Do you love hunting monsters? Dark worlds? Swords and Sorcery?
Alex is a Glitch Hunter, member of a house of monster hunters that possess mysterious bracers allowing them to see the world with the interface of a video game. Even with the edge that offers most Glitch Hunters die young, thrown by quests into areas of deadly conflict. Alex's first quest draws him to a city with a grisly past, and unless he can discern truth from lies in time an even darker future.
My Opinion: 604 pages, $3.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
*Warning: there is a semi-graphic sex scene near the beginning of the story, but that’s the only graphics sex scene.*
This is a good story that combines monster hunting, a detective story, and RPG elements. Thematically it reminds me of the Witcher 3 and is set in a dark fantasy world where monsters and supernatural creatures roam the land. The only people capable of hunting them down are a strangers summoned from other worlds that are imbued with RPG power capable of absorbing the unnatural essences of these monster and using it to become stronger. Add to that a good mystery that is solved using tools that remind me of Batman Arkham series. The action and detective elements work well together.
Game Mechanic wise, there’s lots of familiar stuff here. XP, levels, upgradable powers, damage notifications, and item and power descriptions. However, a more original concept that the author brings are the multiple kinds of XP or essence that can be absorbed to increase specific kinds of abilities. Black XP used to upgrade the analysis mode of the Glitch Hunter or abilities associated with killing. Green XP can be used to upgrade speed or health. Loads of choices given to the characters bases on a whole spectrum of essences. Other game mechanics that I haven’t seen in LitRPG stories include Analysis mode, which reminds me of a mechanic from Batman Arkham Asylum. It’s a kind of augmented reality overlay which highlights clues and gives special information about monsters. It doesn’t start out super useful but can be upgraded and eventually becomes a key element in the mystery solving part of the story. There are lots of other nods to other games but I’ll leave them for you to discover.
Overall, this a good story that is set in a well fleshed out world. I had a really good time reading it and look forward to reading the next story.
Score: 7.8 out of 10