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System Overclocked #1

System Overclocked

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Wrench is a Fixer.

Someone born to maintain, fix, and correct any and every issue that could go wrong in the Habitat that he lives in. To make sure he and his fellow humans can remain on display and entertain their owners as any good human pet would.

Or at least that’s what he was born to be.

He’d taken a different route in his life and had joined a resistance faction to help free Humanity. To gain their freedom and become more than just pets to an alien race.

Now at the end of that life, and realizing what a waste all his effort had been, Wrench is going to find himself given a chance to go back to his youth and relive his life.

Though with two caveats.

He’s going to be granted a super-power.

A super power where he has the ability to alter anything and everything in regards to his own body.

From forcing his body to heal faster, to speeding up his perception of time so that everything runs in slow-motion.

That power came with a price tag, of course.

It came at the low cost of a favor in the distant future from the man who’d be giving him his do-over.

Accepting the deal, since being alive is far more beneficial to being dead, Wrench is thrown back into the past.

To live his life all over again.

Live it in whatever way he sees fit, whether it be rejoining the resistance, living as a Fixer and taking a leadership role, or just finding a wife and having kids.

Or utilizing his newfound super-power that lets him alter anything and everything about his own body’s systems to become something completely different.

Regardless of whatever choice he makes though, he’s got a lot of things to fix.

Good thing he’s well suited to fixing problems.

After all, most issues only needed a great deal of violence to be solved. Wrench has lots of that in his tool-box to go around.

407 pages, Paperback

Published November 28, 2022

544 people are currently reading
265 people want to read

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Randi Darren

25 books972 followers

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5 stars
757 (63%)
4 stars
260 (21%)
3 stars
118 (9%)
2 stars
40 (3%)
1 star
20 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
Profile Image for Dave Stone.
1,339 reviews96 followers
April 23, 2024
I ate it up
I'm very conflicted by Randi Darren. I love reading his books, but I hate what they say.
This guy can write a gripping story that keeps you on the edge of your seat while you swear you'll punch the author in the mouth if you ever meet him.
Anyway- this book.
Heavily inspired by La Planète sauvage 1973 (English Title: Fantastic Planet) an experimental independent adult animated science fiction art film.
Humans are pets of huge aliens who don't all treat us well, but we still don't treat each other any better.
This is a Sci-Fi / harem/ adventure /Violence / 2 or 3 sex scenes in a larger story.
And I loved it.
If you know Randi Darren you might be shocked by how tolerant - liberal it is.
But as an adventure story with some moral challenges it's pretty good.
I'd read the hell out of the next one, and I'm withholding that punch in the mouth if I meet the guy.
Profile Image for Jacob Lane.
142 reviews3 followers
November 13, 2022
Goodie is the goat

Good book blah blah blah, Good author write good book not surprising. Time to talk about what really matters

Goodie. Goodie is the best. Goodie will always be the best. Goodie needs goodies own series. Because goodiebis the best. And because goodie will always be the best
Profile Image for Sean.
136 reviews
November 17, 2022
thought provoking

This book had me considering all my actions toward basically everything. My dog, my buddies cat, my neighbor. It really brings home some issues that we ignore on a daily basis. Plus it’s a damn fine read. Action, horror, smut, and sci fi all in one.
Profile Image for Kelley.
707 reviews23 followers
December 12, 2022
humans as pet hamsters?

Not exactly what I thought I was going to read but I throughly enjoyed. The set up is pretty much humans being seen as we would see pet hamsters. Yes, it’s weird but a good read.
Profile Image for Pablo García.
854 reviews21 followers
October 27, 2023
This "fantasy" book series is where ethical values and Universal Human Rights go to die. The basic premise of this fantasy book series is that humans are enslaved to a "superior species" and used for forced work, forced breeding and forced gladiator style fighting. Is it promotion of slavery, continuous sexual assaults, and forced labor? Yes! Is this "ethically skewed"? Yes!
If extrapolated, do humans treat horses, cows, chickens, dogs, cats, etc. animals in this manner as well?? Yes!
If you can overcome the continuous sexual assaults, the intense sexual descriptions, and the idea of "breeding" humans as if they were farm animals/Breed Horses, etc. then the story seems organized and even though it's another "reset"/second chance at life (undo the wrongs of first life) book series, this main character, doesn't really stop slavery, undo all the wrongs, create a legal system to stop all of these crimes, and just benefits, creating his own team of humans, his own harem of enslaved women that were used for "breeding", etc.
So, yes, I think author and story has little to no Emotional Intelligence as well. The cover, doesn't really have any relation to the story itself. There are no maps inside, no inside illustrations, no character summaries, there is world building with geopolitical, economic, social system descriptions of this "alternate reality world where humans are treated as slave/pets". A kind of Planet of the Apes, but with "aliens" that aren't humanoid.
Profile Image for Dannan Tavona.
957 reviews10 followers
December 6, 2022
Interesting story

Alternate shared universe, aliens, harem adult situations

Wrench is the name of the MC; he's a Fixer, one who repairs or maintains habitat (aka Habs), for humans to live in. The main alien race is known as the Tongsta, and they are much larger than humans (Humes). Great and very different story where humans are pets; I kept thinking of hamster habitrails.

Fun, and the author pokes fun at some other famous names. I still hate cliffhangers. Ready for the next book in the series!
3 reviews
November 19, 2022
Not what I expected.

Extremely light on the gamelit/litrpg while reading like an incel's harem fantasy.

I finished it so you don't have to.
Profile Image for Jake.
248 reviews7 followers
December 31, 2022
I liked it more than I should have

What an interesting idea for a story.

Imagine if humans were like fish. We're pets. Larger, more technically advanced aliens are watching us, and we have to live an environment that suits us but not our owners. Some owners have nice tanks with lots of amenities. Others do not. Some owners forget to feed their pets. Some make it a point to show off their tanks. Some fish only do well in schools while others only do well if they're the only of their type.
Now also mash in the idea that we're like hamsters. We live in little pens. If we're cute, and interact with our owners, we get more furniture and toys.
Now throw in some selective breeding, pedigree bragging, and even fighting events like dogs.
And for the cherry on top, remember that we're still humans. We're sentient and can communicate.

That is the world of System Overclocked. I thought it was great. Our MC is a little selfish and self-centered, but you might be too if you'd lived a full life but went back to your younger self with all that experience. Would you still pursue the same career? The same spouse? Would you still volunteer to fight in that war knowing that it ultimately amounted to nothing? "If I knew then what I know now..."

I was honestly surprised by the number of spelling and grammatical mistakes in this book. Read plenty of other titles by this author and I'm not used to seeing so many. Probably two stars worth of damage with that .
The MC was kind of a jerk. A bit brutish, not a lot of thinking sometimes, I could see why some people wouldn't like him or the decisions he made. Still, not having a perfect MC makes for an interesting story. Sometimes. I was very glad he wasn't trying to bang every female he encountered. Those situations get old fast.

While there was enough to lower the score further than it is, I really liked the story. As the title says, I think I liked it more than I should have. The MC wasn't perfect, not necessarily in the best way. There were a surprising number of errors, which irked me. But I really, really love the world the author built here. That's what's going to keep me coming back.
6 reviews
July 20, 2025
Interesting Concept, but Lacks Basic Character Grounding

The world and premise of System Overclocked are genuinely interesting, and I can see why others are drawn in. But I couldn’t get past a major issue: I have no idea what Wrench—the main character—is. He’s called a “Fixer,” but the book never explains what that means in terms of species, body type, if he's a robot, nothing. There’s no physical description, no visual anchor—just a list of things he does.

That disconnect became especially jarring when the story introduced sex scenes. Wrench is shown having sex, but without knowing what he even looks like, it was impossible to picture or connect with what was happening. It felt abstract and disorienting.

I kept waiting for the story to offer some basic grounding in who or what I was following, but it never did—not in the first few chapters. If that gets clarified later, great—but I personally couldn’t keep going without a clearer sense of the protagonist. Knowing what a character does isn’t enough if I can’t even imagine what they are.
24 reviews1 follower
Read
November 14, 2022
Scratching that sci-fi itch.

Gotta say I was not sure what to make of the premise to this one, but as a fan Williams work I dug in with gusto. I was not disappointed! While everything in the sovereign-verse is technically sci-fi in the overall sense, System Overclocked is more in that category than any of his previous books. Dropping right into Hume being pets to giant space blobs, and keeping them in Habs. It reminded me of old Anne McCaffrey books, and gave me a sense of nostalgia in the humans fighting for whatever they can get, but living day to day in captivity stories she used to write.

I can not wait for the rest of the series and hope it goes far beyond his standard 3 book plan.
583 reviews
December 2, 2022
Another good series start

Really wondering when William will start tying up all the various series into ‘the main story’ this is another offshoot he has started, less cross-over than most of the other books, but I expect Book 2 & 3 will increase the interaction between this ‘world/universe’ and others in his overall universe. Interesting take on humans as an aliens pets, where they are unsure of human sentience. Plenty of violent action and a few sex scenes has the MC called Wrench, and the other ‘human’ characters all with simple descriptive names ‘Stripes’, ‘Seven’, ‘Lovely’ etc. involved in an interesting story with a ‘rewind’ style start. An enjoyable read, waiting to read more.
71 reviews2 followers
February 23, 2023
System truly over locked.

This was a great start to a new series. I'm not sure how this will have anything to do with his universe but knowing the author all you can and need to do is buckle up and wait the writing was smooth and very well paced. this author has little patience with the padding and keeps his writing lean yet still meaty with the important parts. there is little to no unneeded and for my eyes unwanted filter the sole issue is at times I feel like the author is in a identity crisis sometimes this book feels like a Randi Darren for the most part this feels like a William d arrand either way a amazing start and great book overall I enjoyed it although my heart lies with the randi Darren side onward and all that
Profile Image for Devan.
618 reviews20 followers
February 25, 2023
pet humans?

I had no idea this was a story about the intricacies of humans being pets in a distant future. Odd as it was I found myself enjoying the story.

Wish the author had delved into the inner workings of Wrench’s powers and explored those further. Unfortunately it mostly consisted of Wrench “turning on” his power upgrades when a fight was imminent.

I can see how some people might think of Wrench’s persistent loneliness as distracting to the story, but I thought it gave it depth. Have to remember the MC is essentially an old man in a young body due to him going back in time. At this point he has shopped around aplenty and is looking for a more fulfilling relationship.

Not a bad book overall. Super curious what direction this story is going to take in book 2?
649 reviews9 followers
March 1, 2023
another creative work by Randi Darren

The situation of humes as pets of an advanced and physically imposing race of aliens is quite interesting. The MC’s unknown benefactor provides him with the overclock ability which he uses to take over his habitat, to the chagrin of the overlords. Yet he comes out on top through a combination of ruthlessness, technical knowledge, a software update for his implant, empathy and of course the overclock ability.

As this story seems to be set outside the interconnected universe of the authors other works, lm not as invested in it. However, it is interesting and a good read. I look forward to more as the MC and his main hume allies now find themselves in a new environment.

Yup, its a cliffhanger.
Profile Image for John E.
689 reviews2 followers
February 11, 2023
Crazy sci to fun

Really a 4 star story but very close to 4.5. This wild tale has partial elements of litpg and harem but both are fairly minimum. Overall, this is a sci fi story where humans are treated as unthinking pets by another species. When reading the book, I couldn't help but think of the humans as being in fancy gerbil cages. The MC is likable and so are many of the females in his life. Cages, gladiator changes, space pirates and more really bring this crazy future to life.
Profile Image for Kevin.
1,710 reviews30 followers
August 6, 2023
I really hope this isn't some re-skinning of the author's other characters. Every book has almost the same characters with the same traits, their appearance and names are just different.

This was pretty funny.

Didn't enjoy it much, but willing to read the sequel. The same female archetypes the author uses in his other books are here, sadly.

2.5/5 Stars
Profile Image for Dark Ape.
259 reviews9 followers
November 12, 2022
A big Arand and Darren fan, so I immediately chose to read this when I found it came out. Result? I was up until 6am because I couldn't put it down and loved every second of it! Honestly, the stories are so good, that even fade-to-black sex scenes in this one wouldn't detract from my interest as I was enthralled and someone disappointed that I couldn't start the next books immediately after finishing it despite the hour.

A great read!
380 reviews2 followers
November 12, 2022
Excellent

Awesome start to a new series set in a new universe and a refreshing change of pace aliens and space plus being kept as a pet, something different there is not to say fighting loving and sexy times but also a great story about how we view pets and if a highly intelligent alien found our species but could not interact with us would we be viewed the same doing tricks for food and shelter.
I need book 2 now as this was just awesomeness.
Profile Image for Steve.
1,599 reviews60 followers
November 13, 2022
I've been disappointed by the last few Arand/Darren books as he works to reboot his Runnerverse. Most of those problems have been mitigated or overcome by this new series/perspective.

This gets a 4 as even if it's better than the last SSoSH and WW books, it still isn't at the level of the things that I've read lately which deserved even a 4.5 let alone a 5. I do look forward to where this goes, so it was an interesting, as opposed to "meh" 4.
Profile Image for Robert Baucom.
87 reviews2 followers
May 20, 2023
Hilarious

His first anti harem book?
I love all of the name dropping of his other characters from other books and how he mocks them for their actions and responses and for having harems. It's an very interesting read, as what would it be like to be a cat or die or a pet to an alien. And had a small amount of time travel in it at the beginning of it. The concept and world building is well thought out. I'm looking forward to book 2,
Profile Image for tester.
312 reviews1 follower
August 14, 2024
Humans are kept as pets by the pink aliens from mass effect, MC has super powers for some reason, no one else does? At first I was going to chuck it in the pile of other wish fufilmentstories, but the mc spends the later half of the book seeking a fulfilling relationship, instead of the more shallow ones you typically get in this sort of setting. Though the ‘studding’ was extremely cringe, and only get worse in the second book.
2,499 reviews69 followers
November 16, 2022
This lacks direction.

Even for a set up book, this drifts around A LOT. The best Arrand books have a driven MC. Whether that is primal instinct, a need to survive, revenge, or just fixing everything, this is what gives the series it's direction. This just wanders around aimlessly. The side characters lack any real depth, they all just feel empty and pointless.
58 reviews
March 7, 2023
nonsense word salad

Read like a first draft word salad where everything is a simple, base thought, first draft of the author with no further refinement. May honestly be one of the dumbest characters I’ve ever read, and I read a lot of xanxia. Feels like another low effort book that this author has been pumping out recently.
155 reviews
November 12, 2022
Haha

So much fun, the perspective, the lingo, the references.
Excellent sci-fi, had a Heinlein short-story sense to it. That might be due to the idea that as a Darren book goes, it was pretty tame.
4 reviews
November 14, 2022
Please say there is going to be more....

I am seriously hooked on this story and look forward to where it goes from here and how it fits into the universe of stories from, honestly ,my favorite author hands down.
Profile Image for Eric Bertone.
285 reviews1 follower
November 14, 2022
A fun twist from Slaughterhouse 5

Wasn't sure what to expect from this, but it was a really fun read. Extremely refreshing with a completely new setting and dynamic I would never have thought of. Highly recommend.
31 reviews1 follower
November 15, 2022
Damn what an awesome book.

Huge fan of Randi! I have read every book of his and this one will knock your socks off. If your thinking about it enough to read these reviews….DO IT you wo t be sorry.
550 reviews3 followers
November 17, 2022
Awesome new series

I like that this is a sci-fi series. And the concept of humans as pets to an alien race is pretty cool and original. I hope the Grae get more time in the next book. Though I wish the main character would expand his harem
93 reviews2 followers
November 20, 2022
Loved it

It is a bit strange at first but as it went on it was better and better. I really like the direction it's going and I can't wait for wrench to kick some more butt. Really looking forward to book two.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews

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