What do you think?
Rate this book
Starter Zone Survivor #1
Starter Zone Survivor
Everyone else escaped the tutorial in days. Caleb Vale was trapped there for seven years.
The starter zone was supposed to be easy.
Kill a few slimes. Dodge a goblin. Light a campfire. Choose a class. Walk through the exit gate.
But Caleb’s gate never opened.
While the outside world leveled, formed guilds, conquered dungeons, and forgot he existed, Caleb survived the same beginner trials over and over until the System’s weakest skills became something else entirely.
Basic Dodge became untouchable footwork.
Basic Knife Handling became lethal precision.
Basic Trapmaking became battlefield control.
Basic Mana Sense became the ability to see the rules behind the world.
When the tutorial barrier finally breaks, the guilds expect to find a corpse, a madman, or a helpless Level 1 nobody.
Instead, they find the most dangerous beginner alive.
Caleb has no legendary class. No noble bloodline. No divine sponsor. Just a starter knife, seven years of impossible training, and one goal that kept him alive when everything else failed.
Find his sister.
And if the System itself was responsible for trapping him?
Then the System is going to learn what happens when the tutorial fights back.
Starter Zone Survivor is an action-forward LitRPG progression fantasy featuring earned power, tactical combat, dungeon clearing, visible stats, skill evolution, survival, and an overpowered-but-hard-earned main character.
The starter zone was supposed to be easy.
Kill a few slimes. Dodge a goblin. Light a campfire. Choose a class. Walk through the exit gate.
But Caleb’s gate never opened.
While the outside world leveled, formed guilds, conquered dungeons, and forgot he existed, Caleb survived the same beginner trials over and over until the System’s weakest skills became something else entirely.
Basic Dodge became untouchable footwork.
Basic Knife Handling became lethal precision.
Basic Trapmaking became battlefield control.
Basic Mana Sense became the ability to see the rules behind the world.
When the tutorial barrier finally breaks, the guilds expect to find a corpse, a madman, or a helpless Level 1 nobody.
Instead, they find the most dangerous beginner alive.
Caleb has no legendary class. No noble bloodline. No divine sponsor. Just a starter knife, seven years of impossible training, and one goal that kept him alive when everything else failed.
Find his sister.
And if the System itself was responsible for trapping him?
Then the System is going to learn what happens when the tutorial fights back.
Starter Zone Survivor is an action-forward LitRPG progression fantasy featuring earned power, tactical combat, dungeon clearing, visible stats, skill evolution, survival, and an overpowered-but-hard-earned main character.
377 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 17, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
July 22, 2026
More AI slop
Genuinely disappointed. The premise sounded good. But it's just more AI slop. Don't wish your money, most of it doesn't even really make a lot of sense because of the AI's attempts at sounding literary destroying anything that would be logical.
Genuinely disappointed. The premise sounded good. But it's just more AI slop. Don't wish your money, most of it doesn't even really make a lot of sense because of the AI's attempts at sounding literary destroying anything that would be logical.
July 30, 2026
Book one
It's readable but the cadence is so odd.
Lots of really odd saying and strange framework.
I can't say for sure that this is AI written, but I feel like it was with some better editing.
The reason for the one star is do to the odd feeling that the book caused me the entire time I was reading it that didn't allow me to sink into the book and really enjoy the story.
2/10 I won't be continuing with this series. If it was AI written it should be listed. If it wasn't then the author needs to work on cadence and structure.
It's readable but the cadence is so odd.
Lots of really odd saying and strange framework.
I can't say for sure that this is AI written, but I feel like it was with some better editing.
The reason for the one star is do to the odd feeling that the book caused me the entire time I was reading it that didn't allow me to sink into the book and really enjoy the story.
2/10 I won't be continuing with this series. If it was AI written it should be listed. If it wasn't then the author needs to work on cadence and structure.
October 1, 2026
obvious AI
Typical AI slop. Writing is dryer than a Popeyes biscuit. Fans of Kenny King books may enjoy, so to each their own.
Typical AI slop. Writing is dryer than a Popeyes biscuit. Fans of Kenny King books may enjoy, so to each their own.
August 16, 2026
….AI maybe
Full of grammar errors and continuity problems from a protagonist that doesn’t know any thing about the world to suddenly knowing things when he escapes the tutorial.
Full of grammar errors and continuity problems from a protagonist that doesn’t know any thing about the world to suddenly knowing things when he escapes the tutorial.
August 8, 2026
Interesting concepts but things start to get repetitive and the cast surrounding MC started to grate on my nerves. Every new character introduced seems to go through the same broad strokes and each plot encounter is similar. Dnf'd book 2 about 40% thru
July 24, 2026
Horribly tedious.
DNF. Wow, was a mess. It started off great. It then devolved into a badly glitched acid trip. It made Alice on in wonderland look like a normal day at the mall. Overly complicated descriptions that were just word salads. Action scenarios that were so convoluted it made my eyes hurt.
DNF. Wow, was a mess. It started off great. It then devolved into a badly glitched acid trip. It made Alice on in wonderland look like a normal day at the mall. Overly complicated descriptions that were just word salads. Action scenarios that were so convoluted it made my eyes hurt.
August 7, 2026
Definite AI slop
The premise started out really interesting. But quickly fell apart. The use of ai is really poorly done and lacks even the most basic editing to make it readable.
The premise started out really interesting. But quickly fell apart. The use of ai is really poorly done and lacks even the most basic editing to make it readable.
August 16, 2026
Wow is this bad
Did Not Finish
September 30, 2026"The gate knocked. The hut answered." - Look if I wanted an attempt at literary fiction I'd have read that. This type of thing just breaks the immersion. I really haven't connected to the character because of all the complicated formulation. I am not a writer, but as a reader of LITRPG, I can only say: keep the damn prose simple. Different book genres need different writing styles... 🫤"
Plus I've never read a book written by AI but it seems there are people who think this is the case? Given the sentence structure I wouldnt be surprised. I have nothing against AI writing, but please be honest about it because I don't want to read stuff not written by a human.
Plus I've never read a book written by AI but it seems there are people who think this is the case? Given the sentence structure I wouldnt be surprised. I have nothing against AI writing, but please be honest about it because I don't want to read stuff not written by a human.
August 14, 2026
AI, sadly
It gets two stars instead of one because it was an interesting premise that was poorly executed due to reliance on AI. I would rather a beginner learning to write than the stilted dialogue and terrible reptition. Skills moved from evolved to non, then back to evolved.
It should be a one star, but I finished it. I won't continue though, I want something that has heart behind it.
It gets two stars instead of one because it was an interesting premise that was poorly executed due to reliance on AI. I would rather a beginner learning to write than the stilted dialogue and terrible reptition. Skills moved from evolved to non, then back to evolved.
It should be a one star, but I finished it. I won't continue though, I want something that has heart behind it.
October 11, 2026
Disclaimer that I add because AI-cover-image: I do not automatically assume that Brock Senna has actually written his books himself, or that it was entirely written or helped by AI. I could only assume the worst. This loss of trust results in one star less, by principle. This goes for all books with such covers. (Not that it matters, since I later realized the book is also written by AI.)
------
This is the first time I'm trying one of those scratchy looking "obviously AI-made cover-art"-books with limited effort put in and flying tops of castles in the sky. (Audiobook version) Let's see if they aren't all trash like their covers...
4 hours in: The only problems so far are stupid sentences like when he kicked a coin and it somehow sliced his hand or "a pseudopod from a slime crashed down where is head had been, the impact threw him side-ways" - What impact? I thought he dodged it? Or calling the area potentially taken up by the exodus of monsters through the gate a "funnel", a "breach perimeter" instead of anything any real person would say. Like, what? Has he been reading field manuals for Operatives in his wooden hut?? Or when he complains to Captain Vesk that his Shield-man is three steps too far forward, but in the next scene, Vask orders said Shield-man to step forward and slam his shield in the ground anyway, only to be just slightly corrected by Caleb. That seemed useless. Or when he thinks a beasts mind is "made of reset-pressure and old failure". <- This exact level of weird complexity-in-expression happens quite a bit.
Or senseless pseudo-creative comparisons like his weapon "hitting the earth so hard it bruised".
Or that some mechanics aren't sufficiently explained - for example: why some contraption of "ash in a package of leaves tucked under slime-skin that's wrapped around a rabbit bone" becomes a trap that will explode when something comes near it.
It seems random, like AI does it. But it is listenable, uh, hearable?? (I was trying for something like how a show is "watchable" and failed. You get it.) xD
But I also skipped a bit to get him to leave the tutorial faster ... Two hours of that would've been enough, thanks.
9 hours in: It is clear to me now that the Author also used AI in his writing, at least it is highly enhanced by AI, judging by all those weird sentences and errors. I finally understand the people complaining about AI-isms like "It's not X it's Y" and similar. They do stand out a lot. Good thing this is the first book that I ever read/listened to that is evidently AI-written: My filters work.
There are 3 hours and 40 minutes left, but since I believe this is AI written now, it does not matter to me at all what the nice dude in the device is saying to me. It's literally all just analog noise, like the snow on old TVs. Randomness made coherent, not good. (There's your AI-ism from me back to you.)
I also can't trust the Author when he is being wise and tries to educate me, like: "An animal that sees lines will act linear but wobbly lines makes it think and thus slow down" or something very similar and equally dubious to that. I also by principle never learn from AI because you just can't know if it has hallucinated it or not. You should adopt that principle. ;D
I do not condone any use of AI in writing or cover art - or in any ART of any kind. If it is, it stops being art and becomes structured random noise. Coincidences made coherent. (Look, I'm neither an actual Author or an AI-Author, so this is my very limited but genuine human creativity talking... it's not good either, I know. xD)
Result: 0.25 stars. Stop stealing money from people. Eat your own Slop.
------
This is the first time I'm trying one of those scratchy looking "obviously AI-made cover-art"-books with limited effort put in and flying tops of castles in the sky. (Audiobook version) Let's see if they aren't all trash like their covers...
4 hours in: The only problems so far are stupid sentences like when he kicked a coin and it somehow sliced his hand or "a pseudopod from a slime crashed down where is head had been, the impact threw him side-ways" - What impact? I thought he dodged it? Or calling the area potentially taken up by the exodus of monsters through the gate a "funnel", a "breach perimeter" instead of anything any real person would say. Like, what? Has he been reading field manuals for Operatives in his wooden hut?? Or when he complains to Captain Vesk that his Shield-man is three steps too far forward, but in the next scene, Vask orders said Shield-man to step forward and slam his shield in the ground anyway, only to be just slightly corrected by Caleb. That seemed useless. Or when he thinks a beasts mind is "made of reset-pressure and old failure". <- This exact level of weird complexity-in-expression happens quite a bit.
Or senseless pseudo-creative comparisons like his weapon "hitting the earth so hard it bruised".
Or that some mechanics aren't sufficiently explained - for example: why some contraption of "ash in a package of leaves tucked under slime-skin that's wrapped around a rabbit bone" becomes a trap that will explode when something comes near it.
It seems random, like AI does it. But it is listenable, uh, hearable?? (I was trying for something like how a show is "watchable" and failed. You get it.) xD
But I also skipped a bit to get him to leave the tutorial faster ... Two hours of that would've been enough, thanks.
9 hours in: It is clear to me now that the Author also used AI in his writing, at least it is highly enhanced by AI, judging by all those weird sentences and errors. I finally understand the people complaining about AI-isms like "It's not X it's Y" and similar. They do stand out a lot. Good thing this is the first book that I ever read/listened to that is evidently AI-written: My filters work.
There are 3 hours and 40 minutes left, but since I believe this is AI written now, it does not matter to me at all what the nice dude in the device is saying to me. It's literally all just analog noise, like the snow on old TVs. Randomness made coherent, not good. (There's your AI-ism from me back to you.)
I also can't trust the Author when he is being wise and tries to educate me, like: "An animal that sees lines will act linear but wobbly lines makes it think and thus slow down" or something very similar and equally dubious to that. I also by principle never learn from AI because you just can't know if it has hallucinated it or not. You should adopt that principle. ;D
I do not condone any use of AI in writing or cover art - or in any ART of any kind. If it is, it stops being art and becomes structured random noise. Coincidences made coherent. (Look, I'm neither an actual Author or an AI-Author, so this is my very limited but genuine human creativity talking... it's not good either, I know. xD)
Result: 0.25 stars. Stop stealing money from people. Eat your own Slop.
September 23, 2026
AI Generated
This is the first AI generated book I've come across and it's the worst book I've read. I assisted no issues if the story good but this is terrible. Initially it started out ok but the context started to drift. Key AI features, lots of negation pairs "he thought it was insignificant, it wasnt" " it didn't matter, it did". Stock Visual personification "the street lunged", "the ground took a breath as the monster crawled out". Imperative fragments in groups 'grab then, burn them here, cut down there, correct them".
This is the first AI generated book I've come across and it's the worst book I've read. I assisted no issues if the story good but this is terrible. Initially it started out ok but the context started to drift. Key AI features, lots of negation pairs "he thought it was insignificant, it wasnt" " it didn't matter, it did". Stock Visual personification "the street lunged", "the ground took a breath as the monster crawled out". Imperative fragments in groups 'grab then, burn them here, cut down there, correct them".
September 17, 2026
Cool premise, all AI
The “author” should have just actually taken the time to write the book. The premise was good, but everything else was blatantly AI written: repetitive descriptions, paragraphs were structured with simple building sentences, and inconsistencies and errors in continuity. Overall, just repetitive. Too bad. It was a fun concept for a book.
The “author” should have just actually taken the time to write the book. The premise was good, but everything else was blatantly AI written: repetitive descriptions, paragraphs were structured with simple building sentences, and inconsistencies and errors in continuity. Overall, just repetitive. Too bad. It was a fun concept for a book.
August 31, 2026
no real story here
There is no depth. No development. No world building. Sloppy action and spectacle.
The main character is inexplicably a master tactician who can direct people that are depicted as having no real competence, but the author also depicts those same people as quick on the uptake and witty. That does not rationally follow from a seven year mostly isolated survivor.
No history before the tutorial is offered and despite being described as alone for seven years, the MC knows how everything works outside the tutorial with no seeming experience.
After one day, MC and the side characters are depicted has having long term familiarity and
Banter that is too forced and repetitive, and often robotic.
Not worth reading unless one is absolutely bored and has paint to watch dry.
There is no depth. No development. No world building. Sloppy action and spectacle.
The main character is inexplicably a master tactician who can direct people that are depicted as having no real competence, but the author also depicts those same people as quick on the uptake and witty. That does not rationally follow from a seven year mostly isolated survivor.
No history before the tutorial is offered and despite being described as alone for seven years, the MC knows how everything works outside the tutorial with no seeming experience.
After one day, MC and the side characters are depicted has having long term familiarity and
Banter that is too forced and repetitive, and often robotic.
Not worth reading unless one is absolutely bored and has paint to watch dry.
October 10, 2026
I wanted to be nice…
I originally put 4 stars because I hate discouraging writers…but after picking up Book 2 in the hope it would get better, I was the one who was discouraged.
When did writers stop writing? When did they stop taking an idea and sitting down to build a world for readers to fall into using their own words? When did it become okay for a person with a good idea to deem it honest to plop themselves down, input a few words into a program and allow it to write a book for them?
But my biggest question is why are so many damn readers okay with reading obviously AI generated stories and giving 5 star reviews to them.
While the first chapters of Book 1 where not too bad, the purple prose was obvious. Once he got out of the tutorial…it escalated. I skipped chapters of fighting because the interaction between characters was tilting full on AI dialogue. You know what I mean…one word answers, everyone make quips and eventually you can’t tell one character from another because they all sound the same.
Still, I foolishly gave 4 stars because I hoped Book 2 would be better, and as I said, I didn’t want to discourage them. Hint: it was worse. It went from purple to full on dark grape prose. It felt like everything was AI generated. That very little human interaction was involved.
And yet…too many people tolerate the dishonesty of using AI. I don’t know if that is because this is what they grew up with or that they honestly like the staccato and believe one word, one liners and constant quips to be “cool” and “edgy.” I find them frustrating and tedious to read.
And by the way, authors, saying you only use AI to check for spelling and grammar errors is BS. Not when you publish books like this.
I have decided no more. There are too many good authors out there who sit down and use their brains to write their story and are being overlooked and overwhelmed because of the massive amount of books being dropped into Amazon that are quick to publish because little amount of effort is put into them and they can be cranked out faster. If I am unlucky enough to open one, they will be getting the ratings they deserve.
And readers…do better.
I originally put 4 stars because I hate discouraging writers…but after picking up Book 2 in the hope it would get better, I was the one who was discouraged.
When did writers stop writing? When did they stop taking an idea and sitting down to build a world for readers to fall into using their own words? When did it become okay for a person with a good idea to deem it honest to plop themselves down, input a few words into a program and allow it to write a book for them?
But my biggest question is why are so many damn readers okay with reading obviously AI generated stories and giving 5 star reviews to them.
While the first chapters of Book 1 where not too bad, the purple prose was obvious. Once he got out of the tutorial…it escalated. I skipped chapters of fighting because the interaction between characters was tilting full on AI dialogue. You know what I mean…one word answers, everyone make quips and eventually you can’t tell one character from another because they all sound the same.
Still, I foolishly gave 4 stars because I hoped Book 2 would be better, and as I said, I didn’t want to discourage them. Hint: it was worse. It went from purple to full on dark grape prose. It felt like everything was AI generated. That very little human interaction was involved.
And yet…too many people tolerate the dishonesty of using AI. I don’t know if that is because this is what they grew up with or that they honestly like the staccato and believe one word, one liners and constant quips to be “cool” and “edgy.” I find them frustrating and tedious to read.
And by the way, authors, saying you only use AI to check for spelling and grammar errors is BS. Not when you publish books like this.
I have decided no more. There are too many good authors out there who sit down and use their brains to write their story and are being overlooked and overwhelmed because of the massive amount of books being dropped into Amazon that are quick to publish because little amount of effort is put into them and they can be cranked out faster. If I am unlucky enough to open one, they will be getting the ratings they deserve.
And readers…do better.
October 1, 2026
Heavy, Action-Packed, The System is Hostile
This story has no downtime. It moves feom one conflict to the next at a pace our main character can only sustain because he has spent 7 years in a world determined to kill him by changing the rules. He has learned to read the unwritten rules-- and once he finally escapes, that broken, hostile environment (or a close cousin) is unleashed on his new world. He must fight again.
I almost stopped reading this several times because of the unrelenting pace-- and the system essentially being the villian (or at least some portion of it is). But we have excellent quips and fantastic snatches of dialogue. We also have an extremely competent main character. I found it slightly unbelievable (yet reassuraning) that he somehow persuades people to listen to him instead of dying stupidly. People who think they know better love to ignore good advice and die stupidly; it's a rule: pride comes before the fall. So it was nice that he somehow got them to listen.
Things to note:
The System is untrustworthy and hostile.
This is not lighthearted, nor slice of life. This is not even a regular adventure. It is one man pressing on in the face of impossible odds, almost dying, and surviving just one more day. It is emotionally heavy as a result.
The author does an excellent job with this. It's just too heavy to be enjoyable to me. Thus, 2.5 stars. Well executed, just not to my liking.
This story has no downtime. It moves feom one conflict to the next at a pace our main character can only sustain because he has spent 7 years in a world determined to kill him by changing the rules. He has learned to read the unwritten rules-- and once he finally escapes, that broken, hostile environment (or a close cousin) is unleashed on his new world. He must fight again.
I almost stopped reading this several times because of the unrelenting pace-- and the system essentially being the villian (or at least some portion of it is). But we have excellent quips and fantastic snatches of dialogue. We also have an extremely competent main character. I found it slightly unbelievable (yet reassuraning) that he somehow persuades people to listen to him instead of dying stupidly. People who think they know better love to ignore good advice and die stupidly; it's a rule: pride comes before the fall. So it was nice that he somehow got them to listen.
Things to note:
The System is untrustworthy and hostile.
This is not lighthearted, nor slice of life. This is not even a regular adventure. It is one man pressing on in the face of impossible odds, almost dying, and surviving just one more day. It is emotionally heavy as a result.
The author does an excellent job with this. It's just too heavy to be enjoyable to me. Thus, 2.5 stars. Well executed, just not to my liking.
August 24, 2026
Im conflicted. This book clearly has been at the very least influenced by AI - the short choppy sentences and constant lists, with multiple continuity errors, like going to the window in a room that has no windows or someone entering the room after someone else closed the door or age discrepancies where one character is reported as 16 but then later is suddenly 20, show that clearly .......................but........it kinda works. The main character has been stuck in a broken tutorial for 7 years so you would expect him to be kinda broken and the format of the book sorta mirrors that mentality. Im not sure if the format can be extended to future books but it worked on this one. The humour is so dry I though I was in the desert but it was very funny in places. Truth delivered as sarcasm that no one wants to hear.
Flawed but weirdly enjoyable, if the author can actually write a book rather than use AI then this could be excellent. Its a 3.5 but rounded down to 3 due to all the issues.
Flawed but weirdly enjoyable, if the author can actually write a book rather than use AI then this could be excellent. Its a 3.5 but rounded down to 3 due to all the issues.
August 22, 2026
By about the 20% mark every thing was just repeating. There was 3-4 secnes just repeating with slightly different moves. By the 25% I was just flipping through pages to get to the escape.
After the escape I thought there would be some world building. But nothing. They know there’s broken tutorial because they have the ability to close them. But they’re surprised that someone comes out. Even though they’re expecting someone to survive. Say what?
There’s no explanation on what you get for leveling up. No explanation of what loot there is or what you get for it.
No explanation for why a dungeon suddenly breaks other than coming after the MC. If the system is all powerful why doesn’t it just kill him?
I sure all this is clear in the author’s mind. The problem is I can’t read minds. Too bad it was an interesting concept but totally screwed up. I won’t be continuing with this series
After the escape I thought there would be some world building. But nothing. They know there’s broken tutorial because they have the ability to close them. But they’re surprised that someone comes out. Even though they’re expecting someone to survive. Say what?
There’s no explanation on what you get for leveling up. No explanation of what loot there is or what you get for it.
No explanation for why a dungeon suddenly breaks other than coming after the MC. If the system is all powerful why doesn’t it just kill him?
I sure all this is clear in the author’s mind. The problem is I can’t read minds. Too bad it was an interesting concept but totally screwed up. I won’t be continuing with this series
July 31, 2026
Starter Zone Survivor starts a series where the main character gets stuck in the starter zone for seven years. He finally escapes with the help of a adventuring party, but the cost becomes apparent when the tutorial zone decides he isn't done with the tutorial zone just yet. It's a mildly interesting story, but not really my style. I'm fairly certain I won't read more in this series, though I never say never, because while it isn't really my style, the story could be interesting to continue anyway, but, just not right now.
August 13, 2026
Ai slop
I wanted to like this. The character managed to be interesting even though it's very clearly written by ai. The book is full of nonsense sentences like "The gel made the ash honest". And repeats itself incessantly. Everything and it mother is " full of teeth". There are plot errors. He loses his hatchet. Comments that he lost it. And then it's magically on his belt later. All these AI written books write about cats the exact same way which is funny in its own way. At the 80% mark, the so called writer fuses two characters into one one gets the name wrong. One of the characters that were just turned into chimera is never seen again from what I can tell. Kindle needs to do better at marking ai slop
I wanted to like this. The character managed to be interesting even though it's very clearly written by ai. The book is full of nonsense sentences like "The gel made the ash honest". And repeats itself incessantly. Everything and it mother is " full of teeth". There are plot errors. He loses his hatchet. Comments that he lost it. And then it's magically on his belt later. All these AI written books write about cats the exact same way which is funny in its own way. At the 80% mark, the so called writer fuses two characters into one one gets the name wrong. One of the characters that were just turned into chimera is never seen again from what I can tell. Kindle needs to do better at marking ai slop
August 18, 2026
AI slop, but at least it's fun slop
Entertaining fast-paced story. Interesting prose construction, but constantly inconsistent details, weird descriptions, and plot points change randomly.
Lost his hatchet, explicitly called out... But it's on his belt next scene.
Used his single starter knife the entire time, including an achievement for maintaining it far beyond its useful life... But he's also been through a few, in an area where he can't get replacements.
He's in a building, then describing the outdoors, is outdoors, sees kids impressed by his sword (that he's described repeatedly as never having), then goes downstairs to the ground floor... But the room he was in was already the ground floor.
Entertaining fast-paced story. Interesting prose construction, but constantly inconsistent details, weird descriptions, and plot points change randomly.
Lost his hatchet, explicitly called out... But it's on his belt next scene.
Used his single starter knife the entire time, including an achievement for maintaining it far beyond its useful life... But he's also been through a few, in an area where he can't get replacements.
He's in a building, then describing the outdoors, is outdoors, sees kids impressed by his sword (that he's described repeatedly as never having), then goes downstairs to the ground floor... But the room he was in was already the ground floor.
July 25, 2026
Well written, fast-paced, subtle horror and mystery
I read the first third of the book until after 1 AM, when I finally couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. 😅😄
The vast majority of the story is fast-paced, often staccato, survival; mostly involving fighting or preparation for fighting. There is one main mystery, with several horrifying impacts on the main character, Caleb.
So far, he's dealing with his PTSD fairly well and trying to reintegrate with people.
The ending was both satisfying, in many ways, yet still leaves some of the mystery unsolved and sets up the next adventure.
Side note: Free Guide-13!
I read the first third of the book until after 1 AM, when I finally couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. 😅😄
The vast majority of the story is fast-paced, often staccato, survival; mostly involving fighting or preparation for fighting. There is one main mystery, with several horrifying impacts on the main character, Caleb.
So far, he's dealing with his PTSD fairly well and trying to reintegrate with people.
The ending was both satisfying, in many ways, yet still leaves some of the mystery unsolved and sets up the next adventure.
Side note: Free Guide-13!
August 13, 2026
I don't like extra spicy
If this story was a meal it would be the extra spicy kind, where my nose runs, my lips are numb and my mouth is on fire. I prefer something more on the mild side.
I liked the general premise, but found the actual story to be too intense. These days I don't enjoy bigger bad guys and world ending catastrophe. If the author had dialed back on the conflict by about half I would have enjoyed it more. I think I'll skip the next book, this one gave a bad case of indigestion.
If this story was a meal it would be the extra spicy kind, where my nose runs, my lips are numb and my mouth is on fire. I prefer something more on the mild side.
I liked the general premise, but found the actual story to be too intense. These days I don't enjoy bigger bad guys and world ending catastrophe. If the author had dialed back on the conflict by about half I would have enjoyed it more. I think I'll skip the next book, this one gave a bad case of indigestion.
August 31, 2026
Great Action
I'm not perfect at literature and I do not know how to write a book, but man this was one hard read! The first 199 pages left me lost and confused and not knowing what the heck was going on, no real back story or character/s progression no real world building. The action is great (when you can follow) and after page 200 something it became easier to read and understand (kinda) but I am intrigued and starting the second now. There are 5 books already so there's got to be some traction right ha.
I'm not perfect at literature and I do not know how to write a book, but man this was one hard read! The first 199 pages left me lost and confused and not knowing what the heck was going on, no real back story or character/s progression no real world building. The action is great (when you can follow) and after page 200 something it became easier to read and understand (kinda) but I am intrigued and starting the second now. There are 5 books already so there's got to be some traction right ha.
September 12, 2026
A fun read, let down by a LOT of inconsistency
This is a great story, well written, with an engaging MC and a clear voice for the characters.
Unfortunately, it is also riddled with inconsistencies, including but not limited to conflated characters, forgotten consequences, and out-of-sequence events.
As such, it reads like a first draft that has been corrected for typos, but not plot errors or inconsistencies in chronology.
If it were edited such that the inconsistencies were removed, I would rate this 5 stars.
This is a great story, well written, with an engaging MC and a clear voice for the characters.
Unfortunately, it is also riddled with inconsistencies, including but not limited to conflated characters, forgotten consequences, and out-of-sequence events.
As such, it reads like a first draft that has been corrected for typos, but not plot errors or inconsistencies in chronology.
If it were edited such that the inconsistencies were removed, I would rate this 5 stars.
September 27, 2026
Starter Zone Survivor, book one of a series of the same name, is an ebook I borrowed through Kindle Unlimited (KU). I enjoyed this story more than anticipated. My attention was caught by the blurb, describing a player caught in a Starter Zone. Most LitRPG is focused around getting out of the Zone, getting your class and skills, and growing stronger. This concept was fresh, and made me really think through how a player could possibly improve their skills if they were always fighting the same foes. Well done.
July 20, 2026
This story may get better later on, but the first 4 chapters were tedious and plodding.
I kept expecting forward progress for the protagonist. All that I got was a rather depressing scenario for the M.C. to endure/live through.
Also, I could barely make sense of this style of prose.
I tried to return the book. Despite reading under 4 chapters, Amazon/Kindle would not allow me to do so. I will need to be a LOT more picky before I hit the buy button in the future. Lesson learned. :-)
I kept expecting forward progress for the protagonist. All that I got was a rather depressing scenario for the M.C. to endure/live through.
Also, I could barely make sense of this style of prose.
I tried to return the book. Despite reading under 4 chapters, Amazon/Kindle would not allow me to do so. I will need to be a LOT more picky before I hit the buy button in the future. Lesson learned. :-)
September 4, 2026
67, 67 for this book. Haven’t made up my mind yet.
Not sure what I think about this story yet, but since I finished it, I thought it was pretty good. I just don’t like the fact that the MC staying in the same place in this book as well as the next one. Have to read more to see what I actually think of the power progression as well as the locale, side characters, and plotlines of the story. It was pretty good, so I will read the next one.
Not sure what I think about this story yet, but since I finished it, I thought it was pretty good. I just don’t like the fact that the MC staying in the same place in this book as well as the next one. Have to read more to see what I actually think of the power progression as well as the locale, side characters, and plotlines of the story. It was pretty good, so I will read the next one.
October 14, 2026
I had the audiobook version: I'm not sure if it was written with Ai, but it wouldn't surprise me. I liked the premise and the start of the book. However, it soon fell flat. The MC was annoying and a know-it-all, that it distracted from the story. The narrator didn't help the book in any way. He didn't differentiate the character voices and delivered them in a very dry tone. I had 43 mins left in the book and had no desire to finish. I won't continue the series.
October 20, 2026
Barely readable - DNF at 80%
The prose is extremely difficult to read and to get engaged in. It feels written like this in purpose and while it kind of worked when it was only the main character, once all the other characters got introduced and spoke in the same way. Any suspension of disbelief was just gone.
Someone else wrote that it sounded like a big part is written with AI help and I’m not sure if this is the case, but the style definitely didn’t fit me.
The prose is extremely difficult to read and to get engaged in. It feels written like this in purpose and while it kind of worked when it was only the main character, once all the other characters got introduced and spoke in the same way. Any suspension of disbelief was just gone.
Someone else wrote that it sounded like a big part is written with AI help and I’m not sure if this is the case, but the style definitely didn’t fit me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews