LitRPG Podcast 211 - Viridian Gate Online 7, Mind's Journey, Alumni
LitRPG Podcast 211 - Viridian Gate Online 7, Mind's Journey, Alumni
Jan. 31st, 2020
Hello everyone, welcome to episode 211 of the LitRPG podcast.
For the full show notes visit us at: https://litrpgpodcast.com/litrpg-podcast-211
I’m Ramon Mejia. I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews. We have 5 new reviews just for you.
New Releases and Reviews:
Viridian Gate Online: Darkling Siege (The Viridian Gate Archives Book 7) (08:34)
Hits you with some feels
Score: 8 out of 10
Mind's Journey: The King's Quest (11:41)
Lost memory makes for boring MC
Score: 6 out of 10
Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week (19:25)
(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.
Alumni: A Divine Dungeon Series (Artorian's Archives Book 2)
I love watching the old guy stomping around
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Dungeons of Strata (Deepest Dungeon #1)
Descent into the pit
Score: 8.8 out of 10
Press Start: System Discovered! Book 1
Urban fantasy LitRPG
Score: 7.9 out of 10
(Play Music 2)
LitRPG News
Austin Patton made a LitRPG book spotting in the wilds of Barnes and Noble in Las Vegas. A whole end cap with LitRPG novels and a sign explaining what LitRPG is.
Lavelle Jackson of Litrpg Re-Roll has decided to stop posting reviews of LitRPG novels and audiobooks. According to his post on Facebook he reasons: “However, since I am an author now, I have been "surveying" the community to see if I needed to stop. I certainly don't want to alienate anyone. That is the last thing I want to do. The feedback has been about --60% yes/40% no -- as far as whether I should continue.”
https://www.facebook.com/litrpgreroll/posts/651790035592517
Out Now!
GUARD [Web of Worlds: Empire] A LitRPG Series
The Crafter's Dilemma: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 3)
Endless Fantasy Online: The Elk Kingdom
Ultima : A LitRPG Journey (Legends Online Book 4) https://amzn.to/2sl315R
New LitRPG Audiobooks
Ethria: The Pioneer - An Epic LitRPG Adventure
Hero Time - A LitRPG Novel (Metagamer Chronicles, Book 3)
GalaxSec (A Sci-Fi LitRPG) - Skeleton in Space, Book 2
Upcoming LitRPG:
Thousand Tales: Side Quests (Feb. 1st, 2020)
Infernal Bones (Elemental Dungeon - Book 2) (Feb. 3rd, 2020)
Underworld - Proving Grounds: A LitRPG Series (Feb. 3rd, 2020)
Battle Master: The Blood Crown Book 1 (A LitRPG Adventure) (Feb. 4th, 2020)
The Last Time Loop: Max of the Rebellion (Volume 2): A Time Travel LitRPG Series (Feb. 4th, 2020)
Tales of a Northblood: Winter's Breath: A LitRPG Saga (Feb 4th, 2020)
Skull and Thrones: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (The Bad Guys Book 3) (Feb. 6th, 2020)
Dark Academy [Transformation. Book IV] LitRPG series (Feb. 7th, 2020)
An Equation with One Unknown (Invasion Book #2): LitRPG Series (Feb. 10th, 2020)
MAGE [Web of Worlds: Empire] A D&D LitRPG Series (Feb. 12th, 2020)
The Art of Deception (World of Karik Book 2 Part 2): LitRPG Series (Feb. 13th, 2019)
Pearl of the South (World of the Changed Book #2): LitRPG Series (Feb. 14th, 2020)
The Second Betrayal: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Divine Apostasy Book 2) (Feb. 14th, 2019)
*Sequel to Shade’s 1st rule*
Axestorm: (Sky Realms Online Book 3): A LitRPG Series (Feb. 18th, 2020)
Gods of Ash and Amber: A Gamelit Novel (Seeds of Chaos Book 4) (Feb. 29th, 2020)
Path of Soul: BlackFlame Online Litrpg/Gamelit Universe (Glory of Formation Emperor Book 3) (Feb. 29th, 2020)
Neon Dark: A LitRPG Adventure (Zero.Hero Book 1) (March 3rd, 2020)
The Incarnator (Project Stellar Book 1): LitRPG Series (March 9th, 2020)
Viridian Gate Online: Insurrection (The Alchemic Weaponeer Book 3) (March 10th, 2020)
The Dark Continent (Underdog Book #3): LitRPG Series (March 20th, 2020)
Quest for Freedom: A LitRPG Saga (Hero Online Book 5) (March 30th, 2020)
Sentenced to Troll 3 (April 1st, 2020)
Eastbound and Town: A LitRPG/Gamelit Adventure (The Good Guys Book 8) (April 2nd, 2020)
Dragon Heart: Sea of Sorrow. LitRPG wuxia series: Book 5 (April 15th, 2020)
Warsinger: A LitRPG Dragonrider Adventure (The Archemi Online Chronicles Book 4) (May 1st, 2020)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
(Play Music 3)
New Releases and Reviews
(Picture 1)
Viridian Gate Online: Darkling Siege (The Viridian Gate Archives Book 7)
Not even gods are safe from the power of the fabled Doom-Forged weapon.
Grim Jack didn’t set out to be the leader of Eldgard’s united armies, but with dungeons falling one by one and hordes of Vogthar pouring into the material plane, it’s up to him to save both citizens and travelers from digital destruction.
His doomsday weapon will take him straight into the heart of Morsheim, but once there, even the combined might of the Empire and the Crimson Alliance might not be enough. He’ll have to uncover secrets buried for millennia just to get within striking distance of a death god gone mad, and the choices he’ll make will change him and the world forever…
My Opinion: 424 pages, $5.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
OMG. What a great story. Scenes that will make you tear up, , humor, action, adventure, plot twists, and more action. While I’d thought this would be the end of the series, it does most of the resolving of the big plotlines and sets up the series for a big finish. A little bit of a forced ending, but it also makes for a great hook into what may be the last main series VGO book. In addition to the normal well written action adventure, the number of touching moments pushes this from good to great.
Score: 8 out of 10
Viridian Gate Online: Darkling Siege (The Viridian Gate Archives Book 7)
Mind's Journey: The King's Quest
What is an amnesiac to do? In a world of monsters, a stranger with a lost, forgotten past seeks the great wish-granting king for answers. But is it worth the cost?
Finding himself in a world he doesn’t understand, with a voice in his head and a strange being guiding him, he travels to the city of Astra where the great king dwells. And the answers might be found. With the friends he makes along the way, this stranger faces each new challenge the world throws at him in this journey of action and adventure. With no memories to guide him, all he can do is chase this single desire.
“Who am I?” That is the question that burns inside him.
In Astra, the greatest challenge awaits him. To gain what he seeks, he must pay through violence. Only the death of a monster can give him what he desires, the answer he seeks. But can he stand up to the dangers of this unknown world or will be crumble beneath the toils of monster slaying and his own growing fear?
Every wish comes with a price.
My Opinion: 457 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
The beginning is a bit tedious. It takes the premise of losing your memory and being transported to an RPG world through a overly logical path. For like 20% of the story there's a bunch of confusion, awkward self doubt, observations about game stuff that is seen but not understood, and bad conversations. Things don't really pick up till after the 40% mark, but even then the MC is just kinda wimpy and doesn't solve any of his own problems. While the end has action, it feels forced that the MC survives considering it's his first time in a fight and he's at most level 3. So it's not satisfying.
On the game mechanic side, things are oddly light. The MC hears a voice with notifications and sees stat and level increases. However it feels like he's the only one that sees these things. It's hinted that there are other players but regular people see them as people with strange powers. So there's no big emphasis on the game stuff or any kind of gamer mentality. There are also several mistakes like the MC gaining level 2 twice in the story. The game stuff exists but feels almost incidental and in the actual fights didn't have much impact beyond characters suddenly using powers that hadn't been shown before.
Overall, the story isn't bad, but it didn't work for me. The beginning just turned me off with the MC's personality and the story didn't even get remotely interesting until it was almost half way done.
Score: 6 out of 10
Mind's Journey: The King's Quest
Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week
(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.
(Pic 6)
I love watching the old guy stomping around
The beginning part with Artorian, Ember, and the trees is pretty interesting with nice pacing. Overall the book doesn't feel completely put together, the seams are visible. I definitely enjoyed watching him stomping around his old school. I had fun with the book, it ends somewhat mid action. Great characters, and systems. It left me hanging.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Alumni: A Divine Dungeon Series (Artorian's Archives Book 2)
Descent into the pit
By the time I hit 30% I was definitely feeling a Dark Souls vibe. Just a few hints of game elements and atmosphere. Nice. Martin's played his day job like a game he was trying to speed run. Interesting party dynamics, classes and races. I like the writing style. The author hit a sweet spot for me between economy of words, just enough for me to imagine the scenes and a brisk pace of the story moving on. Threaded throughout are hints and investigation of the true nature of the game. A great read. My only detractor was that Martin's lack of connection with people made him a bit harder to relate to. Better gamer, not much fun at parties.
Score: 8.8 out of 10
Dungeons of Strata (Deepest Dungeon #1)
Urban fantasy LitRPG
Not high literature. Pretty good story that longer than the page count might suggest. Felt a bit rushed. It's an interesting assortment of elements from various sources. Gets his power from a game and now sees all the supernatural beings among us. Does a variety of training and a bit of conflict to liven things up.I
Score: 7.9 out of 10
Press Start: System Discovered! Book 1
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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
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/