LitRPG Podcast 238 - Tower of Damnation, Solomon's Crucible, The Hidden Paladin
LitRPG Podcast 238 - Tower of Damnation, Solomon's Crucible, The Hidden Paladin
Hello everyone, welcome to episode 238 of the LitRPG podcast. I’m Ramon Mejia.
I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews. We have 7 new reviews just for you.
New Releases and Reviews:
Tower of Damnation (A LitRPG and GameLIT Saga): Book One, The First Tower
Bit of tower climbing and slice of life, but all good action
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Solomon's Crucible: A LitRPG Apocalypse Begins (Solomon's Crucible Book One)
Finds its rhythm once the dungeon diving starts
Score: 7.3 out of 10
The Hidden Paladin (The World of the Undead Force Book 1): A LitRPG Wuxia Series
Slice of life Cultivation/light LitRPG
Score: 7.3 out of 10
Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week
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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.
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Rogue Evolution: A litRPG Adventure (The Rogue Dungeon Book 4)
Changes
Score: 8.4 out of 10
The Mechanical Crafter - Book 1 (A LitRPG series) (The Mechanical Crafter series)
Metal man with a heart
Score: 8.6 out of 10
Force Cultivation (The Heavenly Throne Book 1): A LitRPG Wuxia Series
Good reading
Score: 7.8 out of 10
Dragon Heart: Land of Magic. LitRPG Wuxia Series: Book 6
The writing is lush and vivid
Score: 9.5 out of 10
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LitRPG News
LitRPG Deal
The entire Aether Gate Online series is on sale for $0.99 each until 8/11/2020
Book 1: https://amzn.to/33vAkDO
Book 2: https://amzn.to/3fwaEt5
Book 3: https://amzn.to/3gyUCjw
Jeff Sproul, author of the Sigil Online LitRPG series, has a video game set to release.
YouTube Trailer: https://youtu.be/NFZpuZWd4rY
He wrote a post on Facebook talking about it:
I have shifted (for the time being) to full videogame development.
Very excited to get it in people's hands. :) Already working on the 2nd in the series.
This is my first release and it'll be Free to play!
"A Mysterious Point & Click game of Incomprehensible Entities and Discovery."
It comes out on August 24th on Steam and Itch.io
You can wishlist it at:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1380310/Lost_Remnant_The_End_Tides/
There’s going to be a LitRPG live stream from some LitRPG authors and publishers on Aug. 20th, 2020 through Shoreline Of Infinity. Featuring: Portal Books - Taran Matharu, Jonathan Smidt, and Jay Boyce. The site lets you pay what you want to watch the stream.
https://www.shorelineofinfinity.com/product/litrpg-showcase/
Out Now!
Dungeons and Noobs: Noobtown Book 4
The Forgotten Faithful: A LitRPG Adventure (UnderVerse Book 2)
A New Script: A System Apocalypse short story (The System Apocalypse Short Stories Book 2)
New LitRPG Audiobooks
The Game of Gods: Publisher's Pack
The One-Armed Warlock: Book One
4X Four Hex: A LitRPG Strategy Series - Avila Online Book 1
Giantlands - Pal-Tee Planet Book 1
Upcoming LitRPG:
War of the Posers (The Bad Guys Book 4) (Aug. 8th, 2020)
Life Reset: Conquest (New Era Online Book 5) (Aug. 10th, 2020)
Chrysalis - A Fantasy LitRPG (Beast Realms Book 1) (Aug. 10th, 2020)
The Way of the Force (The Heavenly Throne Book 2): A LitRPG Wuxia Series (Aug. 11th, 2020)
The Idle System (A LitRPG series Book 6): The War (Aug. 15th, 2020)
Intellectum [RealRPG series] Book 1 (Aug. 18th, 2020)
Raider (Olympus Reborn Book 2) (Aug. 21st, 2020)
The Power of Nine: Scifi LitRPG - Esports - Mecha Battles (Overdrive Book 2) (Aug. 20th, 2020)
The SyStem: Multiverse: Book 2 (Aug. 23rd, 2020)
War of Gods: Dungeons of Perdition - Book 4 (A LitRPG and GameLit Adventure) (Aug. 24th, 2020)
Dream Stream Reality: A LitRPG Adventure (Aug. 25th, 2020)
Small Unit Tactics (Volume #1): LitRPG Series (Aug. 27th, 2020)
Holy War (Disgardium Book #5): LitRPG Series (Sept. 4th, 2020)
Dungeon Worlds: A Reborn Online LitRPG Adventure (Sept. 9th, 2020)
Stolen Lives: A LitRPG/GameLit Novel (The Underhill Chronicles Book 1) (Sept. 15th, 2020)
The Guild Core 1: Dragon Bourne (A Dungeon Core LitRPG/Cultavation Epic) (Sept. 16th, 2020)
Sovereign (The Gods' Game, Volume IV): A LitRPG novel (Sept. 30th, 2020)
Seas the Day: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (The Bad Guys Book 5) (Oct. 1st, 2020)
Final Odyssey: A LitRPG Journey (Legends Online Book 7) (Oct. 1st, 2020)
Dungeon Crawler Carl (Oct. 2nd, 2020)
Watcher’s Fate: A LitRPG Saga (Life in Exile Book 3) (Oct. 6th, 2020)
City of Goblins (In the System Book #1): LitRPG Series (Oct. 7th, 2020)
The Otherworld (Underdog Book #4): LitRPG Series (Oct. 26th, 2020)
The Fallen God: A LitRPG Adventure (Eternal Online Book 3) (Oct. 27th, 2020)
Quest for the Ember Relic: A Phoenix Online LitRPG Adventure (Nov. 23rd, 2020)
Onto New Releases and Reviews
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New Releases and Reviews
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Tower of Damnation (A LitRPG and GameLIT Saga): Book One, The First Tower
Humanity was on the brink of destruction.
Earth had been destroyed by Devils, and as a result, the humans who lived there were transported to Paradise, a new world far vaster than their original planet. Dragons flew across the never-ending skies, roaring toward the heavens. Elves grew trees and tended to the flowers. Dwarves crafted armor and weapons to use for battle. Demons started wars for fun.
It was chaotic, yet it was still a home. Then, when things were just starting to look up, the cataclysm struck. Only one man could face the imminent disaster, but he still failed in the end. Bradley Crowe let down all of those who he loved; everyone who relied on him. Regrets? He had many. As his eyes closed, falling into an eternal slumber, he was given a second chance.
My Opinion: 257 pages, $2.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
This story starts off as a Tower Climbing LitRPG story but by about the 50% mark, transitions to a more slice of life action story. In the beginning, it doesn’t veer much from what’s been established as a Tower Climbing story, with a main character (MC) who dies having failed to conquer the towers in the future and is sent back to the start of the towers showing. He uses his advanced knowledge of the towers and RPG system and his decades of experience fighting in the testing tower to gain an early advantage when the trials start. If you’ve read Towers of Heaven, it’ll be a familiar premise and the story that unfolds is about fighting monsters and gaining every advantage possible to advance up the tower and gain power and possibly save as much of humanity as possible.
The story shifts a little once the MC reaches the new world filled with monsters, fantasy races, and demons. Once there, the story becomes more slice of life with the MC still trying to use his vast knowledge from his previous life to gain power, but also being thrown into situations that don’t involve fighting in any towers. The towers exist more as future places to grow in power, but for the rest of the book the MC fights monsters and other people in different settings. The story ends without a solid resolution and there isn’t really a plot, which is why it’s more of a slice of life action oriented story. The story actually feels like it's a serial story and the end more of a ‘to be continued’.
On the game mechanic side of things, it’s pretty basic. Killing monsters or completing assigned tasks or tests grants coins that can be spent on upgrading stats or to purchase items, equipment, or bloodlines from the system store. XP can be gained to increase levels. There are also classes that can be earned and they give special abilities and bonuses.
Overall, this is a good action filled story that zipped by due to the fast paced fights. There are no complex plotlines and very little character development. But the action is rather good.
Score: 7.6 out of 10
Tower of Damnation (A LitRPG and GameLIT Saga): Book One, The First Tower
Solomon's Crucible: A LitRPG Apocalypse Begins (Solomon's Crucible Book One)
On the day the System came to Earth, Solomon Gragg had to cut off his own hand. Then things got rough.
The arrival of the System disabled all modern technology in an instant. It exposed humanity to alien life forms for the first time. Society will never be the same after we discovered just how little we knew about the true inner workings of the universe.
Solomon just wants to kill all the invaders trying to take what’s his.
My Opinion: 168 pages, $0.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
I thought the setup for the RPG apocalypse was a little bumpy and the first fights and the loss of his hand for a maxed out skill was a bit wand wavy. It hands the MC a big stack of grid points to develop powers he has no idea if he'll use.
However, once the MC gets to the dungeon the story seems to find its rhythm. Fight monsters, see flaws in combat or equipment, create/find solutions, kill more monsters to gain grid points. The MC shows his fallibility and willingness to experiment and adapt. It gave the reader something to root for.
Game mechanics are familiar: stats, skills, abilities, upgrade points aka grid points, a system store. The only unique mechanic was the grid system in which points needed to be spent to unlock specializations and powers, which led to further specialized development paths. It made the MC have to think about which paths to pursue with his limited grid points gained from increasing skills or killing monsters.
Overall, the story is fairly decent and straightforward dungeon dive more than an RPG apocalypse story. But that may shift in the future once the MC meets other humans or visits a city.
Score: 7.3 out of 10
Solomon's Crucible: A LitRPG Apocalypse Begins (Solomon's Crucible Book One)
The Hidden Paladin (The World of the Undead Force Book 1): A LitRPG Wuxia Series
In a dark universe where the strong rule and the weak die, our story follows a guy on the path of Light and his journey through a world of Darkness.
Everyone's childhood is tough. Some have nothing to eat, some aren't allowed to leave their homes, and some can't afford what others have.
And some, like Nick, get gifts, like gene modification, that allow them to tap into powers beyond human capabilities in another world.
This, of course, comes at a price.
Unfortunately for Nick, things went awry. What exactly happened remains unclear, but the Shadow sect knew that they must cover their tracks.
And so they did.
They destroyed everything and murdered everyone who was a witness to their plans -- everyone but one kid.
Nick was saved by a strange book that appeared next to him -- little did he know that his salvation would soon become the very source of his misfortune.
With his genes modified, and he himself corrupted by the artifact that had saved him, Nick was summoned to another world.
Cultivation Methods. Ancient Secrets. Ascension of the Paladin.
Why be the Light in a world ruled by Darkness?
Why be an angel and serve God, when you can become one yourself?
Why pick one, when you can save them all?
My Opinion: 380 pages, $3.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited
The beginning of the story takes place on some version of modern earth and is more of a Real Life RPG thing, then at about the 10% mark the main character (MC) and several other characters are transported to a new world where everyone has special abilities, cultivation cores, and power rules. This world is full of sects that travel between dimensions collecting resources and increasing their powers. The MC must learn to control the one power he was given in a weird ritual, healing, and harness the random side effects that it causes so that he can not only survive but become powerful enough to return to earth.
The story is a slice of life with a bit of cultivation, and some light RPG mechanics. The MC in the story has an interesting personality. He insists on helping others, even those that treat him poorly or only look to use him. He’s completely aware that they are bad people and it's honestly a bit annoying that he still tries to be helpful, until you realize that he almost seems to have a compulsion to help like a good aligned paladin in a fantasy story. It’s an interesting twist on a cultivation/wuxia story. The MC is surrounded by the shadow sect, people that use and hurt others for their own gain, yet he still tries to help and is considered corrupt for it.
Game mechanics: Mostly informational with notifications from a book telling the MC what his core rank is, his stats, and the number of slots he has available to learn special abilities. As his core rank or class increases his capabilities increase. The MC also has special abilities that increase in efficiency as he meditates.
Overall, it’s a ok story if you don’t mind the slice of life nature of it, and a bit of a cliffhanger end. There isn’t as much action as I thought there would be, but it’s still entertaining seeing how the MC tries to maintain his goodness in a world where everyone is seeking to take advantage of each other.
Score: 7.3 out of 10
The Hidden Paladin (The World of the Undead Force Book 1): A LitRPG Wuxia Series
Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week - New Segment
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.
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The Mechanical Crafter - Book 1 (A LitRPG series) (The Mechanical Crafter series)
Metal man with a heart
I had a great time with R. A. Meija's new book. Fun and a bit light-hearted (it could have been grim). It looks suitable for a teen audience. I liked the nods to other authors in the genre and their bacon addiction. Warcraft's goblins and gnomes are the main races showcased. I'm happy when goblins are major characters. I had a great time with the adventure with Repair and look forward to seeing where the author takes it from here. It works well as a standalone novel as well (and the hook at the end).
Score: 8.6 out of 10
The Mechanical Crafter - Book 1 (A LitRPG series) (The Mechanical Crafter series)
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Force Cultivation (The Heavenly Throne Book 1): A LitRPG Wuxia Series
Good reading
I liked Kai the cultivator's story. It's not terribly clear why he ends up with other cultivation options unlike those in his new world. It wad fairly simple and easy to read. I had fun with it. The world was developed enough to keep it interesting.
Score: 7.8 out of 10
Force Cultivation (The Heavenly Throne Book 1): A LitRPG Wuxia Series
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Dragon Heart: Land of Magic. LitRPG Wuxia Series: Book 6
The writing is lush and vivid
The fights were close to cinematic in description. A whole lot of story advancement as well. Hadjar and the islander join a top sect. I liked the scenes with Hadjar's master as he continues to develop. There's an intensity to Hadjar and vulnerability as well. The translation is excellent. Definitely my favorite of my recent reads. And he meets a girl that he likes. Stronger than him of course.
Score: 9.5 out of 10
Dragon Heart: Land of Magic. LitRPG Wuxia Series: Book 6
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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/