Life in the North

This book was an interesting one to even rate for me. At points, I wasn't a fan of John, the main character, but I began to realise I don't think you're necessarily supposed to be. His flaws are 100% centre stage and some of them are... harsh and damaging to himself and those around him. It was hard to read, especially near the end, but it was honest too.

Beyond the main character, the world itself was a fun read. Only my second series (2nd author, 4th book) of trying out LitRPG and every person I mentioned it to brought up System Apocalypse and Tao Wang also replied to a post on Twitter I had up asking for sci-fi book releases where I discovered that book 12 is releasing this year! I love long series, so it seemed natural to pick up System Apocalypse next.

It has some differences to the last LitRPG I read, namely a little less focus on the grind and levelling and the constant skill pop-ups, but still more than enough to satisfy and intrigue me on the System that's been built in this world. There's plenty to discover and plot threads to follow. Not just on Earth, but the System is clearly something much bigger with plenty of other worlds, civilisations and aliens involved. I'm excited to see more of it. The world building is straightforward enough to be understood, detailed enough to build a picture and intriguing enough to make me want to read on.

The world is also gritty and dark. Just because life has become somewhat game-like in it's mechanics doesn't mean the trauma is any less, in fact for many, it's more. Death is still permanent, unlike the last LitRPG I read and everything is violent, visceral and out to kill you. It's not a light and happy story, this one, that's for sure.

Oh, I've got to give a shout-out to Ali. Love that little Spirit! As characters go, Ali has got to be my favourite.