LitRPG Podcast 198 - Sigil Online: Bastions, Second Chance - A Battlemage Reborn, Light Online Book One: Farmer, Varnoth: Book Two, Dungeon Core Academy, and more
LitRPG Podcast 198 - Sigil Online: Bastions, Second Chance - A Battlemage Reborn, Light Online Book One: Farmer, Varnoth: Book Two, Dungeon Core Academy, and more
Oct. 31st, 2019
Hello everyone, welcome to episode 198 of the LitRPG podcast.
I’m Ramon Mejia. I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews. We have 12 new reviews just for you.
New Releases and Reviews:
Sigil Online: Bastions (15:30)
Base building and a Zerg-like invasion
7.5 out of 10
Second Chance - A Battlemage Reborn (Book 1): An EndWorld Everlasting Saga (18:52)
Had to force myself to finish the story
Score: 6 out of 10
Light Online Book One: Farmer (26:27)
A crafting story
Score: 7.3 out of 10
Varnoth: The Black Blade: Book Two (A LitRPG Story) (28:48)
A miss for me
Score: 6 out of 10
Dungeon Core Academy: A LitRPG Adventure (35:58)
Dungeon Core plus Magical Academy recollections
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week (39:26)
(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.
Dragon Heart: Stone Will. LitRPG wuxia series: Book 1
Russian Wuxia LitRPG, an interesting mix
Score: 8.5 out of 10
Dragon Heart: Iron Will. LitRPG Wuxia Series: Book 2
The mythic general.
Score: 8.4 out of 10
Dragon Heart: Blood Will. LitRPG wuxia series: Book 3
Epic
Score: 8.8 out of 10
Battle Avatars: A Gamelit Xianxia (Battle Avatars Book 1)
Interesting and strange
Score 7.2 out of 10
Morgana: Everybody Loves Large Chests (Vol.4)
I <3 Boxxy
Score: 9.2 out of 10 (Boxxy T Morningwood is one of my favorite characters)
The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper, #12 a LitRPG (ATS)
Wizard war
Score: 7.9 out of 10
Fun fast read
Score: 8.3 out of 10
(Play Music 2)
LitRPG News
It’s time for the annual GameLit Society fundraiser for Shriners Hospital For Children. Last year, between author and reader donations we raised over $6,000. Hopefully we can do even better this year.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/gamelit-society-philanthropy-pt-3
Halloween List of GameLit and LitRPG stories
Spirit Core series - 2 books by Johnathan Brooks
-Paranormal Activity + RPG leveling
The Halloween Raid: A GameLit Short Story by George Saoulidis
-Recommended by Ray Johnson
The Nightmare Game: Slayers by S.R. Witt
-Slasher film +RPG mechanics
Digital Shadows by Ethan Crow
-Horror game gets too real
Darkworlds London: A Cthulhu LitRPG by Galen Wolf
-Cthulhu madness
The Fifth Survivor series - 8 books by Angel Ramon
Survival Horror Gamelit
Out Now!
Silver Peak: (Sky Realms Online Book 2): A LitRPG Series
Limitless Lands Book 4: Opposition (A LitRPG Adventure)
Dungeon Core Academy: Book 2 (A Dungeon Crafting series)
Warrior Academy: Hiro’s Fall - Episode 5
New LitRPG Audiobooks
The Forsaken God: An Epic LitRPG Series: The Realms, Book Five
Core of Fear: A Paranormal LitRPG Dungeon Core
The Guardian Guild - A Dungeon Core Epic (Station Cores, Book 3)
Morgana: Everybody Loves Large Chests, Book 4
Arcane Kingdom Online: The Fallen City: A LitRPG Adventure, Book 3
Viridian Gate Online: Nomad Soul - Illusionist Series, Book 1
Reborn: Apocalypse, Book 1 - A LitRPG/Wuxia Story
Mythian - Chronicles of Ethan, Book 1
The Third Realm: A Ten Realms Tale
Amazon:
Audiobooks.com: https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/third-realm/405724
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/the-third-realm/id1484285257
Upcoming LitRPG:
(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)
Raven: Player Kill: World of the Veil - Book Two (Nov. 4th, 2019)
Adapt: The Scourge Wars Book 2 (Nov. 6th, 2019)
Avatar of Light (Interworld Network Book #2): LitRPG Series
(Nov. 7th, 2019)
Essence: A Divine Dungeon Anthology (Nov. 8th, 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)
Delvers LLC: Surviving Ludus (Artifice Universe Collection Book 1) (Nov. 14th, 2019)
PrimeVerse: Forced Login (Nov. 15th, 2019)
Dodge (EvoBorne - A LitRPG Saga Book 3) (Nov. 15th., 2019)
Stranger Among Strangers. (Realm of Arkon) (Dark Covenant Book 1) (Nov. 17th, 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)
Darkness Conquered (dARkness: Online Book 3) (Nov. 30th, 2019)
Rebel Star: A LitRPG Post-Apocalyptic Space Opera (System Apocalypse Book 8) (Dec. 1st, 2019)
Lost in the Game (Dream State Saga Book 4) (Dec. 3rd, 2020)
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)
Dodge (EvoBorne - A LitRPG Saga Book 3) (Nov. 15th, 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)
The Destroying Plague (Disgardium Book #3): LitRPG Series (Jan. 9th, 2020)
Dragon Heart: Sea of Sands. LitRPG Wuxia Series: Book 4 (Jan. 22nd, 2020)
Quest for Dominion: A LitRPG Saga (Hero Online Book 4) (Jan. 24th, 2020)
Skull and Thrones: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (The Bad Guys Book 3) (Feb. 6th, 2020)
An Equation with One Unknown (Invasion Book #2): LitRPG Series (Feb. 10th, 2020)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
(Play Music 3)
New Releases and Reviews
(Picture 1)
Sigil Online: Bastions
What if the death of one game meant the death of all?
A terrible entity has consumed the game known as Mage World Online. But now that all virtual online worlds are connected, this monstrous hive-mind turns its sights to other games.
It will take every power and friend that Riley can recruit to defeat this new, insurmountable menace.
Because if he can't stop it in Sigil Online, it will consume everything in its path.
Warning: Reading this novel may cause an uncontrollable desire to play Superhero MMOs.
Bastions is the finale to the Sigil Online trilogy.
Currently at a low price for a limited time to celebrate the launch of the final book in the series!
My Opinion: 478 pages, $3.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I got an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
The third book in this super hero MMO LitRPG story adds some nice base building combined with a Zerg invasion. The premise requires a little suspension of disbelief with a threat coming to the Super Hero game from Fantasy MMO via a magic portal. The author tries to justify it by describing all these MMOs being on the same architectural code system but the threat is interesting enough to push past this point.
On the game mechanic side, the base building is a big part of the story and it's described pretty well as a new update to the game. I liked how resource gathering, schematics, and 3D printers gave the game system a sci-fi vibe and that the enemy was distinctly different as an organic threat that built through excretions, drones, and a hive mind. There is still some RPG progression with new equipment, newly borrowed powers, and upgraded abilities.
Overall, this is a pretty good expansion on the series and ends in an interesting place that serves as a place to pause, but also leaves room for more stories. I had a good time reading it.
7.5 out of 10
Second Chance - A Battlemage Reborn (Book 1): An EndWorld Everlasting Saga
What if you could guarantee life after death?
Denton Wade is Dying.
And Cyberternal Industries has the answer. An answer he isn't willing to accept: life everlasting in a game world of fantasy, swords, and magic.
EndWorld Everlasting. A man-made afterlife. It goes against everything he's always believed in.
But there might still be hope. And hope is a very dangerous thing.
Far below their headquarters in Dallas, Texas, Cyberternal has been working on a secret medical program. A program made available to Denton though his personal, if not complicated, connection to an Assistant Vice President at the powerful company.
After agreeing to undergo the procedure, Denton finds himself awakening to a strange, new world. A world he never wanted.
Second Chance is the first book in the series: A Battlemage Reborn, and is a GameLit Fantasy Adventure with soft LitRPG elements set in the digital world of EndWorld Everlasting.
My Opinion: 549 pages, $4.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
This is a digital afterlife story with RPG mechanics, but also a very fantasy kind of plot.
I’ll be frank and say that I just didn't enjoy this story. I big part of that likely has to do with the opening that didn’t work for me. But
It started out with an overly long and emotional section where the main character (MC), a dying old man, is supposed to get treated by an experimental nanite treatment at the request of his daughter who emotionally manipulates him. All the while he hints heavily that he doesn't trust either the tech or the guy running the company. Then of course something goes wrong and he dies and is uploaded to an MMO afterlife the company runs. The MC almost refuses to stay there but more emotional manipulation makes him go on and fully upload. The entire section may work well for some readers but I couldn't help but feel like it was a complete waste of time reading it. From the first paragraph I knew he would upload, otherwise there's no story. The entire time I just wished the long scene would end so then story would get to the actual LitRPG story.
From there the MC is magically saved by wolves and meets plenty of new players. He then gets tricked but saved again and acquires a powerful sentient magic sword, for nothing while still level 1. It just bothered me that this old man didn't have the sense to price check and seemed to trust everyone he met in this world he never seemed to want to be in.
Sure, I get that this is all there so that the MC can grow as a character but it was just generally annoying and I never ended up liking the MC. On the story side, it felt forced to make the MC a hero in a world full of more powerful players. The MC complains a lot about it being unfair that he died a generally how much he didn’t really want to be in that digital afterlife. Then despite that, the MC gets power he never earns, even so far as completing hidden quests by walking into a room to pad his XP to get him to level. Even ignoring that stuff the story itself was very plain and nothing happened that I hadn't read in many other fantasy stories. Yeah, the actual story also felt more fantasy though with a chosen one element that forced the MC into this reluctant hero role without really justifying his success in RPG terms.
Overall, the writing wasn't bad. Combat was just kinda meh, especially in the beginning and mid story while he’s grinding for XP and taking trope and predictable quests. But ultimately I didn't enjoy the story or the care about the MC. I don’t hate the story and recognize that others liked it just fine. But it just didn’t do it for me. I had to force myself to finish it all.
Score: 6 out of 10
Second Chance - A Battlemage Reborn (Book 1): An EndWorld Everlasting Saga
Light Online Book One: Farmer
Eddie Hunter is about at the end of his rope, so when he stumbles across an ad looking for people to farm in Long Term Immersion in the game Light Online, he can't believe his luck. Once hired he enters the game as soon as he can. Unbeknownst to him, though, the person that hired him is also doing illicit research on the pods that he and the other farmers are using.
The research is rapidly discovered by the AIs that monitor the game and shut down, forcefully, by the company that runs Light Online. But the code that runs those pods has been altered, and until it's fixed Eddie and the others can't log out. Although the devs assure him that it won't take long to fix, Eddie's not so sure of that himself.
Eddie entered the game to make money in real life, and as he tries to do that he finds himself getting entangled deeper and deeper in the game and with the people he meets there. But when he discovers a side of the game that the previous players had apparently never even considered, he knows he has to find a way to stay in the game.
This story is approximately 120,000 words long and DRM free.
My Opinion: 415 pages, $3.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
A decent story with crafting, farming, cooking, and some building. There's a bit of an adventure but it's fairly standard. Folks that like crafting will like that aspect more. There's also a minor hacking/cyber element that doesn't do much but adds a little flavor and breaks up the game stuff with a little real world conversation.
Score: 7.3 out of 10
Varnoth: The Black Blade: Book Two (A LitRPG Story)
This cat man isn’t all that cute and cuddly.
Varnoth’s journey through the lush fantasy world of Albattara continues. After the defeat of the Derelict gang’s vile, crime boss, Atlas Blackthorne, all seems well for the countryside. However, a horrific event occurs that forces the shadow panther to lead a massive group of diverse refugees as they search desperately for a safe haven. Varnoth will battle ghastly monsters and adventure on fascinating quests as he grows into one of the most powerful heroes in all the land.
This time around, Varnoth is not alone. There are new and unique side characters that join the fight alongside the legendary Black Blade.
Will this power be enough when retribution knocks on Varnoth's door? Will the shadow panther be able to keep his people safe?
An army of monsters led by a depraved, blood-thirsty tyrant will test Varnoth’s bravery and skill. Will the shadow panther be able to prevent the slaughter of the very people he swore to protect?
This is an epic fantasy LitRPG adventure that includes leveling, statistics, quests, dungeons and loot!
My Opinion: 331 pages, $2.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
The 2nd book in the series still has many of the same RPG issues that book 1 had, but my expectations for the novel were better managed and while I tried really hard to like this story, it just missed for me.
The novel starts off well enough with good action, which is a highlight throughout the novel. The main character (MC) continues to be rather overpowered and rarely in any real danger of ever losing. The only negative here is that the overpowered aspect doesn’t match the RPG elements, in that his ability to kill multiple foes of equal or greater level isn’t entirely justified by the numbers given. But I knew that going into the novel this time, so I really just ignored that issue. There are a few fun nods to other LitRPG community members and authors, my favorite being to John Son of Ray.
The story itself continues to be action-adventure slice of life with some added town building elements. The MC helps some people, and gruesomely kills some bad guys. No real plot, just some new characters, a bit of town building, some quests, fighting, a bit of leveling, and an action end.
Dialogue is one of the more varied elements. Sometimes it’s really funny, but mostly it is stilted and just doesn’t make sense in this brutal, gory, kill or be killed world. Characters were polarized. Either they were really good and spoke politely or really evil and cursed a lot. There was no in between or really any depth to most of the characters.
I really tried to manage my expectations of what the novel would be and I ignored the overpowered MC whose actions aren't always justified in the RPG element. But the other issues made it so that I did not connect with the characters enough to find them interesting or care about their success. The story didn't work for me.
Score: 6 out of 10
Varnoth: The Black Blade: Book Two (A LitRPG Story)
Dungeon Academy
You only live once…unless you’re resurrected to become the master of a dungeon.
When Beno died and was offered a second chance as a dungeon core, he dived right in. He joined the dungeon core academy, and he found himself in a new life where killing heroes wasn’t just accepted, but encouraged. Under the tutelage of the academy overseers, he learned how to make dungeons filled with monsters and traps.
Now he has finally been given his own dungeon, and he must pass his final test. Either build a dungeon powerful enough to slay heroes, or fail and get smashed up into core dust. He will apply all his diabolical dungeon strategy to succeed, but what happens when an unexpected visitor walks into his lair?
He used to live a normal life. Now he builds dungeons, creates monsters, and uses them to fight loot-hungry heroes.
My Opinion: 159 pages, $2.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Pretty traditional dungeon stuff for the first 20%. It's actually a little hard to get through because of the story is mostly a monologue from the main character (MC) with bits about his time in the dungeon academy. Then about the 30% mark things change with the introduction of minions and a little human girl who used to be a dungeon core. It gives the MC someone to talk to, bounce ideas off, and joke with and really makes the story much more enjoyable. It’s a pretty fun story from there on as the MC tries to balance his experiments, crafting his dungeon, dealing with academy overseers judging his dungeon, and the adventurers that eventually come to him. A good story if you like dungeon core novels.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Dungeon Core Academy: A LitRPG Adventure
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)
Dragon Heart: Stone Will. LitRPG wuxia series: Book 1
Russian Wuxia LitRPG, an interesting mix
First off, I really liked the interior illustrations. I found the beginning a bit odd but once the story got really going I found it read like a martial arts buddy flick with a lot of over the top action. Very enjoyable with a great translation. A very different feel from Asian Wuxia but I liked that difference. Very glad to hear that there are many volumes in the pipeline. Great read.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
(Pic 7)
Dragon Heart: Iron Will. LitRPG Wuxia Series: Book 2
The mythic general
I really love the larger than life MC. While it has a complete arc, this book reads like a compilation of stories or even fables. The interior illustrations really add to the experience. I got a kick out of the war council's astonishment at their general's increasingly audacious plans. The stories were engrossing. I did have difficulty with the scenes where Hadjar and Nero were wading into large scale battles. My ability to imagine the scenes wasn't up to the task and in some places actions and results seemed inconsistent. As far as I could tell the translation and editing were excellent. I read about half of this volume on the royal road website. Great reading. I think it adds a lot to the genre.
Score: 8.4 out of 10
(Pic 8)
Dragon Heart: Blood Will. LitRPG wuxia series: Book 3
Epic
I love how the MC as the mad general is the source of ballads and legends. A very moving book with many surprises (I didn't see them coming). The world feels a lot more real to me than most of the Asian wuxia. The illustrations are a great part of the series.
Score: 8.8 out of 10
(Pic 9)
Battle Avatars: A Gamelit Xianxia (Battle Avatars Book 1)
Interesting and strange
Very mysterious and a bit of a slow starter. I felt like it was hitting its stride by the end of this book. Left with questions. Is it a game? Is it another world? Are they accessing parts of our world that people don't normally get to? Is David going to hook up with Lisa? Reminded me some of Endless online. I had a decent time reading it. I look forward to reading book 2.
Score 7.2 out of 10
(Pic 11)
Morgana: Everybody Loves Large Chests (Vol.4)
I <3 Boxxy
I started out reading these on Royal Road. Boxxy and crew are a guilty pleasure. I love the monstrous mayhem. The ravenous mimic is growing up, learning how to pass as a person in society. Rereading this was a whole lot of fun. Might not be suitable for the squeamish or people that need nice heroes. Boxxy saves. In case it's hungry later.
Score: 9.2 out of 10 (Boxxy T Morningwood is one of my favorite characters)
(Pic 12)
The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper, #12 a LitRPG (ATS)
Wizard war
Great fast read. I love anime. It's hard to give the harem members enough page time. Well edited. Silly pulp anime-themed harem LitRPG
Score: 7.9 out of 10
(Pic 13)
Fun fast read
More Dolos! More fun. Yay. Well, this was mostly less splorpy than the Battle Royale movie. Fast and simple. A quick 2 hour read. Hunger games, Dolos style. More fun than two hours playing Minecraft. Less thrilling than the last Mad Max movie. I thought it was a wonderful use of two hours. Go finish the next Delvers LLC book, Blaise.
Score: 8.3 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/