LitRPG Podcast 231 - The Alchemist Book #2, The SyStem: Multiverse, True Smithing
LitRPG Podcast 231 - The Alchemist Book #2, The SyStem: Multiverse, True Smithing
June 19th, 2020
Hello everyone, welcome to episode 231 of the LitRPG podcast. I’m Ramon Mejia. This is week 12 of the quarantine mustache experiment and its conclusion. This is the last you’ll see of the quarantine mustache. I’m heading out back into the world tomorrow and I promised the wife I’d shave the ‘stache off.
I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews. We have 3 new reviews just for you.
New Releases and Reviews:
Forest of Desire (The Alchemist Book #2): LitRPG Series (08:57)
Good extension of the story
Score: 7.8 out of 10
The SyStem: Multiverse: Book 1 (14:00)
Decent Read
Score: 7.1 out of 10
True Smithing: A Crafting LitRPG Series (17:47)
Has early issues, but gets really good eventually
Score: 7.4 out of 10
(Play Music 2)
LitRPG News
Huge congratulations to this year's Independent Audiobook Awards - GameLit/LitRPG category. World Tree Online written by E.A. Hooper and narrated by Justin Thomas James, Jeff Hays, and Laurie Catherine Winkel.
The folks of the Authors & Dragons podcast are running a crowdfunding campaign for a comic version of their podcast adventures. It's a fun podcast that I love and has funny authors like Robert Bevan (Critical Failures) and Drew Hayes (NPCs). There are lots of supporter rewards and as of this recording, the project is funded so you know it’ll get made.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/chronicles-of-calamity#/
To celebrate the completion of the Nova Online Trilogy, Portal Books has discounted book 1 of the series, Warden, to FREE for the next 5 days. Book 2, Renegade, has also been discounted to 99c!
You can grab Warden here!
https://amzn.to/37GJJbK
And Renegade here!
https://amzn.to/3eaJMiq
Out Now!
White Soul: Book 1 of Martial Souls - A Cultivation Martial Arts LitRPG Epic Fantasy Adventure
God Mode: a LitRPG Saga (Mythrune Online Book 1)
The Crafter's Darkness: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 4)
Ethria 2: The Golem Maker: An Epic LitRPG Adventure
Gate Wars: Upheaval: A LitRPG Novella
Second Skin: Wayward: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 7)
Myriad Stars: Wu Ji Chronicles I. A Cultivation LitRPG Universe
New LitRPG Audiobooks
Kingdom Come: A LitRPG Dragonrider Adventure
The Archemi Online Chronicles, Book 3
Magic School: The Realm Between, Book 4
The Incarnator - Project Stellar Series, Book 1
Bio Dungeon: Symbiote - The Body's Dungeon, Book 1
Awaken Online: Flame - Tarot Series, Book 2
God Mode: a LitRPG Saga - Mythrune Online, Book 1
Upcoming LitRPG:
Harbinger (Nova Online #3) - A LitRPG Series (June 23rd, 2020)
The Dungeon Alaria 2: The Creator's Daughter - A Gamelit / Portal Dungeon Prime Fantasy Novel (June 23rd, 2020)
Summer Friction: A LitRPG Sci-Fi Adventure (Space Seasons Book 3) (June 26th, 2020)
Respawn: Blade of the Ancients (Respawn LitRPG series Book 5) (June 29th, 2020)
Greenfire: (Sky Realms Online Book 4): A LitRPG Series (June 30th, 2020)
A Cat and His Human (League of Losers Book #1): LitRPG Series (June 30th, 2020)
Sovereign Rising (The Gods' Game, Volume III): A LitRPG novel (June 30th, 2020)
The Boneless Dungeon: Rebirth (June 30th, 2020)
Stars Asunder: Book 9 in The System Apocalypse (July 1st, 2020)
Reincarnation: (A Litrpg/Gamelit Novel) (Last Born of Ki'Darth Trilogy Book 1) (July 1st, 2020)
Battleborne (July 1st, 2020)
Orc Spawn: Betrayal: A LitRPG/GameLit Story (July 1st, 2020)
The Path of Faith: A Dystopian GameLit Adventure (Project Chrysalis Book 6) (July 7th, 2020)
The Enchanter (Project Stellar Book 2): LitRPG Series (July 8th, 2020)
Dragon Seekers: A LitRPG Journey (Legends Online Book 6) (July 9th, 2020)
Watcher's Question: A LitRPG Saga (Life in Exile Book 2) (July 14th, 2020)
Tears of Alron (The Alchemist Book #3): LitRPG Series (July 14th, 2020)
4X Four Hex: A LitRPG Strategy Series (Avila Online) (July 15th, 2020)
The Ruined Temple: A LitRPG Adventure (Eternal Online Book 2) (July 28th, 2020)
Arrow of Justice - A LitRPG Novel: (Book 1 of the Vindication 2.0 LitRPG Universe) (July 31st, 2020)
The Hidden Paladin (The World of the Undead Force Book 1): A LitRPG Wuxia Series (Aug. 4th, 2020)
War of the Posers (The Bad Guys Book 4) (Aug. 8th, 2020)
The Way of the Force (The Heavenly Throne Book 2): A LitRPG Wuxia Series (Aug. 11th, 2020)
Intellectum [RealRPG series] Book 1 (Aug. 18th, 2020)
Small Unit Tactics (Volume #1): LitRPG Series (Aug. 27th, 2020)
Dungeon Worlds: A Reborn Online LitRPG Adventure (Sept. 9th, 2020)
City of Goblins (In the System Book #1): LitRPG Series (Oct. 7th, 2020)
The Otherworld (Underdog Book #4): LitRPG Series (Oct. 26th, 2020)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
(Play Music 3)
New Releases and Reviews
(Picture 1)
Forest of Desire (The Alchemist Book #2): LitRPG Series
Is there anything better than a quiet life? Well, there’s a quiet life surrounded by people you care about, people who love you in return, of course. But Tailyn Vlashich knew nothing of the kind. His parents had died years before, the townspeople stayed well away from the god’s favorite, and his guardian just wanted to be rid of him. That was the setting when Tailyn was again placed on the road to uncertainty, beset by terrifying lixes, and hounded by a harsh trainer it was impossible to please. All he can do is bear up and keep pushing forward in the hopes that his wishes will be granted. As legend has it, somewhere ahead lies the Forest of Desire, a place capable of bringing to life one’s every wish. For example, returning Valia Levor, Tailyn’s betrothed, who was kidnapped. Oh, and does anyone know why Forian Tarn still isn’t back from his trip?
My Opinion: 405 pages, $6.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
The fun action packed slice of life adventure continues. The main character (MC) and his group are stranded in enemy territory and have to fight and think their way past deadly obstacles, traps, and monstrous guardians. There's a slight expansion of game mechanics with new potions, but the MCs exploit remains fun.
I had a tiny issue and some other reviews had others. For me, a small recap to remind me who everyone is would have been helpful. It took a little bit to recall who was who. Other reviewers have mentioned that it bugged them that there wasn’t more plot progression. And I can kinda see that. Book 2 feels like an extension of book 1 with most of the story occurring in the same setting as the end of book 1. I will say that there is definitely the completion of a couple questlines, but also setup for other ones. But also recall that this is a slice of life story so it’s going to feel a little random sometimes.
Overall, for me, this was a fun story that kept me up reading late at night to finish.
Score: 7.8 out of 10
Forest of Desire (The Alchemist Book #2): LitRPG Series
The SyStem: Multiverse: Book 1
Brett Hayes never expected his life to amount to much. He escaped Boston, with help from his mother, to head to the west coast and create a new life in Seattle. All that changes when he attends a party to celebrate his friend's new physics invention: a device that connects two universes together.
Events quickly spiral out of control as Brett, and his best friend's ex-girlfriend, find themselves pulled by the device and end up in a different version of Earth, one that has been stripped of it's resources and population by an alien race. Will the Earth they came from share a similar fate? Can they escape the dimension they've been sent to and find a way back home? And do they want to escape after learning more about the universe they find themselves in? More importantly, can they change the SyStem that controls everything in that universe and many more?
The SyStem: Multiverse is the first book in a series of the same name, where they fight monsters with psychic powers, deal with betrayal, survive on a barren world, and decide whether they will let things remain the same or take action to change their circumstances.
Jon Svenson is the author of Biomedical Self-Engineering and other novels yet to be released.
This books contains oodles of action and adventure, but has no profanity and no intimate scenes or harems. Just so you know.
My Opinion: 430 pages, $5.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.
This is a slice of life sci-fi LitRPG story. It features two protagonists that are kidnapped and taken to an alternate dimension. The two must use that universe’s RPG System to grow powerful enough to escape their captors and find some way to get home or destroy the system that's giving them their power. It's really just following the two as they go through this universe, travel through space, gain skills with a sci-fi theme, fight, and survive. While there's some decent action and interesting betrayals that kept the story moving forward, it often felt like the main characters were stumbling through it all and not really making their own decisions but were being pushed around by other forces.
The game stuff is not particularly complex with skills and levels being gained for just about everything whether its completing quests or learning how to fly a spaceship. There are lots of notifications and quests and the RPG system is baked into the story world. But beyond the limitation of only having a certain number of skills equipped at one time, there's not a whole lot on the game mechanic side that's new. The story is very skill focused.
Overall, it's a decent read. I was entertained enough by the betrayals and the sci-fi universe to follow the characters through their adventures. But a lack of any clear goals or really bad antagonists left me wanting a little.
Score: 7.1 out of 10
The SyStem: Multiverse: Book 1
True Smithing: A Crafting LitRPG Series
Angus Bjornson only ever wanted to do one thing: to continue crafting exquisite weapons and pieces of armor for his loyal customers. Unfortunately, after one accident too many that leaves the old blacksmith completely disabled, it would seem he has no other choice but to hang up his hammer.
However, that would be underestimating the stubbornness of the self-made man. Fearing he’s not going to stop until he ends up dead in his forge, Angus’ children offer him a virtual rig that connects to Imperium Games’ many universes.
After choosing a fantasy-based world called Alterwelt, Angus—now known as Hephaestus—quickly learns that he can make use of his lifetime of experience by disabling the Auto function and playing on Manual. His skills allow him to create unique items that beat everything sold on the market. But Hephaestus has a long way to go before he can afford his own in-game forge. Moreover, he only ever learned to work with steel while here he has access to metals as strange and exotic as azuraneum, veridium, orichalcum…
Still, that might be the least of his problems. After he’s made a few sales and starts to get some recognition, Hephaestus realizes that there’s a reason the market is oversaturated with crappy items. As it turns out, a greedy guild enforces a monopoly on the crafting and they’re ready to do anything to keep anyone—lest of all a lone blacksmith—from digging into their profits…
My Opinion: 293 pages, $3.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
This is a good LitRPG crafting story once you get past the 40% mark of the story. Before then, all the crafting descriptions are still good, but the rest of the story around it left something to be desired. But once the main antagonist shows up, after the 40% mark, the rest of the novel is quite enjoyable though there are still a few wand wavy moments.
First, I’ll say that I liked all the detailed descriptions of the main character (MC) making stuff. It's definitely the big draw of the novel. There’s lots of the MCs thoughts that went into each crafted weapon or piece of armor along with detailed descriptions of the actual process to make the item by hand.
However, especially in the beginning of the novel, other parts of the story felt a bit at odds with the actual game mechanics of the story and lent itself to feeling like the MC gained power he didn’t earn. The MC is a master blacksmith, and apparently every type of crafting, before he ever enters the game. He chooses a realistic mode that lets him use those IRL skills to craft fantastically powerful items that he uses to accomplish his goals. The MC gains a powerful forge that costs tens of thousands of coins. Did he craft items and sell them until he could save for his own forge? No. Did he research what the community needed and fill that gap? No. Instead, he was handed a fully stocked forge by some person he'd know for a few hours. But because he’s given such a huge bonus, and the reader doesn’t ever see him struggle to learn anything about crafting, it feels like he gains power he didn’t earn. This gets better as the story goes on but it was a big drawback for me when I was first reading the story.
Combat, when it's not done by the MC, is decent. But because of the odd duality in game mechanics of realism versus normal MMO, the one occasion the MC did fight felt off. In addition to being a master blacksmith, the MC is also a reenactor for martial sword fights and other medieval fighting styles. In the realistic mode this gives him a huge advantage against much higher level opponents and it made the levels feel unimportant to a degree. Thankfully, the MC fighting isn’t a big part of the story and disappears after the beginning of the story. Still, it felt off.
I was initially turned off by the non-crafting aspects of the story. Whether it was the MC fighting an opponent almost 20 levels higher and kicking his butt, or the odd way the 70 year old MC’s kids argued with him over who he was associating with in a VRMMO, it felt off. I honestly thought about putting the book down, but I’m glad I pushed through. Because after the story the antagonist shows up at about the 40% mark, the story really takes off. It focuses fully on the crafting aspect, which is the best part, and the obstacles and antagonists all become related to that. The control the antagonist has over a game world seems a little far fetched sometimes but he was dislikable enough that I wanted to see the MC win.
Overall, I ended up really liking the story. It does lose a little on the review score because of the beginning of the novel, which some people won’t be able to push past. But for me it was a good read with lots of crafting which I’m a fan of.
Score: 7.4 out of 10
True Smithing: A Crafting LitRPG 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
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/