Dark Matter Ascension, Book 1

A LitRPG Adventure

By: SerasStreams

Narrated by: Nick Flesher, Clara Rose

One week. If you survive, you choose a Cosmic Power ... If you survive. Jace isn’t one to give up. Not when his sister dies. Not when he loses his legs. And definitely not when The Cosmic System takes over Earth. With nothing more than his street smarts, the clothes on his back, and a river otter companion, he must survive a planet full of vicious predators that see him as an easy meal. If he can survive? He gets to choose a Cosmic Power and a Class. A path to ascension. A way to bring his sister back.

©2025 SerasStreams (P)2025 Royal Guard Publishing LLC

new author no depth

story isnt bad but it's not anything special either. the writing just feels basic, fights don't really feel like there's anything on the line. characters don't have much depth. the character motivation seems like it's just a reason to force the MC to get as strong as possible. the author tries to make us care but it doesn't work imo. the narration is decent. it's overacted in the beginning but gets more comfortable as the book progresses. worth a credit if your into litRPG not worth $60

a good story but dose some annoying things

I was enjoying this story until I started to notice some annoying things first the fact that everyone gets sleepy so easily and fast, the fact the the MC forgets things or makes really dumb choices for the sake of drama and finally we don't need a full state read for every little change maybe just a full read at the start and end of each book.

3.5 stars

Pros:
Unique-ish magic system. Magic, tech, and magitech.
Cons:
So many editing errors.
Narration sometimes sounds like a bad dub of an anime.
Nonsensical economy. Prices of goods and services make no sense.
Nonsensical ability/skill/spell acquisition & upgrades. After investing 3 points in his sword skill, he is a master swordsman and this somehow includes all bladed weapons. His spells all seem to run on stamina because they make him sleepy to use. He has no mana pool or anything like it to keep track of how much energy he is using or how much he has left. So everything just feels made up. “This spell makes me more tired than that spell, but I’ll always have enough power to cast the spell I need even if it makes me fall asleep afterward.“
World isn’t very fleshed out. A supposedly universe-spanning system that has been around for thousands of years and it feels like only a few hundred people even exist.
Looking at this list, maybe I should drop another star. lol

Not bad

May try next book. Kinda 50/50. Wasn’t bad but MC didn’t really stand out and system though partially unique also with a lot of cut n paste from similar books. 🤷‍♂️

fun little litRPG

this is a fun little litRPG. the character doesn't really go through the week to strong story, but their behavior and strength are realistic for their backstory. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Story

I like the story but dislike how bro never runs there should be some things he can’t win against and needs to come back to.

Likes and dislikes

The book starts out great, good story, creativity, engaging, etc. but then becomes very repetitive, predictable, and the laws of reality created in this realm start to contradict themselves.
I also dislike Jace’s sharing of stardust, as he is trying to collect it as fast as possible. As well as how quickly other characters level up with him to be on the same tier.
Narrator does a fantastic job, my only issue with the narrating is the stat charts, narrator is just reading them left to right top to bottom, so it can be confusing what someone’s actual skill name is, etc.
I really enjoyed the first half of the book and would look forward to when I could get back on and start listening again, then towards the end I just couldn’t wait for it to be over. As always, I do still appreciate the fact that the author and narrator were able to get this book published, and do not regret my purchase. If I knew what I did now, I would still have purchased it.

Refreshing!

The story is solid, the characters are well developed. The advancement system is a nice take on such things, and has a good progression method. The performance is easy to listen to and supports the magi-cyberpunk flavor of the book. Well worth the credit!

amazing!

I loved this story so much the narration is amazing and I love the overall plot!

Good, but bit disjointed and over complicated at times

Very good, enjoyed it a lot, but a times the whole thing seemed over complicated, and trying for-fill every possible item on a wish list.

That being said, it was fun and had good potential. I’m a sucker for cyberpunk spin on Litrpg.

4/5. I will consider getting second book