John Lee has come far from his time as a struggling survivor of the System Apocalypse. But now, his actions have gone too far and he has drawn the ire of the Galactic Council.
Not only himself and his friends, but Earth itself, are faced with the displeasure of the Council. With the whole galaxy turned against them, John will have to scramble for allies and make Faustian deals to save Earth. But against the might of multiple empires, will it be enough? As the fate of Earth teeters on the balance, John may finally have to make a choice and break not just the Council, but his very honor itself.
Broken Council is book 10 of the bestselling post-apocalyptic, space opera LitRPG series, The System Apocalypse. Tao Wong is also the author of the bestselling xianxia series, A Thousand Li, and the other LiTRPG series, Hidden Wishes and the Adventures on Brad, among other works.
Tao Wong is the author of the A Thousand Li progression fantasy series and the System Apocalypse LitRPG series, among others. His work has been released in audio, paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats, and translated into German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and several other languages. He was shortlisted for the UK Kindle Storyteller Award in 2021 for A Thousand Li: The Second Sect. In 2026, the first three books in the A Thousand Li series will be republished in hardcover by Ace Books.
When he’s not writing or working, he enjoys practicing martial arts, reading, and dreaming up new worlds. He lives in Toronto, Canada.
It took several attempts to finish the book. I started by reading and finished with the audiobook. To be honest, there's one huge plot event in the book and that was good. The rest? I'm not sure how the series will end on in two books, but I'll be there to find out.
This was disappointing. Not just the book itself, but the fact that I have no more interest in this series. I held the early books up as examples of what good Litrpg looked like, but around the 5th book things started to fizzle. The 9th book gave me just enough incentive to check this one out and see if things would improve, but unfortunately, they didn't.
This book was probably 70% fluff infodumping and 25% narrative cheats to enable a "surprise" ending. When a book is written in 1st person, it puts pressure on the author to get creative with the plot if they want things to surprise the reader. Unfortunately, Tao Wong chose the cheat crutch instead where he would constantly hide conversations the MC had with others and then have the MC think about random dumb shit rather than the things that were coming and his plans to address them.
This, combined with awkward grammar/syntax and an absence of character personality, resulted in what felt like an extremely passive and boring book with a pace that moved abysmally slow. Just because there are new scenes in new locations doesn't mean any of those scenes are important to the overall story.
The prose gave the impression of a person who has a lot of experience writing academic papers, but not as much with writing fiction. There was nonstop clunkiness with scenes involving multiple actors resulting in talking head syndrome, poor chronology in action scenes with reliance on 'as' for a conjunction, and still the overreliance on speech tags to add personality rather than actually demonstrating it. (If you took a drink every time the word "snarled" appeared, you would have gotten wasted) There were also a number of mistakes with word usage like using "whose" instead of "who's".
This was a disappointing experience that tempted me to drop it about 20% in, but I continued only because a number of reviews commented on how big the ending was. I can't help but feel disappointed, especially since I previously dropped out of the Thousand Li series from this author and the System Apocalypse was the last one I managed to hold interest in.
The series seems to be getting to a point where the more powerful the MC becomes , the less interesting it gets. The politics and system stuff is simply not good enough and the book story gets unnecessary complicated. The mechanics are not really well rounded and the system seems more an excuse than a really well constructed mechanic.
It is too long winded. Too much placefiller. Boring descriptions that do Nothing to advance the story. I underdtand why this was difficult to write but its just boring to read. Im sorry, but I even had to skip pages.
Maybe put John in the grave and start a new story in the same universe?
Awful MC. The author has further alienated the MC from most friends. The MC even causes more trauma to a tortured Harry. I don't even care how he voted or told the universe the big secret. His friends did not care. He lies to his friends, to earth, and he becomes even more lonely. Reminds me of another book by this author about a lonely MC in a sect.
When I first started the System Apocalypse series, I had expected a good LitRPG...but had no idea that I would be sucked into a massive space opera! Just when I thought things can't get any bigger, I get pleasantly surprised.
Writing/Plot/Pace:+8/10
The book has no mercy. It just grips you by the neck from page 1 and relentlessly drags you all the way to a smashing climax. In line with previous books, the prose is taut with no purple stuff to bloat word/page count. The book moves at a brisk pace all through with lots of page turning fight sequences. The narrative is gripping as we follow John and his rag tag team through a ever escalating situation. I can easily imagine John's mentality as new players and data are revealed and odds against him keep getting stacked higher and higher.
As to the plot, it continues to seamlessly blend John's personal quest in uncovering the truth about the system and events about Earth happening in the Galactic Council. After the climax of last book, we see John about to head back to Irvina where he'd certainly be captured and at best, killed. We get to a seat of pant mad scramble as he and his team work to retain Earth's status in the Council. We also get to see new antagonists arising from pursuit of John's quest and John about to get stuck between rock and hard place. The events led to a shattering finale where John takes measures into his own hands and bets everything in a final gamble to complete his quest.
Oh, and if you think things aren't hot enough, there might be more dragons soon!
Characters: +7/10
I'm usually a divided when it comes to characters in this series.
John is brilliantly written. A deeply flawed impulsive character who has anger and trust issues. This has been reinforced many times and his uphill fight to improve his own character is done just perfect.
What I'd like to see more are a bit more development to supporting cast: - Mika is a interesting characters and probably deserves more (maybe even a novella about her arena arc and the fan club). - Ali is fun as usual and if the book somehow ties in to his backstory that'd be super awesome!
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.
What an exciting start to the final arc, Earthlings really do piss off folks the best!
As John’s quest to save Earth hits a dangerous point, he finds the subtlety he’s never had and manipulated everyone. Or does he, would our reluctant hero (who definitely doesn’t see himself as heroic) forsake his home world in pursuit of power? A quest? The quest? The system quest? Could he be so uncaring for his birthplace? Are we missing the true play? Politics are tricky and galactic level politics are cut throat, even seeing worlds die.
The fights are at a different level now, and the struggles can be less dangerous but everyone is always looking for improvements, strength, new skills or Skills, in their quest to advance, survive, and gain the strength to protect themselves and their loved ones... or to crush all who oppose them. Everyone is more dangerous at the Master level but Heroics and Legendaries are a tier above in many ways. This world as an MMO would be amazing and difficult as hell to design but I’d okay the hell out of it! I cannot say enough good things about The System Apocalypse series, it is one of my favorites, I’ve listened and read it quite a few times now and am still enthralled with the System and galaxies that await humanity!
I’ll just say this: among all the authors in the genre; Tao is the only one producing serious literature. The loose ends, contradictions and dead end plots so common among the best Litrpg is absent.
Tao is considering important, consequential matters. His main characters gaining complexity and humanity as they become less human and if that makes the plot more complex it doesn’t take from the combat scenes.
I just hope the maturity in his writing reaches adventures on Brad. There was an insinuation of a Greater Arch in the last one and I’ll love to see where that goes. In the meantime: eager for Forbidden Zone to come out....and than you Tao; this is the best series in the genre by far (at least in the West...)
This is a complicated series. It starts as a typical post apocalyptic litepg and evolves into a wide arching space opera. There are multiple plots and subplots that end and grow throughout the series. That being said he ties them all back together in satisfying apexes throughout the book and series.
This is one of my favorite series to date and the fact that the themes and ultimate plots faced by the main character really grow and evolves from individuals to groups to a galactic scope as the story progresses helps to differentiate it from other books in the genre.
Short version: Redeemer kicks butt, takes his lumps and makes melodramatic sacrifices ok? It's why we're here. It's solid stuff, and the fact that the world building is still happening is mind blowing. Mmmm tasty system knowledge.
Long version: This book continues the drive of John Lee pitting himself against the concepts of fate and power. We get to find out more about The System, watch as John gets totally unbalanced, and completely outclassed at the same time. Forced to pick up power wherever he finds it, the Redeemer has an impossible, nearly paradoxical task ahead. It's the ultimate anti-establishment book out there.
One of my favorite series to date, and it keeps getting better!
I don’t know how Tao does it. The story doesn’t get cluttered with more and more “loveable” side-characters (looking at you Robert Jordan) it doesn’t bog down in side-quests to stretch the series out for a couple more $$$. He keeps driving at the main quest/story line and does so ina genuinely fascinating way!
I love the satisfying feeling of finishing a new book, and hate the slightly desperate anticipation of the next.
It is great to read a series, especially in this genre, that feels like the author has a planned ending in sight. So many books and series feel.like a good idea without any actual end. No book in this series feels wasted and as we come close to the end, this really pays off as we see a true character arc for those central characters we care about. So thank you and cant wait to read the next one.
Really very good. I've enjoyed all of these books and an very much looking forward to where these are going. John is such a conflicted character and shouldn't be so likeable, but somehow he is, and I often find myself thinking that he hasn't gone far enough in annoying people. In this book he takes on the Galactic Council and a new secret group who have been manipulating everything from behind the scenes.
Last arc of the series begins with a massive bang.
A lot of pieces were explored in previous trilogies, but the last one goes deep into the matter of the System, and promises to get that 100% Completion - maybe - by the end. The author takes a few bold steps in here, but entirely in line with the John Lee persona. A bit too machiavellian, maybe? Nevertheless, it's promising a good ride across three books until the end.
Every book in System Apocalypse series provides greater and greater value in the world building and story progression reasons.
This book has a great arc, starts with brand new class features, and ties back to Earth in the story as a way to pave the end game of the series. Good set up for what has been stated as the final arc of the series.
I've been following this series since it came out, loved most of the books so far and this one did not dissapoint. I'm glad we can almost begin to see an end of the road. Alot of books in this genre dont seem to have an end point. This book is setting up the end of the series and tying everything together.
Everything I hoped for and more as John's story continues. The "set piece" battles are exciting, the inevitable last second escapes are unpredictable, and the story line just gets more intriguing as it hurtles along. Now all I have to do is wait for the next instalment! 90.1% people! Please Tao, don't make us wait too long for the rest!
This book is a must read for those following the apocalypse system series. There's so much revealed here, you aren't likely to understand the following books if you skip this one. I don't know how it will turn out, but if this book is any indication, the final few books in the series are going to be major important story chunks, and I for one don't want to miss a single one.
This story continues to entertain and delight this reader.
We're really starting to see a lot of growth in John, as his views change from being Earth-centric to looking at the universe at large. We get introduced to a lot of the "nebulous entities" that we've been hearing about up to now and he makes strong strides in the overreaching arc of the story.
I have been enjoying this series since the beginning. Just re-read the first four books to play catch-up, and now I have finished books 5 thru 10. Loved every minute. Thank you for all the enjoyment and the escape, Mr. Wong. Even if it’s for a short time. Can hardly wait until book 11.
I loved this entire series. I've just read all the way from Book 1 - to Book 11. I'm eagerly waiting for the Final book to come out so I can read it! The entire story of John and Ali is amazing, I very much enjoyed earths evolution as well as the way all the main characters changed and adapted through the story. Thank you Tao Wong, I've enjoyed these first 11 books endlessly.
Start from book 1. It's good. Then gets better with each book as they build on the ones before. Didn't take me long to finish. I look forward to rereading it right before the next is released.
Looking for a high octane gamelit adventure filled with fantastic combat scenes, high adventure, and characters you truly care a bout? Then Check out this series, because you are in for a treat!
The start of the last arc in a long series I've enjoyed. Last book was a bit of a slog to get through but this one pays off in spades. Great work Looking forward to the next two.
So a programmer gets thrown into a fantasy world where he becomes a badass sword wielding hero, but ultimately he has to go back to his coding skills for the ultimate victory? Makes sense! Love it!
After 10 books it finally looks like there is an end in sight for these characters. This book stayed on point the majority of the time and though it felt a little like more recent books it ends pushing the story in the final direction.
Can't wait for the next installment. As usual, Tao Wong impresses me. The Redeemer's development in this book is interesting and exciting, and I could barely put it down.