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Essence Wave #1
Mana Daemons
What better way to ruin a weekend getaway than to become the leaders against an alien invasion.
David and his friends are horrified to learn that a Daemon invasion is coming. A dying alien brings a dire warning, information, and aid. Will it be enough? The group is informed that the Essence Wave of the Daemon invasion is coming. The friendly aliens have modified the incoming Daemon attack to give mankind a chance by turning it into an augmented reality game system, but their warning may be too late. Along with the warning, the aliens leave a final, inconceivable gift—magical nanotech armor that may just be the key to saving the world.
David and his friends are horrified to learn that a Daemon invasion is coming. A dying alien brings a dire warning, information, and aid. Will it be enough? The group is informed that the Essence Wave of the Daemon invasion is coming. The friendly aliens have modified the incoming Daemon attack to give mankind a chance by turning it into an augmented reality game system, but their warning may be too late. Along with the warning, the aliens leave a final, inconceivable gift—magical nanotech armor that may just be the key to saving the world.
- GenresFantasyPost Apocalyptic
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 13, 2020
333 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Chris Vines
14 books215 followersI am an Air Force Veteran and graduate of the Air Force Academy. I have wanted to write for the entire of my adult life and finally decided to just do it.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
December 15, 2020
Readable borderline fanfic
I only call it ‘borderline fanfic’ because the MC actually mentions having read “a book” that sounds very familiar, and he uses it as a partially remembered guide at times. It actually makes for a cool mechanic in some ways.
I did like much of what was happening. I want that upfront. Crunchy with stats, but a lot of ‘hidden’ stats so the characters can’t really game the system. A small initial team so they can discuss what they’ve learned, making it more show and less tell. The story moved briskly and did not get bogged down in any one area.
Few enough typos as to make them effectively invisible.
But...
The beginning was rough. Not real sure why the heights of the four original characters was specifically mentioned; other then noting that one of them was taller later, there was *no* utility to that info.
The design of the start was good, but the execution was too fast and too...considered. There wasn’t really enough chaos and confusion. Crashes, explosions, aliens...everybody took the whole thing rather well.
Which brings us to the real issue: lack of character weakness. The four heroes worked so well together...it strained credulity. There were no rough edges, no moments where decisions were questioned. I don’t believe the MC altered his path at any point; he simply continued forward.
And they didn’t save an @$$hole. They never had to deal with grumbling or whining. The one person who seemed ready made to provide social tension effectively disappeared shortly after arriving. They may be set up for the next novel, but it leaves this one without conflict.
I *do* want to read a sequel. And I hope it’s a little less crunchy.
I only call it ‘borderline fanfic’ because the MC actually mentions having read “a book” that sounds very familiar, and he uses it as a partially remembered guide at times. It actually makes for a cool mechanic in some ways.
I did like much of what was happening. I want that upfront. Crunchy with stats, but a lot of ‘hidden’ stats so the characters can’t really game the system. A small initial team so they can discuss what they’ve learned, making it more show and less tell. The story moved briskly and did not get bogged down in any one area.
Few enough typos as to make them effectively invisible.
But...
The beginning was rough. Not real sure why the heights of the four original characters was specifically mentioned; other then noting that one of them was taller later, there was *no* utility to that info.
The design of the start was good, but the execution was too fast and too...considered. There wasn’t really enough chaos and confusion. Crashes, explosions, aliens...everybody took the whole thing rather well.
Which brings us to the real issue: lack of character weakness. The four heroes worked so well together...it strained credulity. There were no rough edges, no moments where decisions were questioned. I don’t believe the MC altered his path at any point; he simply continued forward.
And they didn’t save an @$$hole. They never had to deal with grumbling or whining. The one person who seemed ready made to provide social tension effectively disappeared shortly after arriving. They may be set up for the next novel, but it leaves this one without conflict.
I *do* want to read a sequel. And I hope it’s a little less crunchy.
February 3, 2021
A good premise
When I rate a book I am looking to be drawn into another world and entertained for a time. 3 stars is a base line for that entertainment. This book could have been 3 stars if a few things were more fleshed out such as determining who the MC was earlier in the book, providing some thing to explain the basics of the chosen RPG system, as well as a lot of the dialogue. I found those things distracting me from the story as I wondered why an advancement was picked, or why a character would behave a certain way. For me the fight scenes dragged a little bit, and I found myself skipping pages to get to the end of the scene but I am often bored but extended numerous fight sequences so they might be sized right for others who enjoy them. Overall I gave this two stars because by the time I hit 50% completion I was completely disinterested in the characters and found them to be lacking in depth. By 90% I didn’t really care about the book coming to end because I was not entertained. The story and author may have been better if it had started as a web novel to allow for an instant level of feedback.
When I rate a book I am looking to be drawn into another world and entertained for a time. 3 stars is a base line for that entertainment. This book could have been 3 stars if a few things were more fleshed out such as determining who the MC was earlier in the book, providing some thing to explain the basics of the chosen RPG system, as well as a lot of the dialogue. I found those things distracting me from the story as I wondered why an advancement was picked, or why a character would behave a certain way. For me the fight scenes dragged a little bit, and I found myself skipping pages to get to the end of the scene but I am often bored but extended numerous fight sequences so they might be sized right for others who enjoy them. Overall I gave this two stars because by the time I hit 50% completion I was completely disinterested in the characters and found them to be lacking in depth. By 90% I didn’t really care about the book coming to end because I was not entertained. The story and author may have been better if it had started as a web novel to allow for an instant level of feedback.
February 18, 2021
If you liked the system apocalypse series, then this book will make you feel right at home. Similar in it's execution, this book begins a series where aliens try to warn earth of the impending invasion, but fail spectacularly, (I'll leave why to the reader as to not spoil it), but luckily for the earth, there's a set of folks who refuse to stand by while the earth falls. I'm really liking this one, and kind of wish the apocalypse series went more this path instead of the one it took, I was really routing for earthlings to keep earth an earthling zone in that series, but if you've read any of the books in that series, you know that wasn't to be, in this series, it just might happen, but that's dependent on a lot of things, and one of those is the ability of the band of folks we meet in this book to keep things together, and pull the survivors of earth into a fighting force rarely seen in LitRPG books, but I'd sure like to see it.
December 15, 2020
Good story
This is an apocalypse system type LITRPG with heavy stat and combat content. The apocalypse system is a little complicated with both skills and “ways” that result in the heavy stat reliance. Experience is also manually attributed between levelling, skilling and way progression which complicates progression and means all stat progression is explained. I really enjoyed the first 2 thirds of the book but the end seemed to be mainly stat grinding and combat. These are elements I enjoy less than crafting and settlement development, both which are also present briefly. The editing was good. I will keep an eve out for the next instalment.
This is an apocalypse system type LITRPG with heavy stat and combat content. The apocalypse system is a little complicated with both skills and “ways” that result in the heavy stat reliance. Experience is also manually attributed between levelling, skilling and way progression which complicates progression and means all stat progression is explained. I really enjoyed the first 2 thirds of the book but the end seemed to be mainly stat grinding and combat. These are elements I enjoy less than crafting and settlement development, both which are also present briefly. The editing was good. I will keep an eve out for the next instalment.
December 19, 2020
Another good series by good author
I absolutely love this authors other series. This series seems that it will not be any different.An enjoyable 1st book and now I can't wait for the next book. My only complaint would be the aggressive info dump of character back grounds in the books beginning. I felt many of the details could have been trickled in Throughout the book and wouldn't have seem so fake and forced.The rpg system is not totally unique but enough that it should be fun. There are system apocalypse is not new where you need this 1 is still fun to read and I am enjoying progress so far.Hopefully the author has A lot of ideas on where this will go.
I absolutely love this authors other series. This series seems that it will not be any different.An enjoyable 1st book and now I can't wait for the next book. My only complaint would be the aggressive info dump of character back grounds in the books beginning. I felt many of the details could have been trickled in Throughout the book and wouldn't have seem so fake and forced.The rpg system is not totally unique but enough that it should be fun. There are system apocalypse is not new where you need this 1 is still fun to read and I am enjoying progress so far.Hopefully the author has A lot of ideas on where this will go.
December 26, 2020
The story is decent, if a little generic. The quality of language (grammar/spelling/word choice/etc.) was great. It seemed to fail on the characters though. They feel really one-dimensional. There isn't really anything in the way of character growth outside of stats/skills. Character interactions/talk felt forced or unrealistic. Character motivations felt a little cookie-cutter.
Overall enjoyed the story and will read more in the series, but I preferred the Azyl Academy series. Note that I'm reading via kindle unlimited.
Overall enjoyed the story and will read more in the series, but I preferred the Azyl Academy series. Note that I'm reading via kindle unlimited.
January 24, 2021
Meh
Bit of a mixed bag, book ends at about 85% on kindle, probably half of it was notices alerts or ability descriptions, the storyline is pretty good, but the characters are sort of generic, they were all basically interchangeable none of them really stood out or were very well developed, zero world building or backstory, but about halfway in it becomes a settlement builder, the rest of it was much better than than the first half, ends at a good point, not really a cliffhanger, but all in all liked the idea better than the execution.
Bit of a mixed bag, book ends at about 85% on kindle, probably half of it was notices alerts or ability descriptions, the storyline is pretty good, but the characters are sort of generic, they were all basically interchangeable none of them really stood out or were very well developed, zero world building or backstory, but about halfway in it becomes a settlement builder, the rest of it was much better than than the first half, ends at a good point, not really a cliffhanger, but all in all liked the idea better than the execution.
December 15, 2020
A hidden gem
I was surprised to find this well written and edited new book, quietly hidden away from all the glitz and showy glamour. Some readers may become annoyed by the initial level of detail that explains the system, however this is balanced out has the plot and story progresses, nothing over powering about the characters.
Lots of empire building, action and adventure, I look forward to seeing a 2nd book for this story, great value for your reading budget.
I was surprised to find this well written and edited new book, quietly hidden away from all the glitz and showy glamour. Some readers may become annoyed by the initial level of detail that explains the system, however this is balanced out has the plot and story progresses, nothing over powering about the characters.
Lots of empire building, action and adventure, I look forward to seeing a 2nd book for this story, great value for your reading budget.
December 27, 2020
I enjoy the elemental gatherers series by the same author. This one? Not so much.
The first couple chapters have misused technical jargon, references to Krav Maga, un-differentiated MCs (:eyeroll:), un-differentiated characters, and a vanilla "system."
LitRPG isn't a genre I associate with great storytelling skills, and I usually have enough patience with poor introductions to let them perhaps develop into something good, but I just couldn't with this one. DNF after a couple of chapters.
The first couple chapters have misused technical jargon, references to Krav Maga, un-differentiated MCs (:eyeroll:), un-differentiated characters, and a vanilla "system."
LitRPG isn't a genre I associate with great storytelling skills, and I usually have enough patience with poor introductions to let them perhaps develop into something good, but I just couldn't with this one. DNF after a couple of chapters.
January 13, 2021
All crunch little else
This book has little going for it other than the fact that it's litrpg. 90% of it is explaining the rules of the world. While some might enjoy this, I need to have a little bit more fleshed-out characters and stories the skeleton of a story is there but it's very shallow and brings nothing new to the genre
This book has little going for it other than the fact that it's litrpg. 90% of it is explaining the rules of the world. While some might enjoy this, I need to have a little bit more fleshed-out characters and stories the skeleton of a story is there but it's very shallow and brings nothing new to the genre
October 11, 2022
Fun story!
Fun little story. Well written, fast paced, not super heavy. Felt slightly YA at times but not bad at all (and I really dislike YA novels). Got better once it got going and stayed good. Very few errors noticed and lots of stat screens. Things made sense and it had its good unique elements and worldbuilding. Worth a read!
Fun little story. Well written, fast paced, not super heavy. Felt slightly YA at times but not bad at all (and I really dislike YA novels). Got better once it got going and stayed good. Very few errors noticed and lots of stat screens. Things made sense and it had its good unique elements and worldbuilding. Worth a read!
December 15, 2020
An interesting read
Occasional typos but a good enjoyable read i loved the gamelit references and the story feels like tao wings system apocalypse series, which I've noticed has been a difficult feeling for many apocalypse fiction to catch
Occasional typos but a good enjoyable read i loved the gamelit references and the story feels like tao wings system apocalypse series, which I've noticed has been a difficult feeling for many apocalypse fiction to catch
December 16, 2020
Fantastic Apocalyptic LITRPG!
Another great book from Chris! Enjoy the character building and system. The call outs to other books is fun! The story is great and kept me enthralled. Cannot wait for the next one!
Another great book from Chris! Enjoy the character building and system. The call outs to other books is fun! The story is great and kept me enthralled. Cannot wait for the next one!
December 18, 2020
Good new series
A mix of Randidly Ghosthound and the game Age of Empires/Civil 4. Basically, city building and gathering resources. MC is married and another couple are leads in the story.
A mix of Randidly Ghosthound and the game Age of Empires/Civil 4. Basically, city building and gathering resources. MC is married and another couple are leads in the story.
February 7, 2021
Really Really Good!!!!
One of the best apocalypse stories I've read in along time from start to finish. I'm upset that the story won't continue, because the author did a great job of including a hero we would all follow!!
One of the best apocalypse stories I've read in along time from start to finish. I'm upset that the story won't continue, because the author did a great job of including a hero we would all follow!!
February 12, 2021
Good Read
Interesting take on the post apocalyptic LitRPG trope. Good world building and lots of action. Magic system / leveling up is different than I am used to from D&D. I’m not a fan of reinventing the wheel.
Interesting take on the post apocalyptic LitRPG trope. Good world building and lots of action. Magic system / leveling up is different than I am used to from D&D. I’m not a fan of reinventing the wheel.
December 23, 2020
Very entertaining read
I enjoyed reading this book very much and would recommend it highly to anyone that like litRPG type of books. I read it in one sitting.
I enjoyed reading this book very much and would recommend it highly to anyone that like litRPG type of books. I read it in one sitting.
January 4, 2021
Great book
Great book and I will recommend it to everyone I know.This is what I have come to expect from this author
Great book and I will recommend it to everyone I know.This is what I have come to expect from this author
February 24, 2021
An excellent start to a series.
I am officially a fan. I can't wait for the next book. The system was consistent and we'll thought out.
I am officially a fan. I can't wait for the next book. The system was consistent and we'll thought out.
March 19, 2021
A fun read
This book was a lot of fun. It was very detailed, sometimes it seemed like too much detail. That being said, the book was a lot of fun.
This book was a lot of fun. It was very detailed, sometimes it seemed like too much detail. That being said, the book was a lot of fun.
June 17, 2021
Good book
I enjoyed this book , but it had a little bit more stats than I like to see in a book. So far I have enjoyed all of Chris Vines books. Give one of them a try.
I enjoyed this book , but it had a little bit more stats than I like to see in a book. So far I have enjoyed all of Chris Vines books. Give one of them a try.
Read
December 18, 2021Great book
Stellar work once again from Chris Vines! Lots of action and adventure, leveling and magic, demons and skills! Looking forward to the next one!
Stellar work once again from Chris Vines! Lots of action and adventure, leveling and magic, demons and skills! Looking forward to the next one!
Read
December 4, 2023Great story and very well written.
Great story and very well written and really enjoyed this story. I am looking forward to reading any other books in this series.
Great story and very well written and really enjoyed this story. I am looking forward to reading any other books in this series.
April 22, 2025
Fanfreakingtastic!
What an amazing book! I absolutely loved this book and such wonderful characters! And great series you have written, well done!
What an amazing book! I absolutely loved this book and such wonderful characters! And great series you have written, well done!
September 11, 2025
Great book
Really enjoyed this book and its world. It kept my interest from the beginning to the end. Highly recommend this series.
Really enjoyed this book and its world. It kept my interest from the beginning to the end. Highly recommend this series.
December 29, 2020
Not a personal fan of the Ways leveling, but overall liked the story to midway until it became city building as well; just not my thing.
March 20, 2021
This is my absolute favorite Genre and the book is an excellent foray. I truly appreciate all of the honorable mentions throughout the book of tales from the same Genre by different authors. The story and plot are exciting and the calculations for the stats are stupendous. I always appreciate it when the stats match the text and it shows that the Stats were followed throughout the tale.
June 12, 2024
Re-read since it had been a long time since I read this, and had been putting off reading book 2 because of it.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and think it's a solid basis for a series I plan to continue. My biggest issues are that the book feels a little too neat and the System is a little too complex. It's like your second or third play-through of a game, and you know where to go and what to do, and there is no real sense of confusion and blundering about. They lament not having a tutorial or instructions but make very fast and consistent progress intuiting the System. Everyone is exceedingly supportive. The System itself feels a little overwrought, or perhaps that's just a consequence of how rapidly the complexity is presented: so many overly detailed skills, evolving skills, enhancing skills, merging skills, complex interactions, and nuanced uses, all with inscrutable Ways thrown in. Oh, did I mention the Achievement system? After a little while, it just becomes information that flows by me without really having a place to stick or aggregate.
The book also makes use of one of my least favourite narrative devices in System Apocalypse-style books: the MC read a book like this. It just bothers me and immediately pulls me out of the story. LitRPG books are works of fiction, not prophetic foretelling. How would you react if an alien spacecraft landed on Earth and someone came up to tell you and tried to convince you that they have a pretty good idea of what will happen and what we should do next because they read The War of the Worlds? I find it aggravating.
Still, it is a solid 4-star effort for me, and I look forward to more from this series.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and think it's a solid basis for a series I plan to continue. My biggest issues are that the book feels a little too neat and the System is a little too complex. It's like your second or third play-through of a game, and you know where to go and what to do, and there is no real sense of confusion and blundering about. They lament not having a tutorial or instructions but make very fast and consistent progress intuiting the System. Everyone is exceedingly supportive. The System itself feels a little overwrought, or perhaps that's just a consequence of how rapidly the complexity is presented: so many overly detailed skills, evolving skills, enhancing skills, merging skills, complex interactions, and nuanced uses, all with inscrutable Ways thrown in. Oh, did I mention the Achievement system? After a little while, it just becomes information that flows by me without really having a place to stick or aggregate.
The book also makes use of one of my least favourite narrative devices in System Apocalypse-style books: the MC read a book like this. It just bothers me and immediately pulls me out of the story. LitRPG books are works of fiction, not prophetic foretelling. How would you react if an alien spacecraft landed on Earth and someone came up to tell you and tried to convince you that they have a pretty good idea of what will happen and what we should do next because they read The War of the Worlds? I find it aggravating.
Still, it is a solid 4-star effort for me, and I look forward to more from this series.
March 26, 2025
At its core it is a fairly typical post-apocalyptic litRPG story with the twist of the magic being the result of invading daemons and not some uncaring natural effect. David, his wife and his two friends were camping, coming across the crashed vessel of an alien send to help Earth but having betrayed. The alien provides a magical armour before dying, giving them a head start. Together they quickly organize a group of survivors in their first battle against an army of daemons.
The characters are likeable, the world building interesting and I personally liked the game mechanics although skill levelling felt a bit arbitrary at times. The main characters have a relatively easy time, but I do not automatically dislike such as long as it is not too ridiculous. The writing style kept me hooked, although it started a bit rough with a few odd descriptions and interactions (e.g. blind trust in a crashed alien ship). It is the rough start, the at time confusing interaction between a lot of different characters (too many for a first novel of a series to be honest) and the large number of fights that causes me to reduce it from 4 to 3 stars. I got the feeling the author could not settle on the point of view, 3rd or 1st, which at times made it confusing who was talking with whom.
All in all a good post-Apocalyptic litRPG story, although I personally did not think it was as good as his other series.
The characters are likeable, the world building interesting and I personally liked the game mechanics although skill levelling felt a bit arbitrary at times. The main characters have a relatively easy time, but I do not automatically dislike such as long as it is not too ridiculous. The writing style kept me hooked, although it started a bit rough with a few odd descriptions and interactions (e.g. blind trust in a crashed alien ship). It is the rough start, the at time confusing interaction between a lot of different characters (too many for a first novel of a series to be honest) and the large number of fights that causes me to reduce it from 4 to 3 stars. I got the feeling the author could not settle on the point of view, 3rd or 1st, which at times made it confusing who was talking with whom.
All in all a good post-Apocalyptic litRPG story, although I personally did not think it was as good as his other series.
September 14, 2022
Lots of action in this book!
Chris Vines does well with implementing Magical Mechanics while not overloading on the explanation. I cannot describe to you how much that helps to not break the immersion of the story. The moments of battle are descriptive but not overly so, letting the reader feel like they are not being bogged down like a Dragon Ball Z episode.
I definitely recommend this book and all other books Chris Vines writes to anyone who loves Fantasy Fiction.
A small disappointment that has nothing to do with the story. When the story ended at 87% on my Kindle, I was kinda bummed. That is just me hoping for more story!
Chris Vines does well with implementing Magical Mechanics while not overloading on the explanation. I cannot describe to you how much that helps to not break the immersion of the story. The moments of battle are descriptive but not overly so, letting the reader feel like they are not being bogged down like a Dragon Ball Z episode.
I definitely recommend this book and all other books Chris Vines writes to anyone who loves Fantasy Fiction.
A small disappointment that has nothing to do with the story. When the story ended at 87% on my Kindle, I was kinda bummed. That is just me hoping for more story!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews