Alpha Ascendant

Alpha LitRPG, Book 2

By: Arthur Stone

Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin

Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Some say these lands are the most dangerous in the entire North.

The Grove is a perilous wound on the face of the planet, home to the most fearsome creatures in all of Rock. Death himself has trod these paths, leaving in his wake freakish mutants who still bear within themselves a piece of his morbid nature.

The only thing more difficult than reaching the Grove is leaving it alive. If you came unwillingly in the first place, escape is impossible - unless, of course, you are a great hero. I’m no great hero. Just a level zero, whose last life ended in frailty, failure, and flame. But I’ve never let the fact that something is “impossible” stop me before.

Bring it on.

©2022 Arthur Stone (P)2022 Podium Audio

better then the last

I had wrote a review on the last book hoping that the things that I didn't like would be fixed. They were. 1st I said I didn't like the ghouls voice, it wasn't fixed but it was bearable, he is also annoying tho. 2nd, I said there wasn't enough fighting in the first book that was fixed here. those were really my only complaints of the 1st book, now let's do my complaints of the 2nd. I hate how there is always a catch, I know that it makes it more realistic but how when he gets some loot he is still weak, or there isn't enough, or something else, it's like the author is trying to give him boons while still keeping him weak so he doesn't become overpowered. if it wasn't for how cunning he is I would have probably dropped the series after all you can't be weak and dumb, I said that I'd keep the series on a hunch and I was right there's still some rough edges but in the 3rd book it'll be way better. So if you're reading this review trying to see if you should get the 1st one just know this Is a slow series. but it's good.

Phenomenal writing and narration

I was hooked on this series ever since the first chapter of book one, the story and narration do not fall flat on its sequel and I can’t wait for book three. The current narrator couldn’t have been picked better for this series.

Everything Arthur Stone writes is worth buying.

I have a great fondness for Arthur's fiction. It always hits the spot and never falls short. I do like a UP MC who becomes OP, so that's my favorite kind of Litrpg

I really enjoyed the book!

There was a couple of places it seemed a bit repetitive and to much training, but what the heck? At least the story has a plot. It seems like this may take a few books to finish. I just hope the author can keep progressing as he goes and in a timely manner. Worth a credit.

great book

book two really fleshed out the Mc quite a lot. I'm really excited for book 3 and 4 now

highly underrated series

this series has a very in depth and unique sysyem combined with a competent MC. What's there not to like?

Its the little things that get you

If your reading this after reading the first book you know that one of the major flaws of Arthur Stone's writing style is he never writes anything in one sentence he can write in a paragraph, or better yet a whole chapter, often while repeating the same point several times. If that bothered you about the first book, the issue doesn't really get better.
Now for the real meat of it, the whole story (or most of it) of the second book is basically devoted to getting back to the fort from the first book. Essentially if you skipped the whole second book, other than a couple of key events that happen in the last hour or two of the second book you will have missed nothing relevant to the story other than some power creep.
Moving on lets talk about the power creep... Instead of gaining ascendancy, the author just keeps changing the rules for how he can gain power so he can keep the main character at "level zero". Going from having a limit on their stats, and talents, to just grabbing whatever talent is convenient to the plot, earning new types of powers since we have limited the old types of powers... etc...
Then there is combat itself... so many combat situations completely ignore previously established rules.... In one of the very first combat scenes we see in the first book, an "Alpha 25" is stopped dead in their tracks without even being dodged, by an estimated level 40, But we spend most of book 2 killing level 20s, and 30s...
Then ok maybe I can just turn my brain off and try to enjoy the story... well like I said nothing happens in the story, and its hard to take the MC constantly referring to themself as a "Level Zero Nobody" basically just makes everyone in the world look like an idiot as he treks through an area everyone in the world treats like an extremely dangerous deathtrap like its a walk in the park.
Then there is the gollum rip off side kick character, that kind of worked as a short term thing in book one, but really doesn't add anything to book two except to distract from the recklessness with the extreme greed.
I think the premise is still interesting, but that's all it is is a premise... if the author spends more effort keeping the level zero hero thing going instead of moving the plot forward I'll probably drop the series at book 3.