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Punish The System: Book 1
They’re called the Outsiders, and they’re here for a good time. Humanity’s time.
When the apocalypse kicks off hundreds of years too early, the System is still asleep and Earth quickly becomes a chaotic mess of pop-up Dungeons and roaming monsters. With the alien invaders treating the planet’s destruction as a resource-gathering fire sale, things are looking bleak.
Connor Keene hoped being shot in the line of duty would be the only low point of his day.
Then he died, and that sucked.
But now, he’s been resurrected with a powerful new Class, the Punisher, and a mission to hunt down the invaders. The catch? Being a Punisher marks him as a pariah to the very people he's trying to protect. He has the power to fight back and perhaps help save Earth, but the whole world will hate him for it.
His only backup is an overly cheerful System Sprite who might be insane, a partner sharing her mind with an alien assassin murder-lizard, and a Crafter whose gear mostly doesn’t explode.
It’s time to punish the System before it blue-screens Earth for good.
About the This is a weak-to-strong System Apocalypse and Integration LitRPG set on Earth. It features a System, stats-go-up, an MC with a unique class, gear crafting, dungeon diving, an end-of-the-world scenario, a rich cast, and expansive world-building. Follow Connor's fight to stop the Outsiders from fully awakening the System and stripping Earth from all resources and life.
When the apocalypse kicks off hundreds of years too early, the System is still asleep and Earth quickly becomes a chaotic mess of pop-up Dungeons and roaming monsters. With the alien invaders treating the planet’s destruction as a resource-gathering fire sale, things are looking bleak.
Connor Keene hoped being shot in the line of duty would be the only low point of his day.
Then he died, and that sucked.
But now, he’s been resurrected with a powerful new Class, the Punisher, and a mission to hunt down the invaders. The catch? Being a Punisher marks him as a pariah to the very people he's trying to protect. He has the power to fight back and perhaps help save Earth, but the whole world will hate him for it.
His only backup is an overly cheerful System Sprite who might be insane, a partner sharing her mind with an alien assassin murder-lizard, and a Crafter whose gear mostly doesn’t explode.
It’s time to punish the System before it blue-screens Earth for good.
About the This is a weak-to-strong System Apocalypse and Integration LitRPG set on Earth. It features a System, stats-go-up, an MC with a unique class, gear crafting, dungeon diving, an end-of-the-world scenario, a rich cast, and expansive world-building. Follow Connor's fight to stop the Outsiders from fully awakening the System and stripping Earth from all resources and life.
- GenresLitrpg
619 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 14, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 3, 2026
Extreme fun
Punish the System takes on a tone that is bold and fast-moving, and in usual Malory and Cassius fashion, layer gripping and entertaining storytelling with some social commentary.
The dynamic between the protagonist and their relentlessly upbeat sidekick adds a surprising layer of charm and humor, giving the story bursts of light even in its darkest moments.
Smart, timely, and full of memorable characters, it’s the kind of book that keeps you turning pages and thinking long after you’re done.
And it’s super fun.
Punish the System takes on a tone that is bold and fast-moving, and in usual Malory and Cassius fashion, layer gripping and entertaining storytelling with some social commentary.
The dynamic between the protagonist and their relentlessly upbeat sidekick adds a surprising layer of charm and humor, giving the story bursts of light even in its darkest moments.
Smart, timely, and full of memorable characters, it’s the kind of book that keeps you turning pages and thinking long after you’re done.
And it’s super fun.
didn-t-like-it
May 4, 2026Note to self: big fat no.
Fantastic narrations, very annoying writing. The type of dialog that's witty and droll to be witty and droll, but everyone is so much so that it reads fake, and it feels like extra words and a 1.5 linespacing waste of time rather than style.
By hour 3, I was DONE.
Fantastic narrations, very annoying writing. The type of dialog that's witty and droll to be witty and droll, but everyone is so much so that it reads fake, and it feels like extra words and a 1.5 linespacing waste of time rather than style.
By hour 3, I was DONE.
June 7, 2026
Punish the System tried to be too many things, and it failed miserably at most of them. Thankfully, by the end, it looks like it settled down, and just concentrated on telling a good story, so the last few chapters are considerably better than most of the middle to later chapters. However, after the first 5-7 chapters, the book bogs down in seemingly random gibberish, often like someone just took a bunch of AI generated paragraphs, threw them together in random order, then just called it a day. There were times I'd have to read a chapter multiple times, and still have absolutely no idea what happened, because it just didn't make any sense at all. Needless to say, I won't be continuing with this series.
But, if you enjoy snarky heros, and (somewhat) unique new systems, you may actually like this book, but I just couldn't make it work for me.
But, if you enjoy snarky heros, and (somewhat) unique new systems, you may actually like this book, but I just couldn't make it work for me.
June 3, 2026
deeper than it looks on the tin
So I didn’t have a lot of expectations for this. I thought at best I’d have some laughs about the interactions of Connor and Izzie and then probably dnf when I couldn’t handle exhaustively “alpha male” energy and gun fantasies. That’s not what happened. It absolutely has the guns and the explosions and the brooding semi loner hero in his minimalist run down abode… but it also has allies, and loss, pain and reminds us that yes all these things he faces even when not alone have an emotional cost that you can’t -manly lone wolf- your way out of. It surprised me by being a pretty damn good read, though some of the accent work made me raise an eyebrow. Definitely worth at least a look.
So I didn’t have a lot of expectations for this. I thought at best I’d have some laughs about the interactions of Connor and Izzie and then probably dnf when I couldn’t handle exhaustively “alpha male” energy and gun fantasies. That’s not what happened. It absolutely has the guns and the explosions and the brooding semi loner hero in his minimalist run down abode… but it also has allies, and loss, pain and reminds us that yes all these things he faces even when not alone have an emotional cost that you can’t -manly lone wolf- your way out of. It surprised me by being a pretty damn good read, though some of the accent work made me raise an eyebrow. Definitely worth at least a look.
May 21, 2026
I found this to be a pretty interesting take on the LitRPG genre. Sort of. At least for the first book, the system hasn't woken up for Earth. The MC has a near death experience and does get system abilities and is facing enemies that are taking advantage of the fact that Earth isn't part of the system yet. Has a bit more of a modern gun theme than a fantasy take. The writing is a little rough at moments and could probably use an editing pass / cleanup. Still I liked the story enough to probably give book 2 a try once it comes out. I would like to see where the story goes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2026
The System is asleep.......for now
This book is absolutely thrilling from the start to the finish. This book is not a warm and fuzzy book, it is a roller-coaster ride of danger and excitement with an annoyingly positive sidekick who just wants to be helpful. The world isn't ready for this adventure but it is everything you would hope a litrpg would be without having annoying pop up screens. Would recommend this to anyone and everyone that loves a good adventure!!
This book is absolutely thrilling from the start to the finish. This book is not a warm and fuzzy book, it is a roller-coaster ride of danger and excitement with an annoyingly positive sidekick who just wants to be helpful. The world isn't ready for this adventure but it is everything you would hope a litrpg would be without having annoying pop up screens. Would recommend this to anyone and everyone that loves a good adventure!!
May 13, 2026
Thank you, another author in the never read again list.
It would be a nice tv series, but not a good book, too much useless info , room setting and other non-sense that makes people think they are good at writing, when it reality it's just sniffing your own farts kinda situation, quite sad.
The first 2 hours could have been half a paragraph, not kidding, it is literally just him talking to himself in the head while lying in a hospital bed.
It would be a nice tv series, but not a good book, too much useless info , room setting and other non-sense that makes people think they are good at writing, when it reality it's just sniffing your own farts kinda situation, quite sad.
The first 2 hours could have been half a paragraph, not kidding, it is literally just him talking to himself in the head while lying in a hospital bed.
April 18, 2026
Really good
I like this a lot very dungeon crawler Carl with a tad less insanity. It’s got some interesting characters and the premise is while not groundbreaking in its parts still an enjoyable mix on ingredients. Can’t wait for the next.
I like this a lot very dungeon crawler Carl with a tad less insanity. It’s got some interesting characters and the premise is while not groundbreaking in its parts still an enjoyable mix on ingredients. Can’t wait for the next.
August 4, 2026
I stopped reading at about the 45% mark
The main character doesn't feel real and his work life also feels fake. He acts like he is a spy but he is just a D.E.A. Agent. The way people talk to each other seems unreal
The main character doesn't feel real and his work life also feels fake. He acts like he is a spy but he is just a D.E.A. Agent. The way people talk to each other seems unreal
April 23, 2026
Lost interest halfway through…
April 27, 2026
Good read
I enjoyed reading this book and I recommend this book to anyone who likes LitRPG and progression types of books with lots of action.
I enjoyed reading this book and I recommend this book to anyone who likes LitRPG and progression types of books with lots of action.
May 13, 2026
This was funny and the fact that the system only partially worked made it funnier nit to mention the sprite had severe ADHD.
May 21, 2026
5 🌟. Such great fun! Connor and Issy were good characters, and I enjoyed the storyline. Can't wait for the next one.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews