What do you think?
Rate this book
I Don't Want to be the Hive Queen #1
Swarm: An Army Building LitRPG/LitRTS Series
Think you've had a bad day at work? Marcus definitely takes the cake.
First, he had a horrible customer during his shift. Then he got fired by his boss. And after that, he got shot to death during a robbery.
To top it all off, he awakened within the body of a weak and strange creature in a fantasy world full of deadly monsters.
And that's just Monday!
Now Marcus will have to find a way to survive as a Vex Queen, but to do so his own bravery and determination are not enough. He needs to build a Hive that will protect him and the monsters are only the first of many threats to come...
First, he had a horrible customer during his shift. Then he got fired by his boss. And after that, he got shot to death during a robbery.
To top it all off, he awakened within the body of a weak and strange creature in a fantasy world full of deadly monsters.
And that's just Monday!
Now Marcus will have to find a way to survive as a Vex Queen, but to do so his own bravery and determination are not enough. He needs to build a Hive that will protect him and the monsters are only the first of many threats to come...
1 pages, Audio CD
First published October 25, 2022
384 people are currently reading
174 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 42 reviews
November 14, 2022
Wow, I am striking out this week. I had to give it up at 13% (76 pages in). So first, this isn't litrpg despite the marketing on Amazon. I would love to read a gamelit story that captures the feeling of a good real-time strategy game. This isn't it though. It's an isekai progressive fantasy maybe, but not remotely litrpg.
The main character spends all his time being exhausted, hungry, whiny, and altogether pretty lame. He has almost no agency other than to weave himself some grass clothing that he evidently knows how to do. Even though the story info dumped what felt like his whole life story, it failed to mention when he got that know-how.
He also seems to be more afraid of the fact his new body has a vagina rather than the fact that he's a reptilian insect creature.
If you want to play a drinking game, use the keyword "chitin" and prepare to get obliterated. Seriously, we know the MC is part insect and has some exoskeletal covering on his arms and legs. You don't have to mention it every single time he does something.
This story is not as advertised (Starcraft meets Dungeons & Dragons) and it's not for me either.
The main character spends all his time being exhausted, hungry, whiny, and altogether pretty lame. He has almost no agency other than to weave himself some grass clothing that he evidently knows how to do. Even though the story info dumped what felt like his whole life story, it failed to mention when he got that know-how.
He also seems to be more afraid of the fact his new body has a vagina rather than the fact that he's a reptilian insect creature.
If you want to play a drinking game, use the keyword "chitin" and prepare to get obliterated. Seriously, we know the MC is part insect and has some exoskeletal covering on his arms and legs. You don't have to mention it every single time he does something.
This story is not as advertised (Starcraft meets Dungeons & Dragons) and it's not for me either.
October 28, 2022
book one
Yet another rage character, this one is a male mind in a female insect queen.
Also this guy from the modern world knows primitive basket weaving and clothes making.
No actual research was done to give us any details in order to make us feel like this character actually knows how to do anything other than rage.
Also found a mistake in the blurb.
So far don’t recommend but I haven’t finished the book yet. I might come back to it and if I do I’ll update this review.
Yet another rage character, this one is a male mind in a female insect queen.
Also this guy from the modern world knows primitive basket weaving and clothes making.
No actual research was done to give us any details in order to make us feel like this character actually knows how to do anything other than rage.
Also found a mistake in the blurb.
So far don’t recommend but I haven’t finished the book yet. I might come back to it and if I do I’ll update this review.
November 11, 2022
Good, but with some flaws
As the title says, it is a good book. Let me get the flaws out of the way first.
- Multiple POV shifts that break immersion a fair amount. Some add context and flavor, but many are unnecessarily and not enjoyable.
- Possibly Triggering due to the heavy influence of LGBTQ+ themes, specifically the MC being reborn into a body of the opposite gender and suffering from body dysphoria. This may or may not be a deal breaker to some readers, but it IS worth mentioning. While it's an interesting concept for the book, it did feel...forced? At least partially. As if the author had an agenda writing it. More on this in the conclusion.
The pros
- well written, with few flaws
- interesting and unique story
- cool theme
- interesting characters and side characters
- great world building
Overall it is a fun and enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to book 2 when it comes out. The flaws speak for themselves. For me personally, I felt the changing of genders to be both interesting, and also difficult to understand. This lead to a lot of difficulty in my part identifying with the protagonist as that is something I'm unfamiliar with and have never given great thought to. The more annoying side of it felt forced, like Marcus could have just built a spawning pool, but instead was forced to become a new gender. Conservative people will find this book difficult to connect with for that reason, as well as most cis gendered folks like myself.
All that said, I do recommend giving this a read.
As the title says, it is a good book. Let me get the flaws out of the way first.
- Multiple POV shifts that break immersion a fair amount. Some add context and flavor, but many are unnecessarily and not enjoyable.
- Possibly Triggering due to the heavy influence of LGBTQ+ themes, specifically the MC being reborn into a body of the opposite gender and suffering from body dysphoria. This may or may not be a deal breaker to some readers, but it IS worth mentioning. While it's an interesting concept for the book, it did feel...forced? At least partially. As if the author had an agenda writing it. More on this in the conclusion.
The pros
- well written, with few flaws
- interesting and unique story
- cool theme
- interesting characters and side characters
- great world building
Overall it is a fun and enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to book 2 when it comes out. The flaws speak for themselves. For me personally, I felt the changing of genders to be both interesting, and also difficult to understand. This lead to a lot of difficulty in my part identifying with the protagonist as that is something I'm unfamiliar with and have never given great thought to. The more annoying side of it felt forced, like Marcus could have just built a spawning pool, but instead was forced to become a new gender. Conservative people will find this book difficult to connect with for that reason, as well as most cis gendered folks like myself.
All that said, I do recommend giving this a read.
April 13, 2023
*Audiobook Review*
Dumb and angry MC. Also, an author who should not be writing gender bender. The biggest issue is that the main character seem to lack of sense of self. He gets transformed into an insect hybrid or that he is another planet and the MC can only focus that he is now a she. His only objective is to go back to living in a human city and be around humans. Humans that in the past treated him like shit and murdered him. He doesn't understand why other humans are scared of him or why they don't speak English in an alien world. If I met ET, I would be having issues. The MC is "Why is everyone afraid of me? wa wa wa". Maybe because control a hive of murder insects? You expect zerg, but I got was Papa smurf wondering why he doesn't have nipples.
Dumb and angry MC. Also, an author who should not be writing gender bender. The biggest issue is that the main character seem to lack of sense of self. He gets transformed into an insect hybrid or that he is another planet and the MC can only focus that he is now a she. His only objective is to go back to living in a human city and be around humans. Humans that in the past treated him like shit and murdered him. He doesn't understand why other humans are scared of him or why they don't speak English in an alien world. If I met ET, I would be having issues. The MC is "Why is everyone afraid of me? wa wa wa". Maybe because control a hive of murder insects? You expect zerg, but I got was Papa smurf wondering why he doesn't have nipples.
December 28, 2023
I have often wondered what it would be like to write a LitRPG without including the levels and the hit points and all the strategy that goes into planning out the character sheet builds. If you think the answer to that is as simple as reading a traditional fantasy or science fiction novel, you would be wrong. ValetheHowl has produced this sort of alternative, non-rules based, LitRPG in the novel, Swarm.
The premise is very straightforward. A guy from our world is murdered and wakes up in the body of an alien woman and is almost murdered a second time by a monster. Instead, he/she is dumped in the wilderness to see if he/she can survive. I'm using the pronoun he/she because the character thinks of itself as male but has a female body which causes him some confusion. Anyway, from this point on, Marcus, the hero, begins developing his character without ever realizing that is what he is doing. He discovers that he can eat anything, and even though this grosses him out, he does because he wants to survive. He's desperate for social contact of some sort and, after discovering (and hating the fact) that he can lay eggs which hatch creatures he designs, he decides to try and make it through the wilderness to meet other folks. These folks turn out to be goblins who immediately try to kill him.
Things go downhill for Marcus from there. He ends up in a prolonged war with the goblins and learns they are also getting ready to fight nearby humans. This excites him. He thinks of himself as human even though he no longer is. And he rescues two of them and begins to further develop his abilities. He eventually forms an alliance with the nearby human community to fight the goblins.
I found the underlying complexities and strategies of all three societies (human, goblin, and Marcus and his drones) to be quite well done. It was easy to see the author thinking about the world in LitRPG terms, even though the author chose not to use that terminology in the book. The battles are exciting. Lots go wrong. And the setup for the next book is very strong.
The premise is very straightforward. A guy from our world is murdered and wakes up in the body of an alien woman and is almost murdered a second time by a monster. Instead, he/she is dumped in the wilderness to see if he/she can survive. I'm using the pronoun he/she because the character thinks of itself as male but has a female body which causes him some confusion. Anyway, from this point on, Marcus, the hero, begins developing his character without ever realizing that is what he is doing. He discovers that he can eat anything, and even though this grosses him out, he does because he wants to survive. He's desperate for social contact of some sort and, after discovering (and hating the fact) that he can lay eggs which hatch creatures he designs, he decides to try and make it through the wilderness to meet other folks. These folks turn out to be goblins who immediately try to kill him.
Things go downhill for Marcus from there. He ends up in a prolonged war with the goblins and learns they are also getting ready to fight nearby humans. This excites him. He thinks of himself as human even though he no longer is. And he rescues two of them and begins to further develop his abilities. He eventually forms an alliance with the nearby human community to fight the goblins.
I found the underlying complexities and strategies of all three societies (human, goblin, and Marcus and his drones) to be quite well done. It was easy to see the author thinking about the world in LitRPG terms, even though the author chose not to use that terminology in the book. The battles are exciting. Lots go wrong. And the setup for the next book is very strong.
June 26, 2025
I didn't finish it. I made it about a quarter to a third of the way through and had to put it down. I came in expecting something like the Queen of Blades from Starcraft but instead it was a flop. I didn't expect it to be as crude as it ended up being. I listened to this via the Audible Plus catalog and to be honest with you I'm not going to finish it before 7/8/2025.
I've found that the major flaw that these monster stories have is that the main character doesn't have anyone to interact with. Usually other characters come in later but by then it's worn thin. Food became a not issue for him pretty much right away. I understand for a cis-male that waking up as a woman can be body horror. This was meh, the main character mostly whined and likened laying the eggs to defecating.
"Marcus said "birthing them out of my coochie" and it made me fucking scream scream laugh. There's just something about this masc man saying that. The chapter with Clara was a drag."
I've found that the major flaw that these monster stories have is that the main character doesn't have anyone to interact with. Usually other characters come in later but by then it's worn thin. Food became a not issue for him pretty much right away. I understand for a cis-male that waking up as a woman can be body horror. This was meh, the main character mostly whined and likened laying the eggs to defecating.
"Marcus said "birthing them out of my coochie" and it made me fucking scream scream laugh. There's just something about this masc man saying that. The chapter with Clara was a drag."
March 22, 2023
Какво ще стане, ако след като умреш се преродиш в мравка? Ама не обикновена мравка, даже не съвсем мравка, а царица гигантска полу-мравка полу-Пришълецът (но все пак с вид на секси хитинова мацка) в средновековен свят, заплашен от унищожение? И единствената му надежда си ти, с възможността да изградиш гигантско гнездо, от което да излизат безкрайно множество работници и армии войници?
Звучи откачено е и така, звучи интересно и е така :)
А да, забравих да кажа, че работниците и войниците ги раждаш ти и също така си бил мъж в предишния си живот така че изкарването през ... дупето ти на яйца, пред които и щраусовите бледнеят е преживяване, което определено за първи път ти се случва. Както и факта, че хормоните ти бушуват при вида на привлекателни, силни мъже, макар иначе до сега да си бил определено хетеросексуален.
Звучи откачено е и така, звучи интересно и е така :)
А да, забравих да кажа, че работниците и войниците ги раждаш ти и също така си бил мъж в предишния си живот така че изкарването през ... дупето ти на яйца, пред които и щраусовите бледнеят е преживяване, което определено за първи път ти се случва. Както и факта, че хормоните ти бушуват при вида на привлекателни, силни мъже, макар иначе до сега да си бил определено хетеросексуален.
October 29, 2022
First series in a 2-3 months that made me so excited
Okay so this is a FIRST for me…maybe not for some of yall out there but for me, buying a book when i got to read it for free on kindle is a first as i usually dont feel that excited about a series to do so…this book has explained and to me at least seems like the author took the time to actually think of the backstory and how things would fit…thought the Vex i can sorta see how they fit as they are too remote to have been seen. But ya i cant (can but dont want to) wait until the next book cya there.
Okay so this is a FIRST for me…maybe not for some of yall out there but for me, buying a book when i got to read it for free on kindle is a first as i usually dont feel that excited about a series to do so…this book has explained and to me at least seems like the author took the time to actually think of the backstory and how things would fit…thought the Vex i can sorta see how they fit as they are too remote to have been seen. But ya i cant (can but dont want to) wait until the next book cya there.
October 30, 2022
Good book. Not litRPG
Just a warning. I would not consider this a LitRPG book in any sense. Not levels no stats at all. At no point does anyone level up. The only thing LitRPG is a man getting killed and travel to another world. I almost gave it 4 stars because it is not LitRPG. I did even had to stop a few time to make sure it really had LitRPG in the title.
But I didn't because it is a good book. Love the world the base building etc. Cannot wait until the next book.
Just a warning. I would not consider this a LitRPG book in any sense. Not levels no stats at all. At no point does anyone level up. The only thing LitRPG is a man getting killed and travel to another world. I almost gave it 4 stars because it is not LitRPG. I did even had to stop a few time to make sure it really had LitRPG in the title.
But I didn't because it is a good book. Love the world the base building etc. Cannot wait until the next book.
May 16, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed this one. It's not a litrpg in the classic sense, but it's not like one misses the constant nagging about character stats.
The world is interesting and diverse. There is an underlying bigger story happening, which makes one long to find out more. The MC is hilariously put in a... unique... situation which he handles with childish resistance.
I look forward to the next book and hopefully more after that.
Additionally it's written very well, which is rarely the case for litrpg.
The world is interesting and diverse. There is an underlying bigger story happening, which makes one long to find out more. The MC is hilariously put in a... unique... situation which he handles with childish resistance.
I look forward to the next book and hopefully more after that.
Additionally it's written very well, which is rarely the case for litrpg.
June 5, 2023
Rough start, finds it's pacing in the middle, with a decent end
After forcing myself through what I found to be a little uncomfortable to read (not so much the topics but how it was conveyed), the story became a lot more pleasant. I'll give the next one a shot although I find the MC kind of an idiot.. I do like how he's struggling to adapt to his new circumstances. It's tough to relate in regards to the coping though.
After forcing myself through what I found to be a little uncomfortable to read (not so much the topics but how it was conveyed), the story became a lot more pleasant. I'll give the next one a shot although I find the MC kind of an idiot.. I do like how he's struggling to adapt to his new circumstances. It's tough to relate in regards to the coping though.
March 28, 2024
While it wasn't LitRPG in the traditional sense, I didn't know it was supposed to be going in, and other than that, I can't think of anything not to like. 1. Cool Armies with some tactics, 2. A smart MC, 3. A non human Isekai where the MC doesn't try to beat up the big bad, but mostly just content to build their hive.
One problem though, as I was reading, I found it a bit insensitive how often the character talked about their nether regions, which kind of made me squirm, as a male.
One problem though, as I was reading, I found it a bit insensitive how often the character talked about their nether regions, which kind of made me squirm, as a male.
November 28, 2022
Flat characters and convenient story beats.
The main idea is more of a gimmick than a genuine way of developing a character. The goblins are never explained in any way that supports the story setting, they are just a convenient plot device. None of this is horrible, it just comes off as bland. This is an idea without proper support.
The main idea is more of a gimmick than a genuine way of developing a character. The goblins are never explained in any way that supports the story setting, they are just a convenient plot device. None of this is horrible, it just comes off as bland. This is an idea without proper support.
April 11, 2023
I feel a little bit disturbing when the MC is the one who is laying the eggs but he keep reminding himself that he was a guy. The story start okay but the pace start to slow after meeting felix and klara. He want an acception from others but he cannot accept his "new" self. So i don't know why, i feel a bit disturbing because of that.
July 2, 2025
Not a queen
This was interesting because it was not only changing to another world, but another gender. I really felt for the guy being stuck in a woman's body, but he made the best of it and even thrived. I loved that he was able to make true friends, and I look forward to reading where the story will go.
This was interesting because it was not only changing to another world, but another gender. I really felt for the guy being stuck in a woman's body, but he made the best of it and even thrived. I loved that he was able to make true friends, and I look forward to reading where the story will go.
December 14, 2022
Mind blowing story
This book captured my attention and would not let up. I absolutely loved everything about it, especially the pacing. Marcus is a fascinating character and i can't wait to see where the story goes from here!
This book captured my attention and would not let up. I absolutely loved everything about it, especially the pacing. Marcus is a fascinating character and i can't wait to see where the story goes from here!
January 19, 2023
Unusual and intp
So this was quite different to some of the LitRPGs I've read and quite interesting. There are some unusual things going on and I'm intrigued to see how they play out.
So this was quite different to some of the LitRPGs I've read and quite interesting. There are some unusual things going on and I'm intrigued to see how they play out.
March 29, 2023
DNF
Did not make it through the prologue as the MC was a wildly misogynistic fatphobic asshole. Literally referred to someone as a "fat bitch" multiple times per page every page with no lead in to justify such virulent feelings and no other descriptors.
Did not make it through the prologue as the MC was a wildly misogynistic fatphobic asshole. Literally referred to someone as a "fat bitch" multiple times per page every page with no lead in to justify such virulent feelings and no other descriptors.
April 10, 2023
Better than most
This book has none of the annoying lists of stats most LitRPG have. Character driven, awkward and understandable emotions push us through the story while we, the audience, play at back seat driving.
This book has none of the annoying lists of stats most LitRPG have. Character driven, awkward and understandable emotions push us through the story while we, the audience, play at back seat driving.
August 18, 2023
Medicore story
The story had too many plot holes and naive concepts. One of the biggest flaws they have gunpowder yet no cannons for city defense concept of catapults but again no catapults. The people are so polite
The story had too many plot holes and naive concepts. One of the biggest flaws they have gunpowder yet no cannons for city defense concept of catapults but again no catapults. The people are so polite
February 28, 2024
It's alright
I liked the hive queen style, it's fun to see it in action. The whole human side was frustrating though, considering I came to see a hive queen, and got a lot of human viewpoints and a town defense
I liked the hive queen style, it's fun to see it in action. The whole human side was frustrating though, considering I came to see a hive queen, and got a lot of human viewpoints and a town defense
June 4, 2024
This was seriously cool and so funny in parts. Mainly because the man thrust into the woman’s body and his conflict with that as well as being a hive queen having to give birth to eggs. It’s really unique and great plot IMO.
August 21, 2024
DJI Deadpool Monster Hunter World.
Often disgusting and disturbing but also hugely entertaining... and a huge book. Is this an argument against having an editor? Plenty of redundant verbiage and endless conflicts, but still an engaging 24hr audiobook.
Often disgusting and disturbing but also hugely entertaining... and a huge book. Is this an argument against having an editor? Plenty of redundant verbiage and endless conflicts, but still an engaging 24hr audiobook.
October 26, 2022
Love it!
If I could turn this into a video game hands down I definitely would. It scratches an rts itch I didn't know I had
If I could turn this into a video game hands down I definitely would. It scratches an rts itch I didn't know I had
October 31, 2022
unexpectedly good
Few fantasy elements don’t use the coming of age tropes. We also have a complex scenario and multiple connected point of view
Few fantasy elements don’t use the coming of age tropes. We also have a complex scenario and multiple connected point of view
February 19, 2023
Did not like it. Starts interessant but becomes dull after a while. The protagonist is tedious to listen to.
March 4, 2023
Too much telling.
March 27, 2023
For me this wasn't a LITRPG book as I didn't see any LITRPG elements in the first several chapters and was put off reading further due to the lack of the afore mentioned and the excessive swearing.
March 29, 2023
Great Book
I actually loved the story. I know some where complaining about the egg laying part but those sections are not bad at all and are nothing to worry about.
I actually loved the story. I know some where complaining about the egg laying part but those sections are not bad at all and are nothing to worry about.
May 5, 2023
Books decent. But the author has some weird thoughts a women
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews