City of Goblins
Ivan Susanin, a typical guy and unemployed techie, is initiated by the System and transported, together with a thousand other players, to an unknown location beyond Earth. Ivan has an interface, a spear, and basic weapon skills. All he has to do to return to Earth is complete a simple quest and reach the second level. But experience points are only awarded for kills in this game, and the clock is ticking. Whoever doesn’t score within 24 hours will remain in the location forever.
The game takes places in the ruins of a massive city, where the undead lurk in the central districts and the outskirts are raided by the descendants of past owners. The undead are strong, while the goblins rarely move around alone and aren’t worth much XP. The most valuable prey under these conditions are formal allies, i.e. the other players. If a player is capable of killing a fellow human, of course. Even if they aren’t planning to go against their own nature by murdering innocents, who said that they will have a choice? It’s kill or be killed!
Those who complete the quest will be returned to Earth, where they can rest and prepare for the next attempt. Beyond the local objective is also a global one. In the center of the city stands a temple to a fallen god, and until one of the players captures the Altar, the mission will be repeated again and again. But when all you’re holding is a spear, your allies can’t be trusted, and resurrection is nearly impossible, this isn’t much more than a delayed death sentence…
For the first seven players, who become the Earth Gods, this mission is a chance to rapidly gain power and take charge of a united Pantheon. A chance to escape death and protect our world from invasion. Although there is only one altar and the Gods make others do their work. Ivan must make a choice and decide whose pawn he will become. Or should he take a risk, refuse their patronage and keep his options open?
Has an interesting twist on the world building. I found this a captivating read and can’t wait for the next book.
Kiwi Chris
The game mechanics are an intricate part of the story and their exploration is a good bit of the early section of the novel. But there’s nothing too new with any many familiar elements like levels, stats, abilities that increase with practice, XP from killing. There is a loot system that is a little different with cards dropping from killed opponents that contain system equipment or more rarely skills. Overall, this is an action focused story that has a good apocalypse survival vibe when the characters are on the goblin world. Aside from the abrupt ending, its pacing is pretty good, though I liked the solo journey section more than the later one. Score: 7.6 out of 10.
LitRPGPodcast
Plot: Play a game and complete the mission. Fail and you stay in the game or die. Really enjoyed this story. If I had to pick something I disliked, it would be that I thought the story was to short. This one just pulled me in and didn't let go.Characters: I enjoyed the MC. His thought process is a lot like mine and I felt an immediate connection. I really look forward to book two. 8.5/10.
Johnny Clark
Good LitRPG story. Really enjoy reading it. Definitely will read continuation of a story.
BR
I enjoyed this book from start to finish. I did notice some errors here and there, though nothing egregious. I haven't read the original, untranslated version so I can't be sure but the translation seems fine to me. I've certainly read worse translations, I can say that much without doubt. Overall, I'm glad I read the book and look forward to the next book in the series.
Amazon Customer
