a bandit threat. Good stuff.
Score: 7.8 out of 10
Beyond the Village Borders By Jon Svenson
A dungeon dive. Nothing bad, good action, but not interesting beyond that.
Score: 7.3
Enemy Mine By Cory Gaffner
The main characters of this story are two WWII soldiers, one an American and the other an opposing German. Like the idea that the story would be set so far before the main series, but the beach WWII beach battle at the beginning felt off and awkward. However, once on Ludus the story improved though the language issue isn't handled as well as in other stories. I'd also expected some different cultural norms from a story set decades ago but both the speech and attitudes felt very modern.
Once the story got to the powers, training, and purposeful dungeon dive, it got good though.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Friends and Enemies By Bastian Knight
One of the best rounded stories. It has good action-adventure, really good characters, and it absolutely gets the world and all the little details. Could easily be expanded into a stand alone novel.
Score: 7.8 out of 10
Just Another Life on Ludus By Daylan Ethridge, and with editing contributions by Levena Lindahl
The story is set during a major Delver’s event, the invasion of Mensk. The big event overshadowed the characters. No more than a few sentences to get to know the main character before terrible events happened and she reacted. Decent story.
Score: 7.1 out of 10
Missing in Action By Blaise Corvin
A really good story that has some action, adventure, and gives some history to a familiar character.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
A Guiding Hand By Raymond Johnson
The story is supposed to be told from an Ork point of view, but the voice is like any other. There's little personality or cultural influence. I did like the nod to the author’s goblin short story.
Score: 7.1 out of 10
Overall Score: 7.4 out of 10
Delvers LLC: Surviving Ludus (Artifice Universe Collection Book 1)
PrimeVerse: Forced Login
Welcome new resident of PrimeVerse! By now your old meat body has been utilized to its fullest! Thank you for your contribution! You have stepped foot on a new journey for humankind, the journey to a life that will never end! You have started as a blank slate, the sky is the limit, be all you can be! You are now in PrimeVerse!
We built PrimeVerse on the backs of many of the most popular VR games, with one goal: to make the most realistic, fantastic world for you and your fellow residents to live and thrive in. You can live, laugh, and love. You can feel pain, hatred, and anguish. This world allows you the full range of human experiences while also granting abilities unheard of. Will you unlock the secrets of magic? Will you study the blade or bow? Will you attempt to recreate the technology of the world you left behind? Anything is possible!
***
No matter how many times you die, it still sucks.
For Hudson, the virtual world of PrimeVerse isn’t all bad. It’s beautiful; much nicer than overpopulated Earth. It almost feels like a vacation except for the volatile wildlife, lack of any amenities, and — oh yeah — the inability to log out.
Exploring the world, learning his class, and leveling skills is all fun and games until a powerful rogue player with a vendetta shows up to wipe out Hudson and his primitive tribe. Thrust into a conflict he didn’t create, Hudson is forced into a cycle of respawning where he learns that even death can be used as a tool. So much for that vacation.
It’s not like he signed up for this. Or even went willingly. But when life hands you lemons… use them to kill the dog-size spiders that are trying to eat your face.
My Opinion: 281 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
This is a digital afterlife LitRPG story. The setup didn’t quite click for me, but it also didn’t matter much as the main character (MC) is in the game after only a few pages. The tutorial section of the story is a nice introduction to the game mechanics, shows the MC is a problem solver, and provides a way to get the MC his advantage.
The game mechanics are familiar but different enough that they're still interesting. The more unique aspect is that skills must be slotted if they are to increase past 10. Which means some choices have to be made on what to spend time on. The Treasure Hunter class has a couple of aspects that feel like they're there to direct the MC or for story, but other than that, everything is good. I liked learning about the game rules and how the MC maximized their use.
About 25% into the story the MC meets other players which adds social conflicts, community building, and survival aspects as nothing in the game world is provided. Instead all aspects of civilization must be created from scratch: weapons, homes, clothes, tools. Etc.
The only small complaints I had was that both the villains and the love interest felt a little obvious and forced.
Overall, this is a good fun story and I had a good time reading it.
Score: 7.7 out of 10
Battlefield: Evolution (Litrpg)
Dracon grew up in a world overrun by demons, and spent his entire life fighting on battlefield after battlefield hoping for a small chance of survival in the years preceding the demon invasion.
Humanity had lost to the demons 300 years ago, and now because of that defeat all of their third born children only had two options, become food for the demons or level up from the bodies of thousands of people that they slaughtered.
Dracon, however, gets lucky enough to receive a weapon the day before he turns level 2, finding it in the brambles and thicket of a previous battlefield after days of fighting in the rain as his clothes soaked up blood.
This weapon, a seemingly ordinary silver sword, however, has an extremely powerful skill imbued inside of it that may forever change the fate of humanity. With it, he's able to evolve into all of the demons that have taken over the Earth as long as he gathers their blood and strikes the last blow.
Starting from a goblin, and making his way up the line of demons, he fights for a chance to save humanity from the demon's butcher shops, and farms where all 3rd born and further generations are treated like meat to be harvested and eaten!
Warning: Contains gore, and a few difficult moral situations that aren't suited for everyone...
My Opinion: 154 pages, $2.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
The beginning of this is a bit boring, but once the main character (MC) gets to the killing it gets halfway decent. The pacing was a bit too fast with events happening and then resolving with little to no reflection by the main character or really any reason to connect things. But that’s not why the story kept my interest. The game mechanics amount to levels and XP given when someone or something is killed and eventually the ability to learn demon skills. The magic that let the MC take the form of the monster he killed was the most unique mechanic and stayed just interesting enough to keep me turning the pages. Before I knew it, the story was over. A decent read.
Score: 7.1 out of 10
Battlefield: Evolution (Litrpg)
Shooter: Hunting Beasts Book 1
James' day has finally come: to slay the Reapers' beasts, climb up the ranks and clean his father's name.
After three years in the Hunters' Academy, he's finally ready to join his brothers in arms and prove that his father's suspicions about corruption within the organization were wrong, once and for all.
On his very first day, he ends up being forced to go on a hunt with two people he had never met before. The shy, Fire-Controller, Tommy, and the dark, metal-whip-cracking Goth, Kendra.
But when they confront the Reapers' creature, they make a shocking discovery; one that can jeopardize the whole world and undermine their loyalty to the Hunters. There are beasts out of the ordinary and their organization - The Hunters - might be involved.
It's a race against the clock to beat the bloodthirsty beasts, and all the while the relationship between the three of them is getting more and more complicated. A clash of personalities is imminent as new members join the group and colleagues might become enemies, but James can't lose focus on the fate of the world.
With everything hanging in the balance, can James and his team slay the beasts and stay one step ahead of both the Reapers and the Hunters?
My Opinion: 272 pages, $2.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
The story felt like it was inspired by the Monster Hunter games, only the set in a modern world. The storyline that brought the newb monster hunters into a secret battle against ‘new’ type monsters was a bit forced and there was a definite awkwardness to the writing. A few technical writing errors but more awkward phrases than anything made it hard to keep reading. I could overlook those issues if the action or game mechanics of the story were really good, but they aren’t. I mean they’re not terrible or anything but the game mechanics amount to monsters and hunters having levels and monsters giving XP when they are killed. There really wasn’t much else there. The action was just plain.
Overall, just not a story I enjoyed.
Score: 5 out of 10
Shooter: Hunting Beasts Book 1
Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week - New Segment
New Segment from Ian Mitchell a long time LitRPG community member who reads and reviews as much as me. He was nice enough to agree to join the LitRPG Podcast family as a new reviewer.
(Pic 6)
The finish line
I liked that the book was well crafted. I do wish to point out that the story ends at around 89% on the eBook, lest readers get surprised by the pacing. The storytelling was good. This book felt a bit simpler than the previous two. Many loose ends are tied up here. There are some very good battle sequences. The narrative largely alternates between Tina and James. Some story elements and reveals have some good emotional punch. I found the ending to this story satisfying and enjoyed the nice little bit of after everything else at the end. I wasn't blown away by awesomeness, but I was content when finished.
Score: 8.7 out of 10
(pic 7)
Warrior Academy: Hiro's Fall - Episode 5
I'm glad to see Hiro is back
Tough time for the Academy. There's a pretty interesting air battle. It's been a while since the last book and I think I need to go back for a refresher course. Fairly short with a nice little short at the end about an earth where basketball becomes the primary focus at school. I liked them both.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
(pic 8)
Delvers LLC: Surviving Ludus (Artifice Universe Collection Book 1)
A battle in every bite
I'm not a big fan of short stories or anthologies. This one worked well. The authors other than BC are readers of his work. I enjoyed reading about the world of Delvers LLC from their points of view. Their characters said a lot about what the authors found there. Mainly a whole lot of fighting and brutality for treasure, orbs, or other reasons. Most of the stories were engaging and a couple made me think.I was glad to get to see this world again. I hope book 4 gets here soon.
Score: 8.6 out of 10
(pic 9)
Adapt: The Scourge Wars Book 2
A bit grim
The first book was pretty interesting. This one already has the characters established and is the start of a war. The writing was fine and fairly easy to read. What I didn't like was I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. It's starting to remind me of some of Grosse's work in this case where many of the characters are under some sort of mental influence. A bit of horror with some good battles. I plan on continuing reading the series. I anticipate some epic battles in later books.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
(Pic 11)
Intro story
I like Eden Redd's stories. Yes, this one has sex in it (they all do). Nice setup of a mixed tech and fantasy elements brought to you by the mysterious villain - The Master. A lot of running and fighting. It reads like the early portions of a sci fi movie with a bit of tabletop RPG thrown in. Mr. The Master is the dungeon master. The game is on as the first book ends. It felt like kind of a teaser really, but it did set the stage.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
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
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/