LitRPG Podcast 220 - Shadow Sun Progression, Planet Hero: Civilian, World of the Changed Book #3, Demon of Dreadnaught
LitRPG Podcast 220 - Shadow Sun Progression, Planet Hero: Civilian, World of the Changed Book #3, Demon of Dreadnaught
April 3rd, 2020
Hello everyone, welcome to episode 220 of the LitRPG podcast.
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.
New Releases and Reviews:
Shadow Sun Progression: Shadow Sun Book Four (07:53)
Continues to be good
Score: 7.7 out of 10
Planet Hero: Civilian (10:30)
Superhero, cultivation, LitRPG
Score: 7.4 out of 10
Noa in the Flesh (World of the Changed Book #3): LitRPG Series (17:09)
A great action filled end resolution
Score: 8 out 10
Demon of Dreadnaught: World of Dreadnaught Series (19:29)
Nope
Score: 4 out of 10
(Play Music 2)
LitRPG News
LitRPG SALES
With so many people stuck at home under quarantine or practicing social distancing. I thought I’d bring you some good LitRPG novels that are on sale, either as a way to help readers pass the time during this pandemic.
LitRPG Books on Sale
Barrow King: The Realms Book One $0.99
Sentenced to Troll 2 - $0.99
The Trapped Mind Project (Emerilia Book 1) $0.99
Legends Online Universe Box set (books 1-4) $0.99
Amazon LitRPG search - priced low to high shows Free and $0 books. Varied results for good stories or ones actually LitRPG but nice place to browse.
Out Now!
Eastbound and Town: A LitRPG/Gamelit Adventure (The Good Guys Book 8)
Mageblood (Mephisto's Magic Online Book 1)
PrimeVerse: Dose of Chaos: A GameLit / LitRPG Adventure
Undone: Resurrection of Murdock (A Fantasy LitRPG Series)
Awaken Online: Flame (Tarot #2)
Silver Fox & The Western Hero: Warrior Reforged: A LitRPG/Wuxia Novel - Book 2
CivCEO 3: A 4x Lit Series (The Accidental Champion)
New LitRPG Audiobooks
Adventurer Academy - Greyblood, Book 1
Shattered Sword (A LitRPG Adventure) - Eternal Online, Book 1
Alterlife - Alterlife Online, Book 1
Throne of the Ancients (A LitRPG Adventure)
No Mistakes - World of the Changed Series, Book 1
Farmer - Light Online Series, Book 1
Upcoming LitRPG:
Dungeon World 5: A Dungeon Core Experience (April 9th, 2020)
Expedition Newb (Sun & Shadow Online Book 2) (April 10th, 2020)
Street Cultivation 2 (April 10th, 2020)
Watchers Test: A LitRPG Saga (Life in Exile Book 1) (April 14th, 2020)
After Apocalypse: Dungeons of Perdition - Book 3 (A LitRPG and GameLit Adventure) (April 20th, 2020)
Winter Harvest: A LitRPG Sci-Fi Adventure (Space Seasons Book 1) (April 24th, 2020)
Rogue Evolution: A litRPG Adventure (The Rogue Dungeon Book 4) (April 28th, 2020)
Resistance (Disgardium Book #4): LitRPG Series (April 29th, 2020)
Player Reached the Top. LitRPG Series. Book III (April 29th, 2020)
Gauntlet: A LitRPG Journey (Legends Online Book 5) (April 30th, 2020)
Warsinger: A LitRPG Dragonrider Adventure (The Archemi Online Chronicles Book 4) (May 1st, 2020)
Aberrant Quest: The Blood Crown Book 2 (A LitRPG Adventure) (May 5th, 2020)
Gloominess +4: The Cradle of Gods. A LitRPG series: Book 4 (May 17th, 2020)
Path of Alchemy: BlackFlame Online Litrpg/Gamelit Universe (Glory of Formation Emperor Book 4) (May 31st, 2020)
Legendary Dungeon Seed (May ??, 2020)
Four Beheadings and a Funeral: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (The Good Guys Book 9) (June 4th, 2020)
Aces High (Reality Benders Book #6): LitRPG Series (June 9th, 2020)
Stars Asunder: Book 9 in The System Apocalypse (July 1st, 2020)
The Enchanter (Project Stellar Book 2): LitRPG Series (July 8th, 2020)
Arrow of Justice - A LitRPG Novel: (Book 1 of the Vindication 2.0 LitRPG Universe) (July 31st, 2020)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
(Play Music 3)
New Releases and Reviews
(Picture 1)
Shadow Sun Progression: Shadow Sun Book Four
Allistor, now both a Planetary Prince of Earth, and Emperor of Orion, faces a new set of challenges. Thrust completely unprepared into the realm of interplanetary politics, he must navigate the pitfalls of dealing with more powerful races and factions.
At the same time, he strives to continue his mission to strengthen the human race. To bring other survivors into the fold, and claim as much of the earth as possible for humans. Class trainers must be found if his people are to have a proper chance to grow and thrive.
Hard choices have to be made. New and deadly enemies surface, and friends are lost. Allistor's acquisition of a particular artifact places a target squarely on his back. And behind it all, the Ancient Ones continue to meddle in Earth's affairs.
My Opinion: 321 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
This series has been one of the easiest to review. Each book has been so fun to read it’s easy to burn through the entire thing in a single sitting. Book 4 in the series is no different than. The story keeps getting bigger as the main character (MC) consolidates power and starts dealing with alien threats on a galactic scale. Yet at the same time there are still very small personal stories that kept me invested in the core group. Good stuff all round.
Score: 7.7 out of 10
Shadow Sun Progression: Shadow Sun Book Four
Planet Hero: Civilian
Welcome to Planet Hero! Attention Civilians! In the event of Superhero on Villain battling, seek immediate shelter. And if a Villain decides to kidnap you, hold you hostage, or attempts to rob and/or kill you, please remain calm, Heroes will arrive shortly. Thank you for your support!
Dr. Davis Malory never planned to become a hero or a villain. He never planned on obtaining superpowers. He certainly never planned on being transported to a world filled with such people. And he most definitely never considered that he would have to become one if he ever wanted to find a way back to Earth.
But Planet Hero doesn't care about what Davis wants. If he wants to survive everything that is about to be thrown at him, he'll have to cultivate his superpowers and learn to navigate this new world or going home will be the least of his worries. Davis's days as a Civilian are officially over.
Disclaimer: This is a LitRPG or GameLit novel containing video game elements and rules.
My Opinion: 247 pages, $2.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
This is a story that combines Super Hero powers with RPG progression elements based in cultivation. A good portion of the story is just a fun slice of life exploration of the world and some nice training of superpowers and cultivation. The end has a bit more story with a nice stream of action.
The RPG stuff amounts to Heroes cultivating or gathering nanos either from the environment or from their kills to increase their stats. The stats are broken up into physical and power related sections with subsections that can be increased to develop particular builds. The powers themselves feel a bit more limited. There aren’t skill trees that the characters have to develop, instead they ‘feel’ what the nanos say they can do or just experiment until a new power develops. Powers to become progressively stronger as they’re used and nanos are applied to their related stats.
The cultivation parts initially felt out of place in the nano infused superhero world. Why would you need to use cultivation, which to me has a mystic tone, with tech based nanites? I would have preferred to see some passive absorption with an opportunity to increase it with leveling or a tech upgrade. But eventually I got used to it. Especially after the big training section.
Storywise, its entertaining if you enjoy the super hero genre. There are jokes about hero culture, a little bit of world building explaining how this alternate dimension got super powers, and a hint at a darker world. There’s a lot of good action and dialogue and a main character (MC) that seems reasonable and not overly anxious to jump into life threatening situations. The villains when they're introduced after the halfway point, were a little disappointing. They weren't particularly villainous. They felt like disney villains. They don't really kill or even curse.
Overall, though a good read that I’d enjoy picking up a 2nd book in.
Score: 7.4 out of 10
Noa in the Flesh (World of the Changed Book #3): LitRPG Series
The World of the Changed, still going strong! A sister kidnapped, a powerful enemy right around the corner, and Earth under the thumb of the monsters. What else is it going to take to become a true hero and save humanity? The only problem is that Mark Derwin has bigger problems, focused as he is on finding Squirrel, his sister. And he has to make sure she's still the same person she always was rather than a chunk of noa. He's prepared to do anything, go to any lengths to make that happen, including working with the game. But not with the game owner. Mark has quite the litany of questions for that character.
My Opinion: 405 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.
Wow. There's an actual conclusion in this book. I'd expected it to take at least 2 or 3 more. And boy oh boy what a conclusion it is. Action, adventure, big battles, new power, and a resolution to all the plotlines. All the stuff with the sister is finally resolved as is the entire game thing with twists happening right up to the in a very Vasily Mahanenko fashion. Great stuff, but you've had to have read the preceding books.
Score: 8 out 10
Noa in the Flesh (World of the Changed Book #3): LitRPG Series
Demon of Dreadnaught: World of Dreadnaught Series
At 14 he was just seconds too late to save his sister. Andrew, chronically abused by his mother, will get justice for the only person in the world who he could count on. He'll follow the killer into hell becoming a demon himself. What no one expected was that hell and the mythic worlds beyond, operate by strict RPG rules. Experience an epic without luck. Where stats and items are the true measure of power. Can Andrew exploit the unfamiliar laws to get revenge? Can he get enough power to escape hell? There is hidden lore, time travel, sex, horror, and deep magic in...
THE WORLD OF DREADNAUGHT
My Opinion: 110 pgs??, $4.39, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
This LitRPG novella is part of a planned serial release by the author and while future stories may improve, this one didn’t work for me. The first half of the story has absolutely nothing to do with LitRPG or even Gamelit as it takes place in the modern world and incorporates a demonic murder spree. It honestly feels more like an urban fantasy story than anything and was a total turn off for me. In the second half of the story, things do take a turn towards LitRPG as the main character (MC) is sent to hell where as a half demon he finds that he can possess items to gain new skills and level up as he siphons off negative emotions from the other demons around him. It's an interesting game mechanic that reminds me of the Disgaea video game series where you level up items to make them more powerful. Unfortunately, that’s really the only thing I liked about the story. The actual story doesn’t really make sense and doesn’t really go anywhere. That may be because it's intended to unfold as more of the serial is released.
In the edition I was given, there were way more technical writing issues, but with the final release most of those were corrected.
Overall, aside from a game mechanic, I just didn’t like the majority of the novella.
Score: 4 out of 10
Demon of Dreadnaught: World of Dreadnaught Series
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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