Rift Warden Academy

A Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy LitRPG

De: Craig Hamilton

Narrado por: Steve Campbell

The climb through the ranks often ends with a knife in the back.

Slum-dwelling orphan Garrett Walker scrounges for scraps in the wildlands beyond the walls that guard society, salvaging valuables from the ruins of fallen civilization.

Offered the opportunity to compete in the Warden Academy entrance trials, Garrett seizes the chance for a better life. However, the academy holds dangers a street rat is ill-equipped to handle and he’ll have to grow stronger while relying on his wits to survive.

Rivalries turn heated as Garrett’s hard work challenges classmates who would rather rely on family connections and wealth to succeed. As society's most affluent see the threat in Garrett's rise, he will discover that not all enemies live outside the city walls.

Good thing Garrett's no stranger to adversity.

©2024 Craig Hamilton (P)2025 Craig Hamilton

High Powered Academy Fantasy

Bog standard from rags to privilege start, but that's the only thing standard about this Academy story.

The characters aren't 2 dimensional pieces to advance the story, the main supporting cast actually feels like actual people with their own agendas, want and needs, which is a delight

The world is filled with lore and we actually get told about it (one of my favourite aspects of academic stories is the ability to lore dump and make it feel natural).
I actually want to know more about the world and what is happening outside of what is relevant to the MC.

Steve is a great addition to the story, his ability to embody the characters and project their thoughts and emotions through his narrative performance is a joy to experience (especially when he manages to say Sheathed Short Sword correctly 😝)

Great LitRPG academy story

Excellent LitRPG post-apocalyptic story of a street rat weak MC getting a chance to attend an elite academy. Great characters and excellent growth for the MC showing the drive and smarts from his street rat background. I can't wait for the sequel.

post apocalyptic academy

a fun litrpg which explores a post apocalypse Earth as humanity fights to survive in a now magically infused world.

not bad worth a credit

the action was at a good pase i really just love a good story can't wait for book 2

great beginner story

I've listened to many litRPGs and I like how this one is basic and easy to follow

Excellent story

Good story. Good narration.

No cringe.

I’d recommend the book. That was only ten words.

Fantastic New Series!

Wow, I absolutely loved this book. It's so well-written, even the descriptions of places are *chef's kiss*, and I loved the underdog main character. It's refreshing to have an MC that thinks things through, and puts thought and time into improving himself and excelling. Plenty of action to keep your interest, while still bringing that academy feel. I'm really looking forward to book 2!
The narration from Steve Campbell is amazing as always, I always look forward to releases with his narration. He's so versatile and you can tell he puts the work in to make a book the best it can be.

Awesome

For the last two weeks I felt the burnout of the genre and I only gave this one a chance because of the reviews and im so glad I did. I enjoyed the story from start to finish, competent, smart and with a great work ethic this mc was awesome. looking forward to the next one

Great one

This book was a great experience and I intend to listen to the next one when it gets done. thank you for the great work.

One of my Top 5 of 2025

Audible indicates I have purchased over 1,600 audiobooks — primarily cultivation, progressive fantasy, and LitRPG — and I read 1–2 Kindle Unlimited books per week. Rift Warden Academy easily lands in my Top 5 for 2025 so far.

The story hooked me right from the start. The character development is excellent — underdog, layered, and rewarding to follow. The class system is interesting and at times a bit confusing, but it leaves plenty of room for discovery as the series progresses.

This is one of those rare audiobooks where I immediately wanted to know when book 2 will be out. I’ll be grabbing it the moment it drops. Steve Campbell does an outstanding job with the narration.

If you enjoy progression fantasy, LitRPG, or academy-style progression fantasy with solid world-building, this is absolutely worth your time.