Late 21st century Earth is overcrowded, her natural resources dwindling rapidly. World governments and greedy mega corporations are forced to work together toward a solution.

A crew of ten humans are sent to Mars aboard Hyperion I to locate a suitable site and establish the first colony. After a months-long flight to the red planet, just as they are about to descend to the surface, problems arise. A careless accident kills a crew member, damages the ship, forcing the others to launch early. And that's just the beginning of their troubles.

On day one they learn that magic is real, and that the planet, in fact the entire galaxy, is governed by a complicated and merciless System. Their assimilation into the System makes them enemies of the paranoid powers that be on Earth, and they find themselves cut off. No communications with family, no resupply, they're on their own on a mostly dead world.

And nearly every form of life they do encounter is out to kill them.

Join Commander Fletcher and her crew as they struggle to survive a new world with new but familiar rules.

My Opinion: 526 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited

The Martian combined with alien RPG survival mechanics. The story starts off with the 1st mission to colonize mars. Only like most survival stories, something goes wrong and the crew has to make an emergency landing on the planet. Once there they find strange stones that initiates them with an alien citizen program that translates into something like an RPG game interface. It really just sets up a way to give the crew cool powers as they work on surviving and growing their base and powers in the face of limited resources.

One of the best things about the story is that the author has no problem killing off characters which made the survival aspects important and ramped up the tension in the story. Not only are there resource issues with water, oxygen, and food being the biggest. But there are alien threats that are revealed on the planet as the crew continues to explore.

The game mechanics in the story are revealed slowly. There is an RPG interface, a unique set of stats, health, mana, reputation, magic spells, classes, and other expected game mechanics. Tying into the survival theme there’s also crafting and enchanting using resources mined or harvested from the planet. The alien interface also rewards the crew any time they do something that furthers reestablishing a living environment on Mars or anything that furthers the will of the gods.

Overall, the story was really good. The tension was palatable and the terrible consequences for foolish choices or just back luck played out well. I really enjoyed the survival aspects and the exploration of what a crew stranded on Mars would do to survive. Even though that aspect dissipates as the story progresses, it was still an entertaining story.

Score: 7.8 out of 10

Mars System Reboot

https://amzn.to/3sA72Qy

We Hunt Monsters

Keith has died twelve times.

After making a deal with a mysterious immortal, he was sent to a new world in hopes of gaining the offered reward - a chance at a better life with his family. However, Keith failed to realize that this deal did not come with an expiration date, no matter how many times he died.

After dying for the dozenth time, Keith renegotiates with the immortal. This new deal will see him sent to the world of Raiah - a world filled with monsters, cowardly monkeys, and a system of magic very similar to the fantasy roleplaying games his brother used to enjoy.

Completing a quest to hunt the most dangerous monsters on the planet, is the price Keith will need to pay to regain his old life. It’s a good thing that all of his experiences in his previous lives translate to Skills in this new one because if Keith fails this time, the price he will need to pay will be far steeper.

We Hunt Monsters is a crunchy LitRPG in an epic fantasy setting. Fans of Dakota Krout, Will Wight, and the Monster Hunter games will enjoy this new series by the bestselling author of the Rise to Omniscience and Buryoku series.

My Opinion: 395 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited

Transported to a RPG fantasy world with a Monster Hunter theme. It's an action focused story with lots of combat. The story is about a main character (MC) that has lived hundreds of years skipping through dimensions and this is his last trip. Either he kills this world's strongest monsters or it's the end. It's a setup that justifies giving the MC a significant boost to melee skills and combat experience. It’s not too OP but skips any of the beginner training that many LitRPG stories have. Instead the story is really one excuse to go from fight to fight with regular RPG leveling, new powers, and getting new gear or upgrading it using monster parts. The fights with monsters are very reminiscent of those from the Monster Hunter series and fans of that game will appreciate the connection.

Overall, it’s a good story if you’re not looking for anything too complex. There’s some decent world building but the big draw is the action/adventure in a Monster Hunter type world.

Score: 7.4 out of 10

We Hunt Monsters

https://amzn.to/3vHQ2de

Sleeping Ranker

“We’re only taking a break for about 30 seconds? I’m not imagining things, right?” “…Yes.” After 15 hours of hunting, Hyunsung asked to rest for a while, and after 30 seconds, he had to get up again and started hunting. Actually, Hyunsung has a special skill. [Thananos’ narcolepsy skill is activated.] [You’re being forced into a sleep state.] After sleeping for a while and waking up, I got an item? Pay close attention to the story of the God-Rank Class, the descendant of Thananos, the unstoppable Hyunsung.

My Opinion: 20 chapters, Free, No Official English Translator

A fairly action oriented Overpowered MMO dungeon dive story where the main character (MC) quits his job to earn a living and take care of his disabled sister by playing an MMO. The twist to this familiar trope is that the MC has a character with a super uber rare god tier class where he gains stat points as he sleeps in game, has random bouts of narcolepsy, and his character fights on autopilot as he’s asleep. It’s enough of a change that it keeps the story going and adds an interesting combination of powers with the sleeping theme.

Score: 7.6 out of 10

Sleeping Ranker

https://www.asurascans.com/comics/sleeping-ranker/

Rescue System

Kim Soohyuk, a veteran rescuer in Shinil-seo was crushed and killed during a rescue operation in a collapsing building.

Soohyuk, who thought he was dead, opened his eyes in an incident 10 years ago. [Save Everyone] He was able to save two people that he couldn’t save in the past.

As a reward, he was also given new abilities and strength. “Great. From now on, I will save the lives of those I couldn’t save in the past!”

My Opinion: 22 chapters, FREE, No official English Translator

A modern setting slice of life regressor story where a fireman dies on the job and then travels back to the beginning of his career to start his life over. Only this time he has an RPG interface that gives him quests, special firefighter related powers, and rewards his training. That plus his foreknowledge of fires and other disasters lets the main character (MC) save the lives he couldn't the first time around.

Overall, an entertaining story that adds an RPG interface to an exciting storyline.

Score: 7.6 out of 10

Rescue System

https://mm-scans.org/manga/rescue-system/

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