The Cost of Survival

The System Apocalypse #3

by Tao Wong

The Onlivik Spores have been defeated, the dungeon tamed but at great cost. John and his friends are reeling from the losses, but the countdown to full integration to the System continues. Threatened by System-integrated races and new, more powerful monsters, John will need to get creative if he and the city are to survive.

The Cost of Survival is Book 3 of the System Apocalypse, a LitRPG / GameLit Apocalypse book that combines modern day life, science fiction and fantasy elements along with game mechanics.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Post Apocalyptic, Science Fiction Fantasy, Magic, Urban Fantasy

303 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 24, 2018

About the author

Tao Wong is the author of the A Thousand Li progression fantasy series and the System Apocalypse LitRPG series, among others. His work has been released in audio, paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats, and translated into German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and several other languages. He was shortlisted for the UK Kindle Storyteller Award in 2021 for A Thousand Li: The Second Sect. In 2026, the first three books in the A Thousand Li series will be republished in hardcover by Ace Books.

When he’s not writing or working, he enjoys practicing martial arts, reading, and dreaming up new worlds. He lives in Toronto, Canada.

Reviews

[Soo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mini-Review: LitRPG

5 Stars for Narration by Nick Podehl

All of the books in this series need another wave or two of editing. I still love the series.

I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy how the story was progressing. There were various story lines that were getting tangled, but it worked out well in the end. =)

This one was a bit too focused on action, great overall story progression but not a whole lot of character development for John.

I knew I liked John. I didn't realize the reason why I liked him was because he is crazy. Yup. Absolutely insane and that is perfect because he is a great protagonist within this story world. Almost all of my favorite parts of the story are based on one of John's insane ideas. So good!

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My third time reading this was the first time I realized he legit ended this book with a harem! 🤣😅😭

[Chris Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was excited, yet let down again.

3 stars for a book series that got me excited at the start, but then disappointed me sequel after sequel. So, to me, a decent read with a only a smidgen left of hope/excitement for the next book.
My gripes, wishes, and hopes not being met are,
1. the boring MC that is ridiculously contradictive in personality and motivations,(I.e. shitty to everyone he talks too yet sticks around for a year and risks death to provide food to give to an ungrateful town)
2. the progression that started off amazing and fun(book1) but gradually became boring with no actual possible future progression hinted at or attained (that was cool/fun IMO),
3. the lack of any loot or credit drops/earned given within the story which makes it so the author just says this blah blah is way too expensive or they have just enough for blah but really giving no kind of structure to the shop/system with that lack, (like seriously killing for almost a year and loot seems to not exist for the MC but as food!)
4. and lastly, the shitty people that seem to run/inhabit this town are just a useless enemy of the MC in the previous books that carry over too this 3rd installment unfortunately, and "justifies" why the MC gets the shitty to people label.
In conclusion, I loved this book series idea, but have definitely lost it. I hope from the ending some of my gripes are automatically gone, but I just want to be impressed by the next book by anything imaginative, original, and smart!

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a step back in enjoying the series.

The author has taken the story in a disappointing way. The tropes are out in force in this book. The MC is powerful but not powerful enough to save his town. The villains are both more powerful than everyone else and able to use political pressure on the town. The MC is confusing in his love interests as he is apparently bisexual but refuses to get involved with anyone and the one time he does the author makes a point to have every single person in his group be awful to him and then the author never provides any resolution to the issue. So overall extremely disappointed in this book. Not sure if I will continue the series. I give it a 2.5 out of 5 rounded up.

[Conor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot: 9/15
Prose: 3/5
Character: 9/15
Setting: 20/25
Dialogue: 6/10
Enjoyment: 24/30

Overall: 71/100 (3.5 stars)

This ended the starting arc of the main character of the first 3 books, and I am happy to see it end despite the growth of the MC. Its hard to say what I want out of this series and why I want to continue reading, overall its a solid enough story going on that I would say people can definitely read and enjoy.

[Shaft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Combinging LitRPG with the kind of mental anguish stuff I'm used to seeing in recent YA. Really different from other LitRPG and something I would definitely recommend to fans of that genre.

[Johnny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not that good.

The MC hasn't grown any. This had a chance to be a great series. The only chance it has now is it the MC manages to grow up out on the road and if his group can buy a deserted town from the system and build something lasting, but from what I have read in the last three books that doesn't seem possible.
I will be truth is series.

[Akshay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Cost of Survival (The System Apocalypse #3) by Tao Wong

⭐⭐⭐⚝⚝ (3.0 / 5)

Survival always has a cost.

By Book Three, the question is whether the series is willing to actually make the protagonist pay it.

The Cost of Survival continues the steady evolution of The System Apocalypse from a raw survival narrative into a structured, system-driven progression story. The chaos of the early apocalypse has largely settled into something more organized—settlements, factions, and repeatable dungeon cycles. The world is no longer collapsing.

It is stabilizing.

And that stability is both the book’s strength and its central problem.

📖 Review

This installment pushes John Lee deeper into leadership and responsibility. He is no longer just a survivor or even a lone operator—he is now embedded within a growing network of alliances, expectations, and political pressures. On paper, this should increase tension.

In execution, it often diffuses it.

The novel leans heavily into system mechanics: quests, dungeon clears, resource management, and structured progression. Tao Wong maintains consistency in how the System operates, and there is a clear logic to the protagonist’s growth. However, this emphasis comes at the expense of narrative urgency.

Conflicts increasingly feel procedural.

Encounters are less about danger and more about optimization. The protagonist rarely feels truly threatened; instead, he evaluates, adapts, and overcomes with calculated efficiency. The unpredictability that defined earlier books continues to fade.

The title promises consequence—cost.

But the emotional and psychological costs remain underdeveloped.

There are losses, pressures, and difficult decisions, yet they rarely linger. The narrative acknowledges them, then moves on. The result is a story that talks about sacrifice without fully exploring its weight.

Pacing is another issue. Large portions of the book are devoted to planning, coordination, and system explanation. While these elements reinforce the world’s internal logic, they also slow momentum. Instead of escalating tension, the story often plateaus into cycles of preparation and execution.

Where the book succeeds is in scale.

The world feels larger and more interconnected. The introduction of factions, political considerations, and long-term survival strategies adds depth. The apocalypse is no longer just an event—it is an evolving system of power and control.

But again, that expansion comes with a trade-off:

the more structured the world becomes, the less dangerous it feels.

🧍 John Lee

John Lee is a pragmatic, disciplined, and highly competent protagonist. He approaches problems analytically, prioritizing efficiency and survival over emotion. This makes him reliable—but also limits his narrative dynamism.

One of the more interesting (and frustrating) aspects of his character in this volume is how frequently he is managed by others.

Despite his growing power and reputation, John often finds himself guided, influenced, or subtly directed by external forces:

Allies and Leaders — He is frequently pulled into decisions shaped by group needs rather than personal intent.

System Constraints — The mechanics of the System dictate his priorities, limiting true autonomy.

Strategic Expectations — Other characters rely on him as a problem-solver, pushing him into roles he doesn’t fully control.

This creates an unusual dynamic:

John is powerful—

but not entirely free.

He reacts to responsibility rather than redefining it. Even at higher levels of strength, his path feels shaped by circumstance and external pressure. Instead of dominating the narrative, he is often navigating within boundaries set by others.

This can be read in two ways:

As a strength — It reflects realism. Power in a structured society comes with obligations and constraints.

As a weakness — It limits the protagonist’s agency, making him feel less like a driving force and more like a highly efficient component within a larger system.

The problem is not that John is managed.

It’s that he rarely resists it.

⚖️ Final Assessment

The Cost of Survival is a technically solid continuation of the series. It expands the world, reinforces the system, and positions the protagonist for larger conflicts ahead.

But it struggles to deliver on its own promise.

The cost is mentioned.

It is rarely felt.

And as the series moves further from chaos toward control, one question becomes increasingly important:

If survival becomes routine—

what is left to fight for?

[Arnis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kamēr vieni cenšas izdomāt visu ko, lai ‘’Zeme paliktu cilvēkiem’’, tad Džons un daži citi līdzīgāk domājoši (kā Lana, Makito, Reičelas uc) atpazīst situācijas realitāti, un ka krietni lietderīgāk ir censties tās ietvaros to izmantot un tādā veidā iegūt sev labumu, ja vien kādam pēkšņi nerodas super ģeniāla domā, ka atgriezt lietu kārtību pirms liktenīgās dienas.

https://poseidons99.com/2025/01/04/ta...

[Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3☆

[Gallus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same general thoughts as previous books but this one improves significantly on characterization.

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook.

Narrator: Nick Podehl is my favourite, and almost instantly gets me into any book. Fantastic voicework.

Story: Hmm. I really like Tao Wong. As a Canadian who lived in the north, I love that he's set his story there...love that. I really enjoyed the first 2 books in this series; such a genre-buster (for me at least) and something completely new. I found that the main character had a lot of range and nuance, and was identifiable.

The problem for me was that the pacing of this book was off; it picked up at the end, but I found it a very frustrating read. I jumped to other books, then back to this; it was a slog. And a big part of that was that the protagonist was quickly becoming one note...a victim of misfortune and a relentlessly angry one at that...it just became the same page after page. There are interesting characters in this book, but they seem to all suffer from either being vacuous, angry, bitter, or suicidal. Over and over. I did find the ending satisfying, but I'm honestly not sure if it was because I actually liked it, or was glad it was over. I know this sounds harsh, and it is still worth picking up...the first 2 books were very good...but I'm finding it difficult to jump into the next book.

And I really do enjoy the author!

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable novel, except the gay moments.

If you have zero problems reading a novel with a gay MC, then you will enjoy this novel. Zero gay sex, but the MC gets turned on by other males. Without the gay moments, the novel would be a solid 4.5, except maybe if you have issues with machine guns and swords mixing.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mix of LitRPG and "end of the world".

Well written, and although I found the moody protagonist a bit tiresome it's an interesting world. If you like LitRPG and/or apocalyptic stories this series is worth a look.

[Paps · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful continuation of the series, is wonderful seeing the author talking his time with showing us this new world. I love the characters developments, except from Mc cowardice with dealings with emotions.

[Lukas Lovas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good third book...levelling up a bit, solving a few quests and issues, fighting....I’m curious to see where the story takes us next :)

[Tony Hinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best one yet. I'm munching through this series like popcorn.

[Martin Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will start by saying that this book ends the first "trilogy" in this series. The author states as much by books end. Moving forward our MC John will be leaving the area, and exploring more of the surrounding towns/cities. I am all for it.

This book by itself kinda, sorta feels better than the previous two. My gripes of John being a childish prick, and the presence of "Lord Roxley" are ironed out by books end.

The first being that John has finally stated to develop into a more stable character as he connects more, and more to the flow in mana in The System. By that I mean through Meditation, and reflection. Little by little he seems to be able to keep himself from flying off the handle in a fit of rage; which is good, and serves as character development. It's not much, and John is by no means an enthralling character to read, but it's something.

The issue of Roxley throughout this trio of books bothered me to a degree that I almost dropped the series on multiple occasions. The notion of a high leveled character having skills/passives that make them sexually desirable is present with multiple other side characters. However Roxley just irritated me. John admits that he thinks Roxley is attractive, but can't tell if that is due to the skill Roxley has, or if it's something else. He only keeps from jumping his bones because he passes a resistance check. Now, John also has a party member named Lana, whom also has a similar skill, and actively flirts with him. John never feels her skill target him like Roxley's, and have to pass a resistance check. You would argue that John simply fails that check, but there are times where he outwardly turns down her advances, so we know that's not it. I think it's the whole Roxley trying to coerce John into bed for ulterior motives that bothers me. Non-consensual is non-consensual no matter the circumstances. However, I digress. By books end Roxley will be out of the picture moving forward [hopefully].

As a LitRPG book this is different than the handful I have read previously. Not in a bad way, just different. The game elements are hardly there, and the books are very short. Less than 300 pages each, so they are done, and over with quickly. I will continue the series if for no other reason that the books are a quick read, and a palette cleanser of sorts. John is not a compelling character so far, but the world of The System is intriguing enough to keep me going for now.

[Murphies_law · Rating 3 out of 5]

Litrpg and apocalypse don´t mix too well.

The story started interesting. Earth becomes a dungeon world. A lot of monsters and alien factions appear and mankind has to deal with this situation and find a way to survive. The story has a strange mix of magic, high tech and melee fighting against monsters and sentinents of all kind, dungeons but only "authentic" loot (body parts and equipment of the killed). Therefore everybody depends on selling monster parts to finance his/her needs.

The series is "politically correct" as the MC is despicted as socially awkward, constantly struggles with "important" gender problems and is surrounded by strong independent women who make fun of him.

The MC is a loner with anger issues and a chocolate addiction. While he has less problems of accepting the new reality of living a dungeon world he struggles with his cheating ex girl friend and his latent homosexuality. He is obsessed with solving a "meaning of life/mana" quest that somehow became his main focus. For me this got tedious rather fast and i found myself skipping these parts.

In the first books the MC is a glorified Transformer like character but evolves in the books. We see him as meat bag, almost unique specialist, allrounder, etc. His evalution eternally swings from overpowered to underdog.

I really liked the situations in the first books dealing with sheer survival, rescuing survivors, scouting and rebuilding infrastructure. The politics later on were interesting as well but i felt less and less immersed in the story as it progressed. I read the series until close to the end of book 8 when i just did not care anymore.

[Hugh Griffiths]

Continuing the random audiobooks game! This is a weird one, it describes itself as "litrpg", which means it takes place in a kind of RPG, with fights following RPG rules and conventions. Apparently this is a genre that's been around for a while?
The story goes that Earth has been incorporated into an alien computer system "The System", which makes everyone into game characters, gives them stats, creates constant swarms of monsters, and also there's a plot about a dark elf overlord that brings in galactic politics. It's a weird thing - RPGs are all about creating a playable immersive fantasy story, and this is a story in which people play a story according to mechanics that force a bunch of compromises on that experience. And also the characters are aware on RPGs, so they're familiar with the mechanics, and in fact some characters benefit from having experience with them. And also they point out pretty regularly where things don't make sense and need to be physically unrealistic to make this work.
One way this could be an interesting model would be if having explicit levels and stats forced the plot to behave objectively, get the author to actually run the numbers and deal with the consequences. But AFAICT that's not what's happening here.

Still, that's more about the genre than this book. It's pretty good, there's plenty of adventure, some intrigue, and there's both dungeons and dragons. There's some really nice diversity, and it's great how it's not even a big deal. Also, the epilogue is great!

[Colin Rowlands · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is not actually the last book in the series, there is definitely a feeling of this being the end of the first major arc of the series, both due to plot-lines covered throughout the book, but more particularly due to the way it ended. While I am glad that the series will be continuing, it is a nice approach from the author as it should allow the series to grow without getting bogged down by too much baggage later on.

As John and his friends have moved beyond the quick gains of earlier levels, the character levelling takes a bit of a back seat with the most prominent moment probably being his friend Mikito reaching level 50 and being able to upgrade her class, while some may not appreciate this change, it does make sense in the wider context of any kind of levelling system.

The balance in this book felt different too, the politics of the situation became a much bigger deal and was also the driving force behind a lot of the action set-pieces rather than them purely being about a question of survival like they were in the previous books.

The narrator delivers another strong performance with this book and his range of distinctive tones helps to nicely enhance the overall feel of the book too.

Overall, a strong end to the beginning of this series and it will be interesting to see where it goes next.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A long running plot line regarding whether or not the town of Whitehorse will be able to remain independent is brought to a close in this novel in a way that I found satisfying. Its survival ultimately depends on another of Jon's crazy and ridiculously dangerous plans and this time I did not see where he was taking things. It's also nice to be surprised when you think you have it all figured out.

Characters are dealing with the very high casualty rate in ways I found credible, but in those casualties I was disappointed when a couple of characters that appeared to exist only to cause trouble for Jon died in a manner which was definitely anticlimactic. It did, however, free up my second favorite supporting character to end up joining Jon's team. This character has a stealth build that was really the way I expected Jon to go based on the first few chapters of book one of the series. It's nice to see what that would have looked like had events not ended up pulling Jon in different directions.

This novel also ends the first story arc. I'm very anxious to see where Wong will bring his characters next.

[Doug Sundseth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is almost entirely about a desperate attempt by the humans in Whitehorse to stave off a hostile takeover by a less benevolent noble. The plot is a decent one that keeps you turning the page continuously.

The protagonist is still having significant problems with PTSD, but there is some character development here, and it works fairly well.

The game elements seem to be largely irrelevant to the story, and in particular, the periodic character sheets might as well be filled with random numbers, since there never seems to be a direct effect from anything on them.

The climax of the story is solid and entertaining, but unfortunately, the denouement takes away much of the impact.

Unrelenting disappointment and desperation makes for high stakes, but unfortunately not a great deal of fun. The first three books here are well enough written that I'm sure they have an audience, but this isn't compelling enough to make me that audience. I'm unlikely to continue with this series unless I find the next volume on a very steep discount or free.

[Antonio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could have been something great and that’s the only reason why I didn’t give it one star. I’ve been listening to the set of books 1-3 and am 86% through and I can’t take it anymore. Nothing ever happens! It’s always fight a boss and then John is angry, piss off or ignore people who like him and then John is angry. It does a good job world building and I kinda like “The System”. I feel like the author wanted to do something different with the main character. He’s not a nerd who uses his gamer knowledge to become a hero in this new LitRPG world. But there is little to no character development. Th author sets up these relationships but nothing ever happens. He sets up plot points and conflicts and nothing really happens. John just goes around being a selfish whiny little bitch. And when one of the people he is closest to goes through a traumatic loss he just pushes them away. It’s so frustrating.

[Topher · Rating 5 out of 5]

And thus ends the Whitehorse trilogy, and thus ends my adventure this year with Kindle Unlimited.

Tao Wong still has more books, in this and in other series, that I would like to read. I'll see if some of those may be available through the kindle lending library. I'll see if I have the patience.

John seems to grow up a bit in this one. He's still a bit of a doofus. And I still laugh every time I see he still has a 16 in charisma - now half of the next lowest stat, and a tenth of his highest. It may explain some of his interactions with people. though I also think he's just bad at dealing with emotions. And people. And events. Really, dealing with anything that can't be solved by hitting it repeatedly with spells, guns, and swords.

[James Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. Gave this series 3 books to set in because they were all available in the library. The problems I had with it in the first book are still here though. Broody MC who’s always depressed and a setting that takes itself too seriously. Really interesting concept, but doesn’t quite resonate with me.

This book was probably better than the first two if that’s anything to go by. A new outside political threat causes some change. Just not that much better.

Seems like the series is gonna move on from the town in the next book which is likely for the best since it didn’t really focus much on building up the town or its capabilities.

[Josselin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not expect to love the series as much as I do. I expected a dumb and fun story of power fantasy, but the coherence of the world building is very impressive. How the story and characters evolve makes a lot of sense, it's clear that a lot of thought went into thinking about how people would react and organize in the case of this apocalypse. We go beyond the boring 'humanity is evil' premisce of most such stories into a lot more thoughtful and nuanced overview of people's reactions.
Another major point is the coherence of the game system, the skills, etc. Battles are very fun to follow and action packed.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great installment in one of the best LitRPG series

Another great installment in one of the best LitRPG series. This one wraps up the first major story arc and give some more perspective on what is going on in the wider world.

The LitRPG elements have become a little less crunchy, which might please some but make others (me) sad. A nice everything including skills stat block at start and finish would be nice for the readers, even if John isn't interested.

Minor quibbling aside, this is now in my "cream of the crop" list for the LitRPG and progression fantasy genres.

[Vincent Archer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third entry of the classic of System Apocalypse, and end of a story arc.

Things get messy in this third book, as you get the distasteful politics coming in. Politics backed by a RPG System are particularly messy, it seems. Outside of that, it's all about getting levels, growing the additional members of the team - and making the MC accept that there's a team since he remains a loner at the core.

The twist at the end is simultaneously good, in term of impact on the reader, and disappointing, since you really want a different end.

[KEVIN G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great entertaining story

I have read other reviews and they don’t do this storyline justice. I decided to give it a try anyway and glad I did. This is a story of growth by an average joe dealing with common emotional issues but making his way in through the world. Good growth speed and character, I have read through the first 3. Going on to book 4 now. Again a good entertaining read. P.S. this is a clean read not any graphic sex just man dealing with attractions and his own emotions on why he is attracted.