LitRPG Audiobook Podcast 072 - Homebrew, Shattered Sword, Irrelevant Jack 2

“Hello everyone. Welcome to the LitRPG Audiobook Podcast. I’m Ray. I’ll be reviewing some recent and classic LitRPG Audiobooks for you. I’ll begin with: ”

Homebrew- Metagamer Chronicles Book 1 (00:53)

Score: 7.6 out of 10

https://amzn.to/3hZym3T

Shattered Sword (A LitRPG Adventure) Eternal Online Book 1 (12:00)

Score: 8.2 out of 10

https://amzn.to/39htuDj

Irrelevant Jack 2 (21:09)

Score: 8 out of 10

https://amzn.to/3oxStsn

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Homebrew

Metagamer Chronicles, Book 1

By: Xavier P. Hunter

Narrated by: Mikael Naramore

Series: Metagamer Chronicles, Book 1

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

This is the kind of book that I love. One of my favorite series is Joel Rosenberg’s Guardians of the Flame series, as well as Terry Irvin, Jr’s triple M series monster, maces, and magic. Both of which center around rpg players who get sent into the world of the game they are playing. Each of them assume the role of their characters, and some live, some die, but the books are intense and I love them.

Homebrew follows this concept with a slight twist. The Game master enters the world as himself, and the others all BECOME their characters. Unlike Gary, who remembers everything and knows he is a trespasser in this new world he finds himself in, the others believe they are the characters they made up.

It’s an interesting concept that was fun, but it also led the book in a path that weakened Gary. As the GM, Gary knows exactly what is going on and who each person is as they appear and this strips him of his agency since he really can’t do squat in order to help as it could alter the plans he laid out. Thus, what could make for a killer character, the omniscient overseer he becomes a milquetoast bystander most of the time forced to slip in small hints to help his friends.

Otherwise, I enjoyed the book. This is the kind of style that I relish, and Hunter really does a great job with it. I just wish it didn’t feel like Gary was shackled for the entirety of the book. The characters have lot of depth and each situation carries a lot of weight in numerous ways.

Michael Naramore is a narrator who I haven’t heard in a while, been about 2 years, and I have missed him. He does an incredible job here. I know him from the Kevin Hardman superhero series, and he hasn’t missed a beat. This fella is a five star narrator in a 4 star world.

Over all, I really loved this book. It has a great narrator and some wonderful storytelling going on, but that lack of agency smothered me. A lot. In fact, I really docked a few points off because of it. It would have been a completely different book if he reigns had been taken off, and that was all I could think about.

7.6 stars. I highly suggest you check this book out.

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Shattered Sword (A LitRPG Adventure)

Eternal Online, Book 1

By: TJ Reynolds

Narrated by: Andrea Parsneau

Series: Eternal Online, Book 1

Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins

Shattered sword is an interesting book in which a young girl inherits her father’s debt and in order to avoid becoming an indentured servant she joins a game in the hope of earning enough money there in order to stave off the collectors.

There are several things that struck me as odd. First, once in game she really doesn’t do a lot to earn cash, and then suddenly she has what she needs. That seems to be what should have been her driving force throughout the book. Secondly, and this was my biggest conundrum, was that when she entered the game she brought her only family heirloom, an ancient sword, with her. You could bring in real world items so long as they fit the game’s theme, and the sword did. For some reason the game considers the family’s weapon to be some superpowered OP item of mass destruction and shatters the sword (Hence the title) into several pieces that the girl has to collect.

This would make you think the series was going be about Dhalia, the MC, searching for coin that could be used IRL and collecting the pieces of the sword. And that’s really not what the book is about. The weapon issue is that Dhalia starts off with one piece of the sword and can useit, just not very safely or effectively. Then she sort of stumbles into a couple of pieces, but not because she is actively looking.

As harsh as I make this sound I loved the book. Dhalia was interesting, the world was vibrant, and the emotions were genuine. You have a 16 year old trying not to become a slave, finds herself in a hostile land without the one weapon she was counting on having and she isn’t a Mary Sue who can defeat all comers. She’s scared, she’s shy. She struggles. This is what makes the book.

Andrea Parsenau narrates and does an incredible job as usual, but I have to say there is one character who has what I’m assuming to be a Spanish accent. That didn’t seem to fit her as well as he other voices. She didn’t do bad, but it was sort of like me trying to believe that Al Pacino was Columbian in Scarface, great performance, but an odd accent. Sorry, Ang, but I gotta call ‘em like I hear ‘em. The rest of her performance is spot on though, and she really brings this book to life.

Final score, 8.2 stars. Between TJ’s writing and Andrea’s narration this was a great book. I really look forward to book 2!

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Irrelevant Jack 2

By: Prax Venter

Narrated by: Justin Thomas James, Jeff Hays, Andrea Parsneau, Prax Venter

Series: Irrelevant Jack, Book 2

Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins

Venter returns to the corruption and the Tower, does that sound like a Stephen King book? He pretty much picks up right where we left off in the first book. This time around we continue to follow Jack and his companions Art and Lex.

The book follows a fairly simple pattern of tower climbing and town development, so you might view it as being a bit repetative, but its not so bad. Its just a pattern or a rhythm that actually fits the book.

Jack does get a new party member to hang with in the tower, and that is the crux of the book. As Jack struggles to fight back the corruption he climbs the tower and rebuilds the town. Fans of either sub-genre will really enjoy this book.

The only downside that I could find was the lack of character growth in spite of jack’s progression in leveling. Honestly, the book was fun enough that I could overlook stuff like that and the sort of wash, rinse, repeat parts of the story. I think that my favorite part was the growth of the burgeoning romance between Jack and Lex. Venter is known for his saucier writings, and here it was nice to see him stretch those love muscles in other directions.

It is in the narration that one really gets to appreciate the story. SBT continues their level of excellence, with the ever amazing Justin Thomas James absolutely smashing his way through the tale. James’s voice has a gravity and a sincerity lends a real air of authenticity to Jack’s personae. You can feel his emotions towards Lex. Plus, his voice is like music to your earholes. Jeff Hays bats clean up and continues to play background support without attempting to outshadow his main narrator. Andrea Parsenau also lends her melodious voice to the character of Lex and she plays well off of JTJ. I wouldn’t complain if she had more air time, Andrea is just plain awesome. And Prax himself makes an appearance. Its nice to finally hear what he sounds like.

Overall the book has maintained its quality and pushes the plotline ahead nicely. I look forward to book 3. Final score 8 stars.

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Thanks oh so very much for watching everyone, I do appreciate you taking the time to watch or listen to the show. If you want to support us, you can like the LitRPG Podcast facebook page or the YouTube Page, or just share and like the video. I’m going to ask for more suggestions for the ‘Is it LIT’ segment, I’ve got a good one for next time, but will always need ideas. Please leave comments or suggestions in the comments below, and feel free to tell me whatever you like. I enjoy the feedback.

For LitRPG Audiobook Podcast, I’m Ray. Keep listening!!!

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