When I climbed out to the surface this morning, to scavenge some food for my village, I knew the odds were severely stacked against me. A mere nurse, I had no business going out into the sun where all kinds of monstrosities roamed. But what other choice did I have? All our scouts had already perished on previous surface runs, leaving us few other options. It was either take the gamble or let my people die of hunger.
As if to prove my fears right, I was only out in the open for a few minutes when a pack of Kinru spotted me. Standing absolutely no chance, I started to run for my life but was quickly cornered by one of the fearsome beasts.
In a last desperate attempt to defend myself, I managed to hurt one in the face…right before the creature was snatched by an even bigger monster that turned it into a snack. Then everything became a blur.
When I came to, I wasn’t the same anymore. As it turns out, wounding the Kinru had earned me some mystical energy called “Bloodpoints” which gave me access to the “Hunter’s Sight.” Now, wherever I look, I have strange words floating before my eyes urging me to assign those Bloodpoints to gain incredible skills and abilities. Moreover, if I manage to kill a monster in the future, it would seem that I could use its bones to craft powerful talismans and its organs to brew magical potions.
As I’ll learn, there’s a name for people like me who’ve unlocked the Hunter’s Sight: Venators. But if those new talents give me a chance to survive on the surface, I still am very much a green and weak Venator. I will need to keep hunting monsters if I want to increase my points and provide for my people. Who knows, someday, I might even grow strong enough to reclaim the surface from those foul beasts and the worst of them all: the Titans, the dreaded giants which drove humanity underground in the first place…
Started out really good and then ended up just okay. This is a dystopian world where the human race in on the verge of extinction. The story follows a young woman as she braves the topside world to scavenge food for her home. She lives in a small village in a cave. All of her towns hunters and scavengers that have gone above ground have either died or not come back. The town is starving. She decides it is her duty to try to help her village. Thousands of years ago monsters came to the world and the human race went underground to hide. While she is above ground she is attacked by a monster and is about to die, but she is able to wound the creature before something else kills it. By wounding the creature she receives blood points and her body is changed. She now has access to something she didn't know existed. She has magic, a leveling system and is able to choose a class. With the help of a mysterious creature, she is able to survive and level up. She goes back to her village with meat to help them survive and tell them the good news when she gets a big shock Overall this was just okay. The story idea was more original than most and having the MC be female was also a nice touch. The leveling system was underwhelming for me. Overall it wasn't bad. I wish there was more interactions between the characters, the majority of the story the MC was alone.
I did finish this book, mostly since it had a somewhat unique angle compared to the standard litrpg fare available, but that's about all I can say to its credit.
Character 2/10 | Plot 4/10 | Game Mechanics 2/10 | Writing 3/10 | Enjoyment 1/10
I guess going into this, the first thing you should know is that the target age range feels like 8-10. It's Monster Hunter if the characters and all the monsters were kind of stupid. I'm all for having a person's intelligence/perception start at a certain level and then go up after leveling some attributes, but why can't a person be normal and then get more perspective rather than getting dropped off into the first chapter by the short bus?
The setting/world had potential, but unfortunately everything was so shallow. The whole premise is based on humanity retreating underground after monsters arrive and everyone is withering away as they have few supplies and no food. They still have breakfast and lunch scheduled at the 5th and 9th bells (or whatever it was). Uh what?
The leveling system left a lot to be desired. The skills were all extremely basic and made available just in time to push the character forward along the plot rail that this story was committed to. You could probably delete a lot of the "game mechanics", specifically the skills and abilities, from the story and it wouldn't change anything. The character spent level-up points just to memorize things, she was that stupid.
The prose itself was also elementary and full of redundancy. It was relatively clear with only a few misspellings, but the syntax and structure made it seem like it gave the reader's intelligence no credit for keeping up.
I was genuinely surprised when I saw that this wasn't the author's first book. The main positive about this experience is that I can remove CivCEO from my To Read list. In-depth world building, fleshed out characters, and an epic plot are all necessary ingredients to a gamelit inspired by 4x strategy games. The author demonstrated the complete absence of those things in this book.
I would only recommend this for people who are willing to settle in exchange for something a little bit off the beaten track for setup.
Post apocalyptic stuff always have a bad impression on me except for some of the good books like this. This is one is interesting to read I'm looking forward to seeing the future of the series
So MC acquired access to this world's "game mechanics" by stabbing a monster, not even killing one. But about a page later, someone tells her that there are a few people like her that guards others. My question is this, why don't those people just hold monsters down or trap them or something then have the people line up to stab them?
Yes, I dropped this immediately. AND here's the thing, I'm NOT saying that you shouldn't read this book but I just couldn't read after that. It's so stupid. Everyone has their "deal breakers", something this stupid is mine. I hope you pick it up and I hope you enjoy it, I just can't.
By which I mean I find no fault with the writing, it is just the subject matter that is bad. The people are suppose to be desperate but come off as hopeless and useless. The main character is naive and the whole situation makes me root for the end of humanity, not it's salvation.
This is my fourth series read by this author. In my opinion it is better thought out than the other three. But this series still has problems...The other three series (Civ-Big Game - Sex cult) have much less action, tend to be based on strategy based games in other worlds. This is an apocalyptic-dystopian fantasy story about a society that has lost the martial arts - magical - health - etc. knowledge from their past, and have hidden in at least 6 villages underground. The main character, Avery (nurse and Venator padawan/trainee) (Venator: hunter-soldier troop created in the Warhammer 40K table-top game), dying from being speared through by a panther like beast, waits 3 weeks to use a orange potion that was given by the healer of the mining town. The thing is, that mining town had used that potion several times before, but never really recalled or knew what secondary effects drinking that potion had? Why didn't the main character ask the spirit (Rashar) that has helped her thrice? Why not use the potion anyways, if she wasted 3 precious weeks and then drank the potion anyways? Why doesn't she train a group of Vemators to help her, as long as all of them are under 10,000 Blood points, the monster (dread beast), that made the Venators extinct in the past will not be able to find them while in hibernation. There are a lot of plot holes and missing information about the Venators. Rashar (spirit) and why they supposedly mutate into dread beasts. The story is way to similar to the original Star Wars (Luke, Darth Vader, Yoda, etc.).
The actual story, beat by beat, is really interesting. I was hooked. The intrigue is gripping and the story has great conflict potential. The MC is NOT already OP by the end of the first book, which is a nice change of pace.
The Less Good:
The pacing is erratic. This book feels rushed. Now that it's over and I know the meat of it, I can easily see how this could have been fleshed out into a much more emotional and engaging tale. Unfortunately, it mostly remained on the surface of each conflicts, resolving them way too soon and easily for my liking. There was real potential there to elevate the tale, but it wasn't capitalised upon, in profit of the Gamlit aspect.
The Bad:
This book is full of anachronisms and incoherences. Phrases and expressions and social dynamics that don't fit a people supposedly locked underground for hundreds of years. The world-building was too light and its lack really hurt the story in my opinion.
The conclusion:
I really wish LitRPG authors would write like a first draft where they do their worst "genre" stuff, then come back and try injecting true literature into their world. So many of these books end up in the same bucket for the same reasons: a truly good plotline hampered by lackluster tale-weaving. 3 stars is the best I can do.
First, my review: “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Over the past year it has become apparent that my reviews are somewhat antagonistic and I apologize to those of you that have taken offense. I think I had hoped to change peoples’ minds about reviewing works of art and that seems to have backfired spectacularly. However, I am still going to be true to myself and write what I believe.
To the author: Thank you for this chance to escape reality and enjoy the world you created! Keep up the good work.
To my fellow reviewers: Messaging me and reviewing my reviews is as productive as trying to shovel water out of the ocean. Stop. I get it. Let’s just all live peacefully.
To potential readers: Art needs to be experienced at an individual level. You are the only one that can determine what you like and don’t like. Don’t let others make that decision for you. You should definitely read the book and completely ignore all of the reviews. You are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.
I am a little in two minds about this book. The story is fine although it was a little slow to get going. I suppose it is the dark overtones of the story. It is post apocalyptic story where things are at a very bad state. Every action the MC takes could be her last. The constant negative pall is something that I would normally avoid. Having said that, there is also optimism for the future and exploration of class that was quite positive. The story is pretty heavy on stats and charts with each decision explained by the MC. I don’t care for that but it was easy to skim through. Overall I thought the book was fine but not noteworthy.
So good book and definitely want more. The book is set in an earth that seems to have had a calamity that unleashed monsters into the world. Humans learned to harvest the monsters for blood points to empower themselves and protest the rest. There all gone and this story is about a new one starting over... Accidentally. There is a lot of room for growth in this series and the first book did not drop everything about the new world so there should be more fun down the road. I look forward to more.
Counter to most post-apocalyptic stories where the stories starts as the apocalypse is happening, this one takes place some time after, when the remainder of humanity is forced into seclusion underground.
This book has an interesting world history and a fun system as well. Most of the novel is focused on just the MC which is nice, in future books I expect the main cast to grow which is fine as long as it’s not too fast.
Enjoyable, fast paced book with an interesting setting and system. Good
The female hero doesn't start out as a hero , it happens accidentally and then she learns from her new mentor who is a ghost more about how to use the abilities and gain more. However she finds out that there is a catch to all the power she is gaining. She kills off all the monsters in the area of her village and the other village she saved then as the two villages merge recruitment starts for new hunters as the only thing preventing them from returning to the surface is a boss creature known as Midland whom is a titan
This sort of fills the niche between post apocalyptic and completely different alien world. It is set so far after an apocalypse that it is able to set itself up with a society with their own rules... and that works.
Though most of the story follows the main character against the punishing nature of the world she lives in, the world is presented as interesting and alive. I would read book 2.
Power is a blessing and a curse, but is the hope it brings enough for Avery?
Humans are in hiding after monsters have claimed their planets surface. Having not seen another village in over a hundred years, this village has struggled to survive the monsters attacks. Losing hunter after hunter or scavenger to the forest’s monstrous beasts. Who could possibly stand up to fast or giant or armored monsters made as apex predators?
It is relatively rare to have a female main character in a Litrpg story. This one does and she is strong and compassionate. This is not an Earth apocalypse story but rather set on another planet. It has some good characters, unexpected twists, and plenty of adventure. The main character is not overpowered by any means and is at times overwhelmed by what people expect of her or what she expects of herself. I think she is very likable.
Interesting take on a litrpg. the MC hurts a monster and gets bloodpoints that allows her to take the path of an Adventurer. A mighty adventurer of the past helps her as a mentor for the first steps. The monsters are all very unique and the story holds some surprises along the way. The society is a unique one too. Little remark - due to the name Avery and the story told in first person it took me a quarter of the book till i learned the MC is a female.
Decent read for people liking the monster hunter games. Many similar ideas but also quite a bunch of interesting concepts here. I liked the main character. Overall the writing seemed a bit bland at times, but that's mostly just a feeling. Read it in many small chuncks over the months, which is not the best way. While I found it interesting, it didn't pull me in that much wanting to finish it quickly. But then again, life got in the way.
This story is really good! Litrpg is something of a worn thing, but this story makes me want to hang up the dnd dice and pick up my controller to play some monster hunter. It’s great!
A very enjoyable read with a gripping premise and world, including stakes that manage to actually feel like stakes! A rarity in the genre. Hey
Story line was good in its progression from village to challenge to villages to challenges finally wrapping them all together. The details of the protagonist was nice in its exploration of her emotions and physical trials. A great look at the points, allocation, loss, and metamorphosis of the players.
Andrew Karevik and LitRPG Freaks kick off a fun series in Monster Hunting 101: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure the first of the Titan Termination sagam. This is a fun read, flows well and is good enough that I'm looking forward to diving into the next in the series right now.
Not a game, but a post-apocalyptic world with game-like elements for some people, and a world in which the monsters have won and taken over.
I enjoyed book one - perfectly acceptable - but I don't feel the need to read the rest. There was a semi-twist towards the end for exploration in the remaining books that I think some people will like, but seemed less interesting as a story to me.
While this book holds a promising idea with good potential, the execution feels shallow, and many parts needed more development. It gives the impression of being a first draft rather than a finished book. It's a pity because with additional refinement, it could have been a much better and more fulfilling read.
A new twist on LitRPG. There are blood points you get when you kill a monster that you can assign to skills. But it's very hard to kill a monster. One woman does it and she's the first in her dying village to succeed in 100 years. The skill descriptions drag it down a bit, but there are some nice twists to the storyline.
Fast paced page turner with interesting characters that you can instantly root for. Different enough to be interesting and similar to the other books in LitRPG. I will definitely be getting more books in the series
It’s an interesting new take on the genre. It has a great premise. There are a lot of potential directions this could go. This universe is definitely a story I got engrossed in. I really enjoyed this one. Can’t wait for the next one.
I loved the charters and found the story interesting.There are many things that were new and refreshing I look forward to seeing more in the future and I am glad the second book is ready thanks for all your hard work
This story of a lady who becomes a player (venanor) and gets the loot and stat bug. Most of her village hunters have died, so her elder wants her to operate on the down low. Entertaining story that was fan tastic.