Meanwhile, Constantine Lancaster is impressed, and makes an unexpected decision that alters the course of human history. As Micheal races to meet up with Sophia and Shin at the the Soul King's Inheritance, tensions begin to rise across the Second Layer. Old enemies and friends alike must work together as they face off against the World's Strongest in a catastrophic battle that will decide the fate of the Second Layer. And then... it happened. The unthinkable. Micheal finds himself face to face with the worst case scenario.
...
"When fighting against Gods, there's really only one piece of advice I can offer."
There are a lot of short declarative statements. Pages of paragraphs that are single short statements. It’s done for emphasis, but it’s overused to the point of farce.
There is also an unsupportable amount of repetition. Repetition is fine when single chapters are being released. But this was only released that way on Patreon. This needs to be a tighter narrative.
It’s hard to recommend this series. Some fascinatingly imaginative ideas coupled with weak writing. I struggled to keep in the ‘flow’ more than I like in books I recommend.
I will likely continue the series. A bit of ‘sunk cost’ but also I do enjoy it.
I'm still enjoying this series but it is getting overly complicated with so many characters to keep track of. The fact that all the god-level individuals seem hell-bent on genocide is a little strange but it's going to be fun to see them defeated.
If it were me trying to save the world by replaying the past, I'd try to empower the whole of humanity, rather than take on every obstacle directly. In fact, I'd immediately try to get the puppet master guy on side, since our goals seem to align. If he changed his methodology, great things could be achieved without the moral cost.
I enjoyed this book though I must admit there are some issues. The good news is that they are the same issues that the previous books had. It has been 2 years since the last book came out. I was excited when I saw there was a new addition to the series. Once I started reading again, the same feelings came back. I kept thinking that is was good but could be so much better. The author set up rules for the world that were pretty involved. The annoying part for me was the author then immediately broke those rules. Each person got a certain amount of points when they arrived in the world. There was also a cap on the number of points a person could have on each level. The author made it a point to always describe how many points a skill or artifact cost and a lot of the time it was more expensive than anyone should have been able to afford. I do like the contrast with Michael. He seems all knowing and very powerful but is surrounded by people who are much more talented than he is. I like the training and action scenes. It does get little repetitive with the dialogue. Overall though it was a good addition to the series.
The amount of rambling about the same thing in this book is ridiculous. I know this is a web novel turned into a book but some effort could have been made to trim the redundant passages.
This was a nice read. Tied up the story, propelled our protagonists forward. Power creep was DEFINITELY a problem, but I think it was handled well- a product of the setting, not the writer, if that makes sense.
The biggest issues were- this felt unpolished. The plot was enticing, the rising action riveting. But descriptive details was lacking throughout. I would have liked to see more adjectives than ‘veritable(it’s meaningless to most, nondescript for the rest)’, “you’re a monster(completely overused- and meaningless; it is used to describe strength, amorality, potential, and more, to the point it becomes utterly unquantifiable) Examples abound in the story. However, this was a long read and I ultimately really enjoyed it! Most of these notes are for the author- it felt like you were rushed in the creative process, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you did a reupload, like with book 3.
Enjoyable overall, but definitely showing weaknesses.
It had been so long since I did a reread of the series that I had honestly forgotten the way that the author writes somewhat. I enjoyed the story for the cool ideas presented, and the as always nifty world building. However the prose is a little painful to read. And there are a couple of chapters/places where there are editorial notes that got left in by accident. Go in expecting some flaws and weaknesses and enjoy the continued shonen inspired feel.
Reborn Apocalypse has long been a standout for me. It's one of the few in my top 10 that held its place strictly out of how good its first volume was. The promise was so great here, and so novel and captivating, that it held on as a near perfect example of what I wanted from this genre despite having only a taste of what was to come. And that anomaly went on for years.
Normally, that's far from enough. What's great about Harry Potter wasn't that first book - there were dozens of almost identical fantasy school series I read as a child. It was that the promise made in that first novel was carried through to the end with excellence! I can't count the number of generic fantasy school novels I read as a kid that just petered out into nothing, or rushed the ending to some premature unsatisfying conclusion, rendering the entire read relatively forgettable.
As a result, my current top 10 list is almost all MASSIVE Sprawling epic that are a thousand chapters long, where the epic journey promised in the beginning is fulfilled.
But then there was Reborn Apocalypse - a series that faltered and struggled to keep going for awhile and I left it building up chapters for several years!
I finally returned and HOLY MOLEY! It solidified its place in my top 10 after finishing books 2-4. This is SOOOOO good! The 7 layers and the vast array of powers and abilities ARE AMAZING! It feels endless! The characters are fabulous! The battles are exciting! The humor is entertaining!
AHHHH sooooooo happy to have this series! <3 What a journey!
Finally the 4th installment in my absolute favorite Apocalypse series has been released and it was a BANGER!!! Man so much happens in this book and I just loved everything about it. So many twists and turns. This is even better than the last installment. I truly love seeing how everyone around Michael grows and is forced to step up to the plate when the chips are down.
Without spoilers we get to finally learn a bit more about: (The Vile King). The author is really making the time traveling aspect grow organically, which many others fail to do in this genre so big props for that. It has been down right clairvoyant at many times in the other books. But as more time goes by, so does the timeline and the rest you will have to read the book to find out about. Also finally we are finding out more about the 7 tribes of Detiy's.
This book has great plot pace it's full of amazing action packed situations and emotional moments. The author seems to have learned to stop using Sword energy, Master tier Sword Energy and Grand Master tier Sword Energy every 5 minutes which is a huge improvement and growth from the author.
Usually, an author becomes more skilled over time. That does not appear to be the case here. I was stopped cold over 4 times recounting his contradictions. One example is when the MC says The Gates can only be used once because it would identify them as non-Wraith and bar then entry again. Later the MC muses in his mind that The Gates can only be used once because that is their primary programmed function. It feels like this story has been cut up and edited then put together atrociously. Halfway in the story I had to force myself to finish because I enjoyed the series as a whole. Dissapointed in this work and his predatory Patreon costs 5x more for the same amount of chapters as other, better, authors. Such as writers of He WhoFights Monsters and Primal Hunter.
This book improves significantly on the previous two in every way. It is not without its faults, but it is so much more readable; the plot isn't anywhere near as pointlessly convoluted, there are fewer internal contradictions, and I just really enjoyed the story it told.
That said, there is still too much repetition and lack of structure. I also think the author does himself a disservice by insisting on over-specifying timings on things. Telling us something happens at 0.1 seconds, and the next thing at 0.2 seconds breaks you out of the flow of the events because it immediately sounds unbelievable, whereas just giving us much more non-specific timings allows us to understand the sequence of events without engaging our sense of disbelief.
I do find myself looking forward to the next book now, something that hadn't been the case for the past two books.
We finally get another entry to this series after a long hiatus. The premise of this story got me hooked initially. I found tower climbing to be quite boring and linear, but the twist put on it by Kerr here has kept me interested. It’s not a perfect story, and there have been a few iterations of the books already but I hope we get to see the conclusion of this story. If I could praise anything it would be the challenge set up by the Vile King, the Deities, and the solutions Michael comes up with. Consequently the character development is lacking for most characters. I don’t feel like I know anyone well aside from Michael and Prime.
Been wondering if this instalment would ever come around. Really happy to return to this world. Has been a long time though and I am not sure if the writing changed or I did. It is a slow read and honestly at this point they spend too much time in Michael's head considering how little we tend to know about his plans.
There could definitely be some serious editing done to this to cut out some fluff without negatively affecting the flow of the book. Either that or give a little payoff in exchange for spending so much time in people's headspace. Most of the time it is just treading water over things we knew about the character back in book one.
the plot and intricacies of the storyline really only got better, that part was definitely smashed out of the park by the author. one thing that irked me through all the books was how all description was written in the Same Exact Structure. The same freaking independent clause followed by a dependent clause separated by a comma. Kerr, if you are reading this, I really want you to try reading new books from different genres. A simple and short, but no doubt impactful, read that would help is 'Almond' by Son won Pyeong. I love your work and I believe you can and will craft masterpieces in the future if you keep going. This has definitely been the best work in the series without a doubt.
I have been waiting years for this book lol. And it finally came out. I was not disappointed. I will say, this one read like it was being released in chapter form because of the repeated descriptions of characters and abilities. But, it's also a long book, so I appreciated the reminders. The pacing was a bit slow at first, which is understandable. Oh, I would have also liked a refresher at the beginning to remind me where we left off. Still a great read and I am really looking forward to the next one!
I love this series and I hope it gets fully completed, cool concept enemies and abilities. Only downside is there's always some section that's like 20% of the book where no progress is made in the story it's just exposition/ability details which is important but also just makes things drag a bit and really hinders how far things can progress in each book. Just my 2 cents less training/ability description and more character interaction and it would be perfect for me.
Don’t you hate fake positive reviews? I swear those reviews are so general you can place them anywhere on Amazon. Let me say that this book doesn’t disappoint. I’ve been following LM Kerr when he first started writing on Royal Road. The way he writes makes me feel so connected with the MC. The story is written so well the action sequences is a movie you can watch over and over again. That last battle was awesome and the book didn’t end in a cliffhanger (which I am grateful for)!
Summary: After some much needed preparation, Michael and the gang head out to ruin some disasters.
My notes: So far this author has made each layer two separate books. I like this formula but by doing this, the author is prolonging parts of these books for the sake of making the two books make sense. Because of this dynamic, as seen in my ratings, the books go from good to better because the books follow a progression path that starts with Michael being his weakest to strongest linearly.
This book was a long time coming and, fortunately, it did not disappoint. Great pacing and really interesting new branches from the original timeline are explored here. My only (small) complaint was that I would have liked to see a little more of Sophia and Shin here. It could have been a little longer with more of their stories shared. Still, incredible book and well worth your time.
What happens when you take a shotgun to the butterfly effect?
The newest book in the Wuxia series gives you a glimpse of what might happen. Unexpected consequences have reared their mighty heads and roared. As things go from better to worse and back again as the tidal wave of changes continues. Can Michael pick up the pieces or did he FUBAR it once and for all. New enemies, allies, and revelations await.
I particularly enjoy this type of setting series. There is always a sense of the unknown and mysterious horizons. The conflict is ever growing and evolving just like the main character. Unlike a lot of the litrpg stories Michael doesn't seem to become too overpowered as the challenges seem to be exponentially more powerful as the storyline progresses.
I had given up on this book ever coming out but was pleasantly surprised when it did. I must say Wiz knocked it out of the park! The characters developed well, new skill sets were learned, and the final fight was great! While there can be some repetition that is annoying, this can be expected with books that come from Patreon. I just really hope we don’t have to wait as long for book 5.
The Shoke series is absolutely stupendous although between a revision of the third book and quite a few years in the making of the fourth book I almost gave up in this writer altogether. Has writing is top notch however and i love the scope it this series with dark choices and consequences for your actions. Can't miss with all four books. Please don't take years to release the next book PLEASE
This book had really good fight scenes and a couple of really good plot twists. The character development, especially for the character foils, is sporadic and lacks real depth. Additionally, the plot jumps around quite a bit, never focusing on sub_plots enough to really give them meaning. It leaves behind a book that is dynamic, but overall lacks focus. Don't get me wrong, I'll definitely read the next one, just hope it tightens up a little.
Was a little lost in the beginning as I tried to remember and catch up with previous books. After that, this series charm and unique approach to cultivation remains interesting, and plot twists.around the main character, keeping the reader guessing even with the advance knowledge were provided with.
Overall a great read. Hope the author adds a summary of previous books in the next book.
This was definitely an improvement from book 3 though not as good as one or two. At the rate they're coming out. I don't really see how 14 books is sustainable, but I guess time will tell. Overall, I enjoyed the book and there was some nice unexpected twists but I fear we're getting too close to the point where the story is. Just a list of the protagonist new stats.
And worth the wait. The entire book created a tense atmosphere with an unescapable sense of anticipation. I repeatedly had to stop myself from skipping ahead as the anticipation was killing me. Outstanding book 4. One of the best LitRPG series and The best regressive story by miles.
The story continues at a break neck speed micheal hoping that he can succeed in time to save humanity from the great war of the second layer every minute pressing on him. A solid book in the continuation of what I hope to be a long series could not put the book down till I was done. Marvelously done thank you very much for your work.
It’s been a while since I read the last volume of the series, so it took a few chapters before I reconnected with this world, but, once I did, it drew me in all over again. Excellent writing, with a few errors in the early chapters. Definitely worth reading! I’m looking forward to the next installment with bated breath!