Chains by Nicoli Gonnella
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've grown used to less downtime in this series. Hell, I expected chaos all the time and got it all the time. But this is all system, broken system, more broken system, and even more on top of that.

I don't mind it as a plot device as long as it's an actual device, but the series seems to be run on the broken bits.

That's not to say it's not worth it. I'm still enjoying great swaths of the excellent action and massive stakes. But sometimes I just have to laugh.

Let's break the chains of the gods, no? If only to kill them.

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Empire by Nicoli Gonnella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The progression novel is living up to its type by... progressing. Long quest takes a long time to succeed, but feels speedy because we've got several groups pulling off several large plot pieces at the same time.

Want empire? Get empire. And it's easy, too, just so long as you grab system authority in an area and become supreme leader... and kill a few gods.

Still fun.

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Crown by Nicoli Gonnella
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Can something be badass when it just follows upon he heels of more badass?

Yes.

Sure, it risks a never-ending pattern, but that's part and parcel of most LitRPG. Fortunately, it's still cool. The crown, indeed. I love the progression.

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Vault by Nicoli Gonnella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As much as I generally get annoyed by dwarves in general (and in some series, a lot more than annoyed) I didn't mind this little adventure quite so much. Maybe it's because we spent a good deal of time with the giants instead of those little pests. And maybe it's because they aren't all the grubby, dishonorable, loot-longing miscreants I've grown to know over many years of reading.

Or maybe they are and I'm just happy we spent a great deal of time dealing with a certain gold-clad, dead-eyed pathless.

I like the twist on this, but I have to say, it IS a common one in fiction. Rather. And yet, I have high hopes that it kicks butt.



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Abyss by Nicoli Gonnella
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

From desert to deep waters with tons of travel and some impressively OP foes with a satisfying end.

Honestly? I enjoyed it a lot. My critical eye says a lot of really big stuff got ass-pulled, but sometimes that's exactly what we expect with these.

Divinity and primordials, indeed. God eater. Muahahahahahah.

Yup. It's what we expect and what we enjoy in a lot of these LitRPGs.

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Expanse by Nicoli Gonnella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Still solid, tons and tons of action, but this time we go far away to the desert to help out that poor Minotaur.

Surprisingly energetic and neat plot. My only quasi-complaint is how little time we spend in the big city before it all goes to crap. I probably would have liked to lean into that for a good stretch and reveal before all the rest. But it was still fun. No real problem.

The power scaling continues apace.



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Threshold by Nicoli Gonnella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Out into the wilds again, but this time we're following up on the original quest. Home.

I thought it was pretty cool. Lots of wrapping up of older plotlines and big bads up to this point and a fantastic new foundation of power as well.

The quality of the LitRPG is established by now. And now it's just entertaining.

The chaos from before is starting to steamline a bit, too, so that's interesting.

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