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Reinitializing the Apocalypse: A LitRPG Adventure
An action-packed Apocalyptic LitRPG perfect for fans of Dungeon Crawler Carl and The Primal Hunter!
The System left him for dead without a class. Their mistake.
During the first Apocalypse, the System Lords forgot one tiny detail—they left William Ward out. While everyone else got classes and powers, he kept doing what he does working in the shadows as a legendary hitman.
When he finally retires, living quietly with his disabled dog Max, the System Lords decide to meddle again. After turning Earth into a complete hellhole, they hit reset on the Apocalypse, only this time, William is added to the System.
As some half-baked apology, he’s given a fancy AI assistant, a pile of System credits, and a new Arcane Gunslinger. Oh, and they threw in a robotic arm and leg, plus healed Max’s back legs.
Perks that almost make William forgive them.
That is, until they open a freaking portal and unload countless souped-up goblins in System-upgraded gear onto his front lawn.
Time to grab his bat, load up his Ruger .357 Magnum, and take the System for all it's worth. The System Lords are about to regret ever remembering the name William Ward.
Jump into a new LitRPG Apocalypse Series from Timothy McGowen, the bestselling author of Arcane Knight and Path of the Titans. It's perfect for fans of Dungeon Crawler Carl, The Primal Hunter, and The System Apocalypse.
The System left him for dead without a class. Their mistake.
During the first Apocalypse, the System Lords forgot one tiny detail—they left William Ward out. While everyone else got classes and powers, he kept doing what he does working in the shadows as a legendary hitman.
When he finally retires, living quietly with his disabled dog Max, the System Lords decide to meddle again. After turning Earth into a complete hellhole, they hit reset on the Apocalypse, only this time, William is added to the System.
As some half-baked apology, he’s given a fancy AI assistant, a pile of System credits, and a new Arcane Gunslinger. Oh, and they threw in a robotic arm and leg, plus healed Max’s back legs.
Perks that almost make William forgive them.
That is, until they open a freaking portal and unload countless souped-up goblins in System-upgraded gear onto his front lawn.
Time to grab his bat, load up his Ruger .357 Magnum, and take the System for all it's worth. The System Lords are about to regret ever remembering the name William Ward.
Jump into a new LitRPG Apocalypse Series from Timothy McGowen, the bestselling author of Arcane Knight and Path of the Titans. It's perfect for fans of Dungeon Crawler Carl, The Primal Hunter, and The System Apocalypse.
467 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 31, 2026
About the author
Timothy McGowen
68 books27 followersI'm a dad of two wonderful girls and a husband to a wonderful wife.
As a full time author I enjoy hours of writing and reading every day. I'm living the dream and I thank my lucky stars each day that I get to write fulltime. Please leave a review and tell a friend about my books, each one reviewed or sold is a boon towards my epic quest of staying fulltime.
As a full time author I enjoy hours of writing and reading every day. I'm living the dream and I thank my lucky stars each day that I get to write fulltime. Please leave a review and tell a friend about my books, each one reviewed or sold is a boon towards my epic quest of staying fulltime.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 2, 2026
I really wanted to like this, but...well, reasons why it got 3 starts.
A hit-man, with metal limbs, sporting a magical gunslinger gear and gun, in an apocalyptic world with his loyal dog...you expect something like John Wick. We got the bargain bin version instead.
The story was good, the apocalyptic world is interesting and who doesn't love their trusty pooch? The problem? The MC is an unlikable ass. You can tell that the author wanted something like John Wick with a mix of a hard boiled western. However, for whatever reason the author couldn't deliver. The MC's own character and actions made the story difficult; as he really didn't want to do anything. He didn't even sound like badass and more like a everyday thug that enjoys kneecapping people with a baseball bat. It was hard reading about an interesting world and side characters but the main character is so unwilling to engage to go on an adventure. After 40 % in; I was hoping someone offed the guy and took his dog to an a better home. Interesting but I wasn't really hooked.
A hit-man, with metal limbs, sporting a magical gunslinger gear and gun, in an apocalyptic world with his loyal dog...you expect something like John Wick. We got the bargain bin version instead.
The story was good, the apocalyptic world is interesting and who doesn't love their trusty pooch? The problem? The MC is an unlikable ass. You can tell that the author wanted something like John Wick with a mix of a hard boiled western. However, for whatever reason the author couldn't deliver. The MC's own character and actions made the story difficult; as he really didn't want to do anything. He didn't even sound like badass and more like a everyday thug that enjoys kneecapping people with a baseball bat. It was hard reading about an interesting world and side characters but the main character is so unwilling to engage to go on an adventure. After 40 % in; I was hoping someone offed the guy and took his dog to an a better home. Interesting but I wasn't really hooked.
April 20, 2026
Not good.
I DNF at around 100 pages in. The world seems interesting enough and the premise could be fun, but the actual execution is severely lacking.
The fights feel like they have no weight to them, the story beats seem forced, the MC is a great pile of a-hole and lazy, in the beginning claiming to not trust the system but instantly fobbing off all decisions to it. On top of that we are lead to believe that he is a scary powerful hitman when he clearly had been struggling right before the start of the book.
If the author was able to deliver on tone and in substance maybe this would be worth but defiantly is a skip for me.
I DNF at around 100 pages in. The world seems interesting enough and the premise could be fun, but the actual execution is severely lacking.
The fights feel like they have no weight to them, the story beats seem forced, the MC is a great pile of a-hole and lazy, in the beginning claiming to not trust the system but instantly fobbing off all decisions to it. On top of that we are lead to believe that he is a scary powerful hitman when he clearly had been struggling right before the start of the book.
If the author was able to deliver on tone and in substance maybe this would be worth but defiantly is a skip for me.
April 5, 2026
I want to like this but the mc is annoying and all over the place he could of maybe avoided deaths at the wedding but he don't listen the ai told him about the artifact and that people would come for it he's like I said all over the place i love the dog 🐕 him not so much plus his ai is sneaky she hides things from him and for some reason is really trying to get him to spend all his money and his dumb self took a class instead of reading closely the ai tricks him and hide his notifications 🤔
April 26, 2026
Saved by dog
Main character is not particularly likeable. Especially noticeable since all the actually decent characters end up dying or leaving never wanting to see him again. All the nice characters except Max, the dog, for whom the main character will do anything. Max makes the book readable and prevents DNF. Max also survives. If I read the sequel it’ll be to see how Max develops.
Main character is not particularly likeable. Especially noticeable since all the actually decent characters end up dying or leaving never wanting to see him again. All the nice characters except Max, the dog, for whom the main character will do anything. Max makes the book readable and prevents DNF. Max also survives. If I read the sequel it’ll be to see how Max develops.
April 3, 2026
Great series start
Great start to a series! I enjoyed how the Apocalypse had already happened and this is the aftermath and continuation. Gives it an entirely different feel and freedom for some fun.
Great start to a series! I enjoyed how the Apocalypse had already happened and this is the aftermath and continuation. Gives it an entirely different feel and freedom for some fun.
April 7, 2026
The premise of the MC getting his class late years after the apocalypse has begun is a new one to me. The world felt like the Wild West. It was interesting to see a gun based class because that is not very common. My only hang up is that I did not like the MC but I like that he likes dogs.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews