The Antventure Begins by RinoZ
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

All the points for all out running with the ant theme. Born again as a lowly ant? Time to skill and level up as an ant? Mutate? PROTECT YOUR COLONY? Why not?

If you're going to stop being a human and be a monster, may as well roll with it. It works well in politics, why not LitRPGs?

Upgrade those bad optics. Get those feelers out. Hob nob with the nobblins. Own a gorilla pet.

Ok, maybe the last one isn't something politicians do. But you know who has gorillas as pets? Mobsters. So monsters, mobsters, it's all SO damn close, isn't it?

But we all agree that those damn centipedes are going DOWN.



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Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of those novels that are near perfect in every way, hitting its high points and whole purpose effortlessly, and yet gets perfectly creepy that probably says more about my own hang ups than the real purpose of this novel.

It's kinda like SK's IT in that regard.

And yet, aside from that ONE LITTLE DETAIL, or rather, ending plot device, I love the whole book. Perhaps despite it.

What do you give a man who has been alive for thousands of years, is THE bona fide oldest man in the universe? When you have THAT much time, what is worth continuing for?

Love. Of course.

As a SF, it's a wonderful riff on a Thousand and One Nights. A tribute to respect and family and devotion and sex. It's a real harem novel. And a philosophical treatise on par with Thus Spake Zarathustra. And a delicious homesteading novel. And a truly interesting time-travel novel. And it's even a great little riff on J. D. Salinger's crazy brilliant family dynamics.

It's also a great war novel.

And it's also a truly fantastic and detailed primer on genetics and the determination of traits and the specific dangers of inbreeding and longevity research.

But mostly it's about love. Happiness. Sadness. But really it's about learning what makes live worth living.

Heinlein wrote a true magnum opus here. Full stop.

And it's horrible to say that and have to preface it with... but damn it's so creepy there.... lol

Nuts.

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Magic and Bullets by Larry Correia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very fun. There's nothing like a true underdog who scraps hard (with cobbled magic) running an almost illicit school of magic with nothing more than guts and spite while trying to pay rent to mobsters squeezing him on squatted, abandoned property.

And trying to survive with all those unwanted student mages while being set up to fail as idiot adventurers under extortion and brigands ready to cut them should they make any mistakes.

Very fun. Classic, even. Fantasy on a lower scale. Really low. Bottom-feeder low.

And yet, it's also full of promise because our hero just won't give up.



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Academy of Outcasts by Larry Correia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I know this is billed in some circles as a LitRPG, but no. I really think it belongs firmly in the YA fantasy category with some, but not a lot of crossover, of dark academia.

In reality, it's elemental realms complete with asshole mages, slavery by other names, and a bunch of power-jealous peeps that turn everything rather lawless and wild-westy.

It ALSO happens to be a full-buildup of a crafty mage who, while being magically weak, happens to fight really dirty. Mostly just to survive. And because of that, tends to win despite horrible odds.


But later? A very enjoyable fantasy including new, also poor, friends, a hunger to learn and survive in the big city, and some other dirty tricks that may--or may not--help them survive the books to come.

I loved it.

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Vainglory 3: A LitRPG Adventure by Plum Parrot
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The wild west LitRPG moves on to the big city, or rather, a whole other world. Wolfing it up, speaking words of power, and generally getting attacked everywhere they go.

Fun stuff. I'm always pretty pleased with the stories and characters of Plum Parrot. Good enough that I generally pick up anything by them and almost always have a good time. And this is no different.

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Hell Difficulty Tutorial: Book Six by Cerim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An absolute middle book syndrome.

A lot of progression things happen in the in-between floors of the Astral Prison, but for the most part, it's a time of relaxation and introspection and endless astral-battle simulations. And mimics. And damn mind mages.

But yeah, for the most part, a comfortable addition to the series.

Which shouldn't be quite THAT comfortable with a title of Hell Difficulty, should it?

Nah, never mind, impossibilities come in all flavors.

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Messenger Corps by J.N. Chaney
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

All right. This is entirely on me. I really probably should have read up on what kind of book this was rather that making stupid little assumptions.

You know, like we could get some kind of heavy-mech space opera story based on a messenger service. Like full-out deliveries. With occasional oh-shit moments.

I thought to myself, hey, even if it's somewhat bad, that would be pretty cool and unusual, wouldn't it?

But yeah, no. This is entirely on me.

Instead, we get ancient AI, a powerful mech, and a story that has a bit too much religion and shades of warhammer 4ok and MilSF for my tastes. Too much concerning the "messenger" "chosen one" type tropes for my taste.

And worse, now that I'm reading up on it, it's apparently a continuation of another series of stories that I'm unfamiliar with and, sadly, probably wouldn't have been overly interested in. I'm just not that into long justifications for holy wars.

I still wish I had my bonkers, half-baked story handed to me instead. Alas. Stupid me.

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Dauntless by Jack Campbell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a straight-laced and uncomplicated mil-sf without strong command female characters. It's ALL about leadership, good intelligence, and respect. Earning it, displaying it, reaping the rewards of it.

It's what I imagine most old-school military fictions would be like (without knowing anything) with a patina of space battle to keep it fresh.

It's... pure. If that makes sense. Just trying to keep your men alive, bucking idiots, and overcoming the odds. Very little else.

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William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return by Ian Doescher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

'Tis a balm to my soul.

Truly, I didn't know I needed this as much as I know I did with the first two books. But Return of the Jedi is a great redemption arc. Funnily done, as Shakespeare style, it's still a great story at its core.

But to hear the rancor sing in couplets?

*chef's kiss*



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The Sixth Nik by Daniel Kraus
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

To be honest, this book dropped me head-first into a depression.

It was the body-horror, the truly despicable aspects of humanity, the child-rape, the forced birthing convincers, the society-condoned child-kidnappers, or endless examples of characters trying to do the right thing when absolutely incapable of following through that did it.

It was all of it.

It may be a pretty good novel. Touching on many, many timely issues and using SF to hit HARD on subjects that would be too horrible for mainstream fiction. It is pretty fearless.

But damn, it IS also extremely depressing. This may have living spaceships, bio-punk elements, colonies, revolutions, etc, but those are nothing compared to the underlying theme. Sixth Nik? The other. The chance.

You know, the hope that was left after Pandora opened the box.

Depressing.

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Ruin by Nicoli Gonnella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For a finale, it's a great combination of blistering big action, ginormous stakes, big appetites, and ass-pulls that are enormous ass-pulls even for a series that basically defines itself on ass-pullery.

Don't mind me much. I've actually grown rather fond of this particular ass-pullery. For one, it always keeps the plot moving forward. For another, it gives the reader a sense that it could never really end because the plot armor is infinite.

But then it ends. Satisfyingly so, even. I like the turn it took and I feel no remorse for all those gods. None. It just goes to show, it doesn't pay to be a dick. If you do, expect to have a whale show up to a god-fight.





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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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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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Silence by Nicoli Gonnella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Arrrrgghhhh. Pirates on the void seas, matey. lol

Decent followup with a completely different location thanks to getting flushed out of that previous universe in the first book. Still chaotic, but less chaos in the skills and more in the plot, so expect a bit of excitement.

Not bad. The progression bit is kinda down, here, but I don't mind because the plot keeps hopping.



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Dissonance by Nicoli Gonnella
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This LitRPG is a bit chaotic. Usually we see a grand, slow, and sometimes fast but mostly slow progression of skill gains in variously interesting or bland fantasy worlds, be it isekai or VR or cultivation. But this one?

It's throw this Isekai character into highish level skyrim, let them level everything and anything, only to find out later that this bit is slightly unusual. And then we have consolidation time, more cultivation, and a totally chaotic mish-mash of skills we never really get to know except for the one that has to do with eating memories, and then have a grand high level blow out that threatens...

Well, I won't spoil. It's fun, mind you, and it's kinda wild on the power progression speed, but if it's going in the direction I think it is, I think I'll be happy. Write yourself in a corner? No problem. Eat your mistakes. :)



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The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I went into this almost blind. The only thing I knew about it, strangely enough, was the movie trailer and the big letters saying, "based on novel", and the fact it was a post-apoc with some very recognizable peeps.

So, I thought, "Huh. I guess I better get on that."

I expected, and somewhat dreaded, a bleak future, but also dreaded a saccharine future, too. Neither was going to to me any good at this point.

Fortunately for me, this novel came out with just the right tone. Gritty, sure, but focused on competence and realism just enough hope and even curiosity to get not only the protagonist, but the reader, too, out of bed.

It isn't so much a novel about friendship and pinning your hope to a star, (or a dog), but a realization that all things can--and will--change.

I'm just glad this didn't come out bittersweet. Or sweet. Too much pain for that.

It's the writing that really came out on top, however. Beautifully imagined. Core, solid as hell.

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Last Save Dave: A LitRPG Adventure by Michael James Ploof
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a solid LitRPG but it does have a couple of caveats and/or manage-your-expectations moments.

For one, expect it to be a LitRPG that leans more heavily into super mario bros mixed with light leveling, with a focus on temporary powerups and a restart option.

If you like that kind of thing, you're gonna love this NY plumber in action.

I personally read it for the novelty factor, and it has that.

It also has a light riff on DC Carl going on, but that part's very light.

Still, it's all pretty amusing and heartwarming in the right ways. And like many of these LitRPGs, there always seems to be little DARK easter eggs hidden in here. Story element that usually would derail other kinds of novels with the emotional weight, but don't do that in LitRPGs because the MCs are just TOO DAMN BUSY. :)





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Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It lives up to the cozy fantasy romance billing. Nerdy researchers in the real world, 1909, getting the low-down on the fae.

Only one of them isn't quite what they seem. And the other is a bit more competent than they seem. And they're both idiots.

Which makes for a fun adventure/romance overloaded with fae lore.

I won't say it's the best I've ever read, but it, also, follows all the rules of the fae... AND romance novels. So, props for that.

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He Who Fights with Monsters 12 by Shirtaloon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How do you continue a story when your MC is a god? By reframing the question. Or rather, continue to keep asking the very question the series started with.

He who fights with monsters runs the risk of becoming one.

The real story is about power. Wisdom. Abuse. And the sometimes obvious, oftentimes oblivious solutions.

And in this novel, we see a LOT of wrap-up. But to be fair, a LOT has happened and we get to follow the grand procession of all those people Jason has interacted with--after the fact of such change. It's delicious. Crazy. Bittersweet.

But above all that, the flavor of hard-earned wisdom permeates the text. One might say it's soul-healing.

At this point, I could read this novel forever. I appreciate a good bit of wisdom. Shown wisdom. :)

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He Who Fights with Monsters 11 by Shirtaloon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A true two-parter of a novel. Building that domain, making friends of enemies, and then the lead-up to truly becoming a king.

Which is, of course, very funny, considering Jason's opinions.

Saying goodbye is also hard.

But the second part of the novel was also rather healing. Moving on. Growing. And it was interesting to see what everyone else did with their lives.

It's not the end, of course, but it feels damn necessary. And somewhat unique, thinking about transition periods in so many other novels like this.

Quite good.

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He Who Fights with Monsters 10 by Shirtaloon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's honestly fun to see the rest of the world sigh in deep resignation when dealing with Jason, and not just his closest friends. It's a far cry from the times when all those others would just use and abuse him, betray, kidnap, murder, or otherwise play deeply disturbing political games before setting him up for massive death.

Sighs of resignation are definitely an improvement. At least they're taking the godling seriously now. Or not. Or they wish they didn't have to. One of those. :)

This one definitely leads up to some serious compromises and tragedies, however. Because that's what happens in real life when you have to pull off miracles.

You know. Pull one out. But that also makes for some pretty great fiction, too.

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He Who Fights with Monsters 9 by Shirtaloon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The flavor of these books continues to be quite a bit different from normal LitRPGs in that it's not primarily focused on progression for progression's sake but in how to remain a good person when everyone around you and your power itself wants to turn you into a monster.

This particular book isn't unique in this observation, of course, but the healing aspects to it are really quite beautiful. Go out with an assumed identity, search for trouble, find it, and then land yourself into a big pile of steaming shit-smeared bird wings. Messengers.

Yes, well, this kind of thing needs to happen. A bigger, badder foe. But now the baby monarch is in town.

The quality of mercy is quite strained. ;)

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