With the extreme Evaluation over, Ivor returns to the reformed Earth to find things have changed dramatically. The System has rewarded Ivor greatly for his efforts and survival. He is granted a Freehold, a place belonging directly to him and separate from the rest of the reformed Earth. More importantly, the Freehold is not managed by Earth’s World Guardian, and the Earth World Guardian is not happy.
Ivor doesn’t have to go it alone. Zed’s plan worked. Zed is now riding shotgun on Ivor’s adventures. The two of them will need to figure out how to work together effectively to navigate this new existence.
Ivor’s first order of business is to immediately set out to find Marie. He will encounter all manner of people and places during his travels. He knows he can’t help or save everyone, but Ivor won’t let some things go. All kinds of people survived the Evaluation, and some of those people are bad… really, really bad. As much as Ivor has always been a loner, he still wants humanity to survive. He’ll do his part to help, but not all saviors are selfless.
This book has an OP main character, game-like stats, skills, spells and level progression. No AI was used int he creation of this book’s content.
Did not want to put down. Had all the elements I liked. Read both book in two days hard to put down. Looking forward to the 3rd. Hopefully it won't be long.
Now this is what I expected from book one, lots of action and violence as the MC goes around killing monsters and bad guys. I do have a couple little quibbles. 1) Editing could have been better. 2) monster cat seemingly fine with bird people. 3) the MC gives stuff away with regularity. Needs to be keeping stuff for his freehold. Things I expect in book three but don't want, also things I'd like to see. 1)Side stories for the other two teams. I don't care about them and don't want to focus on them. 2)I'd like to see the freehold developed and maybe grown using town crystals from these worlds that he will explore. 3) the violent death of more horrible people. I really like that part.
I was still happy reading but the main character seems a little dull once his daughter was rescued. Where's the challenge? Apparently to make her and her team as strong as possible. It doesn't quite hit the same.
As a counter balance, there's a lot more going on by the end of this book. It's a richer experience with more avenues to explore.
The author is very skilled and created a MC that is extremely dangerous while retaining his humanity. One of the challenges of writing LITRPG is how much system mechanics to include. This is right in the sweet spot.
I think this series had a lot of potential, but the author does not have the writing experience to execute the idea well enough. The main problem that this book unfortunately really highlights is the author’s struggle with providing the proper context when world building.
The simplest example of this is the MC’s ridiculously high stats. I can get behind an overpowered MC no problem, but we need context for how he relates to the rest of the universe. We know what the daughter’s team’s stats are roughly, and that does a good job of comparing Ivor to the rest of earth. If that was all where the setting of the story took place, the lack of context wouldn’t be nearly as bad. However the author threw in Aza, Esqin, and their world.
Introducing characters from well-established worlds is actually pretty important for books in this genre (Primal Hunter has Villy, Defiance of the Fall has Ogras, etc.) because these characters can provide context to how the MCs actions/powers/stats compare to the wider universe they are now in that we wouldn’t know otherwise. In this book, we know Ivor’s stats are crazy high due to how Aza and Esqin reacted to hearing them in book 1. Unfortunately the author fails to provide the context in the way that matters - who is he comparable to? Is having 150 strength the equivalent of a level 40? 60? 100? Is it unheard of everywhere? We know he fought Aza’s guards easily and was stronger than the guard who had a strength contest, but how good are these guards really? Aza is quite rich, so you’d think they would be good, but the author does not place them in a tier that we can understand. It appears to be taboo to talk about people’s exact stats from how the characters actions, but if we could have gotten levels or even a generic level threshold (over 20, 40, 60) it would help give context to how strong Ivor is.
We see this in other places in the story as well. Ivor has his Freehold, and anytime he mentions that he has a Tier 1 shield, travel circle, and admin building, and that really impresses Iken, but why is it impressive? Tier 1 sounds like it is just above basic buildings, but is it really the best level? The characters seem to think the shield would be absolute protection from the rest of earth basically no matter what happened or who came to the planet. Why is it so strong? What type of planet or government would have something equivalent?
Some people may think I’m nitpicking, but the lack of context really takes me out of the story the longer people get amazed by something and it isn’t explained why it is so great.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Return is the second book in this series, and it doesn't suffer in the least for being a second book. (well other than the same problem that plagued the first book in that stats just randomly jump to higher levels without going through the intermediate numbers as they should), but that's hardly a reason to disparage the writing. The story is well done, is a pleasant read, and keeps the reader engaged right up to the end. There's a few places where some proofreading would/should have caught errors in the story, but they're relatively few, and only cause issues for folks like me that like things nice and tidy. Other than that, if you're a LitRPG fan, and you like your characters to be the no nonsense type that don't take crap from anyone, then you've found a story that will be just what you're looking for. I'm off to read the next book in the series now.
Kemble is an excellently rounded character with flaws and strengths like any other, and a good heart. The change he makes after the system puts him in the evaluation shows his adaptability from the beginning, and sets him up as one of the strongest around, even with his low level. He spends books 1 and 2 almost single-mindedly searching for his daughter, yet finds the time and courage to help other in need along the way. His determination (his willpower, if you please) allows him to continue on in all manner of strength. While perhaps unrealistic as to the emotional scarring of so many murders, this is a fantasy book, about an OP main character, and thus fits in perfectly with his early years on Earth. I have read many, many books (think 1000+), and he is by far one of my favorite characters to read about. This is an excellent story, and I encourage all manner of fantasy lovers to read it. Thank you, Mr. Botz for this astounding work.
My hat's off to the author. Very few has created a system that incorporates our world & a connection to others in such a way. Doing so without corrupting the entire theme.
I love OP characters. Most have them beaten within an inch of their lives in every other chapter until it's monotonous. But this author is creative enough to produce content that calls for the character to show depth and skill to overcome their perils.
He doesn't have filler description that only serves to make a longer read, but gives a full picture that allows our imagination to share in the creation of the scenes.
Overall Mr Botz, you have my highest praise for this one. I will have to read the other works I see of yours. I am only into The LITRPG currently, but your style makes me believe your previous works would be worth a closer look.
Thank you for this series so far. I can hardly wait for the next book.
There are a lot of little things that are almost there but just a little off that prevent the book from being great. For example not storing his armor in his storage at the end leaves me wondering if he is really all that smart. Perhaps he had a good reason not to but it wasn’t communicated to the reader.
Oh and a funny side note is that an Olympic sprinter’s running stride is about 3 meters. The faster you run the more ground between steps not more steps over time. So when the mc’s stride was mentioned as 1 meter, I pictured the mc with a sewing machine style fast forwarded character steps run for the rest of the book. At 100 kilometers per hour as mentioned in the book that is like 28 steps per second. Again the 1 meter stride could have been a walking stride and not a running stride but that was not conveyed to the reader.
Like I said in my previous review, an excellent book great MC, well written world, excellent side characters. I was chugging along enjoying this book until it ended. This book and Siri seemed to be so good. It should never end in a cliffhanger. The book alone without the cheap trick of having you hanging by your fingernails at the end of the story is not cool. all great stories that are written are usually self contained. This one should’ve been as well. But I will forgive this little faux paw and still give it four stars instead of five. Now, unfortunately, I have to wait for the next book. It is worth reading if you don’t mind the cliffhanger. If I had known, there was one in this book, I would not have read it.
Tell you what, for a first ever series from an author, dudes doing very well.
Some spelling issues and minor grammatical missteps, but on the whole it’s otherwise very well done.
Also I cannot express how happy I am to have found a book with the mc willing to do what’s needed. Often in books in this type of genre the MC is…. A little too soft. Often to be morally good etc. This does a good job of showing someone who’s ready to really do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. That includes some objectively bad stuff for good reasons. Makes it a much more compelling story and characters.
Anyway it’s good stuff and looking forward to the next one.
A fantastic sequel, simply excellent storytelling!
The MC returns to earth after the evaluation. He makes new friends, puts the beat down on some enemies and surprise, surprise finds out that a high level advesary has set their sights on him. They put a hit out on him, his daughter and even contracted with a criminal organization to do him a mischief. These nefarious schemes didn't work out so well.
Just an excellent storyline with a now OP operator making his way in the galaxy. A goood blend of sword and sorcery, system apocalypse and interstellar action. Can't wait for more!
I'm rarely effusion with my praise but Mr. Botz earned it. Both books are fantastic. One, maybe 2 errors in grammar that I barely caught and in no way disrupted my ability to "see" the story as he wrote it. I'm usually very action- oriented and don't get me wrong, there was but also a lot of building of worlds and people. I read both books in 2 days. Something I've not done in a few years. Excellent books and I very much hope book 3 is not too far away.
This is an excellent escape reality book. There's very little fluff. The MC in constant self reflection, or/and moral anxiety that takes up chapters is basically non existent. He is what he is and accepts the situation. There's action, but the author doesn't take 5 or 6 chapters going over every battle move the characters make. There is no political statement or virtue signaling. It has an excellent MC and likable support characters, a good story, and sometimes humor. This is the type of book I personally like to read.
This second book was somewhat better than the first because things actually happened but it was still not good by any means. This feels like a poorly done copy of the primal hunter series where the author is speed running all the pitfalls of that story line with none of the actual substance. The power creep issue is huge. It makes no sense that he's just stronger than everyone who has lived hundreds of years and been trained that long. The characters are boring. It's all boring
I feel obligated to give a few comments but I would rather spend the time starting book 3. So, I will make this quick. The first two books were “fun” reads. The characters were nicely developed and were introduced just when you wondered how a great story could continue growing and keep the reader interested. There is plenty of action and I am impressed with the drive and supportive personality of the main character. The plot(s) are less about knocking off monsters and more about the reformation of a country.
I feel this new author will do well. I am enjoying the story line, characters, worlds, and action. I also appreciate the author not having to use foul language and explicit sex scenes to make the book interesting, it stands on it's own merits. I would like, and I think others would agree, to have an audio version also. I enjoy reading the series and then purchasing the audio and listening to it also. I only do this with books I truly enjoy. Again I would recommend trying this series.
Book 1 of this Brad Botz novel - had an interesting premise - but then it got ridiculous. The hero jumps to heretofore unreachable heights. But the reader must remember that EARTH has been taken over by god like creatures that are million of years old. (That's the ridiculous part.)
Book 2 however - zooms way past ridiculous - that I am getting a headache writing about it.
Far far far too much dialogue and not very much action.
You would think a civilization a million years old would have better things to do.
Spoiler alert - I won't be reading book 3 and thereafter.
Great Book! Great Story! Great Characters! Great Author! What more could anyone ask for? I highly recommended this Series and Author! Better than anything I read last year. Only bad thing about it is I think I am cought up with the Author and have to wait for him to write the next book. The Age Old Bane of my existence. Read This Book!!!
The author has done a great job writing about and over powered main character. The plot and setting are well done and enjoyable. I’d love for future book to focus on the others in the world. There’s room for improvement in word spelling and choices and some things that could be interesting are skipped. It the author is definitely doing the right things.
I am 58% of the way through this work. The Dudley Do Right factor is still present in this book (like the first), but it is toned down and more tolerable.
This is a nice, reasonable, relaxing, fantasy that even adults can enjoy.
The best thing about the story (so far) is that the author has not made the main character do anything completely moronic. That is a breath of fresh air. So many writers think that it is funny when they cause adult fictional characters do stupid things against their own self interest. Logical behavior for the win! :-)
Throughly enjoyed this second book. It does end on a cliff hanger. I can't wait to see how he resolves his issue. That said book 2 continues Ivor's quest to make sure his daughter is safe as she can be. Note to bad guys...Don't threaten his daughter or him, it will not go well for you! I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series! I stayed up all night reading this one!
The first book of the series was good. You learn to like Ivor and hope he gets back to his daughter and Earth. The second book is Ivor making his way over the newly reformed Earth helping people on the way to find his daughter and once found how they make thier home its a great read and really sucks you in and then boom you have you wait for the next one
The first story was entertaining enough that I immediately grabbed the second. I’m glad I did! Yes, he’s still OP but not obnoxious about it; you actually like the guy. For the grammatical police: yes, some of the sentences are a little choppy and don’t flow very well. However, it doesn’t pull you out of the storyline. I’m looking forward to reading the next book.
Tedious, why? Because the story is just bland with non descriptive fights, non descriptive backdrops, characters, everything is non descriptive. The world they visit, its description is non existent. The species are barely described heck more description is given about the hands than any other part of the body. The fights are Ivor destroys everything then loots, no actual fight description, and the use of the traps is so absurd… it’s just so tedious.
I really enjoyed this book. I also am really enjoying this series.
The only bad thing I can say is that the ending is abrupt. I'm not sure if it's supposed to build up suspense for the next one, but some could find it jarring. That may be more of a me thing, though.
I am a recent fan of Lit RPG genre and dungeoning. I’ve read a lot in the last 6 months and I lean towards liking the ones that focus on world building and character development rather than the leveling up process and fighting of beasts. I think this one does a good job of introducing complex characters and making you want to root for them.
Igor continues to grow stronger and dishes out a fair bit of justice whilst tracking down his daughter and her companions , earth simply isn't big enough or interesting enough to interest him so he'll be continuing his progress out in the galaxy , possibly better than book one and eagerly anticipating book three.
It is not often that an author can write about an overpowered main character and still maintain that pull to the plot that is needed to keep you invested in continuing to read the story. These books definitely succeeded in keeping me interested all the way through, and I am eager to get the next instalment.