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RealRPG #1
Mind Games
Eight Internet friends have an "IRL" meeting in a mountain cabin. But instead of the long weekend get-together they planned, they're suddenly caught up in the end of the world as they knew it!
They just met for the first time in real life last night, and today's group wake-up call is strange messages floating in the air telling them that something called a "System Start" has just happened. Now magic works, and technology doesn't. Cell phones won't work, cars won't start, and it's ten miles to the nearest town. Some of them have families to worry about. Some of them don't even believe this is real. And all of them have secrets they'll have to overcome if they're going to work together and make it back to town alive.
On the way, they'll meet other survivors, also confused, scared, and questioning what's happening. Ten miles doesn't seem that far, but by the end of it, they'll have faced some of the worst that the System can throw at them.
And then things really get interesting.
The small Tennessee town they're trying to reach is isolated, cut off, and surrounded by a new and terrifying world. Outside the town, ordinary creatures are becoming things out of nightmare. And inside the town, legends are coming to life...
Mind Games is a new GameLit/LitRPG novel in the tradition of Tao Wong's "System Apocalypse". If you enjoy books by William Arand, Scottie Futch, and other contemporary LitRPG writers, you'll love Mind Games!
They just met for the first time in real life last night, and today's group wake-up call is strange messages floating in the air telling them that something called a "System Start" has just happened. Now magic works, and technology doesn't. Cell phones won't work, cars won't start, and it's ten miles to the nearest town. Some of them have families to worry about. Some of them don't even believe this is real. And all of them have secrets they'll have to overcome if they're going to work together and make it back to town alive.
On the way, they'll meet other survivors, also confused, scared, and questioning what's happening. Ten miles doesn't seem that far, but by the end of it, they'll have faced some of the worst that the System can throw at them.
And then things really get interesting.
The small Tennessee town they're trying to reach is isolated, cut off, and surrounded by a new and terrifying world. Outside the town, ordinary creatures are becoming things out of nightmare. And inside the town, legends are coming to life...
Mind Games is a new GameLit/LitRPG novel in the tradition of Tao Wong's "System Apocalypse". If you enjoy books by William Arand, Scottie Futch, and other contemporary LitRPG writers, you'll love Mind Games!
283 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 6, 2020
418 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 189 reviews
September 1, 2020
Very unoriginal
I am sorry to say that there are few unoriginal ideas in this book. It is one thing to ve inspired, but another thing to bastardize another persons ideals so blatantly. Perhaps the author is trying to create a sub-genera of a sub-genera, but again it was almost like an interview piece to be a ghost writer for Tao Wong. Some obvious nods to Ether Collapse as well in this book, so overall unoriginal and the story was painfully slow to develop.
Ever had something bad happen and you had to explain it to someone? After a day of telling the same story over and over to your loved ones it got more and more monotonous? That is basically this book, in the groups 10 mile walk from a cabin in the woods (Ether Collapse idea) to town, picking up people along the way. (Ether Collapse)
Saving grace to this book is it has a sexy Catgirl, but does not turn Lewd or Harem on us. If that came to play, it would have hit the 1 star.
Please develop a better plot if you are not going to invest time into original ideas.
I am sorry to say that there are few unoriginal ideas in this book. It is one thing to ve inspired, but another thing to bastardize another persons ideals so blatantly. Perhaps the author is trying to create a sub-genera of a sub-genera, but again it was almost like an interview piece to be a ghost writer for Tao Wong. Some obvious nods to Ether Collapse as well in this book, so overall unoriginal and the story was painfully slow to develop.
Ever had something bad happen and you had to explain it to someone? After a day of telling the same story over and over to your loved ones it got more and more monotonous? That is basically this book, in the groups 10 mile walk from a cabin in the woods (Ether Collapse idea) to town, picking up people along the way. (Ether Collapse)
Saving grace to this book is it has a sexy Catgirl, but does not turn Lewd or Harem on us. If that came to play, it would have hit the 1 star.
Please develop a better plot if you are not going to invest time into original ideas.
September 4, 2020
Rating 4.0 stars
Surprisingly good. This is the first litrpg book for this author and I think he did an excellent job. All these stories are pretty much the same so there needs to be something that makes it standout. Having the main character be a master hypnotist that influences his build later on definitely makes it unique. Sooner or later I will tire of reading what essentially amounts to reading the same story over and over again just told in a slightly different way, but that day is not today! I am enjoying these new stories of the earth being turned into a game-like world instead of the much more prevalent player going to a virtual world. With the Earth being turned into a game-like world, there is the added storyline of people not understanding how game mechanics work and having them adapt to survive. It makes the "gamers" the most important source of information in these worlds. That is ironic considering gaming is not considered a very important life skill in the current world we live.
A group of online friends go away for the weekend and have some naughty fun. They are all into hypnotism, either performing it or being put under. After their fun night they wake up and have a message in their vision saying the world has changed. This was much more of a setup book. It explains the world and how everything works. There is some action and some leveling up, but the goal of this book was just to survive. I expect more action and settlement building in the next book. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one.
Surprisingly good. This is the first litrpg book for this author and I think he did an excellent job. All these stories are pretty much the same so there needs to be something that makes it standout. Having the main character be a master hypnotist that influences his build later on definitely makes it unique. Sooner or later I will tire of reading what essentially amounts to reading the same story over and over again just told in a slightly different way, but that day is not today! I am enjoying these new stories of the earth being turned into a game-like world instead of the much more prevalent player going to a virtual world. With the Earth being turned into a game-like world, there is the added storyline of people not understanding how game mechanics work and having them adapt to survive. It makes the "gamers" the most important source of information in these worlds. That is ironic considering gaming is not considered a very important life skill in the current world we live.
A group of online friends go away for the weekend and have some naughty fun. They are all into hypnotism, either performing it or being put under. After their fun night they wake up and have a message in their vision saying the world has changed. This was much more of a setup book. It explains the world and how everything works. There is some action and some leveling up, but the goal of this book was just to survive. I expect more action and settlement building in the next book. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one.
July 12, 2020
Alert
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.
Cheers
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.
Cheers
July 9, 2020
Disclaimer: I am the author of this book!
Mind Games is a LitRPG System Apocalypse novel in the tradition of Earth Tactics Advance, The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound, and Tao Wong's System Apocalypse series. You can read sample chapters here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
Here's the description of both LitRPG in general, and this book in particular, from the original Kickstarter project:
What's LitRPG?
LitRPG is an emerging genre of fiction that can include science fiction, fantasy, horror, or any other "standard" genre, but with a twist: the main characters of the story are also characters in a game. This can be because they're literally playing a game, or because they live in a universe that has "game-like" rules. If you've ever seen or read Life in the North, Rise of the Shield Hero, Sword Art Online, Arifureta, or the Guardians of the Flame series, those are all forms of LitRPG. The key element of LitRPG is that the characters in a LitRPG story try to increase their power by accumulating experience and "leveling up," becoming more powerful and being able to overcome more powerful challenges in turn.
Mind Games: A Summary
Mind Games will be the first book in a series about what LitRPG fans call a "System Apocalypse." This flavor of LitRPG takes place in our own familiar world... but somehow, it's also become a world of stats and scores, hit points, experience points, and leveling up! Magic and monsters are suddenly real - and the characters in the story are caught in the middle of the massive disruption as they try to reach safety from the mountain cabin they've rented for a weekend get-together. Complicating things is the fact that while now magic works, technology doesn't. No phones, no electricity, no cars. It's primitive as can be, at least until humanity gets the System figured out and can start fighting back against the mutated animals and other surprises that the System is throwing at them. Not that the monsters are necessarily the worst threat in this radically changed world...
Our heroes, Internet friends from a mysterious social site, have rented a cabin for an "IRL" get-together. They wake up on Saturday morning to strange messages floating in the air telling them that something called a "System Start" has just happened.
The good news: They're in an area which will have lots of magical energy, so they're entitled to some sweet "new player/higher difficulty" perks that the average human won't get.
The bad news: They're in an area which will have lots of magical energy, which means that the local wildlife will also gain power rapidly.
It'll get bigger, smarter, meaner, and hungrier. The System's messages don't mince words: "Chose your perks and be ready to run."
TL;DR? They need to get out of the mountains, fast, and find a place where there are more people and the promise of safety.
They just met for the first time in real life last night, they have no cell phones, no cars, and it's ten miles to town. Some of them have families to worry about. Some of them don't even believe this is real. And all of them have secrets they'll have to overcome if they're going to work together and make it back to town alive.
On the way, they'll meet other survivors, also confused, scared, and questioning what's happening. Ten miles doesn't seem that far, but by the end of it, they'll have faced some of the worst that the System can throw at them.
And then things really get interesting
Outside the small Tennessee town they're trying so desperately to reach, ordinary creatures are becoming things out of nightmare. And inside the town, legends are coming to life...
Mind Games is a LitRPG System Apocalypse novel in the tradition of Earth Tactics Advance, The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound, and Tao Wong's System Apocalypse series. You can read sample chapters here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
Here's the description of both LitRPG in general, and this book in particular, from the original Kickstarter project:
What's LitRPG?
LitRPG is an emerging genre of fiction that can include science fiction, fantasy, horror, or any other "standard" genre, but with a twist: the main characters of the story are also characters in a game. This can be because they're literally playing a game, or because they live in a universe that has "game-like" rules. If you've ever seen or read Life in the North, Rise of the Shield Hero, Sword Art Online, Arifureta, or the Guardians of the Flame series, those are all forms of LitRPG. The key element of LitRPG is that the characters in a LitRPG story try to increase their power by accumulating experience and "leveling up," becoming more powerful and being able to overcome more powerful challenges in turn.
Mind Games: A Summary
Mind Games will be the first book in a series about what LitRPG fans call a "System Apocalypse." This flavor of LitRPG takes place in our own familiar world... but somehow, it's also become a world of stats and scores, hit points, experience points, and leveling up! Magic and monsters are suddenly real - and the characters in the story are caught in the middle of the massive disruption as they try to reach safety from the mountain cabin they've rented for a weekend get-together. Complicating things is the fact that while now magic works, technology doesn't. No phones, no electricity, no cars. It's primitive as can be, at least until humanity gets the System figured out and can start fighting back against the mutated animals and other surprises that the System is throwing at them. Not that the monsters are necessarily the worst threat in this radically changed world...
Our heroes, Internet friends from a mysterious social site, have rented a cabin for an "IRL" get-together. They wake up on Saturday morning to strange messages floating in the air telling them that something called a "System Start" has just happened.
The good news: They're in an area which will have lots of magical energy, so they're entitled to some sweet "new player/higher difficulty" perks that the average human won't get.
The bad news: They're in an area which will have lots of magical energy, which means that the local wildlife will also gain power rapidly.
It'll get bigger, smarter, meaner, and hungrier. The System's messages don't mince words: "Chose your perks and be ready to run."
TL;DR? They need to get out of the mountains, fast, and find a place where there are more people and the promise of safety.
They just met for the first time in real life last night, they have no cell phones, no cars, and it's ten miles to town. Some of them have families to worry about. Some of them don't even believe this is real. And all of them have secrets they'll have to overcome if they're going to work together and make it back to town alive.
On the way, they'll meet other survivors, also confused, scared, and questioning what's happening. Ten miles doesn't seem that far, but by the end of it, they'll have faced some of the worst that the System can throw at them.
And then things really get interesting
Outside the small Tennessee town they're trying so desperately to reach, ordinary creatures are becoming things out of nightmare. And inside the town, legends are coming to life...
September 29, 2020
Not bad
Worth a look and a Sunday afternoon if you enjoy litrpg. I think my single point of critique is that there are far more nerds than he realizes, and many people would be competent at reading numbers and descriptions should their lives depend on it.
That said, solid addition to the genre with a people and character driven story that does well with his writing style.
Worth a look and a Sunday afternoon if you enjoy litrpg. I think my single point of critique is that there are far more nerds than he realizes, and many people would be competent at reading numbers and descriptions should their lives depend on it.
That said, solid addition to the genre with a people and character driven story that does well with his writing style.
Read
October 17, 2020LitRPG with an apocalypse.
October 17, 2020
Interesting Concept, horrible Female Dynamics
The main character is constantly being physically hit by a woman that claims to like him and respect him for saving her and their whole party. Similarly there is a want-to-be dominant that constantly tries to put him down or assert herself when she does nothing for the party.
I literally had to stop reading this book multiple times and read other stories where the MC wasn’t being constantly tore down or dismissed by these two characters. The concepts are interesting and I would like to see where the story goes as there is a great deal of potential. It would be great to see the MC actually be OP and use his smarts to actually lead people to prosperity, the potential is there.
I’m just over the narratives of women tearing down men and I’m sorry that can’t lead to healthy success or actual long term survival in a post-apocalyptic world, you either work together or you die.
I do want to read the second book to see if dynamics improve and how the concepts play out.
The main character is constantly being physically hit by a woman that claims to like him and respect him for saving her and their whole party. Similarly there is a want-to-be dominant that constantly tries to put him down or assert herself when she does nothing for the party.
I literally had to stop reading this book multiple times and read other stories where the MC wasn’t being constantly tore down or dismissed by these two characters. The concepts are interesting and I would like to see where the story goes as there is a great deal of potential. It would be great to see the MC actually be OP and use his smarts to actually lead people to prosperity, the potential is there.
I’m just over the narratives of women tearing down men and I’m sorry that can’t lead to healthy success or actual long term survival in a post-apocalyptic world, you either work together or you die.
I do want to read the second book to see if dynamics improve and how the concepts play out.
July 16, 2020
Great start to an intriguing series
Really enjoyed this book and its take on the LitRPG genre. Great characters and the "system" seemed to be really well thought out, though this book barely scratches the surface. The LitRPG elements weren't overwhelming, and the MC provides great, simple explanations for everything. In that, this is a great entry-point into the genre of you're unfamiliar with it. Looking forward to the next book!
Really enjoyed this book and its take on the LitRPG genre. Great characters and the "system" seemed to be really well thought out, though this book barely scratches the surface. The LitRPG elements weren't overwhelming, and the MC provides great, simple explanations for everything. In that, this is a great entry-point into the genre of you're unfamiliar with it. Looking forward to the next book!
July 30, 2020
If you've read the system apocalypse litrpg, and you liked it, then this book will be somewhat familiar to you. It's full of characters doing their best to handle the earth becoming a new system planet, with immigration, leveling up animals, and all the trouble that all brings. Some may think it's a system apocalypse simply retold, and although there may be *some* truth to that, it's also a very well done story in it's own right, and deserves to be judged on it's own merits. I liked this one, and will be sure to follow future releases in the series. Unfortunately, I missed it when it was a kickstarter campaign, as I most definitely would have backed this one.
November 15, 2020
Well-written
The writing is well-above the typical standard for the genre (and most self-published kindle books). The characters are believable and interesting. The story is engaging but doesn’t get bogged down in too many charts and tables as so many other litrpg titles do.
The writing is well-above the typical standard for the genre (and most self-published kindle books). The characters are believable and interesting. The story is engaging but doesn’t get bogged down in too many charts and tables as so many other litrpg titles do.
January 7, 2021
This is like a copy of Equalize? O_o Had to double check this wasn't supposed to be set in that word. Very strange. The thing is, where that book does some world building and explains what is causes the Armageddon, this just does it and seems to have the attitude, 'it's magic, don't think about it'.
In the end not much happens besides explanations of very basic rpg concepts, often multiple times. Followed by reaction shots of some people being shocked/confused and others being excited. e_e
There's just nothing new here. There's even "Immigration" where he could introduce cool, creative, sci-fantasy sentient species and what does he do? Bog standard Short human and pointy eared human.
At least the writing is solid.
In the end not much happens besides explanations of very basic rpg concepts, often multiple times. Followed by reaction shots of some people being shocked/confused and others being excited. e_e
There's just nothing new here. There's even "Immigration" where he could introduce cool, creative, sci-fantasy sentient species and what does he do? Bog standard Short human and pointy eared human.
At least the writing is solid.
November 25, 2020
Good Book.
Not much new with this book compared to many of the others in this genre but it was very well written. The characters were fairly decently worked out and some good side plots as set up. The story was overall not bad.
Not much new with this book compared to many of the others in this genre but it was very well written. The characters were fairly decently worked out and some good side plots as set up. The story was overall not bad.
July 10, 2020
A interesting first book.
I enjoyed the progression of the story and I liked that the MC is non traditional in what he did before the Apocalypse happened. The MC was interesting in that he had a class I have never seen in any book before.The rpg part of the book was not very detailed at the moment but hopefully it will be fleshed out more in future books. The party dynamics was pretty good and was more realistic than in many as the characters did not automatically work together like a well oiled machine. The author has included a character that many people will not like in the party to keep it more realistic. The pacing was good and I enjoyed the progression of the story.
I enjoyed the progression of the story and I liked that the MC is non traditional in what he did before the Apocalypse happened. The MC was interesting in that he had a class I have never seen in any book before.The rpg part of the book was not very detailed at the moment but hopefully it will be fleshed out more in future books. The party dynamics was pretty good and was more realistic than in many as the characters did not automatically work together like a well oiled machine. The author has included a character that many people will not like in the party to keep it more realistic. The pacing was good and I enjoyed the progression of the story.
July 8, 2020
Very fun
Loved it really good read I stayed up way to late to finish as I could not put it down. Just the right pace so it’s always interesting while still having character growth and interaction hope to see more soon .
Loved it really good read I stayed up way to late to finish as I could not put it down. Just the right pace so it’s always interesting while still having character growth and interaction hope to see more soon .
July 9, 2020
Book one
Mistakes: I found only two mistakes in the book.
Plot: This is a System Apocalypse style book. When the system arrives a small group of friends must make their way from a cabin in the mountains to the nearest town.
Characters: The group is full of interesting characters. Some of them are more fleshed out then others. The tank and monk could use more depth.
8/10 I look forward to seeing how this plays out.
Mistakes: I found only two mistakes in the book.
Plot: This is a System Apocalypse style book. When the system arrives a small group of friends must make their way from a cabin in the mountains to the nearest town.
Characters: The group is full of interesting characters. Some of them are more fleshed out then others. The tank and monk could use more depth.
8/10 I look forward to seeing how this plays out.
January 23, 2021
I enjoyed this entry in the Magic comes to the mundane world genre. It is reminiscent of Tao Wong's System Apocalypse books in that our MC wakes to the world Awakening to Mana in a dangerous area. But the MC is not alone. We get to follow of group of people who are doing an IRL meetup in a remote cabin when the transition happens. This means we get a party with the basics covered. Book one is all about getting back to civilization. It was a nice Slice of Life journey and I am looking forward to the next entry.
July 11, 2020
I was honestly expecting a poorly written harem book based on the cover. The blurb made me give it a shot and I was thrilled to find this was neither poorly written, nor a harem (or even explicit) story.
A well written system-apocalypse type story. A bit of adventure, finding out about the system. Influence of Tao Wong's system apocalypse story is apparent, though this was called out by the author in the forward.
All in all, looking forward to another installment.
A well written system-apocalypse type story. A bit of adventure, finding out about the system. Influence of Tao Wong's system apocalypse story is apparent, though this was called out by the author in the forward.
All in all, looking forward to another installment.
September 4, 2022
I picked this up on a whim for something lighter to read and it pretty much delivered what I was looking for.
Character - 7/10, Plot - 7/10, Setting/Game Mechanics - 7/10, Writing - 7/10, Enjoyment - 7/10
The characters were a bit stereotypical and I didn't see much in the way of multifaceted personalities, but the story made up for it with volume and variety. This was only the first book of what will likely be a handful, so there should be plenty of opportunities to flesh the characters out further.
Despite the characters being fairly simple, there was the added twist of our initial characters being a group of amateur hypnotists doing an IRL meetup when the world gets Systematized. This provided some unique flavor to this story, though it also put up some yellow flags for ickiness if the story was to veer off into harem/erotica territory down the road.
The plot and game mechanics were pretty run-of-the-mill, which wasn't a bad thing since it's pretty much exactly what I came for. There were enough different character classes and monster creatures to keep things interesting as well.
The writing was a notch above average. There were some grammar problems in the early chapters that really jumped out, like using "me" instead of "I" and "but" instead of "and". Maybe that section just didn't get the same editing passes as the rest of the book because otherwise, the writing was pretty clean and functional. There were only a couple of sentences that I had to reread for clarity because of syntax ambiguity.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and found the experience I was looking for. I was a little concerned during the early chapters, what with the hypnotism swingers' party setup, but things stayed mostly kosher. I'll continue this series when the next book comes out.
Character - 7/10, Plot - 7/10, Setting/Game Mechanics - 7/10, Writing - 7/10, Enjoyment - 7/10
The characters were a bit stereotypical and I didn't see much in the way of multifaceted personalities, but the story made up for it with volume and variety. This was only the first book of what will likely be a handful, so there should be plenty of opportunities to flesh the characters out further.
Despite the characters being fairly simple, there was the added twist of our initial characters being a group of amateur hypnotists doing an IRL meetup when the world gets Systematized. This provided some unique flavor to this story, though it also put up some yellow flags for ickiness if the story was to veer off into harem/erotica territory down the road.
The plot and game mechanics were pretty run-of-the-mill, which wasn't a bad thing since it's pretty much exactly what I came for. There were enough different character classes and monster creatures to keep things interesting as well.
The writing was a notch above average. There were some grammar problems in the early chapters that really jumped out, like using "me" instead of "I" and "but" instead of "and". Maybe that section just didn't get the same editing passes as the rest of the book because otherwise, the writing was pretty clean and functional. There were only a couple of sentences that I had to reread for clarity because of syntax ambiguity.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and found the experience I was looking for. I was a little concerned during the early chapters, what with the hypnotism swingers' party setup, but things stayed mostly kosher. I'll continue this series when the next book comes out.
April 22, 2021
*audiobook review* Good but not great.
Basically, it is the the tried and tested formula of system apocalypse, blue boxes, lots of humans of earth dead and new alien neighbors who look like our fantasy elves and dwarfs. I mean, it has been done before but it doesn't mean that it isn't fun. The story is good, MC has a unique class and isn't an idiot, the side characters aren't that bad and his love interest is pretty cool. It's funny, with adventure and mystery. MY ONLY ISSUE is the people. How can a system that can kill billions of humans forget to kill the rest of these retards. I mean, the rest of the humans and some of the side characters means well, but they are so god damn naive or so easily threatened and just plain ignorant was damn right dumb ...and damn accurate in their ignorance or stupidity. I have seen this before, lot's of people who live in a society that is sheltered cannot for some reason come to terms that something bad has happened and they need to adapt or else they will die. The belief that the police or some higher authority can be called on to save the rest of human sheep in a speedy manor. That is what irritated me, that the writer got that right and remind me that some people are either awful, full of ego or just naive waiting for superman. Oddly enough, the MC sees all this and calmly and logically point out the many issues and convince people the various threat and make it sound like he isn't in charge or that it wasn't his idea. I was at first though a Mesmer or mind mage was dumb until you hear him convince pacifists to fight and lead people to peaceful solutions when they are too stubborn or mildly racist and or aggressive to bend. All and all, it's not bad and reaffirm that most people are idiots.
Basically, it is the the tried and tested formula of system apocalypse, blue boxes, lots of humans of earth dead and new alien neighbors who look like our fantasy elves and dwarfs. I mean, it has been done before but it doesn't mean that it isn't fun. The story is good, MC has a unique class and isn't an idiot, the side characters aren't that bad and his love interest is pretty cool. It's funny, with adventure and mystery. MY ONLY ISSUE is the people. How can a system that can kill billions of humans forget to kill the rest of these retards. I mean, the rest of the humans and some of the side characters means well, but they are so god damn naive or so easily threatened and just plain ignorant was damn right dumb ...and damn accurate in their ignorance or stupidity. I have seen this before, lot's of people who live in a society that is sheltered cannot for some reason come to terms that something bad has happened and they need to adapt or else they will die. The belief that the police or some higher authority can be called on to save the rest of human sheep in a speedy manor. That is what irritated me, that the writer got that right and remind me that some people are either awful, full of ego or just naive waiting for superman. Oddly enough, the MC sees all this and calmly and logically point out the many issues and convince people the various threat and make it sound like he isn't in charge or that it wasn't his idea. I was at first though a Mesmer or mind mage was dumb until you hear him convince pacifists to fight and lead people to peaceful solutions when they are too stubborn or mildly racist and or aggressive to bend. All and all, it's not bad and reaffirm that most people are idiots.
March 5, 2023
I was very dissapointed with this book. Perhaps because I had high expectations. The author had a very good idea but he lacked some writing skills, that should have been better refined. The first problem is that there were too many characters for you to follow. They start with already 8, and the group keep growning with the addition of characters that most of the times adds nothings to the plot and the characters started to become poorly developed.
The story also developed slow, and was, as a review already said, painfully slow. The characters are slow actually and there was too much talking and few plot development. The MC started to became an annoying Gary Stu by the end (everybody kissing his ass) and it seemed to me that .
This was the only book in the serie(so technically it is not a serie), and the author either died or gave up his writing carrer, because he never released another book, so despite the #1 in the name of the book and the promise in the end of a new adventure, it seems that that is it.
The story also developed slow, and was, as a review already said, painfully slow. The characters are slow actually and there was too much talking and few plot development. The MC started to became an annoying Gary Stu by the end (everybody kissing his ass) and it seemed to me that .
This was the only book in the serie(so technically it is not a serie), and the author either died or gave up his writing carrer, because he never released another book, so despite the #1 in the name of the book and the promise in the end of a new adventure, it seems that that is it.
July 31, 2020
Very Enjoyable
The flirting between the MC and love interest struck me as rather awkward most of the time, but that was mainly down to timing. It just usually seemed like a weird situation to be distracted by the sexy, you know? Or maybe it needs to be leaned into a little more, make the character(s) just a bit “thinks with the other head” so it makes sense to be distracted so often. Flawed characters are interesting, it could be a good hurdle. Either way, I hope we’ll see that issue smoothed out in the next book.
But the world is interesting and the direction our characters’ powers are taking is fascinating - I haven’t seen anything in litrpg featuring hypnosis before, and I hope we’ll learn more about it. I also look forward to seeing some enemies with this power set, because you can see in the skill descriptions some really dark ways they could be applied. Time for a face-off!
Strong influence by Tao Wong (other inspirations I am not as familiar with were also listed, so now I have recs for my reading list!), so if you enjoy his apocalypse series, you might enjoy this too. It’s a fun read, and very good for a first book - I see serious potential for this series. Definitely recommend giving it a shot.
The flirting between the MC and love interest struck me as rather awkward most of the time, but that was mainly down to timing. It just usually seemed like a weird situation to be distracted by the sexy, you know? Or maybe it needs to be leaned into a little more, make the character(s) just a bit “thinks with the other head” so it makes sense to be distracted so often. Flawed characters are interesting, it could be a good hurdle. Either way, I hope we’ll see that issue smoothed out in the next book.
But the world is interesting and the direction our characters’ powers are taking is fascinating - I haven’t seen anything in litrpg featuring hypnosis before, and I hope we’ll learn more about it. I also look forward to seeing some enemies with this power set, because you can see in the skill descriptions some really dark ways they could be applied. Time for a face-off!
Strong influence by Tao Wong (other inspirations I am not as familiar with were also listed, so now I have recs for my reading list!), so if you enjoy his apocalypse series, you might enjoy this too. It’s a fun read, and very good for a first book - I see serious potential for this series. Definitely recommend giving it a shot.
February 11, 2024
Surprised not a lot of people are talking about how messed up this novel is. First of all, the author gave the MC complete control over the FML’s abilities. Out of all the 7ish people who got classes/ abilities, only the FML’s needed a specific form of hypnosis to activate it, and the MC happened to have that. It’s crazy how much mental gymnastics and bs the author pulled to give the MC control over the FML. It’s honestly disgusting.
The interactions were just terrible. Author should have used fewer characters if he couldn’t properly handle a lot of them. The weirdest relationship is between a supposed S and M couple. These guys are supposedly scared for their lives and thrust into life and death situations, but the husband calls his partner madame and acts all submissive around her. It’s so strange. The wife even gets mad at the husband when he speaks without permission, even about things that concern her be survival of the group.
I really tried to push through the book, but couldnt make it past a couple of paragraphs without considering dropping it. I can forgive certain things as long as the story is interesting but it wasn’t
The interactions were just terrible. Author should have used fewer characters if he couldn’t properly handle a lot of them. The weirdest relationship is between a supposed S and M couple. These guys are supposedly scared for their lives and thrust into life and death situations, but the husband calls his partner madame and acts all submissive around her. It’s so strange. The wife even gets mad at the husband when he speaks without permission, even about things that concern her be survival of the group.
I really tried to push through the book, but couldnt make it past a couple of paragraphs without considering dropping it. I can forgive certain things as long as the story is interesting but it wasn’t
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2020
I loved this book. I can't wait for the next in the series
Read this book!
I very much liked the main characters James and Danielle . And the entire concept of a System Start was very original and well done. The initial leveling up is very interesting and in fact the most fun part of RPGs is leveling up and getting new gear and skills and power.
I was reminded of when I played WoW and beginning a new character in the starter areas. I can't wait til the next book when they get to a more advanced area and gain more power and more skills.
Critiques - I'd like to see Joe developed a bit more as tank, his personality and skills and abilities. Obviously James is the main character and leader, and we learned a bit about Danielle's, but the rest were a bit of a black box. I'd like to be able to see the status table of the different characters like we did with James - stroke of the pen to say ,"as party leader you can now...." :)
I also liked the author wasn't afraid to have some hardship and tragedy going for James to deal with. His talk with Sheila actually moved me.
Read this book!
I very much liked the main characters James and Danielle . And the entire concept of a System Start was very original and well done. The initial leveling up is very interesting and in fact the most fun part of RPGs is leveling up and getting new gear and skills and power.
I was reminded of when I played WoW and beginning a new character in the starter areas. I can't wait til the next book when they get to a more advanced area and gain more power and more skills.
Critiques - I'd like to see Joe developed a bit more as tank, his personality and skills and abilities. Obviously James is the main character and leader, and we learned a bit about Danielle's, but the rest were a bit of a black box. I'd like to be able to see the status table of the different characters like we did with James - stroke of the pen to say ,"as party leader you can now...." :)
I also liked the author wasn't afraid to have some hardship and tragedy going for James to deal with. His talk with Sheila actually moved me.
August 11, 2020
Great
I enjoyed this book a lot. It is Gamelit System Apocalypse novel with the usual elements. So far nothing that unusual or special.
One thing that I found strange about the story is that the starting group of people are sharing a holiday house but don’t really know each other. Although this helped the narrative along as the MC had to get to know the other people.
The last third of the book concerned settlement politics etc and I found that really killed the pace of the story and was perhaps a little unbalanced. On the plus side, it sets the next book up for a cracker start.
I hesitated trying this novel as the cat girl made me think harem, not a fan. However, I have not seen harem development although there are non-traditional relationships in the side characters and the MC to a certain extent. Certainly not an issue for me but those who are sensitive should take note.
As I said, nothing groundbreaking here but a solid read with interesting characters. I am hanging out for the next instalment.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It is Gamelit System Apocalypse novel with the usual elements. So far nothing that unusual or special.
One thing that I found strange about the story is that the starting group of people are sharing a holiday house but don’t really know each other. Although this helped the narrative along as the MC had to get to know the other people.
The last third of the book concerned settlement politics etc and I found that really killed the pace of the story and was perhaps a little unbalanced. On the plus side, it sets the next book up for a cracker start.
I hesitated trying this novel as the cat girl made me think harem, not a fan. However, I have not seen harem development although there are non-traditional relationships in the side characters and the MC to a certain extent. Certainly not an issue for me but those who are sensitive should take note.
As I said, nothing groundbreaking here but a solid read with interesting characters. I am hanging out for the next instalment.
January 3, 2021
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to. The characters are well written and interesting, and the game mechanics are well thought out. The MC's class of Mind Mage/Mesmerist allows him to discretely influence the minds of others, which is a nice twist. He's not the strongest person on the team in terms of damage output, but he does take charge, despite his repeated claims that he isn't the leader.
The female lead is a magical catgirl who can transform back and forth. I do appreciate that many of the classes in this book are unique, rather than always falling back on standard tropes like fighter, mage, and thief.
One thing I didn't like is how only a few of the characters seemed to know anything about video games, and none of the women seemed to know anything about gaming. 65% of Americans are gamers (including 48% of women), but the characters in this book make it seem much much lower.
This minor issue aside, I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to the sequel. If you enjoy LitRPG apocalypses, do yourself a favor and pick up this book today.
The female lead is a magical catgirl who can transform back and forth. I do appreciate that many of the classes in this book are unique, rather than always falling back on standard tropes like fighter, mage, and thief.
One thing I didn't like is how only a few of the characters seemed to know anything about video games, and none of the women seemed to know anything about gaming. 65% of Americans are gamers (including 48% of women), but the characters in this book make it seem much much lower.
This minor issue aside, I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to the sequel. If you enjoy LitRPG apocalypses, do yourself a favor and pick up this book today.
March 9, 2021
I am intrigued by the Lit RPG genre. This kept me reading, mostly because I was interested in the mechanics. Those are fun. The plot is pretty simple and kept up a decent pace. The characterization was where this went off the rails for me.
The MC is a super obvious self-insert. And, you know, FINE. I see the appeal.
However, not only was the character OP, the character dictated most of the action (a problem not solved by the "Oh, I'm not a leader" moments). When you don't let characters act on their own, they start to feel like puppets, and that saps a lot of tension out of the action for me.
And then there is the cat-girl. She has the potential to be cool, but is mostly there to ooh-and-ah over "her hero" and as obvious fantasy for the writer/MC.
I've read worse in other genres. This just wasn't my jam. I'll keep looking.
The MC is a super obvious self-insert. And, you know, FINE. I see the appeal.
However, not only was the character OP, the character dictated most of the action (a problem not solved by the "Oh, I'm not a leader" moments). When you don't let characters act on their own, they start to feel like puppets, and that saps a lot of tension out of the action for me.
And then there is the cat-girl. She has the potential to be cool, but is mostly there to ooh-and-ah over "her hero" and as obvious fantasy for the writer/MC.
I've read worse in other genres. This just wasn't my jam. I'll keep looking.
September 26, 2022
Fairly standard system introduced to new world causing apocalypse.
Started off a a 2 star for me, ended closer to a 4. There were a few things I had difficulty overcoming - gaming as a hobby is way more common than portrayed in the book (a town of several thousand had no gamers?!?), leaving the MC with minimal knowledge and guesswork looking like a genius relative to everyone else. Also, catgirls are not really my thing - they're the opposite of warm fuzzies to me. I missed that part on the cover when I added this to my KU list in Amazon.
I liked it enough to finish, but not enough hooks to really grab me enough to add it to a list to look for a book 2 later. It's been 2 years since this was published - if book 2 were out now, I may try it, but I'm not going to worry about coming back and trying to remember all the weird quirks.
Started off a a 2 star for me, ended closer to a 4. There were a few things I had difficulty overcoming - gaming as a hobby is way more common than portrayed in the book (a town of several thousand had no gamers?!?), leaving the MC with minimal knowledge and guesswork looking like a genius relative to everyone else. Also, catgirls are not really my thing - they're the opposite of warm fuzzies to me. I missed that part on the cover when I added this to my KU list in Amazon.
I liked it enough to finish, but not enough hooks to really grab me enough to add it to a list to look for a book 2 later. It's been 2 years since this was published - if book 2 were out now, I may try it, but I'm not going to worry about coming back and trying to remember all the weird quirks.
August 5, 2020
A surprisingly good read!
Premise is that earth has transitioned and mana/magic is real. Animals are evolving via mana and technology no longer works. Group of online friends meet irl for the first time when the “system” hits and earth changes. People have classes/abilities to help them survive. Story follows this group of friends/acquaintances and how they progress in a new world filled with mana-evolved animals, cat-girls, dwarves & elves.
Overall, characters were likable and i did not want to put the book down. Some of the mushy crap the main guy says got on my nerves but otherwise book is a great and fun adventure. Nothing new for this type of book but nonetheless it earns it spot.
Premise is that earth has transitioned and mana/magic is real. Animals are evolving via mana and technology no longer works. Group of online friends meet irl for the first time when the “system” hits and earth changes. People have classes/abilities to help them survive. Story follows this group of friends/acquaintances and how they progress in a new world filled with mana-evolved animals, cat-girls, dwarves & elves.
Overall, characters were likable and i did not want to put the book down. Some of the mushy crap the main guy says got on my nerves but otherwise book is a great and fun adventure. Nothing new for this type of book but nonetheless it earns it spot.
August 17, 2020
Too short a book for me....if the book is short then it better be fast paced for me to gobble up the story.
Cons for me ,system notification are full, for damage dealt and remaining MP...nothing much happened in the story .... and when i was reading the time notifcation it says 2017.... I am reading it in 2020 so i expected it to be 2020 or 2021 and stop the full notification for time also just show a shortcut for it. The only fear when i start reading a novel is ... if i like the novel when would be its next installation is my main worry... so when i saw the time as 2017, I was like ... maybe the author has been writing it for 3 years .... and to wait for next installation would be foolish.
Cons for me ,system notification are full, for damage dealt and remaining MP...nothing much happened in the story .... and when i was reading the time notifcation it says 2017.... I am reading it in 2020 so i expected it to be 2020 or 2021 and stop the full notification for time also just show a shortcut for it. The only fear when i start reading a novel is ... if i like the novel when would be its next installation is my main worry... so when i saw the time as 2017, I was like ... maybe the author has been writing it for 3 years .... and to wait for next installation would be foolish.
August 17, 2020
First this was an enjoyable read but its all a bit to nice. Ive been reading some Russian LitRPG and it tend to be a little more gritty. The setup and choice of character back story is wasted. The world is falling apart but its all lets hold hands and sing kumbaya . I think this happened because the author likes the characters. The main male lead could have been more human if he enjoyed his abilities a little more(evil crackle ). He does some stuff that kinda crapy but it all ok because he's really a good guy. It might have been more fun if he was a slighly flawed manipulating know it all douche bag or a few grey hats mixed in with the white hats (there arent any black hats ) please . Hell thats just my impression but what do i know?
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