Rob didn't think of himself as anyone special, but when a pitch-black portal tried to wrap his best friend in chains, he stepped up without thinking and found himself ensnared instead. His moment of heroism results in being torn away from everyone he knew and loved, kidnapped by an unknown force that leaves him with a note in his pocket stating: "Good luck."
After being thrown into the wilderness of Elatra, a hostile fantasy world ruled by levels, stats, progression, and bizarre video game logic, he finds himself entirely out of his depth. Armed with nothing but a sword and the clothes on his back, he sets out on his the first day, and almost dies. On the second day, he almost dies again. On the third, he began to notice a worrying trend. And almost dies.
It doesn't get any easier from there.
Overcoming the wilds is just the first step in his journey; the society of Elatra is incredibly hostile to humans, having just come off of a devastating war that left over half the population dead, and getting the locals to kindle their faith and trust the last human in existence is a struggle in and of itself. Between being powerless in a world that hates him and suffering under a System that is altering his mind in unwanted ways, Rob quickly finds that monsters aren't nearly the biggest thing to worry about.
As far as LitRPG Isekai adventures go, Rob drew the short straw in many ways. But that's okay - all the bullshit in the world won't keep him down. He'll carve out a place in this world with his bare hands if necessary. He'll survive, and then he'll thrive.
Whether anyone wants him to or not.
My Opinion: 696 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
This is a fairly good transported to a fantasy LitRPG world story. The main character (MC) has a certain sense of humor that will either land or not for a reader. The story itself is adventure focused with some world building that puts humans on the evil side with an innate characteristic that makes quick leveling addictive to the point they just have to kill like it was a drug, which pushes for wars with other races to feed this need. It's honestly a bit of a stretch, one that felt like it would have led to the destruction of the species, but it’s a unique twist on why humans level grind.
The MC gets lots of new powers, levels, and abilities to help him survive in the rough world and eventually gets in touch with one of the races that hates humans and has to earn their trust despite the wars they lost against humanity. The RPG is very regular and there are lots and lots of notifications, levels, and skill and ability descriptions. Some of the powers are kinda neat but you could tell some existed to get the MC out of an upcoming situation.
Overall, the story was good. Good character interactions once the MC reached the elves, lots of social development there, regular action-adventure. There were some lulls in the story pacing here and there, but still a fine read.
Score: 7.3 out of 10
An Outcast in Another World: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Book 1 - Human Insanity)