LitRPG Podcast 120
LitRPG Podcast 120
June 15th, 2018
Hello everyone, welcome to episode 120 of the LitRPG podcast.
I’m Ramon Mejia. I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews. I have one update and 6 new LitRPG reviews just for you.
New Releases and Reviews:
Pendulum Heroes (09:26)
The Snake Report (12:31)
Reincarnation as a snake. Slow start but gets better. Score: 7.3 out of 10
The Alchemist of Aetheria: A LitRPG Adventure (15:27)
Disappointment. Score: 5 out of 10
Trial by Fire: A LitRPG Dragonrider Adventure (Archemi Online Chronicles Book 2) (19:52)
Good story. Good mystery. Score: 7.4 out of 10
War God's Mantle: Descent: A litRPG Harem Adventure (The War God Saga Book 2) (24:26)
Lots of action. Score: 7.2 out of 10
Eden's Gate: The Arena: A LitRPG Adventure (31:48)
Not as much arena as the cover suggests. Still good. Score: 7.5 out of 10
Cities in Chains: An Apocalyptic LitRPG (The System Apocalypse Book 4) (34:43)
Good action, good story, good murderous RPG apocalypse.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
(Play Music 2)
LitRPG News
Magic dome books has put some of their more popular titles on some ebook platforms besides Amazon and is currently placing the first books in the Way of the Shaman and The Dark Herbalist series on sale for $0.99 on Kobo. If you haven’t read the series, they’re both really good and that’s a good deal.
https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/survival-quest-3
https://www.kobo.com/…/en/ebook/video-game-plotline-tester-1
Daniel Schinhofen has released some more art work for his Alpha World series. This one, artist Amelia Parris representation of the three female romantic interests in the series.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/364674377283655/permalink/481538035597288/
Apollos Thorne, author of the Underworld and Codename Freedom series, is going full time as an author. I just wanted to congratulate him and wish him well. It’s a big leap to take. Go support the guy if you like his work either by buying his stuff or supporting him on his patreon page.
https://www.amazon.com/Apollos-Thorne/e/B071J5YV63/
https://www.patreon.com/apollosthorne
We are still taking applications for that audiobook edition of the litRPG podcast. If you want to apply send us a video of you doing a review, we aren’t paying a ton but we’ll totally pay for your LitRPG audiobook fix if you’re willing to record videos of your reviews.
https://www.facebook.com/litrpgpodcast/
https://www.facebook.com/SoundBoothTheater/
Out Now!
Killstreak Book One: Respawn: An Epic Fantasy LitRPG (June 14th, 2018)
New LitRPG Audiobooks
Steele Alchemist: A LitRPG Series
Our review of the ebook: 5/10 http://litrpgpodcast.com/litrpg-database/2017/11/16/steele-alchemist-a-litrpg-series
Arcane Survivalist: Apocalyptic Fantasy LitRPG
Our review of the ebook: 7/10 http://litrpgpodcast.com/litrpg-database/2017/9/14/arcane-survivalist-apocalyptic-fantasy-litrpg
Stratus Online: Awakening: A LitRPG Series, Book 1
Our review of the ebook: 6/10
Bushido Online: Friends and Foes: A LitRPG Saga
Upcoming LitRPG:
End of an Era (Project Chrysalis Book 2) (June 26th, 2018)
Apocalypse Gates 2: Valley of Death (July 1st, 2018)
Restart (Level Up Book #1) LitRPG Series (July 10th, 2018)
External Threat (Reality Benders Book #2) LitRPG Series (July 23rd, 2018)
Death March (Euphoria Online - Book 1) (Aug. 7th, 2018)
Raven Vex: A LitRPG Saga (The Binding Book 2)
(Aug. 30th, 2018)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
(Play Music 3)
New Releases and Reviews
(Picture 1)
*Quick Update on this story*
Pendulum Heroes
*POC main character*
The author sent me a copy for review. He was honest about that it wasn’t written as LitRPG but is ‘as close as you can get to being LitRPG without expressly trying’. He did feel like he wrote something he thinks fits in the genere. The author originally had part of his blurb stating it’s his ‘unique take on the burgeoning litRPG’ genre.
Is it LitRPG??
No. While the main characters all enter the story world because of the game they play and are stuck in the avatars they chose, the world itself is distinctly described in fantasy terms. There are no game powers, or RPG game mechanics of any kind. All the fights, the magic, are all fantasy based. It’s described in the novel that a magical artifact in that world lets people from our world create avatars that impact their world but that something so bad had happened that it actually ported the players into their avatars to solve the problem. But again, the setting if very clearly fantasy based. The story itself if interesting and it actually had a pretty good twist at the end, It’s just not LitRPG. No RPG mechanics and no RPG progression.
When I advised the author that I didn’t think the story was LitRPG, he was nice enough to take the mention of LitRPG out of his novel description since he didn’t want to create expectations that his novel wasn’t going to meet.
No bad review since the author stopped advertising as LitRPG and even went so far as to mention to readers that were interested that it’s not LitRPG but that it still might be interesting to them.
---
(Picture 2)
The Snake Report
All Hail The Tiny Snake God!
When life ends, many believe a soul is judged. Warriors might get to Valhalla, saints might go to heaven, and evil-doers go to hell... but what about someone who doesn't fall into any of those categories?
Well, some of them end up like... this.
------
From the online web-serial, comes a story of reincarnation, comedy, and the winding path towards existential redemption: All Hail The Tiny Snake God!
My Opinion: 457 pages, $4.99, Not on Kindle Unlimited
The Snake Report is an online serial story found several places including the Royal Road. It’s been cleaned up, collected and put up on Amazon.
A reincarnation LitRPG story. The main character (MC) dies as a human but is reborn as a tiny snake. Follow his slice life adventures as he lives, levels up, and survives the wild world. The beginning is a little slow but once the MC levels up enough to leave his little hole in the ground and adventurers are introduced, the pace and action pick up a lot.
Game mechanics side, it’s mostly relegated to the snake MC evolution as he levels. There’s a good bit of humor as the MC tries to figure out the rules of the game world and what he can do with his skill points. It was fun to see the ways the MC pushes the system to travel a unique path of RPG advancement.
Overall, if you’re ok with the slice of life/serial nature of the story, it’s a fun story.
Score: 7.3 out of 10
(Picture 3)
The Alchemist of Aetheria: A LitRPG Adventure
Zack’s plan for the summer was easy enough: pick a college, enroll, and spend the rest of his time building his alchemist in a new VRMMORPG called Aetheria.
But when he finds out his college money fund has been depleted and he has no more means to pay for the tuition fees, his plans need to change in an instant. With money to be made in this game, he now has to put the exploring part—and all the fun—aside to focus on earning every dollar back. And so he does, playing the only way he knows how: by finding and exploiting the game’s loopholes. Who cares if other players get killed and he loots them clean? After all, it’s just a game, isn’t it?
Zack the Alchemist will quickly learn, however, that the world of Aetheria is much more than that. As he lets his greed dictate his actions and pulls one dirty trick too many, he opens up a portal that will unleash hell upon this virtual world. If that wasn’t bad enough, as he dies at the hands of the megaboss he has just freed, there’s a glitch that happens in real life and that locks Zack inside the game for good.
Trapped in his character, he will have to change his ways and start allying with others if he is to find the key back to the real world. But it’s hard for a loner such as himself to start making friends; especially when you’re under the penalty of permadeath and have to watch your Level 04 back because you’ve already made quite a few enemies.
With his potion making skills and a lousy starter copper dagger for sole companions, Zack has the odds severely stacked against him. The slightest slip-up could mean the final game over.
My Opinion: 350 pages??, $4.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
The story doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be and because of that it felt untethered to a theme. It starts out as a story about a bullied teen graduating high school who gets an expensive VR rig from his mom and is determined to make a living in the game. Then after the main character (MC) makes his alchemist character and shows that crafting is just button pressing, he becomes a PKer double crossing the guy that just happened to tell him all his PVP secrets. The MC abandons his goal to earn money from taking gear from killed players and decides to take on high level content at level 3. Then about mid way through, it shifts to a stuck in the game story. The entire thing just didn’t work for me.
Score: 5 out of 10
The Alchemist of Aetheria: A LitRPG Adventure
(Picture 4)
Trial by Fire: A LitRPG Dragonrider Adventure (Archemi Online Chronicles Book 2)
One man. One game. One adorable baby dragon.
Two weeks ago, Hector Park cheated death by uploading his mind to the ultra-immersive fantasy RPG game, Archemi. After exposing the rotten heart of an order of dragon knights, he’s now on the run with a young queen dragon who could one day become the most powerful mount in the game.
To get strong enough to face their enemies, they need a quest – a big one. Fortunately, trouble has a way of finding Hector, and it does – in the form of a series of brutally murdered priests, a king in desperate need of a hero, and a beautiful, fiery berserker. The risk? Huge. The payoff? More gold than a dragon’s hoard.
There's only one problem - Archemi is haunted by the ghost of a mad developer bent on making the game his personal playground. And now that the world outside has vanished in a storm of nuclear fire, there's no one left to stop him.
Or at least, that’s what he thinks. Because Hector isn't the kind of man to take this shit lying down.
My Opinion: 433 pages, $4.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
*Quick warning, there is some graphically described sex towards the end of the story. It’s a small scene.*
This is a good solid follow up to the first book. It starts out a little slow as the main character summarizes the big points of book 1, but the action hits fairly soon after and continues throughout the novel. Shifting the story to another location almost makes the story feel like another book 1 but in a good way. A fresh start with an introduction to a whole new cast of characters including several new players.
Storywise, this turns out to be a mystery solving story. There’s still plenty of action but the MC is tasked with a quest involving murders, intrigue, and a few good plot twists. Rather interesting stuff.
Game mechanic wise, it’s the same as book 1. The only added stuff is for the dragon and a little bit of added crafting.
Overall, a solid read with no big issues. If you liked book 1 in the series, book 2 will be an even bigger treat.
Score: 7.4 out of 10
Trial by Fire: A LitRPG Dragonrider Adventure (Archemi Online Chronicles Book 2)
(Picture 5)
War God's Mantle: Descent: A litRPG Harem Adventure (The War God Saga Book 2)
A Marine turned Greek God. An army of beautiful Amazons. An infernal enemy out to burn the world down.
It’s been three weeks since Jacob Merely crash-landed on the mythical island of Lycastia, and the newly minted War God finally has things under control. He’s grown into his power, built his city, and earned the respect of his gorgeous, hard-charging Amazons.
He’s not in the clear yet, though. Hades still lives, and the mystical sigil holding him at bay is rapidly failing. Worse, a horde of new enemies is battering Lycastia’s gates daily, slowly grinding down Jacob’s forces. But Jacob has a plan to get the upper hand. He’s learned about a legendary weapon buried in a prehistoric world deep in the bowels of the island. A weapon with the power to kill even gods. If he can defeat the weapon’s primordial guardians and subdue an exiled Titan, he might just be able to save the world.
But that’s an awfully big if …
My Opinion: 303 pages, $4.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
This is a sequel that takes the action up a notch. There’s fights, leveling upgrades, and more fights. If that’s what you’re looking for this story has it in spades. There’s a bit of crafting and town building in the beginning but that’s a more minor aspect in book 2.
Game mechanic wise, nothing fundamentally new. The MC gets some new powers that he uses to lay down the hurt on all the new kinds of monsters that he and his amazons fight. The only real complaint I have about the game mechanics is that I feel like I’m only reading half of it this time. There’s another player involved in this RTS themed story, Earl Echo Earl, the bad guy. Yet I get no real information about the tech/upgrade trees he’s using to create his side of the battle. So everything I read about from his side feels...off somehow. A little wand wavy. A small thing that doesn’t hurt the story.
Storywise, everything is pretty simple and straightforward. Fight, level up, upgrade, and fight some more. Small note, the harem stuff that was included in the story this time felt out of character for the MC and the story.
Overall, a good story that emphasizes action.
Score: 7.2 out of 10
War God's Mantle: Descent: A litRPG Harem Adventure (The War God Saga Book 2)
(Picture 6)
Eden's Gate: The Arena: A LitRPG Adventure
Book 4 of the bestselling Eden's Gate series!
Edgewood is under attack, and the threat of war lingers across the Serpent Sea.
In order to protect their village, the members of Unity will need to work together to level-up and find better gear. They'll need to lay the foundation of a castle that can serve as a fortification from intruders.
But what if there's a better way?
When Gunnar learns that the King of Highcastle will grant an audience to anyone who wins an Arena championship, he decides to enter the competition as a gladiator. If he can earn a meeting with the ailing King and persuade him to stop Dryden Bloodletter, he can save Edgewood and potentially countless lives. He'll also get his name posted in every Arena which could lead Rachel one step closer to finding him.
The Arena is a spectacle where people gather to watch fighters put their skills to the test, earn fame, and take home gold. Does Gunnar have what it takes to become a champion or has he bitten off more than he can chew?
My Opinion: 454 pages, $4.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
A good story that turned out to be more slice of life than I thought it was going to be from the description and the cover. The arena thing is a relatively minor part of the story and the MC only fights there a few times. Instead, there’s some good character development, a bit of romance, good fights, dungeon diving, and a new troublesome addition to the guild. It’s fun but definitely more slice of life.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Eden's Gate: The Arena: A LitRPG Adventure
(Picture 7)
Cities in Chains: An Apocalyptic LitRPG (The System Apocalypse Book 4)
It's been over a year since the System came to Earth, bringing blood and monsters in equal measure. Having left Whitehorse, John and his team travel down to British Columbia, running into new dangers from aliens and humans alike. Faced with new challenges and new enemies, John steps up once more to set things right and teach a few aliens why you never put humanity in chains.
Cities in Chains is Book 4 of the System Apocalypse, a LitRPG novel set in a post-apocalyptic Earth that combines modern day life, science fiction and fantasy elements along with game mechanics.
My Opinion: 338, $4.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
A nice addition to the series. It has much more personal growth for the MC than the previous novel and a bit of town building. Good action, good adventure, new RPG powers. Did I mention the good action? It’s worth mentioning twice.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Cities in Chains: An Apocalyptic LitRPG (The System Apocalypse Book 4)
That’s it everyone!
You can follow us on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/litrpgpodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LitRPGPodcast
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-eBvpm-g7IkjfVktObGAA
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/geekbytespodcast
Our Webpage: www.litrpgpodcast.com
Other LitRPG facebook pages
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGGroup/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPG.books
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/
If you enjoy the podcast and want to support us you can also find all the other ways to support the podcast at www.litrpgpodcast.com/support
Thanks for hanging out with me today. Until we can hangout again, remember to go read some LitRPG!
(Music 4)
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/