So you want to fight crime? Save people from villains? Be the good guy? If the answer is yes to all these questions, then the life of a Sidekick just might be for you. Warning: Not responsible for potential death or dismemberment.

Davis might come to regret the day he decided to become a Sidekick, but now that he has already put in the time to complete the certification program, he was going to see it through. But first, he needs to survive in the wilds for a couple of weeks with his fellow wannabe sidekicks. Nothing like teen angst and drama to make a man feel his years.

If he succeeds and makes it as a sidekick, he gets to look forward to working with the cantankerous Hammer Jack, a hero of some repute. Though whether that is good or bad is yet to be determined. The time has come for Davis to embrace his new life and take his place on Planet Hero as a lowly sidekick.

Disclaimer: This is a LitRPG or GameLit novel containing video game elements and rules.

My Opinion: 253 pages, $2.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited

*Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.

The 2nd entry into this super hero LitRPG series seems to draw on a popular animated superhero academy series in its first half with a group of teen superhero recruits and the main character (MC) testing to become sidekicks in a forest filled with monsters. The MC has a great power set which makes the fights good, but honestly, I really disliked all the new teen characters and would have been really ok with seeing them not survive the stupid situations they put themselves in. Thankfully, the 2nd half of the story was much better without them in much of it and there are some really good twists to how the MC resolves the last conflict.

I also liked the 2nd narrative story that flashed back to the start of the nano-apocalypse on earth that spawned both superheroes and all the monsters that would destroy the world as we know it. It was a really nice way to flesh out the history of the world and inject a little apocalyptic vibe to the story.

Overall, the story loses a little bit of enjoyment because of some of the characters that I just plainly disliked, but there is still some good stuff here if you’re into superheroes.

Score: 7.4 out of 10

Planet Hero: Sidekick

https://amzn.to/3udGmmW

Killing Them Awfully: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (The Good Guys Book 11)

He’s tried to ignore them for too long.

But the long-simmering conflict between Montana’s holding at Coggeshall and the Night Goblins who also occupy the valley is about to boil over.

Usually, goblins aren’t anything to write home about: an enemy without much size, intellect, or weaponry. But these goblins? Well, that’s just not the case.

These are goblins with limitless resources, never-before-seen tactics, and horrifying monsters at their disposal. Worst of all, they don’t fear death in the slightest.

They just might force a good guy to become what he has always struggled to defeat.

Killing Them Awfully is chaotic warfare, nonstop battles, and more monsters with digestive issues than totally necessary. Ready? Let’s go to war!

My Opinion: 388 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited

Woah, this definitely feels like part 2 of the last book as it picks up a moment after that one and continues a rather frantic pace of action and adventure. There’s lots of action, especially towards the end and while some of the big battle felt like it came out of nowhere, it was still a really good story that kept me on the edge of my seat wondering just how the main character (MC) would overcome the odds.

Score: 7.8 out of 10

Killing Them Awfully: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (The Good Guys Book 11)

https://amzn.to/3uhdY3m

Tartila Mine (The Alchemist Book #5): LitRPG Series

What are you supposed to do when the whole world joins forces against you? Give up, find some hole to duck into, and beg for your life to be spared? But even despite how obvious the answer to that question might be, many an adult had been dashed on the rocks twelve-year-old Tailyn Vlashich was supposed to climb. Ahead of him lay a secret laboratory belonging to the ancients; behind was a horde headed by his sworn enemy. But through it all, Tailyn had those who loved him, those who believed in him, and that support was enough to carry him to the ends of the earth.

There was just one question left to answer: who was the Absorber? And what did he want with Tailyn?

My Opinion: 297 pages, $6.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited

Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.

This is the conclusion to the Alchemist series, though not necessarily the end to the adventures of the main character. There’s lots of action and adventure. And those teasers for that other character from the author’s other series showing up absolutely pay off. If you’ve enjoyed this series then this last book is a must read.

Score: 7.8 out of 10

Tartila Mine (The Alchemist Book #5): LitRPG Series

https://amzn.to/3b2uInG

Alpha Physics! Book 1: Wagga: A LITrpg Apocalypse, changed earth progression fantasy

In the apocalypse, the first weapon he’ll have to upgrade is himself.

The end of the world as we know it couldn’t come at a worse time for Adrian.

One minute, he’s an operations manager who’s overseeing a construction job in the wilderness. The next, an unknown energy force changes the very nature of life itself, from the smallest organism to the top of the food chain. The earth’s surviving inhabitants, its environment, and the very laws of physics have all undergone fundamental transformations.

Many of those changes aren’t pretty. Plenty of them are deadly.

Luckily for Earth, this has happened to other species before, and everyone receives an interface that survivors of similar events have used to navigate through an alien landscape.

Adrian’s going to need every advantage he can get. He’s stranded in the middle of nowhere, there are days, maybe weeks of travel between him and his family, and in a world full of monsters and mayhem, survival means beating the learning curve…

My Opinion: 370 pages, $6.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited

Besides a slightly off-putting start, the RPG Apocalypse story was rather good. There’s a good mix of detailed skill/magic system building and fighting. The slower solo fighting in the beginning mixes well with the later community development and group fighting with it all culminating in a big exciting fight. The only thing missing from the Apocalypse side of things was probably the terrible nature of humanity rearing its ugly head at the limited resources and breakdown of the law.

On the game mechanic side, it's a mixed bad since not everyone in the RPG apocalypse has the same system. Some got a standard interface which was more like a class system, while others got a more advanced interface that leveled base stats more slowly but provided better advice, and let the person customize their build with dedicated work and greater long term benefits. Overall though, either system was very well developed and there was a nice effort by the players to exploit their builds just like real gamers would.

Overall, the story is a good mix of action and apocalypse adventure that I think most LitRPG readers would enjoy.

Score: 7.7 out of 10

Alpha Physics! Book 1: Wagga: A LITrpg Apocalypse, changed earth progression fantasy

https://amzn.to/3tvjNcl

Starred Tower: System Misinterpret Book One - A Post Apocalyptic Cultivation LitRPG

An Apocalypse. An epic change in biology. Humanity’s new powers. No instructions. So, everyone created their own!

Born over a century after ‘The Rise,’ Jeff scavenges with his tyrannical mother for survival. Banned from cultivating freely, Jeff wants none of this life; his one objective is to join the immortal rankers as they attempt to climb the Northern Tower. On the day of his escape, a powerful guild attacks Leah’s group, and Jeff is thrown through a unique dungeon portal— a portal that hasn’t been used in nearly a hundred years.

In the pursuit of Jeff’s ultimate goal, he must choose whether to follow the Church, join a guild or try it all on his own. Predators don’t only come from dungeons, and he must dig through mountains of misinformation for one straight answer.

When spells and skills unleash chaos, a special blue screen powers up, and Jeff’s journey to the peak or the grave begins.

My Opinion: 514 pages, $5.49, Available On Kindle Unlimited

*Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.

The first 10% of this story is not great as it doesn’t feel anything like LitRPG (that eventually changes) and is a bit confusing and feels rather unnecessary. It sets up an older super powerful female character and a world where humanity has been broken as a tower filled with monsters appeared and only those that fought and cultivated there grew powerful enough to get floating towers of their own. The rest of humanity tries to scrape by scavenging and working in the rubble of a crushed world. There’s some other stuff setup, but it doesn’t get any kind of pay off for most of the book and honestly would have been better to be sprinkled as a flashback from this character instead of front-loaded in one massive info dump.

It’s really not till the 11% mark that the story becomes LitRPG as a different main character (MC), a teen with pointy ears, who falls into a training room hidden in a separate and safe subspace that gives him quests and rewards that help him become stronger. There are a good amount of notifications from then on that it feels more game-like, with an RPG interface, quests, and stats increases. The training (physical and cultivation) and room upgrades are interesting enough to keep you reading.

With the exception of a few cut away scenes with the character from the 1st 10%, the story sticks with this teen character as he finds his first city and learns about just how cruel the world can be as he tries to clear a dungeon for the first time. The story emphasizes the dark cruelty of a post apocalyptic world, there’s dungeon diving, some RPG progression through the training room, some cultivation, and some decent fighting.

Overall, the story is rather good, even if the beginning was a little off putting for me. I really got into the story after the 11% mark, and I’d happily read a second book if it was available.

Score: 7.8 out of 10

Starred Tower: System Misinterpret Book One - A Post Apocalyptic Cultivation LitRPG

https://amzn.to/3vvSPCG

Cooldown (Unfrozen Book #1): LitRPG Series

If you’re going to stick your hand into somebody else’s refrigerator, you better be ready to deal with the consequences. Especially when, instead of perishable foodstuffs, the icebox in question contains people who are “provisionally alive.”

They haven’t died yet — death has not yet made up its mind about them. And even though most of them will never open their eyes again, a lucky few do stand the ghost of a chance of returning to this world. What a pity then that among these fortunate souls, there is one man who thought his earthly affairs concluded for all eternity.

His case file bristles with cautionary attributes such as “serial killer,” “extremist” and “mentally unstable.” And yet could this be the best candidate for an assignment that has already claimed the lives of several veteran operators? Who knows…

My Opinion: 535 pages, $3.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited

*Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy for review. I purchased a copy when it became available.

This is a Russian translation story whose setup puts a vigilante investigator into cryostasis instead of being killed by corrupt officials. He wakes up 24 years later and is tasked with going into a full immersion space VRMMO to solve the locked room mystery murder of a prominent clan member of the game. However, in practice this is really just a setup for the series and this is mostly a slice of life story where the MC adventures, tries to gain as many achievements to catch the attention of the clans as he can, and pops out of game to update his employer and plan what goals he has in game. There’s a little intrigue but generally it's an interesting and action-ish adventure with a survival sabotage game mode in the last 25%.

The entire setup takes a bit, but the MC is creating his character and going over stats,class descriptions, weapon descriptions, and sci-fi mechanics by the 9% mark. He chooses a class that’s considered terrible but the MC makes it work somehow. There’s lots of detail about all the mechanics which I appreciated, but it also made the later fights more meaningful since a lucky shot didn’t override the setup game rules and the MC died in game from poor decisions or just overmatched enemies. Money also plays a big role and becomes another motivating factor for the MC to power up.

There’s a certain irreverent sense of humor that some readers will enjoy and plenty of Russian background notes that gave the story a unique flavor.

Score: 7.4 out of 10

Cooldown (Unfrozen Book #1): LitRPG Series

https://amzn.to/3tIsr7p

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