Hero Hunter: A Superhero Gamelit Saga

The Heroes Rising Series, Book 1

By: Darren Hultberg Jr

Narrated by: J. Scott Bennett

Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

In a world of heroes, one man lives to watch them fall.

Terrax Prime is one of the safest places in the galaxy, a world-spanning metropolis built on the foundations of order, justice, and law. Terrax also happens to be a birthplace of heroes; humans born with powerful, world-altering super-powers. In service to the prime government, these heroes work to keep the streets of Terrax safe, acting as the world's super-hero police force...or so it seems. 

Terrible secrets lie deep within the core of Terrax Prime’s hero program, and one man will do whatever he can to bring those secrets to the surface....

Enter Aiden Grant, the Hero Hunter. Plagued by the scars of his past and armed with a suit of power armor and the augmented reality companion Vella, Aiden will take the fight to the shadowy leaders of Terrax Prime, even if he has to kill every last hero in his way.

©2018 Darren Hultberg Jr (P)2018 Darren Hultberg Jr

Good story but predictable in parts

So I love superhero books and hey everyone is someone’s Hero. I like the Hero hunter and find him to be a likable Guy. However some of the story does get a little predictable. I disagree with some of the other reviews I read before getting this book. I find him capable and he ends up being saved by a woman but that is realistic in my opinion.

This honest review was given in trade for a copy of the audio book.

I need an Anti-Hero

Ok, so I don’t think I’ve ever done this before, where I review two books by the same author on the same show, but not only am I doing the same author, but the same narrator as well. This time I think I’ll start with the narration. J. Scott Bennett has long been one of my Audible go to’s. He narrates an amazing series called Brother Bones. It’s not LITRPG, but it is an incredible pulp noir paranormal tale that will knock your socks off, so don’t listen to it in your bare feet or it’ll get messy. As I generally say with Bennett you get a solid all-around performance. The man knows his craft, and I enjoy listening to him. He really treats the material right, and you get an enjoyable story guaranteed from him.

Unlike Slayer, Hero Hunter is fairly consistent as it goes. It is light Litrpg, but it does have states, HUDs, and character sheets. The powers are clearly defined, as are the hero/villain class levels from C to S. I didn’t see any fluctuations or 180 degree changes that I did in The Slayer. The characters are well developed and well thought out. I also think that the Supers all had cool names. Generally, in Superhero novels you get some really dopey, and not Dope, names. Valor, Nightfall, Dragon, even Hero Hunter all work. The only name that felt forced was that of the Hero Hunters super hero ID, Tech Imperious. Imperious Tech flows better (butt then I’ve always been a Namor fan).

The story is pretty simple, Hero Hunter is wronged and begins killing heroes in retaliation of what was done to him and his friends. The only flaw that I really see in this whole characterization is that If HH started out on the side of the angels, then why would he kill innocent heroes? A good and decent guy would not grease every hero he encountered just because one of the big names in heroland did something horrifying. Otherwise the story is decent and has some cool fight scenes.

The run time works well too, the story isn’t overly long, but fits in pretty well for the time that we are given. I find more and more that I am liking my books to be five to eight hours in length.

Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. Getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.

If this review helped, please press the YES below. Thank you immensely!!!

As seen on the LITRPG AUDIOBOOK PODCAST, please check it out on Youtube.com

Another great book from Darren Hultberg.

The story centers around an ex hero that hunts down other caped crusaders with vicious force.

Good story but..

I did enjoy the story but this is not a litrpg, it's super hero scifi. That however did not keep me from enjoying this and wanting more.

Recieved free copy for an honest review.

Excellent

Great addition to the superhero genre. Great characters and I loved the narration. The book is well worth the time 5 ⭐️

I just wish it were longer!

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I'm a huge GameLit/LitRPG fan and felt this was a good, if a bit short, example. It is a slightly different twist on the genre, which I think is a good thing. I thought the narration was fantastic and the story is pretty good. All in all, I enjoyed this one a lot and REALLY wish it were longer! Bring on more Mr. Hultberg!

Simple, but fun!

I didn't really know what to expect with this book. Being advertised as 'gamelit' I was expecting this to be a story that takes place in a virtual environment, but that isn't the case. Though it does indeed have a lot of the other elements you see in books of the genre, with various forms of stats of other heroes/villains thanks to the main character's handy AI companion.

The main character is a 'villain' whose only goal is to hunt down other heroes and dismantle the government endorsed hero program. There is a good reason for that and it actually goes to uncover some more interesting mysteries surrounding the hero program and society in the world as well. Imagine the XMen universe if the government were to create a program where those with powers could 'officially' become heroes. That's a rough idea of what's happening here.

The story is enjoyable, albeit pretty simple with very little in terms of surprises, twists or turns. It was mostly predictable due to that, but I still found myself enjoying the action, which I think is the strongest aspect of the story. I was actually surprised at how visceral the action was given the nature of the book, but it felt appropriate to escalate the story a bit when it otherwise might have felt too cheesy. After all, being a superhero story, there's some one liners and monologue.

My main complaint is the lack of characterization for the side characters. There were some really cool and interesting heroes/villains that we just don't really learn much about and I would've liked to see more of them. We learn a lot about the protagonist, but everyone else, even the few that we actually spent quite a bit of time with, still seem really vague to me. The story gives us their 'stats' and lists their powers, but we know next to nothing about who they actually are.

The narrator was great. All the characters sounded different and unique. Quality was fantastic. No complaints there.

Overall, I didn't feel there was anything groundbreaking about the book. Very cool action, straightforward story. It was interesting enough that I would be interested in a sequel to learn more about the world.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

A Powerful Villian GameLit Story!

There was an intense amount of action in this story. I was absolutely riveted! The story was fast paced and well written. I felt like I was at the edge of my seat during the entire production. And the performance! Bennett did an amazing job. I could envision all of the characters in my mind's eye, and had no trouble whatsoever distinguishing between the many character voices. Brilliant Story!

Fighting for justice as a fugitive

Darren Hultberg creates a very good story with the main character who was a hero, presumed dead by the other heroes he worked with and tried to kill him, turned fugitive by killing other heroes in the corrupt organization and becomes the hero once again. Now that's a plot. J Scott Bennett does an excellent job in narrating the story and keeping you engaged.


"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Very Well Done

I requested this audio because one of my favorite narrator's performed this. As always he work was excellent.
Not knowing what to expect, I was really pleased to find I enjoy the characters and the new world that was created. I will definitely look forward to hearing more of this series and of course from Mr. Bennett.
This audio was given to me free and I voluntarily gave this review.

Interesting

Hero Hunter is a consistent light litRPG story and has well-developed characters.

The main character, Hero Hunter has been wronged and begins killing heroes in retaliation of what was done to him and his friends. He doesn’t just go after those that wronged him, but every hero.

The story is interesting, the government has trained some of the people with abilities to be heroes who maintain law and order. Those with power who aren’t in the program are villains. It seems that this is a world of the haves and have-nots.

Hero Hunter spends his time living in the ghetto and killing the government trained heroes. At first, the reasons behind his actions aren’t clear, but as the story goes on, you come to understand that all is not how it seems.

The narrator did a good job of keeping my attention and you could distinguish which character was speaking.

A slow start.

2 hours in, I admit I was regretting the book. Having seen the awesome armour on the cover I was really excited to see the HH in action but the description of his appearance and abilities really did little to excite me.
Thankfully, after few hours it really picked up and the characters really came into their own and I was properly invested.
With the culmination of the story, I was a little sad that it was over as it really did get better the first along it went but thankfully the closing revealed that this is the first of a series and so I'm really looking forward to the next ones.

great litrpg story

loved this book great story and the narration is excellent as always .look forward to the next in the series

He's just a man. He has no powers here.

Told in the first person, Hero Hunter is an all action story of one man's war on the heroes of Texas Prime, where a percentage of the population acquire special powers as they reach adolescence. Himself a B class hero, Aiden has the help of an A.I. named Vella, able to tell him the attributes, strengths and weaknesses of each one he encounters.
For fans of full action, one on one fighting, this book is great. However, this reader prefers a little more by way of story and characterisation, both of which were limited, and even Mr.J.Scott Bennett's excellent narration skills failed to hold my full attention as yet another battle followed the one before.
Very disappointing.
I was very fortunate in receiving Hero Hunter, as a freely gifted complimentary copy from the rights holder, at my request, via Audiobook Boom. Thank you. Sadly, there seemed to be too much pointless violence for me to be able to relate to anyone or anything in the book.

Great comic style action sci-fi

I have never read/listened to a story like this before and I really enjoyed it, my only gripe would be that the backstory of him already killing over 50 supers does not sound credible due to his lack of skill planning as he just seems to run headlong into battle without much thought. That being said the action itself is fun and fast paced and I liked the idea of all of the differing power types affecting the battles so differently. The narration is done to a good standard although they voices felt like they merged at times.

Overall I really enjoyed this audiobook to the point where I went to try and get the next book in the series only to discover that it has not been made yet.


Please note that I was provided with this audiobook to give a non-biased review.

Fantastic listen!

I really enjoyed listening to this book. Reminded me a little of the Play to Win series in which an individual is trapped inside a VR game and becomes the priest of night. Excellent hearing from a villains perspective , can't wait to hear the 2nd book!

DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review