LitRPG Podcast 197- The Wandering Inn Vol. 2, Reality Benders 5, NPC's Path 3, Styxian Stoners May Break My Boners, Mythian, and more
LitRPG Podcast 197- The Wandering Inn Vol. 2, Reality Benders 5, NPC's Path 3, Styxian Stoners May Break My Boners, Mythian, and more
Oct. 24th, 2019
Hello everyone, welcome to episode 197 of the LitRPG podcast.
I’m Ramon Mejia. I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews. We have 9 new reviews just for you.
New Releases and Reviews:
The Wandering Inn: Volume 2 (09:33)
Such a great story that’s faster paced than Vol. 1
Score: 8 out of 10
A Jump into the Unknown (Reality Benders Book #5): LitRPG Series (15:18)
Continues the space Sci-fi RPG adventure of Gnat and his crew
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Deadman's Retinue (An NPC's Path Book #3): LitRPG Series (17:50)
A pretty decent conclusion to the series.
Score: 7.1 out of 10
Styxian Stoners May Break My Boners (Caverns and Creatures) (21:50)
Stoners and boners indeed
Score: 7.3 out of 10
Mythian (Chronicles of Ethan Book 1) (23:58) (Oct. 25th, 2019)
Decent XP grind story, but cyberpunkish undertones, and the end in particular ruined the story for me.
Score: 6 out of 10
Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week (34:28)
(Pic 0)
New Segment from Ian Mitchell a long time LitRPG community member who reads and reviews as much as me. He was nice enough to agree to join the LitRPG Podcast family as a new reviewer.
Reborn: Apocalypse (Volume 2): (A LitRPG/Wuxia Story)
Score: 8.8 out of 10
City of Freedom (Adam Online Book #2) LitRPG Series
Weird, surreal, it pulled me in.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
Troll Nation (The Rogue Dungeon Book 3)
Score: 9.2 out of 10
The small medium gets it done well
Score: 8.4 out of 10
(Play Music 2)
LitRPG News
Nova Sky, originally written in Oct. 2017 by Eden Redd under the pen name K.C. Song, is getting a relaunch. This title has been re-edited and is published under the SFW pen name Eden Blue. I was one of the few original reviews for the story and though had minor gamelit elements I mostly enjoyed it a lot because of its good sci-fi elements. Go check it out.
Info on Robert Bevin, author of the Cavern’s and Creatures series, has started a weekly deal for his short stories and other works. He’ll discount a different work per week to $0.99. This weeks it’s his hilarious C&C short story Shipfaced, but check back each week to see what the deal of the week is.
http://www.caverns-and-creatures.com/deal-of-the-week
In response to atrocities committed by Daniel Schinhofen to their literary cousin Fubble, The Fibble Army has arrived! They are demanding cookies and cuddles.
Just kidding, Dave Wilmarth has gotten the adorable plushies made for his Fibble character and they are currently on sale on Amazon. You better buy them quick, supplies are limited and going fast.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZCC1W1W/
Out Now!
RiftWorlds Online: Book 2 - Raiding Fantasy: a LitRPG Fantasy Adventure
The Dimensional Wars - Dravincia
Life's a game (And we're all players) LitRPG (Gods of the Sphere Book 1)
Sworn Guardian: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (Forbidden Magic Book 1)
Reborn: Apocalypse (Volume 2): (A LitRPG/Wuxia Story)
Second Chance - A Battlemage Reborn (Book 1): An EndWorld Everlasting Saga
The Forsaken Crypts (The Frost Files Book 2)
Children of Fear: A Paranormal LitRPG Dungeon Core (Spirit Core Book 2)
Dragon Heart: Blood Will. LitRPG wuxia series: Book 3
New LitRPG Audiobooks
Apostle of the Sleeping Gods: Disgardium, Book 2
Accounts Payable - Nora Hazard Series, Book 3
Critical Failures VII - Caverns and Creatures
Oblivion's Crown - Endless Online: A LitRPG Adventure, Book 5
Sworn Guardian - Forbidden Magic, Book 1
Upcoming LitRPG:
Silver Peak: (Sky Realms Online Book 2): A LitRPG Series (Oct. 29th, 2019)
Limitless Lands Book 4: Opposition (A LitRPG Adventure) (Oct. 30th, 2019)
Varnoth: The Black Blade: Book Two (A LitRPG Story) (Oct. 31st, 2019)
(Nov. 1st, 2019)
Awaken Online: Ember (Tarot #1) (Nov. 1st, 2019)
A Dark Path: Grimdark LitRPG (Forsaken Talents Book 1) (Nov. 1st, 2019)
Excise: A Post-Apocalyptic LitRPG (Ether Collapse Book 2) (Nov. 1st, 2019)
The Way of Deception (World of Karik, Book #2, Part 1): LitRPG Series (Nov. 4th, 201)
Avatar of Light (Interworld Network Book #2): LitRPG Series
(Nov. 7th, 2019)
The Culling of Man: A litrpg adventure (Peril's Prodigy Book 1) (Nov. 8th, 2019)
The Last Time Loop, Book #1: LitRPG Series (Nov. 11th, 2019)
Arcane Kingdom Online: Death Match (A LitRPG Adventure, Book 4) (Nov. 19th, 2109)
Hard Mode: A LitRPG and GameLit Fantasy Series (Chronicles of Ethan Book 2) (Nov. 22nd, 2019)
Rebel Star: A LitRPG Post-Apocalyptic Space Opera (System Apocalypse Book 8) (Dec. 1st, 2019)
Level Up: Update (The Knockout Book #2): LitRPG Series
(Dec. 9th. 2019)
Quest for Justice: A LitRPG Saga (Hero Online Book 3) (Dec. 13th, 2019)
The Bare Hunt: A LitRPG/GameLit Novel (The Good Guys Book 7) (Dec. 14th, 2019)
Karma's Touch: A LitRPG and GameLit Fantasy Series (Chronicles of Ethan Book 3) (Dec. 20th, 2019)
The Wastes (Underdog Book #2): LitRPG Series (Dec. 23rd, 2019)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
(Play Music 3)
New Releases and Reviews
(Picture 1)
The Wandering Inn: Volume 2
“No killing Goblins.”
So reads the sign outside of The Wandering Inn, a small building run by a young woman named Erin Solstice. She serves pasta with sausage, blue fruit juice, and dead acid flies on request. And she comes from another world. Ours.
It’s a bad day when Erin finds herself transported to a fantastical world and nearly gets eaten by a Dragon. She doesn’t belong in a place where monster attacks are a fact of life, and where Humans are one species among many. But she must adapt to her new life. Or die.
In a dangerous world where magic is real and people can level up and gain classes, Erin Solstice must battle somewhat evil Goblins, deadly Rock Crabs, and hungry [Necromancers]. She is no warrior, no mage. Erin Solstice runs an inn.
She’s an [Innkeeper].
My Opinion: 1632 pages, $3.99, Not Available On Kindle Unlimited
This online serial story just keeps getting better and better. The opening grabs you with excitement and never let's go. I stayed awake till 2am multiple nights to finish this volume and I don't regret it. Like volume 1, the story is still slice of life and mainly follows the adventures of two women transported to a fantasy RPG world: Erin, an [Innkeeper], and Ryoka, a Runner. There are other POVs and even a few very entertaining side stories, I particularly liked the where Erin's friends try to get her to mate, but the story mostly revolves around those two as they explore the world, fight monsters, riddle dragons, experiment with mind altering cooking recipes, tame wild princesses, and more.
The story expands its scope greatly in this volume, leaving the inn and the local gnoll/drake city and bringing in the larger world. There's some great world building, histories, and advancement of large continental threats. Multiple story threads are started with threats from the insect like Antinium, the Goblin Lord, the Lord of Destruction, a Necromancer, and more. Plenty of wonderful material to be developed in future volumes.
On the RPG side, things are a bit more developed than in book 1. No, the system isn't the big thing in the story the way it would be in a 'trapped in a game's story. But you get regular leveling, more info on various classes, and the system even gets its own plotline.
Overall, a great story that was hard to put down. I look forward to reading volume 3.
Score: 8 out of 10
A Jump into the Unknown (Reality Benders Book #5): LitRPG Series
We put an end to the war with the Dark Faction, but still humanity’s problems are far from over. More than half of the game’s promised tong of safety has elapsed, and yet humankind is no closer to forming a unified front. We've just begun building one of the twelve planetary shield generators necessary to give Earth complete protection, but we don't have enough construction materials, players or time. Should we ask the parallel magocratic world for help? After all, an invasion from outer space would hurt them just as bad. The mages, though, have plenty of problems of their own.
What options does Gnat even have here? All he can truly count on are his own strength and his personal Relict faction. Should we put all our eggs in one basket and look for help in deep space? Might technology from ancient, long vanished races allow humanity to grow strong enough to turn back the onslaught before it's too late?
My Opinion: 453 pages, $6.99, Not on Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
This is another interesting slice of life space adventure for Gnat and his crew. There's minor story ARC advancement of the earth storyline but lots of good space stuff, battles, and a twist at the end that has some neat potential.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
A Jump into the Unknown (Reality Benders Book #5): LitRPG Series
Deadman's Retinue (An NPC's Path Book #3): LitRPG Series
Getting stuck in virtual reality isn’t fun, but being trapped in an NPC’s dead body is really the pits. Still, there might be a way out — provided John can find the Scroll of Rebirth. The problem is, finding it is only half the hassle; knowing how to use it is another bag of worms entirely. Several months of full VR immersion may have turned the cumbersome walking deadman into a swift killing machine, allowing him to earn the patronage of the Lord of Chaos and even acquire his own crypt — but John is still a long way away from reaching the coveted level 100 which would allow him to escape his virtual prison and rescue his own physical body.
John has run out of time; he can’t afford to play by somebody else’s rules anymore. Which means it’s time to set his own. Would you really call his plan crazy? Earning all the remaining XP in one fell swoop by killing the terrible Lord of Decay? A crazy escapade indeed, but who better suited for it than our very own Dead Rogue?
My Opinion: 483 pages, $6.99, Not Available on Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
The story picks up from where book 2 ends, with the main character (MC) embroiled in a tough fight in the land of the dead. From there the MC’s goal shifts as he's now half way to his goal of being able to leave the game. Now he only needs to get a million XP in 29 days to reach level 99. His goal made even harder as he evolves into a greater Lich and is unable to hide his undead nature any more.
Though I liked book 1 the best, if you've enjoyed the previous book in the series, you'll like this one. While it's been a while since I'd read the series, it only took a few pages to remember who everyone was and get back into the 'trapped in a game story'. Even though the story still feels forced in certain places, especially that ending, it was nice to read how the MC used his new Greater Lich abilities and continued with the group on their adventures. It was even nicer to read a resolution to the series.
Score: 7.1 out of 10
Deadman's Retinue (An NPC's Path Book #3): LitRPG Series
Styxian Stoners May Break My Boners (Caverns and Creatures)
Julian and the C&C gang make a deal with the devils. Can Tim's tiny member save him and his friends from certain death?
Lo, it is written in the Book of Deuteronomy. "One cannot hope to escape the Devil's hole without first putting one's dick in it."
My Opinion: 30 pages??, $2.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
Stoners and boners is right. This one definitely focuses on those aspects in funny, and inappropriate ways. I did not expect the exact turn with the devils. Funny. Be warned, sex references, cursing, herbal usage, and lots of dirty jokes abound in this short story.
Score: 7.3 out of 10
Styxian Stoners May Break My Boners (Caverns and Creatures)
Mythian (Chronicles of Ethan Book 1)
Retirement means immortality. Immortality means adventure. Life begins at seventy.
Running on the world's fastest quantum computer is a very special game: one where retirees leave their flesh-and-blood lives in search of endless adventure. Weapons, spells, gold, experience points… These are the marks by which life is now measured.
Ethan Crane wants none of it. In fact, he never wanted to retire at all, let alone play a game for all eternity. But now he's on a mission to find his wife—a wife he just discovered is still alive and inside the game.
Nothing will stop him from reaching her. Not even himself.
My Opinion: 239 pages, $3.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Digital after life story with older MC seeking to find his deceased wife, whom he was told copied herself into this fantasy RPG. Only thing different is the various levels or wards of the game with the stakes increasing the higher ward you travel to. To get to a new ward, you have to beat a particular guardian and each ward is harder with fewer room for errors. Ward 1 - infinite lives, Ward 2 - 1,000 lives, Ward 3 - 100 lives, Ward 4 - 10 lives.
There’s over long transition where he’s being uploaded into the game that I thought was unneeded, but he’s in the game by 10% mark. His goal is to reach level 25 where only then he’ll get a guide to his wife who is for some reason in a sleeping beauty situation.
Personally, I disliked the opening because it has this cyberpunk undertone. Which for me meant that the information I was given in that section was going to be full of falsehoods and deceptions meant to setup twists in the story that would likely subvert the RPG aspects and make them less important if not irrelevant. And to some degree my guess was right. NPCs are self aware and hate their roles and often have powers to alter the game in small ways. There are also several social mechanics that are completely unimportant and actually change based upon what the individual player believes. But worst of all is the cliffhanger end that kills an interesting quest line and makes all the leveling stuff that came before feel like it did not really matter. As far as the plot to get to Ward 2, you could jump from the 10% mark when the main character (MC) enters the game to the 95% mark and it would be the same. It’s a very cliffhanger ending.
There are some decent dungeon dives and RPG stuff including leveling, a character sheet, stat, class, and skill points, as well as XP and quests. I was especially looking forward to seeing how the last game quest line was going to work out, unfortunately all the RPG ultimately didn’t matter to the ‘plot’ except as an arbitrary level point to advance the story.
Overall, the XP grind stuff is pretty decent. Reasonably good action descriptions, good party build, and varied monsters to fight. But the end of the novel ruined it all for me.
Score: 6 out of 10
Mythian (Chronicles of Ethan Book 1) (Oct. 25th, 2019)
Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week - New Segment
New Segment from Ian Mitchell a long time LitRPG community member who reads and reviews as much as me. He was nice enough to agree to join the LitRPG Podcast family as a new reviewer.
(Pic 6)
Reborn: Apocalypse (Volume 2): (A LitRPG/Wuxia Story)
I loved the first book. I really like the way various battles and conflicts went. They read like finely crafted clockwork mechanisms. Reading this book brings Bleach, The Realms books, and even The feedback loop to mind. I like some of the mechanics like the limited number of power slots, the somewhat simplified cultivation as a skill, and being able to buy stuff from the store on the fly. This was a great exciting read.
Score: 8.8 out of 10
(Pic 7)
City of Freedom (Adam Online Book #2) LitRPG Series
Weird, surreal, it pulled me in.
This one felt like The Sims mixed with an MMO crossed with Kiln people. One really long strange day. Strap in and enjoy the ride. Almost Harmon Cooper level weird. I really liked it
Score: 8.5 out of 10
(Pic 8)
Troll Nation (The Rogue Dungeon Book 3)
This is definitely one of my must read now series. I love the organized supposedly low-level dungeon being turned into a well-tuned grief the players machine. The few very strong characters really carry the book. I did have a bit of suspension of disbelief regarding a prison breakout - why didn't they just pay to get the guy out? Perhaps I missed something. These books are so much fun regarding slaughtering the players that visit the troll dungeon. I think in places the Trolls bring snacks to watch the show! Definite recommend for both the books and audiobooks.
Score: 9.2 out of 10
(Pic 9)
The small medium gets it done well
Wow. What a nonstop exciting adventure. I felt like I was playing in a tabletop game with an expert storyteller running things. This one finishes up this adventure with plenty of story hooks for another series. I definitely recommend this series and threadbare first of course.
Score: 8.4 out of 10
That’s it everyone!
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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/