TNT: Praise the Orc Chapters 1-40 by Lee Jungmin

This week for Translation Necessary Thursday I’m covering the first set of chapters in a recently fully translated series. It’s Praise the Orc Chapters 1-40 by Lee Jungmin!

Plot Synopsis: Praise the Orc! is about Jung Ian, a cafe owner with a dark past, jumping into the world of virtual reality in order to protect his sister from any predators. However, things may not be as simple as they seem, as the world and its inhabitants proved to be much deeper than he believed them to be. Witness as he explores the lands of Elder Lord as an orc, a species labeled as the “game creator’s mistake”.

Plot: The plot is pretty good, although it’s very light on the LitRPG aspect. There is almost no explanation of skills and stats, which I find to be a bummer as that’s part of the charm of the LitRPG genre. However it does have tons of character development, so that isn’t terrible at all. There is almost no romance in these first few chapters, although there is some hints at a possible romantic sub-plot.

Characters: Ian is a pretty awesome main character, although I find that the lack of interaction with his sister Yiyu more than a bit disappointing. Especially when you compare the series to something like Legendary Moonlight Sculptor where Weed is constantly grubbing for money in order to pay for his sister’s education. Even worse is the fact that he starts playing Elder Lord to protect his sister from lechers.

Overall: A decent LitRPG, but lacking in some critical areas. You could do worse, but there are better series out there like LMS or Ark.

For those who like: LitRPGs, Korean Novels, Action, Adventure, Decent Plot, Great Lead Character.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Bookish Wednesday: Ascend Online by Luke Chmilenko

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’ve got the first book in another LitRPG series. It’s Ascend Online by Luke Chmilenko!

Plot Synopsis: Diving into a revolutionary new video game, Marcus and his friends escape a stagnant society, entering into a world that defies their wildest imaginations. But from the moment that he logs in, Marcus finds himself separated from his friends and thrown into a remote village under attack by a horde of goblins. Forced into battle, Marcus rallies the beleaguered villagers…

Plot: The plot of this LitRPG is pretty good, It’s not the most enthralling or truly original but it was still quite interesting. There are much worse series you could read, like the Unbound Deathlords or Twilight. Honestly I think I’ll place the former in the league of the latter, since it almost reaches the level of that horrendous piece of garbage which eats peoples brain cells like some really dangerous pond scum. There are better series out there, like Awaken Online, but Ascend Online truly isn’t bad. I’d put it above average.

Characters: Marcus is a pretty interesting guy, and I like the class he specializes in. I won’t spoil what it is, but it’s very interesting. The rest of the cast is also pretty interesting as well.

Overall: A good LitRPG, you could a lot worse than Ascend Online.

For those who like: Fantasy, LitRPGs, Action, Adventure, Drama, Good Plot, Excellent Cast of Characters.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Bookish Wednesday: The Sparrow by Edward Brody

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m back with the second book in the Eden’s Gate series.  It’s The Sparrow by Edward Brody!

Plot Synopsis: After accepting the fact that he will never know his old reality again, Gunnar looks forward to building a new life inside Eden’s Gate. It’s time to form a guild, gather resources, and earn the acceptance of the Edgewood inhabitants. If only things were that easy… The dark elves aren’t thrilled about having humans in Edgewood, the mine isn’t vacant, and you can’t form a guild without at least a few guild mates.

Plot: The plot of this entry is much better than the first, mostly because it’s not full of Gunnar acting like a complete ass. That isn’t to say he doesn’t pull off some immature stuff occasionally, but it’s much better than the previous book. The book also really builds the world much better, letting us get to know Eden’s Gate in much more detail.

Characters: We get introduced to quite a few new characters in this entry, mostly Dark Elves. They are a pretty interesting bunch, and definitely not a stereotypical Dark Elf of modern fantasy.

Overall: A solid entry in the series, much better than the first entry.

Bookish Wednesday: The Reborn by Edward Brody

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m covering another LitRPG series. It’s Eden’s Gate Book 01: The Reborn by Edward Brody!

Plot Synopsis: When Gunnar Long logs into into the first fully-immersive virtual MMORPG, he finds himself in a new world filled with magic, mystery and adventure. However not is all as it seems as the creator of the game, Rupert Winston, decides to close off the world’s exit to make the world a true reality. Now trapped in the game and separated by an unknown distance from the one person who he cares for who logged in at the same time as him, Gunnar must make some tough decisions…

Plot: The plot of this book is okay, there are some moments where I really wanted to throttle Gunnar, but overall the story was good. It’s not super amazing, but it’s not bad. There are some seriously overused tropes that were used, trapped in the game etc. However the take on those tropes was interesting enough for me to overlook it for the most part. I won’t say it’s the best LitRPG book I’ve read, because that’s absolutely not the case.

Characters: Like I said above, Gunnar made me want to throttle him sometimes, mostly because he acts like an ass. There are multiple reasons why I dislike Gunnar, but he does get some very needed character growth over the book. The rest of the cast is great, with Adeelee probably being my favorite character of the lot.

Overall: A decent LitRPG, better than some (Unbound Deathlords I’m looking at you), but not as good as others like Awaken Online.

Bookish Wednesday: Game Start by Justin Miller

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m covering the first book in another LitRPG series. It’s the World Seed Series Book 01: Game Start by Justin Miller!

Plot Synopsis:The year is 2245, and the world has undergone explosive growth in multiple industries. The age of Virtual Reality came long ago, opening up new fields for people to enjoy and seek employment. There were even those that chose to sacrifice their physical bodies, becoming digital existences that lived within internet communities.  But with the age of VR, everyone still dreamed of that next step, the next level of adventure. And after a hundred years, it has finally arrived. The first consoles, known as Seeds, mass distributed among the people, with such realism that they no longer qualified as a Virtual Reality, but as an Artificial Reality. But what happens when things become too real?=

Plot: The plot is pretty awesome, and while it covers tropes and stereotypes that I’ve read before, the snark in the game is just too amusing for me to hate it. I really enjoyed this first book, and can’t wait to read the rest.

Characters: John, or Falanel the failure half-elf, is our main character and while he’s pretty decent for a main character he’s also full of stupid. The game system is probably my favorite side character, if you can call a system a character. It’s really, really snarky and I love it. “That’s not how you fly: Minus 20 Health” is just one of many, many amusing or downright hilarious quips from the system. If I had to choose another side character though, it would be Yin and Yang, although I’ll leave the why for you to find out.

Overall: An excellent LitRPG, a must read for any fan of the genre.

For those who like: MMOs, Gaming, LitRPG, Action, Adventure, Drama, Snark, Amazing Plot, Excellent Cast of Characters.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.