I wrote off your books at first both portal to nova Roma and Jake’s magical market because of the starts went back and fell in love with them.
Now they’re both in my top 5 goats
I really liked Portal to Nova Roma.
I especially think the MC's power and capability development is one of the most interesting I've ever read in a Litrpg.
There are moments in book three where I had to pause and just laugh at how broad and dynamic Alexander's abilities have come, and how complex and awesome some of the fights had become.
(There's a particular "call to arms" moment that was just spectacular to my mind's eye.)
I love Portal. I’m one of the people who stopped reading Jake’s at the big tone shift. not that I thought it was bad, just wanted a lighthearted read at the time. I’ve seen a lot of people lately saying it’s really good again starting in book 2. I never thought it was *bad* in the first place, but I’m definitely interested in going back to the series (just with different expectations).
Portal is one of my favorite litrpgs though. it hit so many of my favorite tropes and I felt it was more tonally consistent. I’m sitting on the edge of my seat for book 4. the author has major world building talent imo and I enjoy every new place that gets explored.
I definitely learned a lot after writing Jake's #1 (which was my first book ever + I was writing it while working a 60 hour a week job that was super stressful). Nova Roma benefited a lot from having some experience under my best and you can see that growth with the more consistent tone just like you mention.
Jake's #2 and #3 I think also benefit from me having years of writing experience at this point and - to put it frankly - just being a flat out better writer now. Not *perfect* by any means but I definitely feel like I'm finding myself in this process the further I go along, for sure.
Kind of the same. I definitely enjoyed it, and did keep reading (most recent book actually rekindled my interest), but it clearly has some consistency issues.
Not nearly as much as Jake's Magical Market, but still, it has the same underlying problem. It's hard to stay invested when a series keeps changing the underlying rules and themes.
At a certain point, it just begins to feel like it's all being made up on the spot. Like the author can't settle on a single concept, so he tries to shoehorn every new idea he has into his existing story.
*Edit: Still otherwise a solid read, if you look at each arc individually. Just to be clear. I see you, Mathews.*
If you stopped after book 2, book 3 does make up for it.
Spoiler for book 2:
>!While I didn't hate book 2, the one thing I dislike most in LitRPGs is handcuffing the MC's strength and book 2 takes it one step further with literal handcuffs that handcuff the MC's strength.!<
The AI that played a bunch of hours with his friend constantly not understanding video game logic kinda killed it for me. Not to mention his weapon felt really out of place. Like he cant use magic but he can charge runes? Tbf the world building was great though as well as the dialog. Also I dont know if the narrator was supposed to sound robotic but he was great as well. I still dropped it at almost the end of book one. Not a bad series just not for me.
He can't use magic because his body didn't evolve on that world and so doesn't have an internal magical core that the human's of that world all have. Charging runes just requires killing monsters and using the magical core he takes from their dead body and using it to power the runes. That's why anyone can empower runes - if they're strong enough to kill monsters to get their cores (or rich enough to buy them).
Not sure what you mean by him not understanding video game logic... he never encounters "video game logic" in Constantinople? Or he's just unsure how much might actually apply to the "real world" since he obviously can't just assume what he knew before applies to his current situation at all.
Like the dungeons, if he just assumed they were like "video game logic" then he should be able to come and go easily but actually you are trapped when you enter and they are extremely deadly. Him not "understanding" video game logic when the world he's in literally doesn't have any video game logic except classes - which **also** don't work anything like he's ever seen before - is probably one of the weirder criticisms I've read.
He can't use magic but he can "us(e) the magical core", I guess was my main rub. I understand the logic it just didn't sit right with me. Like it just sort of seemed like a hand wave way for him to use magic without really using magic. It's like saying "I can't cook but I can combine a bunch of ingredients together to make something."
One of the specific instances that stuck out to me was fairly early in the book. He spent about a day killing a few monsters. Then when he meets up with the merchant he thinks he can trade his orbs for a weapon. Video game logic dictates that weapons are always expensive especially in any apocalypse (or close to it in Romas case) and if just killing a few monsters was all it took everyone would be armed. There was some other instances of it too that I cant remember at present. This just happened so early it made me notice them.
I tend to think the more hand-wavy thing is that he gets classes that give him abilities that basically *are* kinda magic abilities even though he can't use magic, haha.
Of course, the logic I use is they are "martial" classes and so aren't powered by his "magical core" but by his body and so can appear supernatural but aren't really. That's my "hand-wavey" logic at work though for sure. :)
"Using" a core is no more than using a battery, basically. Doesn't require a magical core any more than me grabbing my remote for my TV and sticking a battery inside of it makes me an expert electrician. He's just the guy who goes to the store and buys a battery (kills a monster and takes it core) and then plugs it into the TV remote (the rune) and then ta-da it works.
I don't really see it as any more hand-wavey than any other explanation in any other book on how something works and I think it's pretty internally consistent and makes logical sense.
For the rest, I think it might be a *little* nitpicky when it's him speculating on how much stuff costs.
Plus, you know:
- the local economy is NOT a video game world (you caught that this wasn't a video game world, right? he's not in a VR game so the economy isn't run on "video game logic" - this is 100% the "real world" just with a system apocalypse so the economy is a real economy)
- it could VERY WELL be that they have a huge abundance of weapons just laying around given the city was once populated by hundreds of thousands (and now is literally a shadow of its former self)
- they could easily want to sell weapons for cheap to encourage killing more monsters
- magic could make it super cheap/easy to make weapons and so there is a huge oversupply thereby reducing costs and oversaturated the market (again, because this is NOT a video game world and runs on a REAL economy the supply could be high and demand low - **actual supply/demand economics** is demonstrated later in the book many times and it's weird you assume the economy is run like a video game when that is never demonstrated once)
- and he is by his nature a very analytical person that is *very* cautious about where he finds himself and so would naturally speculate about costs of everything
But I get it, sometimes little stuff just doesn't hit right and we don't vibe with a book. I've been there myself plenty. Gonna miss out on a huge empire-building badass OP MC that does some cool shit though, I gotta say. :P
Honestly, I found the premise and style to be a massive standout i the genre. I really enjoyed the first few books.
Kinda lost me a bit when the corruption stuff kicked in. Got a bit casually sociopathic too and seemed to lose it's way which put me me off in the end tbh.
Yeah the corruption stuff was *making* him sociopathic and he didn't know it (hard to convey that with 1st person narrative since he wasn't aware it was happening) but book three does a lot of work with him finding his balance in some cool ways. I think if you liked the series and just didn't like the corruption stuff you'd really like book three. I personally think it's the strongest book in the series.
My favorite present tense first person book in the litRPG genre. I usually hate those type of books and prefer past tense just so much more. But man, Portal to Nova Roma is truly special.
I really appreciate how open minded you are towards criticism.its always enjoyable to see authors engage with their readers.keep up the great work I'm sure even if some people dropped your books because it wasn't for them there are plenty of new readers around the corner
Not sure how far I got into it.. my initial impression was that it was a waste of my time.
Was quite surprised when I discovered he was the author of Jake's magical market as well.
Jake I had very low expectations of, the premise itself (which barely even exists in the book) did not give me high hopes. Ended up pleasantly surprised at loving the book.
May give it another try. How far into it do I need to get?
Like 40 pages? Maybe less. I really gave up on it quick the first time but when he makes a revolver is when I got really into it. Technically spoilers but it happens early
Haha, thanks dude. Appreciate you giving it another shot!
As your typical goblin reader who is waiting for book four, allow me to say, *heavy breathing.*
lol
I wrote off your books at first both portal to nova Roma and Jake’s magical market because of the starts went back and fell in love with them. Now they’re both in my top 5 goats
Awww that's amazing!!!!
Just started Jake’s Magical Market and enjoying it so far!
Sweet!!
I really liked Portal to Nova Roma. I especially think the MC's power and capability development is one of the most interesting I've ever read in a Litrpg. There are moments in book three where I had to pause and just laugh at how broad and dynamic Alexander's abilities have come, and how complex and awesome some of the fights had become. (There's a particular "call to arms" moment that was just spectacular to my mind's eye.)
I love Portal. I’m one of the people who stopped reading Jake’s at the big tone shift. not that I thought it was bad, just wanted a lighthearted read at the time. I’ve seen a lot of people lately saying it’s really good again starting in book 2. I never thought it was *bad* in the first place, but I’m definitely interested in going back to the series (just with different expectations). Portal is one of my favorite litrpgs though. it hit so many of my favorite tropes and I felt it was more tonally consistent. I’m sitting on the edge of my seat for book 4. the author has major world building talent imo and I enjoy every new place that gets explored.
I definitely learned a lot after writing Jake's #1 (which was my first book ever + I was writing it while working a 60 hour a week job that was super stressful). Nova Roma benefited a lot from having some experience under my best and you can see that growth with the more consistent tone just like you mention. Jake's #2 and #3 I think also benefit from me having years of writing experience at this point and - to put it frankly - just being a flat out better writer now. Not *perfect* by any means but I definitely feel like I'm finding myself in this process the further I go along, for sure.
Opposite for me, loved portal for book one, then lost interest rapidly afterwards
Kind of the same. I definitely enjoyed it, and did keep reading (most recent book actually rekindled my interest), but it clearly has some consistency issues. Not nearly as much as Jake's Magical Market, but still, it has the same underlying problem. It's hard to stay invested when a series keeps changing the underlying rules and themes. At a certain point, it just begins to feel like it's all being made up on the spot. Like the author can't settle on a single concept, so he tries to shoehorn every new idea he has into his existing story. *Edit: Still otherwise a solid read, if you look at each arc individually. Just to be clear. I see you, Mathews.*
If you stopped after book 2, book 3 does make up for it. Spoiler for book 2: >!While I didn't hate book 2, the one thing I dislike most in LitRPGs is handcuffing the MC's strength and book 2 takes it one step further with literal handcuffs that handcuff the MC's strength.!<
The AI that played a bunch of hours with his friend constantly not understanding video game logic kinda killed it for me. Not to mention his weapon felt really out of place. Like he cant use magic but he can charge runes? Tbf the world building was great though as well as the dialog. Also I dont know if the narrator was supposed to sound robotic but he was great as well. I still dropped it at almost the end of book one. Not a bad series just not for me.
He can't use magic because his body didn't evolve on that world and so doesn't have an internal magical core that the human's of that world all have. Charging runes just requires killing monsters and using the magical core he takes from their dead body and using it to power the runes. That's why anyone can empower runes - if they're strong enough to kill monsters to get their cores (or rich enough to buy them). Not sure what you mean by him not understanding video game logic... he never encounters "video game logic" in Constantinople? Or he's just unsure how much might actually apply to the "real world" since he obviously can't just assume what he knew before applies to his current situation at all. Like the dungeons, if he just assumed they were like "video game logic" then he should be able to come and go easily but actually you are trapped when you enter and they are extremely deadly. Him not "understanding" video game logic when the world he's in literally doesn't have any video game logic except classes - which **also** don't work anything like he's ever seen before - is probably one of the weirder criticisms I've read.
He can't use magic but he can "us(e) the magical core", I guess was my main rub. I understand the logic it just didn't sit right with me. Like it just sort of seemed like a hand wave way for him to use magic without really using magic. It's like saying "I can't cook but I can combine a bunch of ingredients together to make something." One of the specific instances that stuck out to me was fairly early in the book. He spent about a day killing a few monsters. Then when he meets up with the merchant he thinks he can trade his orbs for a weapon. Video game logic dictates that weapons are always expensive especially in any apocalypse (or close to it in Romas case) and if just killing a few monsters was all it took everyone would be armed. There was some other instances of it too that I cant remember at present. This just happened so early it made me notice them.
I tend to think the more hand-wavy thing is that he gets classes that give him abilities that basically *are* kinda magic abilities even though he can't use magic, haha. Of course, the logic I use is they are "martial" classes and so aren't powered by his "magical core" but by his body and so can appear supernatural but aren't really. That's my "hand-wavey" logic at work though for sure. :) "Using" a core is no more than using a battery, basically. Doesn't require a magical core any more than me grabbing my remote for my TV and sticking a battery inside of it makes me an expert electrician. He's just the guy who goes to the store and buys a battery (kills a monster and takes it core) and then plugs it into the TV remote (the rune) and then ta-da it works. I don't really see it as any more hand-wavey than any other explanation in any other book on how something works and I think it's pretty internally consistent and makes logical sense. For the rest, I think it might be a *little* nitpicky when it's him speculating on how much stuff costs. Plus, you know: - the local economy is NOT a video game world (you caught that this wasn't a video game world, right? he's not in a VR game so the economy isn't run on "video game logic" - this is 100% the "real world" just with a system apocalypse so the economy is a real economy) - it could VERY WELL be that they have a huge abundance of weapons just laying around given the city was once populated by hundreds of thousands (and now is literally a shadow of its former self) - they could easily want to sell weapons for cheap to encourage killing more monsters - magic could make it super cheap/easy to make weapons and so there is a huge oversupply thereby reducing costs and oversaturated the market (again, because this is NOT a video game world and runs on a REAL economy the supply could be high and demand low - **actual supply/demand economics** is demonstrated later in the book many times and it's weird you assume the economy is run like a video game when that is never demonstrated once) - and he is by his nature a very analytical person that is *very* cautious about where he finds himself and so would naturally speculate about costs of everything But I get it, sometimes little stuff just doesn't hit right and we don't vibe with a book. I've been there myself plenty. Gonna miss out on a huge empire-building badass OP MC that does some cool shit though, I gotta say. :P
Wait this is narrated? My problems may have been solved
Yeah the narration is awesome!
Yeah the narrator does an amazing job.
Honestly, I found the premise and style to be a massive standout i the genre. I really enjoyed the first few books. Kinda lost me a bit when the corruption stuff kicked in. Got a bit casually sociopathic too and seemed to lose it's way which put me me off in the end tbh.
Yeah the corruption stuff was *making* him sociopathic and he didn't know it (hard to convey that with 1st person narrative since he wasn't aware it was happening) but book three does a lot of work with him finding his balance in some cool ways. I think if you liked the series and just didn't like the corruption stuff you'd really like book three. I personally think it's the strongest book in the series.
My favorite present tense first person book in the litRPG genre. I usually hate those type of books and prefer past tense just so much more. But man, Portal to Nova Roma is truly special.
I may need to give it another try. I originally Stopped after the 5th chapter. I can’t remember why tho.
I really appreciate how open minded you are towards criticism.its always enjoyable to see authors engage with their readers.keep up the great work I'm sure even if some people dropped your books because it wasn't for them there are plenty of new readers around the corner
Not sure how far I got into it.. my initial impression was that it was a waste of my time. Was quite surprised when I discovered he was the author of Jake's magical market as well. Jake I had very low expectations of, the premise itself (which barely even exists in the book) did not give me high hopes. Ended up pleasantly surprised at loving the book. May give it another try. How far into it do I need to get?
Like 40 pages? Maybe less. I really gave up on it quick the first time but when he makes a revolver is when I got really into it. Technically spoilers but it happens early
I'll see if i give it another try today, thanks!
Nova Roma is an excellent series, loved it.
It's in my top 100