Core of Fear: A Paranormal LitRPG Dungeon Core

Spirit Core, Book 1

By: Jonathan Brooks

Narrated by: Sarah L. Colton

Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Do you ever wonder why spirits take the actions they do? What if there was a system of rules they had to follow?

Clive Logan is a serial killer; or, to be more accurate, Clive Logan was a serial killer. Caught after a record-breaking streak of murders, he was executed by lethal injection by the state, while thousands of his victims' grieving family members watched.

That should’ve been the end of his emotionless and unfeeling existence - but it wasn’t.

Sent to Hell - where he enjoyed himself entirely too much - he was singled out to become a Spirit Core, an invisible spiritual entity that eventually ended up back on Earth. At first unfamiliar to him, his new incarnation slowly revealed itself to have its own set of rules, following something not unlike the video games he used to program back when he was alive. At its root, he was tasked with invoking fear upon his new victims - but there was just one problem.

Having never felt any emotions before, he had no idea what that meant. Contains LitRPG/GameLit elements such as level progression and statistics. Warning: The main character is a successful serial killer. If you enjoy paranormal movies such as Paranormal Activity and wonder how the ghosts and spirits operate, this book is for you!

©2019 Jonathan Brooks (P)2019 Jonathan Brooks

Effectively the GhostMaster computer game

effectively the older ghostmaster game manifested as a LitRPG , don't mind if I do

Interesting take on a classic trope

I came across this book from the GameLit Society FB group and boy, oh boy, was I in for a treat. It’s pretty dark, while not getting lost in itself. The skill progressions and different perspectives are interesting. Not too crunchy, and didn’t seem overwrought with foul language either.

Overall, an interesting entry in the burgeoning litrpg genre

Spooky!

Good story and narration!

A condemned criminal is given a deal. A house is haunted. The death of its occupants is his goal, and he will stop at nothing to accomplish it. There is just one problem - he is effectively a ghost and can't physically attack them.

Interesting and unique take on Gamelit.

A perfect combination of paranormal and gamelit.

I enjoyed every minute. Can't wait until the next one. A must read for fans of either genre.

Great Idea, Just short in execution.

This book has a great premise to reimagine the dungeon core trope. The main character is an emotionless serial killer with congenital analgesia, the inability to feel pain (and in this case pleasure). It is not specifically stated but it seems to be written this way. The only way for the MC to feel anything is through murder.

I won't go further in detail of plot but it seemed like due to his inability to feel physical pain and is psychologically numb to the point of air headedness leads to the MC being very poor subject for the story. The plot drags as he fails to understand common sense and seems to extend the length of events without a satisfying sense of forward momentum.

Much of the time as I listened I would yell at the MC to do anything to move the plot. This is not to say the MC is stupid. Just unmotivated and unable to connect the most basic ideas to achieve his goals. With this in mind it seems the story forces a conclusion to the MCs benefit without properly giving a connection of how he got there.

All told it is a decent thing to listen to while bored but not as engaging or interesting as it really could have been. I still am interested in book 2 just to see if the MC changes at all.

Interesting take on an haunted house!

This story depicts paranormal events well in terms of an emerging haunting and it delves into how effective these supernatural powers can be on the human psyche. It was hard to get involved with the protagonist but the story telling and environment development was well done.

A spirited start to an interesting concept

Sarah Colton gave a good performance for the thriller story about the spirit core who kills with fear. The story is an interesting take on ghosts, gods, and cores. Excited for more of Logan Clive's deadly escapades.

A Horror Story for the Dungeon Core lover

Although it is hardly a traditional Dungeon Core type novel (hardly surprising as it's by Jonathan Brooks) the LitRPG and Dungeon Core elements are still very strong with it, in their own way. It really isn't that much of a horror story, at least for the listener. It is an interesting take on things from the point of view of the villain though, and unlike most Hollywood Horrors it actually has a solid story behind it. I am looking forward to finding time for the next one in the series, not so much for the things that Clive gets up to as for the tidbits of he greater setting that I hope to get glimpses of, though how Clive will handle the next challenge will be interesting to hear.

good book

congratulations Jonathan, you out did yourself. great story and narration. just didn't care for abbreviations

A whole new field of LitRPG

This book is truly amazing. It was disturbingly fun. A truly new take on LitRPG