Nightmare Realm Summoner: A LitRPG Adventure

Nightmare Realm Summoner #1

by Actus, Robb Moreia (Narrator)

An action-packed new LitRPG apocalypse perfect for fans of The Primal Hunter, Hell Difficulty Tutorial, and 1% Lifesteal.

The System warned them. The world panicked. Alex prepared.

In college for a degree he didn’t care about, the promise of the System creating a world where magic and challenge awaited—even at the risk of death—was the best news Alex possibly could have imagined.

Yeah, Alex was ready for a new life. He wasn’t, however, ready for his only friend to shove him through a portal into hell the moment the apocalypse started.

Instead of getting to hunt rabbits and farm wolves to start out, Alex finds himself stranded in a warped world where everything, including the bugs, is stronger than he is. Even with a Summoner Class that gains the powers of its monsters, most people would have died.

Alex didn’t get the memo. He loves the challenge. Where others might have seen certain death, he finds something

Opportunity.

Don't miss the start of this action-packed LitRPG Apocalypse series by Actus, bestselling author of Return of the Runebound Professor and Rise of the Living Forge . It's perfect for fans of The Primal Hunter , Hell Difficulty Tutorial , and 1% Lifesteal .

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Action, Post Apocalyptic

Audible Audio

First published September 30, 2025

About the author

Actus has been writing fantasy stories since the age of twelve, and he's been telling them since he could talk. He's currently working on three main series - Morcster Chef, Steamforged Sorcery, and My Best Friend is an Eldritch Horror. You can find his works on RoyalRoad & Patreon as well as on Amazon.

In addition to his passion for writing, Actus is capable of clearing a two story building with a single jump. That isn't true, but writing about himself in third person gives Actus delusions of grandeur.

Reviews

[Clayton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Struggled to hit 20%

First I DNF this one. I hit 20% and realized I didn’t care from about 10%. The MC is about as interesting as paint drying. His class is boring and he is psychotic in wanting to make everything harder for more “experience”. That system in itself is just weird, the system subjectively determines if something is hard and gives more energy…. Even the MC pointed out how that could be gamed.

Nothing about this book drew me in. The beginning made no sense, his best friend suddenly decided to try and kill him? No explanation. Anomalies apparently aren’t so rare since they keep popping up, and there’s possibly some Highlander thing with them killing each other? No real information and it wasn’t interesting enough to keep reading to find out.

Honestly, in my opinion, comparing this to hell level tutorial and 1% life steal was accurate because I hated both of those books, and this one follows suit. Definite lie to compare it to primal hunter though.

[Will Knight]

Note to self: it's fine, but made it 40% in and got annoyed by the same issue happening again. Time to move on, life's too short too willingly be annoyed by entertainment.

The MC is an adrenaline junkie who masquerades as a minmaxer. His choices seem to be about optimizing risk and reward, but in reality it's all risk, little reward. It comes off as a character who seems to know they're the main character in the story, and have a multiple book deal so they are safe.

It seems reckless, it seems unsafe, they read like they're taking deadly risks... but you know they're the MC, it's the beginning of the book, so they can't really die. So, the tension is not really there.

And a personal pet peeve, it's characters with poorly used classes. If you're a summoner, but are somehow a better combatant than your summon and are, in fact, stronger when your summon dies? That's kind of a crap summoner.

Imagine pokemon, but every time your pokemon faints you go and beat up the other pokemon with your bare hands.

[Youssef]

DNF. About 40%

Zero originality. Will scratch someone's itch, but it's undistinguishable from so many other books just like it.

Sadly it was too long and too uninteresting to keep me entertained, so I gave up. The story, the characters and world are your run of the mill apocalypse system integration litrpg. The main character's try at min maxing paints him as slightly psychotic and plain stupid without the author bothering for a justification as to why, at least as far as I read. The integration error (or anomaly here) is a trite and tired trope yet still serviceable in my opinion, but the author managed to make it boring. One good point is that there are no pages and pages of stats, but it makes it even more baffling how the author managed to hold back anything interesting about the main character and the world building for so long.

[Marked Twaine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too many subplots

Just no. Author is all over the place. Too many subplots and no harem aspect to the story. Just bored. Really bored.

[Sabs ✨️]

Dnf'ed @ 28%

[Thalia Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is well written but I had to DNF it as it was just sooo similar to a lot of stuff that is put at the minute. I got quite bored halfway through and just cant be asked to finish it. It is well written and I would recommend anyone who is into this kind of genre to give it a go.

[Niles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why did they introduce Derek so late :(

One of the best Litrpg books that I have read. The system is sleek without all the numbers weighing it down, it helps that it leans more towards a cultivation system than a game based one.

Characters are funny and feel human, for the main cast anyway. The introduction of new characters as the story progressed kept it from stagnating which was lovely.

Honestly, I had expected it to start dragging and becoming samey near the end as most in the genree do, but it was entertaining and fresh until the end. The continued world building kept me reading and the multiple unanswered questions throughout have set up the next book nicely.

Derek was my favourite character.

[Dash · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. How can you make a book about summoning when your summon creature never last more than a few seconds in battle? Literally 25 chapters in and the MCs summon has died every time within the first few blows in battle. He ends up winning fights with whatever stupid reason the author makes up.

[Fat Frog · Rating 1 out of 5]

Garbage, horrible clone of Primal Hunter

Everything is over-described. Very tedious read.

The battles are so boring and long, that I skim read through all of them.

DNF 31%

[Jared Bowers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pokemon gone meh

Aspect of the story are cool. Main character Alex lackluster. Secondary character Claire awesome. Can't make up for Alex. Did not finish.

[Toni Apatira · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst book I've read in a while, DNF for me. Genuinely just not interesting enough. It's got way more problems than just that though. Reader beware, I cannot fathom why the reviews are so high

[Smoke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really fun and enjoyable read and I feel it is a very solid 4.5 star story.
The world and system are similar but still unique enough to give everything a fresh feel. The characters are their own people, and mostly consistent in their abilities (more on that later) through the entire book. The scale and scope keeps changing at a quick pace, and makes me want to read more to see what is going to happen both with the world and the characters.
The main character can come across as a bit of an adrenaline junky early on, but I feel this was more the author getting loopholes filled before they would get too big in later parts. It was completely necessary with how the system is built here, and it didn’t bother me because it was pretty clear what was happening, and why it was needed.
One aspect I really enjoyed was the way meditation is handled. Normally it is a boring thing, and that lack of action is transferred into the reader. However in this series the meditation takes place in its own different setting, and within that setting there is progress and change which makes those parts actually interesting. I wish more authors would do this in their books.
The only issue I had was some inconsistencies with some characters, and what they can do. They would do something earlier in the book, then when that same thing would make future fights easier they just blanked and didn’t do it. It pulled me out and felt like an unjustified handicap on the characters to increase suspense, and I’m not a fan of that method of falsely raising the tension.
Overall I really enjoyed this and can’t wait for book two to come out next month. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was very pleasantly surprised.
Note on other reviews I’ve seen on here
People are criticizing this for being like other popular series in the genre, and if you are one of those then you probably won’t like it, and should switch to a different genre. The tropes and similar things are what the vast majority of people who read LitRPG are looking for. The important thing is if the author can get out of their own way and write a good story, and that is done here in my opinion.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, some serious plot holes.

This book is semi interesting. Takes an interesting approach to magic and the system. However, there are some major holes that need to be filled.

1) when Alex gets his second monster, it didn't make sense. The creature was all black with a shadowy cloak and a sword. We find out the shadowy cloak was from an enchanted item the monster was wearing, designed to hide its identity and level; fine, no problem. What happened to the sword? If it wasn't also an item that was left behind when it died, we have to assume the creature uses a sword it creates. But when Alex summons it for the first time, we are told Alex's magic changes the monster and it basically becomes an armored lightning brawler. Nope, not believable. The creature goes from only using shadows and a sword to being a floating armored boxer? Should we also mention this is the only summons that changes like that?! Major plot hole.

2) Alex is only supposed to be able to use his creature's powers after they fall in battle. But there was a battle that had Alex using Glint's powers after he was resummoned and back on the field. He was never able to do that before and he never did it after. Plot hole.

3) I have a very hard time believing that toward the end of the book Alex was able (with help) defeat an opponent that is one full tier higher than him and it had a partial domain which could kick all of their butts. It just didn't make sense at all.

You will find other things that don't add up. Just take everything written with a grain of salt and don't worry about it.

Keep a look out for the polite Barbarian!! One of the best characters I have ever read!!!

The book is a pretty good pace of action that kept my interest most of the time. Weirdly, it was toward the end of the book that I was bored and the book lost momentum. It picked back up sort of.

Anyway, have fun!

[Anon Phil Morris · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing quality is objectively terrible. Simple items are over described never to be seen again. Similes and metaphors are awkwardly, inappropriately and over used. To explain better, in starting writing classes or even YouTube videos one of the very first topics is not using these writing tools where they are not needed. In this sense, Actus reminds me of a middle schooler writing based on a prompt that requires at least five metaphors or similes. Only he really wanted to go above and beyond.

An example of this in Actus’s work here is: “It was so silent that he could hear the thump of his heart like a metronome.” Just use the word steady. Like a metronome does absolutely nothing here. “It was so silent that he could hear the steady thumping of his heart” if you want to be flowery “only the steady thumping of his heart broke through the silence.”

“Thin black clouds were rising from it that aimed to claw its way into the heavens” what? So in other words smoke? Smoke that you know… drifts and bellows. Clawing is an extremely violent and desperate action so how would a cloud claw? And why even ADD IT! “Thin black clouds were rising from it.” There. That’s all you need. Not every single thing has to be over the top.

And my favorite example of the awful quality: “No known available classes are available…” are you kidding me. Did no one proof read this? No know classes are available… there fixed it.

This is not a new author. He should know and do better. These examples are in the first TWO chapters alone. It doesn’t matter how good a story is if you can’t even tell it.

[Cmoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actus is golden! Every book he writes I swear, is the best book evarrr! And Nightmare Realm Summoner is no exception I loved it every mesmerizing minute!!! I've found books about Summoners are generally very much like deck-building litRPG's and I simply adore the deck-building aspect! Of the few Summoner books I've read this is the most like one of them. Alex the MC even carries a box on his hip that holds his mirror cards. And yah know, I love that! Right off the bat Alex finds himself trapped in the Mirrorlands with a quest to escape or die. In the Mirrorlands everything is warped and twisted where everything is trying to kill you even the trees. While doing just what the quest demanded, he stumbles across Claire a Dhampir Warrior a woman from another world and together they've made an uneasy alliance in order to make their escape! Afterwards it's all about fighting and leveling. And man! Glint, Alex's first summoned monster is a doozy!!! You really gotta meet 'em! And the other two are som'min else too!
So yeah grab the audiobook because Robb Morrow is AwesomeSauce!

Here's some quotes for yah:

"Alex took a bite of frozen pizza. It tasted like wet cardboard that someone had slapped with a sausage."

"The woman’s voice was bubbly and energetic. There was a nonzero chance she’d pounded back a few dozen espresso shots before showing up to her shift."

"You were staring off into the sky like you watched someone punt your gopher into the atmosphere.”

[Denver C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A FUN, IF SIMPLISTIC, LITRPG WITH A POKEMON FLAIR.

Nightmare Realm Summoner, firstly, is a very strong 3.5 Star read for me.

It was nothing incredible, but if you set aside the simple prose and plot then the gimmick that holds the story together is genuinely entertaining - that gimmick being a main character who can summon and strengthen monsters to fight for him, much like Pokémon or Spectrobes or any number of other Monster Tamer games.

I mean sure, I'm a bit of a geek for those types of games, so seeing it in LitRPG form was particularly awesome for me. Still, that small bias notwithstanding, I liked the read and I'll definitely pick up Book Two on release.

I do think the plot and prose need to take it up a notch for me to continue reading past the sequel, and I wouldn't mind some improvements with the writing as it pertains to the characters and how they act. There were times I felt like the cast made their decisions because the plot called for it, not because it's something they would do on their own.

Ultimately, if you're looking for a fun read with an enjoyable gimmick at its core and don't mind that there's room for growth with the writing, Nightmare Realm Summoner could be a great read for you!

[Byron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up over the holidays and it scratched an itch. If you’re a fan of the high-stakes, snark, and dark humour of Dungeon Crawler Carl, but you’ve wanted to see a protagonist lean into a Summoner build, this would do it.

The Vibe: The protagonist plays on “Hard Mode,” by choice. There’s a relentless, all-or-nothing energy because nothing means death. It captures that specific dopamine hit of a well-balanced video game—the rewards feel earned, the level-ups are satisfying, and the action is steady.

The World-Building: I appreciated the feudalist capitalism satire. It carries that same thread of commercial/corporate critique that makes DCC so good, but it’s twisted into a more archaic, oppressive system. The exploits of the world and it's twisted analogues are great. The way the characters figure out the system and deal with it, often through sheer bluffing and unorthodox strategies, is satisfying.

The "Villain" Trope: One of the highlights for me was the subversion of appearances. Similar to Jason Asano in He Who Fights With Monsters, the protagonist’s powers look villainous. I loved the tension that creates: the idea that even if you’re dealt a "dark" hand by the system, you can still choose to operate within a higher virtue system. It’s a great play on the idea that those who look the most "virtuous" in these systems are often the most corrupt, and vice versa.

Final Verdict: A fantastic, fun read. If you want a LitRPG that isn't afraid to go grim but keeps the momentum fast and the rewards frequent, grab this.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not perfect but still good.

The story's pretty good and there were blessedly few grammatical and punctuation errors. My problem was with the style of the writing.

It seems like an early author's work where they make common mistakes before they find their stride like using repeat phrases and run-on sentences. Not the typical things that a spell checker can find, but something that popped up enough that I noticed it.

Speaking of popped, that's one of the things that got me, was how often the MC's ears pop due to pressure, power levels, or whatever else. It's a crutch where something was going on and the best way to describe it was... their ears popped?

That's really my biggest complaint so I'm definitely going to be continuing on with the series. The end of the book isn't quite a cliffhanger, but it definitely seems to be a delicious pickle.

While not my biggest complaint. it is definitely a runner-up; everything conveniently and coincidentally seems to fall into the MC's lap. In need of a McGuffin? Oh look, that's it right over there! You know what would round out my party? This type of monster. Oh look what I found!

[Levi Rivas Pratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightmare Realm Summoner delivers a high-energy LitRPG apocalypse that leans hard into summoner mechanics and progression fantasy, rewarding readers who crave relentless momentum over introspective character work. Actus builds a compellingly ruthless world in the Mirrorlands, where Alex’s gleeful embrace of impossible odds drives the story forward with genuine curiosity. While the urgency lacks, the multitude of ideas, twists, and turns keep this entertaining. The summoner class feels inventive and satisfying—Glint and the growing roster of monsters add tactical depth without bogging down pacing. Claire’s presence as a companion works functionally, though she rarely asserts narrative weight beyond filling combat gaps and offering occasional dialogue. The prose occasionally stumbles into repetitive action beats and awkward redundancies; phrases restated in slightly different ways that read like unrevised editing passes, but the core loop of capturing monsters, leveling up, and escalating stakes keeps the pages turning. It’s a confident, addictive opener that knows exactly what it wants to be.

[RealF0x · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars out of 5

I’m a fan of Actus’s other works, such as Runebound Professor and Living Forge, and I’m also a fan of LitRPG as a genre overall. However, this one didn’t quite click with me in the same way his other books did. Part of that may be because the main protagonist isn’t immediately very likable. He’s not insufferable by any means, but he does take some time to get used to, which made it harder for me to fully connect with the story early on.

That said, the worldbuilding is genuinely interesting, with small breadcrumbs of mystery scattered throughout that kept me curious and engaged. Claire, in particular, stood out as the best character for me. She really acts as the glue holding the character interactions together, and her presence significantly improves every scene she’s in.

Overall, despite my mixed feelings, I’m interested enough to continue the series and see where it goes. I also listened to this as an audiobook, and the narration was very well done, adding to the overall experience.

[Ck147 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Made it to about 55% then just couldn't read another page.

A bunch of thing I couldn't stand happened but these are the ones that come to mind first:
When Ben got attacked at the beginning of the system event, the description of it seemed to go on for 10 pages but the MC and Claire seemingly stood there and just watched it happen?

When Ogre was at the top of the leaderboard and it was obvious that it was Diego but the MC just had no clue who it could have been.

When Claire "Died".

I thought Kaze was being built up to have an actual role but was killed off faster than Diego.

There were also just general power level issues. The adept that chased him in the Mirrorlands not catching him immediately even though he was only a novice? The power level of his summons also seemed way off, especially the second summon. They seemed to be functionally useless no matter what level they go to.

[Gus Smedstad · Rating 2 out of 5]

The protagonist consistently makes stupid decisions. He’s constantly seeking out life-threatening situations in the name of advancement, and doing foolish things like taking on a dungeon without help from his friend because he thinks it will give him better rewards.

It’s not even clear that he *is* getting better rewards for all his risk-taking. Unlike most LitRPGs, he doesn’t get notifications of exactly how much XP he’s getting for what he’s doing, it’s just a vague feeling of receiving “energy.” This is a story in which killing monsters doesn’t drop any kind of loot, so it’s definitely not that either.

Worst is that he decides mid-way through the book to pretend to be an offworlder for no apparent reason, a decision which constantly lands him in hot water with the actual offworlders, and seems to benefit him not at all. I’m not a big fan of characters who tell pointless lies.

I finished it, but I have no interest in continuing the series.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Summoner Stories!

I was expecting the story to be generic levels and stats go brrr, but instead I found a glistening treasure! The fights are well written and adrenaline inducing. I like the interactions between the MC and the other characters, it isn’t wholly fleshed out yet but it is in a promising state. The lore is looking to be even more promising and more than just a normal system apocalypse. The progression is well deserved and satisfying. The powerset of the MC is very unique and leaves you wondering about its growth in the future books. I especially enjoy the fact that the MC isn’t timid towards fights and actually enjoys the thrill of progression. I am all for introspective storytelling but sometimes it’s nice to read about an MC committed to establishing themselves as a powerhouse through effort instead of falling arse backwards into vast cosmic power ;) I recommend it 10/10

[?? · Rating 4 out of 5]

New year, new review format!

What I liked:
-Great power system and progression for the main character; a summoner who can take on the powers of his own monsters is such a cool mechanic
-Memorable characters and monsters
-Exciting action
-Very good quality writing; I loved the descriptions of the alien environments
-Alex has a fun personality! I liked how he constantly looked to challenge himself
-The “one more chapter” factor

What could have been better:
-Slightly confusing worldbuilding and RPG mechanics; I couldn’t always tell what was going on with the families or the Mind Palace
-A few grammatical errors and formatting issues here and there

Highlights:
-The fight against the Chimera field boss
-The final dungeon
-Any time Alex and Claire were in the Mirrorlands

Did I enjoy it?: Yes!
Was it a good book?: Yes!
Would I recommend it?: Yes!

[Leslie Baptiste · Rating 3 out of 5]

just the middle of the road book with a middle of the road MC.

If you like summoners, you might like this book. I found it tedious, boring. Maybe it’s because I do not like summoners. They have to have the monsters fight for them. Also, what’s with the Claire character having to always drink the MC‘s blood. The world building is interesting but basically the MC isn’t. In my opinion, he’s weak and ineffectual. Like I said, I do not like summoners basically because they don’t fight their own battles but you may enjoy this book, I did not. Did not finish it either. Stopped at 45 percent. I read the authors other series and enjoy them immensely this one just did not hit it for me.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a lot right with very little that you could even consider wrong. A summoner book that doesn't get too into the weeds? No over-exhaustive stat listings every other chapter that span tens of pages? What is this and how is this in the LitRPG genre!

Seriously, if you're interested in a summoner-type MC, you're going to like this. The author definitely struggled with getting into the groove at first and it's reflected in some other reviews (grammar, over-explaining arbitrary things, etc) but he pulls himself together the longer you read. While I'm usually someone who advocates AGAINST sloughing through a tough part of a book or a bad book in an overall good series, I don't regret doing it n this case.

[F. AY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever Premise

I picked up this book because I liked the author's other books and was not surprised when I enjoyed it. The premise hooked me right away, refreshingly different from the usual summoner stories. I especially loved the use of the mirror realm; it added a layer of eerie tension and clever strategy that kept me turning the pages.

It's half the fun is guessing how Alex and Claire are going to outwit the outworlders next. I’m genuinely excited to see how his schemes evolve in the next instalment. If you enjoy a mix of intrigue, smart magic systems, and a protagonist who doesn’t always play nice, give this one a shot.

[Mim Crenshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Read

I really liked Alex, but he should've been more way of Claire. After everything she told him about The Court, the finding out she lied, he still shared things with her. There's no way to tell if she was being truthful unless she let something slip again. But the fights were wonderful and I really liked the way that the System made them get more skills and levels. And Derek was just too funny, but the ending made frustrated because it was getting so good. I wanted to see how he was going to keep the key from Orchid and then from Absolution. Im definitely ready for book 2; I can't wait till December.😥

[Arty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a strong enough hook.
The author has always created good stories but he fundamentally lacks the ability to create characters that has substance. The main character lacks any real depth and lacks interesting qualities that would make the reader commit to the story. The MC is a battle junkie...but doesn't feel like a battle junkie. More like a suicidal idiot, jumping into the jaws of monsters in the pretense of overcoming a great challenge. Some of the plot isn't properly explained and the setting (location of the new worlds) seems to feel empty, that are filled with dull AI. I got bored 30 % into the story. Not worth the investment.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first LitRPG book. I know others have said it’s a clone or rinse and repeat of others. Can’t attest to that. I enjoyed the book. The system used to level and build strength took some time to get used to, but your learning about it was Alex does. So you feel as lost as he is initially. The combat was fun and he really pushes to maximize his efforts in survival and combat. He can be a bit of a dare devil, but with the system design it makes sense he would push. Claire is a nice addition to the party and progression of the story. As is the “Simple Berserker” is a fun character as well. Story moves pretty steady and following it was a fun adventure.