The apocalypse didn’t break Plynthia. The nobles did that long before the end came.
Len and Rick survived its fall—barely. Sent into dungeon after dungeon to map, clear, and die for noble profit, they earned their stats the hard one scar, one kill, one body at a time.
Now they’ve gone back. Not by choice. Not by magic. By system design.
The cracks they remember are spreading again.
Trapped on the frontlines of the Stained Mountain Range, they're under siege by mana-mutated beasts. Their only shot at saving the firebase? Dig through the mountain to reach Goran before Halem Forest spills over and devours them all.
But Goran isn't a rescue. It's a powder keg.
The kingdom’s lords are circling—offering bribes, spinning promises, preparing for a civil war that hasn’t started yet... but will. Len and Rick have seen this game before, and they know how it with bodies stacked in dungeons and nobles squabbling over the loot.
This time, it’s not their war.
But if they walk away, it might be everyone’s last.
Against Ruin’s Fate is Book 2 of Restarting the Apocalypse, a gritty Regressor LitRPG series by international bestseller Michael Chatfield.
✔ Dungeon warfare ✔ Crafting-based progression ✔ Military realism ✔ Zero plot armor ✔ Power earned, not gifted
Michael Chatfield is a Canadian Army veteran and international bestselling author who writes the kind of books he always wanted to read—character-driven, gritty, tactical, and grounded in reality.
He doesn’t write one-dimensional killers wrapped in plot armor, charging toward an objective without thought. His stories are built for readers who want earned progression, tight, understandable logic, and realistic strategy. Every stat system has structure. Every decision is deliberate (except when there is Jaeger involved).
And the pacing? It's locked at two hundred percent. From alleyway brawls to starship armadas clashing over galactic sovereignty, from tactical dungeon assaults to city-states warring over a continent’s fate—Chatfield commits to every battle like it’s his last.
With millions of books and audiobooks sold, and tens of thousands of reviews his work spans LitRPG, military sci-fi, fantasy, and post-apocalyptic survival. He writes for readers who value systems that make sense, loyalty that lasts, and power that’s earned, not handed out.
Whether you're listening on a long drive, grinding through a shift, or up past midnight planning the next in-game raid—this is where you’ll find sagas to binge. Where strength is earned, logic rules, and camaraderie is forged in fire.
You can connect with him on Patreon and don't forget to follow him on social media!
I am *very* glad the ‘future plans’ of the MCs are to travel instead of getting further involved in production and development. City building gets tedious, and the politics are frustrating as well.
I will pre-order book 3. Not amazing, but it works for me.
Len and Rick went thru it all before, but this time things have changed a bit. Things are progressing faster than before. Can they still achieve their goal and save the world they know?
I like the story but wish there was more of it. This book is 3 parts fighting 1 part story. A lot of world building. A lot of set up. Hopefully the next will have some payoff.
If you like the previous book in the series you're going to like this one. Well, not necessary to have read the first book to enjoy this one. It'll give you a lot more to context and a lot more enjoyment if you do plenty of action. Plenty of rollability lots of city building which I really enjoy. Lots of research dungeon exploration. The main characters are powerful but not overpowered. Just a step above everybody else that's a nice satisfaction of two main characters who haven't already survived the Apocalypse. One time know exactly what to do the next for the most part, the longer the book series continues the more out of whack their information becomes and the more tenuous their situation. I know it's a good book because when I finished it I was disappointed there wasn't more to read. Looking forward to the next one in the series. I apologize for any spelling errors and writingness review with voice to text. I haven't gone over the plot cuz I feel it would destroy the value of the book to you knowing any thing that's going to happen in the future. Hope this helps
This was slightly better than the first book just because the author stopped repeating the poorly explained time travel excuse every few pages. The plot is still not great. it could be so much better but the author instead uses vague descriptions as a crutch to get by. The timeline is vague. How much time has passed? Who knows. How much time before winter? Who knows, but it's definitely going to be a scary problem. This also makes the advancement and development of the soldiers and city make little to no sense. They all jump forward in tech and abilities very quickly with no perceived effort. The whole idea of cultivation/ leveling/ and skills is also super vague to the point that it doesn't even matter. The author can't even be bothered to show full status sheets because then he couldn't change things on the fly to make things just work out for the MCs
On one points the story is moving forward. On another to many plots confusing the narrative. What is the reader suppose to focus on? How many plots before the author, the reader, or some random entity, just forgets where this is all going. Focus needs to be streamlined. But like I said the story is moving... just slowly. End of book two and atleast the two MC's talked about the third person that sent them back in time to begin with... I mean it was one maybe two lines about him but it was there... sigh.
I love the story and its pretty well thought out. Its very similar in themes to the previous stories. Two main characters with special knowledge and abilities fighting the system.
I wish less time and details would be devoted to nuances. For example spending entire chapters on details around manufacturing, engineering or farming. Those very specific details really slow down the story sometimes.
Overall good plot, just didnt move too much due to a lot of time and effort being invested into very minute details
If you liked the first book, you'll enjoy this one as well. Thankfully the technical descriptions aren't as abundant in this one.
It doesn't end on a cliffhanger as much as it does a redundancy, in case anyone wasnt paying attention to the several times the ending was hinted at, especially in the latter third of the novel. I want to read the next book, but not because I'm feeling any hook from where the book closed.
As the second of the series, this book continues it's combination of action and discovery, that caught my attention in the first npovel. The characters are very realistic and engaging, the world large and detailed. The political climate is fraught (unfortunately - I don't like politics) and currently relevant as the 'world' deals with the changes wrought by apocalyptic change, and a crumbling monarchy. I'm sad that I have to wait for the next book.. 😉🤣
Still has the same issue as the last book, 20 percent good and 80 filler. A lot of boring build up, if you like that stuff from the first book there's more. What I really liked was the epic battles and interacting with the people. The highlights always involved the two MC working with grandma or meeting people to get things done.
The second book started to liven up in the second half when the grubby politicians got involved , I don't particularly enjoy the dungeon diving and the basic story is okay but as the MCs realise they need help , I'm hoping book three will be more world building and less dungeons.
I was disappointed with some of the decisions made and what I see as plot holes. I don’t understand why the Inspector and company didn’t have an accident due to beast attack on the way back staged by the MCs and I don’t understand why Len is dragging his feet in reuniting with his former wife who he said he loved and doesn’t even seem to mention her or care.
I was really looking forward to this series when I saw it. But the writing really is not as polished as your other work. Emerilia is definitely your best written series. This one almost seems like it was written by A.I. a lot of redundant sentences and holes in the story. Hopefully there's improvement in the next book
Really enjoyed the character interactions/development and world (re)building. Good dose of politics without getting really bogged down in it (for me). Looking forward to where this series goes next!
Author has a good balance with the MCs being strong but not OP to doing everything themselves. Also factor in that MCs are changing the future with their changes. A really good read, definitely recommend.