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Nexus Runner
Nexus Runner: A litRPG fantasy epic adventure
Welcome to the Game!
Lucas Altan and his friends are among the thousand people ripped out of Colorado and teleported to an alien planet. He wakes up alone, with an overly friendly AI as his only companion.
Here, magic is real and the clock is ticking. The rules are
Find your team.Fight through four stages of monster-infested wilderness before time runs out.Fail and you die . . . and condemn everyone on Earth too.
Lucas finds he’s got a knack for killing monsters, winning unique loot, and surviving against long odds.
Wielding fast wits, cool spells, and a magical sword that can’t cut anything physical, he needs to level up faster than the odds stacking against him. It’s the only way to save his friends and not become that guy who let Earth die.
This fast-paced action fantasy litrpg adventure hurls Lucas into a crucible of combat, magic, and nonstop adventure. Perfect for fans of DCC and Primal Hunter.
Lucas Altan and his friends are among the thousand people ripped out of Colorado and teleported to an alien planet. He wakes up alone, with an overly friendly AI as his only companion.
Here, magic is real and the clock is ticking. The rules are
Find your team.Fight through four stages of monster-infested wilderness before time runs out.Fail and you die . . . and condemn everyone on Earth too.
Lucas finds he’s got a knack for killing monsters, winning unique loot, and surviving against long odds.
Wielding fast wits, cool spells, and a magical sword that can’t cut anything physical, he needs to level up faster than the odds stacking against him. It’s the only way to save his friends and not become that guy who let Earth die.
This fast-paced action fantasy litrpg adventure hurls Lucas into a crucible of combat, magic, and nonstop adventure. Perfect for fans of DCC and Primal Hunter.
584 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 28, 2025
About the author
Frank Morin
37 books436 followersFrank Morin loves great stories, great food, and great humor. He is an outdoor enthusiast, and loves to travel for inspiration.
Frank is the author of fast-paced adventures with quirky humor including:
• The Petralist - epic teen fantasy series, full of magic, adventure, and humor.
• The Facetakers - fast-action urban fantasy
• Bacon Master of the Apocalypse – humorous epic fantasy
He and his wife are often found hiking, camping, Scuba diving, or traveling to research new books. Find out more about his novels and his shorter fiction, or join his readers group at:
https://bio.to/authorfrankmorin
Frank is the author of fast-paced adventures with quirky humor including:
• The Petralist - epic teen fantasy series, full of magic, adventure, and humor.
• The Facetakers - fast-action urban fantasy
• Bacon Master of the Apocalypse – humorous epic fantasy
He and his wife are often found hiking, camping, Scuba diving, or traveling to research new books. Find out more about his novels and his shorter fiction, or join his readers group at:
https://bio.to/authorfrankmorin
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 25, 2025
it's just fight after fight after fight. Boring. The AI is also super annoying, and this is a book where the MC has very little agency. The progression of the MC is also very frustrating and delaying the class selection for only the MC is also super lame. Also, what's with all the women kissing and flirting with the MC?
The biggest problem, however, is the meta narrative. It just doesn't work. First, it's a carbon copy of Dungeon Crawler Carl - humans being sent to a game show to win Earth's survival - but it neglects to discuss it or show how it works. why include it? second, and worse, is that the AI gives the MC such a boost that it would be impossible to hide from the viewers, while also saying no one can find out about it. I guess that's why we don't see anything about the viewers, because the logic would fall apart.
The biggest problem, however, is the meta narrative. It just doesn't work. First, it's a carbon copy of Dungeon Crawler Carl - humans being sent to a game show to win Earth's survival - but it neglects to discuss it or show how it works. why include it? second, and worse, is that the AI gives the MC such a boost that it would be impossible to hide from the viewers, while also saying no one can find out about it. I guess that's why we don't see anything about the viewers, because the logic would fall apart.
February 26, 2026
It’s OK-ish.
One problem with this book is it’s so obviously patterned after the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, and it’s not as good. It’s not just that Nexus Runner is a LitRPG about fighting monsters, that’s common enough, it’s that it has so many aspects that are very specific to Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Lucas gets thrown in to another world with 1000 other humans, and the new world is an alien-run game show where they are to fight for the entertainment of an unseen audience. Like DCC, the participants get showered with a constant stream of loot boxes, mostly for achievements. Like DCC, the loot boxes are graded by quality and have names that match the reason for the reward, i.e. “Platinum Houdini Box” for surviving what looks like certain death.
There are some probable direct references to DCC, like the protagonist talking about not fighting monsters in heart-covered boxer shorts, and frequently using “Laundry Day” potions to clean off monster gore. The actual aliens, who we see only very, very briefly, are fish-people like the ones running the game in DCC.
One thing that doesn’t work very well is that Lucas is constantly bantering with the AI running the game show. Rather swept under the rug is that everyone is fighting to the death for the AI’s amusement. Lucas shows none of the justified rage against the murderous system that’s a constant backdrop for Carl.
Another thing that doesn’t work so well is that Lucas gets reset to a “tier 1” human early on, where everyone else is stuck as basic “tier 0” humans. A change which involves some pointless scaling of his attributes, so his stats are all 1/10th of normal, but count 10x as much. Since the two factors cancel out, you have to wonder why bother with the number fiddling.
Mostly what the change means is that where everyone else has to reach level 10 to graduate to the next stage or die, Lucas has a cap that’s effectively level 100, since he has to reach level 10 on his distorted scale. He’s both far more powerful than anyone else and has a much harder goal. Oh, and some of the other contestants think he’s a pushover or a slacker because his visible level is 1/10th his real level.
It’s basically a way to put an overpowered protagonist in a life-or-death race against time, since he’d be sailing easily past the goal otherwise. As such it feels contrived.
The book is packed with constant movie references, because the AI is a movie fan. This is not very interesting, and gets old pretty fast.
The book is a typical experience-grinding story, mostly made interesting by the number of times Lucas ends up way over his head and has to do something extreme or sometimes mildly clever to survive. None of the secondary characters has much of a personality, but that’s pretty typical for books like this.
One problem with this book is it’s so obviously patterned after the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, and it’s not as good. It’s not just that Nexus Runner is a LitRPG about fighting monsters, that’s common enough, it’s that it has so many aspects that are very specific to Dungeon Crawler Carl.
Lucas gets thrown in to another world with 1000 other humans, and the new world is an alien-run game show where they are to fight for the entertainment of an unseen audience. Like DCC, the participants get showered with a constant stream of loot boxes, mostly for achievements. Like DCC, the loot boxes are graded by quality and have names that match the reason for the reward, i.e. “Platinum Houdini Box” for surviving what looks like certain death.
There are some probable direct references to DCC, like the protagonist talking about not fighting monsters in heart-covered boxer shorts, and frequently using “Laundry Day” potions to clean off monster gore. The actual aliens, who we see only very, very briefly, are fish-people like the ones running the game in DCC.
One thing that doesn’t work very well is that Lucas is constantly bantering with the AI running the game show. Rather swept under the rug is that everyone is fighting to the death for the AI’s amusement. Lucas shows none of the justified rage against the murderous system that’s a constant backdrop for Carl.
Another thing that doesn’t work so well is that Lucas gets reset to a “tier 1” human early on, where everyone else is stuck as basic “tier 0” humans. A change which involves some pointless scaling of his attributes, so his stats are all 1/10th of normal, but count 10x as much. Since the two factors cancel out, you have to wonder why bother with the number fiddling.
Mostly what the change means is that where everyone else has to reach level 10 to graduate to the next stage or die, Lucas has a cap that’s effectively level 100, since he has to reach level 10 on his distorted scale. He’s both far more powerful than anyone else and has a much harder goal. Oh, and some of the other contestants think he’s a pushover or a slacker because his visible level is 1/10th his real level.
It’s basically a way to put an overpowered protagonist in a life-or-death race against time, since he’d be sailing easily past the goal otherwise. As such it feels contrived.
The book is packed with constant movie references, because the AI is a movie fan. This is not very interesting, and gets old pretty fast.
The book is a typical experience-grinding story, mostly made interesting by the number of times Lucas ends up way over his head and has to do something extreme or sometimes mildly clever to survive. None of the secondary characters has much of a personality, but that’s pretty typical for books like this.
January 31, 2026
3 out of 5 stars
The book is okay overall, but a few things were really annoying.
It starts out as a pretty standard LitRPG setup: kill monsters, gain XP, level up, and get stronger in a straightforward way. But then the XP system changes completely and arbitrarily partway through—no real explanation or buildup, it just shifts for no apparent reason.
The same issue happens with the main character's power progression. He gets a unique, exciting opportunity to gain a massive power boost... only for it to be nerfed by half just a few chapters later. And he never seems to fully recover or regain that lost potential.
Those sudden, unexplained nerfs and rule changes made the progression feel inconsistent and frustrating, which undermined what could have been a solid power-fantasy story.
If you're into progression fantasy and don't mind major system tweaks mid-book, it might still be worth a read—but it definitely pulled me out of the immersion more than once. Not sure I'll read book two.
The book is okay overall, but a few things were really annoying.
It starts out as a pretty standard LitRPG setup: kill monsters, gain XP, level up, and get stronger in a straightforward way. But then the XP system changes completely and arbitrarily partway through—no real explanation or buildup, it just shifts for no apparent reason.
The same issue happens with the main character's power progression. He gets a unique, exciting opportunity to gain a massive power boost... only for it to be nerfed by half just a few chapters later. And he never seems to fully recover or regain that lost potential.
Those sudden, unexplained nerfs and rule changes made the progression feel inconsistent and frustrating, which undermined what could have been a solid power-fantasy story.
If you're into progression fantasy and don't mind major system tweaks mid-book, it might still be worth a read—but it definitely pulled me out of the immersion more than once. Not sure I'll read book two.
April 3, 2026
focused on everything except survival
Maybe some other readers can relate to stupid, but not me. The mc supposedly has an above avg int stat which then almost doubles the smartest earthling, so why was he always caught unaware, off guard, and inattentive? He supposedly has martial arts training which he never uses and instead runs away or dives to the ground. And this is the hero that Earth is counting on? Martial arts isn’t about human vs human combat, it is about foundation, stance, movement and reaction that our hero doesn’t have. I get it, the mc becomes overpowered quickly and the author wants the reader to be able to identify with the character so they introduce flaws. I would rather identify with a character who is careful, methodical, and gives it everything they have rather than a hero who stumbles and bumbles and advances because of stupid luck. It got better later in the book yet our fearful hero still can’t focus to save his life at the end.
Maybe some other readers can relate to stupid, but not me. The mc supposedly has an above avg int stat which then almost doubles the smartest earthling, so why was he always caught unaware, off guard, and inattentive? He supposedly has martial arts training which he never uses and instead runs away or dives to the ground. And this is the hero that Earth is counting on? Martial arts isn’t about human vs human combat, it is about foundation, stance, movement and reaction that our hero doesn’t have. I get it, the mc becomes overpowered quickly and the author wants the reader to be able to identify with the character so they introduce flaws. I would rather identify with a character who is careful, methodical, and gives it everything they have rather than a hero who stumbles and bumbles and advances because of stupid luck. It got better later in the book yet our fearful hero still can’t focus to save his life at the end.
February 21, 2026
High Stakes, Illegal Experiments, and a Mile-Wide Chunk of Colorado
If you’re looking for a LitRPG that plays by the rules, keep walking. Nexus Runner is what happens when a young, possibly bi-polar, AI decides to treat Earth like a thrill ride, kidnapping 1,000 citizens and ripping a mile-wide hole out of Powderhorn, Colorado, just for a galactic game show. The prize? Assuming someone actually survives, Earth and its population survives as well.
I’ve seen a few mentions of "bad math" in other reviews, but those readers clearly missed the narrative pay-off. The author explicitly explains that the experiment being run on the MC actually glitches the math. It isn’t an error; it’s a symptom of Cyrus the AI pushing the system past its limits.
Our protagonist is a former skydiving instructor and adrenaline junkie who accepts Cyrus's offer to perform an illegal experiment that might boost his survival. Or it might lead to "certain death." He’s playing a dangerous game: he needs 10X the XP of everyone else just to keep up while hoping the galatic authorities don't notice.
The youthful exuberance and lack of maturity of the AI adds a layer of unpredictable chaos. The result is a story that feels dangerous and fast-paced rather than a predictable grind.
Nexus Runner is a calculated risk that pays off. It’s an underdog story in every sense: from the MC's XP handicap to the book's status as a hidden gem. I will definitely pick up the next book in the series as soon as it is out.
If you’re looking for a LitRPG that plays by the rules, keep walking. Nexus Runner is what happens when a young, possibly bi-polar, AI decides to treat Earth like a thrill ride, kidnapping 1,000 citizens and ripping a mile-wide hole out of Powderhorn, Colorado, just for a galactic game show. The prize? Assuming someone actually survives, Earth and its population survives as well.
I’ve seen a few mentions of "bad math" in other reviews, but those readers clearly missed the narrative pay-off. The author explicitly explains that the experiment being run on the MC actually glitches the math. It isn’t an error; it’s a symptom of Cyrus the AI pushing the system past its limits.
Our protagonist is a former skydiving instructor and adrenaline junkie who accepts Cyrus's offer to perform an illegal experiment that might boost his survival. Or it might lead to "certain death." He’s playing a dangerous game: he needs 10X the XP of everyone else just to keep up while hoping the galatic authorities don't notice.
The youthful exuberance and lack of maturity of the AI adds a layer of unpredictable chaos. The result is a story that feels dangerous and fast-paced rather than a predictable grind.
Nexus Runner is a calculated risk that pays off. It’s an underdog story in every sense: from the MC's XP handicap to the book's status as a hidden gem. I will definitely pick up the next book in the series as soon as it is out.
March 27, 2026
I'm not sure I like this author
This author takes a protagonist and makes him act like a human... A lot of authors will make their protagonist a hero that just jumps in and Does the impossible! Somehow, this protagonist seems to be OP but still thinks he has the limitations of a normal human... It's like thomas covenant all over again and I want to strangle him for the missed opportunities. Extremely enjoyable story , and I hope there's more of them!
This author takes a protagonist and makes him act like a human... A lot of authors will make their protagonist a hero that just jumps in and Does the impossible! Somehow, this protagonist seems to be OP but still thinks he has the limitations of a normal human... It's like thomas covenant all over again and I want to strangle him for the missed opportunities. Extremely enjoyable story , and I hope there's more of them!
January 16, 2026
A lot of fun
A slightly new take on lit-apocalypse, in which a slice of the world occupied by a film crew and cast is transported to a place where they have to fight for the survival of Earth. Interesting system, tons of loot, a little bit too much inclination to make the main character, the chosen one, although he sure does earn it.
A slightly new take on lit-apocalypse, in which a slice of the world occupied by a film crew and cast is transported to a place where they have to fight for the survival of Earth. Interesting system, tons of loot, a little bit too much inclination to make the main character, the chosen one, although he sure does earn it.
January 12, 2026
Seems unserious considering the circumstances. Clichés and movie references galore.
January 16, 2026
Got bored pretty quick.
April 5, 2026
Very good book
This kept me up all night . Very well written . Love the characters, well most of them . I am looking forward to the next book .
This kept me up all night . Very well written . Love the characters, well most of them . I am looking forward to the next book .
April 11, 2026
Omg this book is amazing little bit of a slow start but its unique and I love the loot, system and the ai helper its also hilarious 😂
May 27, 2026
Fun and enjoyable
This one had a lot of interesting things happening to the MC. He experiences a wild ride and try’s to figure out how to stay. Alive through all the weird shit the AI(and the author) ends up putting him through. Looking forward to book 2!
This one had a lot of interesting things happening to the MC. He experiences a wild ride and try’s to figure out how to stay. Alive through all the weird shit the AI(and the author) ends up putting him through. Looking forward to book 2!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews