LitRPG_Podcast_257.mp3

LitRPG Podcast

LitRPG Podcast 257 - Death's Favorite Warlock, Real-Time Starcommander, Black Dawn

Jan. 15th, 2020

Hello everyone, welcome to episode 257 of the LitRPG podcast. I’m Ramon Mejia.

I’m here to bring you the latest LitRPG news, reviews, and author interviews. We have 5 new reviews just for you.

For the full show notes visit us at: https://litrpgpodcast.com/litrpg-podcast-257

New Releases and Reviews:

Death's Favorite Warlock (09:54)

An interesting mix of RPG and cultivation.

Score: 7.4 out of 10

https://amzn.to/3qdnthK

Real-Time Starcommander: A Strategy Gamelit Novel (15:25)

Good story for RTS fans

Score: 7.8 out of 10

https://amzn.to/3ig0iRe

Black Dawn: An Apocalyptic LitRPG Adventure (Fae Nexus Book 1) (21:29)

Good RPG Apocalypse story

Score: 7.5 out of 10

https://amzn.to/3bH9g8z

Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week (26:08)

(Pic 0)

A segment from Ian Mitchell, a long time LitRPG community member who reads and reviews as much as me. He was nice enough to agree to join the LitRPG Podcast family as a new reviewer.

(Pic 6)

Rebel (Last Chance Book 2)

Accelerated death lessons

Score: 8.4 out of 10

https://amzn.to/35nkTOd

Iron Prince (Warformed: Stormweaver Book 1)

Knocked it out of the park

Score: 9.3 out of 10

https://amzn.to/35kIgrt

(Play Music 2)

LitRPG News

𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐍

Roark von Graf may have ended up in his dungeon by accident but you can get there by the might of your pen. The fan-favorite dungeon core LitRPG series is putting together an anthology of stories and you’re invited! Fans of the Rogue Dungeon series from James Hunter and eden Hudson can submit a short story to be included in the anthology. Introduce yourself to a whole new fan base or finally become the published author you’ve wanted to be. The deadline for submissions is January 20, 2021.

𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://shadowalleypress.com/submissions/

Or do your research and pick up the first book in the series: https://geni.us/RogueDungeon1

Out Now!

Reborn: Evolution: A LitRPG Series (Warlock Chronicles Book 2)

https://amzn.to/32hZTGT

Activation: Book 1 of of the Invasion Series - A Nanomachine Magical World LitRPG Adventure

https://amzn.to/3prlTIP

Savage Dominion: A LitRPG Adventure

https://amzn.to/3s1BjW6

Murk's Rapture: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure

https://amzn.to/3hUCu5f

Unity: A Superhero LitRPG Adventure (Henchman Book 3)

https://amzn.to/3r9mtws

Couch Potato Crisis - (Couch Potato Chronicles Book 2)

https://amzn.to/3ntMnIj

The Knights of Dawn: A LitRPG novel (Shadow Kingdoms Book 1)

https://amzn.to/39gHzko

Salvos : Vol. 1, Curious Beginnings (A GameLit/LitRPG Evolution Story)

https://amzn.to/39A75kM

Village of Hawkshead: A GameLit/LitRPG Portal Fantasy Adventure (The Abduction Cycles Book 1)

https://amzn.to/38HSKDC

Dungeon Core Academy 7 (A LitRPG Series)

https://amzn.to/35DSp2M

Monsters and Legends: A LitRPG Cultivation Saga (Infinite Realm Book 1)

https://amzn.to/35H9WHc

Into the Black: Book XXVII - Normalcy

https://amzn.to/3ilfxZ1

CivCEO 6: A 4x Lit Series (The Accidental Champion)

https://amzn.to/3oXMb5i

New LitRPG Audiobooks

Life Reset: Conquest (Life Reset - Neo Book 5)

https://amzn.to/38qViFP

Aces High - Reality Benders, Book 6

https://amzn.to/38pOad1

Soul Bond - A LitRPG Gaming Adventure (The Dimensional Wars, Book 2)

https://amzn.to/3ovrc9M

Nova Terra: Titan and Greymane

The Titan Series, Books 1-2

https://amzn.to/3q3q9hT

Glitch King - A LitRPG Adventure (Mythrune Online, Book 2)

https://amzn.to/3ntKniU

Omens - A LitRPG Series (The Ashen Plane, Book 2)

https://amzn.to/3hWxs85

The Song Mistress: A LitRPG Journey - Uniworld Online, Book 2

https://amzn.to/2JXrFme

Awakening - A LitRPG Story (Outworld, Book 1)

https://amzn.to/3pWxpfk

Watcher’s Fate - Life in Exile, Book Three

https://amzn.to/3oxj092

Dungeon of Chance: Even Odds: Serious Probabilities Book 1

https://amzn.to/3nMrsQA

CivCEO 2 - Accidental Champion Series Book 2

https://amzn.to/39tV7ci

The Heaven's Boxer: A Mecha LitRPG Adventure (Overdrive, Book 1)

https://amzn.to/2N6irFz

The World Outside - Arcane Kingdom Online Book 7

https://amzn.to/3oMXVrl

Quick Change: A litRPG Publisher's Pack

Books 1-2

https://amzn.to/3qpJN7I

Condition Evolution 2 - A LitRPG

https://amzn.to/3oMZsxB

Upcoming LitRPG:

Blast Off: A Fun Science Fiction LitRPG Adventure (Interstellar Online Book 1) (Jan. 17th, 2020)

https://amzn.to/3nt5oub

Shadow Seer (Rogue Merchant Book #3): LitRPG Series (Jan. 18th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/32iROlC

Shadeslinger (The Ripple System Book #1) - A Fantasy LitRPG series (Jan. 18th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/35Fxvk3

The Call of the Forces: A LitRPG Wuxia Series (The Heavenly Throne Book 4) (Jan. 19th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3mKlK28

Watcher's Repose: A LitRPG Saga (Life in Exile Book 4) (Jan. 19th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/2Ufn4gZ

Life Reset - Salvation (NEO Book 6) (Jan. 19th, 2021)

Player Reached the Top. LitRPG Series. Book IV (Jan. 20th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3p4KmUS

The Great Centurion: Punic Wars 2 (A Real LitRPG Roman Series) (Jan. 22nd, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3gc9WmM

Rifleman: A LitRPG / LitFPS Adventure (Battlegrounds Online Book 1) (Jan. 26th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3nVKkx8

The Crafter's Dominion: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 5) (Jan. 27th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3srQrwo

Spear of Destiny: A LitRPG Dragonrider Adventure (The Archemi Online Chronicles Book 5) (Jan. 30th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/2Z4XPAE

Ascension: A LitRPG Journey (Legends Online Book 8) (Jan. 31st, 2021)

https://amzn.to/353gaS6

Unveil: BlackFlame Online Litrpg/Gamelit Universe (Path of Crafting Book 1) (Jan. 31st, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3987p9W

God's Choice: Sigma Worlds Book 5, a LitRPG series (Feb. 1st, 2021)

https://amzn.to/35nsc8B

Broken Council: A Space Opera, Post-Apocalyptic LitRPG (The System Apocalypse Book 10) (Feb. 1st, 2021)

https://amzn.to/38KErxX

True John Crusade: A Dark Fantasy Gamelit (The Adventures of Dan Book 2) (Feb. 2nd, 2021)

https://amzn.to/2VFpTIK

Underpowered Howard: A LitRPG Adventure (Feb. 2nd, 2021)

https://amzn.to/36IfPF0

The Problems with Polymorphing: A LitRPG Adventure (Dream Stream Reality Book 3) (Feb. 2nd, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3q6Dnu2

Eat, Slay, Love (The Good Guys Book 10) (Feb. 4th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/36KaXza

The Motors of Keldora: An Automation Crafting LitRPG Adventure (Factory of the Gods Book 3) (Feb. 8th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3rqVRag

Rule of Cool: A LitRPG Novel (Feb. 16th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3rvhl5N

Dagger of Doom: A LitRPG Adventure (Beta Tester Book 5) (Feb. 17th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/2VDRmuv

Path of Spirit (Disgardium Book #6): LitRPG Series (Feb. 17th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/37B8pTn

A Hard Truth and An Unwise Decision: Boneknight Series Book 3 (A Dark Fantasy LitRPG) (Bone Knight) (Feb. 19th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/2LgT5UH

Jeff the Game Master: A LitRPG Series (Feb. 23rd, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3oofnBY

Battle for the North (Rogue Merchant Book #4): LitRPG Series (March 9th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3pXJ2Ta

The Font of Life: A Mecha LitRPG Adventure (Overdrive Book 3) (March 16th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/2JYMptX

Lucky Slots (A Litrpg/Gamelit Fantasy Adventure) (March 19th, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3q86WM5

The Guild Core 3: War Torn (A Dungeon Adventure) (March 31st , 2021)

https://amzn.to/3nuIAdu

Sovereign's Choice (The Gods' Game, Volume V): A LitRPG novel (March 31st, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3s5Ag7D

The Fourth Secret: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure (Divine Apostasy Book 4) (March 31st, 2021)

https://amzn.to/3bltQeL

Onto New Releases and Reviews

(Play Music 3)

New Releases and Reviews

(Picture 1)

Death's Favorite Warlock

"Kill. Kill them all." It's the first four words Lars usually wakes up to every morning as the voice in his head nags him, telling him she's just giving him a 'quest' that will help him 'level.'

But even if he wanted to do it, he can't. They're cultivators -- beings with ancestral bloodlines that have powers he could only dream of and that may as well be gods while he is stuck as a puny human.

Even if he could kill them, the people who bullied him, beat him, treated him like a punch-bag pariah for being the 'tailless worthless human' that he was to them, he wouldn't. It just wasn't in Lars's nature.

That is, until a vicious group of murderous psychopaths called a 'sect' descend on his village. The vicious group brutally kills everyone he's known his entire life, taking a select few with them as slaves.

Lars must now trust he isn't going insane and find a way to complete the voice's quests and level up, so that he can save his mother from her cruel and heartless captors in this cultivation themed LitRPG and Gamelit adventure.

My Opinion: 490 pages, $3.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited

* An interesting mix of RPG and cultivation.*

*Full disclosure: I may have been anthropomorphized as a martial arts porcupine in the story but my undeserved death will not color the review.*

This is an interesting new story from the author. It kind of pits RPG mechanics against cultivation with humor, an interesting storyline, and good action-adventure. There are many places the author lovingly pokes at both genres but it's a good mix. The storytelling pacing and tropes will be familiar to anyone that’s a fan of cultivation, but the author definitely puts his own spin on things. There are even some nods to other series the author has written for those that look carefully.

The only thing I could point to as a minor issue, was the beginning. I wished it did a little more to connect me to the character early in the story with more detail about his upbringing and the trials he went through as someone that couldn’t cultivate. But there was loads of good character development that still made me like the character, it just took longer to connect.

Overall, it’s a good story that tries to branch into cultivation without leaving the RPG stuff. Even someone like me, who isn’t a huge cultivation fan, enjoyed it.

Score: 7.4 out of 10

Death's Favorite Warlock

https://amzn.to/3qdnthK

Real-Time Starcommander: A Strategy Gamelit Novel

Yesterday a wannabe pro-gamer, today an alien admiral.

Evan was desperate to hit the big time playing Star Commander, the world’s most popular real-time strategy game. While Evan works hard to get the pros to notice him, it's very different eyes that are captivated by Evan's progress.

The Kirran Hegemony is at war. Outclassed at every step, the aliens turn to the most warlike race they know—humanity! Abducted from Earth, Evan finds himself fighting for his life, using his skills to command Hegemony forces in desperate battle.

Now, helped by fellow humans, Evan must prove victory can be grasped from the jaws of impossible odds.

My Opinion: 180 pages, $3.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited

*Good story for RTS fans*

This is an almost great space RTS story. It has a Last Starfighter kind of premise with five people being taken from earth because they’re good players of a popular RTS and the aliens need help fighting an enemy that doesn’t conform to their outdated and stagnant strategies.

The RTS elements of gathering materials and fabricating different ships to beat your opponent come through really well and clearly without feeling tacked onto a generic sci-fi story. Instead, the game mechanics feel totally natural and I really enjoyed the author’s knowledge of specific tactics used in these games and how that kind of thinking was applied to the space combat.

Though the pacing was a little predictable, it was still well done with the game stuff introduced in the first half and more space fighting action in the last with nice little surprises in the story. The only complaint I had, besides the occasional technical writing issue, was with the storytelling is the novel length. It felt a bit short for the genre and I could have seen it being twice the length and still very enjoyable with more solid resolutions to the big story conflicts. Still, it’s a good setup for a series or a test to see if there’s readership for this kind of story.

Overall, a really good read if you like space fights and an especially good if you’re a fan of RTS games.

Score: 7.8 out of 10

Real-Time Starcommander: A Strategy Gamelit Novel

https://amzn.to/3ig0iRe

Black Dawn: An Apocalyptic LitRPG Adventure (Fae Nexus Book 1)

Magic, mayhem, and moonshine.

Gage came home to the Ozarks to mend fences with the friends he’d left behind. But when a solar storm reconnects Earth to the Fae Nexus, the world is engulfed in magical energy, altering the laws of nature… violently. Fuel, ammunition, and electronics explode, leaving the world in a dark apocalypse.

As the flames die down, demons emerge through the Fae Nexus, swarming Gage’s hometown and enslaving the survivors.

To fight back, Gage and his reunited friends harness Fae powers, becoming the Wizard, Ranger, and Fighter they’ve always played in their favorite roleplaying game.

With the help of a pair of moonshiners turned Alchemists and the ghost of a long-dead gunslinger, Gage and his friends have to level up fast to free their families and defend their home against the demonic horde.

He may have walked away once, but this time the only thing Gage is leaving behind are his regrets and a pile of dead demons.

My Opinion: 353 pages, $4.99, Available On Kindle Unlimited

*Good RPG Apocalypse story*

An entertaining RPG Apocalypse story with three sibling main characters (MC). Their backstory issues didn’t work for me but they also didn’t detract from the good things in the story: action, adventure, and interesting magic theory.

The RPG mechanics come in nice and crunchy early in the story with a clear level system with stats, classes, and notifications. For me, the best part of the story was the creative spell crafting which doesn't show up till mid story. One of the MCs goes with the wizard class but has to create his own spells by studying fae symbols to put together spell parts. Rolls were made to determine learning and spell crafting success. It was a flexible mechanic that allowed for creative problem solving and combat without losing the RPG aspects and becoming wand wavy.

On the story side, things were good overall. The setup for the RPG apocalypse wasn’t original, but the action of the invaders and kind of backcountry response from the characters made it feel different. There were a few places the pacing slowed down too much for too long, but on the whole the pacing had tension and there was plenty of motivation for the characters to progress in the story. There were also plenty of good fights with later fights using surprising defensive tactics.

Overall, a good read.

Score: 7.5 out of 10

Black Dawn: An Apocalyptic LitRPG Adventure (Fae Nexus Book 1)

https://amzn.to/3bH9g8z

Ian’s (Eye-Ann) Picks of the Week

(Pic 0)

Contributor Ian Mitchell, a long time LitRPG community member who reads and reviews as much as me. was nice enough to agree to join the LitRPG Podcast family as a new reviewer.

(Pic 6)

Rebel (Last Chance Book 2)

by K.T. Hanna

Accelerated death lessons

Such an odd story. A strange dreamlike mix of superheroes, supernatural, and spy thrillers. The plucky MC tries to live her school life amidst strange missions never quite knowing who she can trust. There's a sense of mystery that's always there. At times it reads a bit like some cultivation novels where the author keeps the reader off balance while handing out clues at a pretty good rate. This reminds me some of Inception.

Score: 8.4 out of 10

Rebel (Last Chance Book 2)

https://amzn.to/35nkTOd

Prince (Warformed: Stormweaver Book 1)

by Bryce O'Connor

Knocked it out of the park

Midway through the book I thought, this reminds me of Ender's game (one of my favorite books). My one minor dig: the beginning didn't suck me in. The book had a good solid ramp. It did have a high tech cultivating feel with evolving tech armor/weapons that the Users are bonded with. That brought the anime God Eater to mind. The academy bit was well done with a gang of friends centered around Rei (MC). Not so many sneaking around breaking school rules. Mostly hard work and training. Some good antagonists. And lots and lots of great fights. The end felt like a perfect landing with the wonderful what's next feel. I can definitely recommend as a great read that has a complete book feel. Roll credits.

Score: 9.3 out of 10

Iron Prince (Warformed: Stormweaver Book 1)

https://amzn.to/35kIgrt

That’s it everyone! Thank you for watching/listening.

You can follow us on

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/litrpgpodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LitRPGPodcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-eBvpm-g7IkjfVktObGAA

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/geekbytespodcast

Our Webpage: www.litrpgpodcast.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0rbgdut7cghvVBy572lG6o

Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/LitRPG-Podcast-Podcast/B08JJPS6S5

Other LitRPG facebook pages

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPG.books

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGsociety/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/541733016223492/

If you enjoy the podcast and want to support us you can also find all the other ways to support the podcast at www.litrpgpodcast.com/support

Thanks for hanging out with me today. Until we can hangout again, remember to go read some LitRPG!

(Music 4)

Music Credits

"Blip Stream" "Mighty Like Us" "Big Shift" "Vivacity"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/