Protagonist: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure

The Whims of Gods, Book 1

By: S.I. Waxman

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani

Length: 21 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

After quitting her job as a therapist, Tess's life became pretty slow. A tad boring, even.

It thus came as no small shock to her when she was chosen by a god.

Suddenly thrust into a new world where magic, monsters, and character levels are par for the course, Tess will find that simply surviving can be a challenge. It doesn't help that dark forces are stirring, she's woefully underpowered, and spiders keep trying to claw her face off.

One thing's for certain, though: if she can overcome it all, the possibilities are endless. Will she end up wrestling a dragon? Becoming an arch-mage? Opening up a quaint wine bar and bookstore for elves? The choice is hers...as long as she can live long enough to make it.

Protagonist is a fairly classic LitRPG novel with character levels, classes, stats, settlements, and other LitRPG elements.

©2022 S.I. Waxman (P)2023 Podium Audio

Engrossing Read

Really enjoyed the book!! Looking forward to book 2! To see what happens with Kevin Rock Cal Hertha and Tess

love it

Well this protagonist definitely wasn't a gamer before leaving her world. Definitely a silly person who wasn't sure about her choices in life surprisingly real personality.

SO MUCH WHINING

I I just can't with the amount of whining this chick does, I wanted to throat punch the main character so badly. This is just such a terrible book. The main character has no actual redeeming characteristics. She monologs a lot and lives in her mind so much that she doesn't have any real relationships with anyone despite being a therapist. There are so many elements that aren't used that it is disappointing. The game elements suck real hard, and I feel like they weren't thought fully through.

I’m conflicted

Overall the story is great and I thoroughly enjoyed the book and narrator but at some points throughout the story I have to wonder if the author intentionally made the protagonist into a dumb bimbo. Given the fact that she is a protagonist of luck I can see some elements helping with that but at points I have to wonder if the real reason she quit her job is because she was actually fired for being too dumb. You have cheat level abilities and are from a modern society even if your not a nerd and into the whole isekai/reincarnation fad who actually gets to a new world and then ignores the powers that literally let you get information about said world and then goes around not using said powers on everything and everyone when the situation gets dire and there is a sorta lot of whining that kinda gets annoying near the end that almost made me stop listening

I enjoyed this one

This was a delightful tale, I was sad when it ended and in looking forward to book 2 :)

Decent plot

The protagonist comes as a bit unlikeable but the overall story is good enough to keep you coming back to it. I enjoyed the experience. Will certainly get other parts if they exist.

The idiot whines a lot

When I say they whine a lot. I mean, there are literal chapters dedicated to nothing but whining. I am not kidding. The previous chapter ends with her whining. The next chapter begins and then ends with her still whining about the exact same thing. She just goes in circles. A Circle-Whine. It is beyond annoying.

She is also apathetic and more than a bit of a moron. I get the whole God of Luck thing allows for an apathetic MC. She just blindly walks in a general direction and just hopes. She doesn't even hope it will work out. Just hope for hopes sake.

I have listened to far worse books. That being said, I will listen to one more. An authors first work should never let you decide on how you view them. The Dresden Files' first 3 were terrible, and that turned out ok.

So I guess I am saying... keep this stuff in mind and give it a try. Just keep your finger ready to skip forward when the incessant and childish whining gets to you.

stilted

this book does have good progression. the litrpg elements seem natural and there is not a sea of stats. that said, the writing is a bit stilted. I feel like it was intended to be more funny than it was, unlike noob town which ownes the funny, but this book didn't do it for me. Could be the narrator and the content wasn't a good match. I neither recommend nor not recommend. still, this book sat half listened to for about a month, in part because
1) of the use of the word protagonist broke immersion by way of unintended 4th wall breaking
2) the attitude of some of the characters leaving them a bit shallow, in part because the narrorator didn't give them enough gravitas to make them pop in scene
3) lack of world building to explain some of the wierd mechanics such as why people had to wait to level 10 for a class when there was a cepter that could bypass it.

near impossible to put down

this was certainly a hidden gem and a breath of fresh air. loved the protagonist and the world building had me thinking. I always love to see when the system is well Integrated into the lore of the world

absolutely worth your time and money, I'll be grabbing the next one immediately

While this was a pretty good piece of storytelling

Maybe it's just me but I absolutely HATE when authors are being so blatant about things yet the MC obliviously stumbles along completely unaware of the situation. To me, it feels as if the author is insulting my intelligence or just playing ridiculous and stupid games with their readership.

Stop it!

It really cheapens the experience and makes the MC appears incredibly dumb that you wonder why a level 1 rabbit hasn't taken them out yet.

Either write them as intelligent as they are or stop trying to make them cutely unaware of what's going on.