Max finds himself in a time loop. Any kind of death annuls everything except his present knowledge and returns him to the past. This is a good way to test all sorts of things. That is, it would be, if not for one little thing... This loop has real lords and it's unlikely that they'll be happy to hear about an uninvited guest.
And that isn't his only problem -- all of his memories of the last year have simply disappeared, but the world around him has changed in the meantime. Earth has been seized by the Velly clan and is now part of their Star Empire. Max has also discovered his gift. He's a psychic.
However, his power isn't that big of a deal.
Everyone can be a level one "battery." To do anything else, however, you need to have some talent, money, and connections, which only complicates things further.
A whole new world, great opportunities, and lots of chances to get into trouble... Welcome to the Last Time Loop!
My Opinion: 317 pages, $3.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
This is a good story that had to grow on me before I liked it. The beginning has a setup that isn’t great and didn't initially grab me. This is mostly because the RPG progression in the story is super thin in the beginning, almost non-existent. But the story got interesting once the groundhog day like time loop started. It was interesting enough to just follow the main character (MC) as he made different choices, learned about terrible secrets, and gained power. Of course he dies again and again and gets reset each time, but he’s not the only one which means that others are using their foreknowledge to try to change what happens in the future or grab power for themselves.
On the RPG side, things are thin the whole novel. The entire system is implemented by the aliens that take over earth. There are levels, but their associated with a kind of job system. There is a gradual power growth that increases these levels as a measure of that power. There’s also a clear reputation system that I was glad to see actually has an impact on how the MC is treated in the world and as his reputation increases also increases what information he can access via the interface system. So it's technically LitRPG but it’s not something that’s going to satisfy someone looking for more of a game vibe. It’s more akin to what you’d see in a Real Life RPG story like Level UP, where the interface is giving information and a means of tracking progress or growth.
Overall, I still enjoyed the story. Not really because of the RPG stuff, which is again, kinda light here. But because the story was good. I liked the time travel and all the slice of life stuff that unfolded and the way the MC used his knowledge to his advantage. Fair warning, there’s no solid ending. It just ends in a kind of ‘to be continued’.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Ian’s Review
Many variations
It's not Groundhog Day or the Feedback Loop. The variations in each loop are interesting. When the action ramps up, the hero steps up. Interesting and exciting, I think it's a great direction for the genre. Seemed most similar to: the feedback loop, level up, endless online, with a touch of bill the galactic hero.
Score: 8.8 out of 10
The Last Time Loop: Max of the Rebellion (Volume 1): A Time Travel LitRPG Series