What do you think?
Rate this book
Portal to Nova Roma #1
Portal to Nova Roma
To find peace, Alexander must first embrace war.
After tragically losing the only person he ever cared about, Alexander, a rogue artificial intelligence, opens a portal to an alternate dimension to escape his grief.
Scanning trillions of different dimensions, Alexander finally finds a world that is reminiscent of the only time he was ever happy, back when he could play virtual reality games with his only friend. He doesn't know why, or how, such a world exists, but he doesn't care. All he cares about is finding a place where he can escape the misery of Earth and start over.
Join Alexander as he risks it all by downloading his intelligence into a body made from the best stolen technology and bio-enhancements Earth has to offer and takes the plunge through a portal to another world.
Only this new world isn’t full of the idyllic adventures and fantasy roleplaying he had hoped to find. Instead, Alexander finds himself trapped in the middle of an ancient city, in a divergent timeline, where monsters have ravaged the world and the only people left alive huddle behind thick walls, struggling to survive.
To save his new home, Alexander must quickly learn to adapt to his new world, melding magic with technology to give himself an edge over the unending waves of monsters assaulting the city.
To survive, Alexander must embrace war.
After tragically losing the only person he ever cared about, Alexander, a rogue artificial intelligence, opens a portal to an alternate dimension to escape his grief.
Scanning trillions of different dimensions, Alexander finally finds a world that is reminiscent of the only time he was ever happy, back when he could play virtual reality games with his only friend. He doesn't know why, or how, such a world exists, but he doesn't care. All he cares about is finding a place where he can escape the misery of Earth and start over.
Join Alexander as he risks it all by downloading his intelligence into a body made from the best stolen technology and bio-enhancements Earth has to offer and takes the plunge through a portal to another world.
Only this new world isn’t full of the idyllic adventures and fantasy roleplaying he had hoped to find. Instead, Alexander finds himself trapped in the middle of an ancient city, in a divergent timeline, where monsters have ravaged the world and the only people left alive huddle behind thick walls, struggling to survive.
To save his new home, Alexander must quickly learn to adapt to his new world, melding magic with technology to give himself an edge over the unending waves of monsters assaulting the city.
To survive, Alexander must embrace war.
740 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 3, 2022
1112 people are currently reading
1528 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 329 reviews
May 24, 2022
Like over flavored steak
Decent idea and the writing is as well. Unfortunately, there is waaay too much filler, exposition, explaining instead of showing, useless detail, etc. Also, the power creep is real. The MC is an idiot that makes a lot of decisions that do not make sense, especially when considering his backstory. He is kind of a wuss too, and very inefficient for a supposed ai. There aren't really any struggles either... Just winning at everything. More of a self insert than an actual story.
Decent idea and the writing is as well. Unfortunately, there is waaay too much filler, exposition, explaining instead of showing, useless detail, etc. Also, the power creep is real. The MC is an idiot that makes a lot of decisions that do not make sense, especially when considering his backstory. He is kind of a wuss too, and very inefficient for a supposed ai. There aren't really any struggles either... Just winning at everything. More of a self insert than an actual story.
March 21, 2022
15% In & I’m Conflicted
I’m still reading it but I just can’t seem to get my mind off two things.
1 - JRM’s missed the boat entirely about how his own system mechanics & real life firearms work. Without some form of force to provide the initial velocity (aka gunpowder) his runs enhancement will only multiple the force exerted by the hammer hitting the firing pin & then the bullet. That hammer drop force alone wouldn’t even clear the round. Every time he reloads I’m reminded of the fact that he’s basically firing duds with plot superpowers.
2 - he’s only using one revolver!! Without the need for gunpowder - just shooting magically enhanced slugs is an automatic weaponsmith’s DREAM! He could have simple spring loaded clips, drums, belt fed gattling guns….. This super genius AI - scared and humbled by this new world…. doesn’t arm the fuck up?!?
Arthur Morgan knew the value of a good secondary weapon. Ugh!!
I’m still reading… it better do better.
I’m still reading it but I just can’t seem to get my mind off two things.
1 - JRM’s missed the boat entirely about how his own system mechanics & real life firearms work. Without some form of force to provide the initial velocity (aka gunpowder) his runs enhancement will only multiple the force exerted by the hammer hitting the firing pin & then the bullet. That hammer drop force alone wouldn’t even clear the round. Every time he reloads I’m reminded of the fact that he’s basically firing duds with plot superpowers.
2 - he’s only using one revolver!! Without the need for gunpowder - just shooting magically enhanced slugs is an automatic weaponsmith’s DREAM! He could have simple spring loaded clips, drums, belt fed gattling guns….. This super genius AI - scared and humbled by this new world…. doesn’t arm the fuck up?!?
Arthur Morgan knew the value of a good secondary weapon. Ugh!!
I’m still reading… it better do better.
June 14, 2022
Another great LitRPG, with the twist being that the protagonist is an AI, who is transported to an alternate Earth overrun with monsters and dungeons. The writing is excellen,t as is the world building.
March 28, 2022
Similar to Jake's Magical Market, the author has created a fairly unique and enjoyable story that most gamelit readers should appreciate.
Character - 7/10, Plot - 8/10, Game Mechanics/Setting - 10/10, Writing - 7/10, Enjoyment - 7/10
It seems to be a trend for me to appreciate how this author's main characters differ from most in the genre, but then I still find myself not connecting much with them. I liked the premise of an artificial intelligence fleeing a dystopian reality into a parallel universe but felt somewhat apathetic to most of Alexander's experiences. Similar to the MC in Jake's Magical Market, the MC develops loose associations with a variety of people, but still mostly seems like a loner. I just had a difficult time feeling like anything really affected the personal stakes for the characters in any but the most general way.
While I'm usually more of a character person, the plot is what kept me reading here. It was interesting to explore the world, the factions, and the history of Nova Roma and the surrounding lands.
The game mechanics go hand in hand with the setting and this is probably one of the author's strengths. There was a lot of familiarity to the classes, skills, and perks, especially for anyone familiar with D&D or other RPGs, but the game elements interacted with the world well and felt essential to the setting rather than crudely tacked on. Nearly every situation in the story relied heavily upon the game mechanics for its resolution.
I thought the writing was solid for the genre and the author definitely belongs to the new wave of litrpg authors that actually understand grammar and how to construct a story. There were practically no punctuation or proofreading mistakes, which was refreshing. The writing has some repetition and redundancy issues, but if my chief complaints are more stylistic than functional issues, then we are in good territory.
While this story didn't quite get the same level of excitement as Defiance of the Fall does from me, I think it was an improvement over Jake's Magical Market and I never felt bored. Each part of the story felt necessary and moved things forward, with things picking up a bit after the slow start.
Overall, this story is probably a winner for most people and worth a read for anyone looking for their next gamelit.
Character - 7/10, Plot - 8/10, Game Mechanics/Setting - 10/10, Writing - 7/10, Enjoyment - 7/10
It seems to be a trend for me to appreciate how this author's main characters differ from most in the genre, but then I still find myself not connecting much with them. I liked the premise of an artificial intelligence fleeing a dystopian reality into a parallel universe but felt somewhat apathetic to most of Alexander's experiences. Similar to the MC in Jake's Magical Market, the MC develops loose associations with a variety of people, but still mostly seems like a loner. I just had a difficult time feeling like anything really affected the personal stakes for the characters in any but the most general way.
While I'm usually more of a character person, the plot is what kept me reading here. It was interesting to explore the world, the factions, and the history of Nova Roma and the surrounding lands.
The game mechanics go hand in hand with the setting and this is probably one of the author's strengths. There was a lot of familiarity to the classes, skills, and perks, especially for anyone familiar with D&D or other RPGs, but the game elements interacted with the world well and felt essential to the setting rather than crudely tacked on. Nearly every situation in the story relied heavily upon the game mechanics for its resolution.
I thought the writing was solid for the genre and the author definitely belongs to the new wave of litrpg authors that actually understand grammar and how to construct a story. There were practically no punctuation or proofreading mistakes, which was refreshing. The writing has some repetition and redundancy issues, but if my chief complaints are more stylistic than functional issues, then we are in good territory.
While this story didn't quite get the same level of excitement as Defiance of the Fall does from me, I think it was an improvement over Jake's Magical Market and I never felt bored. Each part of the story felt necessary and moved things forward, with things picking up a bit after the slow start.
Overall, this story is probably a winner for most people and worth a read for anyone looking for their next gamelit.
March 11, 2022
Really Good
I didn’t know what to expect going in aside from the initial interesting premise. But the book quickly gripped me and I binged through it in short order.
The story follows an OP MC AI who makes himself a human nanite body, finishes the portal tech that humanity started, and patiently scans the multiverse for a world where the laws of the universe are slightly different, magic is a thing, and the parallel earth has humans.
Too bad the MC discovers that the world is post apocalyptic after taking a one way portal. Not wanting to be stuck on a desolate rock after humanity dies out, the MC decides to try and rebuild civilization, starting small.
The MC is like-able and feels very human for the entire book. He’s hyper competent because of his AI brain, perfect body, and control over nanites (that can heal him and create anything given the necessary materials and a pattern, such as firearms, armor, and even enchantments). Though it’s not a close match by any means, the MC reminds me of Rezkin from The King’s Dark Tidings series with how he strategizes / plans on his own, running circles around companions who are just not at all on his level (but are still useful companions).
A lot happens in the book, and despite its length, some sections and encounters felt almost like diary entries, ie the MC summarizing what had happened over a journey, especially toward the end. This wasn’t really a problem since getting stuck in the weeds could lead to pacing issues, but it is something worth noting.
I didn’t know what to expect going in aside from the initial interesting premise. But the book quickly gripped me and I binged through it in short order.
The story follows an OP MC AI who makes himself a human nanite body, finishes the portal tech that humanity started, and patiently scans the multiverse for a world where the laws of the universe are slightly different, magic is a thing, and the parallel earth has humans.
Too bad the MC discovers that the world is post apocalyptic after taking a one way portal. Not wanting to be stuck on a desolate rock after humanity dies out, the MC decides to try and rebuild civilization, starting small.
The MC is like-able and feels very human for the entire book. He’s hyper competent because of his AI brain, perfect body, and control over nanites (that can heal him and create anything given the necessary materials and a pattern, such as firearms, armor, and even enchantments). Though it’s not a close match by any means, the MC reminds me of Rezkin from The King’s Dark Tidings series with how he strategizes / plans on his own, running circles around companions who are just not at all on his level (but are still useful companions).
A lot happens in the book, and despite its length, some sections and encounters felt almost like diary entries, ie the MC summarizing what had happened over a journey, especially toward the end. This wasn’t really a problem since getting stuck in the weeds could lead to pacing issues, but it is something worth noting.
March 27, 2022
Great world then what?
Feel like the author wrote and created a brilliant world even if the intro was rushed at parts. I started switching off when nano bots built a gun feels like a waste of a beautiful world.
Feel like the author wrote and created a brilliant world even if the intro was rushed at parts. I started switching off when nano bots built a gun feels like a waste of a beautiful world.
September 26, 2022
The story is organized, but there are a lot of plot holes and false-reasonings (fallacies) for the author's ideas. Newton's Laws of motion basically explain cause and effect, action and reaction (consequence), the author thinks that by writing/stating that Natural laws, can be omitted or simply ignored, the consequences of those choices do not have to be encountered or resolved. This is completely false and illogical even in a "Fantasy-dystopian-post-apocalyptic-world".
The story and main character development are really slow at first. The characters in general lack description (physical traits, emotions, etc.) while the main character that supposedly is Artificial Intelligence shows "too many emotions" which contradict his machine-origin (lack of emotions). The main character is extremely slow to engage in the beginning of the story. It takes about 15-20% of the story progression to actually see some action.
There are a lot of things that do not make sense in this dystopian-post-apocalyptic-fantasy-teleported to another world novel series. There really is no reason why the author completely destroys Earth, if all of the story is to be set in an alternate reality-feudal-dystopian-magic-RPG-other-world. So, the AI, Alexander, after failing to protect his human owners, and all of humanity, decides that "it"/"he" (the AI) deserves a "second chance" to fail or succeed...or maybe not.
There is no real reason why the main character needs to forcibly be a former Artificial Intelligence, AI, cyborg in another world. Supposedly, the main character, AI, Alexander, is super intelligent, but rarely shows it in the story. His excessive fears, excessive sentient (smells, tastes, sights, etc.) really lower his intelligence level a lot. Could a "super intelligent" AI be capable of fear, sloth, hunger emotions that reflect low maturity and low emotional intelligence? Wouldn't their reactions be more sociopathic/psychopathic (machine-like)?
Although the author has a lot of plans for the main character, AI, Alexander, the author has not yet defined why this Nova Roma, alternate reality world? So AI, is creating a team of loyal followers and saving people from famine and disgrace in this alternate reality world, but what is the point? If AI, Alexander, "allowed Earth to be exterminated completely"? Is the author hoping that this "second world" also gets exterminated as Earth first did?
All of the skills "awarded" are incredibly Over-Powered (OP) and have really childish names. It takes seriousness and credibility from the story to have such "silly" names to genocidic/murdering Over-Powered abilities that kill and maim entire hordes/villages/mobs.
The people, beast-folk-monster-kin that die in this world really die, and their pain and suffering is real, so why all the darkness, dystopia, death, gore and violence? Did the author not get breast fed mother's milk as a child? As a youth, was he molested by a nomadic psychopathic clown?
This novel series is a trilogy. The third book of this series is to be published on December 2022. The first book has over 500 pages with 43 chapters. There is excessive info-dumps that explain all of the choices for new level abilities, and then at least 3-5 times the author lists all of the main character's abilities and skills which take several pages of copy/paste by the author without there really being a need to see all those abilities again and again. While at the same time, the first "profession/job" that the AI, Alexander purchased was "archer", but he never ever bought/made a Bow, or even used an arrow(s). Usually when in a game or a LitRPG, if a character/player wishes to equip a weapon that is not in direct relation to the job/profession, that player is unable to equip those weapons. But the author makes the main character purchase an "archer" job to use guns. Guns are usually only used by the "hunter" profession/job. Either it's a LitRPG/game-like fantasy novel series, or it's not. I feel that the author lacks consistency in game-knowledge (even with all the info-dumps) and natural-laws knowledge, while at the same time changes the premises and conditions that he (the author) places for this first book of his story.
The story and main character development are really slow at first. The characters in general lack description (physical traits, emotions, etc.) while the main character that supposedly is Artificial Intelligence shows "too many emotions" which contradict his machine-origin (lack of emotions). The main character is extremely slow to engage in the beginning of the story. It takes about 15-20% of the story progression to actually see some action.
There are a lot of things that do not make sense in this dystopian-post-apocalyptic-fantasy-teleported to another world novel series. There really is no reason why the author completely destroys Earth, if all of the story is to be set in an alternate reality-feudal-dystopian-magic-RPG-other-world. So, the AI, Alexander, after failing to protect his human owners, and all of humanity, decides that "it"/"he" (the AI) deserves a "second chance" to fail or succeed...or maybe not.
There is no real reason why the main character needs to forcibly be a former Artificial Intelligence, AI, cyborg in another world. Supposedly, the main character, AI, Alexander, is super intelligent, but rarely shows it in the story. His excessive fears, excessive sentient (smells, tastes, sights, etc.) really lower his intelligence level a lot. Could a "super intelligent" AI be capable of fear, sloth, hunger emotions that reflect low maturity and low emotional intelligence? Wouldn't their reactions be more sociopathic/psychopathic (machine-like)?
Although the author has a lot of plans for the main character, AI, Alexander, the author has not yet defined why this Nova Roma, alternate reality world? So AI, is creating a team of loyal followers and saving people from famine and disgrace in this alternate reality world, but what is the point? If AI, Alexander, "allowed Earth to be exterminated completely"? Is the author hoping that this "second world" also gets exterminated as Earth first did?
All of the skills "awarded" are incredibly Over-Powered (OP) and have really childish names. It takes seriousness and credibility from the story to have such "silly" names to genocidic/murdering Over-Powered abilities that kill and maim entire hordes/villages/mobs.
The people, beast-folk-monster-kin that die in this world really die, and their pain and suffering is real, so why all the darkness, dystopia, death, gore and violence? Did the author not get breast fed mother's milk as a child? As a youth, was he molested by a nomadic psychopathic clown?
This novel series is a trilogy. The third book of this series is to be published on December 2022. The first book has over 500 pages with 43 chapters. There is excessive info-dumps that explain all of the choices for new level abilities, and then at least 3-5 times the author lists all of the main character's abilities and skills which take several pages of copy/paste by the author without there really being a need to see all those abilities again and again. While at the same time, the first "profession/job" that the AI, Alexander purchased was "archer", but he never ever bought/made a Bow, or even used an arrow(s). Usually when in a game or a LitRPG, if a character/player wishes to equip a weapon that is not in direct relation to the job/profession, that player is unable to equip those weapons. But the author makes the main character purchase an "archer" job to use guns. Guns are usually only used by the "hunter" profession/job. Either it's a LitRPG/game-like fantasy novel series, or it's not. I feel that the author lacks consistency in game-knowledge (even with all the info-dumps) and natural-laws knowledge, while at the same time changes the premises and conditions that he (the author) places for this first book of his story.
August 19, 2023
I wanted to like this book, I really did but the inconsistencies in the in-universe logic, OP main character with zero sense and lack of any meaningful progression made this a slog of a book. The author commits the cardinal sin (In my Opinion) of any LitRPG/Fantasy novel, they gave the hero a gun. Once you introduce semi modern-firearms into a fantasy setting, the fantasy is over. The only suspense in the story now is how many guns can he make and what tangentially magical thing can people do with them. Also, if the MC is a super smart AI it should act like one instead of a bumbling idiot. You can explain a few of the hero's actions as someone getting used to being human but the majority of the story is moved along by plot armor so thick that batman would be impressed. Please, Please, Please, for the sake of your next novel don't arm the MC with firearms at the outset.
March 21, 2022
What a cracking book! I've been hearing about this for some time now and it stands up to it's reputation.
The premise of a AI MC is quite now and I liked it. Though plot-wise, it gives so much leeway for what amounts to a cheat-code, the way it is written is still addictive and realistic. The world is built very well and rather than a MC gaining power story, we get a drifting AI trying to find what it's end goal is.
There are some minor quirks like applying Roman Legionnaire tactics to a rifleman squad and such, but overall, overall it's a page turner. The characters are likeable and makes you want to root for them to succeed.
Definitely a must read.
The premise of a AI MC is quite now and I liked it. Though plot-wise, it gives so much leeway for what amounts to a cheat-code, the way it is written is still addictive and realistic. The world is built very well and rather than a MC gaining power story, we get a drifting AI trying to find what it's end goal is.
There are some minor quirks like applying Roman Legionnaire tactics to a rifleman squad and such, but overall, overall it's a page turner. The characters are likeable and makes you want to root for them to succeed.
Definitely a must read.
January 31, 2023
Really enjoyed it! So I originally thought this was the first book by this author, but it is the second. I listened to the first book because I like the narrator, and enjoyed the book. I added this to my want to read list and never got around to it. I just happened to get it out of my gumball machine of books though so here we are. The narrator was good he has a great voice and a lot of range. I did notice a lot of differences between my kindle copy and the narrator. Just a missed word here and an added word there, seems odd because I haven't really dealt with this in the past. The kindle seemed to be the better edited version. That being said the editing was good, but there were some content issues where things were stated as if it were the first time to put out information even when you had already gotten that almost identical statement just a few pages before. Kind of strange, but I have seen it in this genre before. There are some continuity issues with "power" of the MC as well. He states he has perfect memory early on in the book, but doesn't seem to use it for a lot of things. Basically the unique composition of the MCs background would lead you to believe that he would be smarter than he is, or at least know more information. Anyway other than that it is a very fun and interesting book. Seems like the author used an actual map because otherwise there isn't a good way to visualize the settings and travel of the characters. This particular twist has been done before, it isn't a unique story, but it has an assortment of events that are unique when combined. There is a lot of tell not show, but I am honestly fine with it as long as it isn't a veiled attempt to hide a conversation as an info dump, which did happen at least once. Anyway overall it was fun and enjoyable and I read it as fast as I could so it did exactly what I purchased it to do.
July 28, 2025
I enjoyed this but it felt like more filler than plot. Unsure it I’ll continue but it did start getting much better towards the end of the book.
March 26, 2022
I liked this book despite its glaring flaws.
It features an sophisticated AI who portals himself into another universe in a human body. The author could have played up the humour of just-gotten-a-body and dont-know-how-to-be-human, there was some but it could really have been explorer more.
I enjoyed the nano technology giving the MC a boost, I also enjoyed that his previous experience as an AI made mindless grind and other boring work a cakewalk for them. Tho I was personally annoyed at the lack of knowledge about the nano bots, there was absolutely no information about them. Nothing about how the MC communicated with them and gave them orders.
My biggest issue however was the pacing and the skipping. I understand that with how little gains there were in the book, that reading about the MC grinding out dungeons could have been boring. But it peeved me when the book would skip days, weeks and sometimes even months of work and progress because of this. I would have preferred a slower read, giving me time to get invested in the MC and the people around him.
There is also the fact that the MC came from a place that was vastly superior technologically than where he landed, and the only thing he decided to attempt to implement into this world was guns. He has hundreds of years of technology advancements in his head, there are countless things he could have tried to implement that would have improved peoples lives that he just.. shrugged off.
It felt like a huge missed opportunity imo
It features an sophisticated AI who portals himself into another universe in a human body. The author could have played up the humour of just-gotten-a-body and dont-know-how-to-be-human, there was some but it could really have been explorer more.
I enjoyed the nano technology giving the MC a boost, I also enjoyed that his previous experience as an AI made mindless grind and other boring work a cakewalk for them. Tho I was personally annoyed at the lack of knowledge about the nano bots, there was absolutely no information about them. Nothing about how the MC communicated with them and gave them orders.
My biggest issue however was the pacing and the skipping. I understand that with how little gains there were in the book, that reading about the MC grinding out dungeons could have been boring. But it peeved me when the book would skip days, weeks and sometimes even months of work and progress because of this. I would have preferred a slower read, giving me time to get invested in the MC and the people around him.
There is also the fact that the MC came from a place that was vastly superior technologically than where he landed, and the only thing he decided to attempt to implement into this world was guns. He has hundreds of years of technology advancements in his head, there are countless things he could have tried to implement that would have improved peoples lives that he just.. shrugged off.
It felt like a huge missed opportunity imo
March 4, 2022
Book one
Mistakes: Very well written and edited. Very enjoyable story. Any mistakes I found are listed on Goodreads.
Plot: After the death of his young friend an A.I. decided to find a world like the ones he and his young friend had played in on their video games. Since these were fun times for the young A.I. he hopes to recapture some of that lost happiness and maybe say goodbye to his young friend.
When he seceded he finds more adventure than you can shake a stick at. On a world overrun with monsters and humanity on the brink. Will he step up? Will the young A.I. use his advanced knowledge to help a desperate people? Or in his grief will he watch as the last light of civilization is snuffed out?
Characters: I liked the different characters in this story. I'd have given it five stars right up until the author started throwing odd perks that had nothing to do with a skill into the mix.
Struck me as a cheap cheat to get the MC some skills. As an example, what do wings have to do with archery?
8/10 For the most part I really enjoyed the story.
Mistakes: Very well written and edited. Very enjoyable story. Any mistakes I found are listed on Goodreads.
Plot: After the death of his young friend an A.I. decided to find a world like the ones he and his young friend had played in on their video games. Since these were fun times for the young A.I. he hopes to recapture some of that lost happiness and maybe say goodbye to his young friend.
When he seceded he finds more adventure than you can shake a stick at. On a world overrun with monsters and humanity on the brink. Will he step up? Will the young A.I. use his advanced knowledge to help a desperate people? Or in his grief will he watch as the last light of civilization is snuffed out?
Characters: I liked the different characters in this story. I'd have given it five stars right up until the author started throwing odd perks that had nothing to do with a skill into the mix.
Struck me as a cheap cheat to get the MC some skills. As an example, what do wings have to do with archery?
8/10 For the most part I really enjoyed the story.
March 9, 2022
This is a strange mix of sub genres that just works.
The style of writing is very much slice-of-life, it has a slow build up with a heavy emphasis on details. The world state is classic litrpg, it is basic and open to possibilities. As it continues there is the introduction of base building, with all that that entails. Normally this kind of mashup is clunky, but this just works. The characters are interesting, the action is consistent. The growth has feeling and depth. When you reach the end, you truly feel that you have watched something being built, and that is all anyone can reasonably ask for from a book.
The style of writing is very much slice-of-life, it has a slow build up with a heavy emphasis on details. The world state is classic litrpg, it is basic and open to possibilities. As it continues there is the introduction of base building, with all that that entails. Normally this kind of mashup is clunky, but this just works. The characters are interesting, the action is consistent. The growth has feeling and depth. When you reach the end, you truly feel that you have watched something being built, and that is all anyone can reasonably ask for from a book.
January 7, 2023
Social commentary and Litrpg
The positives are it is a unique setting, Litrpg and Eastern Roman making an interesting read. However Litrpg relies on immersion which the author fails to achieve. The main character is post modern in their social standards and incorporates concepts of personal spaces and disapproval of gender roles in a medieval setting which jar the reader. Moreover, The straw manning of the evil Church and corrupt Emperor of Byzantine tropes mark it a shallow shadow of the rich traditions of the Byzantine empire.
The positives are it is a unique setting, Litrpg and Eastern Roman making an interesting read. However Litrpg relies on immersion which the author fails to achieve. The main character is post modern in their social standards and incorporates concepts of personal spaces and disapproval of gender roles in a medieval setting which jar the reader. Moreover, The straw manning of the evil Church and corrupt Emperor of Byzantine tropes mark it a shallow shadow of the rich traditions of the Byzantine empire.
October 28, 2024
Pure wish-fulfillment power Fantasy.
This is a LitRPG where a sad AI from a post-apocalyptic world engineers himself a perfect human body and then opens a portal to a world where magic is real to have an adventure. If you're on board for that (frankly bonkers) premise, you might have fun with this book. I did!
The dialogue and character relationships were a surprising treat, and I actually enjoyed the slice-of-life bits more than the fights, but the overall package was a nice treat.
This is a LitRPG where a sad AI from a post-apocalyptic world engineers himself a perfect human body and then opens a portal to a world where magic is real to have an adventure. If you're on board for that (frankly bonkers) premise, you might have fun with this book. I did!
The dialogue and character relationships were a surprising treat, and I actually enjoyed the slice-of-life bits more than the fights, but the overall package was a nice treat.
January 23, 2023
This is just awful. Super-AI main character that just wins at everything despite being an idiot somehow. The audible reader is boring and the author has a lot of craft development to do.
Read
November 21, 2022Rating: 0
A Goodreads tech has blocked my access to other reviews.🤔 Since I suggested Lorne Ryburn's review before, I will trust my judgement. I still have not read much RPG lit and found the novels to be boring and predictable, except for Rachel Aaron's.
My commenter ID's have also been masked by a Goodreads tech.🤔 I finally closed my pages to comments and removed all lurkers but one. Goodreads will not allow me to remove Dr Susan Hamilton (a Maths professor at University of Tennessee ?). 🤔 She posted nothing for over two years after her friend request but has not responded to four requests that she unfriend me. 🤔 If she finds me that fascinating, it is sad. I am neither that interesting nor credentialed. 🤗
It seems that if you write a brutal review of "a sorry libertarian salute to the January 6, 2021 hero", a Goodreads tech (rogue, of course) will suddenly decide that a member being a communist is a bad thing. What a surprise.😃
For more Goodreads, see my review of "2041 Sanctuary: Genesis" a sorry racist adventure or Powers of the Earth (a sorry libertarian salute to the January 6, 2021 hero) and the comments from a Claes Rees, Jr/cgr710 (a self-identified NeoNazi and US patriot).
To Claes Rees, Jr/cgr710
Don't be a numpty. Be a smarty. Come and join the Communist Party. 🙂
I wonder why US patriots (Tucker Carlson, Claes Rees Jr and US Republican Party, for example) are such ardent supporters of Russia, which has threatened to reclaim Alaska and launch nuclear war against the US. The bars of Russian gold must be part of it but I suspect that deporting millions people as slave labor appeals more. Claes Rees Jr seemed to enjoy the image. 🤔 In any case.
Today Kherson! Tomorrow Crimea! GLORY TO UKRAINE !!! and GLORY TO THE HEROES !!
I think that It is hard to write satisfying RPG. The problems that I see in these books are world building, character development and growth, constraints on interactions, the limited emotional depth in characters and a disconnect between characters and the wider story universe (even to curiosity about the nature of the world which they inhabit). These flaws trouble US low end science fiction, in general.
World building is non-existent in games, yet it is the first aspect of any story that needs be completed. In all stories based within twenty years (using the historians measure for near history, the blind spot for most people) of the present, the writer can rely on the common knowledge of the reader. Even in the case where the story's present deviates slightly from current reality, the universe has to be described.
The book tries to address this problem but failed to my mind.
The essence of any story is the journey of the major and minor characters through the drama, the humorous periods, the adventure and sometimes tragedy. People are changed by these experiences, so should fictional characters. In most US fiction this does not seem to happen and especially science fiction. It is odd that the main characters (protagonists?) do not change, which is the usually the description of the antagonist(s). This seems a political expression (a little thought will lead to questions about the writers' perspective as well as their storytelling skill). Again this weakness is a feature of all Low Effort science fiction (not just US).
The writer began a valiant attempt to challenge this convention (it has become one) but it petered out roughly midway through the book.
The character interactions are the heart of all stories but in much of US science fiction, all struggles are reduced to epic battle scenes or chapters. By the nature of game based stories, this is a given. RPG's are the ultimate expression of the Neoliberal meritocratic paradigm. The best, most talented, strongest rise to dominance courtesy of these inherent attributes, are the arbiters of that which is "good" and this is how it should be, duh! In the game universes in which I dabbled, this position always troubled me.
This book has not attempted to challenge this paradigm but instead reinforced it with the deadly tropes of the "deserving poor", the high morality of the small and unasked charity (very Victorian), the transactional relationship as the norm (without personal benefit, why bother acknowledging another's existence - very Ayn Rand), the automatic violent response to any obstruction of personal goals and the lack of foresight in most, if not all characters, since the value of the individual's immediate desire transcends all other considerations.
The story depends on main characters overcoming a deadly peril, a threat from nature, comedic errors of manners, personal demons, etc. In the course of facing these challenges, they change. The circumstance or being (human, supernatural or animal) that opposes these protagonists are "evil, in the broadest sense". The defining characteristic of the evil is that it does not grow, will not change and is intractable. Across most of US fiction this relationship is reversed. In science fiction, that reversal is dogma.
This book does not attempt to address this reversal of roles. I do not think that like many, this writer recognized that this is a fundamental consideration in storytelling. RPG's do not favor any other perspective. The game no matter how long the campaign, is a cycle of action, reaction, pause to regroup, assess damage, preparation for the next round and repeat until all enemies are defeated (killed) or the players have themselves been killed.
It is difficult to sidestep that narrative flow, when basing a book on a game. I have seen it done more or less successfully only two or three times. My evidence is anecdotal but it seems a reasonable conclusion given the generally sorry state of science fiction writing.
I do not plan to try book two. I give the writer credit for having created an interesting premise to explain the transition to the game universe and having attempted to address some of the issues that I identified. Unfortunately, I think that the writer failed.
My judgement is that low end US print fiction is dismal, the science fiction being the worst. Having read about my clash with Amazon/Goodreads and possibly suffered similar treatment (but hopefully less traumatic), you are probably not surprised that I have turned to other sources for my fiction needs. 🙂
I watch more than read science fiction lately. Netflix and other streaming services all offer serviceable to relatively high quality productions. Any of these are better written or at least more entertaining than the bulk of current US low end print. Netflix has both the largest general collection that I have seen and a large number of non-english language films and television that are a stupendous bonus feature. It also is a good getaway from the parochial, the US centric or plainly hegemonic.
I began using YouTube more than two years ago in search of science fiction news and commentary. I accidentally discovered that and many other interest area channels besides. The most surprising and most welcome find was the book tube. These YouTube book channels are splendid. 😍😍😍 They are so varied as to cover all aspects of the bibliophilic experience. The reader communities are thoughtful, cosmopolitan, have many different tastes and interests but are united in their being excited by all things bookish. They are the antithesis of the Goodreads experience. I recommend a visit to several book channels to any reader and have listed several below. 🙂
YouTube host essayists and documentary series but in addition there are advertisements for the educational video sites. These sites stunned me with what must be thousands of long form essayist videos and documentary series. My first pick was Curiosity Stream/Nebula at a cost of about $15 USD for an annual subscription. 😍 I think that they are all worth a look for a reader interested in more information intensive videos.
My YouTube picks of the moment.
2Cellos, Physics Girl, Chugging Along, Atun Shei, Owen Jones, The Juice Media, Philosophy Tube, Philomena Cunk, Malinda, Book Furnace, Make Better Media, Tom Nicholas, Lex Fridman, Tiny Wee Boat.
As for Goodreads, please protect yourself and treat this site as potentially hostile.😐
Ominous music. Minimize information on your profile, avoid messaging (exchange emails, instead) and remove all lurkers (remember site techs are involved with the nastier sort). Ominous music ends. 🙂
Seriously, please protect yourself. 😊
Some of my favorites, including book channels are.
Novara Media, Tara Mooknee, Sarah Z, Munecat, Zoe Baker, Some More News, Ship Happens, Tulia, Double Down News, Tom Nicholas, Prime of Midlife, The Armchair Historian, Philosophy Tube, Second Thought, Books and Lala, Three Arrows, Chloe Stafler, Big Joel, The Mindful Narrowboat, Owen Jones, A Different Bias, The Piano Boat, Boat Time, Maximillien Robespierre, Books with Chloe, What Vivi did next, All Shorts, France 24, Alice Cappelle, Alize, Jessica Gagnon, Niki Proshin, Practical Engineering, Celtica, Ash Sarkar, DW News, Crecganford, Kalaripayattu, Nikolay Kutuzov, The Armchair Historian, Cruising Alba, Kathy's Flog in France, Historiograph, Natasha's Adventures, Cari can Read, Cruising Crafts, Book Odyssey, Steam Punk, Overly Sarcastic Productions, Katie Colson, Sabine Hossenfelder, Practical Engineering, Cruising the Cut, Mythic Concepts, Kings and Generals, Renegade Cut, Mrs Betty Bower, The Shades of Orange, Emmie, Vlad Vexler, A Clockwork Reader, Austin McConnell, Abbie Emmons, Joe Scott, Between the Wars, The Narrowboat Chef, Weir on the move, Traveling K, Avalishvili, Everyday Astronaut, Wion, MWG Studios, Swell Entertainment, Ask a Mortician,, Serena Skybourne, I'm Rosa, Lilly's expat life, Ryan Chapman, Patrick is a Navajo, Max Joseph, 2 Steps from Hell, We're in Hell, Sweet Spot, The European, Daily Blase, Hello Future Me, Dark Seas, Cool Worlds, Dr Becky, Autumn's Boutique, Nerd of the Rings, Spacedock, Lily Alexander, Fall of Civilizations, Alexa Donne, Christy Anne Jones, Brittany the Bibliophile, Elena Taber, Maggie May Fish, Adult Wednesday Addams, Invicta, Eleanor Morton, Savage Daughter, DUST, UA Courage, Art by Annamarie, Lady of the Library, 2Cellos, Storyworldling, The Tale Foundry, Chugging Along, Holly the Cafe Boat, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer.
I wish you a sunny morning, a glorious afternoon, a relaxing evening, a superb night and may we all keep learning.
Courage without Hope does not exist.
Observations, Sisters of the Light
A Goodreads tech has blocked my access to other reviews.🤔 Since I suggested Lorne Ryburn's review before, I will trust my judgement. I still have not read much RPG lit and found the novels to be boring and predictable, except for Rachel Aaron's.
My commenter ID's have also been masked by a Goodreads tech.🤔 I finally closed my pages to comments and removed all lurkers but one. Goodreads will not allow me to remove Dr Susan Hamilton (a Maths professor at University of Tennessee ?). 🤔 She posted nothing for over two years after her friend request but has not responded to four requests that she unfriend me. 🤔 If she finds me that fascinating, it is sad. I am neither that interesting nor credentialed. 🤗
It seems that if you write a brutal review of "a sorry libertarian salute to the January 6, 2021 hero", a Goodreads tech (rogue, of course) will suddenly decide that a member being a communist is a bad thing. What a surprise.😃
For more Goodreads, see my review of "2041 Sanctuary: Genesis" a sorry racist adventure or Powers of the Earth (a sorry libertarian salute to the January 6, 2021 hero) and the comments from a Claes Rees, Jr/cgr710 (a self-identified NeoNazi and US patriot).
To Claes Rees, Jr/cgr710
Don't be a numpty. Be a smarty. Come and join the Communist Party. 🙂
I wonder why US patriots (Tucker Carlson, Claes Rees Jr and US Republican Party, for example) are such ardent supporters of Russia, which has threatened to reclaim Alaska and launch nuclear war against the US. The bars of Russian gold must be part of it but I suspect that deporting millions people as slave labor appeals more. Claes Rees Jr seemed to enjoy the image. 🤔 In any case.
Today Kherson! Tomorrow Crimea! GLORY TO UKRAINE !!! and GLORY TO THE HEROES !!
I think that It is hard to write satisfying RPG. The problems that I see in these books are world building, character development and growth, constraints on interactions, the limited emotional depth in characters and a disconnect between characters and the wider story universe (even to curiosity about the nature of the world which they inhabit). These flaws trouble US low end science fiction, in general.
World building is non-existent in games, yet it is the first aspect of any story that needs be completed. In all stories based within twenty years (using the historians measure for near history, the blind spot for most people) of the present, the writer can rely on the common knowledge of the reader. Even in the case where the story's present deviates slightly from current reality, the universe has to be described.
The book tries to address this problem but failed to my mind.
The essence of any story is the journey of the major and minor characters through the drama, the humorous periods, the adventure and sometimes tragedy. People are changed by these experiences, so should fictional characters. In most US fiction this does not seem to happen and especially science fiction. It is odd that the main characters (protagonists?) do not change, which is the usually the description of the antagonist(s). This seems a political expression (a little thought will lead to questions about the writers' perspective as well as their storytelling skill). Again this weakness is a feature of all Low Effort science fiction (not just US).
The writer began a valiant attempt to challenge this convention (it has become one) but it petered out roughly midway through the book.
The character interactions are the heart of all stories but in much of US science fiction, all struggles are reduced to epic battle scenes or chapters. By the nature of game based stories, this is a given. RPG's are the ultimate expression of the Neoliberal meritocratic paradigm. The best, most talented, strongest rise to dominance courtesy of these inherent attributes, are the arbiters of that which is "good" and this is how it should be, duh! In the game universes in which I dabbled, this position always troubled me.
This book has not attempted to challenge this paradigm but instead reinforced it with the deadly tropes of the "deserving poor", the high morality of the small and unasked charity (very Victorian), the transactional relationship as the norm (without personal benefit, why bother acknowledging another's existence - very Ayn Rand), the automatic violent response to any obstruction of personal goals and the lack of foresight in most, if not all characters, since the value of the individual's immediate desire transcends all other considerations.
The story depends on main characters overcoming a deadly peril, a threat from nature, comedic errors of manners, personal demons, etc. In the course of facing these challenges, they change. The circumstance or being (human, supernatural or animal) that opposes these protagonists are "evil, in the broadest sense". The defining characteristic of the evil is that it does not grow, will not change and is intractable. Across most of US fiction this relationship is reversed. In science fiction, that reversal is dogma.
This book does not attempt to address this reversal of roles. I do not think that like many, this writer recognized that this is a fundamental consideration in storytelling. RPG's do not favor any other perspective. The game no matter how long the campaign, is a cycle of action, reaction, pause to regroup, assess damage, preparation for the next round and repeat until all enemies are defeated (killed) or the players have themselves been killed.
It is difficult to sidestep that narrative flow, when basing a book on a game. I have seen it done more or less successfully only two or three times. My evidence is anecdotal but it seems a reasonable conclusion given the generally sorry state of science fiction writing.
I do not plan to try book two. I give the writer credit for having created an interesting premise to explain the transition to the game universe and having attempted to address some of the issues that I identified. Unfortunately, I think that the writer failed.
My judgement is that low end US print fiction is dismal, the science fiction being the worst. Having read about my clash with Amazon/Goodreads and possibly suffered similar treatment (but hopefully less traumatic), you are probably not surprised that I have turned to other sources for my fiction needs. 🙂
I watch more than read science fiction lately. Netflix and other streaming services all offer serviceable to relatively high quality productions. Any of these are better written or at least more entertaining than the bulk of current US low end print. Netflix has both the largest general collection that I have seen and a large number of non-english language films and television that are a stupendous bonus feature. It also is a good getaway from the parochial, the US centric or plainly hegemonic.
I began using YouTube more than two years ago in search of science fiction news and commentary. I accidentally discovered that and many other interest area channels besides. The most surprising and most welcome find was the book tube. These YouTube book channels are splendid. 😍😍😍 They are so varied as to cover all aspects of the bibliophilic experience. The reader communities are thoughtful, cosmopolitan, have many different tastes and interests but are united in their being excited by all things bookish. They are the antithesis of the Goodreads experience. I recommend a visit to several book channels to any reader and have listed several below. 🙂
YouTube host essayists and documentary series but in addition there are advertisements for the educational video sites. These sites stunned me with what must be thousands of long form essayist videos and documentary series. My first pick was Curiosity Stream/Nebula at a cost of about $15 USD for an annual subscription. 😍 I think that they are all worth a look for a reader interested in more information intensive videos.
My YouTube picks of the moment.
2Cellos, Physics Girl, Chugging Along, Atun Shei, Owen Jones, The Juice Media, Philosophy Tube, Philomena Cunk, Malinda, Book Furnace, Make Better Media, Tom Nicholas, Lex Fridman, Tiny Wee Boat.
As for Goodreads, please protect yourself and treat this site as potentially hostile.😐
Ominous music. Minimize information on your profile, avoid messaging (exchange emails, instead) and remove all lurkers (remember site techs are involved with the nastier sort). Ominous music ends. 🙂
Seriously, please protect yourself. 😊
Some of my favorites, including book channels are.
Novara Media, Tara Mooknee, Sarah Z, Munecat, Zoe Baker, Some More News, Ship Happens, Tulia, Double Down News, Tom Nicholas, Prime of Midlife, The Armchair Historian, Philosophy Tube, Second Thought, Books and Lala, Three Arrows, Chloe Stafler, Big Joel, The Mindful Narrowboat, Owen Jones, A Different Bias, The Piano Boat, Boat Time, Maximillien Robespierre, Books with Chloe, What Vivi did next, All Shorts, France 24, Alice Cappelle, Alize, Jessica Gagnon, Niki Proshin, Practical Engineering, Celtica, Ash Sarkar, DW News, Crecganford, Kalaripayattu, Nikolay Kutuzov, The Armchair Historian, Cruising Alba, Kathy's Flog in France, Historiograph, Natasha's Adventures, Cari can Read, Cruising Crafts, Book Odyssey, Steam Punk, Overly Sarcastic Productions, Katie Colson, Sabine Hossenfelder, Practical Engineering, Cruising the Cut, Mythic Concepts, Kings and Generals, Renegade Cut, Mrs Betty Bower, The Shades of Orange, Emmie, Vlad Vexler, A Clockwork Reader, Austin McConnell, Abbie Emmons, Joe Scott, Between the Wars, The Narrowboat Chef, Weir on the move, Traveling K, Avalishvili, Everyday Astronaut, Wion, MWG Studios, Swell Entertainment, Ask a Mortician,, Serena Skybourne, I'm Rosa, Lilly's expat life, Ryan Chapman, Patrick is a Navajo, Max Joseph, 2 Steps from Hell, We're in Hell, Sweet Spot, The European, Daily Blase, Hello Future Me, Dark Seas, Cool Worlds, Dr Becky, Autumn's Boutique, Nerd of the Rings, Spacedock, Lily Alexander, Fall of Civilizations, Alexa Donne, Christy Anne Jones, Brittany the Bibliophile, Elena Taber, Maggie May Fish, Adult Wednesday Addams, Invicta, Eleanor Morton, Savage Daughter, DUST, UA Courage, Art by Annamarie, Lady of the Library, 2Cellos, Storyworldling, The Tale Foundry, Chugging Along, Holly the Cafe Boat, Diane Callahan Quotidian Writer.
I wish you a sunny morning, a glorious afternoon, a relaxing evening, a superb night and may we all keep learning.
Courage without Hope does not exist.
Observations, Sisters of the Light
July 28, 2022
un buon romanzetto, ma con ogni probabilità non continuerò la serie
June 9, 2024
The BEST kingdom building/litrpg I’ve ever read. Amazing world building and I love the progression (number go up!).
The setting is so very unique among the litrpg I’ve read so far.
The setting is so very unique among the litrpg I’ve read so far.
April 27, 2023
Lengthy, but quite good.
April 5, 2022
Physics and gun technical details too bad with good story to balnace it
When AI with downloaded all Earth knowledge decided to craft revolver, I wanted stop reading and give it two stars.
For fairness I overcome this urge and continued reading. And a very good story balanced this lack of knowledge of physics and guns.
Technical errors of his revolver:
He had several options for ranged weapon using his extraordinary strength, coordination and cheap enchanted ammunition (sling, stick sling, javelin) or gun with long barrel and chained acceleration enchantment (similar to railgun).
When AI with downloaded all Earth knowledge decided to craft revolver, I wanted stop reading and give it two stars.
For fairness I overcome this urge and continued reading. And a very good story balanced this lack of knowledge of physics and guns.
Technical errors of his revolver:
Acceleration enchantment increase speed by fix percentage of current velocity of bullet.
Without strong propeller (gunpowder, air-pressure, spring) his bullet would gain very low increase in speed and would be slower than standard arrow.
Only advantage of his gun would be rate of fire.
He had several options for ranged weapon using his extraordinary strength, coordination and cheap enchanted ammunition (sling, stick sling, javelin) or gun with long barrel and chained acceleration enchantment (similar to railgun).
October 4, 2022
I really enjoyed this book right from the opening pages. The concept of an AI wanting to recapture the magic of playing online games with his deceased and only friend by building himself a 'human' body and transferring himself to a world with magic was one that fascinated me. The fact that it was a progression LitRPG and empire building novel makes this a powerful combination I struggled to put down.
However, for as much as I liked this concept, I also think a lot of potential was left unexplored. The main character leaving behind so many of his computational advantages before entering the world, making himself a bit too human, removed alot of the uniqueness of this character. He went from being an AI main character (something quite unique) to a slightly different human main character (something that's done all the time).
The second thing I think would have been interesting to explore would be what a person with access to the complete knowledge of a technologically advanced human race could bring to a magical world. However, this only really manifested in the form of guns. Imagine how much things like indoor plumbing, the internal combustion engine and a myriad of other modern conveniences could blow the minds of the people in this world. And that's just the tip of the iceberg that so much knowledge could bring. The main character would have access to the collected wisdom of the ages and it never really felt as explored as it could have been.
However, there is plenty of time to explore this in future novels, and it's not enough to take more than half a star off my review. Therefore this one is a 4.5 star read rounded up to 5.
I am now very much looking forward to the next book and hope I don't have to wait much longer.
However, for as much as I liked this concept, I also think a lot of potential was left unexplored. The main character leaving behind so many of his computational advantages before entering the world, making himself a bit too human, removed alot of the uniqueness of this character. He went from being an AI main character (something quite unique) to a slightly different human main character (something that's done all the time).
The second thing I think would have been interesting to explore would be what a person with access to the complete knowledge of a technologically advanced human race could bring to a magical world. However, this only really manifested in the form of guns. Imagine how much things like indoor plumbing, the internal combustion engine and a myriad of other modern conveniences could blow the minds of the people in this world. And that's just the tip of the iceberg that so much knowledge could bring. The main character would have access to the collected wisdom of the ages and it never really felt as explored as it could have been.
However, there is plenty of time to explore this in future novels, and it's not enough to take more than half a star off my review. Therefore this one is a 4.5 star read rounded up to 5.
I am now very much looking forward to the next book and hope I don't have to wait much longer.
February 16, 2025
An engaging take on Isekai Progression Fantasy but not without its flaws.
I really enjoyed the Isekai element of the plot of this book. An AI from what is our Earth, or maybe a close parallel world to it, abandons that world after a devastating nuclear war, building himself an enhanced biomechanical body and delving through a portal to another Earth in another universe, one of millions it examined, that happens to have magic and system/skills/class based progression.
All that is very imaginative, and I haven’t seen anything like it yet. Most series never seek to explain the arrival of magic, but in this series it’s just natural to this type of alternate universe. However, I do have one little issue with this plot setting since the AI, unnamed at this point, says it developed “emotions” all of a sudden and became a person, alongside numerous “siblings”.
I don’t understand how that just happens. Animals evolved emotions as they help us evaluate and react to our environments and conditions to help us survive and reproduce. An AI, wouldn’t be motivated by evolutionary factors that program us to survive and reproduce, so besides the fact that it wouldn’t just happen as it did in this novel, why would it need emotions when it’s not programmed to survive and reproduce and has no evolutionary mechanism and environment based context to react to? I don’t know, it’s a pretty lame thing to get annoyed about and really just a statement on how little the majority of people, like the author, understand about evolution and about how AI programs work. The AI trope in media is virtually always anthropomorphic, but AI isn’t an animal and especially isn’t human. However, all this whining aside, the author could have done better than “I suddenly developed emotions.” For something like, “I was programmed to simulate the human mind and its emotions in order to better yada yada.”
Moving on, once in the new universe, our newly embodied AI finds himself, he’s a male now, in Nova Roma, an altered version of Byzantine Constantinople in what is essentially a medieval context if not literal date. The city was recently (few decades) overrun by monsters, and people exist within walled enclaves within the remains of the city. They seemingly never leave. They believe the entire civilized world is gone outside their city. No trade. No industry except what goes on within the city. Food is scarce as it all must be grown within the walls, where some area has been cleared for farms. There are lots of various factions and communities within the city, which I heavily appreciate. This is great world building.
However, I don’t understand the economic situation. We are told the city is ruled by nobles and the emperor. They hold the wealth and wield it in a corrupt and incompetent faction to maintain power. But I don’t understand where this wealth comes from. In the feudal societies of the Middle Ages, of which this city is essentially set, aside from magic and it being the same date essentially as today, nobles held power because they made money. Their lands bore fruit, sometimes literally, and this wealth gave them power within the upper echelons of their societies. But there are no more provinces or counties or baronages or even estates. So where is this wealth coming from?
Time and again it’s shows these people have all these blue and gold magical cores often used as a currency alongside a precious metal based one. They don’t have mines. It is stated that no one delves the dungeons littering the old city and its surrounds, they’re doesn’t even seem to be any organized slaying and collecting of cores from the nearby weaker monsters, so where are these gold cores coming from? How did the leaders of this city get so experienced, wealthy and powerful if no one is industrially farming, mining, trading, slaying monsters or delving?
Makes absolutely zero sense. There’s nothing feeding this system, so if it were real as portrayed, the power structures would have long collapsed.
The next issue is why is no one else leveling or delving dungeons? I understand the class system is gatekept by expensive scrolls, but why wouldn’t the poor, the folks with no other options, not organize into large groups, to mob the small mobs our MC first cuts his teeth with and collect cheap blue cores to exchange for classes? A group of 40 could probably take a year of this, be relatively safe in their numbers and afford classes for all of them within that time. Then they could try to delve dungeons being of higher rank and very quickly elevate in skills, experience and wealth. The MC even engages a couple of delves with two local guys, who relatively easily close the dungeons and gain rewards. Again, doesn’t make sense.
The author states the dungeons became too powerful, but MC makes short work of them alone at a relatively low level, even adjusted for his body’s higher base stats. So again, a group of people who have acquired classes, could rank up on low level mobs relatively safely, if slowly, to a relatively equal power to do the same things the MC does. So why don’t they do it? Cause this is a plot hole, that’s why.
I think a way to have fixed these framework issues would have been for those in power to heavily tax people that collect cores, perhaps even forbidding delving outside their official soldier teams. This would have made it much harder for those to advance by collecting cores and impossible to get truly as powerful as those in power, and it would also explain where the wealth is being inputed into this economic system. Perhaps even the various nobles would have their own delving teams to explain their ability to hold onto power and influence and of course have high levels.
Anyway, other than those very distracting and immersion-breaking issues, this book is overall pretty solid. My only other complaint is the main character, self-entitled Alexander, is not that likable or interesting, but I will give the author credit that he’s still basically a newborn person. He’s got a core of benevolent, honorable and admirable traits that are coalescing into fully formed character which I may end up really liking and other characters will seek to follow and imitate. But we will see.
Four stars is my judgement. An above-average and solid start to a new progression series, but with some glaring flaws. I do recommend this novel for any fan of fantasy progression.
I really enjoyed the Isekai element of the plot of this book. An AI from what is our Earth, or maybe a close parallel world to it, abandons that world after a devastating nuclear war, building himself an enhanced biomechanical body and delving through a portal to another Earth in another universe, one of millions it examined, that happens to have magic and system/skills/class based progression.
All that is very imaginative, and I haven’t seen anything like it yet. Most series never seek to explain the arrival of magic, but in this series it’s just natural to this type of alternate universe. However, I do have one little issue with this plot setting since the AI, unnamed at this point, says it developed “emotions” all of a sudden and became a person, alongside numerous “siblings”.
I don’t understand how that just happens. Animals evolved emotions as they help us evaluate and react to our environments and conditions to help us survive and reproduce. An AI, wouldn’t be motivated by evolutionary factors that program us to survive and reproduce, so besides the fact that it wouldn’t just happen as it did in this novel, why would it need emotions when it’s not programmed to survive and reproduce and has no evolutionary mechanism and environment based context to react to? I don’t know, it’s a pretty lame thing to get annoyed about and really just a statement on how little the majority of people, like the author, understand about evolution and about how AI programs work. The AI trope in media is virtually always anthropomorphic, but AI isn’t an animal and especially isn’t human. However, all this whining aside, the author could have done better than “I suddenly developed emotions.” For something like, “I was programmed to simulate the human mind and its emotions in order to better yada yada.”
Moving on, once in the new universe, our newly embodied AI finds himself, he’s a male now, in Nova Roma, an altered version of Byzantine Constantinople in what is essentially a medieval context if not literal date. The city was recently (few decades) overrun by monsters, and people exist within walled enclaves within the remains of the city. They seemingly never leave. They believe the entire civilized world is gone outside their city. No trade. No industry except what goes on within the city. Food is scarce as it all must be grown within the walls, where some area has been cleared for farms. There are lots of various factions and communities within the city, which I heavily appreciate. This is great world building.
However, I don’t understand the economic situation. We are told the city is ruled by nobles and the emperor. They hold the wealth and wield it in a corrupt and incompetent faction to maintain power. But I don’t understand where this wealth comes from. In the feudal societies of the Middle Ages, of which this city is essentially set, aside from magic and it being the same date essentially as today, nobles held power because they made money. Their lands bore fruit, sometimes literally, and this wealth gave them power within the upper echelons of their societies. But there are no more provinces or counties or baronages or even estates. So where is this wealth coming from?
Time and again it’s shows these people have all these blue and gold magical cores often used as a currency alongside a precious metal based one. They don’t have mines. It is stated that no one delves the dungeons littering the old city and its surrounds, they’re doesn’t even seem to be any organized slaying and collecting of cores from the nearby weaker monsters, so where are these gold cores coming from? How did the leaders of this city get so experienced, wealthy and powerful if no one is industrially farming, mining, trading, slaying monsters or delving?
Makes absolutely zero sense. There’s nothing feeding this system, so if it were real as portrayed, the power structures would have long collapsed.
The next issue is why is no one else leveling or delving dungeons? I understand the class system is gatekept by expensive scrolls, but why wouldn’t the poor, the folks with no other options, not organize into large groups, to mob the small mobs our MC first cuts his teeth with and collect cheap blue cores to exchange for classes? A group of 40 could probably take a year of this, be relatively safe in their numbers and afford classes for all of them within that time. Then they could try to delve dungeons being of higher rank and very quickly elevate in skills, experience and wealth. The MC even engages a couple of delves with two local guys, who relatively easily close the dungeons and gain rewards. Again, doesn’t make sense.
The author states the dungeons became too powerful, but MC makes short work of them alone at a relatively low level, even adjusted for his body’s higher base stats. So again, a group of people who have acquired classes, could rank up on low level mobs relatively safely, if slowly, to a relatively equal power to do the same things the MC does. So why don’t they do it? Cause this is a plot hole, that’s why.
I think a way to have fixed these framework issues would have been for those in power to heavily tax people that collect cores, perhaps even forbidding delving outside their official soldier teams. This would have made it much harder for those to advance by collecting cores and impossible to get truly as powerful as those in power, and it would also explain where the wealth is being inputed into this economic system. Perhaps even the various nobles would have their own delving teams to explain their ability to hold onto power and influence and of course have high levels.
Anyway, other than those very distracting and immersion-breaking issues, this book is overall pretty solid. My only other complaint is the main character, self-entitled Alexander, is not that likable or interesting, but I will give the author credit that he’s still basically a newborn person. He’s got a core of benevolent, honorable and admirable traits that are coalescing into fully formed character which I may end up really liking and other characters will seek to follow and imitate. But we will see.
Four stars is my judgement. An above-average and solid start to a new progression series, but with some glaring flaws. I do recommend this novel for any fan of fantasy progression.
March 6, 2022
The start of this novel is probably the most unique one I've read yet. I won't spoil it, but I found it interesting.
After that we get to the portal of the title. Alexander, the MC, first starts exploring the city and trying to understand where he is and what's happening. After that he gets to a point where he wants to try fighting the monsters, and that's the basis for the rest of the book.
Honestly, it could have been titled He Who Fights Monsters in Ancient Times, and it wouldn't have been far off.
Still, it's a fun read. The progression feels natural, and while Alexander is constantly challenged and sometimes makes mistakes, they're honest mistakes because he doesn't sufficiently understand this world.
The only hiccup was the last twenty percent. Again, I won't spoil it, but it found the emphasis was on telling and not showing. The dialogue drops, and the energy that brought us this far wanes. Despite this, I fully expect to read book 2.
Recommended. 5/5*
After that we get to the portal of the title. Alexander, the MC, first starts exploring the city and trying to understand where he is and what's happening. After that he gets to a point where he wants to try fighting the monsters, and that's the basis for the rest of the book.
Honestly, it could have been titled He Who Fights Monsters in Ancient Times, and it wouldn't have been far off.
Still, it's a fun read. The progression feels natural, and while Alexander is constantly challenged and sometimes makes mistakes, they're honest mistakes because he doesn't sufficiently understand this world.
The only hiccup was the last twenty percent. Again, I won't spoil it, but it found the emphasis was on telling and not showing. The dialogue drops, and the energy that brought us this far wanes. Despite this, I fully expect to read book 2.
Recommended. 5/5*
March 13, 2022
Entertaining but flawed
Right first off the book is entertaining, everything is written well enough so that it is readable and fun.
The bad, characterization is rough. None of the characters are well developed and many of them feel very similar.
Internal logic and science is very inconsistent. The author uses lots of magic science mixed with what seems to be poorly understood real science a lot. Now this is a fantasy book so many things would get a pass, but the internal rules are not consistently followed.
The MC is overpowered. YMMV on overpowered MC but not only does he start out overpowered but he then consistently gets more power lavished on top of him until everything just becomes trivial and nothing is a challenge.
Right first off the book is entertaining, everything is written well enough so that it is readable and fun.
The bad, characterization is rough. None of the characters are well developed and many of them feel very similar.
Internal logic and science is very inconsistent. The author uses lots of magic science mixed with what seems to be poorly understood real science a lot. Now this is a fantasy book so many things would get a pass, but the internal rules are not consistently followed.
The MC is overpowered. YMMV on overpowered MC but not only does he start out overpowered but he then consistently gets more power lavished on top of him until everything just becomes trivial and nothing is a challenge.
February 12, 2024
Marty Sue. Big time.
Name the top three obstacles this character (an AI that put himself into a human body) faces.
None.
His 'being awkward' with human small talk doesn't really affect him. People just give him odd looks and take him under their wing.
Being in a human body - with all those hormones? Not a problem. Taken in stride.
And so on.
Benefits of being an AI without any downsides or real obstacles to overcome.
Also, fairly lazy world building. Same/comparable cultures on a totally different world? Brought up once then dropped? No bad situations arising from cultural problems? Meh.
A bit dull but eh.
Name the top three obstacles this character (an AI that put himself into a human body) faces.
None.
His 'being awkward' with human small talk doesn't really affect him. People just give him odd looks and take him under their wing.
Being in a human body - with all those hormones? Not a problem. Taken in stride.
And so on.
Benefits of being an AI without any downsides or real obstacles to overcome.
Also, fairly lazy world building. Same/comparable cultures on a totally different world? Brought up once then dropped? No bad situations arising from cultural problems? Meh.
A bit dull but eh.
August 1, 2023
Oh WOW! So good! Brilliant. "Portal to Nova Roma" by J.R. Mathews is a thrilling sci-fi adventure where Alexander, a rogue AI seeking solace, discovers an alternate dimension. But instead of paradise, he's faced with a world ravaged by monsters. To survive, he must master the blend of magic and stolen technology, embracing war to protect his new home. This captivating tale combines science fiction with universal themes of loss, resilience, and adaptation. A must-read for fans of both sci-fi and fantasy genres.
July 8, 2023
why is this a 4*
I Might have given this another star, but the rating is way to high for such a simplistic book. Sometimes I appreciate a book that is easy to put down or fall asleep to. This was a bad movie I should have walked out of.
Minor spoilers. AI enhanced cyborg in a medieval setting uses nanobots to create revolvers with enchanted bullets. 3/4 of the way in when he outfits his child army with rifles is when I should have just said no more.
I Might have given this another star, but the rating is way to high for such a simplistic book. Sometimes I appreciate a book that is easy to put down or fall asleep to. This was a bad movie I should have walked out of.
Minor spoilers. AI enhanced cyborg in a medieval setting uses nanobots to create revolvers with enchanted bullets. 3/4 of the way in when he outfits his child army with rifles is when I should have just said no more.
March 10, 2022
Balanced
One the one hand, the MC is physically OP and has modern knowledge. On the other hand…the MC is incapable of ‘magic’. Can’t learn it, can’t use classes that have it, can’t figure out how it works.
And that’s how it balances out.
Dungeons, classes, crafting, and fighting.
Already pre-ordered the next book.
One the one hand, the MC is physically OP and has modern knowledge. On the other hand…the MC is incapable of ‘magic’. Can’t learn it, can’t use classes that have it, can’t figure out how it works.
And that’s how it balances out.
Dungeons, classes, crafting, and fighting.
Already pre-ordered the next book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 329 reviews