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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Fury by Nicoli Gonnella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was honestly a lot of fun. Just a warning, however: if you can't stand non-stop action after a certain point in the novel, skip this and the series altogether.

But if you DO crave one crazy battle after another, fueled by crazier unbound leveling that just gets stronger by threats that are way out of any normal league, then this and the visualization of all that power is going to RIGHT up your alley.

A lot of LitRPG is known for this, of course. But I have to admit that this excels in a the unbridled imagination of the action sequences. Truly zippy and powerful.

Comradeship is also here, but beyond that? There's not much space for anything but action. And it's good. Just so long as you know what you're looking for. :)

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Hunger by Nicoli Gonnella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Funnily enough, I'm getting used to the chaotic plot style. Basically, getting back from that extended vacation with pirates lands him back in the usual world and specifically the city. What could go wrong?

Well, everything. He's hunted for his actions and there are inquisitors everywhere.

Fortunately for him and his knack with the songs of the universe, he lands himself in exactly the right place and time to get a lot of the help he needs to fix his broken skills. Fast-forward a bit and we're back with friends and an upcoming grand-scale primordial incursion. Which is then brought down. Because the MC is just a tad too powerful.

I simplify things, of course, but the fun parts are exactly the most chaotic ones. Anyone hungry?

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Ice Vegas by Larry Niven; Steven Barnes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Honestly, this is a good book for nostalgia. For those of us who grew up on SF that was still filled with wonder and positive aspects and not just dire warnings. And it's doubly strange to be saying that when this particular novel follows a master assassin who lives in this wonderful time working for ambiguous (or very much not-ambiguous) political finks.

But that's kinda the thing. This novel is working from the angle of redemption. It has a very Koontz feel in some ways, but it's mixed gloriously with all the big SF concepts (near-future, free-energy, built-up Greenland as a free-zone Vegas wonderland).

The core plot is comfortable, but there are some genuine moments of real awesomeness and surprise in the side encounters.

That's the thing about SF. It's horrors can be truly horrible, but so can its wonder be wonderful. It's the wonder that makes me label this as nostalgic. Niven and Barnes, while working together over all these many novels, work that magic well.

I think this is very solid. Not brilliant. That would require a different kind of plot and MC. But as a redemption-type novel? Very satisfying.

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