I’ve been trying to figure out how to protect Earth from the greater multiverse. We’re the n00bs. There are civilizations out there that have been doing this for literal billions of years. I’ve written the post about “multiverses are really big” and “there is no such thing as ‘no one cares’” because in population ofContinue reading “ESFY?”
Tag Archives: book-review
Yeah, No Quests
Another book with System quests (called “tasks” here). I do not like them. They are too directly manipulative or too trivial. Our intrepid hero (from Proving Grounds: Annals of the Runeguard Book 1) is being targeted by a group of thieves. After some escalation, they kill the blacksmith (Gorman) making him armor and steal it.Continue reading “Yeah, No Quests”
Dystopias
Like them I do not. That’s my biggest issue with Dungeon Crawler Carl (once it gets going and stops info-dumping). I just tried to read Apocalypse Eater. It’s a bit unfair to the author, but I only made it to page 2. The universe is awful enough that I don’t want to know any moreContinue reading “Dystopias”
My Competition 4
This one is aspirational. Wormhole Mana is good (at least book one; I just started book two). In no particular order… It’s tight third person. There are internal monologues in first person of the character monologuing. It’s all very obvious. No weird point-of-view changes. There is incremental “what’s going on?” as the magic system isContinue reading “My Competition 4”
Justification
Humans are really good at justifying themselves – especially to their own self. We all do it. The one that drives me nuts is “if I don’t kill this guy, my kid will suffer.” That’s all well and good when “this guy” is a knife-wielding maniac attacking your kid. It’s more than a bit differentContinue reading “Justification”
Integration
I haven’t been writing of late because I’m trying to figure out what happens in book two because it affects how book one ends – and I’m getting close. The biggest problem is that I’ve apocalpysed Earth and granted people superpowers, but governments do not go quietly. For every intrepid werewolf, there are fifty superpoweredContinue reading “Integration”
Feedback Two
I should just start out numbering all posts. I always seem to write at least a second one. Anyway… The back and forth between Luke and Tom, especially at the start of the book seems… off? I can’t describe it. It doesn’t flow well. Oddly the conversations Luke has with other people are better. IContinue reading “Feedback Two”
What is Plot?
I’m sure there are plenty of books about it and several AIs are standing by ready to answer the question, but that’s not helpful for internalizing it. Somewhere in all these writing posts, I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I realized something years ago: All my favorite TV shows are layered. There’s a showContinue reading “What is Plot?”
Balance of Power
LitRPG universes generally survive due to Mutually Assured Destruction. When you’ve got people – and “not that many” is literally billions in a multiverse of any size – who can sterilize planets and blow up stars, something needs to keep them in check. The answer is usually “a coalition will gang up on you andContinue reading “Balance of Power”
Chapter 18 Shall Submit
That’s the weekend goal. It need four scenes. Updated with what actually happened. Done. Some monster needs to be killed, hacked into bits, and the best parts brought back for dinner. That sentence, with “ZZZ” in front of it, is all there is. Most of the monsters have been mutated existing things. Maybe it’s timeContinue reading “Chapter 18 Shall Submit”
