Carl thought his life was on track, until disaster struck. Now he looks like a 35 year-old and is out of points, so he needs to scramble to change the situation before any one finds out the truth.
The question is, what should he do next? Buy more businesses, or focus on his love life? And always in the background is his family, wondering what happened to their father and grandfather and if he will ever talk to them again?
Biomedical Self-Engineering is a LitRPG slice of life adventure, following Carl as he discovers new ways of living when he is nearing the end of his own. There are no explicit scenes and no harems.
The story was interesting and engaging, but the most strong impression that I've got from this book was that the American women are so horny and opportunistic that they want to jump every man they saw who is somewhat handsome and a little rich. Another thing that I've got was that American eating habits are just awful! 😐 I don't mean any disrespect, but these are what the writer depicted in his book. Also I don't understand how MC can act so cool and heals himself in the hospital and flaunt his health in front of everyone or to trust a woman who he didn't know until couple of weeks ago and spills everything about his secret, a secret that can get him killed or even worse! Doesn't he fear that someone would capture and experiment on him? I also don't get Barbara. Everything that happens, she cut their relationship without even asking the reason or even trying to understand the Mc. Is such a woman even worthy to have a relationship with? Another thing that I don't understand is that they were together only for couple of weeks, so how can Mc be so in love with her? He acts like a teenager who is in love for the first time. Everything that happens he starts crying like a baby. For example some woman is stalking him, instead of reporting to the police, he escapes and starts sobbing. 😐 And why doesn't he acquire some kinds of defensive skills like mental defences or some self protection skills?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I don’t understand this book. It was a slice of life without any overarching plot except for a very few deus ex machina alien scenes without any plot depth. I kept reading because the author has an incredible ability to make words sound like they are heading somewhere even when they are not. The MC ran around and bought companies and stuff and there are lots of anti banking quotes. I feel like I ate an entire mental bag of Doritos. Also the every so often on again off again Barbara plot was terrible. Please kill Barbara off. I wanted to like this book...
Wow! There were so many ups and downs in this book, that I'm honestly a little surprised Carl made it through. I am loving Gene's excitement about security, and I especially liked how much he kept trying to support Carl, even when he didn't really understand what was happening.
I'm curious to see how the Wal-Mart situation is going to turn out, and can I just say that I want to smack Jenny? I can't believe that timing at the end... I almost threw my e-reader in annoyance at her actions. 😂 As it stands, I am feelings all the feels for Carl. With everything he went through in this book, to have that happen at the end.... I guess I'll just have to read book 3 to see how things continue to unfold.
One thing that I liked in the first book, which has continued on in this book, is the little additions of alternate POVs at times. Sure, Carl remains the main narrator, but having the little inputs from those he's interacting with, even if they're only around for a few pages, is a nice addition that adds to the well-developed characters.
The only thing that left me feeling a little let down was the lack of information about the aliens in orbit. Yes, we got some new information, but I want more - I'm greedy. 😆 It's like a picture that's slowly being revealed, with disparate sections being uncovered, and I want more of the picture and how what we do know all fits together. Hopefully that will come in book 3.
Anyway, if you read book 1 and liked it, you'll probably like this one too. If you haven't read book 1 yet, why are you reading reviews for book 2?!? Go read book 1, then come back here! 😁
First, my review: “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Second, I am not a bot...at least I don’t think I am. Yes this is copy pasta (just learned that term, so fun!) simply because I feel like any book I read deserves acknowledgement but at the same time my feelings on reviews conflict with the normal review process.
I enjoyed this book, so my goal is to promote it and help the author. If you are a potential reader, just stop reading now and take the above as all you need to know. I am not going to share my reasoning, thoughts on the book, or any opinions that would influence your decision to read it. It is my opinion that 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. Or not if you don’t think this book is for you. That choice is all yours and the beauty of art appreciation. You are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.
If you are a member of the IAK Guild (thanks, Jason) or part of the review police, feel free to criticize me and challenge my philosophy on reviewing art. I think we all love a good debate. The forums are open and I welcome your comments. I was wrong in my previous request to get you to stop. Your blatant disregard for that request has led to some fun discussions. Growth is important for us all.
I read this immediately after finishing the first, and I'm glad I did because it is essentially a seamless continuation of the first book. If you read that first one and liked it, I see no reason why you won't feel the same way about this one. It's got the same mix of good and bad points, both positive and negative. Positive because if it isn't broken, don't fix it, but negative because a minor negative about this book was that it got a little samey as the story progressed.
None of that is enough to lose a star from this review, though. Instead, it is saved for one frustration of mine; Carl has started to do some things with his powers that are impossible to explain to the people around him, and the story doesn't even try. It just has the people in his life accept that it's a mystery about him and move on, and that feels lazy to me.
Overall, this was another enjoyable addition to this series. If the author keeps producing books like this, I'll be more than happy to keep reading them.
This was just bad. I finished both books on the hope it would somehow get better. I feel this is written for the /r/niceguys to show them how life could turn out if women just recognized how nice they are.
I really don't do reviews even on books I am not fond of but ya this one has been on my mind for a few days now.
The quotes in every chapter need to go, they break story immersion and feel like blatant book padding. The MC is still an entertaining character to follow around just as he was in the first book although he does feel like a chicken with it's head cut off most of the time. His relationship with Barbara feels forced and tacked on. Anytime something happens with Carl that Barbara doesn't like she vanishes like a fart in the wind all the while claiming that he hurt her. Things I would like to see in the third book: Carl has more focus and stops trying to do a million things at once. It would be nice to actually have time to care about one of his projects. More details on the alien's project. Barbara needs to go, she has played her part and now only serves as cheap drama. Carl needs to spend more time exploring what his dna system can do with new abilities. Carl doesn't even need to touch anyone anymore to get dna but still hasn't gone to large venues like sporting events to power level.
Book 2 although not as good as the first was still quite entertaining. I will definitely be reading book 3.
This was fine for what it was trying to accomplish.
For a slice of life story, this is about what you’d expect, but there are still some things that could be improved upon.
For one, it’s just frustrating how poorly Carl uses the system he was given. Sure he’s rich and powerful now but I’m positive there are better things he could be doing with it.
I believe I mentioned for the first book how jarring the quotes at the beginning of the chapters are. It’s even more so this book, totally pulls me out of immersion and I get disjointed trying to read writing that is in no way similar to that of the authors, sometimes very long quotes too. I eventually ended up just skipping the long ones or just majorly skimming them.
That said, a lot of the scenarios in the book just aren’t believable, especially the end. Epilogue also didn’t do anything but detract from the story.
Will pick up the next one, it’s fun and easy going.
So today is the third, I meant to buy this book the day it came out but I forgot what day it was coming out and I thought it came out the third but came out the first. while the point of the matter is I read this entire book in one setting. in one day it's one of the most awesome books I've ever read featuring biomedical fiction. I love this book I like the author, I hope he writes seven more of these the plot is fantastic the pacing is perfect. it's a good slice-of-life. but there's enough excitement that it doesn't get boring I love this altar I can't wait to read what he rides and I hope he becomes a full-time writer. To anyone who likes literary role playing games or biomedical fiction or sort of like game of fide life give this book a chance you won't regret it give the first book a chance for sure.
I've noticed an issue with a lot of litrpg stories sequels. They forget that people are usually reading it for the game like mechanics. The first book in the series has a lot, and people love it. The second book tends to have much less, and that is a real shame to me. This book is an example of that, it probably only had a total of 10 blue screens in the while book. I would have given a lower rating, but I do like the series and I just hope in the next book it's fixed. Also, when it comes to relationships, some characters make terrible choices and assumptions. Hope the romance is matured in the next book, because high school style romances is boring when the main character is literally in his 70's.
A lot of wish fulfillment here. Yet very fun.Anyways quite simplistic. Obviously the MC has now acquired the Midas touch.I am quite annoyed though that the MC doesn't pay attention to the blue boxes as much considering It has changed his life continuously and saved it. Could be interesting to see if he could pass it on to others. The book was written well enough With some small errors. Not sure about drilling for gold. Lol. Also the anti banking rhetoric at the beginning of the chapter gets a bit annoying after the 4th of 5th. All in all still enjoyable enough I can ignore the bad parts and look forward to the next book.
This pair of books was a random find for me amongst the sea of GameLit books. I tore through book 1 yesterday and this one today, so that’s probably a good recommendation for people who like this genre.
The overall story has the main character using his new gifts (the game part) to take action in the real world, benefitting himself and helping almost everyone he meets - another effect of his game gifts.
This time the “game” part of the story was even less than book 1, but the story took the fun right along. As with the last book, I had several chuckles. One big groan with the guy from the FBI.
This story is a blend of sci-fi and gamer. The gamer part is; an old man is suddenly given the ability to change his body, by earning points. He can affect his age, his sexual prowes, his mental acuity, take on abilities of selected animals, and even psychic abilities. The sci-fi part is; it came from aliens. So, if you had these abilities, what would you change; and what would be the consequences of that change? A very intriguing story, and interesting uses he came up with for some of the abilities.
The eipilogue was really dumb someone calls for him while on phone and he runs away and then cries because relationship over now like was this supposed to be a cliffhanger to make sure I read the next book?if the rest of the book wasn't as good and I didn't already have time invested I would have just blacklisted the author for that weak attempt of whatever the hell that was I think this book would be better if you just deleted eipilogue and made the last interlude the last chapter
The story here essentially fails to innovate. What's more is that the flow of the story feels off, with stuff that should be noticed fails to be noticed, while our main character stumbles his way to success in a manner that never feels entirely earned. The new concepts and potential threads introduced that might have been useful to propel the story in future volumes are jarring and fit badly in the story.
Interesting, entertaining, a bit odd, this second book in the series is just as good as the first, don't think I've ever read anything quite like this, a retiree as the mc basically granted a second chance, after becoming young again chooses to be old instead and while using his newfound abilities to better everyone around him rather than himself. Look forward to the next one.
Disappointing honestly. The sequel to the first story has the main character acting like a teenager despite being over 70 years old. With no goals but to enjoy himself. The main character Carl feels more like a man in his mid life crisis trying to experience his youth as quickly as possible than an old man awakened to his own flaws and trying to better himself. I guess if you want some flawed power fantasy where you have all the Power but fix none of the problems it's for you.
I really enjoyed this book. This is not your action packed leveling up type if story. The book is well written and the characters are interesting and the story keeps flowing smoothly. I hate that the author has to work ( Hahaha have to eat and pay bills) and that slows down on when he can release the 3rd book. I'll keep waiting for the next book and I'll be sure to get it when its released.
I honestly enjoyed the book, it was entertaining and I read it in close to a sitting, but....
There's one major plot point that is pushed along to drive the story and outside of the world that has been created which reduced the rating I gave. There is also a lot less gameficstion this time around, with a lot more focus on the slice of life and less on the mechanics.
I wouldn't know what else to call this book but entertaining. Enjoyed the adventures of retiree Carl very much. Have I ever read anything like it? No, I have not, the story is very original - or at least it was to me. Yes, it's kind of a scifi adventure. Scifi has many sub categories and I wouldn't know what category this story would fit into. Is there going to be a "Book 3"? I certainly hope so.
The last two were excellent, I'm chewing sardines waiting on the third book. Waiting with bated breath. Or with baited breath, one or the other. Please get the next one done. Usually with this type of story (increased abilities, way outside the norm) the protagonist is a kid or a young adult. I like it that it's an old fart that receives it and he is mostly smart enough to handle it.
I like the concept and the MC being older with good values is awesome. However, I cannot stand how he is with women or romantic relationships. It’s always his fault and he just does what they want. You would think he would use his smarts to figure out he deserves more and stop such nonsense. I keep reading as I hope that will change and I enjoy the rest of the story.
You should keep in mind that 10-15% of the book is quotes. A couple of the chapters more of the chapter is quotes than chapter text.
With that said it's a decent book. It's got a few issues. It keeps telling him in book 1 and 2 that he needs animal and insect DNA but he never does something as simple as go to a pet store or a petting zoo.
Having a main character who is genuinely old, and out of touch with modern tech, is quite refreshing. His old school masculinity and it's difficulties dealing with emotional issues, is while infuriating, rings very true. Tossing in Aliens using humans as sampling drones with a quest reward system to get them to get busy is a hoot!
This book was alright. It is still a slice-of-life wish fulfillment story. Everything turns to gold for the MC and his life continuously gets exponentially better. The plot progressed a bit, but a lot less than I expected. The book is over 90% just about businesses he is buying and growing. It was fine, but I feel like it could've been better.
I'm guessing this is the book 2, although it has the same title as book 1.
More of the same charming story. From UFOs to coin collecting, business rehabilitation to Walmart greetings (and potential discrimination lawsuits), from craft beer to gold prospecting to to classic films to discovering you accidentally bought a "hybrid" car (with great gas mileage), there's more to love and savor.
The storyline continues to blend sci-fi elements with a touch of mystery and some deft lit-RPG style sequences. It’s an interesting plot, a bit fantastic, but mostly acceptable. Good character development helps move the story along. Again the book pauses the storyline at its end and while it’s not a hanging ending, the reader is going to need to continue.
Interesting, entertaining, and all over the place.
I found this book to be interesting and entertaining. However it seems to be all over the place. So, if you can follow along without becoming overwhelmed then this is for you. Read this!