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Shadow Sun #1
Survival
How well would you fare if the apocalypse fell upon you? Could you survive more than a few days? Would you be able to feed yourself? Find clean water? Safe shelter? Heal your wounds? Allistor is a gamer geek who has spent most of his life indoors, playing virtual reality MMORPGS and reading classic LitRPG books. But when Earth is seized by an ancient race wielding incredibly advanced tech, who transport the entire planet to a new location with twin suns, he finds himself fighting to survive in real life. The human race is declared a contaminant, and the new overlords decree that 90% of us will be exterminated. Creatures out of myth and legend are sent to do the killing. Dragons, titans, alien creatures big and small, all with a hunger for human flesh. Humans who survive the first year will be rewarded. After seeing his family killed in the first week, Allistor leads a small group of survivors in their struggle to stay alive. Not satisfied with simple survival, he strives to make himself and his people stronger. The new 'magic' RPG system that now governs the planet is something he can work with, and teach others to exploit. Thrust into a leadership position, and with vengeance in his heart, Allistor aims to establish a stronghold, then take the fight to the monsters who seek to enslave his people.
511 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 3, 2019
1519 people are currently reading
1505 people want to read
About the author
Dave Willmarth
31 books629 followersDave is a part-time author who would love to live full time in the game worlds he creates.
A gamer since the 70's, he loves the idea of being able to mix the science of virtual reality with the fantasy worlds inspired by great writers such as JRR Tokien and CS Lewis.
Dave has always wanted to be a writer. Over the past three decades he started and put away a dozen novels, distracted by work or life.
The dream of being an author seemed distant.
That is until recently, when he discovered the LitRPG/GameLit genre full of books that combined his love for video games and epic fantasy adventures. He was inspired by the books he read, and the authors who wrote them. So much so that he sat down and wrote the first two books of The Greystone Chronicles in just over a month. He published the first as an experiment, and was shocked at the response. These days he sits in his man cave late at night and writes the stories of characters he'd like to be, in worlds virtually without limits.
A gamer since the 70's, he loves the idea of being able to mix the science of virtual reality with the fantasy worlds inspired by great writers such as JRR Tokien and CS Lewis.
Dave has always wanted to be a writer. Over the past three decades he started and put away a dozen novels, distracted by work or life.
The dream of being an author seemed distant.
That is until recently, when he discovered the LitRPG/GameLit genre full of books that combined his love for video games and epic fantasy adventures. He was inspired by the books he read, and the authors who wrote them. So much so that he sat down and wrote the first two books of The Greystone Chronicles in just over a month. He published the first as an experiment, and was shocked at the response. These days he sits in his man cave late at night and writes the stories of characters he'd like to be, in worlds virtually without limits.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 408 reviews
December 7, 2019
I've bought this after watching a litrpg podcast review on youtube. I really liked the premise of it, you know? Dark survival fantasy in a post apocalyptic world where no one is absolutely safe. The mood was dark, solemn, and full of anger and rage.
Dave Willmarth really designed characters like Meg, Sam, Nancy and Chloe well. Even the childlike innocence of Chloe was highlighted well. The main character was a brat but acted appropriately and took logical decisions. You could sense the tension in the air and to be honest I really really liked that. There was good character interaction and development between the first group of survivors.
At least, until Helen and Fuzzy showed up and the mc turned into a dude bro.
The mc was always a bit childish but he made appropriate decisions for a post apocalyptic survival novel in the first half of the book. I repeat but I really liked the solemn death filled numb kind of mood.
But then the author, made the mc into a smart-ass who spews weird jokes and cheesy one lines (in the middle of a danger zone) and starts describing various cute interaction between the mc and Helen (like Helen making weird pout faces....). And this continued on and on. The Survivalist dark atmosphere was gone and the story took a nosedive and turned into some kind of lame joke filled slice of life. I like slice of life and this story was supposed to be a grim dark slice of life, not the exact opposite. If first half of the book when someone died everyone was mourning and crying. They didn't see the dead as heroes, they saw them as unfairly murdered. In the second half of the book people were still busy cheering and high-fiving. The dead were brushed away as 'heroic' and that's that. :( This whole charade continues, not to mention the airbase people and the Cheyenne folks.
I feel in the 2nd half of the book the author threw character interaction out of the window. No deep development like in the first half.
But all of this isn't even my biggest gripe against the series.
So, a little bit of spoiler here. Be warned.
In the airbase, they were cleaning mobs when they came across locked doors and such. they were cautiously opening the doors in case a mob inside slams it open to injure someone. This reminded the mc of a scene of a character named 'X' in a book called War Aeternus that was tragically killed by a trapped tavern door.
X because i am hiding the character name here but the author certainly named a character.
And I was like... did the author just spoil a book for me in my reading list that I have yet to read???? I bought the War Aetenrus book series but haven't gotten to read it yet. I don't know if the 'X' is one of the characters in book 1 who died, or if 'X' was a character who was there till book 4 as a major character, or if he just appeared for 5 pages and got off'ed. I don't know that. BUT, now I know how he died and that he had indeed died. I just stared at the page for a few seconds there and kept wondering, WHAT THE FUCK????
*sighs*
Ok that was a long rant. I don't know if I am going to read War Aeternus now because even a minor spoiler kind of ruins whole books for me (I quit reading Tom Sawyer because someone told me what happened to Huckleberry Fin). I already have book 2 of Shadow Sun but now I only imagine I will read it for the base building. There is no tension or solemness left that was present in fist half of book 1.
Dave Willmarth really designed characters like Meg, Sam, Nancy and Chloe well. Even the childlike innocence of Chloe was highlighted well. The main character was a brat but acted appropriately and took logical decisions. You could sense the tension in the air and to be honest I really really liked that. There was good character interaction and development between the first group of survivors.
At least, until Helen and Fuzzy showed up and the mc turned into a dude bro.
The mc was always a bit childish but he made appropriate decisions for a post apocalyptic survival novel in the first half of the book. I repeat but I really liked the solemn death filled numb kind of mood.
But then the author, made the mc into a smart-ass who spews weird jokes and cheesy one lines (in the middle of a danger zone) and starts describing various cute interaction between the mc and Helen (like Helen making weird pout faces....). And this continued on and on. The Survivalist dark atmosphere was gone and the story took a nosedive and turned into some kind of lame joke filled slice of life. I like slice of life and this story was supposed to be a grim dark slice of life, not the exact opposite. If first half of the book when someone died everyone was mourning and crying. They didn't see the dead as heroes, they saw them as unfairly murdered. In the second half of the book people were still busy cheering and high-fiving. The dead were brushed away as 'heroic' and that's that. :( This whole charade continues, not to mention the airbase people and the Cheyenne folks.
I feel in the 2nd half of the book the author threw character interaction out of the window. No deep development like in the first half.
But all of this isn't even my biggest gripe against the series.
So, a little bit of spoiler here. Be warned.
In the airbase, they were cleaning mobs when they came across locked doors and such. they were cautiously opening the doors in case a mob inside slams it open to injure someone. This reminded the mc of a scene of a character named 'X' in a book called War Aeternus that was tragically killed by a trapped tavern door.
X because i am hiding the character name here but the author certainly named a character.
And I was like... did the author just spoil a book for me in my reading list that I have yet to read???? I bought the War Aetenrus book series but haven't gotten to read it yet. I don't know if the 'X' is one of the characters in book 1 who died, or if 'X' was a character who was there till book 4 as a major character, or if he just appeared for 5 pages and got off'ed. I don't know that. BUT, now I know how he died and that he had indeed died. I just stared at the page for a few seconds there and kept wondering, WHAT THE FUCK????
*sighs*
Ok that was a long rant. I don't know if I am going to read War Aeternus now because even a minor spoiler kind of ruins whole books for me (I quit reading Tom Sawyer because someone told me what happened to Huckleberry Fin). I already have book 2 of Shadow Sun but now I only imagine I will read it for the base building. There is no tension or solemness left that was present in fist half of book 1.
August 15, 2020
More plot holes than paragraphs
Is Dave Willmarth still in high school? This book was awful, childish nonsense. He screwed up the genre, first off. It's supposed to be a real apocalypse, but he made it a video game with a new plot hole in almost every paragraph. I stopped counting around ten plot holes. That might be fine if it were a joy to read. Instead, it is a chore to follow the idiot MC who gathers guns and weapons then doesn't use them because he likes pointy rebar. He is also the only person out of billions that plays virtual MMO's. Yeah right. God's think he's going places because he stabbed something once just like 100,000 other humans. The author can't wrap his mind around the concept of billions. The author has also never watched the olympics to understand extreme talent. The MC is boring, unintelligent, weak and worst of all uninteresting. He inhabits a world that can only be described as a badly designed game with a free hotel sanctuary that is better than most people had before the apocalypse. The apocalypse sure is cozy. Although sentences are readable and the grammar passable, the writing level is middle school at best. I really don't like this book, the plot, the characters, the writing style, or the pathetic attempts at humor that involve either sexual innuendo or things like stinky killer armpits. How old are you again Dave?
Is Dave Willmarth still in high school? This book was awful, childish nonsense. He screwed up the genre, first off. It's supposed to be a real apocalypse, but he made it a video game with a new plot hole in almost every paragraph. I stopped counting around ten plot holes. That might be fine if it were a joy to read. Instead, it is a chore to follow the idiot MC who gathers guns and weapons then doesn't use them because he likes pointy rebar. He is also the only person out of billions that plays virtual MMO's. Yeah right. God's think he's going places because he stabbed something once just like 100,000 other humans. The author can't wrap his mind around the concept of billions. The author has also never watched the olympics to understand extreme talent. The MC is boring, unintelligent, weak and worst of all uninteresting. He inhabits a world that can only be described as a badly designed game with a free hotel sanctuary that is better than most people had before the apocalypse. The apocalypse sure is cozy. Although sentences are readable and the grammar passable, the writing level is middle school at best. I really don't like this book, the plot, the characters, the writing style, or the pathetic attempts at humor that involve either sexual innuendo or things like stinky killer armpits. How old are you again Dave?
November 10, 2021
Brutal but awesome!
February 16, 2020
The proofreading is legit, I'll give it that. The prose was straightforward and pretty much free of spelling errors and typos.
That was enough to keep me reading as long as I did, which was 40% according to Kindle and accounts for roughly 160 out of the book's 400 pages. The biggest problem I had was that the story covered very familiar territory that I've seen before, which by itself isn't a bad thing, but it failed to include distinguishing traits to stand apart from its inspirations.
A book can get away with a tired plot for a while if it puts some new or interesting characters into the mix. Unfortunately, I just didn't vibe with anything this story brought to the table. I didn't feel any personality from the characters and they were bad at everything and somewhat dumb. It was another of those books that told the reader that a character is smart/a skilled gamer/etc, but then failed to demonstrate it.
There are a lot of litrpg readers out there that seem to enjoy stories like this despite all the things mentioned above. If you're one of them, props to ya. It's a bridge too far for me. I would recommend people check out Tao Wong's System Apocalypse instead.
That was enough to keep me reading as long as I did, which was 40% according to Kindle and accounts for roughly 160 out of the book's 400 pages. The biggest problem I had was that the story covered very familiar territory that I've seen before, which by itself isn't a bad thing, but it failed to include distinguishing traits to stand apart from its inspirations.
A book can get away with a tired plot for a while if it puts some new or interesting characters into the mix. Unfortunately, I just didn't vibe with anything this story brought to the table. I didn't feel any personality from the characters and they were bad at everything and somewhat dumb. It was another of those books that told the reader that a character is smart/a skilled gamer/etc, but then failed to demonstrate it.
There are a lot of litrpg readers out there that seem to enjoy stories like this despite all the things mentioned above. If you're one of them, props to ya. It's a bridge too far for me. I would recommend people check out Tao Wong's System Apocalypse instead.
December 23, 2020
Rating 3.5 stars
Started off really good. As the story went on though there started to be more and more things that litrpg fans, like myself, will probably be annoyed by. Let's start with the story though before we get into the nit picky stuff. A group of galactic beings moved the earth after the sun went supernova. Now the earth has a new designation and is part of the collective. However, the earth as it currently stands is too overpopulated and needs to be culled. It is decided that 91% of all humans will need to be wiped out. Monsters will be added to the earth to help with reducing the population. This will also make the remaining humans more powerful and prepare them for when the other alien races try to claim land on the planet. There is a year grace period for the culling and leveling to complete before the aliens will try and take what they can get. Alistor is a college kid back home for the summer when the announcement is made. He ends up with a HUD screen that tells him his stats and experience, just like all the VR games he has played. This makes him more prepared to deal with this new world. He needs to get skills, find more people and level up as fast as he can in order to survive. Overall a pretty good setup.
Now for the part that most litrpg fans will probably not like
Overall I liked the idea I just wish the author would have integrated the game mechanics with the story better. I will be continuing this series.
Started off really good. As the story went on though there started to be more and more things that litrpg fans, like myself, will probably be annoyed by. Let's start with the story though before we get into the nit picky stuff. A group of galactic beings moved the earth after the sun went supernova. Now the earth has a new designation and is part of the collective. However, the earth as it currently stands is too overpopulated and needs to be culled. It is decided that 91% of all humans will need to be wiped out. Monsters will be added to the earth to help with reducing the population. This will also make the remaining humans more powerful and prepare them for when the other alien races try to claim land on the planet. There is a year grace period for the culling and leveling to complete before the aliens will try and take what they can get. Alistor is a college kid back home for the summer when the announcement is made. He ends up with a HUD screen that tells him his stats and experience, just like all the VR games he has played. This makes him more prepared to deal with this new world. He needs to get skills, find more people and level up as fast as he can in order to survive. Overall a pretty good setup.
Now for the part that most litrpg fans will probably not like
Overall I liked the idea I just wish the author would have integrated the game mechanics with the story better. I will be continuing this series.
March 26, 2023
This is a System Armageddon LitRPG story with a gamer main character who takes it seriously enough to excel beyond others around him. I liked Allistor, though the author playing hide and seek with what happened to his parents sucked. He's kind and helpful and I liked how his first impulse was to help others excel as much as he does.
The plot of this one has some rough edges. The aliens who decided to mess with Earth and drop its human population drastically using monster spawns are evil, sure, and I get the anger that motivates Allistor at times. But that doesn't translate well as Allistor eagerly adapts and adopts to the benefits available to him as a primary mover in gathering resources and training himself and those following him. I'd expect more misgiving than we get as Willmarth channels some of his own sense of wonder through the lead character so mostly what we get is a few tangents about evil aliens while gleefully pouncing on the neat new things they can do.
And it doesn't help that the other humans all fall into either irredeemably evil or gosh-shucks trustworthy enthusiasts. So I was left after many interactions going "no, that's not how people work." This is nowhere more obvious than a scene where I don't think so.
Oh, and we have one of my pet peeves when we get alien/bad-guy PoV. It's worse that they bear the names of the Norse gods but are tentacled freaks. Like, a cross between Odin and Cthulhu is something the world has been breathlessly awaiting? No. Just no. Also, the author made Loki a mustache-twirling villain and Baldur all stupid-but-noble. Wait. Cthulhu with a mustache? I almost want that pic...
Anyway, this is an enjoyable enough story that I was engaged despite some of the things that jarred me. I'll call it an uneasy three stars that could have done better with better characterization.
A note about Chaste: This is a questionable call because Allistor gets himself a girlfriend and they're having sex and talking about it in general terms. There's even some undetailed nudity. But it's nothing that'd trigger any steam at all and I found it pretty tame. As I said, though, it's a questionable call so bear that in mind.
The plot of this one has some rough edges. The aliens who decided to mess with Earth and drop its human population drastically using monster spawns are evil, sure, and I get the anger that motivates Allistor at times. But that doesn't translate well as Allistor eagerly adapts and adopts to the benefits available to him as a primary mover in gathering resources and training himself and those following him. I'd expect more misgiving than we get as Willmarth channels some of his own sense of wonder through the lead character so mostly what we get is a few tangents about evil aliens while gleefully pouncing on the neat new things they can do.
And it doesn't help that the other humans all fall into either irredeemably evil or gosh-shucks trustworthy enthusiasts. So I was left after many interactions going "no, that's not how people work." This is nowhere more obvious than a scene where I don't think so.
Oh, and we have one of my pet peeves when we get alien/bad-guy PoV. It's worse that they bear the names of the Norse gods but are tentacled freaks. Like, a cross between Odin and Cthulhu is something the world has been breathlessly awaiting? No. Just no. Also, the author made Loki a mustache-twirling villain and Baldur all stupid-but-noble. Wait. Cthulhu with a mustache? I almost want that pic...
Anyway, this is an enjoyable enough story that I was engaged despite some of the things that jarred me. I'll call it an uneasy three stars that could have done better with better characterization.
A note about Chaste: This is a questionable call because Allistor gets himself a girlfriend and they're having sex and talking about it in general terms. There's even some undetailed nudity. But it's nothing that'd trigger any steam at all and I found it pretty tame. As I said, though, it's a questionable call so bear that in mind.
March 10, 2019
Mr. Willmarth his it out of the park
I'm really enjoying Dave's writing. Everything exists for the story, with nothing superfluous and great character development.
I also love this latest trend of apocalyptic storytelling that we seem to find ourselves under. I just wish I had found this with more books already existing as the wait will be excruciating.
I'm really enjoying Dave's writing. Everything exists for the story, with nothing superfluous and great character development.
I also love this latest trend of apocalyptic storytelling that we seem to find ourselves under. I just wish I had found this with more books already existing as the wait will be excruciating.
April 12, 2022
Another settlement-building one! Yay!
The story was quite good, unfortunately, I started loosing empathy for the MC towards the middle. Not because of his philosophy (on the contrary, that's what kept me engaged). I just feel the story lost any sense of real "duress" along the middle, even though the events described were visually momentous.
MC was getting stuff handed to him right left and center. .
It got boring, and predictable... And that's a shame.
The story was quite good, unfortunately, I started loosing empathy for the MC towards the middle. Not because of his philosophy (on the contrary, that's what kept me engaged). I just feel the story lost any sense of real "duress" along the middle, even though the events described were visually momentous.
MC was getting stuff handed to him right left and center. .
It got boring, and predictable... And that's a shame.
November 30, 2019
I'm dissappointed. It started really promising, the world is full of potential, but... Characters seem fake. So far everyone is nice and it looks like they shruged off everything that happened without problems. Yeah, it doesn't seem real. MC is unimpressive. Considering his gaming history he should be smarter. He gets hurt a lot. His collective attacted rats in the tunnels. They used fire to kill them. Ok, rats died, but what about the smoke and lack of oxygen? No? Definitely an oversight. I've got enough when he went on a solo trip. He decided to go fishing! Yes ladies an gentelmen, mosters evewhere and he goes fishing to relax. He even dozes off. Survivial instincts clearly lacking. And then little bear shows up. He feeds the bear, even rescues him when the bear falls to the lake. The same lake in wchich he saw a giant monster earlier. Yes, that's it, he jumps to the lake with a giang monster to save a bear. There is one thing I can't stand and that is stupis MCs. In my eyes Allistor just learned that badge, so yeah thanks but no thanks.
58% DNF
58% DNF
July 13, 2023
An absolute cracking start to a series. The characters are all well written, the concept makes for a great read, and I had a smile on my face through most of this book.
My favourite aspect of this novel is that even though it's a post-apocalyptic novel, it's not all doom and gloom, and doesn't rely on survival alone to drive the plot. That's not to say that this book isn't about surviving, but that unlike other novels in this genre, that isn't the only driving force for all of the characters in the story. As a reader, I need more than just that to capture my interest.
Also, unlike other books in the genre, the entirety of mankind are not dicks. I'm so fed up of reading books where as soon as things get bad every single person becomes human garbage. This book does have that sort of person, but they're the rarity and not the norm... JUST LIKE IN REAL LIFE. Authors in this genre, please learn from this, it's so important!
I'm going to leave this as a short review as I'm off to start reading book 2.
My favourite aspect of this novel is that even though it's a post-apocalyptic novel, it's not all doom and gloom, and doesn't rely on survival alone to drive the plot. That's not to say that this book isn't about surviving, but that unlike other novels in this genre, that isn't the only driving force for all of the characters in the story. As a reader, I need more than just that to capture my interest.
Also, unlike other books in the genre, the entirety of mankind are not dicks. I'm so fed up of reading books where as soon as things get bad every single person becomes human garbage. This book does have that sort of person, but they're the rarity and not the norm... JUST LIKE IN REAL LIFE. Authors in this genre, please learn from this, it's so important!
I'm going to leave this as a short review as I'm off to start reading book 2.
August 21, 2019
Another winner
Really enjoy the story, characters, and pacing. Already downloading book two and can’t wait till book three is released, hurry and read these!
Really enjoy the story, characters, and pacing. Already downloading book two and can’t wait till book three is released, hurry and read these!
August 29, 2019
This is the first book I've ever read by author Dave Willmarth and honestly I don't think I can do it any justice with a review. The book itself is fantastic both in quality and quantity being longer than most books in the genre making it just satisfying enough to know I can wait for the second book patiently rather than the usual small meal. The world building being set up is fantastic while similar to a few other books in the genre it has it's own twists claiming it as it's own and running away with it. The characters while not entirely fleshed out yet are fleshed out more than enough to make them interesting and to give different audiences different characters they can relate to while enjoying the story. The story itself and the pacing between combat, skill grind, base building, and exploration is well done too with chapters feeling like they stop at the perfect place to take a break or continue reading without interrupting your immersion. There are just enough references to classic fiction, games, and other works in the same genre as this one to make them enjoyable instead of in your face or overwhelming. I am sure I didn't get all of the references but they must be done in such a way that the reader doesn't feel like he is missing the joke. As stated above I don't think I could write a review that does this book justice and I know not everyone will enjoy it but If the description of this book hit's any of you're niche interests I highly recommend this book and eagerly await the next.
On a personal note about this book, I read a lot sometimes over a hundred books a year, and have for most of my life with most of my interest in and out of books ending up in genres that my father got me interested in. He died 8 years ago and out of all of the books I have read since then this is the first book that made me stop and say "I wish my father was alive to read this." I just wanted to share that to make clear my feelings on this book.
On a personal note about this book, I read a lot sometimes over a hundred books a year, and have for most of my life with most of my interest in and out of books ending up in genres that my father got me interested in. He died 8 years ago and out of all of the books I have read since then this is the first book that made me stop and say "I wish my father was alive to read this." I just wanted to share that to make clear my feelings on this book.
September 10, 2020
“If this thing gets me, you guys promise to sing songs of my bravery?”
“We’ll sing songs alright,” Bjurstrom said. “Anybody know what rhymes with ‘stupid’?”
2.5/5.0 Litrpgs have always been an interesting genre for me. There always seems to be a trend. For the first 200 or so pages I am all into it, and then my sugar high that is, the litrpg, crashes. To be honest, I don't think it is a genre thing, just happens to be a coincidence. Anyways on to critiques and likes.
So for the critiques. The characters were pretty rough. It does not help that I was not a big fan of the MC, but, to be frank, they were mostly flat and lacked any sort of distinction. Everyone with perhaps the exception of Helen, seemed like a cookie cutter of one another. The relationships between the characters were a complete mystery to me and the 'love interest situation' is laughable. The story is bland and needed a pick me up that never came.
There were a few things I did enjoy. While the story was lackluster, the pace was nice. There never seemed to be a dull moment and there were plenty of action throughout the good sized book. Speaking of that, the book is beefy. I do give it respect for that. The books setting feels like a zombie novel without any zombies, which to be fair, I found really interesting. It stems from being set in modern day with the concept of survival and creatures that will kill you as soon as you stick your neck outside. I kind of dug that.
Overall it missed most of the points for me and at the end of the day I was just trying to race to the end of the book to finish what I had started.
“We’ll sing songs alright,” Bjurstrom said. “Anybody know what rhymes with ‘stupid’?”
2.5/5.0 Litrpgs have always been an interesting genre for me. There always seems to be a trend. For the first 200 or so pages I am all into it, and then my sugar high that is, the litrpg, crashes. To be honest, I don't think it is a genre thing, just happens to be a coincidence. Anyways on to critiques and likes.
So for the critiques. The characters were pretty rough. It does not help that I was not a big fan of the MC, but, to be frank, they were mostly flat and lacked any sort of distinction. Everyone with perhaps the exception of Helen, seemed like a cookie cutter of one another. The relationships between the characters were a complete mystery to me and the 'love interest situation' is laughable. The story is bland and needed a pick me up that never came.
There were a few things I did enjoy. While the story was lackluster, the pace was nice. There never seemed to be a dull moment and there were plenty of action throughout the good sized book. Speaking of that, the book is beefy. I do give it respect for that. The books setting feels like a zombie novel without any zombies, which to be fair, I found really interesting. It stems from being set in modern day with the concept of survival and creatures that will kill you as soon as you stick your neck outside. I kind of dug that.
Overall it missed most of the points for me and at the end of the day I was just trying to race to the end of the book to finish what I had started.
October 13, 2021
Review of Books 1-5
One of the best series in the genre that I binge read all 5 books within a week. Set in Earth in a post apocalyptic setting where the planet has been assimilated into "universal collective" and more than 90% of population has been wiped out. New and mutated monster's roam the planet, a new system of stats and skills are made available to survivors. It's chaos everywhere. We follow the MC, Allistor who uses his experience as gamer to survive and help others survive and eventually rise to position of strength.
The world building is excellent. We have the right amount of information to feel like we are part of the new monstrous world. The prose is subtle enough that we feel the flight of the survivors and get the adrenalin rush as they go about their survival. Right blend of action, adventure and emotive content to make it all come together realistically. The magic system is unique and refreshing and use of vortex was innovative and gripping. The plot then escalates to intergalactic proportions as events on Earth have a ripple effect through the galaxy and the events there have a immediate impact on Earth.
I was not a fan of use of Norse mythology in here. Maybe I because a bit jaded because of Marvel, but felt a purer fantasy setting would have been better. The character development also left a bit to be desired. Though the progression of the MC was captivating none of the other characters were developed sufficiently to add color to the background.
Those niggles aside, this is a brilliant read, that I'd happily recommend to fans of this genre!
One of the best series in the genre that I binge read all 5 books within a week. Set in Earth in a post apocalyptic setting where the planet has been assimilated into "universal collective" and more than 90% of population has been wiped out. New and mutated monster's roam the planet, a new system of stats and skills are made available to survivors. It's chaos everywhere. We follow the MC, Allistor who uses his experience as gamer to survive and help others survive and eventually rise to position of strength.
The world building is excellent. We have the right amount of information to feel like we are part of the new monstrous world. The prose is subtle enough that we feel the flight of the survivors and get the adrenalin rush as they go about their survival. Right blend of action, adventure and emotive content to make it all come together realistically. The magic system is unique and refreshing and use of vortex was innovative and gripping. The plot then escalates to intergalactic proportions as events on Earth have a ripple effect through the galaxy and the events there have a immediate impact on Earth.
I was not a fan of use of Norse mythology in here. Maybe I because a bit jaded because of Marvel, but felt a purer fantasy setting would have been better. The character development also left a bit to be desired. Though the progression of the MC was captivating none of the other characters were developed sufficiently to add color to the background.
Those niggles aside, this is a brilliant read, that I'd happily recommend to fans of this genre!
March 7, 2019
Book one
Mistakes: I found only two. The tables came through kind of a mess, but still readable.
Plot: Things move rather fast in this book. I didn't like that he doesn't bother to Plot most of the humans he was forced to kill, nor did he loot the last dragon.
Characters: The bear is my favorite.
Mistakes: I found only two. The tables came through kind of a mess, but still readable.
Plot: Things move rather fast in this book. I didn't like that he doesn't bother to Plot most of the humans he was forced to kill, nor did he loot the last dragon.
Characters: The bear is my favorite.
December 21, 2021
At the start, it was mediocre at best.
There were a ton of characters, but it looks like the author forgot to write them any personality, including the Main Dumbass.
None of the interactions look like they happen between real people.
I should have stopped on 20%.
There were a ton of characters, but it looks like the author forgot to write them any personality, including the Main Dumbass.
None of the interactions look like they happen between real people.
I should have stopped on 20%.
March 21, 2019
Interesting story.
Ok the book was good and the action was well written and it had a unique twist on the old Norse mythology. Overall I enjoyed it.
Ok the book was good and the action was well written and it had a unique twist on the old Norse mythology. Overall I enjoyed it.
Want to read
September 22, 2019That's...that's literally this image:
September 25, 2019
Solid start to a new series.
October 24, 2021
If you are into LitRPG or just a damn good story. Don't Pass this one up.
It has a few issues here and there. But it is a great story in my opinion.
Would highly recommend this series !
It has a few issues here and there. But it is a great story in my opinion.
Would highly recommend this series !
Read
October 17, 2020LitRPG with an apocalypse.
May 23, 2020
This was my first foray into the LitRPG world, and it was...different. This genre is probably not everyone's cup of tea but it made for a great day of binge reading. I love the quick little reads and I kind of enjoy that the character is figuring out the rules of this world alongside the reader, and I think that any major critiques of the style of the story can be addressed with this is just a completely different kind of world with completely different rules. A good start to a newish series. I have high hopes.
December 4, 2019
Fantastic Read/Listen!
Reviewing the audio book.
This is one of my favourite titles of the closing year! The narration by Will M. Watt and Soundbooth Theatre was beyond fantastic. The story was well developed, the characters quite likable, and the system and world building were very interesting. I'm a fan! I honestly can't recommend this enough...if you enjoy LitRpg, this is a must read.
Reviewing the audio book.
This is one of my favourite titles of the closing year! The narration by Will M. Watt and Soundbooth Theatre was beyond fantastic. The story was well developed, the characters quite likable, and the system and world building were very interesting. I'm a fan! I honestly can't recommend this enough...if you enjoy LitRpg, this is a must read.
March 13, 2019
Very fun read
I really enjoy gamelit where the game elements are merged into real life and this story definitely fits the bill. Looking forward to the next in the series
I really enjoy gamelit where the game elements are merged into real life and this story definitely fits the bill. Looking forward to the next in the series
August 29, 2019
4.5 Stars
September 7, 2020
Awesome first book! Can't wait to see what happens to Alistor and the gang.
July 3, 2021
3.75 stars , almost a 4 star book. Great start to a series, sometimes things come a little easy but all in all it was pretty good. I will continue with this series.
January 23, 2021
Way over hyped
I usually do not give reviews below a four and very few of those....I understand this is an authors lively hood. Maybe it shouldn't be for some
.Man I don't know how else to describe it he h He has even accused several authors of misconduct and plagarism. Pot calling kettle black There is a huge rift and major drama between litrpg authors. A lot of that seems to be proliferated by this man and several other authors who have formed a group to support each other. It would be amazing if that support was for a Good reason. It's not those authors and their buddies leave scathing anonymous reveiws and downvotes on supporting comments of those authors. All that reduces advertising and money for those good writers and reach of the books. It's truly sickening. Some of these authors have real talent and is a loss to the emerging popularity of these books. He is very very prolific author, a veritble barrage of books. Generally high ratings.,.i.cam.omly imagine the same way those other writrer are getting bad ones.These books are called LITRPG. I found my self asking WTH several times. Almost as if this man has been been a gamer for long if at all, or maybe just milking the system.and he doesn't care about mediocrity.
This is an example of quantity not quality. But hey quantity has a quality all of its own. Sadly practiced.has not.made perfect.
I usually do not give reviews below a four and very few of those....I understand this is an authors lively hood. Maybe it shouldn't be for some
.Man I don't know how else to describe it he h He has even accused several authors of misconduct and plagarism. Pot calling kettle black There is a huge rift and major drama between litrpg authors. A lot of that seems to be proliferated by this man and several other authors who have formed a group to support each other. It would be amazing if that support was for a Good reason. It's not those authors and their buddies leave scathing anonymous reveiws and downvotes on supporting comments of those authors. All that reduces advertising and money for those good writers and reach of the books. It's truly sickening. Some of these authors have real talent and is a loss to the emerging popularity of these books. He is very very prolific author, a veritble barrage of books. Generally high ratings.,.i.cam.omly imagine the same way those other writrer are getting bad ones.These books are called LITRPG. I found my self asking WTH several times. Almost as if this man has been been a gamer for long if at all, or maybe just milking the system.and he doesn't care about mediocrity.
This is an example of quantity not quality. But hey quantity has a quality all of its own. Sadly practiced.has not.made perfect.
March 25, 2020
Terrible 2nd Half
Status: DNF @ 68%
Strengths
○ 1st Half: Although not particularly great, the first half of this novel had decent characterisation, pacing and introduction of RPG mechanics.
○ Writing: Didn't annoy me so that's a bonus.
Weaknesses
○ 2nd Half: There's a severe tonal shift as the story goes from apocalyptic survival to a childish beat 'em up. It's so jarring I swear it reads like it was written by two different people. We go from a somber story about surviving not only the worst of a new world but also of humanity to one about bear's farting and killing slimes.
○ RPG Mechanics: It's uninteresting.
Conclusions
Although a bit long winded, Mag's review does a good job of conveying my feelings on this book. Could've been a fun read, but the author decided to flush that down the toilet. Don't waste your time.
Status: DNF @ 68%
Strengths
○ 1st Half: Although not particularly great, the first half of this novel had decent characterisation, pacing and introduction of RPG mechanics.
○ Writing: Didn't annoy me so that's a bonus.
Weaknesses
○ 2nd Half: There's a severe tonal shift as the story goes from apocalyptic survival to a childish beat 'em up. It's so jarring I swear it reads like it was written by two different people. We go from a somber story about surviving not only the worst of a new world but also of humanity to one about bear's farting and killing slimes.
○ RPG Mechanics: It's uninteresting.
Conclusions
Although a bit long winded, Mag's review does a good job of conveying my feelings on this book. Could've been a fun read, but the author decided to flush that down the toilet. Don't waste your time.
July 2, 2021
This book was a slog to finish. What started as a interesting premise with bleak atmosphere and tense stakes, became a game stat slogfest. The main character Alastor is a cringey plank of bad jokes, dull gaming knowledge, and attempts to awkwardly flirt with anything with breasts. This book is dull with its video game premise. It's overabundance of base-building, stat distribution, and marketplace jargon fills up 50% of the book. This is the Ready Player One levels of 'gamersplaining'.
The last 1/3 of the book is the worst (fart jokes... really?), to the point it feels like someone else was handed the job of completing it. The climax is uninteresting and all the characters were dull, stupid, and overly dramatic. The few human villains were 'twist-the-moustache' levels of cringe.
This is a book. It exists and that's about it.
The last 1/3 of the book is the worst (fart jokes... really?), to the point it feels like someone else was handed the job of completing it. The climax is uninteresting and all the characters were dull, stupid, and overly dramatic. The few human villains were 'twist-the-moustache' levels of cringe.
This is a book. It exists and that's about it.
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