Evolve

The Scourge Wars, Book 1

By: Derek Belfield

Narrated by: Christopher Boucher, Jessica Threet

Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Jonathan Slate, former Marine infantry officer and the Governor of Texas, has just won his bid for the presidency. When an assassin's bullet takes his life during his victory speech, he is conscripted from the afterlife by the Lord of Light, Lucidus.

Slate is thrust into the game-like world of Somnium where he has been reincarnated into the body of a parasite and given one mission: evolve or die.

If he can channel the monster inside and utilize his military and political experience to establish Lucidus' personal army, the Scourge, he might have a chance to evolve before his many enemies find him and send him to a permanent death.

©2019 Derek Belfield (P)2020 Derek Belfield

Mah

Its ok, just not what I was looking for. I picked up this book becous it seemed like Everybody Loves Large Chests, but its not.

excellent nonhuman mc litrpg

this book was fantastic, it's hard to find a book that has a non human mc and a decent story but this book has both, can't wait to listen to the next 2 books.

Great Start needs editing work.

I’m used to the great flow of Christopher Boucher and Jessica Threet. So I took a chance on this book. It feels a bit rushed at times. Definitely some editing issues with narration as well. Last 30 + min is rather jumbled lines out of place ect. That being said it’s a great start to a series. It kept me engaged throughout I gave it 4 stars and would of been 5 stars had those issues not been present. Worth the credit and I’ll be interested to see where the story progresses.

Flawed, but Promising

Plenty of other reviews have pointed out the problems with production and editing, including the two narrators mistakes being left included. Overall, i'm a fa of the work. It's certainly a fun read, with a very interesting premise. Certainly worthwhile for the spectacle and gimmick of a main character who's not human. The pacing and tension suffers a bit in the last third, but the buildup can certainly make up for where the book otherwise lacks.

amazing

This is a great take on a series. I know many complain about the love interest but overall it still fits in. A lot better than having a throwaway queen. This also leaves a huge opening for her to lead her own army, or pick up if the leader ends up killed off. I love it.

Overall Good Book

It's a good story, and the narrators are good. I highly recommend listening to it.

The next part is a minor spoiler

The only issue I have is a minor one. There is a part when Slate and Shale are in Bastion for the first time. The are resting on the wall while Slate is choosing mutations. Jessica is reading a system message and accidentally continues where Christopher is supposed to take over. She mentions her error and then Christopher takes over rereading where he was supposed to start. It's minor and a bit amusing, but it should probably be fixed.

Only one reason

I had to take away a star because there’s an audio editing error at 8:35:30 and it broke my concentration on the story

To many editing errors.

I had high hopes for this book, and the story started interesting, but it just didn't meet my expectations. Progression is slow, and their are no real challenges for MC to overcome. He simply always has the answer to a problem, usually by upgrading himself in such a way prior to actually seeing the problem that it is no longer an issue once encountered. Any tough issues are solved by a sudden considerable boost from his diety, overwhelming all threats. Don't get me wrong I love books with powerful heroes, but this book just lacked the character development that makes them attractive. Finally, there were too many editing errors. Multiple occasions of the narrators messing up, speaking to someone in the room with them, or when the female narrator begins to read the lines for the male MC and then says ”Oh wait” and the male narrator kicks in and reads the same lines. And in one of the last chapters, the female narrator is answering questions before the male narrator even asks the questions.

loved it

I love the performance they brought the characters to life. the store also was great.

A few minor mistakes

There were a few minor mistakes when it came to the sound, but one large and blatant mistake at the 8hr 35 min mark. Otherwise, it's a great story and the voice actors did a great job!