Halfway through Defiance of the Fall 15. It's still my favorite series right now. There's something about a book that makes you really work to earn understanding it. The way it bounces from actual scenes that move the story forward to epiphany stories that you don't know aren't happening to the MC until halfway through the third chapter of the epiphany. How it makes references to throwaway characters from 5 books ago that are required to remember before understanding core sections of the plot. The way it painstakingly progresses through each of the 37 tenets of the lung empowerment rituals.
You should just summarize the last couple of books in a few sentences so the rest of us that are never going to read it can keep up. I stopped a couple books ago, but from the sounds of it I'd almost believe that he's trolling his readers now and making shit as boring and dry and repetitive as possible. But unless he got an AI to write it for him, that's a lot of work for trolling. I'll never read anything else he writes, because even if it starts strong he'll eventually fall into this same bullshit I assume, so I'm done. But I'd like to know when, 38 books from now, something cool finally happens.
You should just summarize the last couple of books in a few sentences so the rest of us that are never going to read it can keep up. I stopped a couple books ago, but from the sounds of it I'd almost believe that he's trolling his readers now and making shit as boring and dry and repetitive as possible. But unless he got an AI to write it for him, that's a lot of work for trolling. I'll never read anything else he writes, because even if it starts strong he'll eventually fall into this same bullshit I assume, so I'm done. But I'd like to know when, 38 books from now, something cool finally happens.
Hah. Are you at GRRM's house right now threatening him until he writes? Or maybe Rothfuss?
Seriously though, I've read enough shitty shitrpg that I just had to cut several of them off because they were so fucking bad. If I continued them I would just end up hating the author and myself for wasting my time. Worse, I might want to murder them.
LITRPG is a genre where I don't mind quitting a series at all because once the MC has progressed to a certain point the game has been beaten.
In an alternate universe there is a small but bitter fanbase mad at the author for releasing the 31st book named Laurion's Song that they find derivative, boring and full of filled content. The fanbase recommends people stop reading after Book 5: The Planes of Power.
I stopped reading it in volume one, it was clear that the author had nothing to say beyond using a well trod premise to hook readers into getting invested ultimately in nothing at all. Yay me I guess, but I do I wish that they'd put a little more effort into it.
I really didn’t mind quitting defiance and primal hunter because they were so boring and wooden that I wasn’t invested in the characters, world, or story at all. Primal started that way, just shit. Defiance first group of books was fun but once he cleaned up earth and started swimming around in an alien planets ocean and leveling up by pondering it was pretty easy to stop caring and quit.
After so many litrpg the first few chapters of "Random nerd kinda floundering and bored in life gets thrown into a gamified world" is like enjoying a classic burger at a new restaurant, familiar, but delicious and fresh.
I'm currently reading #5 (6 is the one that just came out), and I might be almost done with this one too. He just finished his stint with the rhinos. I get that none of these main characters are ever going to die, but it just gets super boring when you know he's just going to dig deep, deeper than ever before!! and win the fight, and probably unlock a new skill or some shit in the process. Hell, I can't even remember if his name is Zac or Zane, because who cares? I literally skim every navel gazing section until I see the notification text for whatever bullshit skill he just upgraded or unlocked too.
It's fun at first to see him doing all these crazy things, but now it is boring and I don't give a shit. At this point I'd rather read about Evan and Avery having adventures, even if they also are always going to win. At least it would be different, through the power of friendship or whatever.
I took a break for 10'ish books and read some actual legit stories (Murderbot for the 2nd time, and Bobiverse that I had only read the first two previously) and coming back to litrpg is pretty jarring. Aside from the whole self-edited thing, which is horrible in this Savage Awakening book, the whole litrpg thing always seems to hit a wall unless the author has a pre-planned arc of just a few books and actually ends it. By itself litrpg is just a neverending treadmill, and eventually I have to get off of it before they have milked every last drop out of the story.
It's no longer like that, were those authors changing their titles and book pics or something? Or did they AI slop a bunch of books together as a joke? I don't get it.
I've read both. Well, I read Wandering Inn up to a point. I will say that the first book or so (not sure what chapters that encompasses from the RR originals) was pretty enthralling, and I didn't think too much about the peripheral shit that started to become more and more prevalent later on. But eventually I got tired of it and quit. Maybe you won't feel the same way I did, so it might be worth trying it out at least.
Noobtown was a lot more entertaining for me...however, I'm a child and am often amused by childish things. The series is FULL of memes and pop culture references. To the point where if you are bothered by that, you won't be able to keep reading. For example, someone else from our world was here before this guy, and so about a thousand years ago the story of Han and Leia became mythological to everyone, to the extent that one of the royal families names their daughters Leia, wears their hair in buns, etc. At another point they discuss the various gods, and one is Logan, the Badgerine. Stuff like that is non-stop. I didn't mind it, and I laughed quite a bit, but I can definitely see where a lot of people will absolutely hate it. So, up to you.
If you really want something better than both of those, assuming you haven't read it already, check out Mother of Learning. It's one of the best time loop stories I've ever read. And unlike most of this stuff, it is actually finished. I can't remember if it was actually litrpg with skills and stats and such (don't think so), but it is close enough to the genre that it shouldn't matter.
Then maybe check out the two other series after MoL if you're still in the mood. They both have their pluses.
If you really want something better than both of those, assuming you haven't read it already, check out Mother of Learning. It's one of the best time loop stories I've ever read. And unlike most of this stuff, it is actually finished. I can't remember if it was actually litrpg with skills and stats and such (don't think so), but it is close enough to the genre that it shouldn't matter.
Speaking of time loop litrpg, after finishing Unbound 2: Silence (Which I enjoyed), I started Reborn: Apocalypse and am finishing it now. I really like the premise of Reborn: Apocalypse,
but some of the ability choices the author made really castrate the book. MC picks up a multi-use self-resurrect and storable damage reflect ability, effectively guaranteeing that not only is there going to be zero risk for every encounter but also that at any moment he can bust out a "Yeah but last week my foot got hit by a building collapsing and then I hit you with that force with my finger GG no re" which actually happened in the finale of book 1. It reminds me of how absurd the abilities were in Quest Academy. I'll still read book 2 but I feel like the author has to dig himself out of a hole or soft-retcon powers by just ignoring the obvious implications of them
Reborn: Apocalypse makes me kind of want to read either of two LITRPG concepts:
1. Some kind of military fiction + LITRPG where the MC is embedded in the US Military during an apocalypse system takeover, and the book is about the maintenance of power throughout. Kind of like He Who Fights With Monsters but the US Govt is the good guys.
2. Something more focused on the kind of political and organizational nonsense that happens in PvP MMOs that follows a typical guild trying to dominate in an MMO.
Speaking of time loop litrpg, after finishing Unbound 2: Silence (Which I enjoyed), I started Reborn: Apocalypse and am finishing it now. I really like the premise of Reborn: Apocalypse,
but some of the ability choices the author made really castrate the book. MC picks up a multi-use self-resurrect and storable damage reflect ability, effectively guaranteeing that not only is there going to be zero risk for every encounter but also that at any moment he can bust out a "Yeah but last week my foot got hit by a building collapsing and then I hit you with that force with my finger GG no re" which actually happened in the finale of book 1. It reminds me of how absurd the abilities were in Quest Academy. I'll still read book 2 but I feel like the author has to dig himself out of a hole or soft-retcon powers by just ignoring the obvious implications of them
Reborn: Apocalypse makes me kind of want to read either of two LITRPG concepts:
1. Some kind of military fiction + LITRPG where the MC is embedded in the US Military during an apocalypse system takeover, and the book is about the maintenance of power throughout. Kind of like He Who Fights With Monsters but the US Govt is the good guys.
2. Something more focused on the kind of political and organizational nonsense that happens in PvP MMOs that follows a typical guild trying to dominate in an MMO.
You might like the Welcome to the Multi-verse series by Sean Oswald. The MC's dad is a Marine and there are elements of working with the government and military.
