A Harsh Welcome

The Systemic Lands, Volume 1

By: Mister Vii

Narrated by: Jeremy Frazier

In a fake world, Michael must confront his fears and overcome personal challenges to survive. Along with other unfortunate individuals from Earth, he finds himself suddenly teleported to a mysterious realm where danger and opportunity are intertwined.

Struggling with his weight and insecurities, Michael sets out to unravel the secrets of this unfamiliar world. He faces the desolate stone city, monstrous threats lurking beyond its borders, and the enigmatic System Store, each presenting unique challenges and prospects for growth.

The Systemic Lands is a dark, progressive LitRPG that delves into the grittier side of survival progression stories. It offers a refreshing perspective as the protagonist grapples with his vulnerabilities rather than embodying the archetypal super athlete, ready to face adversity at the drop of a hat.

©2023 MisterVii (P)2023 MisterVii

Not your grandfather's litrpg

A lot of books are described as grimdark or edgy and then halfway through the book the MC is cavorting about saving kittens and orphans while they have an emo inner monologue about how bad they feel about stepping on a flower. The systemic lands is reminiscent of those dark series where the strong survive at any cost like The Black Company or First Law series. This is a tale of one man who is thrown into a survival of the fitest situation but is certainly not. He must be ruthless, brutal, and willing to do anything to survive, even if that means murdering hundreds, to stay ahead before they come for HIS head. Michael is not an antihero, he will not be saving a slave girl who melts his cold heart, nor will he share power that he rightfully won. It is his way or the grave. Only those with steel balls read this tale. Read, enjoy, and anticipate what comes next...

Never give up

This story is great. The narrator is great story really captures never giving up and doing what it takes. 

consistently brutal

not many litrpgs are as brutal as this one. I wish there were more

Definitely on the darker side of LitRPG…

The book is well written and adequately performed. There’s not much to like about the MC, but I’ll take that over a bumbling moron or character incongruity any day. Not sure why those two flaws pop up so regularly in this genre but “praise the system” that this author has more sense.

This is a dark, plodding story with no fully like-able characters. Normally those kinds of books don’t appeal to me. However the author managed to thread the needle with decent pacing, a unique world, and just enough justification for the main character to seem more like a somewhat sociopathic (but not psychopathic), damaged person that you can root for, albeit deservedly.

I found this book somewhat refreshing with its completely different take on an adventure fantasy to the mostly glib and poorly written examples that have been flooding the GameLit genre since it’s inception.

I don’t think this book will be for everybody, but for those of us who don’t drop five star reviews on any audiobook that they manage to finish regardless of how unlistenable they may be, A Harsh Welcome is probably worth checking out.

interesting

i like that it was indeed grim dark if not a bit overkill, seems like the main character feels a little too edgy but that might be a narration thing especially at the beginning, over-all enjoyable.