Warbreaker's Rise

The Connected System series #1

by Troy Osgood, J.S. Arquin (Narrator)

The Connected System has come to Earth, bringing with it the apocalypse...

In an instant, life as it was known is gone, replaced by a System called The Connection. It doesn't come quietly as earthquakes rock the planet, the chosen survivors falling unconscious as the Connection takes their bodies and Adapts them.

Lochlan Brady and his family were on their way home from a camping weekend when the Connection appears. He awakens with a new Adapted body, finding his wife missing. Now Loch must survive and thrive in this new world with his two teenage daughters, Harper and Piper. All Loch wants to do is protect his daughters and find his wife.

A chance encounter with creatures straight out of myth will force the family to quickly confront the reality of their new lives, the changed world and give Loch a jump in power. But with that power will come responsibility and more danger.

Along with the attention of some of the most powerful beings in The Connected System.

Genres: Fantasy, Apocalyptic, Audiobook, Post Apocalyptic, Magic

20 pages, Audible Audio

First published March 5, 2024

About the author

Born and raised in the granite state of New Hampshire, Troy is a lifelong and avid reader of comic books and novels (mostly in the fantasy, sci-fi and adventure/thriller genres). The ongoing serial storytelling methods of comic books and television has always fascinated him and provided inspiration for his writing. He’s always had a love of creating and world building and dreams of someday seeing his creations expressed across all media: books, comic books, movies, TV and even toys.

When not writing, Troy can be found outside hiking, kayaking or out back at the bonfire with beer in hand. Don’t expect to bother him during football season, especially when the Patriots are playing.

Reviews

[Johnny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book one

For the most part this was a decent read. Only a handful of mistakes found. Like normal I will post them on Goodreads.

I got flat out disgusted when the MC agreed to have a fake Thor be his patron.
He got very little out of the deal but he wanted more cool lighting powers.
He knew it was a bad deal and does it anyway.
Little bit of power now for an unnamed favor later.
He didn't need the power. He was already one of the strongest native humans.
He keeps forgetting to add his stat points.
Terrible tactics. Keeps leaving enemies behind him and his two daughters.
For a father desperate to protect his children he has done a poor job of it.
Should have had the youngest killing things from the moment she hit level one.
The dad and older sister could have left her badly wounded monsters to finish off.
Instead she spends most of the time on the sidelines.
Piper could have easily killed multiple monsters once her father finally lets her fight. Instead he is hogging all the kills.
His tactics with the dungeon boss were flat out stupid. Piper has a weapon that is super effective against undead, yet he sends the older daughter, who's weapons suck against the undead. Allowing Piper to waste all her spirit against the shield of the boss. They had already figured out that long range didn't work!
Piper should have used her magic on the two skeletons while her sister ran interference for her.
Most of the major mistakes were made by the dad. He knows that he shouldn't leave enemies behind them, yet he does it multiple times.
The author tried to portray the MC as someone trying to protect his children. However his actions show him to be power hungry, short sighted, and a person that can not stick to the plan.
The story continues on Royalroad if you want more.

5/10 I was enjoying it right up till he wouldn't let Piper fight.

[R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I reached only 25%.
1. All 'system' messages, status, etc. are all CAPS and in large font size. I really hated it.
2. The MC repeats "So much of it was like a game" or similar phrase over and over again. OK, we got it! The first time! You don't need to repeat it 10 times.
3. The MC is not intelligent by any means:( Which is deal breaker for me.
4. The MC seems overpowered but based on what we know about his abilities etc. he shouldn't be. Very inconsistent.
5. You find an artifact that says 'hello' and your reaction is to throw it away?!? No, I don't want to read about him.
P.S. I gave 2 instead of 1 star because this way the chance someone censor the review is lower.

[Michael Marciano · Rating 1 out of 5]

Completely utter crap

I will admit I only made it about 40% of the way through this book but it's just so stupid. The writing is absolutely abysmol and the plot armor is a Mile thick. I had really high hopes for this series but it's just so bad. The protagonist walks around with what the book calls the Google of the Apocalypse and never asks it anything. The protagonist has a series of powers that he just never uses in constantly whines about how he needs them. The protagonist racks up character points and never uses them for no reason whatsoever. The protagonist gives his daughter a folding saw like you use camping to fight with when he's got a sword hanging on his belt that he doesn't use cuz he has an ax. Eventually he does give it to her and somehow it develops magic ice powers in the author doesn't explain why how never even comments on it The sword just gets magic ice powers. It's so horribly written.

[Luke Hallack]

could not get past chapter 12

I tried. I really tried. But I couldn’t get over the character acting like he’s moving through molasses and being super inconsistent. My first LitRPG DNF. Won’t spoil anything but reading this I actually got mad at the main character for his “I know what I’m doing” one second and “woe is me, how does this work” the next. Drove me crazy enough that while listening to the audiobook, (I do both read and listen), I shut it off and finished a 45 min drive in silence. I had high hopes and was disappointed.

[Sabs ✨️]

Dnf'ed @ 42%

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the start to a new Post Apocalyptic Earth, LitRPG series. As a mom, I have been drawn to the few new LitRPG series out there with a post-apocalyptic system where a parent has to safely navigate the hazards of a new System life, while keeping their children alive and helping them to level up. The first I read was Apocalypse Parenting by Erin Ampersand, which I LOVE, but the children in it are very young, in this one the children are a older.

In this book Lochlan Brady and his wife Kelly and two daughters, Harper (15), and Piper (13), are in the family car coming home from camping when the System apocalypse hits. When they wake up afterwards, the world is different and Kelly is nowhere to be found. What follows is your standard, welcome to the system battles with bad guys, figuring out the point system and what the heck is going on. Lochlan, after reaching level 5, selects the WARBREAKER class, hence the series name.

The majority of this book takes place in a dungeon the family stumbles into, but they have a lot of growth here. I really enjoyed the way Lochlan is always looking out for his girls, while accepting that in this new world, they will have to fight and level up, and like any real parent, beats himself up over not being able to protect them from having to do so. I also liked that the author gives us Harper and Piper's POV throughout so that we can see their motivations and thoughts. I'm looking forward to more in this series.

Overall this had good world building, a fun trio to follow, plus a fairy sidekick Cerie. I recommended this for those who enjoy a solid LitRPG, Post Apocalyptic Earth or books with an Alien remade Earth system.

#KindleUnlimited #PostApocolyptic #GameLit #LitRPG

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a lot of LitRPGs and was delighted when this one took a different turn than all I've read so far. Not only does the RPG world stay on (an altered) earth, but also the Main Character's daughters come along for the adventure. This caused a lot of unique and interesting plot points and I really enjoyed it. I also really loved the character dynamics- how they all interacted together and Loc's desire to do right by his daughters and let them make their own choices. I found this group delightful and the character development great.

I didn't love the extremely overpowered trope- though it was funny (the first few times) when it was pointed out by Sari or Loc himself. When characters start out zooming through levels and strength it sets the whole plot up for BIGGER STRONGER MORE! it gets old, fast. I also grew tired of hearing how the world/system want them to level /power up and progress. We get it- it doesn't have to be repeated a million times.

There were a lot of characters introduced through interludes- not sure how I felt about that either- personal preference, but I don't love huge casts I have trouble keeping up with who's who.

All in all this was a fun read- the world and the system and characters are fun and likable- I'm not sure if I'll continue with the series, but I would definitely recommend this one.

[Will Knight · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't make it very far in. The book read like the author read a list of "Top 10 most annoying character traits" and took it as a challenge.

[Shane Gilliam · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a father, I was drawn into the dynamic of a post-apocalyptic system where a father had to safely navigate this new life with his two children. While this aspect was present, it wasn't executed in the way I felt it should be. There was a lack of urgency in every chapter. The main character becomes overpowered, but it always felt like a "monster of the week" kind of interaction. There was little to no strategy in the fights; the main character rarely took time to analyze opponents, and the victories were often due to blatant plot armor that protected the protagonist and his family.

This is usually my favorite genre, but this book felt boring. About 80% of the entire story took place in a bland dungeon. This might have been by design, but there was no excitement to it. When I compare books like this to the "Primal Hunter" series, I can't say it was a good book. The Primal Hunter Series has a main character that uses strategies, intelligence, and failures to succeed in this world. Loche and his family simply didn't. They never really failed and I never felt like there was a lot of danger. I would rate this book 1.5 out of 5.

[William D Gage · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, I was like this is awesome there is finally a story that has a character that has a family. Then little things started to get to me.

MC constantly tells you he loves his family and gets angry when something threatens them. I do mean constantly. There is no show only tell. Every. 5. seconds.

MC constantly gets mad at a fairy for allegedly leaving information out but then gets mad at her for talking too much. Him getting mad in the first place is irrational because the fairy isn't his enemy.

MC also constantly tells you every chapter how much he doesn't want to lead but then guess what? He leads.

Author really needs to work on NOT repeating himself every chapter, showing and not telling, and jesus christ move the plot forward and get out of the introspection. The entirety of the 1st book takes place in a dungeon. Nothing else really happens. it is 85% introspection.

With that said.

There are positives. 1st i like the battle scene descriptions. I like the family dynamic. I like the world and the world building potential.

[Ozsaur · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book more than I did, but the main character kept getting on my nerves. I was hoping he'd let up on the bitching and moaning, but it was consistent all the way to the end.

Worse, he had a valuable asset in Cerie, and hardly did anything with her except ask the most basic questions, and never anything that could help in the long run. Yes, I know they were in a time crunch, but there were plenty of resting phases, and he should have been grilling Cerie like a juicy hamburger every time they had a moment. He also kept ignoring his system messages that could have contained important information, but we'll never know.

I'm getting tired of my own bitching, so I'll just say that The Connection was interesting, and I liked that the story was about a family. The whole idea of The Connection and how it worked kept me interested. And I liked Cerie, the girls, and Kelly.

[Stijn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid series with pacing issues

Classic System apocalypse series where we follow a dad and his 2 girls becoming the strongest in the early days after the system's arrival.

The only problem is the pacing. Book 1 ok, we have the classic early dungeon where the MC emerges ahead of the curve. The dungeon overstayed its welcome, but whatever. Book 2 establishes the clan/base. A bit boring as nothing exciting actually happens, but ok now that the base is there, we can start getting the story moving. Book 3... nothing at all happens. A couple of generic recourse runs and hints of things that might one day happen, but nothing actually does.

If book 4 doesn't get things moving, I'm dropping the series.

ps. the coverart really sucks and doesn't represent the story at all. What sets this apart is our MC being a dad with his little girls, not him having a generic axe and some strange light squiggles. Where are the daughters?

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always a special thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Disclaimer I read/listen to an unhealthy amount of progressive fantasy. This means I tend to be more lenient on the genre. However I’m also more inclined to notice a trope. With that in mind. This book unfortunately is bogged down with apocalyptic lit rpg tropes. Read only if you don’t mind minor spoilers! (Standard setup, MC who is a former soldier and plays video games. Has a special bloodline that grants extra power. Sponsored by a god.). The family dynamic does add something interesting to the genre. I do wish the daughters had a bit more personality than I like sports and I like to draw. Overall I’m captivated enough to want to continue and think the author can give his audience a more original story. This is more a 3.5 rounded up given the potential what future books could be.

[Mary Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

Good LitRPG. I really like the family aspect, you don't see it in many LitRPG books. Father and 2 teenagers are tryingvto survive the "connection" where the earth as we know it is gone . Combining apocalyptic and magical/fantasy RPG elements. The only complaint was the near constant complaining by the dad which was a bit annoying and his desire to get revenge on "The Connection" is a bit like wanting to get revenge on the earth for an earthquake, in my opinion. Overall, the author did a good job there were only a couple of editing errors which always throw me out of a book so I can only say Thank you for actually editing the book. I will definitely be getting the next book in the series.

[Austin McCutcheon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Filler Novel

Grammatical errors and pacing hindering a really interesting story.

Aside from an obvious '/' at the start of a paragraph, the author mostly struggles with passive and active voice. It led me to mentally skip over certain sentences and feelings even in the middle of fights. Very frustrating and may come across as slow-paced or unthought out. Weird mentions of previous Army training throughout the novel without really applying any of the knowledge the MC might know from it.

The apocalypse in this case is an outside system that removes a good portion of humanity to be replaced by new humanity. Hints at time skips and various races rush into the new "Connected" Earth and a father fights alongside his teenage daughters to survive.

[Jerzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the family after the apocalypse. About rebuilding a community. The story mainly takes place in one of the US states, but there are glimpses of other places on earth. Survival in a world with invasions, dungeons, monsters, leveling and laws dictated by the stronger. Disadvantages of a single class system. Why does this system only allow for one development path? Why can't the fighter class also develop into a craft class? ... The gods seem so ungodly. But .... The world seems coherent, and it also makes you think about the choices the hero makes. An interesting idea is the sensory interface instead of the visual one... and it makes sense, a visual interface was necessary in games on the monitor, it allowed you to determine hp, manna.... but in real life, feeling which opponent is stronger or feeling the current level of your own resources definitely makes more sense because it is not distracting or obstructive. And if the system were to intervene in our memory to teach us skills, why shouldn't it telepathically provide us with other information about the opponent and the content of notifications.

[Philip Alton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good plot, pacing, and characterisation, but overly long internal dialogues

The cast of main characters is a refreshing take on the usual MCs we see with no family responsibilities. The plot is driven by a classic system apocalypse narrative, with some unique elements. Overall, an enjoyable light read, but detracted somewhat by overly long internal dialogues that do nothing to advance the plot and are often repetitive, so fail to advance the character depth. Far better to show us the characters' internal decisions, rather than telling us.

[Stefan E Sramek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story with good potential

I really enjoy the story, and the family dynamics explored in it. It's fun, yet more deliberate than a lot of stories in this genre. Often though, the author is a bit too deliberate with the story. While it could be attributed to the stress and trauma of the situations, the protagonist frequently feels way too dumb and artificially high strung, and the tension or stakes of the story feel artificially built up. Still, I'm looking forward to reading the next volume in the story and seeing where the author takes it.

[Michael Barselow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me.

This book has a fun premise. Dad and his two kids fight for survival. What I did not enjoy were a bunch of small things that added up to me not enjoying the whole. I did not like that "spirit" was two different things. Mana and experience, both named spirt. Made zero sense. Also, at the start, spirit did not regen in combat, then it did? They healing started to work in combat when it did not happen before? Like I said, it was a lot of little inconsistencies that spoiled the book for me. I may try book two, but probably not anytime soon.

[Elijah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Premise, Pretty Bad Pacing

I’ll start by saying I like the story. Grammar, language, and characters are good. The plot is interesting enough. I’m leaving this review in hopes that the author sees this. The pacing is really rough. Fight scenes drag on way too long and the fact that they were in a dungeon the entire book really made the first book feel like nothing happened plot wise whatsoever. If fight scenes were parred down and more actual events happened I’d give this 5 stars.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 1 is a solid three stars. It should have been half, to maybe even one-fourth of a book, but it was free on Kindle Unlimited, so whatever. The problem is that this mediocre start is the best the series has to offer. I think the author probably has soft hands. I wouldn't care, but his lack of real experience detracts from the overall story. Expect tone policing, complaining, and soft-hearted and soft-headed characters. I have had more difficult conversations with my daughter about going to the park with my grandchildren than the MC has with his daughters in a dungeon. The conclusion of book four should have been the end of book two, so you should also expect a slog.

[Starr · Rating 1 out of 5]

So far it is ok it has potential if the mc can stop having mini freak outs. His wife disappeared and he stands around alot and freaks out. Just wondering 🤔 if he is going to help the girls level up. Right now he's just rambling in his head freaking out. 2 hours later. Plus he's got more morals than a saint which is not going to work out for an apocalypse. Just hoping 🙏 he gets it together soon all the whining and waffling is annoying 😑 😒. DNF this could have been great but the dad messed it up

[Imkmoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dad's doing his Best, Daughters Kick'n Tail

The story is fun and leads to challenges for a father and 2 teen daughters survive in a changed Earth. They must grasp that magic is real. The father was of a gamer, but its real now.
They happen across a dungeon while fighting to stay alive and a quest is triggered to leave the dungeon. Soo much drama and intensive fights.

Can't wait to see what humans have survived...

Read in 5 days

R

[Kenneth Jordan Irizarry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being fairly new to the rpg novel scene i enjoyed the shit out of this book as the only other I've read of the like being battlefield reclaimer this was very fresh to me I killed this book in the course of a 8 hr shift so I'm definitely buying the others. The plot is about a family that goes camping when the world turns to shit and the dad and his daughters have to survive and thrive via the leveling system while trying to find his wife.hope to see many more books i definitely recommend this.

[Lonni · Rating 1 out of 5]

How is this rated above 4? Believe the reviews that are less. Trash. I might have managed it if he hadn’t written the daughters in this. Such stupid characters. They exist only to utter “dad!” Through the whole book. Not even paper characters. And his emotions toward them aren’t even believable. Sounds like daughters written by someone with no daughter. They’re worthless in the plot line other than for the MC to make stupid decisions.

Save yourself. Avoid this title.

[Stephen Grantham · Rating 3 out of 5]

good potential

I have read this author’s FPS books and really enjoyed them. This one I skipped quite a few pages. Spoiler alert.

MC was such a whiner. Supposedly a serious gamer but was in denial for about 90% of the book. Supposed to be so logical but came across as so emotional. It was exhausting.

[Will Swardstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a big fan of Troy Osgood's Sky Realms Online series so when this popped up I grabbed it for a chance to revisit what Troy does well.
I really enjoyed it but I will say early in the book Loch's daughters were a bit annoying. I was glad that as thr characters leveled up some of the stereotypical pre-teen behavior generally worked out as well.
I look forward to Book 2.

[Benjamin L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice new story! Can't wait for more!

Looking forward to this series. I've already preordered book 2. The family is friendly. I think they catch on a little too quick, but still good. The one thing I really have trouble with is they dad not making time too ask questions. As a Father, I would have made time and asked way more questions of their Fairy guide.

[Nick Pugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh

I finished the book. By the end, I found the main character to be a well meaning idiot who was incredibly frustrating to read. Stupid mistake after stupid mistake and calling himself rational and practical, all the while making the worst choices throughout the entire book.

He meant well, but he only survived through main character magic. Fucking Loch... that guy...

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

I liked the idea of a family perspective on a system story. And will definitely pick up the next book. One of the things that was annoying is that after the switch and the info from cerie this man never bothers to add his stat points until more than halfway through a dungeon. All while complaining about how difficult it is. But still good story with some hiccups