LitRPG Podcast 224 - Awakened, Disgardium #4, Watcher's Test, Rogue Evolution, Tarot #2
LitRPG Podcast 224 - Awakened, Disgardium #4, Watcher's Test, Rogue Evolution, Tarot #2
May 1st, 2020
Hello everyone, welcome to episode 224 of the LitRPG podcast. This is week 5 of the quarantine mustache experiment. Because of shortages in tasty supplies at the local grocery store, I’ve learned to make homemade pasta and salsa this week.
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:
Awakened - Book One of The Quintessence: Crucible: (An Epic Cultivation LitRPG Saga) (08:24)
Good cultivation and chosen one stuff
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Resistance (Disgardium Book #4): LitRPG Series (14:01)
Part 1 of the epic clan wars
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Watcher's Test: A LitRPG Saga (Life in Exile Book 1) (16:43)
The end ties it all together nicely
Score: 7.8 out of 10
Ian’s Picks Of the Week (23:01)
Rogue Evolution: A litRPG Adventure (The Rogue Dungeon Book 4)
Changes
Score: 8.4 out of 10
Awaken Online: Flame (Tarot #2)
Ah, firey explosions
Score: 8.0 put of 10
(Play Music 2)
LitRPG News
If you happen to be listening to this on 5/1/2020, today’s US daily Audible deal is Ascend Online, an excellent LitRPG story written by the equally excellent Luke Chmilenko.
LitRPG author Robert Bevan and the Authors & Dragons podcast have put up a new funny and curse word filled video called Story Time with Robert Bevan: Hamlet. It's an interesting interpretation of the work and I could not stop laughing. FYI, this is super NSFW. You should also check out their super funny podcast where they play DnD. Authors on the podcast: Drew Hayes, Robert Bevan, Joseph Brassey, Rick Gualtieri, John Hartness, Steve Wetherell
https://www.authorsanddragons.com/
The latest novel from R.A. Mejia is up for pre-order. It stars a mechanical man, a Metalman, lots of crafting, dungeon diving, world building. Set in a world where magic and turn of the century technology meet. Join Repair on his adventures in this magic industrial world. Our May 8th, 2020.
The Mechanical Crafter - Book 1 (A LitRPG series) (The Mechanical Crafter series) (May 8th, 2020)
https://geni.us/MechanicalCrafterBk1
Out Now!
Cryo Knight - A Fantasy LitRPG (Lords of Valeria Book 1)
Player Reached the Top. LitRPG Series. Book III
Ruthless (The Completionist Chronicles Book 5)
Another Online: All Hail the Queen
A Bond Broken: The Infinite World Book Two
Altered Realms: Ascension (Book 1). A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure
New LitRPG Audiobooks
Winter Dungeonland (A LitRPG Adventure)
The Destroying Plague - Disgardium Series, Book 3
Rebel Star - A LitRPG Post-Apocalyptic Space Opera (System Apocalypse, Book 8)
How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps
https://www.audible.com/pd/How-to-Defeat-a-Demon-King-in-Ten-Easy-Steps-Audiobook/B086R2N27Y
Max of the Rebellion - The Last Time Loop, Book 1
Upcoming LitRPG:
Aberrant Quest: The Blood Crown Book 2 (A LitRPG Adventure) (May 5th, 2020)
Warsinger: A LitRPG Dragonrider Adventure (The Archemi Online Chronicles Book 4) (May 8th, 2020)
The Mechanical Crafter - Book 1 (A LitRPG series) (The Mechanical Crafter series) (May 8th, 2020)
https://geni.us/MechanicalCrafterBk1
Shattered Sword: A LitRPG Adventure (Eternal Online Book 1) (May 12th, 2020)
Gloominess +4: The Cradle of Gods. A LitRPG series: Book 4 (May 17th, 2020)
Biomedical Self-Engineering: Book 1 (May 17th, 2020)
False Skies (Challenger's Call Book 5) (May 20th, 2020)
City of the Dead (The Alchemist Book #1): LitRPG Series (May 20th, 2020)
Spring Mutiny: A LitRPG Sci-Fi Adventure (Space Seasons Book 2) (May 22nd, 2020)
Legendary Dungeon Seed (May 28th, 2020)
Path of Alchemy: BlackFlame Online Litrpg/Gamelit Universe (Glory of Formation Emperor Book 4) (May 31st, 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)
Watcher's Question: A LitRPG Saga (Life in Exile Book 2) (July 14th, 2020)
Arrow of Justice - A LitRPG Novel: (Book 1 of the Vindication 2.0 LitRPG Universe) (July 31st, 2020)
War of the Posers (The Bad Guys Book 4) (Aug. 8th, 2020)
The Ruined Temple: A LitRPG Adventure (Eternal Online Book 2) (Aug. 11th, 2020)
Intellectum [RealRPG series] Book 1 (Aug. 18th, 2020)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
(Play Music 3)
New Releases and Reviews
(Picture 1)
Awakened - Book One of The Quintessence: Crucible: (An Epic Cultivation LitRPG Saga)
Cultivation. Progression. Ascension.
On the world of Crucible, where humanity’s spiritual artists train to fight in a war of universal proportions, Aryc Tal Venn has the potential to be one of the gods.
But when he accidentally unleashes heretical powers during his Challenge, he is forced to flee his home or face the wrath of the Inquisition.
With his sister by his side, Aryc begins a quest to uncover the truth of his own existence.
Only to discover a terrible secret.
A secret with the power to destroy humanity.
Will Aryc master his unnatural powers in time to save the people of Crucible or will he be the harbinger of humanity’s destruction?
Hit "Buy Now" or "Read For FREE" and begin your epic cultivation journey today.
Awakened – Book One of The Quintessence: Crucible is the first novel in a new epic LitRPG cultivation universe brought to you by C.M. Carney, author of the #1 Bestselling LitRPG Saga The Realms that began with Barrow King.
The book is chock full of Qi cycling, measurable power progression, immortal gods, intriguing characters, deadly mysteries and universe shattering threats. It is perfect for all fans of progression fantasy, including lovers of LitRPG/GameLit, western cultivation, wuxia and xianxia.
My Opinion: 402 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 coming of age RPG cultivation story. It is more of a fantasy cultivation story until about the 30% mark when the main character (MC) awakens his Aspect and can then see an UI and see an RPG like progression system for cultivation, his core tree.
On the game mechanics side, things are fairly non existent in the first 30% of the story. It instead focuses on world building, setting up the good and evil sides, and the MCs personal antagonists and character flaws. There’s mention of cores, and ranks, and such but it's not really defined as a clear system until after the 30% mark when the MC gets access to his core tree and quantified progression showing just exactly how much Qi he needs to open his next core and progress to the next rank. At each rank, the MC has access to a certain increasing amount of Qi to fuel magic like arcane spells or transformations. More, the MC has access to an AI companion, an Aspect, that helps him progress faster and is his rare trait.
The story side of things is a little coming of age and chosen one, in that the MC has to overcome bullies, and his own insecurities to realize his true potential and use the one thing he thought was wrong with himself to become powerful enough to oppose the great evil in the world, the phage. There’s also lots of fighting, cultivation, and some RPG progression, but the core story is that chosen one bit. On the plus side, the world is well fleshed out with complex characters and well thought out world building. There are problems and storylines that are setup that can fuel the storytelling of multiple books in the series.
Overall, I enjoyed the story after the 30% mark. Before that it wasn’t bad, it just felt more like fantasy cultivation.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Awakened - Book One of The Quintessence: Crucible: (An Epic Cultivation LitRPG Saga)
Resistance (Disgardium Book #4): LitRPG Series
The armies of the Commonwealth, the Empire and the neutral factions, all the leading players and clans of the preventers, have been summoned under the banners of Nergal the Radiant to the sands of the deadly Lakharian Desert, to wage war against a most terrible enemy of all life itself — Scyth. His supporters include not only mindless wild races, but also nightmarish monsters: the zombie guitarist Infect, the death mage Crawler and one undead warrior by the name of Bomber.
My Opinion: 511 pages, $6.99, Not Available On Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received and advance copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
In this newest addition to the series, the scope of the story expands as major clans and factions fight to be the ones that defeat the main character (MC) and his faction. There are fewer epic battles than I thought there would be but according to the back matter, the author is saving those for the next book. In this one the MC is preparing for those fights, trying to gain every advantage possible and exploiting his new OP Threat abilities, crafting, his clan building, and the very environment to his benefit. If you enjoy large scale fights and factional plots, this is a story you will enjoy.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Resistance (Disgardium Book #4): LitRPG Series
Watcher's Test: A LitRPG Saga (Life in Exile Book 1)
This isn't a game. This is his new life.
Dave has been wandering through life for a long time. His day job bores him and he never seems to be able to meet his family's expectations. The only escape he's ever had is his love of MMORPGs.
But when he becomes the subject of a test without even knowing it, he's portaled into a game-world called Eloria with no way out. It's a frequent daydream of his, however, in none of those dreams did his wife and daughter ever accompany him.
Now, Dave must balance protecting his family with exploring his dream... oh, and trying to stay alive. Monstrous beasts roam Eloria, worst of all, an undead army led by the vile Death Knight.
He'll have to adapt fast and learn to cooperate if he hopes to make a new home for his family. And just maybe, along the way, he'll find out why they're living a life in exile.
Experience the epic first installment of a LitRPG saga perfect for fans of C.M Carney, Blaise Corvin, and Charles Dean.
My Opinion: 654 pages, $2.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
This is a multi-narrative story that primarily focuses on a family that is transported to an RPG world. The beginning of the novel is probably the hardest to get through as the initial family dynamics and petty arguments are frankly annoying. There are multiple side narratives that only really tie into the family’s storyline at the end, but when they do all connect it’s pretty good.
The main storyline is sort of a mess of an RPG Swiss Family Robinson, with a family of 5 being sent to an RPG world where they have to fight monsters and survive long enough to figure out the rules. There are some annoying family dynamics and petty arguments amongst the five. But by mid story those phase out as the family adjusts to having depend on each other for survival. Though only three of the family members, the husband, wife and teen daughter, do any fighting or leveling. The other two younger kids are kinda just around to put in danger, at least in this book.
The game mechanics come through really well and there's a good balance between game and realism to combat. There are definitely some wand wavy moments in the story that include: the healer mom gaining 7 levels just from choosing a class, some obvious power leveling in fights, and some miraculous saves. But outside those places the game mechanics are followed faithfully with that are many levels higher than the family being really challenging if not impossible and the family runs rather than fights. I also thought the zone pulling was a nice exploit.
The multiple perspectives did a good amount of world building as they showed off various factions and kingdoms in the RPG world. But frankly, they initially left me uncaring for most of the scenes. I was left with the impression that the scenes only existed to setup future storylines or world build, so they felt disconnected to the characters I did like, the Nelson family. That is until the end when many, but not all, of these side storylines finally connected with the main one in an epic way.
Overall, the story was really good, especially the last 15%, with only a few issues keeping it from being great for me.
Score: 7.8 out of 10
Watcher's Test: A LitRPG Saga (Life in Exile Book 1)
Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week
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Ian Mitchell is 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)
The story moves along. I really love this series. Rogue evolution wasn't as thrilling for me as the previous books. Very satisfying overall though. The beginning drug a bit. A bit more slice of life to 121start. There were several great fights, even a real world one. Roark comes up with a few new magic gadgets. And of course Kaz has some new recipes. Great read overall. The ending felt a bit abrupt.
Score: 8.4 out of 10
Rogue Evolution: A litRPG Adventure (The Rogue Dungeon Book 4)
(Pic 7)
Good reading. I couldn't relate to the MC as much as in other AO books. Mostly a long dungeon crawl. A necessary part of the fire story. Much better than many other LitRPG. Reminds me a lot of continue online. Similar story.
Score: 8.0 put of 10
Awaken Online: Flame (Tarot #2)
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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/