LitRPG Podcast 163 - Absolute Zero, The Fourth Realm, Vindication, The Idle System Bk 3, Comet Rider, Lydia: Awakening, The Mayor of Noobtown
LitRPG Podcast 163 - Absolute Zero, The Fourth Realm, Vindication, The Idle System Bk 3, Comet Rider, Lydia: Awakening, The Mayor of Noobtown
March 22nd, 2019
I’m Ramon Mejia. I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews. I have 7 new reviews just for you.
New Releases and Reviews:
Absolute Zero (Adam Online Book #1) LitRPG Series (07:20)
Good sci-fi RPG action-adventure here. But be warned that while there are lots of story threads started here, there are relatively few resolutions.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
The Fourth Realm (The Ten Realms Book 4) (14:25)
The story still has all the good elements I’ve enjoyed and this time lots more large scale action.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Vindication (The Alchemic Weaponeer - Book 1) (20:09)
It’s not bad by any means, it just didn’t hit good for me either because there weren’t any real surprises in the story.
Score: 6 out of 10
The Idle System (A LitRPG series Book 3): The Birth (26:01)
New companion, but the same Idle System leveling stuff from the previous books and there are lots of new abilities, skills, and powers that come into play and train.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Comet Rider: A Scifi Lit-RPG Series (29:12)
A decent sci-fi action story with some spaceships. But it's NOT LitRPG.
Score: 4 out of 10
Lydia: Awakening (32:03)
A bit of a rough beginning, but improves and gets pretty good as it goes on.
Score: 7.4 out of 10
The Mayor of Noobtown: A LitRPG Adventure (37:00)
A very entertaining story that has a snarky wit, good banter, good action, and an intelligent use of gamer knowledge to exploit the systems described. Fun stuff.
Score: 7.7 out of 10
(Play Music 2)
LitRPG News
Robert Bevin, author of Critical Failures series, has setup a mini-con in Las Vegas this September 21-22. It’ll be centered around the hilarious Author’s & Dragons podcast, where a group of authors that play D&D online together and then podcast about it. Super funny podcast that’s also worth a listen.
The Authors & Dragons crew is headed to Vegas, baby! Come join us for two days and nights of fun, frolic, and festivities in the City of Sin! Thank you Twareg!
We'll have panels, gaming, books to buy, prizes, autograph sessions, opportunities for you to game with the A&D cast, and a very special episode of Authors & Dragons as we record our 100th episode LIVE IN LAS VEGAS!
https://www.facebook.com/events/565187860659464/
https://www.authorsanddragons.com/
A quick reminder that the submission deadline for the Divine Dungeon short story collection is March 29th, 2019. Rules and place to submit are detailed at the link below or visit the Mountaindale Press facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/TheDivineDungeon/photos/a.1612167695744356/1993518677609254/?type=3&theater
Out Now!
Gun Blade (Crystal Shards Online Book 4)
Protectors: Evolution Online V (A LitRPG)
Greyblood: Adventurer Academy: A LitRPG Series
Bone Dungeon (Elemental Dungeon #1) - A Dungeon Core LitRPG
Critical Failures VII (Caverns and Creatures Book 7)
Soulcatcher. LitRPG series "Universe ICS": Book I
New LitRPG Audiobooks
Radioactive Evolution - A Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic Adventure
The Adventurers Bond: Book 5 of the Adventures on Brad
The Sleeper Must Awaken: Twenty-Sided Eye, Book 3
Upcoming LitRPG:
Dragon Heart: Stone Will. LitRPG wuxia series: Book 1
(March 22nd, 2019)
The Final Trial (Level Up Book #3) LitRPG Series (March 25th, 2019)
Dark World [Transformation. Book II] (March 27th, 2019)
Lost Portals: Czarzakian Multiverse Online (LitRPG Omniverse 1) (Czarzakian Multiverse Online: LitRPG Omnverse) (March 27th, 2019)
Viridian Gate Online: Dead Man’s Tide: A litRPG Adventure (The Illusionist Book 2) (March 28th, 2019)
Vault of the Magi: A LitRPG Adventure (Stonehaven League Book 5) (March 28th, 2019)
Shyft - Book 1 - Defender of Gallowind: (A LitRPG Adventure) (March 29th, 2019)
Into The Game: Dungeon Crawl Quest: A LitRPG Adventure (Wizard Warrior Quest) (April 1st, 2019)
Dark Hand (Alpha World Book 7) (April 1st, 2019)
Djinn Tamer: Rivals: A Monster Battling GameLit Adventure (Djinn Tamer - Bronze League Book 2) (April 5th, 2019)
Edge of the Abyss (Respawn Trials Book #1) LitRPG Series (April 10th, 2019)
Dukes and Ladders: A LitRPG/Gamelit Adventure (The Good Guys Book 5) (April 11th, 2019)
Class-A Threat (Disgardium Book #1) LitRPG Series (April 22nd, 2019)
In Search of the Uldans (Galactogon: Book #2) LitRPG Series
(April 25th, 2019)
Realm of Noria [LitRPG series. Book 2. The Life] (June 1st, 2019)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
(Play Music 3)
New Releases and Reviews
(Picture 1)
Absolute Zero (Adam Online Book #1) LitRPG Series
The days when people played for entertainment have passed. Welcome to the future. The virtual world of Adam Online is a place where humanity lives. The former champion has returned to the game to find the Mentors — systems of artificial intelligence that bestow digital immortality on humans.
But do they truly work for the benefit of mankind? To learn the truth and reach the Mentors who inhabit places undiscovered, the hero must begin from level zero.
My Opinion: 307 pages, $3.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review, I purchased a copy when it became available.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to make of the story from the description. This is a translation of a Russian LitRPG story. Written by one of the co-authors of Level Up -Knockout. However, outside of it being LitRPG and eventually slice of life, there’s little in common with that novel. Instead, you get an original story set in the far flung future where the world, or at least this part of it, is irradiated from some war and most people spend their time in a full immersion game called Adam Online. Our main character (MC) has some long term secret mission that he’s supposed to be on that’s tied to the real world and the game’s tech, but it’s a premise that fizzles out past the 15% mark and the big exciting introduction and battle scene.
Instead, what the story turns into is a dual narrative. One story following the MC as his character is reset and he has to start all over at level 1, choosing a new class, and going on some slice of life adventures in this sci-fi themed game world. The adventures are interesting, there are neat characters, and many game mechanics are explained along the way. The other story is told from the antagonists POV, the guys trying to kill the MC in the first 15%. Their story is a little more high level, and gives the reader insight into PvP, Guild stuff, crafting, and a story thread that relates to the secret mission stuff potentially. But even here, the adventuring is kind of slice of life. I mean, both stories have these goals, but you’re really just following them as they do a bunch of stuff. Quest, PvP, explain various game mechanics, and develop backstory.
The action is pretty good and there is a good variety of types of fighting between the two storylines. Questing is interesting and individual questlines have some neat story components.
The game mechanics are fairly well developed. I mean, the game world has tons of sci-fi lore and lots of information about races, classes, how quests are generated, various skills, and abilities. But at its core, it’s leveling up and advancing skills.
Where the story kind of shines is in the development of the story world. There are some breaks in the narrative that tell both backstory for characters and for the game world. The backstory for characters is very well done and creates some places readers will empathise with. The backstory for the game world and the tech that is involved in it’s creation and management is almost like a speculative treatise on where VR tech could head and some of the dangers it could pose to civilization. It made me pause and think, which is always a sign of an interesting story.
Overall, the story is very entertaining. It feels like the author is much more comfortable writing in his own world and the depth of the world building and game mechanics show it. There is good sci-fi action-adventure here. But be warned that while there are lots of story threads started here, there are relatively few resolutions. It feels like a lot of the big resolutions are planned for future books.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Absolute Zero (Adam Online Book #1) LitRPG Series
(Picture 2)
The Fourth Realm (The Ten Realms Book 4)
The Battlefield Realm. A realm where sects rise and fall where the ground trembles under the feet of fighters from the higher realms.
Where riches are gained and Empires lost.
This is where Erik and Rugrat must go if they want to increase their strength, to increase the strength of Alva. They say that fortune favors the bold. This is the Ten Realms. To the Victor go the spoils.
The Fourth Realm will change their lives, or end them.
My Opinion: 862 pages, $5.99, Not Available on Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I got an an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
A massive adventure story with a page count that is beat by few. While the story is book ended by crafting, training, and cultivation, city building, and other story threads, the majority of the novel focuses on the main characters (MCs) and their group’s advancement to the 4th realm. A place of constant fighting, wars, rare resources, and battle. There is some dungeon diving, as well as dungeon building. But the story gets a bit of a military combat vibe as the MC’s team, who have been trained in modern military techniques and who are armed with versions of modern military weapons, go up against some well established forces that use magic, and cultivation.
This section of the story is filled with action, adventure as the groups use tactics and their various weapons/magic to fight. It kind of reminds me of books 3-4 of the author’s other series, Emerilia, when the story started to get bigger with various factions and groups fighting on a large scale.
Overall, the story still has all the good elements I’ve enjoyed and this time lots more action.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
The Fourth Realm (The Ten Realms Book 4) (March 22nd, 2109)
(Picture 3)
Vindication (The Alchemic Weaponeer - Book 1)
The end of the world is not such a bad thing for Russian weapons engineer Vlad Nardoir.
Really his world ended six months ago when his wife died, and ever since then, things have been downhill. Soul-crushing medical debt. Favors to the Russian mafia. Now, asteroid. For Vlad, this is life in a nutshell.
But, in a wild twist of fate, he has found a way out. A chance to start fresh in a brand-new ultra-immersive MMORPG called Viridian Gate Online. Making the leap might kill him, but again, death is not such a bad thing for a man with nothing to live for. Even in the virtual world, however, old grudges burn true, and the past is not as far gone as it seems. He must use his quick wits, rugged persistence, and peculiar set of skills as a weapons engineer to make a place for himself in this new world, or be forcibly dragged back into the very life he fought so hard to escape.
My Opinion: 297 pg, $4.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
Another origin story for another character from the main series. This time it is Vlad, the Russian weapons engineer.
There's a bit of touching backstory at the beginning, which kinda has a huge flaw, but serves as a way to create emotional motivation for the main character (MC). The use of this hook is done well and the first 15% of the story, though super light on RPG stuff is probably my favorite part of the story since it’s the most original.
However, past that point things just aren’t surprising because they involve the main plot of the VGO series and if you’ve read that, then what happens in this story won’t really be a surprise. Questions like: Will Ina survive this fight? When will Vlad meet Grim Jack? Will Vlad fix the cannons in time? Or will the good guys win a fight? All those things are supposed to be places of tension, but they’re not. Because if you’ve read the main VGO series, you already have the answers to all the big plot questions. There is new material that tells you about the MCs class, how he uses his abilities and real world knowledge to craft, and some small adventures. But it wasn’t enough to push the story into good for me. It’s not bad by any means, it just didn’t hit good for me either because there weren’t any real surprises in the story.
Score: 6 out of 10
Vindication (The Alchemic Weaponeer - Book 1)
(Picture 4)
The Idle System (A LitRPG series Book 3): The Birth
Running away is never the answer.
After escaping from the Rogue Sect, John and Sarah find something new about each other. They're both Siders. Their path of loneliness will now take a turn, finding new allies in the most unexpected of places.
But good things come hand-in-hand with the bad.
Elder Han and his son are not willing to give up their chase. Chris's obsession over possessing Sarah's body for himself is not to be taken lightly. Nor is his father's.
Fight or flight, it's now their choice.
Join John and Sarah in a new issue of The Idle System to find out what happens next!
My Opinion: 264 pages, $2.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
While the story is still pretty slice of life, now that the main character (MC) has someone like him, from earth and with her own unique system, it’s more interesting. The story takes on a buddy aspect which is a nice break from all the solo adventures. It also gives a chance for dialogue and romance. There are definitely some points in the new characters backstory that feel forced just to justify her place in the immortal universe but it doesn't ruin things.
The novel still has the same Idle System leveling stuff from the previous books and there are lots of new abilities, skills, and powers that come into play and train. Oh, a little bit of crafting too.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
The Idle System (A LitRPG series Book 3): The Birth
(Picture 5)
Comet Rider: A Scifi Lit-RPG Series
Comets have hammered the earth, and the impacts bring more than just ice and rock.
There is a virus loose on the planet, changing humans into alien killing machines.
The earth needs a hero, and Deacon Gray is the man for the job.
With his cutting edge Extant Armor, he will land and rally the last human fighters as they try to take back our planet, one battle at a time.
Overmatched and outgunned, Deacon must build an army, rediscover forgotten military bases, and unlock the secrets hidden inside his Extant armor.
The future has arrived.
My Opinion: 257 pages, $4.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
Not LitRPG as described in the title. There's a augmented combat suit with a HUD that estimates threats, and damage. It drops notifications in front of the main character (MC) on a regular basis but there is no RPG progression. This is a decent sci-fi action story with some spaceships. But it's NOT LitRPG.
Score: 4 out of 10
Comet Rider: A Scifi Lit-RPG Series
(Picture 6)
Lydia: Awakening
When Arcturus opens his eyes in the strange and beautiful world of Lydia, his first quest is to recover his memories, and learn how he ended up inside of an RPG.
But the others don’t think of it as a game, and they warn him that when players die they must wait for many decades before it’s their turn to be reborn again.
This is a story that starts with an answer and works its way back to life’s most important question. He will encounter steamy vampire love, flower-picking goblins, rare magic, and cute, cuddly dogs.
But none of these things can distract him from what he has never truly forgotten, which is how much he is willing to do for the sake of love.
My Opinion: 188 pages, $2.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
I’ll be honest. The beginning of the novel will be the hardest to get through because of how it’s written. Awkward dialogue, overly detailed descriptions, some plot holes and tiny game mechanic issues. But if you can get past it, you’ll find that all that improves as the author finds his legs and there’s eventually a pretty good story here.
From the very first pages, the story is absolutely LitRPG and as it progresses it introduces crafting, unique world building, lots of neat magic, training, and good power ups. The basic game mechanics are familiar with levels, hp, mana, abilities. The only new thing for the character screen are Traits that help define a character and give bonuses, but the MC can only have 4. So he has to choose which to keep eventually. Personally, I liked the adventure, power up, and train cycle the story eventually gets.
Storywise, the first 40% is explanations about the game mechanics, world building, and slice of life adventures. The rest of it actually has a plot with some neat revelations about the MC and some very clear goals, setbacks, twists, and good fights.
Overall, this is a good story that I enjoyed. While I did have to force myself to push past the beginning a bit, it much better as it went on.
Score: 7.4 out of 10
(Picture 7)
The Mayor of Noobtown: A LitRPG Adventure
It could be worse. You could be stuck with a literal shoulder demon.
After dying and being reborn into a world that's built like a video game, Jim has found himself stuck in a very old world style new player zone for low level adventurers. Unfortunately, the zone fell out of use centuries ago, and no one told the monsters they were supposed to take it easy on the Noobs. Even worse, the only new player around is Jim.
Jim has been given an opportunity, and he'll do his best to take advantage of it.
My Opinion: 226 pages, $2.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
This is a very fun story that has good humor and intelligent exploiting of the game mechanics in this RPG world. There’s a very neat reincarnation/tabletop beginning gets a unique talent that opens up many leveling opportunities. But his real special skill, is that his mind wasn’t wiped like it was supposed to when he was reincarnated. Now he’s using his past earthly experiences with RPG gaming to game this world as hard as he can.
Game mechanic wise, the story has leveling, stats, HP, mana, and stamina. But also, many custom rules that add a bit of spice and challenge. Additionally, skills can be learned through use or gained from leveling but must be practiced to increase. There’s also crafting, a minor bit of town and community building. There’s more than enough information given throughout the novel to roll your own character in this world.
The story is slice of life. You follow the MC as he’s summoned to this world, goes through a unique character creation process, then tries to learn the rules of the fantasy RPG world so that he can exploit them to survive. He goes on adventuress, fights monsters, grinds out skill increases, and uses his intelligence and unique powers to win out against more powerful opponents. Good stuff.
Overall, an entertaining story that has a snarky wit, good banter, good action, and an intelligent use of gamer knowledge to exploit the systems described. Fun stuff.
Score: 7.7 out of 10
The Mayor of Noobtown: A LitRPG Adventure
That’s it everyone!
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(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