A Hard Reset

The System Integration Chronicles, Book 1

De: Drew McGunn

Narrado por: Joshua David Palpallatoc

The world didn't end. It just leveled up in this epic LitRPG adventure.

Fourteen-year-old Caden Taylor was more worried about his grades than his stats. But that was before the universe hit the reset button. Now, the world he knew is gone, replaced by a new reality governed by a game-like System. With stats, skills, and quests, it's the ultimate Gamelit challenge where survival is the only goal.

When the timer hits zero, the world he knew is deleted. Monsters straight out of a nightmare now prowl his suburban neighborhood, and the chaos pulls his father, a game warden, into the heart of the storm.

Now, with only his ride-or-die best friend, Jayden, and Jayden's sharp-witted older sister, Hanna, at his side, Caden has to level up, pick a class, and learn the rules of this new System. Together, they begin the ultimate base-building challenge: turning their ruined neighborhood into a defensible fortress.

But as they fortify their settlement against goblins and other System-spawned monsters, they learn a hard truth: something truly massive is carving a path of destruction across the land. It’s an apocalyptic force that dwarfs any monster they've faced, and it's coming straight for them.

Experience the start of a new hit series perfect for fans of Tao Wong, Shirtaloon, and Zogarth. It’s a must-listen for anyone who loves action-packed stories with detailed game mechanics, a relatable main character, and a world where every single stat point matters.

©2025 Drew McGunn (P)2025 Drew McGunn

Mod swings are crazy

The Mc is a 14 years old and the mood swings drastically from yay lvl up to this isn't a game I killed things people are dying

great take on system apoc

I liked this one quite a bit, it doesn't fall into so many of the plot armor traps alot of recent system apocalypse books do. the MC isn't the biggest or best, he's just a kid
and he reacts like you would expect a kid to react and really liked that. goblins kill a dude and he's not immediately like haha death means nothing kill kill kill. the loss and devistation that comes with a system apoc isn't just glossed over it means something. the narrator could be better but I think the story speaks for it'self. hope to see more from this author

Pretty good

First want to clarify that I know everything seems to think reviews need to be 5 stars or it's trash, but I disagree and feel all the stars should be used for nuance. The definition given for 3 stars is "pretty good" and that's what I think this is. Pretty straight forward content for the genre and for those like me who have rapidly run out of top tier content, it provides.

For narration, the narrator is clearly very competent because when a character is actually saying something I feel like they nail it, they can do a great job with different voices and intentions, however I found the voice used for general narration, the system, or internal monologue doesn't hook me. It sounded somewhat listless, slow, and doesn't seem like it's spoke with real intention behind the thoughts, just reading off what is happening without strong opinions. Because the other voices are done so well, I have to believe this is just a stylistic choice, but for me it didn't work.

Great potential, good start to a series.

This is a fun and interesting story. The MC is definitely young, seems fairly accurate to that time of a kids like where you don't know who you are, what you're doing, and somehow also think you can do anything. The setting is nice and small, just a small rural area coming together after the apocalypse. Once Caden meets Emily, his personality really seems to flesh out. Before he seems like a kid that just exists in the world. Emily makes him seem like a real teenager in the throes of youth, with all the emotions and hormones that come with it.

There are some issues with the book though. You can almost hear the author getting better at writing as the book goes on. Especially during the beginning half of the book, he uses simile like he gets paid by the "like". There are a few phrases that get used throughout the book too: "Not 'bad thing' or 'other bad thing', just 'neutral thing'", "like it belonged there", and something being "real" as though that explains everything.

I am interested in reading more of this series, I just hope the author does more showing than telling.

A pretty decent first book of a new series.

I really liked the more team based aspect of the story versus traditional litrpgs' soloing, any deaths felt abrupt and shocking as they should, and I liked the more survival aspect of the world as well. That said, chapter 2 has some strange audio issues, albeit brief, and the MC gets responsibilities that feel out of place considering he is just a kid; some of the story's flow is awkward as well in that brief time skips happen without warning.
I did enjoy my time with the book, all things considered though, and will be looking for the sequel.

Great story

MC is young but not annoying!! Lots of actions, levels, classes, and town building. A good listen.

a good book

a good book and a good litrpg story would definitely recommend if you like litrpg and/or adventure stories

Interesting start! Will be a hit with base building fans

I thought that the story starts well and has an interesting premise with guns and magic. I found though, that as it progressed that the narrative is very much focused on the protagonist and too many characters are introduced without much development other than how they relate to the him. This made it difficult to be invested in them, their interactions with the main character or their plight. You would enjoy this as a fan of survival base building games and litrpg in general but it might not be for everyone.