The Cost of Survival

A Post-Apocalyptic LitRPG (The System Apocalypse, Book 3)

By: Tao Wong

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

What cost survival in a post-apocalyptic world?

How much will you sacrifice to survive in a world turned game? When friends and family fall to monsters and aliens everyday, will you choose safety over freedom?

These are the questions the survivors in the Yukon must ask themselves. New alien masters arrive, offering safety from ever stronger monsters in return for their freedom and future potential.

Thrust into a position of power and influence by dint of his Levels, John must choose—not just for himself but Whitehorse itself. The price, however, might be more than he is willing to pay.

The Cost of Survival is Book 3 of the System Apocalypse, a LitRPG post-apocalyptic series that combines modern day urban life, science fiction and fantasy elements along with game mechanics.

©2018 Tao Wong (P)2024 Starlit Publishing

Good book, above most others

This series is pretty decent in the litrpg genre. The MC and the people around him are believable and struggle with their own issues. My only real complaint are the things that come out of nowhere. For instance an enemy suddenly being defeated by being sent flying in the air and having to rewind because I missed the one line that explains how this BS is accomplished. Other things like scene transition make it for a choppy listen if your not paying close attention which is hard when the MC is on his typical self hate monologue. Despite this it doesn't try to be more than what it is. The author keeps the scope of the book and what the MC can do within reason without shortcuts. That said I respect the work Tao Wong put into this book and making his own slice of litrpg. If you enjoy litrpgs then you will enjoy this book so I recommend you pick it up.

the very end pissed me off

I was very angry at the way the protagonist's reacted to the very ending of the story, but then I realized that that indicated a deeper appreciation for the work because it was able to elicit in me a strong emotion like that. aside from that it was the usual excellent work by this author.

good series

It keeps going strong. starting the next audio after a short break. If your into litrpg you should give this series a try.

Great read

This book improves upon the previous ones with its plot. It has a way more founded plot with not too many twists and turns but enough to keep you in your toes.
You can really feel how the author has grown in these past few books and his writing capabilities have increased drastically. If you've stuck around for the third book in the series you'd love this one as well.
Narration is just as great as all of Nick's work

good

Well done. Well narrated. will be looking forward to the next from this author. The rest of this is just filler. This is more filler.

crazy series

this book was even better then the last two a bunch of insane shit goes done and finaly cant wait for the next book

Great ending

The ending of this book brings a tidy close to the series. There were a few loose ends. But this book raps up the story well enough to make the ending satisfying, while still leaving room for more.

John need to get his head out if his ass

the MC really needs to stop second guessing himself. he is constantly holding back information because he's afraid of what might happens. stop worrying about what happened in the past and move on.

Another good book in this series...

I really like this author’s approach. More than anything I like that he is actually “writing” LitRPG and not just chucking unedited and horrendously written, soft-core drivel all over audible like it’s a dorm building on the ASU campus.

I really appreciate the authors who contribute quality writing to the genre and who clearly take the time to have their work edited and revised.

My only reason for not giving this book 5 stars is that this author has yet to release a book on audible that breaks the 9 hour mark. I don’t mind a shorter book every now and then, but I rarely feel satisfied without getting at least 10-11 hours out of a story.

More

I need more. I already can't wait to dive into the over arching plot. The book plots and the sub plots within have been great as well. My only complaint in that I wish the books were longer. However, I feel like this is a longer book strip to just the main character.

I could see some people thinking the MC's motivations are suspect and contrived, but I have gone through hell and can say it is roughly valid. Only roughly because each person is different. The MC's blindness is me all the way, and I find the rage tame to some points in my life.

Fantastic series!