The leech have begun terraforming the Earth, and the only way for Scarlett and her group to stop them is to leave the planet and venture out into the vastness of space in the the alien ship they found within Area 51. With the leech hunting them, and little direction on where to go, they must find the leech mothership and disable the terraformers before Earth is turned into a place unfit for human life. Also, there is the girl in the box labeled “Goddess,” and whatever mysteries she holds.
Outside of the game, Scarlett and Bran prepare for the first Apocalypse-Con, a convention where all the players from around the world will come to play together.
This finale of the Apocalypse 2020 Trilogy will either see our heroes triumphant over the alien army or dead, with the Earth soon to follow.
My Opinion: 241 pages, $4.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review but purchased the novel when it became available.
It is a nice conclusion to the series and wraps up the big storylines it started. I personally really liked where the IRL storyline went and how that mixes with the game story. Good stuff.
The story drops you right in the middle of a space battle and quickly differentiates itself from the previous 2 books with lots of space opera tech game stuff. You could actually start the series here. The author gives enough info to tell who everyone is and the setting shifts so much from previous books that all that scifi space stuff has to be setup anyways.
IRL, just remember it's the late 90s so when you see references to LAN parties and other pop culture stuff, that’s why.
The only thing I didn’t like is how the game storyline lost most of the game elements. I completely understand that going from apocalypse to space opera settings would change some game elements, but in-game it often just felt like a sci-fi story. The most common game elements that continue are the use of notifications for: skill use/failures, health loss, and other minor details. Completely gone are the RPG elements. No one gains levels, XP, or new abilities. Characters get new space weapons, ships, and stuff, but nothing RPG anymore.
Overall, the storyline is good. It’s a lot of action and adventure. But I’ll be honest. Part of my brain checked out when I realized there wasn’t any more RPG stuff. Again and again, I’d expect some leveling or something after a big battle and just feel a little disappointed when it didn’t happen. Still, not a boring story, it just lost that LitRPG goodness that was developed so well in books 1 and 2.
Score: 6 out of 10
Apocalypse 2020: Into the Black