Zane's become a regional powerhouse. Now he’ll see how he stacks up against the best in the world.
He’s off to an elite summit where he’ll face off against the strongest fighters the world has to offer. A wealth of resources is up for grabs—if you’ve got the strength to seize them. It’ll push Zane to his very limits.
Meanwhile Mike Masters, the mafia ruler of Southern California, has learned Zane’s been killing off his minions—and he’s coming for vengeance. And Zane's estranged brother Jason, king of the East Coast, has a bone to pick with him too.
To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. And Zane will rise to the challenge.
What I mean by that is he never lost a fight in these books never lost a loved one, to the hordes of monster. All he does is fight in very straight forward style. I can’t beat them? I just need to hit harder, no suspense to the fights or the book, I know when he’s down he’ll get back up, you could literally skip four chapters and not missing anything about the story line. Just training and fighting no sub plots. And don’t get me started on how his relationships with his girl is, just horrible.
Is what it is.. I think the story could be tighter as a whole; that said, I enjoyed it even with its somewhat lacking tension due to where the plot is at the moment. In book one, there was some due to faction stuff and the possibility of some sneaky plotting by other characters, but it was all handled. Here in book two, it feels more like a buildup for book three.
There's at times a tendency toward rambling verbose word garbage where fight sequences are drawn out somewhat interminably, with the reader being left to wonder at the passage of time.. I'd say it seemed like the MC paused the fight to have a long drawn out description of recovering from taking a hit from some boss monster, as if it was a turn based e-game or one with a speed up, down, and paus slider, sigh.
It gets very noticeable in the S-Rank Dungeon.. during which I fell asleep several times due to said aspect of the storytelling. Level two of the dungeon was especially snore inducing. What's worse though is how the fights all to often made limited sense. Everything just seemed exacerbate during the S-Rank Dungeon part of the story due to its type/setting: Water.. as in that, most of the time, the characters are supposed to be swimming around in the depths of the Mariana Trench but the author isn't very good at describing the dimensionality of this setting nor the interactions of very large monsters (size, volume) and the comparably small characters. A great example of this is how characters kept "running closer" while under water where - you know - swimming.. Maybe the author could have used dashing closer instead and varying that with something similar. Also talking while not in talking distance, again spatial issue, oh yeah and while under water.
I also found the scaling of the power aspects of the story rather suspect at times same with the skill usage/non usage and XP-leveling gain. Just inconsistent and poorly handled.. often for the addition of drama. Then there is the mentions of Zane's Blood Line.. which is just confusing the way its repeatedly mentioned. As far as I know the MC has no specified "Blood Line", (as so often used in similar stories) he has body conditioning/cultivation based on iron/steel which is later on subsumed when Zane acquires a drop of blood from a Godbeast Rhinoceros from the wider Universe. A drop infused with its defensive aspects, along with a sort of manual for its use. So the author saying he's burning his bloodline over and over is just odd especially since he's not really doing any burning of his blood but at most super-charging his body with Essence,.. which is supposed to be the equivalent of mana in this setting.
The audiobook isn't great either, its a 3/5 at best. Far to many errors slip through with the narrator reading/repeating obvious text errors along with what I consider pronunciation and enunciation errors.
Most of this review also works for book one. I think the story telling is a bit slapdash quality wise in the manner of a modern day penny dreadful but still entertaining. Even though I originally considered this a 3 with how it flowed from book one I found by the end of this the second book, that it didn't really deserve more than a 2+/5 rating. Rounding down for the latter half.
Zane's remarkable exploits & journey are incredibly imaginative & exciting.
This author has managed to create & build a fantastical world crisis for Earth, featuring our extraordinary MMC Zane Walker, who not only successfully rises to handle crazy, mind blowing situations, but overcomes situational as well as deadly threats from monsters and the crumbling of humanity with rational calm, incredible inner resolve and exceptional strength. One cannot help but root for Zane in spite of his seemingly uninspiring personality, mostly because he subconsciously projects absolute confidence, a masterful aura, & strength without any ego or ulterior motives. He is exactly what everyone senses he is: dependable, strong, & instinctively protective with hidden potential no one could ascertain. Except Reina.
I've got reservations about her, even though she's so gone for Zane from the moment she ran into him that you can t we all she won't purposely hurt him. How their "relationship" evolves is calculated and rather single minded on her part - she got him dependent, reliant, and so used to her, it was easy to use her beauty & charms to get him to cave. He hadn't a prayer, despite very much enjoying her and how she took such care of him (which he's lacked in his very short life up to their meeting). Much of their interactions have evolved from him eventually getting used to her persistence in "handling" all his business, taking personal care to see to his professional as well as personal & skills/levels development needs. Pretty clever, especially since Zane was oblivious to her as a girlfriend from the start, and probably never would've crossed ones with her. But, he's happy. I just didn't care for their method of "leveling up" just to boost Reina's powers. Just, yuck.
Otherwise, this is a wonderful powerhouse of a series. Insightful, intriguing, inventive, irresistible. Four & a half stars (yup, deducted for the Reina angle - I think they could've been romantically together without her being so needy over him, which perilously got gushy in places). I do recommend this author's books, however. Brilliant world, character, event building and detailing. Also, the organization of all the players, events, stats is amazing! Kudos.
3.5 stars Recap: Zane goes dungeon spelunking, and on his way, he's accosted by the demonic sect members. He thoroughly thrashes them and gains their heritage and gains a healing art. He witnesses an attack on Vanessa (ice princess), and Javier from Tomb King faction tries to kill him as well. He, of course, kills him and daves Vanessa. He later wants to enter another dungeon, which is blocked by Tomb King members, whom Zane kills to gain entrance. He takes Evan under his wing. They witness the Treant kill a Marquis. Zane and Evan defeat the treant. He brings back Evan to his faction. Zane and Evan go to VGI and he breaks all kind of breakthroughs and records. Tomb Kings find out about Zane and they come to VGI to kill him. Zane being the PROTAGONIST takes 5 minutes out of his busy schedule and kills off the Tomb Kings. Jason, Zane's elder brother, who's Oz portrayed as big bad wolf, who APPARENTLY traumatized Zane growing up (fucking utterly pointless and stupid backstory, which I think author just threw in there to be different than Jake and Caleb from Primal Hunter utterly pointless) has a pointless match to prove Zane is OP AF. OH RIGHT forgot they had a wager for the S Rank dungeon *EYE ROLL*. The EUROPEAN A Team is clearing up ASIAN S Rank dungeon? What happened to the ASIAN team? So the biggest continent with the highest population doesn’t produce their own A TEAM?? Anyway the Himalayan S Rank turns out the Super Dungeon and European team gets wiped out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Wow! Soooooooo good! Add this pulse-pounding litRPG action adventure to your library at once! Zane is determined to break through the bottleneck that's been holding him back at level 99. If only he can push his level to 100 he knows great things will be happening. And once completed he'll be able to dive A grade dungeons and eventually move onto the mythic S graders! Well it's Zane we're talkin about, so you better believe he levels! And he's ready to raise his comprehension to understand the Laws that benefit him most. Again we're talkin Zane and he not willing to except just a single minor Law, more about 6 minors then combining those into 2 major Laws. But before those dungeons are all tackled. The time has finally come to meet his brother in a battle arena fight, touted as the fight of the century!!! Find out what happens when you grab the book! Because I'm dying to read the next book I quickly downloaded it!
A fun read and the main character is no genius, he’s tough, he’s strong, and he never stops getting back up
Zane is simply put, a brute. He is tougher than nails, takes a beating and just gets more fired up. He lives for the fight, the visceral feeling of life on the edge, his strength versus everything the universe can throw at him. All he wants is a good strong challenge, but so far not much manages to challenge him for long. As the world’s strongest fighters work to clear the remaining dungeons, Zane is pushing for level 200 and core formation. He crushes A rank dungeons alone already and the S rank is next on his list to challenge. With his team of Reina, Avery, and Evan, all have been working hard to catch up to his level, they plan to take on the S rank dungeon. Although his brother may have something to say…
I liked about 20% of the book, and the rest of it was all right. To be clear, I think that the author is a fantastic writer. I was only talking about my personal preference. The off world stuff I think it's going to interest me a lot more. By the end of the book, we're dealing with the last challenges on Earth. I'm not sure if the sequel to this entry will do exclusively with that or if it will just be a handful of chapters at the beginning before we move on. I am a little disappointed in the ending of this book because of a character death that I was hoping to see developed and learn more about. I understand that books three and four are already out, with only three having received the audio treatment as of the date of this review. I also believe that the author has a patreon and the should be somewhere in book five.
This is a lot like “I Shall Seal the Heavens” in that it’s just up up up up. However, Meng Hao did face some challenges, death of people he cares about etc. I keep waiting for that extra challenge or struggle or character development. Honestly I was waiting/hoping Reina would get knocked off and we could watch Zane grieve/ morphe and go through moving on/ getting stronger.
But alas, no. It’s just Boom boom, Smash Smash. Leave up , leave up, look at how strong he is, look at how all the ladies love him, look at the size of his soul.
Too bad because the plot could be interesting, but it feels like the story is as easy as Zane one-shooting a B+ ranked dungeon that it’s boring.
This is the second book in a fantasy LitRPG series with a system apocalypse set on Earth. Zane and friends meet at a convention of sorts for networking and cultivation. Then they go after a dungeon or two. I liked that the hero rankings turn into a sport with newscasters and fans covering their favorite heroes. In most system apocalypse books that I read things aren't going well enough for that to be a thing. This book does end with more of a cliffhanger than the first book but I liked it and it made me want to jump straight to the next book.
I still have minor issues with various things built into the system and with Zane's rapid growth but I'm enjoying the series and will be continuing to the next book.
I enjoyed this book and I enjoyed the MC. Yes he’s a little bit on the spectrum but he cares for his friends and associates. all the characters are likable and friendly and you want to root for them especially the MC. this book is fresh air. from other books I have read recently. In those books, the MC and other characters are looking out for themselves, self centric, and backstabbing, willing to sacrifice other characters lives so they can succeed. this book is great. I’ve enjoyed it so much. I am reading additional chapters on Patreon, read this book. I think you will enjoy it as well.
Great story. Book two is just as good or better an addition to the series!
Really enjoyed this book. Love the main character in The supporting cast. It's very readable with good pacing and a fun storyline. A lot of the book is progression of the character but the author makes it fun and interesting and keeps enough world building action going to not get bored. Can't wait for book three!
There’re books like 7 course meals that engage your whole being. Attracting attention with the presentation, environment, smell and taste. This book isn’t that. It’s a great big hunk of steak charred perfectly and cooked medium rare with creamy mashed potatoes on the side. Full of action, an overpowered protagonist and side characters fleshed out enough to highlight the MC perfectly.
Zane just keeps getting better at smashing things. Reina is his brains, without her, he wouldn't balance as a character. He has interesting friends and a psychotic brother. The book is one adventure after another. It's well written and just fun. I really need the next book. The withdrawal is harsh, and I'm impatient. 😔 😟 😖
Bruh I don’t wanna ruin it for you guys but in my opinion this was dope. The first book was good but I didn’t even look at the next in the series cuz I thought it wasn’t worth it. This one is a whole ‘nother level. One critique is that the power scaling did vary from time to time slightly and he didn’t use his sage mind ability to its max potential but everything else was dope. Also the ending is awesome.
I love this series. This book is no exception. The MC is both obtuse and genius but just a good guy. He just wants to be the strongest and protect his few friends. Fortunately he is a law savant with mega humongous soul to help him get there. Unfortunately now the wait until the next book.
This saga is just amazing, the characters, battle sequences, relationships, character development and above all the pure mountain of awesomeness that is Zane makes this and incredibly enjoyable read I just can't get enough of it, I'm about to star book 3 right now!
The series is still early in it's development but my interest is peaked.
It isn't often in series like this where they will kill off characters. While it wasn't a main character, it felt like we got to know this person and there was a possible love interest there.
If they bring her back, I'll be upset.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Fast paced and full of heart this series is simply spectacular. Each new step forward is entirely necessary for our savage sage and the luminous faction as they continue to improve and fight through the dungeons up to clearing S rank.
This story just keeps getting better and I'm starting the next book right now.
savage awakening is what it is. it's like those 80s movies where the guys walking around in space with a loin cloth and wrecking everything with his sword or bare hands. it is what it is. full meat head. Although hes not currently in space it feels like a space opera mix with cultvation and im here for it.
This is truly a superb story with lots of building suspense. I won't spoil the plot for you, just read them both. I hate waiting for the next book though. Hurry up please.
Nice!! Very excited for the next book, I will say I did not expect that ending. I do wonder where the story will go after the next book there hasn't really been a set path yet which is also very exciting. What will the galaxies hold.
Absolutely fantastic story. Love the characters and the world building. The mix of tropes and the peeks at the greater universe. Overall just a glorious story with a main character you like and want to read more of.
Another fun entry into this series. The action is nonstop but the author does a great job keeping things moving without spending way too much time in any one scene. Excited for the next.
An excellent second book. This series is quickly becoming one of my favorite. In fact I would put it in my top five. I am very much looking forward to the next book in this series.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an OP MC. It is well thought out, and really scratches that itch. The pacing is fantastic, and the stakes are believable. I haven't enjoyed a book like this in a while.
I am so happy I decided to give Savage Awakening a try. I have read so many apocalypse, wuxia, litrpg progression books that I decided to give myself a break from this genre but this is a great progression story. Please keep writing Adastra339!
This book had me captivated, captured in the excitement and experience that is Zane mutherfucking walker. Great book, can’t wait for the next…. Actually I…I gotta go lol
If you love a good OP character from time to time this is one of the better ones that I have read in a while. I can't wait for the next book in this series to come out.