LitRPG Podcast 018
Welcome to Episode 18 of the LitRPG Podcast. The only podcast dedicated to LitRPG.
I’m Ramon Mejia. I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews.
This week I’ll be telling you about the latest LitRPG News and LitRPG pre-orders coming up.
New Releases and Reviews:
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LitRPG News
Realm of Arkon Audiobook out now.
Roman Kozhevnikov after he gets confined to Arkon against his will. And not just to Arkon, but to its deadliest zone - Demon Grounds. Playing - or rather living - as his character Krian, it's not just about survival for Roman. He longs to exact revenge for his banishment to the virtual world where the sensation of pain has reached 100 percent.
Get two free audiobooks with free trial subscription to Audible. http://amzn.to/2gnrPlh
Desperate Times: A 49ers LitRPG Novel ( release date 12/25)
Spetsnaz: A 49ers LitRPG Novel (49ers LitRPG Book 2)Feb 28, 2017
Matthew Sylvester has put two of his LitRPG novels up for pre-order on Amazon. The first, Desperate Times is out on 12/25, the second book Spetsnaz is out 2/28/17.
Desperate Times
It's 2100, Britain faces its greatest challenge as the remains of the European Combined Armed Forces dig in to repel the imminent ChinKor Republic invasion of Great Britain. Bombers and missiles destroy whole swathes of British cities and countryside and every eligible man and woman over the age of 16 has been conscripted to join the fight. Only this is in a VR game called World Domination, a game designed to eliminate civilian, technological, fiscal and environmental loss but to still cater for the warlike nature of humans. All of the troops are hard wired into their harnesses.
The rules are simple, survive 100 battles and you're free. Die 50 times and you'll receive a lethal dose of poison administered by the game, as war must always have consequences. Take on a Special Mission and you'll gain 1 extra life, mission credits and valuable power-ups and special weapons.
Only the rules have changed. The European High Command has decreed that soldiers who hit 49 deaths are to be kept permanently in the game. The 49ers is a regiment of Last Chancers, their commander, iColonel Ron Clark, is desperate to keep his people alive, and give them one last chance.
Spetsnaz
It's 2100, France has been devastated by nuclear explosions, and ChinKor Republic troops are searching for those responsible. Trapped in France, the 49ers must team up with Russian special forces, the feared Spetsnaz, to escape the devastation. Together they will wreak havoc as they blast their way through the enemy forces.
Viridian Gate Online: Cataclysm (release date 12/23)
Pre Order Available on 12/13
An extinction-level asteroid, 213 Astraea, is cannonballing toward Earth. Collision, imminent. An international team of scientists is working around the clock to avert the cataclysm—few are optimistic. World governments are preparing for impact with deep earth bio-dome bunkers, but only a select few lottery winners will be saved.
Jack Mitchel, a thirty-two-year-old EMT living in a tiny studio apartment on the West Coast, isn’t one of those winners.
Still, there might be a way for him to survive Astraea: a slim chance, requiring a radical leap of faith. Through a connection at Osmark Technologies, Jack’s acquired a NexGenVR capsule and with it, a one-way ticket to the brand-new, ultra-immersive, fantasy-based VRMMORPG, Viridian Gate Online. Taking that leap of faith, though, means permanently trapping his mind in the game, killing his body in the process.
Worse, one in six die during the transition, and even if Jack beats the odds, he’ll have to navigate a fantastical world that’s filled with near-limitless opportunities, but also home to vicious monsters, domineering AIs, and cutthroat players. And when Jack stumbles upon a secret conspiracy to sell off virtual real estate to the ultrawealthy—transforming V.G.O. into a new feudal dark age—the deadly creatures inhabiting Viridian Gate’s expansive dungeons will be the least of his concerns.
If Jack can’t game the system, he’s going to be trading in a quick death for a long, brutal one …
https://royalroadl.com/fiction/8722?reviews=1
Sucked into an RPG: a LitRPG Novel (Sucked into an RPG, Book 1) Feb 20, 2017
Critics call it "The most immersive open world fantasy RPG the world has ever seen. Players feel like they are actually in the game." Little did fifteen-year-old Jamie know how literal that statement means.
In the middle of attacking a difficult boss, Jamie gets sucked into the game. It's not long before he learns there's no way back home and that the only people around him are NPCs. He spends his days completing quests, hoping one will lead him back to reality. But the days go on and he wonders if he will ever see his family and best friend again.
Then he meets her--another player. She got sucked into the game months ago and has been stuck there ever since. Together, they embark on the journey back to Earth. But is there a way out of this fantasy world or are they doomed to live there forever?
My Opinion: This one is sort of a mystery to me. I don’t know much about it personally but the description leads me to believe it’s may be LitRPG, but it could also be a title that is using LitRPG in the title for sales. I plan to give it a read when it comes out in Feb. though.
Adventures on Terra out now!*
Armon Ellington is nineteen year old kid that always felt out of place. He’s an orphan, a gamer, and a role playing game geek. When he dies after a seventy-two hour gaming marathon, instead of going to an afterlife he’s transported to a new world governed by rules that are eerily similar to the RPG games he loves. On this new world, Terra, he can be anything he wants, a warrior, mage, or even a crafter. Only, Armon wants more than that, he also wants friends and family.
Join Armon on his journey through this amazing new world where he’ll go on adventures, explore dungeons, slay monsters and hopefully find the friends and family he never had on earth.
Best seller list for video game adaptation
*full disclosure: This book is written by the host of the LitRPG podcast.
Adventures On Terra - Book 1: Beginnings
Upcoming LitRPG:
The Way of the Outcast (Mirror World Book #3) (Dec. 19th)
Viridian Gate Online: Cataclysm (release date 12/23
Desperate Times: A 49ers LitRPG Novel (Dec. 25th)
Video Game Plotline Tester (The Dark Herbalist Book #1) (Jan. 3rd, 2017)
You're in Game! LitRPG Stories from Bestselling Authors (Jan. 20th, 2017)
The Beginning (Dark Paladin Book #1) LitRPG Series (Feb. 7, 2017)
Sucked into an RPG: a LitRPG Novel (Sucked into an RPG, Book 1) (Feb. 20, 2017)
Spetsnaz: A 49ers LitRPG Novel (49ers LitRPG Book 2)Feb 28, 2017
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New Releases and Reviews
The Cadet (LitRPG. Squadcom-13. Book:1)
The near future. A UFO appears on Earth’s orbit. Ignoring all contact attempts, it showers the planet with priceless artifacts. Choose: perfect health, ten million dollars, or seven years in prison as per the new amendment.
The night of the Meteor Shower, Paul and his friends run around the city, engaging in quick fights with citizens gone crazy, trying to obtain one of the artifacts.
But is it really selfless help the mysterious aliens are offering? What awaits a human who holds a precious crystal in his hand? Where will he wake up tomorrow? What if the first thing he sees when he opens his eyes will be the blinking line of text: “Loading location: virtual training ground Kubinka-Digital. Welcome, cadet! You’re now space fighter pilot!
My Opinion: 223 pages, $4.99 and available on Kindle Unlimited.
Fair warning: Don’t expect this to be like Alterworld, the author’s other series.
The beginning of the story reads like an end of the world novel. Supposedly, aliens have dropped orbs that confer great power and everyone on earth is willing to kill to get one. Only it turns out that it was really a futuristic human society and anyone that got the power of an orb is sent to the future and conscripted into a war with some vague alien race. Oh, this future population is made up of mostly women because of some bio-agent that was deployed against humanity in the past killed most of the men and prevented any new ones from being born. This apparently means that every woman in the future is super desperate and sexually aggressive towards any guy transported from the past.
Are you confused by this backstory? Me too. Turns out, none of that really matters to the LitRPG part of the story which doesn’t even appear till about the 22% mark of the book. Here’s what you need to know: Our main character, Paul, lost his limbs in a war during our time. He gets hold of one of these orbs that have the power to regrow limbs. Instead of using it entirely for himself he shares it with a blind woman. Once the orb restores both of them, they find they now share a psychic/soul bond that lets them feel each others emotions and thoughts. They’re both transported to the future where they get further cyborg upgrades and then go into a kind of virtual training system along with other people transported into the past. This training system is very game like, with levels, hit points, stat buffs, and weapons damage ranges. However it’s also very difficult since it’s meant to simulate what these conscripted soldiers are going to face in the field.
Skip to the 22% mark and enjoy the rest of the book. After that point it’s a good LitRPG story about a group of soldiers trying to survive and grow stronger in a immersive virtual training environment. Just be aware that there is a fair bit of culturally specific concepts that might not be translating well from Russian. Like the insistence that all women secretly want a strong Alpha male, even in a future where the population is something like 90% female. Overall I give The Cadet 6 out of 10. If the beginning 20% were less confusing I’d have enjoyed it more.
The Cadet (LitRPG. Squadcom-13. Book:1)
Sigil Online: Paragons
Loss was nothing new to an orphan like Riley. But when the online persona he'd spent years building, was ripped away by a monster with unbelievable power, everything changed.
As a gamer who made a living from Sigil Online, losing his character meant losing his job and any means he had of paying his bills.
Now, he had to start from the beginning just like any other player joining Sigil Online for the first time. All the fame and fortune of a high-level character, was gone.
Experience the harrowing quest that will leave Riley changed forever, as he's molded by the pursuit of the monster that took everything from him.
My Opinion: 520 pages. $5.99 as an e-book, $14.99 print edition, also available on Kindle Unlimited.
Riley plays a superhero themed VRMMO, unfortunately he lost the game character he’d invested the last two years of his life building to a rare monster. Since a big feature of the game is permadeath, he has to create a new character and find some way to gain the elusive hero powers available in the game.
From one of the authors of the Permadeath series. Sigil Online epitomizes one the things I love the most about the LitRPG genre. The sheer variety of stories that can be told. It would have never occurred to me to write a superhero themed LitRPG. Yet it works wonderfully. The writing is solid and game mechanics feel innovative. Instead of automatically gaining powers as a character levels, they must discover a unique way of gaining them. Until they do a player is just an ordinary and vulnerable citizen of the game world. It’s a fun story that’s set in a unique world.
Dexterity Build: A LitRPG Serial (Episode 1 - Lavora High Temple)
Nick Stanners is back.
Fresh from his victory against The Spiderling, he must now prepare for a new series of Oakshield Junction. Only this time, he knows the sinister corporation behind the RPG is actively trying to kill him.
Not only must Nick contend with the deadly creatures of Tyrennia, his human rivals will be targeting him for the largest bounty the game has seen.
Worst of all, he can no longer rely on his favored strength build. He must adapt or die.
That means lifting a longbow for the first time in his gaming life. Strange days indeed …
My Opinion: Another serial from the author of Strength Build. Each of these books is less than 50 pages, costs $0.99 and is available on Kindle Unlimited. If you don’t like the small page count, then wait till all the episodes come out and the author seems to bundle them together for a longer story.
Good action, you get the answer about Gideon, and Nick picks up a bow as a dexterity build to throw off the other players in the new season of the game. A good short read for $0.99.
Rising Tide: A LitRPG Novel (Age of Steam Book 1)
The Iron Guild reigns supreme. The massive organization dominates the virtual reality MMO world of Age of Steam, using their vast wealth, military might, and their control of the all-important trade routes. Outsiders must bow to their demands, or invite destruction down on their heads.
But some continue to resist the Iron Guild's influence. And when the latest demands push them too far, four players decide to push back. They will use any method to break the Guild's stranglehold, whether it be smuggling, conspiracy, or outright violence. The trade war will be fought in the back alleys of the cities, on the open seas, in the markets and exchanges, and in the workshops and factories.
In the world of steel and steam, only one side will triumph. For a rising tide lifts all ships, but it may also drown those caught in its path...
My Opinion: 305 pages, $3.99 and available on Kindle Unlimited.
From the author of the amazing World at War Online series (http://amzn.to/2h9Blaz), comes a new LitRPG story. This one about trade and smuggling in a steampunk MMO. If you like pirates..err..smugglers and sailing stories then this is for you. It just isn’t for me. Not a fan of sea tales.
Additionally, the story is light on LitRPG elements. There’s enough to qualify as LitRPG but barely.
Rising Tide (Age of Steam Book 1)
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Go read some LitRPG!
Music Credits
"Blip Stream" "Mighty Like Us" "Big Shift" "Vivacity"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/