Author of LitRPG, Gamelit, Sci-Fi, Progression Fantasy & Historical Fiction Books.
Author of LitRPG, Fantasy, Coming of Age, Sci-Fi, Murder Mystery & Historical Fiction Books.
Village Manager
8/10
Andrew Karevik
LitRPG, Gamelit, 4x, Strategy
The Story
I guess trying to catch the bus with your laces undone isn’t such a smart decision after all…
One fatal collision later, and I’m facing my judgment. As it turns out, I’ve been a lazy sob, and my short, uneventful life of playing games and getting up late wasn’t worth much. And so I don’t qualify to move on to the afterlife.
I try to argue to the goddess in front of me that I do have skills, that it was hard work playing those simulation and management games. But she will not concede.
In the end, I manage to get the benefit of the doubt, and a wager is made. To test my claims, I’ll be sent to a desolate, Level 1 village with the mission to make it thrive. If I fail or die, the goddess will bring me back to my old life, back to the drudge of working at the grocery store.
But that’s not going to happen. I will prove that all these countless hours spent in front of my computer were not in—
Ack, my head! Where the hell have I landed? Looks like a dilapidated farm, with a few huts scattered about. Qualifies as a desolate village, alright. I can’t believe it. This is it! I’m actually doing this! But where do I even begin…Yes, first, find the Mayor…but then what, convince her to hand over the keys so I can work my magic? Could it be that simple?
Oh, there she is. Uh, hello? Hmm, why isn’t she waking up? Maybe I should go look for some quest to do in the meantime. Uh, are these goblins I see there on the road?
“You are under attack!”
Dang.
My Review
Ok so I went on a bit of a 4x binge and after getting through the entirety of CivCEO in less time than I probably should have, what’s more apt than heading down another Andrew Karevik rabbit hole? Seriously for those of you who enjoy large-scale economic and political growth - he’s your guy.
I’d actually avoided these civilisation-style books for a while because I didn’t think that planning economies and politics would be anything that I would enjoy. But now that I’m on the other side, I can see what all the fuss is about, and what I’ve been missing. (And maybe what I want more of).
Andrew Karevik has a storytelling voice that’s kept me hooked for way too long, and that’s not something I can say about all writers! Now pair this with an interesting storyline, fantasy and LitRPG elements and you have the recipe for a top ten series in my books.
I know it isn’t strictly LitRPG, but it’s adjacent and that’s good enough for me.
Thrown into a world where the MC has to rely on his economic smarts and business acumen to survive, we quickly learn everything we need to know about village management, and scratching the right backs to get through in life.
A short, sharp drop into the meat of the book, a failing village, desolation and poverty, witches and goblins, what more could any avid fantasy reader ask for?
And maybe a chicken or two?
The only downside is that there isn’t a sequel to this, because I would definitely binge through this one before you could upgrade your town hall to level two. Or find a rooster to start your own chicken and egg empire to compete with the king.