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Radioactive Evolution
Decimated by nuclear war, humanity stands at the precipice of extinction. The rich and powerful take to the oceans and skies on floating utopias, escaping destruction and forcing everyone else to fend off mutated creatures that roam the world.
At the turn of the third millennium, earth’s remaining survivors glimpse hope when a brilliant scientist invents nanotechnology, and mankind finally has a chance to push back against the walls of their radioactive prisons.
No longer enslaved within the safe zone, Jared embraces the new technology. He plunges deep into the twisted, scarred wastelands and unwittingly binds himself to a being of great power. But a discovery breeds doubt and fear; the nanomachines surging inside his body are killing him!
Faced with this new reality, Jared must become an apex predator to survive. He must surpass human limitations to defeat those in power and bring justice to any deserving.
At the turn of the third millennium, earth’s remaining survivors glimpse hope when a brilliant scientist invents nanotechnology, and mankind finally has a chance to push back against the walls of their radioactive prisons.
No longer enslaved within the safe zone, Jared embraces the new technology. He plunges deep into the twisted, scarred wastelands and unwittingly binds himself to a being of great power. But a discovery breeds doubt and fear; the nanomachines surging inside his body are killing him!
Faced with this new reality, Jared must become an apex predator to survive. He must surpass human limitations to defeat those in power and bring justice to any deserving.
Unknown Binding
First published November 15, 2018
729 people are currently reading
383 people want to read
About the author
Richard Hummel
6 books52 followersThis is the section where I'm supposed to write how I have always dreamed of writing books and that there are dozens of five star books out there with my name on them. Reality? I am brand new to writing, and worse, I'm not a creative writer. Most of the stuff that I have written is technical, cyber-related stuff. So, how in the world did I start down this path?
The best way to sum it up is D. Rus and Vasiliy Mahenenka. These two Russian authors created books in a new genre called LitRPG, which falls under a more broad category called Gamelit. I devoured any and every book created by these two authors and quickly realized they were not alone in their endeavor. The series they created were translated from Russian to English, but it wasn't long before American authors started pushing their own series.
Since starting with the Play to Live series (D.Rus), I've read hundreds of books and dozens of stories on Royal Road. I started posing questions and conversations about plots and book directions in various groups and forums. Eventually, I got the idea to start keeping track of my ideas and instead of giving them away, write my own story. Herein, is born a writer (or at least a wannabe writer)... not a writer to grab a paycheck, and not even for the sake of a job. I am putting this first story together purely for my enjoyment and it has been a fun ride so far.
The best way to sum it up is D. Rus and Vasiliy Mahenenka. These two Russian authors created books in a new genre called LitRPG, which falls under a more broad category called Gamelit. I devoured any and every book created by these two authors and quickly realized they were not alone in their endeavor. The series they created were translated from Russian to English, but it wasn't long before American authors started pushing their own series.
Since starting with the Play to Live series (D.Rus), I've read hundreds of books and dozens of stories on Royal Road. I started posing questions and conversations about plots and book directions in various groups and forums. Eventually, I got the idea to start keeping track of my ideas and instead of giving them away, write my own story. Herein, is born a writer (or at least a wannabe writer)... not a writer to grab a paycheck, and not even for the sake of a job. I am putting this first story together purely for my enjoyment and it has been a fun ride so far.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 116 reviews
July 15, 2022
I noticed this book on Amazon because of its striking cover, and was quite intrigued, which is why, when the publicist e-mailed me, I immediately agreed to give it a try.
I'll admit it's a bit outside my comfort zone, overall. Since, I don't really read LitRPG, which is quite different compared to my regular dystopian / sci-fi reads. My own enjoyment was somewhere around a 3.5 stars, but I rounded it up.
It took me a while to get into the story. Hummel's world is complex, detailed, well-built, and the learning curve throughout the first few chapters is overwhelming, and there are quite a few info-dumps, that can't be avoided. Once the story gets going the pacing is on point, and it's hard to put the book down.
Now: dragons! In a post-apocalyptic world. The best of fantasy and the best of sci-fi combined. The dragon, Scarlet, and Jared talk to each other via telepathy, and it took me a while to get used to that. They're constantly in touch, constantly speaking to each other, and it's almost like an internal dialogue for Jared, only with a dragon. (How cool is that?)
Jared is an excellent main character, fleshed out, somebody the reader can care for, but it's Scarlet that will steal your heart. Their bond is sweet and I liked watching it grow.
One of the LitRPG elements didn't work too well for me: they were constantly attacked, usually resulting in a boss fight after clearing the mob. Of course, that's what a LitRPG fan would expect, and I do recommend those definitely give it a try.
I recommend this book to people who enjoy LitRPG, who've always hoped we'd one day find out dragons have been here all along, and people who want to read something non-traditional, more experimental.
I'll admit it's a bit outside my comfort zone, overall. Since, I don't really read LitRPG, which is quite different compared to my regular dystopian / sci-fi reads. My own enjoyment was somewhere around a 3.5 stars, but I rounded it up.
It took me a while to get into the story. Hummel's world is complex, detailed, well-built, and the learning curve throughout the first few chapters is overwhelming, and there are quite a few info-dumps, that can't be avoided. Once the story gets going the pacing is on point, and it's hard to put the book down.
Now: dragons! In a post-apocalyptic world. The best of fantasy and the best of sci-fi combined. The dragon, Scarlet, and Jared talk to each other via telepathy, and it took me a while to get used to that. They're constantly in touch, constantly speaking to each other, and it's almost like an internal dialogue for Jared, only with a dragon. (How cool is that?)
Jared is an excellent main character, fleshed out, somebody the reader can care for, but it's Scarlet that will steal your heart. Their bond is sweet and I liked watching it grow.
One of the LitRPG elements didn't work too well for me: they were constantly attacked, usually resulting in a boss fight after clearing the mob. Of course, that's what a LitRPG fan would expect, and I do recommend those definitely give it a try.
I recommend this book to people who enjoy LitRPG, who've always hoped we'd one day find out dragons have been here all along, and people who want to read something non-traditional, more experimental.
April 14, 2019
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I've got to admit though, I had this on my ebook wishlist on Amazon anyway as the cover had grabbed my attention in the past!
Radioactive Evolution sits firmly in the LitRPG genre. This can be a bit hit or miss for me but the premise of this book made me intrigued enough to try. The LitRPG elements were handled really well, in a way that made sense and fitted in with the world. Jared, our lead character eventually has access to a Skill Tree and can assign "points" he earns to develop skills. However, the set up for this was already done in an organic (!) way so adapting an already present point in the world made sense.
One of things I really liked was how quickly this world was set up. In just a couple of pages, a very vivid scene was set and I immediately had the impression of the long abandoned city and post-apocalyptic wasteland.
The creatures in this world were fantastic! Horrifically mutated life forms, familiar and yet full of horror. I loved how this followed the RPG format. Grinding through 100 low level monsters before reaching the boss. The dragons though are fascinating. I loved Scarlet's character as she viewed the world for the first time and as she got to know Jared.
Jared himself was an interesting character and at times he really had a great deal of conflict going on! He's in a very dangerous world and it's very clear that people want him dead. But he doesn't want to hurt or kill anyone. So he's going to have to find a balance and this was an interesting part of his growth throughout the book.
The pacing, however, felt a bit off to me. On the one hand, the growth of the relationship between Scarlet and Jared felt perfectly paced and organic. On the other, they were constantly being attacked by everything. It got a touch repetitive and was the point at which the RPG format doesn't always translate so well to paper for me. And although there were stretches of downtime, it usually meant Jared was unconscious. I began to worry for his brain.
Overall, this was a fun and interesting world to read about. I had a lot of unanswered questions at the end though and I'm sure we'll discover more as the series progresses!
Radioactive Evolution sits firmly in the LitRPG genre. This can be a bit hit or miss for me but the premise of this book made me intrigued enough to try. The LitRPG elements were handled really well, in a way that made sense and fitted in with the world. Jared, our lead character eventually has access to a Skill Tree and can assign "points" he earns to develop skills. However, the set up for this was already done in an organic (!) way so adapting an already present point in the world made sense.
One of things I really liked was how quickly this world was set up. In just a couple of pages, a very vivid scene was set and I immediately had the impression of the long abandoned city and post-apocalyptic wasteland.
The creatures in this world were fantastic! Horrifically mutated life forms, familiar and yet full of horror. I loved how this followed the RPG format. Grinding through 100 low level monsters before reaching the boss. The dragons though are fascinating. I loved Scarlet's character as she viewed the world for the first time and as she got to know Jared.
Jared himself was an interesting character and at times he really had a great deal of conflict going on! He's in a very dangerous world and it's very clear that people want him dead. But he doesn't want to hurt or kill anyone. So he's going to have to find a balance and this was an interesting part of his growth throughout the book.
The pacing, however, felt a bit off to me. On the one hand, the growth of the relationship between Scarlet and Jared felt perfectly paced and organic. On the other, they were constantly being attacked by everything. It got a touch repetitive and was the point at which the RPG format doesn't always translate so well to paper for me. And although there were stretches of downtime, it usually meant Jared was unconscious. I began to worry for his brain.
Overall, this was a fun and interesting world to read about. I had a lot of unanswered questions at the end though and I'm sure we'll discover more as the series progresses!
November 18, 2018
A really entertaining take on the apocalyptic LitRPG
I would rate this book along the same level as Tao Wong's System Apocalypse or Xander Boyce's Red Mage.
It's really well written and it does an awesome job of worldbuilding and character development, setting the stage for future books.
I've seen it a while ago on RRL and the blurb alone almost made me break my "no more unfinished stories on RRL" rule.
Pick it up.
I would rate this book along the same level as Tao Wong's System Apocalypse or Xander Boyce's Red Mage.
It's really well written and it does an awesome job of worldbuilding and character development, setting the stage for future books.
I've seen it a while ago on RRL and the blurb alone almost made me break my "no more unfinished stories on RRL" rule.
Pick it up.
January 9, 2019
So so good! A must read!
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Mrs. N
My Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by: Mrs. N
April 17, 2019
Set in a future post apocalyptic Earth, with many people and animals mutated by nuclear radiation….the remaining people use nanites in their bodies as a matter of course to make them stronger, quicker and heal faster…(reminded me a little of Piers Platt’s Rath novels)...
The main character is Jared, he roams around scavenging what he can to survive and top up his nanites….levelling up!
He finds and steals an egg from a nest…...and mummy dragon is not pleased….yes I did say DRAGON….but as the egg hatches Jared bonds with Scarlet, he is in the dark, but she speaks to him…...and she finds him a worthy man and while he recovers, he is upgraded. Then Scarlet becomes the matriarchal dragon and together they travel on a quest to free the remaining dragons, imprisoned underground by tyrannical humans !
I adore Scarlet, powerful, smart and with a dry wit, their squabbles are so much fun. Jared, is a conflicted soul, he’s a good man and hates to hurt anything but circumstances mean it can’t be avoided as they fight for their lives against many mutated creatures...including bunnies and believe me they are not cuddly…(no Xenomorph’s luckily!)
Richard Hummel’s writing is detailed, exciting, fun and fast paced, the world building is incredible and I can’t wait for the next adventure……
My many thanks to Kelsey Butts and Book Publicity Services for a free copy of this ebook, as I may not have discovered this marvellous novel otherwise. This is my honest and unbiased review.
The main character is Jared, he roams around scavenging what he can to survive and top up his nanites….levelling up!
He finds and steals an egg from a nest…...and mummy dragon is not pleased….yes I did say DRAGON….but as the egg hatches Jared bonds with Scarlet, he is in the dark, but she speaks to him…...and she finds him a worthy man and while he recovers, he is upgraded. Then Scarlet becomes the matriarchal dragon and together they travel on a quest to free the remaining dragons, imprisoned underground by tyrannical humans !
I adore Scarlet, powerful, smart and with a dry wit, their squabbles are so much fun. Jared, is a conflicted soul, he’s a good man and hates to hurt anything but circumstances mean it can’t be avoided as they fight for their lives against many mutated creatures...including bunnies and believe me they are not cuddly…(no Xenomorph’s luckily!)
Richard Hummel’s writing is detailed, exciting, fun and fast paced, the world building is incredible and I can’t wait for the next adventure……
My many thanks to Kelsey Butts and Book Publicity Services for a free copy of this ebook, as I may not have discovered this marvellous novel otherwise. This is my honest and unbiased review.
August 8, 2019
Mini-Review:
Total - Low End of 3 Stars
3.5 Stars for Ideas/Concepts
2 Stars for Flat Characters
3 Stars for Narration by Armen Taylor & Anneliese Rennie
Fun ideas but poor execution. The series has promise but the writing is rough, the concepts are not fully realized within the writing/telling and anything that caught my interest was lost as the story meandered to a pause. It didn't really feel like an ending. I should go back to my LitRPG Read List because this was not one of the better random picks. The narration was okay but it seemed like the story was told in the same emphasis & emotion for everything.
I had a problem in believing in the world and that filtered down to the characters.
Total - Low End of 3 Stars
3.5 Stars for Ideas/Concepts
2 Stars for Flat Characters
3 Stars for Narration by Armen Taylor & Anneliese Rennie
Fun ideas but poor execution. The series has promise but the writing is rough, the concepts are not fully realized within the writing/telling and anything that caught my interest was lost as the story meandered to a pause. It didn't really feel like an ending. I should go back to my LitRPG Read List because this was not one of the better random picks. The narration was okay but it seemed like the story was told in the same emphasis & emotion for everything.
I had a problem in believing in the world and that filtered down to the characters.
March 19, 2019
I received a copy of this novel via Book Publicity Services in exchange for an honest review.
Radioactive Evolution by Richard Hummel was my first experience with LitRPG and once I got used to the style I was hooked. I'm not much of a gamer, but aside from Ready Player One and Armada by Ernest Cline it's probably the closest I've come to playing a videogame except in book format - or even like playing D&D. I'll definitely need to try more of this genre in the future. Anyway, this novel was a lot of fun to see Hummel's take on a post-apocalyptic version of our world - with dragons and everything! He also does a great job of developing the cast of characters and their arcs are great to see over the course of the story. Jared and Scarlet make a pretty great team. The author's world-building is also quite outstanding. Overall, I can't wait to try the sequel and future projects from the author, as well as more LitRPG.
Thanks again for this opportunity, Book Publicity Services.
Radioactive Evolution by Richard Hummel was my first experience with LitRPG and once I got used to the style I was hooked. I'm not much of a gamer, but aside from Ready Player One and Armada by Ernest Cline it's probably the closest I've come to playing a videogame except in book format - or even like playing D&D. I'll definitely need to try more of this genre in the future. Anyway, this novel was a lot of fun to see Hummel's take on a post-apocalyptic version of our world - with dragons and everything! He also does a great job of developing the cast of characters and their arcs are great to see over the course of the story. Jared and Scarlet make a pretty great team. The author's world-building is also quite outstanding. Overall, I can't wait to try the sequel and future projects from the author, as well as more LitRPG.
Thanks again for this opportunity, Book Publicity Services.
November 19, 2018
From the blurb for this book, I wasn’t expecting LitRPG - I thought it would be more of a Sci-Fi horror with dragons. But the reality was so very much better than my expectations. This was probably the best LitRPG that I’ve read yet.
I loved the fact that Jared didn’t need to enter a virtual world to begin his adventures, but all of the components of leveling up existed all around him and simply needed to be unlocked. I loved how Scarlet has the knowledge of her mother, but still needs to gain both the wisdom to use that knowledge to it’s fullest potential, as well as the strength to combat the foes that they face.
I was captivated from the beginning with Jared’s thought processes and his adventures learing the truth of the world around him. I can’t wait to read more about Jared, Scarlet, the dragons and the Protectors!
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
I loved the fact that Jared didn’t need to enter a virtual world to begin his adventures, but all of the components of leveling up existed all around him and simply needed to be unlocked. I loved how Scarlet has the knowledge of her mother, but still needs to gain both the wisdom to use that knowledge to it’s fullest potential, as well as the strength to combat the foes that they face.
I was captivated from the beginning with Jared’s thought processes and his adventures learing the truth of the world around him. I can’t wait to read more about Jared, Scarlet, the dragons and the Protectors!
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
April 7, 2019
First of all, I would like to thank Kelsey Butts for providing me with a PDF copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It is a 3.8/5-stars rounded up to 4. The story is good and it has the potential to grow even better with future instalments.
The reason I have marked it down a little is that I found a number of typos that got past the editors, and I felt that the main characters were a little overly powerful.
Now that I've dealt with the downsides I move to the upsides. This is a LitRPG with a difference. It is set on Earth after a nuclear war has devastated much of the planet. It has resulted in many of the people and animals of the planet becoming mutated. Nanites (microscopic machines) are part of the human's lives now and inhabit their bodies.
Jared (one such human) survives by scavenging what he can from Earth's devastated environment. He comes across an egg which turns out to be that of the matriarch of the fire dragons. That's right, 'dragons' so those of you that need your dragon-fix will like what they find here. Without wishing to spoil too much of the story for interested readers I will just say this; Jared is given the choice to bond with the dragon that hatches from the egg and they embark on a quest to try to free Scarlet's kin from the evil tyrannical race that humanity has become.
This is the beginning of an ongoing series, so don't expect closure upon completing this read. I am impressed with Richard Hummel's ideas and the way he has built this novel, it's always nice when you find a new author to read. If you like the sound of this book then you may wish to check out the following sites:
Website: https://hummelbooks.com
Newsletter: https://evolve.radioactiveevolution.c...
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Humme...
Twitter: @RichardIHummel
Discord: https://discord.gg/M7MuaSR
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richardhummel
I'd like to make an apology in advance if a review does not appear on Amazon.co.uk as they seem to be deleting my reviews for some unknown reason. Maybe they think I'm not buying enough books via their site, who knows?
Anyway, thanks for reading.
The reason I have marked it down a little is that I found a number of typos that got past the editors, and I felt that the main characters were a little overly powerful.
Now that I've dealt with the downsides I move to the upsides. This is a LitRPG with a difference. It is set on Earth after a nuclear war has devastated much of the planet. It has resulted in many of the people and animals of the planet becoming mutated. Nanites (microscopic machines) are part of the human's lives now and inhabit their bodies.
Jared (one such human) survives by scavenging what he can from Earth's devastated environment. He comes across an egg which turns out to be that of the matriarch of the fire dragons. That's right, 'dragons' so those of you that need your dragon-fix will like what they find here. Without wishing to spoil too much of the story for interested readers I will just say this; Jared is given the choice to bond with the dragon that hatches from the egg and they embark on a quest to try to free Scarlet's kin from the evil tyrannical race that humanity has become.
This is the beginning of an ongoing series, so don't expect closure upon completing this read. I am impressed with Richard Hummel's ideas and the way he has built this novel, it's always nice when you find a new author to read. If you like the sound of this book then you may wish to check out the following sites:
Website: https://hummelbooks.com
Newsletter: https://evolve.radioactiveevolution.c...
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Humme...
Twitter: @RichardIHummel
Discord: https://discord.gg/M7MuaSR
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richardhummel
I'd like to make an apology in advance if a review does not appear on Amazon.co.uk as they seem to be deleting my reviews for some unknown reason. Maybe they think I'm not buying enough books via their site, who knows?
Anyway, thanks for reading.
April 15, 2019
(I received a free copy of this book from the author and publicist in exchange for an honest review.)
This was my first LitRPG book and it was very, VERY different from the regular dystopian/sci-fi genre. I say that because after reading the blurb I figured it was a regular post-apocalyptic novel but it turned out to be quite different from my expectations.
It took me a while to actually get into the story. The world the author has created is complex and I'd have liked to know about it slowly throughout the book rather than the info dump at the very beginning that overwhelmed me.
The premise is interesting! I liked learning about the dystopian world, the idea of nanites that protect against the radioactivity (or so everyone thinks) and the idea of dragons in a post apocalyptic world. The starting of the book is extremely fast paced as the author jumps right into the story. Although the first half was fast paced, the info dumps put me off a bit as there was an overload of details in every page and that slowed me down.
I liked it much more when our main characters, Jared the human and Scarlet the dragon start with the actual quest. There were no longer info dumps and the action scenes were written extremely well. Although I must say that while some fight sequences were incredible, some were bizarre (giant bunnies anyone? Buffy fans?)
Despite the info-dumps, the information itself was interesting to read about. As a biotechnology student, I was really intrigued by how the nanites could aid in keeping radioactive degeneration at bay and also cause mutations in the host. Learning how the world worked and the idea of dragons being prehistoric beings alongside dinosaurs was also an interesting thought!
I really liked Scarlet although at the beginning I found the dialogues between Jared and Scarlet to be a bit affected. They became much better as the story progressed and I found them engaging. I wished there had been more focus on Scarlet as the story progressed but somehow the focus shifts solely to Jared most of the time.
Radioactive Evolution is an interesting take on post-apocalyptic world with a well thought out world-building and engaging action sequences. As a traditional reader I had a hard time with the storytelling style but for those who enjoy gaming and are familiar with the elements of gaming experience, this might be the perfect book for you!
This was my first LitRPG book and it was very, VERY different from the regular dystopian/sci-fi genre. I say that because after reading the blurb I figured it was a regular post-apocalyptic novel but it turned out to be quite different from my expectations.
It took me a while to actually get into the story. The world the author has created is complex and I'd have liked to know about it slowly throughout the book rather than the info dump at the very beginning that overwhelmed me.
The premise is interesting! I liked learning about the dystopian world, the idea of nanites that protect against the radioactivity (or so everyone thinks) and the idea of dragons in a post apocalyptic world. The starting of the book is extremely fast paced as the author jumps right into the story. Although the first half was fast paced, the info dumps put me off a bit as there was an overload of details in every page and that slowed me down.
I liked it much more when our main characters, Jared the human and Scarlet the dragon start with the actual quest. There were no longer info dumps and the action scenes were written extremely well. Although I must say that while some fight sequences were incredible, some were bizarre (giant bunnies anyone? Buffy fans?)
Despite the info-dumps, the information itself was interesting to read about. As a biotechnology student, I was really intrigued by how the nanites could aid in keeping radioactive degeneration at bay and also cause mutations in the host. Learning how the world worked and the idea of dragons being prehistoric beings alongside dinosaurs was also an interesting thought!
I really liked Scarlet although at the beginning I found the dialogues between Jared and Scarlet to be a bit affected. They became much better as the story progressed and I found them engaging. I wished there had been more focus on Scarlet as the story progressed but somehow the focus shifts solely to Jared most of the time.
Radioactive Evolution is an interesting take on post-apocalyptic world with a well thought out world-building and engaging action sequences. As a traditional reader I had a hard time with the storytelling style but for those who enjoy gaming and are familiar with the elements of gaming experience, this might be the perfect book for you!
April 17, 2019
This book was so much fun to read! I pretty much enjoyed everything about it and loved the world the author created!! There was only minor issues that kept it from being a 5 star read.
The plot was fast paced and highly entertaining. Jared is trying to survive in a world ravaged by radiation and war. He scavenges what he can but it's hard because if he doesn't inject the nanites into himself regularly, he will die. On one such scavenger run, he finds a good deal of loot and a stone. Before he can study it fully he has to flee from an animal he hears. Safe for now, he is stunned to see the egg hatch into a Dragon. Dragons were long thought extinct so Jared takes a while to realise what he has. I loved seeing them grow together and their interactions were fun and easy. Both Jared and Scarlet were the reason I loved it so much!! Anyway, back to the plot, Now that Jared has Scarlet, he realises that he might have a chance to defeat the people who did this to the world but he will need help. He sets out to find other people who will help him.
As I said, the plot was fast paced, entertaining and was easy to follow, but there were quite a few unanswered questions I had. There wasn't much about the world before and how it came to be the way it is now. It also didn't fully explain the nanite situation and the way they are distributed. I understand how the nanites work, but why when Jared or Scarlet sucks up the dead things nanites, do they only get something like 60% to distribute? Where did the rest go? I'm not much of a gamer so maybe that's why I didn't fully understand it!
Other than the unanswered questions, I found myself immersed in the world the author created. I loved the mutated animals, especially the bunnies!! I loved the quest Jared and Scarlet were on. Their bond was compelling and I loved seeing it grow. I loved the fighting scenes, which were plenty by the way, and I loved the overall story! I'm really looking forward to the next one because despite not understanding everything, I've become invested in these characters stories and I can't wait to see where the author takes it.
The narrators Armen Taylor and Anneliese Rennie made an awesome pair. Armen Taylor gave a a brilliant performance as Jared. His inflections and cadences brought the story to life. Anneliese Rennie was also brilliant as Scarlet. Her voice for the Dragon was scarily good. I need to see what else these narrators have narrated.
I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.
The plot was fast paced and highly entertaining. Jared is trying to survive in a world ravaged by radiation and war. He scavenges what he can but it's hard because if he doesn't inject the nanites into himself regularly, he will die. On one such scavenger run, he finds a good deal of loot and a stone. Before he can study it fully he has to flee from an animal he hears. Safe for now, he is stunned to see the egg hatch into a Dragon. Dragons were long thought extinct so Jared takes a while to realise what he has. I loved seeing them grow together and their interactions were fun and easy. Both Jared and Scarlet were the reason I loved it so much!! Anyway, back to the plot, Now that Jared has Scarlet, he realises that he might have a chance to defeat the people who did this to the world but he will need help. He sets out to find other people who will help him.
As I said, the plot was fast paced, entertaining and was easy to follow, but there were quite a few unanswered questions I had. There wasn't much about the world before and how it came to be the way it is now. It also didn't fully explain the nanite situation and the way they are distributed. I understand how the nanites work, but why when Jared or Scarlet sucks up the dead things nanites, do they only get something like 60% to distribute? Where did the rest go? I'm not much of a gamer so maybe that's why I didn't fully understand it!
Other than the unanswered questions, I found myself immersed in the world the author created. I loved the mutated animals, especially the bunnies!! I loved the quest Jared and Scarlet were on. Their bond was compelling and I loved seeing it grow. I loved the fighting scenes, which were plenty by the way, and I loved the overall story! I'm really looking forward to the next one because despite not understanding everything, I've become invested in these characters stories and I can't wait to see where the author takes it.
The narrators Armen Taylor and Anneliese Rennie made an awesome pair. Armen Taylor gave a a brilliant performance as Jared. His inflections and cadences brought the story to life. Anneliese Rennie was also brilliant as Scarlet. Her voice for the Dragon was scarily good. I need to see what else these narrators have narrated.
I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.
April 24, 2019
Thankyou to Richard Hummel and Book Publicity Services for providing me with a copy of Radioactive Evolution, in exchange for an honest review.
Radioactive Evolution is an epic urban fantasy book, situated within the LitRPG genre. There are dragons, mutated creatures, a post apocalyptic wasteland of a world and enough action to have you blazing through the pages.
Having survived the nuclear war, Jared has been fending for himself, just trying to survive. After a chance encounter, he meets Scarlet, a dragon hatchling, who bonds herself to him and starts to teach him how to enhance his abilities for better survival. As the pair journey through the crumbling lands, on a mission they need to complete, they start to realise not everything they've been told is true can be trusted.
I really enjoyed the relationship and banter between Scarlet and Jared and the idea of 'levelling up' their abilities was a lot of fun. As this book will be part of a series, it ended in a way that left me a bit desperate to discover what was going to happen next! I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.
If you're a fan of adventure quests, video games, sci-fi and fantasy books, I'd suggest giving this one a try!
MY BLOG ~ INSTAGRAM
Radioactive Evolution is an epic urban fantasy book, situated within the LitRPG genre. There are dragons, mutated creatures, a post apocalyptic wasteland of a world and enough action to have you blazing through the pages.
Having survived the nuclear war, Jared has been fending for himself, just trying to survive. After a chance encounter, he meets Scarlet, a dragon hatchling, who bonds herself to him and starts to teach him how to enhance his abilities for better survival. As the pair journey through the crumbling lands, on a mission they need to complete, they start to realise not everything they've been told is true can be trusted.
I really enjoyed the relationship and banter between Scarlet and Jared and the idea of 'levelling up' their abilities was a lot of fun. As this book will be part of a series, it ended in a way that left me a bit desperate to discover what was going to happen next! I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.
If you're a fan of adventure quests, video games, sci-fi and fantasy books, I'd suggest giving this one a try!
MY BLOG ~ INSTAGRAM
May 28, 2019
3.5 stars actually but you can't do that so.. yeah.
This novel was new territory for me! I’m not much of a gamer, and I haven’t read any LitRPG style books EVER, so I was a little nervous accepting this review request, but boy am I so glad I did! I was so pleasantly surprised by this novel!!! I found it strangely addictive and had trouble putting it down to do the life things (eating and sleeping and assignments… oops).
Anyway, first off I just want to say Radioactive Evolution is Hummel’s first novel. It shows. There were a couple of little mistakes throughout and the descriptions and dialogue could get a little repetitive, but this is common with new authors and it did not distract or interrupt my reading flow at all (in fact I barely noticed it, but I still have to mention it because I’m obsessed with the little details). Overall I was pretty impressed by this work and give my props to Hummel on the creation of his first novel!!
So now that’s out of the way, let’s get into it a little more. The setting of this book was fantastic! It’s set in a futuristic America that’s kind of gone to trash. Hummel’s descriptions of the landscapes abled me to form detailed images in my mind and they weren’t over the top (which I loved – there’s nothing worse than pages upon pages of descriptions of a tree, ya know what I mean). I would have liked to explore a few more places outside of the main locations, but I loved what we did get to see.
The plot was well placed and super unique (to me anyway, I don’t have much experience within this genre). There’s lots of action!!! Like, lots. The fight scenes were epic, although verging on a little long for me personally, but they weren’t like one after another after another so I could like calm down and breathe and not stress about Jared’s life sometimes. There was actual storyline and developing characters and there were no points that I felt myself bored and not wanting to continue with it (I kind of devoured this novel in a week, which with my schedule right now meant I’ve had a few sleepless nights – but they were WORTH IT)
The story is written in third person (excellent!!!) and follows protagonist Jared and his bonded dragon (YES DRAGON, I KNOW IT WAS AWESOME) Scarlet. At first I really didn’t know how to feel about this and it took some time to get used to the way they communicated and such, but by the end of it I was absolutely in love with Jared and Scarlet’s bond and friendship. There’s a colony of people that Jared comes across about halfway through the book (this was such a cool storyline by the way, like I LOVED the way these new characters came into the book – I’m not going to expand on this though cause I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, you’ll just have to trust me on this). Vanessa (the unofficial leader of the colony) became one of my favourite characters and I’m so excited to see how her character and her relationship with Jared develops in the books to come!
There wasn’t really anything in this book I didn’t enjoy. The only thing I will say is the dialogue could sometimes come across a bit robotic/unnatural. Again, I believe this is just due to the fact this Hummel’s first novel and it didn’t impact reading or connecting with the characters.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and want to give the author a huge thank you for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to watching Hummel grow as a writer and to finding out what happens next in this series!!
More reviews and bookish things on my blog:
https://lolaslibrary.home.blog/
This novel was new territory for me! I’m not much of a gamer, and I haven’t read any LitRPG style books EVER, so I was a little nervous accepting this review request, but boy am I so glad I did! I was so pleasantly surprised by this novel!!! I found it strangely addictive and had trouble putting it down to do the life things (eating and sleeping and assignments… oops).
Anyway, first off I just want to say Radioactive Evolution is Hummel’s first novel. It shows. There were a couple of little mistakes throughout and the descriptions and dialogue could get a little repetitive, but this is common with new authors and it did not distract or interrupt my reading flow at all (in fact I barely noticed it, but I still have to mention it because I’m obsessed with the little details). Overall I was pretty impressed by this work and give my props to Hummel on the creation of his first novel!!
So now that’s out of the way, let’s get into it a little more. The setting of this book was fantastic! It’s set in a futuristic America that’s kind of gone to trash. Hummel’s descriptions of the landscapes abled me to form detailed images in my mind and they weren’t over the top (which I loved – there’s nothing worse than pages upon pages of descriptions of a tree, ya know what I mean). I would have liked to explore a few more places outside of the main locations, but I loved what we did get to see.
The plot was well placed and super unique (to me anyway, I don’t have much experience within this genre). There’s lots of action!!! Like, lots. The fight scenes were epic, although verging on a little long for me personally, but they weren’t like one after another after another so I could like calm down and breathe and not stress about Jared’s life sometimes. There was actual storyline and developing characters and there were no points that I felt myself bored and not wanting to continue with it (I kind of devoured this novel in a week, which with my schedule right now meant I’ve had a few sleepless nights – but they were WORTH IT)
The story is written in third person (excellent!!!) and follows protagonist Jared and his bonded dragon (YES DRAGON, I KNOW IT WAS AWESOME) Scarlet. At first I really didn’t know how to feel about this and it took some time to get used to the way they communicated and such, but by the end of it I was absolutely in love with Jared and Scarlet’s bond and friendship. There’s a colony of people that Jared comes across about halfway through the book (this was such a cool storyline by the way, like I LOVED the way these new characters came into the book – I’m not going to expand on this though cause I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, you’ll just have to trust me on this). Vanessa (the unofficial leader of the colony) became one of my favourite characters and I’m so excited to see how her character and her relationship with Jared develops in the books to come!
There wasn’t really anything in this book I didn’t enjoy. The only thing I will say is the dialogue could sometimes come across a bit robotic/unnatural. Again, I believe this is just due to the fact this Hummel’s first novel and it didn’t impact reading or connecting with the characters.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and want to give the author a huge thank you for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to watching Hummel grow as a writer and to finding out what happens next in this series!!
More reviews and bookish things on my blog:
https://lolaslibrary.home.blog/
May 3, 2019
Radioactive Evolution by Richard Hummel
3/5 stars 🌟
The author sent me this book in exchange for an honest review.
I like Jared, our main character. He has morals that even in a corrupt, destroyed world he tries his best to hold onto. He cares deeply for family, putting them before himself. He really enjoys action, always ready for an adventure. I also appreciate that even though he’s rather masculine, he isn’t afraid to show his emotions and have a good, long cry. Not enough guys cry and they absolutely should! Although I’m not a fan of his frequent retching.
I like Scarlet. I love how fierce she is, even for a dragon. She and Jared bond together. She chooses him for this bond because he is such a worthy and good hearted person. They swear to protect and care for one another while trying to find and restore dragons to their rightful place in the world. Rather sweet and I really enjoy their sibling-like banter.
This book reads like a video game. Even Jared, the protagonist agrees, “Wow, this is intense! I feel like I am in a video game.” Serious Fallout vibes. Colony, vault. Nukes. Dragons throw a very Skyrim kind of curveball into the mix. Okay it’s like Fallout and Skyrim had a baby, that’s this book to a capital T.
Like NYC as setting. Nanites are interesting and intriguing. I enjoy learning about their diverse capabilities. It’s fascinating how they work in conjunction with the radiation. They are a kind of biomechanics that have found their way into all living creatures because a scientist sent them down to earth from the colonies in the sky. Now that Jared bonded with Scarlet he can absorb nanites from creatures he kills and use them to enhance and restructure his abilities which is cool.
The writing is vivid and descriptive. I’m able to picture the setting, monster encounters, etc with ease. But there’s a lot of telling rather than showing and far too many cliches. There are some editing issues plus weird wording: “made his own barrier he could bar from the within.”
“The closer he got to the city, the more apparent Alestrialia’s destructive and frantic search became apparent.”
Bizarre pace. Slow to fast to complete stop let me get over this adrenaline rush before I can move a muscle then fall into a fitful slumber. Dialogue seems forced especially at first. I get that living alone for two years you would probably talk to yourself out loud but in a place you’re running for your life on the regular that doesn’t seem super smart when predators with sharp senses can hear you. And our main character would have to be smart to survive even one day in this radioactive wasteland.
But it does read fast. I was interested in what was going on from the start, even though there was some major info dumping in the beginning. I would have preferred to have learned a lot of the video game knowledge in the heat of action or in smaller increments. As it was, I did not retain much of it at first, but as I kept reading I was able to retain it as it was mentioned more and more.
Overall plot is intriguing but it felt a bit scattered. I get that Jared and Scarlet are trying to accomplish an epic feat here, returning dragons to earth since they were driven underground by humans thousands of years ago, but it seems to go beyond the repetitiveness of trial and error. They try one thing, doesn’t work, then they end up following that thing again, still doesn’t work, they leave said thing alone, then that thing finds them again and again. Even just explaining the intention of returning dragons to earth is difficult to me because it doesn’t seem like they have a solid foundation on how to do it, which I get, difficult quest to undertake, but I feel we should have steadier footing while reading, because I really felt ungrounded during a lot of it.
Not to mention there seemed to be some plot holes. One being that Jared was able to use his heat vision to get an inkling that a giant worm was near them, but later it says he can’t use his heat vision on cold blooded creatures. Worms are cold blooded. 😅
Side note: For any other Buffy fans out there, when those giant bunnies attacked I kept thinking it would give Anya nightmares forever! 😂😂😂
As the book progressed I was sad to see Scarlet’s character become less of a focus. I enjoyed her a lot and it was disappointing to see her fall into the background.
The ending of the book was a highlight. I’m interested to see where the next book will take Jared and Scarlet.
3/5 stars 🌟
COMPANION UNLOCKED - DRAGON
“What the—“ Darkness descended on Jared.
The author sent me this book in exchange for an honest review.
I like Jared, our main character. He has morals that even in a corrupt, destroyed world he tries his best to hold onto. He cares deeply for family, putting them before himself. He really enjoys action, always ready for an adventure. I also appreciate that even though he’s rather masculine, he isn’t afraid to show his emotions and have a good, long cry. Not enough guys cry and they absolutely should! Although I’m not a fan of his frequent retching.
I like Scarlet. I love how fierce she is, even for a dragon. She and Jared bond together. She chooses him for this bond because he is such a worthy and good hearted person. They swear to protect and care for one another while trying to find and restore dragons to their rightful place in the world. Rather sweet and I really enjoy their sibling-like banter.
This book reads like a video game. Even Jared, the protagonist agrees, “Wow, this is intense! I feel like I am in a video game.” Serious Fallout vibes. Colony, vault. Nukes. Dragons throw a very Skyrim kind of curveball into the mix. Okay it’s like Fallout and Skyrim had a baby, that’s this book to a capital T.
Like NYC as setting. Nanites are interesting and intriguing. I enjoy learning about their diverse capabilities. It’s fascinating how they work in conjunction with the radiation. They are a kind of biomechanics that have found their way into all living creatures because a scientist sent them down to earth from the colonies in the sky. Now that Jared bonded with Scarlet he can absorb nanites from creatures he kills and use them to enhance and restructure his abilities which is cool.
The writing is vivid and descriptive. I’m able to picture the setting, monster encounters, etc with ease. But there’s a lot of telling rather than showing and far too many cliches. There are some editing issues plus weird wording: “made his own barrier he could bar from the within.”
“The closer he got to the city, the more apparent Alestrialia’s destructive and frantic search became apparent.”
Bizarre pace. Slow to fast to complete stop let me get over this adrenaline rush before I can move a muscle then fall into a fitful slumber. Dialogue seems forced especially at first. I get that living alone for two years you would probably talk to yourself out loud but in a place you’re running for your life on the regular that doesn’t seem super smart when predators with sharp senses can hear you. And our main character would have to be smart to survive even one day in this radioactive wasteland.
But it does read fast. I was interested in what was going on from the start, even though there was some major info dumping in the beginning. I would have preferred to have learned a lot of the video game knowledge in the heat of action or in smaller increments. As it was, I did not retain much of it at first, but as I kept reading I was able to retain it as it was mentioned more and more.
Overall plot is intriguing but it felt a bit scattered. I get that Jared and Scarlet are trying to accomplish an epic feat here, returning dragons to earth since they were driven underground by humans thousands of years ago, but it seems to go beyond the repetitiveness of trial and error. They try one thing, doesn’t work, then they end up following that thing again, still doesn’t work, they leave said thing alone, then that thing finds them again and again. Even just explaining the intention of returning dragons to earth is difficult to me because it doesn’t seem like they have a solid foundation on how to do it, which I get, difficult quest to undertake, but I feel we should have steadier footing while reading, because I really felt ungrounded during a lot of it.
Not to mention there seemed to be some plot holes. One being that Jared was able to use his heat vision to get an inkling that a giant worm was near them, but later it says he can’t use his heat vision on cold blooded creatures. Worms are cold blooded. 😅
Side note: For any other Buffy fans out there, when those giant bunnies attacked I kept thinking it would give Anya nightmares forever! 😂😂😂
As the book progressed I was sad to see Scarlet’s character become less of a focus. I enjoyed her a lot and it was disappointing to see her fall into the background.
The ending of the book was a highlight. I’m interested to see where the next book will take Jared and Scarlet.
March 31, 2019
“Our fates are intertwined. For better or worse.”
This SciFi, mixture of myth and cyberpunk, fantasy in a post apocalyptic world is fascinating! I was thrilled to read such an excellent combination of genres. A post-apocalyptic tale of a group of survivors who face, and have to figure out ways to overcome, whatever problems come their way, and how they might reflect on us, as the reader, and those around us. The evolution of the protagonist and his companion is incredibly powerful and amazing; every battle, all the heartache and loss they experience is traumatic and thrilling at the same time. This is a truly excellent example of determination, resistance, resilience, hope and a forge for unity, to fight for a common cause. The tech involved is excellent and overwhelming, easy to understand. To be beside such a wondrous and beautiful creature and watch her grow her potential and capabilities, to see her soar the skies has been one of the most beautiful experiences of this book, the writing making it so realistic! I’m totally hooked with this series!
This SciFi, mixture of myth and cyberpunk, fantasy in a post apocalyptic world is fascinating! I was thrilled to read such an excellent combination of genres. A post-apocalyptic tale of a group of survivors who face, and have to figure out ways to overcome, whatever problems come their way, and how they might reflect on us, as the reader, and those around us. The evolution of the protagonist and his companion is incredibly powerful and amazing; every battle, all the heartache and loss they experience is traumatic and thrilling at the same time. This is a truly excellent example of determination, resistance, resilience, hope and a forge for unity, to fight for a common cause. The tech involved is excellent and overwhelming, easy to understand. To be beside such a wondrous and beautiful creature and watch her grow her potential and capabilities, to see her soar the skies has been one of the most beautiful experiences of this book, the writing making it so realistic! I’m totally hooked with this series!
December 19, 2018
The Earth has become a radioactive nightmare. The privileged few have retreated to floating cities while the rest of humanity is left to scrabble and die on the surface. Most of the surface survivors have grouped together into small communities to fight off all the mutated creatures filling the world. They also mine important resources for the floating cities in exchange for nanite injectors which keep the effects of the radiation at bay.
Jared is a loner scavenger. He searches the ruins for injectors and other valuable items. On a foray into the ravaged ruin of New York, Jared discovers that dragons are real, he can unlock amazing upgrades within himself, and that those in the floating cities have been deceiving everyone.
Richard Hummel’s Radioactive Evolution is a member of the LITRPG genre. While not everyone’s cup of tea, I enjoy the genre’s conventions of mixing prose with the structures of roleplaying games. Each LITRPG book I’ve read previously has used the premise of immersive video games with overt character development, but Hummel does well to make it more integral to the world setting. It can feel clumsy at times – especially early on – but it does work.
The story is interesting and the setting engaging. The characterisation lacks some depth, though, with all emotions full-on all the time. But in the end, I genuinely wanted to know what was going to happen next and was left wanting another instalment.
Radioactive Evolution is definitely a winner for LITRPG fans and worth a look from general fantasy/sci-fi readers. 3 out of 5 stars.
Jared is a loner scavenger. He searches the ruins for injectors and other valuable items. On a foray into the ravaged ruin of New York, Jared discovers that dragons are real, he can unlock amazing upgrades within himself, and that those in the floating cities have been deceiving everyone.
Richard Hummel’s Radioactive Evolution is a member of the LITRPG genre. While not everyone’s cup of tea, I enjoy the genre’s conventions of mixing prose with the structures of roleplaying games. Each LITRPG book I’ve read previously has used the premise of immersive video games with overt character development, but Hummel does well to make it more integral to the world setting. It can feel clumsy at times – especially early on – but it does work.
The story is interesting and the setting engaging. The characterisation lacks some depth, though, with all emotions full-on all the time. But in the end, I genuinely wanted to know what was going to happen next and was left wanting another instalment.
Radioactive Evolution is definitely a winner for LITRPG fans and worth a look from general fantasy/sci-fi readers. 3 out of 5 stars.
November 21, 2018
Review of RADIOACTIVE EVOLUTION
By Richard Hummel
An exciting adventure awaits readers of this epic urban fantasy mixed with futuristic science fiction. If you love questing, video games, historic fantasy, post-apocalyptic narratives, or Dystopiana, you're bound to glory over this fast-paced, heartrending novel of a world after nuclear destruction, a world of mutations from radioactive poisoning, of an upper-class society that lives on floating airborne islands, disdaining the 99% (or the few who remain). Richard Hummel's writing is all-engrossing and will challenge your intellect as well as your emotions. Best of all: the introduction of a truly unexpected, mythological, life form. I loved it!
By Richard Hummel
An exciting adventure awaits readers of this epic urban fantasy mixed with futuristic science fiction. If you love questing, video games, historic fantasy, post-apocalyptic narratives, or Dystopiana, you're bound to glory over this fast-paced, heartrending novel of a world after nuclear destruction, a world of mutations from radioactive poisoning, of an upper-class society that lives on floating airborne islands, disdaining the 99% (or the few who remain). Richard Hummel's writing is all-engrossing and will challenge your intellect as well as your emotions. Best of all: the introduction of a truly unexpected, mythological, life form. I loved it!
May 21, 2019
Radioactive Evolution
I like mashups. They make me happy. So, say, if someone were to cross some LitRPG with a bit of Post Apocalyptic Fiction and maybe toss in a medical technology angle, I think I'd probably enjoy that. Uhh..
Wait...
Richard Hummel already did that.
Radioactive Evolution is a successful mix of all of the above. I really enjoyed this one. And for more than one reason.
I'm a fan of zombie fiction (and I've got a review coming as part of my Memorial Day event that is exactly that) but sometimes I think that modern day authors have forgotten that it's possible to do PA Fic without zombies. I'm glad to note that Richard Hummel remembers.
The Earth of Radioactive Evolution is not a friendly place, even if Jared, our main character, is a pretty friendly dude when he can be. The fact remains that most of humanity lives in the ruins of what went before. Radiation is so pervasive that humans that live on the surface have to have regular boosters of nannites in order to protect themselves from the radiation. The good news here is that they energy provided by the nannites powers their bodies and they have no need for food as long as they're someplace with a high radiation count. I'd hate to be an unaugmented human there, but as long as a person gets the nannites they need, they're okay. Of course, it's not always easy to get the boosters...
So yeah, conflict happens and the people on the surface suffer. They people of the Cities, which are in the sky, appear to be much better off. People on the ground resent them, even though they're the ones who make the boosters. So far, we don't know much about the people of the Cities and they're kind of cardboard cutouts, but this is the first book in a series and I'm thinking that Hummel didn't want to give up all of his secrets in the initial volume. That makes sense. Keeping some things to reveal later is how an author keeps his readers interested. I approve.
Part of what really kept me in this book is the LitRPG angle. Players of just about any MMORPG will recognize the process of improving a character and gradually becoming immune to what were once deadly threats. It doesn't matter if we're talking about a Young Kodiak in the West Commons or a Gorilla in Stranglethorn Vale, at some point the deadly threat becomes chump change. That happens here. Radioactive Evolution is a story of survival. It is a story of character progression and accepting responsibility.
It is also, however, a story of RPG style progression and building a character through fighting and gaining experience. The book refers to the process as absorbing and assigning nannites, but that's basically how it works. I like the method of progression too. If you played World of Warcraft during Vanilla or Burning Crusade and can read Radioactive Evolution and not scream "OH MY GOD TALENT TREE" at least once you're either superhuman or not paying attention. New abilities get added as Jared and Scarlet level up. And get this: It's not an artifact that gets taken away at the end of the expansion either.
*SIGH*
Nope. Not bitter. Why are you asking?
I don't really like to do spoilers, but if I don't mention that Jared finds himself a dragon to bond with early in the story then I'm not doing my job here. Scarlet is just too much a part of the story to leave out of a review. She's more intelligent than a human. She can evolve using nannites as well and she does... a lot. She has this weird function, where she's the carrier of ancient lore, but also doesn't know much about humanity. She's Spock mixed with Kess, with a side of Worf and maybe just a touch of Odo. (If you're not a Star Trek fan you don't get that. I feel bad for you.)
Fans of the Post Apocalyptic genre will be familiar with the Mad Max type thing where what's left of the world consists of only one type of environment. I'm happy to say that's not the case here. We see cityscapes, wilderness, military compounds, flight and even underground tunnels. There's a lot of variety in places and things. Jared and Scarlet are constantly moving and experiencing different things and different threats. The threats are great, but so are the rewards.
And there are most definitely threats. If you feel safe at just about any point in this story, you're not paying attention. Even some of the things that shouldn't be dangerous are. Jared and Scarlet can run. They can hide. They can fight. The one thing it never makes sense to do is relax. Something is always out there. Something is always watching. In the world of Radioactive Evolution, getting lazy means taking unnecessary risks.
It's fun to watch the two grow together too. They start off not knowing much about each other. They start off not knowing much about each others' species. By the end of the book, they're very much friends and, while they still don't understand each other perfectly, they're getting figuring things out between them. They're learning to relate to others better as well. I can't wait to see how close they get in the future.
And there will be a future. Or, maybe it's closer to the truth to say there already IS a future. The next book is already out and, while I'm not real sure if I like the fact that the titles are so close together (I recently received a link to the book. It's called Radioactive Revolution and when I first looked at it, I thought it was the same book) I really am excited to read it. There is a lot of story left to be told. I'm guessing there will be more than one sequel, but I haven't read the new one yet so I can't say for sure.
Seriously folks, this one is worth your time and money (Although Kindle Unlimited users can get it for free as part of your subscription). I'd definitely encourage you all to check it out.
I like mashups. They make me happy. So, say, if someone were to cross some LitRPG with a bit of Post Apocalyptic Fiction and maybe toss in a medical technology angle, I think I'd probably enjoy that. Uhh..
Wait...
Richard Hummel already did that.
Radioactive Evolution is a successful mix of all of the above. I really enjoyed this one. And for more than one reason.
I'm a fan of zombie fiction (and I've got a review coming as part of my Memorial Day event that is exactly that) but sometimes I think that modern day authors have forgotten that it's possible to do PA Fic without zombies. I'm glad to note that Richard Hummel remembers.
The Earth of Radioactive Evolution is not a friendly place, even if Jared, our main character, is a pretty friendly dude when he can be. The fact remains that most of humanity lives in the ruins of what went before. Radiation is so pervasive that humans that live on the surface have to have regular boosters of nannites in order to protect themselves from the radiation. The good news here is that they energy provided by the nannites powers their bodies and they have no need for food as long as they're someplace with a high radiation count. I'd hate to be an unaugmented human there, but as long as a person gets the nannites they need, they're okay. Of course, it's not always easy to get the boosters...
So yeah, conflict happens and the people on the surface suffer. They people of the Cities, which are in the sky, appear to be much better off. People on the ground resent them, even though they're the ones who make the boosters. So far, we don't know much about the people of the Cities and they're kind of cardboard cutouts, but this is the first book in a series and I'm thinking that Hummel didn't want to give up all of his secrets in the initial volume. That makes sense. Keeping some things to reveal later is how an author keeps his readers interested. I approve.
Part of what really kept me in this book is the LitRPG angle. Players of just about any MMORPG will recognize the process of improving a character and gradually becoming immune to what were once deadly threats. It doesn't matter if we're talking about a Young Kodiak in the West Commons or a Gorilla in Stranglethorn Vale, at some point the deadly threat becomes chump change. That happens here. Radioactive Evolution is a story of survival. It is a story of character progression and accepting responsibility.
It is also, however, a story of RPG style progression and building a character through fighting and gaining experience. The book refers to the process as absorbing and assigning nannites, but that's basically how it works. I like the method of progression too. If you played World of Warcraft during Vanilla or Burning Crusade and can read Radioactive Evolution and not scream "OH MY GOD TALENT TREE" at least once you're either superhuman or not paying attention. New abilities get added as Jared and Scarlet level up. And get this: It's not an artifact that gets taken away at the end of the expansion either.
*SIGH*
Nope. Not bitter. Why are you asking?
I don't really like to do spoilers, but if I don't mention that Jared finds himself a dragon to bond with early in the story then I'm not doing my job here. Scarlet is just too much a part of the story to leave out of a review. She's more intelligent than a human. She can evolve using nannites as well and she does... a lot. She has this weird function, where she's the carrier of ancient lore, but also doesn't know much about humanity. She's Spock mixed with Kess, with a side of Worf and maybe just a touch of Odo. (If you're not a Star Trek fan you don't get that. I feel bad for you.)
Fans of the Post Apocalyptic genre will be familiar with the Mad Max type thing where what's left of the world consists of only one type of environment. I'm happy to say that's not the case here. We see cityscapes, wilderness, military compounds, flight and even underground tunnels. There's a lot of variety in places and things. Jared and Scarlet are constantly moving and experiencing different things and different threats. The threats are great, but so are the rewards.
And there are most definitely threats. If you feel safe at just about any point in this story, you're not paying attention. Even some of the things that shouldn't be dangerous are. Jared and Scarlet can run. They can hide. They can fight. The one thing it never makes sense to do is relax. Something is always out there. Something is always watching. In the world of Radioactive Evolution, getting lazy means taking unnecessary risks.
It's fun to watch the two grow together too. They start off not knowing much about each other. They start off not knowing much about each others' species. By the end of the book, they're very much friends and, while they still don't understand each other perfectly, they're getting figuring things out between them. They're learning to relate to others better as well. I can't wait to see how close they get in the future.
And there will be a future. Or, maybe it's closer to the truth to say there already IS a future. The next book is already out and, while I'm not real sure if I like the fact that the titles are so close together (I recently received a link to the book. It's called Radioactive Revolution and when I first looked at it, I thought it was the same book) I really am excited to read it. There is a lot of story left to be told. I'm guessing there will be more than one sequel, but I haven't read the new one yet so I can't say for sure.
Seriously folks, this one is worth your time and money (Although Kindle Unlimited users can get it for free as part of your subscription). I'd definitely encourage you all to check it out.
May 22, 2019
I received a complimentary review copy of this book from bookpublicityservices.com
Richard Hummel’s Radioactive Evolution is now the third or fourth variant [depending on what counts] on the relatively new LitRPG category that I have reviewed. Hummel himself identifies the book as Gamelit, adventure fiction influenced by videogames. In this case, the game-like element is the omnipresence of nanites within the humans and animals who inhabit the radioactive and depopulated Earth.
Due to a chance encounter with a dragon egg in the ruins of New York City and a perhaps foolish bit of self-experimentation, Jared Cartwright discovers that the nanites can be collected from the world by killing animals [and presumably people] and then directed to produce targeted changes in his body and mind, allowing him to “level up” in a sense. I envision the process much like Scott Pilgrim collecting coins from his fallen foes.
There are even “boss fights”, which is exactly how Jared describes his encounter with a giant mutated rat after killing dozens of rodents of merely unusual size. This was fairly early in the book, and it bogged me down some. I’ve found that I don’t particularly care much for the typical LitRPG or Gamelit conceits. I am relatively more willing to tolerate this kind of thing in the trapped in the game style of book, such as Paul Bellow’s Hack. In this case, where it is just a way of describing a feature of the fictional world, I tend to find it breaks the suspension of disbelief a bit, but I think this tends to be an idiosyncratic and personal thing.
The second obstacle to enjoyment for me was Jared’s recruitment by the Matriarch of Dragons in an ancient war against humans. In the history she mentally communicates to him the humans who took the dragons’ side were considered traitors. Well, yeah, that is what the word means. In the third chapter, where this all goes down, all we get is the dragon’s side of it, and it isn’t even clear at this point that the humans weren’t justified in exterminating the dragons. Given the abilities of the dragons in the book, it must have been a hell of a lot of work to do it. Later in the book, we get some hints that the eventual destination of this isn’t actually Jared and the dragons against humanity, but that is exactly how it is presented in the beginning.
Fortunately, I found that the book picked up a bit once we moved past Jared’s initial encounter with the dragon egg and him learning about his new abilities. The part of the book that followed was more conventionally post-apocalyptic, with Jared learning to navigate the complexity of a world where alliances are made of desperation and fear, much like his contract with the dragons [which was made under duress, clearly acceptable to dragonkind, but not the norm for humans].
This part of the book was pretty clearly inspired by videogames as well, but more as a theme than a mechanic, which is an improvement in my opinion. Jared gets to explore, establish a base of operations, and meet a love interest, which are the basic kinds of things you do in many RPGs. The things that happen seem more like the natural consequence of choices that Jared or other characters make, rather than, well, I need to grind some EXP by killing some rats.
Since the second act is so much stronger than the the first, I have some hope that this series will turn out well, but I think that the rest of this series is a pass for me. If you like the more explicit videogame elements, and there is a market segment that clearly does, then this is a middle of the road adventure story you may enjoy.
Richard Hummel’s Radioactive Evolution is now the third or fourth variant [depending on what counts] on the relatively new LitRPG category that I have reviewed. Hummel himself identifies the book as Gamelit, adventure fiction influenced by videogames. In this case, the game-like element is the omnipresence of nanites within the humans and animals who inhabit the radioactive and depopulated Earth.
Due to a chance encounter with a dragon egg in the ruins of New York City and a perhaps foolish bit of self-experimentation, Jared Cartwright discovers that the nanites can be collected from the world by killing animals [and presumably people] and then directed to produce targeted changes in his body and mind, allowing him to “level up” in a sense. I envision the process much like Scott Pilgrim collecting coins from his fallen foes.
There are even “boss fights”, which is exactly how Jared describes his encounter with a giant mutated rat after killing dozens of rodents of merely unusual size. This was fairly early in the book, and it bogged me down some. I’ve found that I don’t particularly care much for the typical LitRPG or Gamelit conceits. I am relatively more willing to tolerate this kind of thing in the trapped in the game style of book, such as Paul Bellow’s Hack. In this case, where it is just a way of describing a feature of the fictional world, I tend to find it breaks the suspension of disbelief a bit, but I think this tends to be an idiosyncratic and personal thing.
The second obstacle to enjoyment for me was Jared’s recruitment by the Matriarch of Dragons in an ancient war against humans. In the history she mentally communicates to him the humans who took the dragons’ side were considered traitors. Well, yeah, that is what the word means. In the third chapter, where this all goes down, all we get is the dragon’s side of it, and it isn’t even clear at this point that the humans weren’t justified in exterminating the dragons. Given the abilities of the dragons in the book, it must have been a hell of a lot of work to do it. Later in the book, we get some hints that the eventual destination of this isn’t actually Jared and the dragons against humanity, but that is exactly how it is presented in the beginning.
Fortunately, I found that the book picked up a bit once we moved past Jared’s initial encounter with the dragon egg and him learning about his new abilities. The part of the book that followed was more conventionally post-apocalyptic, with Jared learning to navigate the complexity of a world where alliances are made of desperation and fear, much like his contract with the dragons [which was made under duress, clearly acceptable to dragonkind, but not the norm for humans].
This part of the book was pretty clearly inspired by videogames as well, but more as a theme than a mechanic, which is an improvement in my opinion. Jared gets to explore, establish a base of operations, and meet a love interest, which are the basic kinds of things you do in many RPGs. The things that happen seem more like the natural consequence of choices that Jared or other characters make, rather than, well, I need to grind some EXP by killing some rats.
Since the second act is so much stronger than the the first, I have some hope that this series will turn out well, but I think that the rest of this series is a pass for me. If you like the more explicit videogame elements, and there is a market segment that clearly does, then this is a middle of the road adventure story you may enjoy.
June 14, 2019
This story started off strong, grabbing my attention right away. Jared was easy to connect with and then also Scarlet the dragon. The first third of the book was well done and I really enjoyed it. Things do slow down a bit for the final two thirds of the book. Still, I was attached to main characters and needed to know how things would turn out for them.
I really enjoy post-apocalyptic stories, and I also enjoy LitRPG stories. This book combines both. While starting off firmly in the post-apocalyptic genre, it quickly moves to the LitRPG genre with the nanites providing the mechanism to level up. I did find the nanites stuff a little confusing, a little clunky. Even after finishing the book, I’m still not sure what the deal is with the nanites. Are they evil, virus-ridden itty bitty robots? Are they humanities last chance at repopulating the Earth? Perhaps both.
In the beginning, Jared was daring and decisive. Even after he meets Scarlet, he’s still the man with the plan. But as the story progresses and he meets more people, he becomes less decisive and really, really polite. In fact, he becomes so considerate of everyone’s feelings that his personality really gets washed out. This aspect really slowed down the story despite the action scenes rippling through the plot. Jared becomes a rather emotional character.
Overall, the strong start was worth my time. I hope Book 2 can recapture that and carry it forward for the rest of the series. Polite emo Jared is a boring Jared. Give me action-craving, decisive Jared! 4/5 stars.
The Narration: Armen Taylor was a joy to listen to. His deep, smooth voice was perfect for Jared. Taylor did a great job of imbuing Jared’s voice with emotions as well. Taylor also did well with distinctive male voices for the other male characters. Anneliese Rennie voiced all the female voices. Her voice for Scarlet was spot on and she also did a good job with Scarlet’s emotions. She voiced 4 other females (another explorer, an older dragon, a romantic interest, and a teen girl). For the most part, there was little to no distinction among these voices. However, the story’s context was almost always good enough to easily tell who was talking. Taylor narrated the bulk of this story and I think I would have preferred him to do all the voices. However, it wasn’t bad this way. On the technical front, Scarlet’s voice (Rennie narrating) is seamlessly incorporated into the recording. The other female voices were sometimes not as well incorporated. Other than that, there were no tech issues with the recording. 4/5 stars.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Richard Hummel. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
I really enjoy post-apocalyptic stories, and I also enjoy LitRPG stories. This book combines both. While starting off firmly in the post-apocalyptic genre, it quickly moves to the LitRPG genre with the nanites providing the mechanism to level up. I did find the nanites stuff a little confusing, a little clunky. Even after finishing the book, I’m still not sure what the deal is with the nanites. Are they evil, virus-ridden itty bitty robots? Are they humanities last chance at repopulating the Earth? Perhaps both.
In the beginning, Jared was daring and decisive. Even after he meets Scarlet, he’s still the man with the plan. But as the story progresses and he meets more people, he becomes less decisive and really, really polite. In fact, he becomes so considerate of everyone’s feelings that his personality really gets washed out. This aspect really slowed down the story despite the action scenes rippling through the plot. Jared becomes a rather emotional character.
Overall, the strong start was worth my time. I hope Book 2 can recapture that and carry it forward for the rest of the series. Polite emo Jared is a boring Jared. Give me action-craving, decisive Jared! 4/5 stars.
The Narration: Armen Taylor was a joy to listen to. His deep, smooth voice was perfect for Jared. Taylor did a great job of imbuing Jared’s voice with emotions as well. Taylor also did well with distinctive male voices for the other male characters. Anneliese Rennie voiced all the female voices. Her voice for Scarlet was spot on and she also did a good job with Scarlet’s emotions. She voiced 4 other females (another explorer, an older dragon, a romantic interest, and a teen girl). For the most part, there was little to no distinction among these voices. However, the story’s context was almost always good enough to easily tell who was talking. Taylor narrated the bulk of this story and I think I would have preferred him to do all the voices. However, it wasn’t bad this way. On the technical front, Scarlet’s voice (Rennie narrating) is seamlessly incorporated into the recording. The other female voices were sometimes not as well incorporated. Other than that, there were no tech issues with the recording. 4/5 stars.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Richard Hummel. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
April 21, 2019
Review originally published at: https://www.lomeraniel.com/audiobookr...
First of all, I would like to say that I found the blurb of this book terribly misleading. I was expecting a sci-fi post-apocalyptic tale, but this is a LitRPG fantasy story. Not that I don’t enjoy fantasy, but I tend to be pickier than with sci-fi. I had a hard time keeping the suspension of disbelief due to this book being a fantasy and LitRPG story. Would I have listened to this book knowing all this? Probably not, since I believe I am not the target audience for it.
The world building was good, and some events were interesting, but I had issues with the whole premise, and I found the characters poorly developed. I would recommend this book to anyone into fantasy and LitRPG, but for those looking for a more technical and post-apocalyptic story, this may not be the book. What I liked was the duet narration, which made the story flow.
Both narrators were quite good at expressing the characters’ emotions. This kind of narration is seldom done so that only this characteristic makes the audiobook worth a listen.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.First of all, I would like to say that I found the blurb of this book terribly misleading. I was expecting a sci-fi post-apocalyptic tale, but this is a LitRPG fantasy story. Not that I don’t enjoy fantasy, but I tend to be pickier than with sci-fi. I had a hard time keeping the suspension of disbelief due to this book being a fantasy and LitRPG story. Would I have listened to this book knowing all this? Probably not, since I believe I am not the target audience for it.
The world building was good, and some events were interesting, but I had issues with the whole premise, and I found the characters poorly developed. I would recommend this book to anyone into fantasy and LitRPG, but for those looking for a more technical and post-apocalyptic story, this may not be the book. What I liked was the duet narration, which made the story flow.
Both narrators were quite good at expressing the characters’ emotions. This kind of narration is seldom done so that only this characteristic makes the audiobook worth a listen.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
First of all, I would like to say that I found the blurb of this book terribly misleading. I was expecting a sci-fi post-apocalyptic tale, but this is a LitRPG fantasy story. Not that I don’t enjoy fantasy, but I tend to be pickier than with sci-fi. I had a hard time keeping the suspension of disbelief due to this book being a fantasy and LitRPG story. Would I have listened to this book knowing all this? Probably not, since I believe I am not the target audience for it.
The world building was good, and some events were interesting, but I had issues with the whole premise, and I found the characters poorly developed. I would recommend this book to anyone into fantasy and LitRPG, but for those looking for a more technical and post-apocalyptic story, this may not be the book. What I liked was the duet narration, which made the story flow.
Both narrators were quite good at expressing the characters’ emotions. This kind of narration is seldom done so that only this characteristic makes the audiobook worth a listen.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.First of all, I would like to say that I found the blurb of this book terribly misleading. I was expecting a sci-fi post-apocalyptic tale, but this is a LitRPG fantasy story. Not that I don’t enjoy fantasy, but I tend to be pickier than with sci-fi. I had a hard time keeping the suspension of disbelief due to this book being a fantasy and LitRPG story. Would I have listened to this book knowing all this? Probably not, since I believe I am not the target audience for it.
The world building was good, and some events were interesting, but I had issues with the whole premise, and I found the characters poorly developed. I would recommend this book to anyone into fantasy and LitRPG, but for those looking for a more technical and post-apocalyptic story, this may not be the book. What I liked was the duet narration, which made the story flow.
Both narrators were quite good at expressing the characters’ emotions. This kind of narration is seldom done so that only this characteristic makes the audiobook worth a listen.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
May 8, 2019
Actual Rating: 3.5
You can also find this review here on my blog.
If you’re someone who enjoys a good videogame just as much as you enjoy reading, then look no further than Radioactive Evolution. Combining a fast-paced and character-driven plot with the action-packed, levelling up game-like quality to it, this was a wild ride.
The writing style is something i have never come across before. It’s told in the first person, which i enjoyed, however, there are parts throughout the story where the protagonist gains nanites (basically XP) that allows him the ability to level up different parts of his body and mind. It’s really quite fascinating because you can really see how this plays a part in what the character is able to do, and how it vastly improves his life each time these nanites are gained. It really is just like a videogame in that respect.
I honestly didn’t realise this at first and just thought it was a cheap device used to progress the story and make it easier for the character to survive in such an inhospitable environment. However; it’s actually ingenious and made it into such a cool story to follow. It also made me really want to play one of my open-world games again!
The characters are quite seldom, we mostly just follow our protagonist Jared as he learns about the world and his new found abilities. That being said, we do get another main character who is none other than a dragon, which is a companion Jared unlocks. Really cool, right? She is such a sassy creature, that really makes the story easier to connect to, as her personality is just so badass. I did find that the instant connection, and the utmost care that they show for each other to be slightly odd as they only just really meet. I think it has something to do with their “bond” but it isn’t quite explained enough to fully comprehend what is going on. I do wish it was touched upon a bit more, but with how the story ends, i think the second instalment will go into much more detail about bonds and nanite use; which i am eager to find out!
A major disappointment that i had with the story is when the climax of the story happens. Jared isn’t even present for it, he’s just sitting around for days on end, waiting for the final story progression to happen, and then is told about it afterwards. When you have a story that’s in the first person, you can’t bring the story to a climax where he is unable to go to. We, as readers want to see what happens as it’s what the whole book led to!
All in all, it was a solid first book to a series with some fun twists and turns, that leads to an action-packed start to finish. Trust me, you won’t be bored reading this book. Although there were a few setbacks for me, i did really enjoy the story overall and thought it was very unique.
Thank you to Richard Hummel for sending me a copy of his book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way has affected my opinions or views found in my review.
You can also find this review here on my blog.
If you’re someone who enjoys a good videogame just as much as you enjoy reading, then look no further than Radioactive Evolution. Combining a fast-paced and character-driven plot with the action-packed, levelling up game-like quality to it, this was a wild ride.
The writing style is something i have never come across before. It’s told in the first person, which i enjoyed, however, there are parts throughout the story where the protagonist gains nanites (basically XP) that allows him the ability to level up different parts of his body and mind. It’s really quite fascinating because you can really see how this plays a part in what the character is able to do, and how it vastly improves his life each time these nanites are gained. It really is just like a videogame in that respect.
I honestly didn’t realise this at first and just thought it was a cheap device used to progress the story and make it easier for the character to survive in such an inhospitable environment. However; it’s actually ingenious and made it into such a cool story to follow. It also made me really want to play one of my open-world games again!
The characters are quite seldom, we mostly just follow our protagonist Jared as he learns about the world and his new found abilities. That being said, we do get another main character who is none other than a dragon, which is a companion Jared unlocks. Really cool, right? She is such a sassy creature, that really makes the story easier to connect to, as her personality is just so badass. I did find that the instant connection, and the utmost care that they show for each other to be slightly odd as they only just really meet. I think it has something to do with their “bond” but it isn’t quite explained enough to fully comprehend what is going on. I do wish it was touched upon a bit more, but with how the story ends, i think the second instalment will go into much more detail about bonds and nanite use; which i am eager to find out!
A major disappointment that i had with the story is when the climax of the story happens. Jared isn’t even present for it, he’s just sitting around for days on end, waiting for the final story progression to happen, and then is told about it afterwards. When you have a story that’s in the first person, you can’t bring the story to a climax where he is unable to go to. We, as readers want to see what happens as it’s what the whole book led to!
All in all, it was a solid first book to a series with some fun twists and turns, that leads to an action-packed start to finish. Trust me, you won’t be bored reading this book. Although there were a few setbacks for me, i did really enjoy the story overall and thought it was very unique.
Thank you to Richard Hummel for sending me a copy of his book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way has affected my opinions or views found in my review.
January 15, 2019
I received a copy of Gilded Wolves through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Richard Hummel’s debut novel, Radioactive Evolution is nothing like anything else I’ve read. It’s a LitRPG, something I didn’t even know excised before now. It’s also a true sci-fi novel. It also throws in a dash of dystopian and action-adventure for good measure.
A LitRPG is short for Literary Role Playing Game. And it pretty much is exactly what it sounds like. It combines the conventions of science fiction and fantasy novels with the structures of role playing games. Sometimes the combinations are obvious, while other times it can be a bit more subtle.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
Richard Hummel’s debut novel, Radioactive Evolution is nothing like anything else I’ve read. It’s a LitRPG, something I didn’t even know excised before now. It’s also a true sci-fi novel. It also throws in a dash of dystopian and action-adventure for good measure.
A LitRPG is short for Literary Role Playing Game. And it pretty much is exactly what it sounds like. It combines the conventions of science fiction and fantasy novels with the structures of role playing games. Sometimes the combinations are obvious, while other times it can be a bit more subtle.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
March 15, 2019
Are you a fan of epic urban fantasy, futurist science fiction, video games and dystopian with dragons this is the perfect book for you. In a world that has been infested with mutations from radioactive posioning you have the lower class that is barely surviving. While the wealthy upper-class hang out in airborne islands. This first book spends a lot of time setting up the relationship between our main dragon Scarlet, who I adore, with all her sass. And the human she bonds with named Jared. They have a great dialogue throughout the story.
The rest of this book also focuses on the establishment of a new colony of what is deemed waterfolk that are rescued from some serious mind control of a water dragon named Razel. Once the colony is moved and established then Jared and Scarlet set out to the center of the earth so to speak to bring her brothers out of hibernation. In hopes, they will bond with the waterfolk and help them to take back control of their cities from the floating islands.
There a lot of information to process as you read through this story but it was written so well that you are totally lost in the story. The science fiction parts are not overwhelming nor do they distract from the story. I really like the aspect of the video game as Jared and Scarlet are enhancing themselves to take on psycho rabbits and at times really weird worms.
I really enjoyed this book for one main reason it different very different from what I normally read. It stands out in the fact that it combines a variety of genres in a wonderful, engaging adventure. The author did an amazing job it a fresh take on the GameLit genre with a great nod to descriptions and world building. I can’t wait to see what happens now that we have Scarlet brothers added into the mix. Should make a very interesting tale.
The rest of this book also focuses on the establishment of a new colony of what is deemed waterfolk that are rescued from some serious mind control of a water dragon named Razel. Once the colony is moved and established then Jared and Scarlet set out to the center of the earth so to speak to bring her brothers out of hibernation. In hopes, they will bond with the waterfolk and help them to take back control of their cities from the floating islands.
There a lot of information to process as you read through this story but it was written so well that you are totally lost in the story. The science fiction parts are not overwhelming nor do they distract from the story. I really like the aspect of the video game as Jared and Scarlet are enhancing themselves to take on psycho rabbits and at times really weird worms.
I really enjoyed this book for one main reason it different very different from what I normally read. It stands out in the fact that it combines a variety of genres in a wonderful, engaging adventure. The author did an amazing job it a fresh take on the GameLit genre with a great nod to descriptions and world building. I can’t wait to see what happens now that we have Scarlet brothers added into the mix. Should make a very interesting tale.
April 17, 2019
I signed up for this book on the mention of dragons , dystopia and science development gone wrong. What more could we expect???
I recieved a copy from BookPublicity Services for my honest opinion.
Jared Cartwright , our protagonist is among the few possible survivers on Earth after a massive outbreak of creatures killing and taking over Earth. Accidentally he stumbles on a dragon egg . And then this is the epic story of a scrawny guy with a smol dragon to challenge the world and right the wrongs.
I was genuinely surprised and interested in the plot and the writing for a first few chapters. But the pacing and the plot began to slow down to the point of crawling.
Our dragon pal is more like a robot? And traveling and reading the conversations weren't fun .
And bunnies , you know the cute fluffy accidentally bites our fingers?? Nooo the bunnies in this book are 6 feet with killer instincts.
The plot was driven more and more about survival and the bonding between the characters which was so slow for me. I'm more of a fast paced story person.
But once the plot reaches the humans , it got fast and really interesting.
Though , radioactive evolution took a huge time of reading from me I never even tried to DNF it. Richard Hummel has a knack for holding our thoughts.
I just wish the book was less gory , but it might work for you . If you love dystopian survival kind of novels like Hunger games.
I recieved a copy from BookPublicity Services for my honest opinion.
Jared Cartwright , our protagonist is among the few possible survivers on Earth after a massive outbreak of creatures killing and taking over Earth. Accidentally he stumbles on a dragon egg . And then this is the epic story of a scrawny guy with a smol dragon to challenge the world and right the wrongs.
I was genuinely surprised and interested in the plot and the writing for a first few chapters. But the pacing and the plot began to slow down to the point of crawling.
Our dragon pal is more like a robot? And traveling and reading the conversations weren't fun .
And bunnies , you know the cute fluffy accidentally bites our fingers?? Nooo the bunnies in this book are 6 feet with killer instincts.
The plot was driven more and more about survival and the bonding between the characters which was so slow for me. I'm more of a fast paced story person.
But once the plot reaches the humans , it got fast and really interesting.
Though , radioactive evolution took a huge time of reading from me I never even tried to DNF it. Richard Hummel has a knack for holding our thoughts.
I just wish the book was less gory , but it might work for you . If you love dystopian survival kind of novels like Hunger games.
March 31, 2019
*Free copy for an honest review.
This was certainly an entertaining read. There was a lot of adventure, a lot of quick-thinking as well as strategy fights. There is a nice blend of action, comedy and even horror, and I'm not talking about the number to times Jared had to find new clothes because his were covered in giant rat guts.
If you're a fan of gaming, you'd probably enjoy several aspects of this book. If you're a Fallout fan, you'll definitely get some fun with this, as well as some of the horror. It gives some actual mechanics to a character's level-up and not needing to eat. It was actually pretty clever how Hummel set that up.
Unfortunately the editing appears incomplete. The telepathic conversations between Scarlet and Jared are identified with her voice in bold and his voice in italics. Throughout the book, or at least my copy of it, there were a lot of mishaps with this. The pacing of the book felt a little disjointed, but that could be Jared's need to sleep through his "power ups". The video game references and comparisons, while occasionally fun, did end up making it feel less genuine.
So, if you're a gamer looking for a foray into books or know of a gamer who's interested in trying some science fiction, this wouldn't be a bad book to start them out with. As for me, it was a nice book but I probably won't be picking up the sequel. 3 hoots!
This was certainly an entertaining read. There was a lot of adventure, a lot of quick-thinking as well as strategy fights. There is a nice blend of action, comedy and even horror, and I'm not talking about the number to times Jared had to find new clothes because his were covered in giant rat guts.
If you're a fan of gaming, you'd probably enjoy several aspects of this book. If you're a Fallout fan, you'll definitely get some fun with this, as well as some of the horror. It gives some actual mechanics to a character's level-up and not needing to eat. It was actually pretty clever how Hummel set that up.
Unfortunately the editing appears incomplete. The telepathic conversations between Scarlet and Jared are identified with her voice in bold and his voice in italics. Throughout the book, or at least my copy of it, there were a lot of mishaps with this. The pacing of the book felt a little disjointed, but that could be Jared's need to sleep through his "power ups". The video game references and comparisons, while occasionally fun, did end up making it feel less genuine.
So, if you're a gamer looking for a foray into books or know of a gamer who's interested in trying some science fiction, this wouldn't be a bad book to start them out with. As for me, it was a nice book but I probably won't be picking up the sequel. 3 hoots!
January 15, 2019
Post Apocalyptic LitRPG
Radioactive Evolution portrays a world where humans have had a final war leaving the Earth a shattered, radioactive waste. Certain sections of humanity had built sky cities which must utilise a form of antigravity to float as they do. A scientist working for them, developed nanotech that could be injected into these humans who were left behind on the devastated land and keep them alive. They also removed the necessity of eating and drinking since the nanites absorbed energy from the surrounding radiation. Most humans have formed into colonies and have set up a trade system with the cities. The colonists need booster injections every two years to stay alive. One such colonist is Jared who, having lost both of his parents, has decided to go out on his own to forge his own path. He has just reached the abandoned city of New York where he must find more booster injections soon or return to his colony. He finds the injections but he also finds much more and is soon running for his life.
If you are prepared to suspend belief, the story is quite enjoyable. There’s certainly a lot of action and the introduction of a dragon, Scarlet, who bonds with Jared brings in the ability to expand the nanites range of protections and improvements to the members of the bond. The author has not made the mistake, that many LitRPG writers do, of trudging through lists of available upgrades and those actually chosen.
As I said previously, you have to be able to suspend belief for I really doubt that any civilisation that has the ability to manufacture self contained, floating cities would totally destroy the Earth in a nuclear war. Mother Nature is far more resilient than we puny humans realise. That doesn’t change the fact that this is a good first book. We now have to wait and find out if and when book two will materialise. Hopefully not in the too distant future.
Radioactive Evolution portrays a world where humans have had a final war leaving the Earth a shattered, radioactive waste. Certain sections of humanity had built sky cities which must utilise a form of antigravity to float as they do. A scientist working for them, developed nanotech that could be injected into these humans who were left behind on the devastated land and keep them alive. They also removed the necessity of eating and drinking since the nanites absorbed energy from the surrounding radiation. Most humans have formed into colonies and have set up a trade system with the cities. The colonists need booster injections every two years to stay alive. One such colonist is Jared who, having lost both of his parents, has decided to go out on his own to forge his own path. He has just reached the abandoned city of New York where he must find more booster injections soon or return to his colony. He finds the injections but he also finds much more and is soon running for his life.
If you are prepared to suspend belief, the story is quite enjoyable. There’s certainly a lot of action and the introduction of a dragon, Scarlet, who bonds with Jared brings in the ability to expand the nanites range of protections and improvements to the members of the bond. The author has not made the mistake, that many LitRPG writers do, of trudging through lists of available upgrades and those actually chosen.
As I said previously, you have to be able to suspend belief for I really doubt that any civilisation that has the ability to manufacture self contained, floating cities would totally destroy the Earth in a nuclear war. Mother Nature is far more resilient than we puny humans realise. That doesn’t change the fact that this is a good first book. We now have to wait and find out if and when book two will materialise. Hopefully not in the too distant future.
July 31, 2020
Did not finish: I only got 19% through this book and, frankly, I only made it that far because my hands were too busy with other tasks to shut it off earlier.
This book was such a complete miss for me I don't know that anyone else should rely on this review. After all people differ and this book does currently have 610 ratings averaging 3.97 on Goodreads.com. For me absolutely everything seemed cliche- the MC is a young orphan in a post-apocalyptic world who comes across the secret to the world's current state and a treasure trove that makes him incredibly powerful. Even in this kill or be killed world the MC (stupidly) refuses to kill even when surrounded by people who want to take everything he has. That's where I stopped listening. I just couldn't take it anymore. I long ago got tired of this cliche.
Bottom line: Not for me.
This book was such a complete miss for me I don't know that anyone else should rely on this review. After all people differ and this book does currently have 610 ratings averaging 3.97 on Goodreads.com. For me absolutely everything seemed cliche- the MC is a young orphan in a post-apocalyptic world who comes across the secret to the world's current state and a treasure trove that makes him incredibly powerful. Even in this kill or be killed world the MC (stupidly) refuses to kill even when surrounded by people who want to take everything he has. That's where I stopped listening. I just couldn't take it anymore. I long ago got tired of this cliche.
Bottom line: Not for me.
March 29, 2019
What a surprising read
I picked this book out of several, not recognizing the Author just looking at the cover and reading the short tease blurb and thought it might be a decent book to read to pass the time, boy was I surprised this Author has taken an idea and ran with it.and at high speed even, couldn't wait to get back to it again when I had other things to do like making a living! This was written exquisitely. The writing style was easy to follow, but has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, in places edge of the seat anxiety and sometimes surprise. Excellent read I recommend it wholeheartedly.
I picked this book out of several, not recognizing the Author just looking at the cover and reading the short tease blurb and thought it might be a decent book to read to pass the time, boy was I surprised this Author has taken an idea and ran with it.and at high speed even, couldn't wait to get back to it again when I had other things to do like making a living! This was written exquisitely. The writing style was easy to follow, but has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, in places edge of the seat anxiety and sometimes surprise. Excellent read I recommend it wholeheartedly.
December 5, 2018
Super post-apocalyptic fantasy tale that reads like a video game
This is a lengthy book at 390 pages, which I appreciated because I was having a lot of fun reading it.
Jared Cartwright is an explorer on an Earth that was decimated by nuclear wars. He left his home colony two years ago to explore and salvage.
To survive the radiation that was released on the planet,a scientist invented booster shots of nanites to counteract the effects of the radiation but humans need the booster shots periodically.
While exploring New York City Jared happens across an unhatched egg that changes his life completely when it does hatch shortly after.
This was such a fun read. Monsters and memories of Anne McCafferty books kept popping up in the book.
There were some issues with editing which is why I downgraded this a bit but don't miss this book just because of that.
The author does an excellent job with developing the characters and his world building was easy but scary to visualize.
Oh, and this is the first book of a series and I hope we don't have to wait too long for the next book.
I received this book from the Independent Book Publishers Association through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.
This is a lengthy book at 390 pages, which I appreciated because I was having a lot of fun reading it.
Jared Cartwright is an explorer on an Earth that was decimated by nuclear wars. He left his home colony two years ago to explore and salvage.
To survive the radiation that was released on the planet,a scientist invented booster shots of nanites to counteract the effects of the radiation but humans need the booster shots periodically.
While exploring New York City Jared happens across an unhatched egg that changes his life completely when it does hatch shortly after.
This was such a fun read. Monsters and memories of Anne McCafferty books kept popping up in the book.
There were some issues with editing which is why I downgraded this a bit but don't miss this book just because of that.
The author does an excellent job with developing the characters and his world building was easy but scary to visualize.
Oh, and this is the first book of a series and I hope we don't have to wait too long for the next book.
I received this book from the Independent Book Publishers Association through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.
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