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Ether Collapse #1
Equalize
Gaia has awakened, and the world will never be the same again.
Rockland Barkclay has had a rough year. On top of everything else, his father has just passed, and Rocky has to go it alone on their annual trip. But his plans for drinking alone in Algonquin Park are rudely interrupted by a sea of cosmic energy that governs the universe. Ether, the driving force of creation, has returned. Now a confused Rocky must navigate odd hovering messages to survive.
With the awakening of the very planet they reside on, humans are in a desperate fight to survive in an evolving world. If only Gaia hadn’t woken up so very… very… unhinged.
Rockland Barkclay has had a rough year. On top of everything else, his father has just passed, and Rocky has to go it alone on their annual trip. But his plans for drinking alone in Algonquin Park are rudely interrupted by a sea of cosmic energy that governs the universe. Ether, the driving force of creation, has returned. Now a confused Rocky must navigate odd hovering messages to survive.
With the awakening of the very planet they reside on, humans are in a desperate fight to survive in an evolving world. If only Gaia hadn’t woken up so very… very… unhinged.
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About the author
Ryan DeBruyn
14 books230 followersRyan DeBruyn - Author of the Amazon best-selling series Ether Collapse, Ether Flows, and System Misinterpret.
Ryan is a relatively new author but has already reached the best-seller status in multiple categories. Find out why and start your adventure below!
Ryan is a relatively new author but has already reached the best-seller status in multiple categories. Find out why and start your adventure below!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 216 reviews
February 25, 2019
Could be 5 stars
I would have given it 5 stars except for the fake cussing. I don't know if it was meant to be funny or witty or just annoying. It definitely is annoying and distracting when reading. Pull that grunt ham sandwich the snock out of the book and I will put it at 5 stars. See, annoying!
I would have given it 5 stars except for the fake cussing. I don't know if it was meant to be funny or witty or just annoying. It definitely is annoying and distracting when reading. Pull that grunt ham sandwich the snock out of the book and I will put it at 5 stars. See, annoying!
September 22, 2019
Ok, just to get this out of my system: fake cussing needs to be made a criminal offense. Reading it is bad enough, but actually hearing it in an audiobook? Nobody should be made to endure that. Nobody.
That's one star down just for that shit.
Now to the story.
A lot of thinking went into the world and the ether system, which I found one of the most compelling attempt at rationalising magic so far. Note "attempt", because, it never goes that extra-mile to reach actually believability. It's a nice premise, that works hard at consistency, even though it repeatedly falls prey to overused and totally unnecessary clichés .
There's just too many people on this earth that play, have played, or know about RPG to justify the few "elites" that float up. I don't buy the "having to explain to others how the new world works" thing. Not in "this" timeline, at least, you don't.
The MC was all kinds of bland and uninspiring, to sometimes pitifully comical. The fake cussing sure didn't help. I know sarcasm is cool, but why do most LitRPG books believe that their MCs just must spout snarky lines every 5 minutes? It's annoying, it makes them sound like petulant kids.
And by Gawd, is he an emo piece of work! Lord! Self-absorbed, self-congratulating, conceited, saviour-complex, mood swings all over. Whenever he would start introspecting, my teeth would start grinding. It was freaking unbearable.
I get what Sela was "intended" to be: a badass general from the distant, distant past, come to advise, or kick if need be, our newly minted "hero" into his paces. I just never believed it. She was fake, through and through. There was never enough of a cultural divide between them for me to buy it. Her behaviour as a warrior was erratic. Between the hardened warrior and the emo teenager; never settled. Her behaviour as a woman was so tainted with modern concerns that she might have been born in the eigthies. . Her knowledge, even though thousands of years out of date, is expected to be taken at face value, as if the universe had remained frozen in her timeline, or Gaia kinda had popped out of the time loop for a bit, and had just been reinserted.
And her POV were just a crutch to have "someone" do what the MC wouldn't.
Yeah, totally unbelievable.
Adult interactions sounded stiff, rehearsed, staged to the extreme. And that bothered me a lot because it kept pulling me out of the story.
It's not a bad book, really. It's got a lot going for it, and if I come across the follow-up tome, I might just dive in again, hoping for the kinks to have been ironed out.
But somehow, I doubt it.
2/5
That's one star down just for that shit.
Now to the story.
A lot of thinking went into the world and the ether system, which I found one of the most compelling attempt at rationalising magic so far. Note "attempt", because, it never goes that extra-mile to reach actually believability. It's a nice premise, that works hard at consistency, even though it repeatedly falls prey to overused and totally unnecessary clichés .
There's just too many people on this earth that play, have played, or know about RPG to justify the few "elites" that float up. I don't buy the "having to explain to others how the new world works" thing. Not in "this" timeline, at least, you don't.
The MC was all kinds of bland and uninspiring, to sometimes pitifully comical. The fake cussing sure didn't help. I know sarcasm is cool, but why do most LitRPG books believe that their MCs just must spout snarky lines every 5 minutes? It's annoying, it makes them sound like petulant kids.
And by Gawd, is he an emo piece of work! Lord! Self-absorbed, self-congratulating, conceited, saviour-complex, mood swings all over. Whenever he would start introspecting, my teeth would start grinding. It was freaking unbearable.
I get what Sela was "intended" to be: a badass general from the distant, distant past, come to advise, or kick if need be, our newly minted "hero" into his paces. I just never believed it. She was fake, through and through. There was never enough of a cultural divide between them for me to buy it. Her behaviour as a warrior was erratic. Between the hardened warrior and the emo teenager; never settled. Her behaviour as a woman was so tainted with modern concerns that she might have been born in the eigthies. . Her knowledge, even though thousands of years out of date, is expected to be taken at face value, as if the universe had remained frozen in her timeline, or Gaia kinda had popped out of the time loop for a bit, and had just been reinserted.
And her POV were just a crutch to have "someone" do what the MC wouldn't.
Yeah, totally unbelievable.
Adult interactions sounded stiff, rehearsed, staged to the extreme. And that bothered me a lot because it kept pulling me out of the story.
It's not a bad book, really. It's got a lot going for it, and if I come across the follow-up tome, I might just dive in again, hoping for the kinks to have been ironed out.
But somehow, I doubt it.
2/5
September 29, 2019
Rating 2.5 stars
I liked the general idea of this book. This is a litrpg book that tried to be a little different. Instead of being transported to another world or going inside virtual reality the author made the backdrop modern day earth.... sort of. Gaia wakes up and notices that part of her essence has been stolen (oil). She decides to do something to get her energy back. She unleashes a substance called ether that will create monster and change life on the planet. This new life will then be reabsorbed by Gaia and bring her more energy. (Okay that is a very limited synopsis).
The main fault with this book (in which there are many) is that it tried to be too much. Almost every litrpg book has its own identity or thing the author focuses on. That can either be the magic system, the setup, the characters, grinding out levels, and world building. There are also many things that the author can focus on within the story including: having dungeons, building a settlement, having hunting parties, using weapons or magic, etc. This author decided to do everything and never focused on anything specific. So if your favorite part of a litrpg book is the dungeon, then you are in luck because this story has one. However, that part of the story only took up about 8 minutes of listening which sort of begs the question: What was the point of having it in the story? The story starts out with the main character Rockland (Rocky) out in Algonquin Park mourning the loss of his father. That is when the world changed and his cabin tries to kill him. Somehow he wins and finds out that he now has a character screen and has stat points to allocate. This is where the setup kind of falls apart. If he was trapped in a virtual world or sent to a different dimension, I can see why he might have a character screen. Why is there one with Gaia? Again, the author threw in a lot of ideas into this book and hoped something would stick. Along with Gaia, which is mainly from Greek mythology, the author also used other well known ideas but didn't really explain them. The author also used the idea of Atlantis, Azrael, and even mentioned El dorado.
To emphasize the idea the author tried to do too much: The main character initially just wanted to survive, then he wanted to find his family, then he wanted to level up, then he wanted to save a city, then to try and save the world from a group of Aliens. Yep, all that happened. Along the way he comes across a pet Chimera, conquers a territory (by accident), saves some people and offers them safety in his territory, then immediately leaves his territory without any buildup at all. What is the point of giving someone a territory if they aren't going to try and build it up?
Another typical litrpg component it to have a guide. In this story that comes in the form of Sela, one of Rocky's ancestors. She is a complete bitch right from the start. She is supposed to help Rocky but all she does is put him down for how stupid he acts. She hardly ever gives him any information or advice but gets pissed off when he doesn't know anything.
While I was reading I started to make a list of the things that didn't make much sense or at the very least could have been much better. It became a game to me for how many more things I could find. This will be kind of random so I will put them in spoiler alerts
Despite every problem I noted above, I didn't hate this book. If I broke down this book into components I would say each one is subpar, but none of them were terrible. It was 15 hours on audiobook and I finished it so it wasn't that bad. I was just hoping for so much more. I kept waiting for something unique that would save this story for me so I could continue. Sadly, that didn't happen.
I liked the general idea of this book. This is a litrpg book that tried to be a little different. Instead of being transported to another world or going inside virtual reality the author made the backdrop modern day earth.... sort of. Gaia wakes up and notices that part of her essence has been stolen (oil). She decides to do something to get her energy back. She unleashes a substance called ether that will create monster and change life on the planet. This new life will then be reabsorbed by Gaia and bring her more energy. (Okay that is a very limited synopsis).
The main fault with this book (in which there are many) is that it tried to be too much. Almost every litrpg book has its own identity or thing the author focuses on. That can either be the magic system, the setup, the characters, grinding out levels, and world building. There are also many things that the author can focus on within the story including: having dungeons, building a settlement, having hunting parties, using weapons or magic, etc. This author decided to do everything and never focused on anything specific. So if your favorite part of a litrpg book is the dungeon, then you are in luck because this story has one. However, that part of the story only took up about 8 minutes of listening which sort of begs the question: What was the point of having it in the story? The story starts out with the main character Rockland (Rocky) out in Algonquin Park mourning the loss of his father. That is when the world changed and his cabin tries to kill him. Somehow he wins and finds out that he now has a character screen and has stat points to allocate. This is where the setup kind of falls apart. If he was trapped in a virtual world or sent to a different dimension, I can see why he might have a character screen. Why is there one with Gaia? Again, the author threw in a lot of ideas into this book and hoped something would stick. Along with Gaia, which is mainly from Greek mythology, the author also used other well known ideas but didn't really explain them. The author also used the idea of Atlantis, Azrael, and even mentioned El dorado.
To emphasize the idea the author tried to do too much: The main character initially just wanted to survive, then he wanted to find his family, then he wanted to level up, then he wanted to save a city, then to try and save the world from a group of Aliens. Yep, all that happened. Along the way he comes across a pet Chimera, conquers a territory (by accident), saves some people and offers them safety in his territory, then immediately leaves his territory without any buildup at all. What is the point of giving someone a territory if they aren't going to try and build it up?
Another typical litrpg component it to have a guide. In this story that comes in the form of Sela, one of Rocky's ancestors. She is a complete bitch right from the start. She is supposed to help Rocky but all she does is put him down for how stupid he acts. She hardly ever gives him any information or advice but gets pissed off when he doesn't know anything.
While I was reading I started to make a list of the things that didn't make much sense or at the very least could have been much better. It became a game to me for how many more things I could find. This will be kind of random so I will put them in spoiler alerts
Despite every problem I noted above, I didn't hate this book. If I broke down this book into components I would say each one is subpar, but none of them were terrible. It was 15 hours on audiobook and I finished it so it wasn't that bad. I was just hoping for so much more. I kept waiting for something unique that would save this story for me so I could continue. Sadly, that didn't happen.
March 3, 2023
This is just poorly written. Example, Rocky sees his cabin transforming into a monster. He's all "fight or flight just kicked in" and then just stares at it, frozen. You know, the exact opposite of fight or flight. I try to give books their premise. But the action is so disjointed and the character all over the place and that gave me lots of being-thrown-out-of-the-book time to think about how ridiculous it is that an ancient Gaia would awaken and give everybody character screens. Or that she'd send out Ether to awaken monsters and dungeons with the plan to harvest it back.
Anyway, I couldn't take it seriously and when the companion thing came along and was so abrasive I just stopped caring. One star, though at least I stopped before investing too much time into it.
Anyway, I couldn't take it seriously and when the companion thing came along and was so abrasive I just stopped caring. One star, though at least I stopped before investing too much time into it.
February 20, 2019
Good read
I really enjoyed the story in this book and am looking forward to further books, one thing that really bugged me about the writing is the take that the author has taken about swearing, instead of not using swear words all together the author has replaced where swearing would be. Instead of saying “this fucking thing” the author will say “this lollipopping thing” or something equally as nonsensical or useless. On the next book, either use swear words as you are trying to use or don’t use them, but definitely don’t use substitute words for swearing because it really takes you out of the immersion of the book. Either way, good story, good characters and I would recommend it, but would definitely encourage the author to edit the book and improve on the pretend swearing.
I really enjoyed the story in this book and am looking forward to further books, one thing that really bugged me about the writing is the take that the author has taken about swearing, instead of not using swear words all together the author has replaced where swearing would be. Instead of saying “this fucking thing” the author will say “this lollipopping thing” or something equally as nonsensical or useless. On the next book, either use swear words as you are trying to use or don’t use them, but definitely don’t use substitute words for swearing because it really takes you out of the immersion of the book. Either way, good story, good characters and I would recommend it, but would definitely encourage the author to edit the book and improve on the pretend swearing.
February 24, 2019
Great post apocalyptic story
Super interesting premise and great characters. I'm really psyched about this series.
Great job to the author and Mountaindale Press for putting up such quality content
Super interesting premise and great characters. I'm really psyched about this series.
Great job to the author and Mountaindale Press for putting up such quality content
July 10, 2019
It was good until it was OK and then it was ruined. DNF the last 10min of audiobook because it was just epilogue building tension for book 2 which I don't plan on reading.
The good: I liked the plot of a group of people surviving the end of the world and rebuilding civilization in a world with magic and alien tech. The game system was mostly fun and had a lot of potential. Audiobook narrator did a good job.
The bad: Character development kind of falters after a while. Sometimes the story is just stupid and illogical and the romance is forced and childish. There are plenty of named men in the book, but only one woman (I don't count the medic that shows up in a scene or two or the prologue with Gaia). Granted she's quite a good character until she gets downgraded to MC love-interest and stops being anything else.
The rant:
The good: I liked the plot of a group of people surviving the end of the world and rebuilding civilization in a world with magic and alien tech. The game system was mostly fun and had a lot of potential. Audiobook narrator did a good job.
The bad: Character development kind of falters after a while. Sometimes the story is just stupid and illogical and the romance is forced and childish. There are plenty of named men in the book, but only one woman (I don't count the medic that shows up in a scene or two or the prologue with Gaia). Granted she's quite a good character until she gets downgraded to MC love-interest and stops being anything else.
The rant:
May 14, 2019
So just throwing it out there that I didn't actually finish this book (It's long at 500 pages) but I feel like I've read as much as I'm going to and so this is my impression on the book from what I've read.
I'd consider this a 2.6 that i rounded up to 3. It's a very functional book, it does nothing glaringly wrong. The MC is inoffensive enough to sit with for a long journey, the world building is thorough. It's clearly written and the author uses descriptive vocabulary appropriately. The exposition, action scenes and setting is all written to the same standard though I did find the character dialogue quite bland which is a smaller part of my main problem with this book.
I just wasn't invested in the book. The MC isn't annoying but he's very flat and I found it extremely hard to relate to him or care about his exploits in this game. I know this is a LitRPG so there is an expecation to feel like you are sort of following a player in a video game, but this does not make for an enjoyable read in itself. Video games have the automatic effect of making you invested in the character you are playing as because it's interactive media, and it's your avatar. This book fails at making me feel connected to whats happening in this fairly interesting world.
Overall though it's a very polished bit of work and a decent effort for a first book. Looking forward to seeing development in future releases as there is obviously potential here.
I'd consider this a 2.6 that i rounded up to 3. It's a very functional book, it does nothing glaringly wrong. The MC is inoffensive enough to sit with for a long journey, the world building is thorough. It's clearly written and the author uses descriptive vocabulary appropriately. The exposition, action scenes and setting is all written to the same standard though I did find the character dialogue quite bland which is a smaller part of my main problem with this book.
I just wasn't invested in the book. The MC isn't annoying but he's very flat and I found it extremely hard to relate to him or care about his exploits in this game. I know this is a LitRPG so there is an expecation to feel like you are sort of following a player in a video game, but this does not make for an enjoyable read in itself. Video games have the automatic effect of making you invested in the character you are playing as because it's interactive media, and it's your avatar. This book fails at making me feel connected to whats happening in this fairly interesting world.
Overall though it's a very polished bit of work and a decent effort for a first book. Looking forward to seeing development in future releases as there is obviously potential here.
May 8, 2019
A interesting book.
I thought that the author does a good job in making the book interesting and fun to read. The MC was good and made me think that he was interesting.
I thought that the author does a good job in making the book interesting and fun to read. The MC was good and made me think that he was interesting.
May 29, 2022
4 The One You Get Placed In Before That Comfortably Padded Room Stars
Equalize is the first book in the Ether Collapse series by Ryan DeBruyn.
Holy cow pies! I am adopting our Mc's hilarious and endearing quality of cursing without actual profanity. It's like an attempt for streamers who don't want to lose out on a significant portion of their player base by being classified in a mature rating. It's been entertaining to see what vernacular the author comprises in each further instance.
This Apocalypse scenario is intriguing. I have seen similar premises attempted, and can honestly say this is my favorite by far. Many of these technically similar books missed the mark spectacularly. I liked that the author incorporated humanities disregard for the planet and the devastating consequences in this rendition. As well, attributing Gaia is some semblance of sentience is an added plus, for me, in favor of this work.
I'm curios what will become of the Earth. It is obvious in the ending of this first installment that the eventuality of Earth being invaded by conquering species is not only inevitable but assured. That there are more than one already chomping at the bit to possess they designate as a new and untapped resource is equally troubling.
Rockland and Co. have such a task before them to simply establish their home in Algonquin. Then there's the obvious obstacle of facing other factions grouping of Earth with other nefarious purposes, and that some of these buffoons will match Corsair is ignorance, will likely lead to furthering their downfall. The loss of life in this book alone is staggering.
That Rocky has yet to ascertain the location of his relations, and whether they yet live is another factor in considering the future turbulence for this growing base of survivors.
Equalize is the first book in the Ether Collapse series by Ryan DeBruyn.
Holy cow pies! I am adopting our Mc's hilarious and endearing quality of cursing without actual profanity. It's like an attempt for streamers who don't want to lose out on a significant portion of their player base by being classified in a mature rating. It's been entertaining to see what vernacular the author comprises in each further instance.
This Apocalypse scenario is intriguing. I have seen similar premises attempted, and can honestly say this is my favorite by far. Many of these technically similar books missed the mark spectacularly. I liked that the author incorporated humanities disregard for the planet and the devastating consequences in this rendition. As well, attributing Gaia is some semblance of sentience is an added plus, for me, in favor of this work.
I'm curios what will become of the Earth. It is obvious in the ending of this first installment that the eventuality of Earth being invaded by conquering species is not only inevitable but assured. That there are more than one already chomping at the bit to possess they designate as a new and untapped resource is equally troubling.
Rockland and Co. have such a task before them to simply establish their home in Algonquin. Then there's the obvious obstacle of facing other factions grouping of Earth with other nefarious purposes, and that some of these buffoons will match Corsair is ignorance, will likely lead to furthering their downfall. The loss of life in this book alone is staggering.
That Rocky has yet to ascertain the location of his relations, and whether they yet live is another factor in considering the future turbulence for this growing base of survivors.
October 27, 2021
This series looks promising... 🤞🏽
April 1, 2021
An excellent addition to the LitRPG sub-genre. Ryan is a legend for this.
May 14, 2019
Exposition Overload
Elements of Equalize intrigued me, but the amount of exposition was too much. In the end, it kept me from enjoying the universe that was being built. It felt more like I was attending a class than naturally discovering new elements.
Thinking about it, a compounding problem is that most of the characters (often including the MC) felt flat. As a concrete example: at one point, a trio of children join the story in a pivotal role. At no point were they fleshed out, and I could never remember which one was which. Yet we are told the MC felt as though they were family. It didn’t feel earned.
Sela, the second major character of the story, has hints of an interesting background but we never delve into it. She is generally only used as an expository device. That, to me, is not fun reading. It would have been more exciting to have the MC discover magic and begin to experiment and experience this new facet of his reality.
Lastly, the ending was exciting but ultimately a letdown. As these books tend to do: we end in a boss fight. This fight didn’t have any overcoming of odds or indulgent culmination. It just kinda... sputtered out. The epilogue adds to the issue by zipping to several new perspectives and engaging in yet more exposition. It left a bad aftertaste.
There’s something here. You don’t often encounter Gaia and the idea of sapient worlds. Unfortunately the exposition, flat characters, and anticlimactic ending marred my experience.
Elements of Equalize intrigued me, but the amount of exposition was too much. In the end, it kept me from enjoying the universe that was being built. It felt more like I was attending a class than naturally discovering new elements.
Thinking about it, a compounding problem is that most of the characters (often including the MC) felt flat. As a concrete example: at one point, a trio of children join the story in a pivotal role. At no point were they fleshed out, and I could never remember which one was which. Yet we are told the MC felt as though they were family. It didn’t feel earned.
Sela, the second major character of the story, has hints of an interesting background but we never delve into it. She is generally only used as an expository device. That, to me, is not fun reading. It would have been more exciting to have the MC discover magic and begin to experiment and experience this new facet of his reality.
Lastly, the ending was exciting but ultimately a letdown. As these books tend to do: we end in a boss fight. This fight didn’t have any overcoming of odds or indulgent culmination. It just kinda... sputtered out. The epilogue adds to the issue by zipping to several new perspectives and engaging in yet more exposition. It left a bad aftertaste.
There’s something here. You don’t often encounter Gaia and the idea of sapient worlds. Unfortunately the exposition, flat characters, and anticlimactic ending marred my experience.
February 25, 2019
Good book but..
I would like to start by saying I really enjoyed this book I had a really tough time putting it down, however this is a pretty clear rip off of the system apocalypse series by tao wong which is also available through kindle unlimited. While this book does differ in how it handles certain scenarios without giving too much away spoiler wise you can tell that this author took much of the foundation from the aforementioned series. My biggest issue with this however is there is in no way any credit given to Mr. Wong
I would like to start by saying I really enjoyed this book I had a really tough time putting it down, however this is a pretty clear rip off of the system apocalypse series by tao wong which is also available through kindle unlimited. While this book does differ in how it handles certain scenarios without giving too much away spoiler wise you can tell that this author took much of the foundation from the aforementioned series. My biggest issue with this however is there is in no way any credit given to Mr. Wong
March 17, 2019
I tend to like LitRPG books that use the earth as a backdrop, and this book is no exception. If you're an LitRPG fan, you're very likely to enjoy this one as well. Great fun here, and long enough to keep you occupied for hours of enjoyable reading.
February 23, 2019
A frustrating disappointment.
What I liked about this book is the premise for the Litrpg mechanics existing, the mechanics themselves seem fun and that there exists aliens from other world's within easy reach. Thats it. Mc is weak in multiple ways, like decision making, processing information in a timely manner, remembering basic shit and jokes that are weak as hell and are made at inopportune times. The dialogue and interactions between the Mc and the "guide" are just wack. Yes wack. Next issue is the horrible fight scenarios. They just always seem to be the same and the MC always seemed to win by luck because he wants to jump at every enemy and then roll to get away. I just started skipping fights and continued when he got experience after a while. The last thing I'll hit on is the stat boxes just didn't seem to work and the layout was just hard to read so I quit even caring about it since it just hurt my brain to try to read anything dealing with upgrades. There's a good concept for a story here and I hope that the author really fixes all the issues I've brought up in the next book, at least to some degree. I'm definitely going to be reading reviews next time though before I start the next one, because this book being at 4 and half stars is just nonsense. 5/10 only redeeming quality character is the Manticore.
What I liked about this book is the premise for the Litrpg mechanics existing, the mechanics themselves seem fun and that there exists aliens from other world's within easy reach. Thats it. Mc is weak in multiple ways, like decision making, processing information in a timely manner, remembering basic shit and jokes that are weak as hell and are made at inopportune times. The dialogue and interactions between the Mc and the "guide" are just wack. Yes wack. Next issue is the horrible fight scenarios. They just always seem to be the same and the MC always seemed to win by luck because he wants to jump at every enemy and then roll to get away. I just started skipping fights and continued when he got experience after a while. The last thing I'll hit on is the stat boxes just didn't seem to work and the layout was just hard to read so I quit even caring about it since it just hurt my brain to try to read anything dealing with upgrades. There's a good concept for a story here and I hope that the author really fixes all the issues I've brought up in the next book, at least to some degree. I'm definitely going to be reading reviews next time though before I start the next one, because this book being at 4 and half stars is just nonsense. 5/10 only redeeming quality character is the Manticore.
March 8, 2019
Ancient god wakes up, and she isn’t happy
You are out on a soul-searching trip after the death of your father when the entire world changes underneath you. Only luck and some basic athleticism saves your hide. And then you discover you are embedded in a familiar-yet-strange world like an RPG. And you are one of the people who have figured this out and can lead the world to a new place. There are monsters and then there are monstrous people.
I have been loving the whole genre of LitTPG books. The better books, like this one, have me with he book in hand ever spare moment. And even some late night reading sessions.
You are out on a soul-searching trip after the death of your father when the entire world changes underneath you. Only luck and some basic athleticism saves your hide. And then you discover you are embedded in a familiar-yet-strange world like an RPG. And you are one of the people who have figured this out and can lead the world to a new place. There are monsters and then there are monstrous people.
I have been loving the whole genre of LitTPG books. The better books, like this one, have me with he book in hand ever spare moment. And even some late night reading sessions.
February 20, 2019
Book one
Mistakes: I only found one. I did think the MC's stat tables where shone a little to often in the first half of the book.
Overall very well written though.
Plot: The planet wakes up. She doesn't like what she finds has been done to her body by those silly hairless apes infesting her surface. Big changes occur across the planet.
Characters: I like the MC and his companions.
8/10 this story hooked me so hard, I read the entire book in one sitting.
Mistakes: I only found one. I did think the MC's stat tables where shone a little to often in the first half of the book.
Overall very well written though.
Plot: The planet wakes up. She doesn't like what she finds has been done to her body by those silly hairless apes infesting her surface. Big changes occur across the planet.
Characters: I like the MC and his companions.
8/10 this story hooked me so hard, I read the entire book in one sitting.
March 18, 2019
I could not get past the irritating things the MC says....
Get the truck out of Dodge. Ballerinas stubbed toes. Fudge nuggets! MC is 31 years old yet this makes him sound like Andy Griffin’s retarded brother. The story might as well be placed in Mayberry. Less than 10 pages in and I am already removing it from my Kindle.
Get the truck out of Dodge. Ballerinas stubbed toes. Fudge nuggets! MC is 31 years old yet this makes him sound like Andy Griffin’s retarded brother. The story might as well be placed in Mayberry. Less than 10 pages in and I am already removing it from my Kindle.
March 9, 2019
4.5 stars
Basically I love LitRPG.
But this is an another level, the idea of the new world is just wonderful. The ether & Gaia concept is so cool
The 0.5 less stars because, in the beginning it was little harder to get into and also sometimes have unnecessary paragraphs.
Basically I love LitRPG.
But this is an another level, the idea of the new world is just wonderful. The ether & Gaia concept is so cool
The 0.5 less stars because, in the beginning it was little harder to get into and also sometimes have unnecessary paragraphs.
May 12, 2019
12.5.2019 - 3,5*
Really liked the concept, working of the world. The origin of rpg-like system, Gaia. It’s brilliant. For the rest - it was ok.
Really liked the concept, working of the world. The origin of rpg-like system, Gaia. It’s brilliant. For the rest - it was ok.
July 5, 2019
Really really enjoyed it, I can't wait for the second audiobook to come out.
August 25, 2021
It was similar to other books I have read, but I liked that there was the use of modern landscape with magic.
March 5, 2019
Well I liked it.
The basis idea of the planet awakening was really nice and gives lots of possibilities to look forward to.
The hero is overall a nice guy but there are some parts of him which aren't easy to grasp or come off as a bit weird.
The combination of athlete and roleplayer was interesting, the class choice and the mechanics quite well-explained.
Some stuff felt weird, namely, that you sometimes had the feeling that the etherience numbers didn't add up...
The ancestor /mentor was nicely done (albeit I saw the great perk coming. :)) but the sexual tension was a bit overdone, Sela and Rocky are old enough to know what they want and to understand that life can be short...
I liked the epilogue as it hinted at interesting axis of development in the near-future. Nonetheless, I found the thingie with the stored texts a bit cheap on 2 counts (not wanting to be too spoilerish but: even with a phone shut down, 17 days life on a battery is very optimistic. Also, even though I understand the rationale for the late revelation... it feels weird that the hero didn't remember this before, apocalypse or no apocalypse...)
Last thing: nice to have Azoth's parent named as Skandranon, but is it ok to use a name made famous in Mercedes Lackey's Mage Wars trilogy?
All in all, I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next in the series and to further development in the relationship between Rocky and Sela.
The basis idea of the planet awakening was really nice and gives lots of possibilities to look forward to.
The hero is overall a nice guy but there are some parts of him which aren't easy to grasp or come off as a bit weird.
The combination of athlete and roleplayer was interesting, the class choice and the mechanics quite well-explained.
Some stuff felt weird, namely, that you sometimes had the feeling that the etherience numbers didn't add up...
The ancestor /mentor was nicely done (albeit I saw the great perk coming. :)) but the sexual tension was a bit overdone, Sela and Rocky are old enough to know what they want and to understand that life can be short...
I liked the epilogue as it hinted at interesting axis of development in the near-future. Nonetheless, I found the thingie with the stored texts a bit cheap on 2 counts (not wanting to be too spoilerish but: even with a phone shut down, 17 days life on a battery is very optimistic. Also, even though I understand the rationale for the late revelation... it feels weird that the hero didn't remember this before, apocalypse or no apocalypse...)
Last thing: nice to have Azoth's parent named as Skandranon, but is it ok to use a name made famous in Mercedes Lackey's Mage Wars trilogy?
All in all, I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next in the series and to further development in the relationship between Rocky and Sela.
February 25, 2019
Very impressive
I had a good feeling about this book and it paid off. This new author could really make an impression and set up the story for future books that im excited for. The novel does follow some similar trends to Tao Wongs, System Apocalypse series, namely the leveling system implemented. Fortunately, it has plenty of unique characters and development that is its own book that should diverge even more with future novels. Keep up the good work and ill be following this author. And continue following Mountaindale Press for the amazing authors they sign on
I had a good feeling about this book and it paid off. This new author could really make an impression and set up the story for future books that im excited for. The novel does follow some similar trends to Tao Wongs, System Apocalypse series, namely the leveling system implemented. Fortunately, it has plenty of unique characters and development that is its own book that should diverge even more with future novels. Keep up the good work and ill be following this author. And continue following Mountaindale Press for the amazing authors they sign on
February 18, 2019
Good story
I really liked the premise and most of the story as a whole but the bumbling MC that has a lot of experience as a gamer but almost needs someone to hold his hand and the moral quandaries he goes through about killing everything but especially bad guys and finally the G rated expletives, I mean come on its just after the apocalypse and he doesn't even know if his family is alive or not, I think he could let loose a little bit. All that said I still liked the book and will read the next in the series
I really liked the premise and most of the story as a whole but the bumbling MC that has a lot of experience as a gamer but almost needs someone to hold his hand and the moral quandaries he goes through about killing everything but especially bad guys and finally the G rated expletives, I mean come on its just after the apocalypse and he doesn't even know if his family is alive or not, I think he could let loose a little bit. All that said I still liked the book and will read the next in the series
February 21, 2019
Great read. Really enjoyed it.
Farley Mowat is a great Canadian writer who writes about the Canadian north and has a beard.
Ryan DeBruyn is a good Canadian writer who writes about the Canadian north and has a beard.
Hmmm.
(Yes, I know. There are many differences including the fact that Farley Mowat sold seven million books and has passed away and Ryan hasn't. But it is fun this is fantasy and anything is possible.)
Farley Mowat is a great Canadian writer who writes about the Canadian north and has a beard.
Ryan DeBruyn is a good Canadian writer who writes about the Canadian north and has a beard.
Hmmm.
(Yes, I know. There are many differences including the fact that Farley Mowat sold seven million books and has passed away and Ryan hasn't. But it is fun this is fantasy and anything is possible.)
February 28, 2019
Apocalyptic struggles
Obvious compare to system apocalypse aside I'm really enjoyed this book. The weird swearing needs to go.. Just curse. No one will complain.. Ya know the world as known just ended. Some of the emotional scenes seemed a little forced and overly dramatic but did add to the story. Leveling system seems well structured and I like the ability to learn skill and progress by use and training. Setting up for more excitement to come make me eager for the next book.. Enjoy
Obvious compare to system apocalypse aside I'm really enjoyed this book. The weird swearing needs to go.. Just curse. No one will complain.. Ya know the world as known just ended. Some of the emotional scenes seemed a little forced and overly dramatic but did add to the story. Leveling system seems well structured and I like the ability to learn skill and progress by use and training. Setting up for more excitement to come make me eager for the next book.. Enjoy
March 4, 2019
Excellent new series
Perfect blend of real world with rpg elements. Well developed characters and no OP main characters. There’s a very believable growth to Rockland who fully realizes his own mortality and treads carefully as he learns and grows. You won’t regret giving this book a try if you’re a fan of those elements, I couldn’t put this down until finished and I only every write a review for the books that truly captivate me. Added to my list and can’t wait for the sequel!
Perfect blend of real world with rpg elements. Well developed characters and no OP main characters. There’s a very believable growth to Rockland who fully realizes his own mortality and treads carefully as he learns and grows. You won’t regret giving this book a try if you’re a fan of those elements, I couldn’t put this down until finished and I only every write a review for the books that truly captivate me. Added to my list and can’t wait for the sequel!
March 10, 2019
Decent at first
Started off pretty good. Story was fun and new. I liked the world building and mechanics. Toward the end the author seemed to have gotten into a big hurry. A LOT of stuff stopped making sense. I had to put it down a couple of times when I threw up my hands in a WTF. Even with that I'm not sorry I read it. It was entertaining. But I'd suggest to the writer to have a critical thinker edit it. Close some holes and mend some WTF moments.
Started off pretty good. Story was fun and new. I liked the world building and mechanics. Toward the end the author seemed to have gotten into a big hurry. A LOT of stuff stopped making sense. I had to put it down a couple of times when I threw up my hands in a WTF. Even with that I'm not sorry I read it. It was entertaining. But I'd suggest to the writer to have a critical thinker edit it. Close some holes and mend some WTF moments.
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