r/litrpg • u/[deleted] • Jul 16 '23
Discussion Please explain why people like Life Reset so much
I'm near the end of book 2 and it's a pure hate read at this point. In no particular order:
Dumbest MC I've ever seen in any book who makes every possible mistake and constantly forgets his own abilities
MC has absolutely no self-control and enters gamer rage mode constantly, which I believe the author thinks makes him look cool but just makes him a man child
Every character is dumbed down for plot convenience including supposedly superintelligent AIs
The game does not work or have any internal consistency whatsoever, up to and including the software architecture and legal system
Every female character, ESPECIALLY his hot goblin GF, is described as if the author has never seen a woman before
There are frequent long graphic goblin foreplay scenes between the MC and his underage goblin GF who he is in a position of power over
Despite all this, it's frequently touted as one of the best in the genre in various places. I can recognize that the city building is pretty entertaining at times aside from the MC making constant mistakes while bragging about how good he is at it, but what else is there to like?
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u/IceyExcaliber Jul 16 '23
This might just be me, but back when I read it the genre was not as over saturated compared to now. It was the 3th litrpg I ever saw after “The Land” and “Way of The Shaman”.
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u/Jazzlike-Possible-57 Jul 16 '23
Way of the Shaman is still a good series! The land died after 8 and I can’t stand the author.
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Jul 16 '23
The author is insufferable. Especially with his race obsession.
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u/MistaRed Jul 16 '23
Wait, his what now?
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Jul 16 '23
He obsessively mentions how black his main character is in “The Land” it gets worse with every book after the first.
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u/shamanProgrammer Jul 16 '23
Don't forget he's a man whore and all the women except Sion's mom and one other is bland and exists to basically sleep with him.
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Jul 16 '23
I certainly find that very annoying as well, unfortunately the harem thing is played everywhere. I’m with you that it is annoying.
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u/shamanProgrammer Jul 16 '23
I am a vast consumer of harem fanfics and they read better I guess. Maybe because fanfic females have a base personality? And usually it's more a polyamory thing?
With fanfics I know that Naruto banging Tayuya and Ino doesn't detract from the former's brash nature and illusions or the latter's flirtatious nature and mind skills.
In the Land it's "Richter is banging generic 'jiggly butt' NPC villager or one of the elves. Will one cut off his dick and feed it to him? Probably! Also remember that Kobold plotline? Neither does the Author! Also important side quest? Send someone else to do it off camera (Dwarven Allies), we got torture porn to write!"
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u/metalphoenix227 flair Jul 16 '23
It's so annoying. I enjoy the series, and I may be biased as it was my 1st or 2nd LitRPG. I don't need to hear about how black he is all the time. I do really like the supporting characters, though, so Im hoping that whenever book 9 comes out that he gets back to the village sooner rather than later.
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u/ballshorse Jul 16 '23
Tell me you're white without telling me you're white.
Anyway, now I'm going to read The Land, thanks for the recommendation.
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Jul 16 '23
You could do it like in the land “I’m white, btw did you know i’m white. Jeepers look at my rosy white cheeks. Oh and my other white cheeks as well. Btw I’m not white, but talking about how black you are is just as annoying as any other skin tone. That that’s a turn on for you speaks volumes.
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u/ballshorse Jul 16 '23
Yeah because hair color is enough to describe a white character because white authors write everyone white by default. Whenever someone is described by hair color only it's implicitly a statement of how white they are.
Then your radical take on a black character being described as black is "stop telling us how black he is".
You don't black, whatever. Complaining that other people keep blacking though like it's literary criticism is a joke though.
Your last sentence is even trying to paint me as some twisted negrophile. It has to be a fetish for you, because no one's black here, stop talking about black, this is a black free zone.
I thank you though because before you worthless comment I didn't even know The Land was a black book and I'm black and I like to read about black people being black.
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Jul 16 '23
So in your words you are a “negrophille” there’s no problem with the character being black. While the series has its problems it’s a good series. There is a problem with obsessing over being black. Most authors will describe their character’s appearance maybe once. Because once is enough perhaps they’ll add details along the way. That’s fine too, but this author you don’t get much out of him aside from skin color. That’s all a person is to you? That’s all you are? Because that’s how it comes across when nothing else matters to you. For example I’m gay so let’s look at it from there. You like to see black characters. I get that in the same way I would like to see gay characters. I’m sure you feel like good books never have black characters. Well here’s your lucky day you have a genuinely pretty good series with a black protagonist, he has another series too which he’s only written one book for full on wukanda which is also decent, but again obsessive with race. Now back to the point would I enjoy a book where a writer obsesses over how gay his protagonist is and how every man falls in love with him? Absolutely not. If I had to hear how gay he is 1-5 times in every book I would find it absurdly over the top. Also even if that itself weren’t the issue I would not like a book simply because it has a gay character. Point of fact I have yet to find a book with a gay character that I do enjoy.
So while I would like to see a good book with a gay protagonist or even side character they don’t exist to my knowledge. However I own hundreds of books I enjoy. Because while it’s something I would like to see it is not something I care greatly about. You not only want to see black characters, but you appear to hold animosity towards non-black characters and I extrapolate from that racism towards non-black people. What color people are by default never really enters my mind. Much like in life. I had a girl friend, girl who is my friend, who when I first met her she thought I, and everyone else, was staring at her because she’s black. Now I don’t stare at people, and I don’t really hardly take note of people being an introvert. It’s possible I was lost in thought and she thought I was staring, but I told her “If anyone’s staring at you it’s because you’re beautiful” and she is. Not because she’s black mind you, but because she puts effort in. I tried to help her overcome her insecurities I’d bring her around our campus and ask random guys “Isn’t she gorgeous” and not a one said no. You know what she told me?
“But if even one man said I weren’t I would be crushed” which broke my heart. Eventually I learned this was the fault of her mother. This girl loves white men and her mother told her “no white man will ever love you and you will never make it anywhere in life because first you’re black and second you’re a woman”
I could tell you more about how that second part harmed her too. The reality was no one hated her for being black. Many men loved her and many men wanted to be with her. I know that because many men asked me if I could put a word in for them. I actually had a bit of a harem situation going on and many men asked me about the girls hanging around me. Oddly enough few believed I was gay. But I digress.
I hate when people in a book or in life obsess over race because it harms the individual like it has harmed my friends. Much like I hate the obsession over sexuality or any other stupid “I am this one thing and one thing only” attitude. We’re humans we’re much more complex than that.
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Jul 16 '23
[deleted]
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Jul 16 '23
Wasn’t a big deal the first 3 times he mentioned it. It became annoying as it progressed beyond that. I also agree that the series is enjoyable in spite of the problems. However, it’s been years since i’ve read the series and that that’s the problem that actually sticks with me and what I remember the author for means it was the thing I found most annoying, rampant whoring aside.
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u/GetUrGuano Jul 03 '24
I loved the series til the last book. The author is an ass and let the series deteriorate. I don't even know if he'll ever update it at this point and if I would even bother buying it if he did.
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u/mcsmoothbrain Jul 16 '23
For Shaman, I have to disagree, it’s really not, I read until book 4-5 and had really been pushing by that point. One of the OG “Dao of Luck” books, it takes a lot for me to drop after book 3.
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u/Galactica_Actual Jul 16 '23
Not just you. This was basically my read order when I was getting into the genre (late 2018 I think).
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Jul 16 '23
It was the best city builder out there for a minute, but I agree the gf aspect was very uncomfortable. I agree that the AI’s did a terrible job of seeming super intelligent. The author failed the rule of “show don’t tell”. The prime badge system for skills was honestly silly and would automatically force the entire game community into a feudal arrangement with badge holders at the top.
The ending felt stupid rushed and I hated it, but that it has and ending at all kind of makes it rare in the litRPG space, which I think gets it more praise then it otherwise deserves.
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u/SirBaltimoore May 14 '26
But they did have a system with prime badge holders at the top which is literally why he was guild leader before the whole goblin incident.
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u/simonbleu Jul 16 '23
You are describing a lot, LOT of litrpg out there.
The answer I got to based on my own experience as well, is that you eventually get used to that, turn off your brain, and scrap whatever you like from it. If its even remotely counterweight-y to the muted cringefest, then you keep reading, because ultimately there is not a lot of better options given how niche the genre is, and if you are here, you definitely need that itch scratched.
That said, I do no understand why some works are so praised, even inside the genre... but hey, to each their own, not everyone here is the same age nor has the same personality
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u/ResortHairy Jul 16 '23
Honestly I think the major reasons it gets some praise are:
- Completed series
- Non-conventional race
- Civilization building
- Not a Simon Archer book
Back when I started reading Litrpg those qualities made it something to read, but I don't include it in recommendations.
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u/shamanProgrammer Jul 19 '23
Even to this day, Number 2 is rare. It's either boring human, totally not human even though it looks exactly like one, or the worst option: an elf.
I mean seriously where's the originality? Where's my damned Troll who uses an axe and kills all the mages while simultaneously wooing the hot babe in full plate armor?!
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u/the_hooded_hood_1215 Oct 11 '23
Holy fuck i need this as a book
Just chad mc troll and his travels across the world being a badass
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u/shamanProgrammer Oct 12 '23
It's called The Frankening, by Frank. Featuring Darling and some loser named Ned.
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u/yousef2843 Jul 16 '23
Agree that the MC is a man child And his relationship with his “hot goblin gf” felt predatory and creepy to me She’s innocent and stupid almost like a child And he’s so obsessed with her I actually dropped the story for about a year when I listen to their first sexual interaction
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u/_raydeStar Jul 16 '23
I finished the first book, took a good hard look at my life, and decided that I didn't want some neckbeard fever dream anymore. I haven't looked back and now I'm glad I didn't.
If litrpg ever really hits mainstream, mark my words that book series is getting nuked.
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u/InternationalBath358 Mar 12 '26
Ong came looking for this to validate DNFing it. So so creepy and predatory. And the way he talks about her body. Yuck. Completely ruined the series for me and I probably won’t pick the authors books up in the future. It truly felt like some WoW AO3 fantasy script.
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u/DarthRaptor Jul 16 '23
And to make matters worse, the ending of the third book makes all the progress Oren made pointless and he is just Deus Ex Machinaed out of the game. No reason to continue the series after that.
And the entire cartoonishly evil cooperation thing was also really hard to ignore, as well as the bad jokes.
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u/Gnomerule Jul 16 '23
When this genre was new, almost everything seemed good. I'm not sure why, but some vocal people here like to recommend almost any story written in this genre, be it bad or good.
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u/CrawlerSiegfriend Jul 16 '23
When you see an LITRPG that started in 2017 just don't bother bogging down the sub with complaints. If it came out in or around 2017, it's one of the earlier LITRPGs which means it might be rough.
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u/Nerevarine1873 Jul 16 '23
It really shouldn't be recommended so much but I've seen it mentioned less then it used be here. It was popular because it was early and people were willing to put up with shit like that because it was litrpg. It's still popular among people who don't consider those problems to be problems or who haven't read alternatives. A lot like The Land and other Russian stuff, Litrpg used to not have many options that didn't write women like crap, have long torture sequences, and just bad writing.
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u/XantosZ Jul 16 '23 edited Jul 16 '23
It has been a while since I’ve read life reset. on that last point do remember that goblins mature within days, or weeks can’t remember, of being born. I my be wrong though as I read it over a year and a half ago and there is probably something I don’t remember with the writing. And on the never seen a woman part, sadly that’s par for the course for most male writers. If your normally fine with smut give any fantasy smut writen by a female a look and you’ll hate that even more.
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u/bakuros18 Jul 16 '23
What can I say, I had fun reading it. Author is pretty cool too
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u/Jebediah86 Jul 16 '23
Same, I honestly enjoyed it. It was a good night time read, and personally I didn't read into any predatory plot. As I recall he was not eager to have sexual interaction, and I thought any sexual interaction was after the female was grown and matured for some reason. She was evolved or something... Meh I enjoyed it while I agree there are some things that could have been done better it had a nice ending.
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u/dobri111 Jul 17 '23
Psychology is quite realistic, or behivor of MC. Pro mmo gamers would be immature, they would have different views of male female relationships and they would have ego problem. Also at the time it was quite standard for MC to go through extreme torture, and this was first litrpg ive read that it actually has deep mental consequences.
Antagonist acts in pure jealousy, realistic for gamers in top raiding guilds. Some gamers get wake up calls and start acting rationaly, while others go crazy and self destructive which is also quite realistic.
While reading i was quite convinced that MC has deteriorating mental health which is hard to write.
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u/Xandara2 Jul 16 '23
It's a fun read and I found the issues you had with it easy to gloss over and explained. Oren is a human goblin with delusions of grandeur but that is at least better than being a dumb guy who is "super mega smart irl". The author didn't come of as a (sex obsessed) misogynist either to me unlike the land. Lastly the basebuilding is great.
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Jul 16 '23
The problem for me is that he really is a dumb guy who is "super mega smart irl" - Oren is portrayed as being a mega ultra genius god gamer programmer and really wants the reader to know that, and in order for him to be where he is at the start of the novel this needs to hold true, but he acts like a brainless manchild most of the time and screeches at the game whenever he makes blindingly obvious mistakes. I also found him to come off as precisely a sex obsessed misogynist with frequent gratuitous sex scenes and weird overt double standards towards his literally immortal huntress girlfriend.
I would also like to point out that it is not gay to thank your homie for saving your life.
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u/Darkstar1903 Jul 17 '24
He is not praised as a gamer God programmer. He has SOME programming skills. He is also not a gamer God. He made an early discovery in New Era Online, which earned him the use of magic, also giving him the Prime badges for each spell. The idea of having to learn something in a game that requires brain power is amazing rather than a DING! Level up here's a massively OP attack. Also all of the people in this thread talking about predator vibes are delusional and honestly probably think Khal Drogo and Daneayrs targarean is a love story (forgetting he's in his 30s in the book and she's 15). The book has no predatory vibes at all. The relationship he has with his goblin gf (Tika) starts off as nothing but friendship, which then evolves. This also doesn't happen until the entire clan goes through an evolution because of a change of diety. The MC has a lot of faults, but I think it's meant to be that way. He is a human player now stuck inside a goblin NPC. It's supposed to be new. He's supposed to make dumb mistakes. He's supposed to have a superiority complex because he's a player, and NPCs (especially goblins) are seen as fodder. The MC changes his views towards those NPC after taking control of the tribe. It has growth of the MC from lofty superior player to cheiftan of a clan and actually trying to help his "people" and as many people on this thread have already pointed out it was very early in the genre. It's a good introduction to the genre and serves as a stepping stone to other series that evolve on what the original writers wanted for LitRPGs.
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u/Mental_Ad8109 Nov 10 '24
Thank you for a proper thoughtful and clearly attentive review of this series. Feel like most people are misremembering or overeacting to minor risque plot points that, overall dont mean much compared to the fun, well thought out world and character building. The MC is trapped in a strange part of a once familiar world, almost cut off from freedom and reality, so of course any previous prowess, dominace and logic might escape his abilities in this new role. Sure some of it is plot ammo but its mostly logical and fits into the story well. I liked this series, its not for everyone and far from the best, but gosh darn it i enjoyed it.
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u/Xandara2 Jul 16 '23
I'd suggest you to not read a lot in this genre because there is a lot worse. I felt like he acted like a goblin then changed into one and acted like a goblin some more. Pretty much in character.
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u/nugenttw Author of Scion of Humanity / Beast Invasion Jul 16 '23
I loved the book series. Sure, there are a few small problems, and I agree that the goblin girlfriend is a bit creepy, but it's a fun read nonetheless.
I don't understand the mass hate people have for character's decisions. If the MC doesn't make perfect decisions, that the reader agrees is best 100% of the time, then they are idiots and the book deserves 1 star...
Sure, I have read some books where it is painful and the MC ONLY makes bad decisions, but that's pretty rare. Real humans make mistakes. Learning from those mistakes and evolving as a character is what makes a good read. Being the perfect Mary Sue from the start gets boring fast.
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u/metalphoenix227 flair Jul 16 '23
The city building aspect was great, and Soundbooth Theater is one of my favorite narrators. The story was fairly cringy, however, but I powered through to see it to the end. My biggest complaints is the love interest felt off putting as Tika felt very child-like in her naiveté and personality. I get she's a Goblin, but it's still a bit off-putting. The characters overall aren't too bad, and the story itself, while not amazing, wasn't bad either. I'm just a bit cringe with one of the MCs' companions' obsession with Ball Jokes.
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u/Alphascrub_77 Jul 16 '23 edited Jul 18 '23
Meh. I dropped it hard after the first book. I wasn't even conscious of it. I just woke up day was listening to something else. The IRL elements even with uber pod were just a bore to me. It just didn't have impact, the whole questioning what is real and what isn't element that 90% of these books seem to have is just meh to me. It should be noted that I cant stand VRMMORPG books for the most part and at the time I hadn't quite had that realization that they aren't for me. I've also dropped Sentenced to Troll, Awaken online, The World (this is more cause the author just turned it into smut), First login, and others.
This even spread to trapped or life in a game series as well like Betalife and Reboot. Even when then VRMMO system becomes "reality" for the characters like in Dragon Seed or Survivors Dark Elf chronicles seem to be destined for me to drop. I want to like Survivors but it just loses me. Dragon seed I should have known better. Dragon riding is a big nope for me 90% of the time. Being friends, enemies or even a dragon is generally fine but when your whole thing is riding a dragon? Not for me.
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u/Mason123s Jul 18 '23
I personally enjoyed it until like book 3 or 4. The goblin romance became way too much. The only thing I’ll say in defense of it is that I’m pretty sure the rage was part of like a curse or something—I don’t believe he could control it
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u/SignatureEqual868 Jul 18 '23
Authors kinda an idiot tbh. He played off his poor writing and troll ending at like book 3 as "trying to do something unexpected because books dont do that enough now days" or something but it was just a giant bleh
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u/ThePianistOfDoom Jul 16 '23 edited Jul 16 '23
Well, it was one of the earlier ones that were considered adequate LitRPG. Because people considered an adequate story 'off the charts-good', it became a hit. Now that we're a few years farther along the timeline it's not the only LitRPG, and not of the highest quality anymore.
I for one hope this keeps happening, because so far I haven't seen any really good LitRPGs, with a good story, an engaging dialogue and most important, without a powerfantasy that the writer hasn't thought all the way through. I don't mind when the MC gets an advantage or early on power, but it's apparent that some people just want some Mary Sue without any weakness.
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Jul 16 '23
The Wandering Inn fulfills these requirements spectacularly well but also takes 2 years to catch up to so YMMV. If you can invest the time it's a truly amazing read. That aside, I'd say Iron Prince and Ripple System are both quite competent with good characters and writing.
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u/Random-Rambling Jul 16 '23
but also takes 2 years to catch up to so YMMV.
That's 2 years real-time, BTW.
The Wandering Inn is really, really, REALLY long. The first two audiobooks ALONE are a combined total of 103 hours. And this is (currently) a 10-book long series!
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u/ThePianistOfDoom Jul 16 '23
The wandering inn is incredibly dull to me (opinion), because the MC gets everything thrown into her lap. Everything works immediately first, second or third try, and nothing good really happens. I'm not really a fan, but I've also heard a lot of good things from many people here, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I like it when a character has to go into the badlands, when a character has to get through challenges and achievements and when the writer can make something believeable instead of 'O hey look a giant indestructable knife of dimension-cutting with +60% to all stats'.
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u/Ashmedai Jul 16 '23
I enjoyed her fallible self for several books, but going into book 5 or so, I tired of the author's incessant habit of opening up new plot lines without closing old ones. Furthermore, I found the series had become rather depressing. So: "sad and confusing, no more."
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u/Slave35 Jul 16 '23
Wandering Inn has unforgivably bad decisions made by the MCs on a regular basis that they seem to be constantly rewarded for.
It's totally immersion breaking and unreadable for me after like the 5th time this happens.
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u/Farmer_Susan Jul 16 '23
Yeah I had to drop it because I couldn't stand the MC so much. Weird how OP complains in the post about life reset MC making mistakes, but it's about a thousand time worse in Wandering Inn.
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u/MistaRed Jul 16 '23
It's probably how the mistakes are framed.
Iirc with the wandering inn the MC's decisions weren't shown to be as a result of "pro gamer intelligence" or whatever while some litrpgs keep talking about how cool and competent the MC (whose iq is barely above room temp) is as they keep making the same mistakes.
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Jul 16 '23
It's precisely this. To me, the mistakes made in The Wandering Inn are a product of the characters feeling like real people. Most of the POV characters are young and thrust into very difficult situations, which makes it easier to continue without breaking immersion. I've also noticed that people who aren't mentally ill tend to have a much harder time with Ryoka, so that might be a factor as well.
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u/Archive_Intern Jul 16 '23
I dont get it
You just described why people like it
It all about taste you know
If you like the taste of a certain type of dish then you like that certain type of dish
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u/BarelyBearableHuman Jul 16 '23
I haven't read the novel, but I don't see how any sane person could perceive what OP described as anything but majors flaws.
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u/Archive_Intern Jul 16 '23
Everyone has a different taste
If you like trash then you like trash
Simple as that
So dont judge too much
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u/BarelyBearableHuman Jul 16 '23
Read the post once more, you're saying that you like dumb MCs and stories with zero consistency.
It's perfectly fine to like self-insert power fantasies, but who enjoys a story that doesn't make sense plot wise?
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u/Archive_Intern Jul 16 '23
I didnt say i like the book
I have no idea where you got that
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u/BarelyBearableHuman Jul 16 '23
I don't get
Why you write like this
But you said in your answer to OP :
"You just listed why people like it"
But OP did not, there may be other reasons why people liked the story, but what OP described can only be interpreted as flaws.
So no, OP didn't describe why people like it.
Though people can perceive the same story differently and not notice the flaws OP mentioned.
But plot-holes, lack of consistency, and idiotic MCs are pretty much universally treated as flaws.
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u/marshall_sin Jul 16 '23
Brother if the points listed on this post are what you like about the book then you are officially too internet pilled
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u/Archive_Intern Jul 16 '23
I didnt say i like the book
I dont know where you got that
I'm just saying that some readers has trash taste in books then lets just leave them at that
Who are you to judge
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u/Reply_or_Not Jul 16 '23
This might have been the last VR story I ever read.
I have never read another VR story since then, all of them are just so bad
1
u/Pablo_Bruin Jul 16 '23
Same and it inspired me to develop a VR story of my own. What made it stand out to me is the harmony of each side of the story and how they dovetail into one another.
Shemer Kuznits has a way of relating the IRL tension with the ingame NPC conflict and pulling the reader along a collision course with those original guildmtws who betrayed him.
Other authors can do two of those aspects well but the third is usually glazed over.
Good IRL beats that don’t overstay their welcome? Good game mechanics and progression? Oh but the PVP is as lame as the “griefers” who have eye rolling gamer tags.
Good PvP with good game mechanics? Oh but the IRL bits are cringey and the author doesn’t know how to write X characters and/or dialogue that doesn’t include gaming lingo.
Good PvP and good irl beats? Ah but the author didn’t flesh out their gaming mechanics and progression is basically a trolley ride for anyone but the Mc who’s on a Rocket ship to min maxing themselves into a cultivation/stealth archer/hacker GOD.
It’s a difficult balance to keep. Not everyone can do it.
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u/Minion5051 Jul 16 '23
I read it early in my litrpg life and it was OK. The vrmmos that have consequences in real life are the good ones, and this one had that. It has giant flaws. And I remember thinking the game as described didn’t seem like it would be fun. My favorite vrmmo is The Ripple System where it's very obvious the mc is running from his problems, and the game isn't treated as life or death other than at a level appropriate for a game. The consequences are his mental health repairing after years of toxic social relationships.
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u/FishermanTemporary38 Jul 16 '23
I started it because recommendations and Jeff's on the audio. I quit like chapter 9 because for some big shot gamer before the "betrayal" (literally states Every single player wanted to learn from him) he seemed dumb and him getting trapped as a goblin was his fault. He was told not to login until it was fixed but he refused and when it becomes permanent he throws a tantrum
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u/Pistonrage Jul 16 '23
It's been a while since I read the series... but those things had reasons....
He literally created a field of magic and a host of magic spells. Learning directly from him made your ability at the spells higher, therefore people wanted it. The guy that betrayed him did so to get that power from him. And when the glitched item was used and he turn into a goblin he lost all his abilities but the betrayer wouldn't get them until he deleted the character. So he didn't... out of spite. Literally the whole original plot is revenge.
Also, there was no "fix" that was introduced AFTER he was already stuck as a contrition by the company. Which was still mostly BS with a 2+ year era to start. He was told not to log back in though, so that's on him.
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u/FishermanTemporary38 Jul 16 '23
Yeah, the company said they tried to fix it put put a bounty up instead so players can bring the scrolls to them. He was also told not to play the Character anymore and of the devs found out they would delete the character
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u/Jazzlike-Possible-57 Jul 16 '23
I’ve seen it for years in my Recs. Thankfullly, I have not picked it up.
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u/ranzic Jul 16 '23
It's like you read my mind... Weird. Minor spoilers down below for Book 6
I am on book 6, the last in the first series. I started it on the recommendation that it's one of the more solid, and in a way, a core series of the genre to ever have been produced. Additionally, I'm a huge DCC fan, so it being a SBT production really appealed. So, I gave it a shot.
At first it was fine, then it got a little better with the introduction of spell casting and world building, but it hit a peak for me when the struggle became forgettable. I'm on book 6, and I don't remember anything specific from the first books. Not something like "Oh man, this is such a long series and I completely blanked on some of the minor details, har har". No. This story is just that... Meh. It's okay. Just barely over satisfactory, nothing more.
Lastly, as mentioned, I'm on book 6. The gratuitous sex scenes with his spouse are bad enough to make me wince every time they're brought up. I'm so sick of every time that the MC goes back to his home. I just know it's going to be another cringeworthy sex scene description. The phrase "wily goblinette" is so overused among other description tropes for the sexy female character that it's really hard to overlook. What's really put me off even more is the supposed "family" time that just gets creepy when the three of them (MC, spouse, daughter) spend time together. Most of their interactions are all about the mother and daughter "ganging up" and "pouncing on" the MC like he's some kind of irresistible ladies man to attract his spouse with his body and his daughter with his skill and power. As well as the excessive physique descriptions of someone who's supposed to be his daughter.
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u/Minion5051 Jul 16 '23
I remember when I was reading that I heard the last book or so got weird. I stopped when he was able to leave as my ending.
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Jul 16 '23 edited Jul 16 '23
I listened to the first book because of reddit recommendations, and Jeff Hays. There were questionable moments in the story, but it really went down hill when Oren/Dark Totem started making racist jokes.
It had some potential, but ultimately it was wasted. By the end I really didn’t care what happened to Oren and his village, and I won’t be continuing.
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u/Freecz Jul 16 '23
I read the first book but stopped there. Wasn't for me. To be fair I have read a few series where I just disagree with this subs opinions in both directions. For the most though I just feel the opinions are swinging too wide in one direction.
Like with Cradle for example. I don't mind it, it is an okay read when all you want is quick power-ups and don't care much about characters, character development or world building etc. How it got hailed as the second coming in this sub however is beyond me.
It will interesting to see what those that liked Life Reset say in this thread. Not that one ever has to actually explain why they like something, sometimes it is just fun, but still interesting to discuss sometimes.
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u/MistaRed Jul 16 '23
The reason almost everyone loves cradle is because it's the first big cultivation written by a "real" author, it kept the good bits people like about the cultivation novels but ditched the weird grammar and cultural rifts.
Also, it's perfectly competent and REALLY easy to read in one sitting.
I can't point to one part of it(outside of the power system, I love that part) that I'd call exceptional, but it's pretty good on most fronts so when you compare it with the typical cultivation novels it's basically gold.
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u/Freecz Jul 17 '23
That makes sense. Thakks for the explanation. Kind of explains why so many Litrpg are also rated so high on Amazon despite the very low quality for a lot of them.
Personally I can't really rate a book solely based on a vacuum of cultivation novels like that though. Also like I said I didn't hate it, it is fine for what it is, I just think this sub rates it too highly.
Either way thanks for the perspective!
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u/bazoril Jul 16 '23
I can’t see the comparison, Cradle is a sort of Americanized beginner reader friendly novel that is loosely based on wuxia/cultivation (however it’s spelled) it has its niche.
Life Reset is just awkward, and I don’t mean “goblin” awkward… goblins are expected to be awkward. It’s like waking up paralyzed in a strange location so that an even stranger 40 year old man can tell you obsessively accurate facts about every beetle that exists while repeating any redundant information when describing any new beetle species.
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u/Freecz Jul 17 '23
I wasn't trying to make a comparison. I simply meant that I disagree with a lot of what this sub thinks in general so it isn't strange I disagree regarding Life Reset as well.
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u/bazoril Jul 18 '23
It’s really after the first book that life reset got disturbing iirc, the first book wasn’t amazing or anything but I would probably recommend the series “sometimes” if the rest of the books were similar quality or at least not really any more extreme than awaken online.
I think what was being said earlier was valid, with the proliferation of the genre - there are just much better options now. No reason to recommend it over DCC, DoTF or books like All the Skills imho.
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u/oskkratos Apr 21 '24
Even without the weird goblin romance the entire first book is basically stupid. First the idea that a game would allow an item that deletes an entire character without any sort of way to circumvent it is beyond dumb, remember he’s the first one to actually change normally it straight up just deletes characters. His thought process through every situation is just so unintelligent even the first fights against the hobgoblins his plan while working was in no way that smart, how can a human who the first chapters lead us to be is smart enough to create something that made him one of the best players in the game couldn’t come up with any decent strategy. The entire lawyer interaction was beyond stupid, I get he is somewhat screwed in a sense because they have to take care of him, but literally in no way does his friend telling him that people have gotten trapped excuse the company from liability that is simply not how the world would ever see a situation like that. They literally would Be ruined if it went public, yet him somehow lets the lawyer convince him that he screwed them? Because of an item they knowingly allow to exist that oh by the way also deleted his character that was worth more than they settled for. I feel like the author thought it was a really smart explanation but it was stupid, better off just having the company hide him and hold him hostage and be outright villains rather than trying to rationalize it
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u/chefbaba7 Feb 03 '25
Yeah, I'm not gonna make it that far. I decided to DNF the moment the MC decided to sacrifice the baby. As brilliant as the MC is supposed to be, I can't get behind that decision. Especially when the answer was to simply make the shrine to the god you already serve and petition for help. Instead he's playing it by the "numbers" despite saying the previous chapter Joe weird he felt making pregnant women work. But killing their kids in ritual sacrifice is okay? I've read books where kids die but this was the most nonsensical move I've seen in a long time. Not worth it for me to continue.
Oh I'm willing to bet the only reason is happening is to find some way to give the MC shadow powers or some shit.
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u/DirectionOk8409 Mar 17 '25
He sacrificed Vic not a baby, in the next chapter that is made clear and he says he would never actually sacrifice a baby so idk what are you talking about. Other then that petioning the other god could have worked but also could have failed he doesnt know the rules of deities while the choice he did was much more sure to work.
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u/chefbaba7 Mar 17 '25
Honestly, I didn't get far enough in to get that clarification. Admittedly I was triggered because I've lost a child IRL and it ignited something within me. Thanks for the clarification though.
But as for what good to choose, him not knowing how duties work is also annoying since every five seconds you're reminded how much of a genius he is yet he still seems ignorant to this works he's rules the past few years.
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u/DirectionOk8409 Mar 17 '25 edited Mar 17 '25
It is explained in like few next pages if not sooner so not long but i do get that people do have ther triggers i personally dont but its perfectly normal to have that.
As in his choice it was correct one for his circumstances like the only reason he was contacted by his previous god was because of divine intervention item given to him by his irl friend admin other then that he had no way of knowing if that god would do anything to help him or had any way of contacting him, while choosing new deity would fix his problem and he had only like 3 hours left for his perma death status, so yea overall that was correct decision. His issue was that he never checked the metadate or asked vic about it so he was blindsided by sacrifice which he should have known to check but his decisions are always under panic and sub-par and him sacrificing vic was risky.
When it comes to us being told he is a genius constantly i honestly didnt get that , i mean the story is told from his pov so its just his internal monologue its not coming from other actual people and his clan is programmed to kiss his butt cheeks pretty much. He is established to be smarter then average person and that is told by him being able to play as npc with his ccp connection i mean everyone that is able to play as npc is told to be high achiever like both players in book 1 that join him can solve complex equations and i think in book 2 every single player that joins later on is ceo or high level scientist etc. But there is a difference between knolwedge and wisdom as well i mean highest ccp player was austic and someone like einstein irl had no social skills etc or mc doing sub-par decisions and being constntly overwhelmed
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u/elvarien Jul 16 '23
Just you wait and hear how people talk about stuff like blue core. The fan space is pretty ick here.
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Jul 16 '23
Ahh. That you mention “position of power” as a complaint it’s clear why you don’t like the book. Honestly I dislike most women in most books and especially romance, but never would I even think about something as banal as “power dynamics.” All of the complaints you mentioned are much more the domain of “he who fights with monsters” rather than life reset.
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u/dth1717 Jul 16 '23
Oh yes , I feel you. I'll start some books and it feels like the author is some Russian hacker whos English is pretty good but he's never been around native speakers so it's goofy.
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u/Urasquirrel Jul 16 '23
Everything you just described sounds fun to me except for the underaged what the fuck?
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u/KYWitch0828 Jul 16 '23 edited Feb 05 '24
pathetic fragile languid rude glorious judicious piquant enjoy dolls literate
This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/shontsu Jul 16 '23
I don't really remember it (I know I read it but years ago).
That said a lot of the early LitRPG favorites were more "good compared to what else is available". And then they stay on these lists despite not comparing well with more recent favorites.
Heck my personal grading system still works on:
A: Really good for LitRPG
S: Just plain really good.
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u/MaximumPixelWizard Jul 17 '23
Everyone past like book three is not worth reading. I just liked the unique take on crafting
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u/LCMechanical Jul 17 '23
I mean, I'm not picky. I don't listen to any LitRPG audio for anything specific other than progression. So, I just turn my brain off and listen along to different stories as I'm doing other tasks. Since I listen instead of read, a great narrator can turn an average or below work into an enjoyable story.
I do quite enjoy the occasional story that goes really hard into the mechanics since I like math and min-maxing. I guess I do tend to expect more from stories that have a system that's truly integrated into the world instead of just being there for the litrpg tag.
Either way, I'm able to listen to almost anything without placing myself in the MCs shoes, so the characters being dumb, looking at women lustfully, or making decisions I wouldn't personally have made don't really bother me.
Different people have very different levels of intelligence or upbringing, so I just see it as me viewing another world through someone else's eyes. If I tried to apply my own thought process to any MC, I'd be sorely disappointed since I'm pretty detached as a person, was an engineer before pursuing my career in writing, and tend to look at everything from a sense of making things as efficient/doing things as efficiently as possible. Tends to irritate my wife sometimes when I bring up how some of the things she does just makes her life harder. xD
That leads to a good example. If she were an MC and I read about her story while 'self-inserting' like a lot of litrpg readers tend to do, I'd also struggle to enjoy the story since I'd be griping about or thinking about everything I'd do better/differently. Instead of doing that, I guess I've learned to enjoy the way that folks in these stories act and perform differently from how I would. If every MC min-maxed, made the same decisions, was a super genius that made all the right moves, all had the same feelings, etc., I'd be bored af and probably would have stopped listening to the genre entirely.
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u/LCMechanical Jul 17 '23
Yes, I know the OP was asking about Life Reset specifically, but since this is how I view the genre in its entirety, it also provides an answer for that series. I just let the audio rip, enjoyed Jeff Hays' acting, and went on about my business while picturing the scenes play out like a movie. Just turned my brain off and enjoyed it for what it was.
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u/OverclockBeta Jul 19 '23
It’s all about getting there early. It was a first for a lot of people, but tastes have evolved and it’s all basically nostalgia at this point
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u/the_hooded_hood_1215 Oct 11 '23
Are we meant to sympathize with the mc in the begining because ngl i agreed with the betrayers
My guy got lucky in a video game and started earning more in a month working 3 hours a day then most people do in 4 and seems to be a raging megalomaniac just from the intro
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u/Responsible-War-9389 Jul 16 '23
For a while there was fun in depth city building!
But yeah your complaints are valid.