LitRPG Podcast 199 - Ether Collapse Book 2, Interworld Network Book #2, The Card Job, The System Apocalypse Short Story Anthology Volume 1, Awaken Online: Ember (Tarot #1) and more
LitRPG Podcast 199 - Ether Collapse Book 2, Interworld Network Book #2, The Card Job, The System Apocalypse Short Story Anthology Volume 1, Awaken Online: Ember (Tarot #1)
Nov. 8th, 2019
Hello everyone, welcome to episode 199 of the LitRPG podcast.
I’m Ramon Mejia. I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews. We have 8 new reviews just for you.
New Releases and Reviews:
Excise: A Post-Apocalyptic LitRPG (Ether Collapse Book 2) (08:57)
Good, but more fantasy this time
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Avatar of Light (Interworld Network Book #2): LitRPG Series (12:20)
More slice of life adventure with time rewind powers
Score: 7.2 out of 10
The Card Job: A LitRPG Heist (15:43)
Didn’t like any of the characters
Score: 6 out of 10
One of the best LitRPG short story collections I’ve read
Overall Score: 7.7 out of 10
Awaken Online: Ember (Tarot #1) (27:37)
Same fun game, new main character, new series
Score: 7.8 out of 10
Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week (29:50)
(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.
This Broken Sword: TOL Online Episode 1: A Lit RPG Saga
Hunter as grinder
Score: 8.2 out of 10
Awaken Online: Ember (Tarot #1)
Great start.
Score: 8.7 out of 10
CivCEO: A 4x Lit Series (The Accidental Champion Book 1)
Well, it's Civilization
Score: 7.7 out of 10
(Play Music 2)
LitRPG News
Soundbooth Theater had a very entertaining Facebook Live Stream celebrating the end of the year. They had on a ton of guests including some of your favorite LitRPG narrators and authors. Go check it out.
https://www.facebook.com/jeff.hays2/videos/10101570512607609/
Don’t forget that the GameLit Society is still doing their annual charity drive on GoFundMe for Shriners Hospital for Children. So far they’ve raised $1,000 of their $3,000 goal. Go donate if you want to give to a good cause.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/gamelit-society-philanthropy-pt-3
Out Now!
The Way of Deception (World of Karik, Book #2, Part 1): LitRPG Series
Raven: Player Kill: World of the Veil - Book Two
Adapt: The Scourge Wars Book 2 (Nov. 6th, 2019)
Battlefield: Evolution (Litrpg)
New LitRPG Audiobooks
Into the Hells: Axe Druid, Book 3
Transformation - LitRPG series. Book I
Viridian Gate Online: Absolution: The Alchemic Weaponeer, Book 2
Humanity's Potential Twelve Evolutions, Book 1
Upcoming LitRPG:
Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon: A LitRPG Adventure (Nov. 8th, 2019)
Essence: A Divine Dungeon Anthology (Nov. 8th, 2019)
The Culling of Man: A litrpg adventure (Peril's Prodigy Book 1) (Nov. 8th, 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)
Axiom: A Divine Dungeon Series (Artorian's Archives Book 1) (Nov. 29th, 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)
Downtime and Death (Apocalypse Gates - Book 5) (Dec. 5th, 2019)
Level Up: Update (The Knockout Book #2): LitRPG Series
(Dec. 9th. 2019)
The Last Time Loop, Book #1: LitRPG Series (Dec. 10th, 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)
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)
Gods of Ash and Amber: A Gamelit Novel (Seeds of Chaos Book 4) (Feb. 29th, 2020)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
(Play Music 3)
New Releases and Reviews
(Picture 1)
Otherworldly invasions. Nuclear meltdowns converted to dark power. A quest assigned by the Planet itself.
Three weeks ago the world started anew as buildings literally stood up, fearsome monsters materialized, and humanity’s way of life changed forever. Now, Rockland Barkclay must continue to protect his people from a new threat while dealing with internal issues that keep popping up. For instance, will he choose to heed the warning of his resurrected Ancestral Guide as she notices the edges of an ancient conspiracy?
Things take a turn for the worse thanks to a freshly awakened God—or was it the fearsome evolution of Earth's wildlife? Regardless of the cause, the group discovers something dark and twisted in the Atlantean System, invited by a recent unmanned nuclear catastrophe.
The apocalypse isn’t over; it’s just luring everyone into a false sense of security.
My Opinion: 445 pages, $5.99, Available on Kindle Unlimited
This is an entertaining story, though it definitely takes a more fantasy turn losing the Urban Apocalypse vibe of book 1. There are also still moments where it feels like the story makes up a solution to a problem instead of using the existing structure. The story adds town building as the refugees from book 1 make it to a place they can build a community.
Expanded game mechanics includes RTS style buildings with bonuses or special abilities that are needed to build more advanced structures. There is also a dungeon to manage, resource gathering, and the normal XP grinding to get increased levels to face their foes.
The story still has action and adventure but also expands on the intrigue as the group deals with problems from within and without. There are new enemies, new powers, new dungeons to fight through. Good action.
Overall, a good story. Though I thought the cliffhanger ending was a bit wand wavy.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Excise: A Post-Apocalyptic LitRPG (Ether Collapse Book 2)
Avatar of Light (Interworld Network Book #2): LitRPG Series
Sergei managed to lay his hands on the Divine Avatar of Savior which brings with it the kinds of new abilities other players can only dream of. Still, it’s not the right moment to relax and go with the flow. Two of his friends have been captured; the third one is being kept hostage while Sergei is forced to procure the Elixir of Power.
And just to add insult to injury, Sergei is on the radar of Morbian, one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. And their future meeting doesn’t bode well for Sergei...
My Opinion: 511 pages, $5.99, Not Available on Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
The review for this Russian translation is about the same as it was for book 1 in the series. It’s basically enjoyable, but very slice of life. Lots of action and adventuring across the multiple worlds with another mysterious figure chasing the main character (MC).
The RPG stuff is pretty light with the main character getting more spells this time. The mini time travel aspect is still the most interesting part of the story. It allows for the MC to die, get trapped, or make mistakes and not end the story. Instead, he just rewinds time a few seconds and he can try again.
Just as a note,that cliffhanger ending of book 1 is resolved immediately in book 2, in a kinda unsatisfying way. Thankfully book 2 doesn’t have that kind of ending.
Score: 7.2 out of 10
Avatar of Light (Interworld Network Book #2): LitRPG Series
The Card Job: A LitRPG Heist
A Gambler always keeps their cards close to their chest.
In the immersive game Changing Worlds, there is a galaxy of possibilities, gunfights, arena battles, intergalactic warfare, adult pleasures, and pure escapism. Hermanos Granger plays for the paper. The Change-Set a mini-game using cards akin to those introduced to him in his youth. A quest in the cards brings him back to a relationship he thought was buried, and now he has a job to do — the Card Job.
A LitRPG novella set in a pulpy space opera game world.
My Opinion: 154 pages, $2.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
From the author of The Crafting of Chess.
Just didn't like this one as much as some of the author’s other works. There were some semi-regular technical writing errors that bothered me. Also, the story was more GameLit than LitRPG. It's set in a VR game world and there are levels, classes, and stats but there was little RPG progression since many of the main characters are at the game's level cap. The story was more focused on a puzzle and on an in-game heist more than anything.
Storywise, I liked the idea of a VR heist. It's a fun idea. I just didn't like the characters in the story. The main character felt like too much of a pushover and I disliked the ex-girlfriend he brought in and was ambivalent about everyone else on the heist team. This is not a terrible story but the characters just didn't work for me so I found it hard to enjoy the novel.
Score: 6 out of 10
The System Apocalypse Short Story Anthology Volume 1: A LitRPG post-apocalyptic fantasy and science fiction anthology
A bounty hunting survivor. A Galactic dark elf. A woman who has given up her humanity to become something more.
These stories and more are available in the first short story anthology for the System Apocalypse, covering year one on Earth. When the world ends, humanity steps up, finding new ways to survive in a world with Classes, magic and monsters. The anthology features exciting, new stories by five new writers and a new, never publicly released short story by Tao Wong.
The System Apocalypse world was first introduced in 'Life in the North' and is a LitRPG science fiction and fantasy post-apocalyptic work that features monsters, science fiction technology, character sheets, supernatural races and ancient myths in one heady, LitRPG brew.
Stories and writers featured in this anthology include:
Craig Hamilton - "Hunting Monsters" has our protagonist doing what he does best. Finding those who would exploit the System and the people within. Except this time, there are even more complications than normal.
Alexis Keane - "Tooth and Claw" is a heart-warming tale of friendship that knows no bounds of race or distance.
Ix Phoen - "Rebel Within" tells a tale of hardship in South America, where the monsters are not always the ones outside the walls.
Tao Wong – “Debts & Dances” covers the arrival of the System from the perspective of our favorite Truinnar Lord.
R.K. Billiau – “Phoenix Rising” covers an unconventional hero, one whose mind is slipping from him before the apocalypse. Will the apocalypse be his salvation? Or doom?
L.A. Batt - “Overture to Obliteration” brings us to far-off New Zealand to glimpse the wreckage the System has wrought.
My Opinion: 378 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Anthologies are always a mixed bag. You may love some of the short stories but hate others. They’re a great chance to see new works from authors though. I enjoy them because they have the potential to be delightful little story nuggets. This is definitely one of the best LitRPG short story collections I’ve read. Part of that is due to the quality of writing, but another part is that the RPG world these stories are set in is a very flexible world.
Overall Score: 7.7 out of 10
Intermissions 1-7
These little intermissions take place between each short story and I thought they were an interesting way to spread a short story through the anthology. Each intermission acknowledges the short stories around it, creating a cohesion to the anthology. Very nicely done.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Hunting Monsters by Craig Hamilton
The best story in the anthology for me. It’s a great story about a bounty hunter that survives the System Apocalypse and is on the trail of a System powered serial killer. It’s one of the few stories I’ve read that combines the detective genre with LitRPG well.
Score: 8 out of 10
Tooth and Claw by Alexis Keane
This is an interesting story about a dog who gets system powers and tries to find his human. The story is a bit longer than it needs to be, but nice action, and it's a dogs POV all the way through.
Score:7.4 out of 10
Debts and Dances by Tao Wong
A short story about Lord Roxley a day before the system is established on earth. Dances and dangers abound as he makes plans to stake a claim on earth. The story has a familiar character that it was nice to learn more about. It ties perfectly with the main series without spoiling anything.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Rebellion Within by IX Phoen
It was interesting to have a non-binary main character and a story that dealt with the predujeces of the community and those seeking to take advantage of him. I thought it was most interesting when it stuck to that plot. It felt the most genuine then. However, much of the story meanders away from that. For a short story, it's a bit too slice of life.
Score: 6 out of 10
Overture to Oblivion by L.A. Batt
This short story was really good stuff. It’s about the System Apocalypse in New Zealand from a Māori perspective. Good cultural development, clear and concise background stories, unique classes and powers, and good action. I enjoyed it a lot.
Score: 7.8 out of 10
Phoenix Rising by R.K. Billiau
This was a mixed one for me. The story is about the start of the System Apocalypse for a middle aged man with dementia. He gets bound to a phoenix who gives him a class that lets him be reborn. So if he's about to die he can instead be reborn with the ability using his memory to form a new body. It ends up tuning the MC into teen and younger version of himself with little connection to his later life. It was a neat premise but got a little annoying since I had to get to know the MC again and again as he relearned about the system and what happened to his family. The action was ok, but it also wasn't the focus of the story. Still, it was an entertaining story.
Score: 7.1 out of 10
Overall Score: 7.7 out of 10
Awaken Online: Ember (Tarot #1)
Desert sands. Arcane magic. A love lost.
Finn Harris should have been the one to die.
But he wasn't - his wife took his place. What was worse, he only had himself and his company to blame. They let their passion outpace their prudence, determined to revolutionize the world. While all innovation comes with a price, he never imagined it would cost him Rachael.
Nearly a decade later, Finn is content to hole himself up and wait out the rest of his life - what little he has left. That is, until his daughter intervenes, forcing him out of his grief and into a new virtual reality game developed by his old employer. They're calling it Awaken Online, and she believes there's something unusual going on inside the game. And since Finn knows the company, knows their tactics - she might be right.
Finn wasn't sure what he expected to find when he logged in. But it certainly wasn't a manipulative fire god or a school for mages - where the students are pitted against each other in deadly duels and the faculty isn't shy about maiming or injuring novice mages to prove a point.
Now Finn must learn to fight, for his own life and a chance at redemption. He'll need to prove that his fire hasn't been snuffed out.
That there's still an ember burning...
My Opinion: 433 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
A really good new series set in the Awaken Online Universe. There is only one character than appears from the main series, otherwise this is a completely independent series with a different main character. Like always the writing from the author is engaging and there is some really nice character development, action, adventure, and RPG progression. All the stuff I’ve come to enjoy from the AO universe.
Score: 7.8 out of 10
Awaken Online: Ember (Tarot #1)
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)
This Broken Sword: TOL Online Episode 1: A Lit RPG Saga
Hunter as grinder
For a novella It does a decent job of establishing the MC and get her in the game. Where she has some decent NPC interactions, she doesn't talk to humans much. I enjoyed and would gladly read more episodes.
Score: 8.2 out of 10
Awaken Online: Ember (Tarot #1)
Great start.
I'd like to see more of these. I like seeing hints regarding the genesis of AO. Not quite as rich as the other AO stories. I still thought it was a satisfying read. Has an older, disabled, depressed MC. Reminded me some of continue online. I liked seeing more of the magic mechanics.
Score: 8.7 out of 10
CivCEO: A 4x Lit Series (The Accidental Champion Book 1)
Well, it's Civilization
Mostly a trader. Wheeling and dealing and a bit of problem solving along the way. A pretty good read. The MC is a loner and there really isn't much character development.
Score: 7.7 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