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UpStream: The Knight Rising — Volumes 1 - 3 Omnibus: Urban LitRPG Fantasy Adventure
This omnibus edition contains the complete first Arc of the series, including Volumes 1–3, yet the adventure is far from over.
The story follows a young man, Alex White, who, by the will of fate, finds himself at the center of events that will forever change the human world. He is weak, but he has a secret — a system that allows him to grow stronger, as if he were a character in an RPG. Nothing comes easily; to claim his place in this transformed world, he must overcome challenges that will test not only his stats.
A modern LitRPG / urban-fantasy story where the protagonist gains a visible leveling system.
This novel will appeal to fans
Solo Leveling, The Beginning After the End, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, , and Arise from the Shadow.
The story follows a young man, Alex White, who, by the will of fate, finds himself at the center of events that will forever change the human world. He is weak, but he has a secret — a system that allows him to grow stronger, as if he were a character in an RPG. Nothing comes easily; to claim his place in this transformed world, he must overcome challenges that will test not only his stats.
A modern LitRPG / urban-fantasy story where the protagonist gains a visible leveling system.
This novel will appeal to fans
Solo Leveling, The Beginning After the End, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, , and Arise from the Shadow.
549 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 14, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 6, 2026
I like this work, but the protagonist is a bit shallow and simple minded.
He is not as bad as some other characters that I have recently read, but it is difficult to respect him.
He displays symptoms of being ADHD, with a VERY short attention span and not fond of thinking...at all. He would be the guy who was held over from graduating from High School by an extra 2 years...
Summation: The book is good. The protagonist is 23 going on 30 years of age, who acts like he is 15yoa. *sigh*
*One gets the impression that the main character does not have the attention span or intelligence to read even a work of fiction like this one. Heh! :-)
ADDENDUM: I usually hate reading about Dudley Do-Rights who try to save the world and hand out ice cream cones to strangers, but even I was touched by the author's introduction of "Yuna". VERY nicely done. Sappy, but a very cool episode of kindness.
At least the author fully realizes that his protagonist is an idiotic goof-ball (with the proverbial "good heart"). The character gets on my nerves, but he ain't ALL bad...
He is not as bad as some other characters that I have recently read, but it is difficult to respect him.
He displays symptoms of being ADHD, with a VERY short attention span and not fond of thinking...at all. He would be the guy who was held over from graduating from High School by an extra 2 years...
Summation: The book is good. The protagonist is 23 going on 30 years of age, who acts like he is 15yoa. *sigh*
*One gets the impression that the main character does not have the attention span or intelligence to read even a work of fiction like this one. Heh! :-)
ADDENDUM: I usually hate reading about Dudley Do-Rights who try to save the world and hand out ice cream cones to strangers, but even I was touched by the author's introduction of "Yuna". VERY nicely done. Sappy, but a very cool episode of kindness.
At least the author fully realizes that his protagonist is an idiotic goof-ball (with the proverbial "good heart"). The character gets on my nerves, but he ain't ALL bad...
August 19, 2026
This is a re-read in preparation of reading the 4th book. As exciting and engaging the second time as it was the first. Is it perfect, no. Does it have flaws, yes. Is it damn exciting and a pulse pounding read, damn straight it is.
I only have one bit of constructive criticism. When doing the stat tables on level up, rather than doing a whole list for before and then another whole list for after, you should show the increase in one list like this: Strength: 17->19. This saves the reader from having to flick back and forth between stat tables and also save you space on unnecessary stats, limiting it to just one table showing everything.
All in all an awesome read and now straight onto number 4
I only have one bit of constructive criticism. When doing the stat tables on level up, rather than doing a whole list for before and then another whole list for after, you should show the increase in one list like this: Strength: 17->19. This saves the reader from having to flick back and forth between stat tables and also save you space on unnecessary stats, limiting it to just one table showing everything.
All in all an awesome read and now straight onto number 4
October 19, 2026
Loved it
I love LitRPG, but sometimes a long series can get monotonous. This series has been refreshing, engaging, and appealing. The main character is likeable and his growth is believable (though don't get me wrong, I love an OP protagonist). Anyway, I'm off to grab the next book. And I know I'll be back for a reread sometime in the future!
I love LitRPG, but sometimes a long series can get monotonous. This series has been refreshing, engaging, and appealing. The main character is likeable and his growth is believable (though don't get me wrong, I love an OP protagonist). Anyway, I'm off to grab the next book. And I know I'll be back for a reread sometime in the future!
September 30, 2026
Really enjoying this story
Lost a night's sleep! Could not put it down. I love this genre (integration into a system) with this being a great example
Lost a night's sleep! Could not put it down. I love this genre (integration into a system) with this being a great example
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews