The car crash was the last thing I remembered… then I woke up here. Where “here” was felt like an impossible nightmare. I died, but this wasn’t what I’d expected to find when they said I’d meet my maker.
The afterlife is just like a video game, except I didn’t start in a noob world like everybody else. I started out on one of the most challenging dungeon worlds meant only for ancient souls who’ve been dead much longer than I have…
Welcome to Epoc.
I don’t have the right stats for this place, not even a little bit. I’m in complete noob gear with the standard human sword and shield. I don’t even have any crafting skills to make a decent breakfast with the high tier ingredients in this place.
Dying in the afterlife is even worse than dying on Earth. Earth, you only die once, but here, you can die over and over again and each one is just as miserable as the last.
There’s only one way I can survive the cycle, one way to stay sane.
I need a power leveler… and fast.
Dungeon Worlds is Book 1 in a new LitRPG / GameLit series “Reborn Online” filled with unique monsters, challenging crafting quests, and skipping the grind with some much needed power leveling in an endgame world that’ll make you look forward to the afterlife! Just… we recommend building up those stats up first.
I love playing just about any sort of RPG Game, but never really read any LitRPG books. I received a review copy for the second book in this series, started listening to the audio book and realized I really needed to start at the beginning of the series. So, I got a copy of the first book in this series and got sucked right into Reborn Online.
This story was so much fun to listen to! Neil is a bit of a dummy....but I'm not sure I would do very well in his situation. Neil dies....but the after life is nothing like he expected. He awakens in a world that's very much like a video game....explore, complete quests, gain loot/experience, die and respawn....over and over and over again. Only problem is that Neil glitches into the world....starting out in a level 99 level when he's at 0 with a base weapon. Not good.
The story progresses with Neil meeting friends and foes, battling monsters and learning how to survive (or learn from his deaths at least). The glitch that spawned him into an advanced level becomes a much bigger problem, bringing Neil to the attention of Game Masters who want to destroy him.
Fun story! Loved it! And I want to know what happens next! Definitely reading more of this series!
The audio book, narrated by Travis Baldree, is just over 7 hours long. Baldree reads at a nice pace and does a great job of voice acting. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Now jumping right into my review copy of book 2!
I got 10% of the way through before I ceased to care. I enjoy fantasy books where the MC accomplishes something. That does not appear to be the case here. The MC shows up, underpowered, in a fantasy setting and proceeds to die and respawn a few times. MC has a mcguffin so a much more powerful character, Zane, finds and kills MC. Mcguffin does not drop on MC's death so, upon respawn, Zane decides to level up MC. Meanwhile, Fiona, who lost the mcguffin, shows up in the fantasy world and . . .
I quit reading because nothing interesting was happening and I did not care about any of the characters or the mcguffin.
As someone that likes RPGs, this storyline was a bit slow to start. It did have quite a few parts that I could easily envision in a gaming session. There were parts that I fully understood and was able to laugh about. The only character I felt that wasn't "fleshed out" was Fiona. She just overall felt lacking.
The narrator did an excellent job of keeping the story flowing and interesting.
The MC is an idiot, and his comic relief is also an idiot. The humor is cringe dad humor you would expect out of a boomer who thinks heck is a bad word and sex is scandalous. Seriously, it feels like it was written by a senior citizen... Unfortunately, it's also about as boring as you would expect from that description.
I found this in the free Audible Plus catalog. I love LitRPG as they generally aren’t 1K pages of blah blah blahhhh it gets right down to the quest, the adventure. A cozy little fantasy narrated by Travis Baldree. Fantastic audio! Loved the premise, the MC and some familiar monsters. A great palate cleanser between chonkers.
It is certainly an interesting premise, but it was not a interesting book. It felt flat and one dimensional and the end felt like it could have happened at practically any point in the story.
This book had so much potential, but the author seems to have failed on to many levels. I have read alot of LitRPG and I think that the author has never played a true D&D game, only video games. I probably won't be reading the next book in this series.
When the main character finds a strange coin on earth, he doesn't realize that it could spell his own doom until he's driving headlong into a semi. He wakes to find himself in a fantasy video game afterlife and the only thing he has on him that he recognizes is that single coin.
And others want the coin as well. They want this coin as it appears to be a powerful "glitch" that's attached itself to him.
Soon he finds himself joining forces with a dark elf named Zane (my favorite) a shadow thief named Sam and his own sword, a pixie with an attitude.
If you enjoy fantasy crossovers, this book is highly entertaining! I have seen others say they feel the d&d tie ins are lacking but I can't honestly speak to that fact as I myself have never played. This also means that I sometimes felt a little lost in video game references but not so lost I couldn't keep up with the story.
Overall this book was entertaining and the narrator was excellent.
- I received a review copy in exchange for my honest feedback.
As a person who wouldn't classify themselves as a gamer, but who has participated in RPG games I really enjoyed Dungeon Worlds! I've never read a LitRPG before, so this may just be me gushing about having read my first one, but I was really impressed with how the author wrote this and was able to engross a reader into the world of the Afterlife.
When Neil found a black coin, he knew it was going to change his life...but he probably didn't expect it to change his life the way it did. When a car crash kills Neil on Earth he finds himself in a whole new world that is like a video game. Rather than start out at the beginning though, Neil finds himself on Epoc a level that a noob like him shouldn't be having dreams of even being on. Now Neil must rely on a spunky pixie, a dark elf (Zane), and a shadow thief (Sam) to help him level up and complete the Dungeon mission that Zane is determined to do.
Interesting premise. The gaming world being the afterlife is something that I have not encountered before. There are interesting mechanics with glitches that keep things spicy. Leveling is kind of a joke. It feels like anyone can get to level 99 without any effort. Though since everyone is overpowered it creates some parity.
The afterlife is really a video game. That is the premise of this book. The main character finds a mysterious coin in a parking lot and after picking it up, he is killed in a car accident. Upon awakening, he finds himself trapped inside a high level "world" of a video game. He is in a "Level 99" world and he is a level 1. He quickly finds out that he is not up to the task of surviving on his own and that there are others in this world that want to take the coin from him.
It is an intriguing premise and the author gets kudos for the ability to get me to suspend my disbelief. The rest of the story is about how the MC progresses through the game and meets and influences other users and "game masters."
I have been reading a fair bit of LitRPG the last couple of years and this is absolutely THAT. As is common in this genre, there are constant recitations of stats and leveling up, etc. This is pretty much expected. It can become tedious after a while.
This is the first book in a series, but it DOES have a beginning and ending. You do not need to read additional books in order to be satisfied by the ending of this one. The author gets kudos for avoiding a non-ending or such a cliffhanger that it prevents the reader from concluding THIS installment. I will probably read the other books in this series.
The MC is a NOOB, in terms of the game world. But he seems largely to be decent and not arrogant or utterly stupid or otherwise totally unlikeable. Other characters in the game are differentiated and are also "fleshed out" and believable.
3 stars as the book occupied a decent amount of my time and Id recommend it.
Audiobook Version
This is my first litRPG. I wanted to test the waters into litRPG as Dungeon Crawler Carl has infested my tic tok feed and it caught my interest. I prefer to read physical books but just couldn't invest the money in a genre I have never tried.
Enter Dungeon worlds. Free, on Spotify (Not an ad). Easy enough for me to see what the litRPG has going for it.
Let me tell you this, it was surprisingly good. whimsical, light and funny at time. I can't say its an expertly written novel. Heck it's a simplistic story that wraps you in a positive feedback loop. The characters are not very fleshed out, the story is basic but if you need a palette cleanser, then I highly suggest it.
The biggest drawback is the ending. The way the book ends makes the whole novel feel like "Chapter 1" with no real progression aside from some minor world building and character introduction. The semantics of the game itself seem overly simplistic but I feel thats by design and, in my opinion, allow for a frictionless read.
My first GameLit read but not my last; wow, this book was so fun! I’d love to see it on the screen, the visuals could be epic.
This is really well designed with alternating POVs, an intriguing world, a bit of corruption and humor. I found myself laughing out loud quite a bit. It’s a bit twisted at times, laughing might make me twisted as well, but I’m fine with this.
It may also strike some as a take on what happens after one dies, and/or ‘a higher entity is pulling the strings’, if one wants to get philosophical about it. Either way, a very fun read; will continue in the series.
4 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Digital: Clearly a lot of work/time/love went into formatting this book and the end result is impressive. It really enhanced the reader experience.
Audiobook: I picked up the audiobook from about one-third in; the narrator sounds great, very pleasant voice and scene-appropriate emotions, and different voices for different characters. A fun listen, 4-star performance.
I am sure that a lot of work and though went into making this book - BUT:
1. The way that the MC is portrayed: he did not seems related to what is going on.... he had no vested interest besides greed (wanted to get famous, acknowledged) 2. The POV shifted spasmodically! for no reason really, just as if just to create an apparent tension (which it failed to achieve, as there was not tension) 3. No tension - we are not really emotionally involved in any of it. It is just a flat video game - what is the actual deal here?.... still no idea.... 4. This is supposed to be gameLit - the MC going up levels (from 0 to 35 in a single kill - power leveling....) but no skills achieved, no spells, no abilities (besides increased HP and level rank!) - really really boring stuff.... if it was a video game, I would simply turn it off/delete it...
so to summarize: I read this when I absolutely and most definitely have NOTHING ELSE to read (which I always HAVE!) Read it, form your opinion...
My first GameLit read but not my last; wow, this book was so fun! I’d love to see it on the screen, the visuals could be epic.
This is really well designed with alternating POVs, an intriguing world, a bit of corruption and humor. I found myself laughing out loud quite a bit. It’s a bit twisted at times, laughing might make me twisted as well, but I’m fine with this.
It may also strike some as a take on what happens after one dies, and/or ‘a higher entity is pulling the strings’, if one wants to get philosophical about it. Either way, a very fun read; will continue in the series.
4 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Digital: Clearly a lot of work/time/love went into formatting this book and the end result is impressive. It really enhanced the reader experience.
Audiobook: I picked up the audiobook from about one-third in; the narrator sounds great, very pleasant voice and scene-appropriate emotions, and different voices for different characters. A fun listen, 4-star performance.
31/2 put of 5 star This story has an interesting concept . Neil gets into a car accident and is transported into the video game . Afterlife is like a video game where you don't win . He and a cast of characters are trying to win their way through the dungeon and maybe a bit of freedom . This book is really confusing and I felt lost through out the book . The characters were good but I felt they could of been just a little bit more complex. The author has written the book like you are actually playing the video game with lots of game jargon . Oh don't get me wrong I did enjoy but I think I found the video game jargon pulled me out of the story . The author has great potential with this story and it is uniqueness and I did enjoy the book . So if you like stories that have lots going on check it out .
A fast-paced LitRPG adventure following Neil, who wakes up in a perilous game-like afterlife. Stranded in a high-level zone, he must level up and forge alliances with Zane, a cunning dark elf, and a feisty pixie companion. As he battles through deadly dungeons, he uncovers secrets about Epoc—and his own fate.
Weiss’s prose is immersive and action-driven, blending humor with natural dialogue and well-integrated game mechanics. While the RPG elements are detailed, they feel organic rather than overwhelming.
I would have liked a little more world-building for EPOC but still all and all a solid read.
To be honest I just couldn't get into this book, I'm not into a LitRPG genre. Waking up from dying in a horrible accident to find himself, not in heaven but in what seems to be a strange and unusual video game. Plus a like a video game characters can die time after time. Maybe my problem was that I went into reading this like it was the movie Tron. Some of the scenes almost made me feel as if I was there. So that was a good thing. I might read it again to see if I can get a different feeling from it.
I needed a new series and while this one didn't hit my interest at first I found some of the characters entertaining and decided to stick with it.
Now there's a band of misfits trying to survive accidentally breaking things. We've got a cold old mentor who is overpowered and remembering how to find novelty; a noob who was once an old man, and an up and comer that behaves like a teen prodigy.
Also the noob may just be unintentionally becoming a Dark Lord.
I am not a gamer by any means, but this story captured my attention. I have read one other book like this, so I gave it a try and I am glad I did. It's a great story. After finding a black coin, Neils life changed a lot. He is in a car crash and wakes up in another realm. It was like living a video game. The only problem is he is just a noob and he is in a place called Epoc. This is not a place he should be. He gains a team of a snarky pixie, a dark elf & a shadow theif. They must all learn to work together so they can level up and win. Their journey is full of danger, courage and luck. The interaction between this band of misgits is hilarious. A very enjoyable read.
This was a short listen on Audible. It was free but it has Travis Baldtree as the reader so I chose it. It was really good, but moreso because of the reader instead of the storyline. The main character is likable, but the other characters seem flat and predictable. I don't like the idea that a gamemaster can kill someone (what happens to them?) and gain their powers. There are so many people abusing and breaking the Code, but no one seems to get in trouble for it.
Short, interesting concept but would have liked to see more in the first book. Also when I went looking for the other books the second one is still available to read but the third one is MIA. It might as well not exist because you can’t buy it anywhere. According to Reddit it’s been unavailable for years so I won’t even be able to finish the series. FYI for anyone who was going to start the second book.
This book is part of an interesting sub genre of game-based dungeon calling. That being said, this book was not one of the better ones. The book bounces around between 3-5 different POVs. Not overly easy to follow and definetely could not get behind over half the characters. The ending saved the book from a completely trash rating, but it still wasn't great. Far better books in this subgenre.
I really enjoyed this book. I finished this one in just 2 days! I am a big gamer more on the MMO PvE side so it really clicked with me.
Niell dies in a car crash on Earth and gets transported into an MMO style "afterlife" on a world called Epoc. He is a complete noob that has to survive in a high level 99 world which he shouldn't have arrived on.