LitRPG Podcast 202 - World Tree Online: 3rd Dive, The Dimensional Wars: Dravincia, The Culling of Man
LitRPG Podcast 202 - World Tree Online: 3rd Dive, The Dimensional Wars: Dravincia, The Culling of Man
Nov. 29th, 2019
Hello everyone, welcome to episode 202 of the LitRPG podcast.
For the full show notes visit us at: https://litrpgpodcast.com/litrpg-podcast-202
I’m Ramon Mejia. I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews. We have 4 new reviews just for you and some great LitRPG sales and black friday deals.
New Releases and Reviews:
World Tree Online: The Endless Savanna: 3rd Dive (10:59)
Strong opening, good slice of life adventure
Score: 7.5 out of 10
The Dimensional Wars, Dravincia (13:57)
Forced plot, unearned powers, and a few technical writing issues
Score: 6 out of 10
The Culling of Man: A litrpg adventure (Peril's Prodigy Book 1) (20:28)
A rather good story that I’d wished I read sooner.
Score: 7.8 out of 10
Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week (24:09 )
(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.
Battle Avatars: The Forlorn Earth: A GameLit Xianxia (Battle Avatars Book 2)
Seriously trippy
Score: 7.8 out of 10
(Play Music 2)
LitRPG News
For those who want to participate, here's a reminder that the GameLit Society charity is live right now but finishes at the end of November. They’ve almost met their goal of $3k this year, but not quite. Please give if you can, share the post if you can’t. It’s a good cause. For the Children. Shriners Hospital.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/gamelit-society-philanthropy-pt-3
There will be a 25% off tickets to the Fantasy Book Fest on Friday 11/29. The event will be in April 2020, a few blocks from Disneyland and attendees will even get discounted tickets to the park. Several LitRPG authors will be attending including: R.A. Mejia, James Hunter, Domino Finn, and Apollos Thorne. So, if you’ll be in the area, it’s a great chance to meet some authors you like and get some books signed. Plus the tickets are just cheaper that day, so save some money!
LitRPG Deals
Audible is having a black friday deals including some LitRPG stories - Rouge Dungeon and Delvers 3 so go check them out for deals if you’re an audible member.
Ebooks On Sale now
Dragon Seed: A LitRPG Dragonrider Adventure (The Archemi Online Chronicles Book 1) - FREE 11/29-11/30 https://amzn.to/35Ece7H
Arabellan Chronicles (Arabella Online Book 3) - Free 11/29 - 12/1 https://amzn.to/2DkWHh1
Sentenced to Troll - FREE 11/28 - 11/30 https://amzn.to/34uezlr
Pangea Online: Death and Axes - FREE 11/28 -11/30 https://amzn.to/2OOHCcZ
Blaze Corvin - All the Book 1s in his series are on sale until the end of November on the US store.
Void Legion (The Frost Files Book 1) - 1st book in the series is $0.99 https://amzn.to/2rxW0hu
The Hall: Book 1 of the Muraglen Saga - $0.99 until the end of November https://amzn.to/33kHHKx .
Jonathan Brooks - Dungeon World is free, 2 and 3 are $0.99 on 11/29 because book 4 is coming out next week
The Realms Book 1-3 on sale until the end of November https://amzn.to/35JfkaJ
World Tree Online Books 1-3 by M.A. Carlson on sale until Dec. 3rd https://amzn.to/2XOJgPX
The Fifth Survivor Books 1-6 will be on sale until Dec. 7th https://amzn.to/2DiAWhF
The Underworld Collection: A LitRPG Series (Ombibus books 1-3) on sale for $4.99 for the entire trilogy! 298,000 words. (Also on KU)https://amzn.to/34sMN8S
Illusion (The Blacklight Chronicles Book 1) on sale $0.99, 11/29 - 12/6 https://amzn.to/2OUlKwP
Dec 2 - 9th Sales: Free or $0.99
Fortress of Shadows: A LitRPG and GameLit Adventure (Stonehaven League Book 2) https://amzn.to/2Dlj9Xj
A Dungeon's Desire https://amzn.to/2DliODQ
Guardians Of The Round Table 1: Dexterity Fail https://amzn.to/2qQ5eWA
Initializing (Somnia Online Book 1) https://amzn.to/2DljtFv
The Warped Forest (Gamemakers Online Book 1) - https://amzn.to/33ox6hJ
Puatera Online bk 1-3 https://amzn.to/2OUyLGu
Out Now!
Chaos Rising: The Realms Book Six: (An Epic LitRPG Series)
Stormlands: A New LitRPG Adventure
New LitRPG Audiobooks
Viridian Gate Online: Dead Man's Tide: Illusionist Series, Book 2
Awaken Online: Ember - Tarot, Book 1
At Large - Small Medium, Book 2
The Warped Forest - Gamemakers Online Series, Book 1
The Crafter: Legacy: Crafter Series, Book 1
Upcoming LitRPG:
Axiom: A Divine Dungeon Series (Artorian's Archives Book 1) (Nov. 29th, 2019)
Darkness Conquered (dARkness: Online Book 3) (Nov. 30th, 2019)
Downtime and Death (Apocalypse Gates - Book 5) (Dec. 1st, 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)
Dungeon World 4: A Dungeon Core Experience (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)
Path of Darkness: BlackFlame Online Litrpg/Gamelit Universe (Glory of Formation Emperor Book 1) (Dec. 15th, 2019)
Respawn: Nightmare Mode (Respawn LitRPG series Book 4) (Dec. 18th, 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)
No Mistakes (World of the Changed Book #1): LitRPG Series (Jan. 6th, 2020)
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)
The Incarnator (Project Stellar Book 1): LitRPG Series (March 9th, 2020)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
(Play Music 3)
New Releases and Reviews
(Picture 1)
World Tree Online: The Endless Savanna: 3rd Dive
Chaos has found a way to strike at the real-world. And now Bye-bye has just one week to return to the World Tree or more players will be made to suffer the same real-world consequences. Hoping to find answers, Bye-bye races across the country to the headquarters of the Seed Inc., the makers of the World Tree Online.
Back in the World Tree, the Endless Savanna awaits. A place often called the province with no end. With tribal politics, twisted beasts and monsters, and a deadly slave ring, there are more than enough dangers waiting.
Bye-bye and his friends will fight as they always have, but it still might not be enough. Will the Endless Savanna be the end of their winning streak?
My Opinion: 540 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review, I purchased a copy when it became available.
The story has one of the strongest openings I've read in awhile. From the first page of chapter 1, I was engaged with the narrative and transported back to the big ending of the last book. I couldn't wait to dive right back into the story. I liked the real world plotline, though it was short. Most of the story still takes place in the game world and if you have enjoyed the slice of life adventuring of the last books, you’ll like this story too. More action, adventure, RPG progression, good banter, and group humor. Not all the fights were amazing, but it was good overall and the story didn’t end with any cliffhangers this time.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
World Tree Online: The Endless Savanna: 3rd Dive
The Dimensional Wars, Dravincia
The first book in a new fantasy LitRPG series has arrived.
A Goddess is stirring up trouble, and Arthur happens to be the one caught up in the action. After an unfortunate encounter, Arthur is given a second chance in a new world. To his surprise, this new world has mechanics that remind him of Role-Playing Games from Earth.
He has been given a simple directive from the Goddess, to help the people of the world and spread her name. He quickly discovers this will not be an easy task. The world has been overrun with bandits, who work for the lords of the land and cause all the denizens to live in abject ruin. Can Arthur tame Dravincia and push back against these forces or is he destined to fail spectacularly and have to hope for another try?
My Opinion: 474 pagees, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
This one is a bit of a mixed bag for me. Overall it just didn’t work for me.
There were some parts of the story that I did like. Eventually the MC gets earth magic and that progression was rather neat. It ventured into some interesting uses of the earth magic and even applied to farming. I also liked the town building that happens. The game mechanics are pretty normal with a leveling and skill system I’d seen plenty of other places. There are lots of notifications and numbers here for those that love that stuff, though for me there were sometimes too many. Some places there were up to 10 pages in a row full of tables or notifications.
But that’s kind of all I liked about the story. I never connected with any of the characters. The action was okay at best. The beginning in particular has lots of technical writing issues with the biggest issue being mixed tenses and not identifying who is actually being spoken of in the 3rd person. Example: "Instead of running into him, he stopped close to him and swung his head at him with his sharp tusks." There are also dialogue issues, with the way people talk in the story feeling stilted and unnatural. Especially the way the main character (MC) speaks to the residents of the fantasy RGP world. It reminded me of how someone on a roleplaying server talked. Intentionally archaic to create flare or get into character. It’s not terrible, but a little example would be when the MC meets a dark elf lady, "I have never seen one of the dark elf kindred before. Is your beauty a normal trait shared by your race?” No one up to that point in the story had used the word kindred, so the MC is basically pulling it out of nowhere with either knowledge he shouldn’t have or he’s just using words the people of this world may or may not know.
Worst, for me, the storyline was super forced and the MC regularly got powers, items, and abilities that he never earned. Even the ending is resolved not by the MC using his hard won and practiced magic or good tactics, instead he uses a never before seen power that has no connection to his earth magic or any part of the story and is explained away in the epilogue.
Overall, though there are many people that seemed to like this story, I couldn’t. Sure, some parts were smart and well thought out, but it had issues that ruined the reading for me.
Score: 6 out of 10
The Dimensional Wars, Dravincia
The Culling of Man: A litrpg adventure (Peril's Prodigy Book 1)
Earth becomes the full immersion experience litRPG readers fantasize about, but at what cost?
Figuring out how to cast spells without the luxury of a controller or keyboard was the least of Garath's worries when The Culling got underway. Though some elements of the new interface were familiar to the lifelong gamer, there was a lot he didn't understand.
What exactly does The Culling have in store for mankind? What will loot be like on this new Earth? And if this is supposed to be like an MMO, where are all the god damn hot elves??
Follow Garath as his mismatched group of friends and neighbors attempt to survive the twenty-four hour Event.
My Opinion: 473 pages, $3.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
From the cover and the novel description I wouldn’t have guessed what kind of story this is. The cover looks more like a cultivation story and the ‘culling’ is so vague it’s meaningless. But once I got into the novel, I was pleasantly surprised to find a well thought out RPG apocalypse story.
All the tech on earth goes out, then a world wide notification appears in everyone’s vision telling them that waves of monsters will appear to kill them and that they had a few hours to prepare, and choose a class. The main character (MC), a gamer naturally, picks a caster/summoner class called the Necrologist, which is just a different title for the demonologist, and can summon demons and cast ranged damage spells. An interesting class in itself, but this isn’t a single player story and the MC leads the neighbors in a bid to fend off the monsters and survive.
Game mechanic wise, things are familiar if you’ve read LitRPG before. Lots of notifications, RPG progression, familiar stats and character sheets. The MC gets stat and skill points each level to customize his class. Good well thought out crunchy stuff.
The story really leans on the apocalypse survival stuff. Which isn’t bad. Good tension from the high life or death stakes and plenty of people to kill to prove it. Increased difficulty with the waves of monsters keeps combat interesting and forces the group to work together and strategize or die.
Overall, a rather good story that I’d wished I read sooner.
Score: 7.8 out of 10
The Culling of Man: A litrpg adventure (Peril's Prodigy Book 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)
Battle Avatars: The Forlorn Earth: A GameLit Xianxia (Battle Avatars Book 2)
Seriously trippy
Sometimes game, sometimes dreamlike, Battle Avatars reminds me of Endless Online. Yeah it's confusing. Making some sense by the end. D&D on drugs. Escort missions and dungeons with a spiritual/psychic war raging underneath. Somewhat more challenging reading. I hope this makes more sense in book 3.
Score: 7.8 out of 10
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/LitRPG.books
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheFantasyNation/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/541733016223492/
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/