Homebrew

Metagamer Chronicles, Book 1

De: Xavier P. Hunter

Narrado por: Mikael Naramore

If Gary had known he'd get trapped in an RPG with his real-life stats, he’d have tried harder in gym class.

Gary Burns just wanted to create the greatest RPG campaign of his gaming career. But a freak magical accident sucks him into the very world he created - as himself.

Surrounded by heroes who look and sound like his friends, Gary is forced to play out the story he wrote. Worthless in a fight, Gary must prove himself valuable even if it means feeding the team insider knowledge.

Because he needs to keep his friends close - and himself alive - until he can solve the puzzle he never designed: how to get everyone back home.

Homebrew puts the RPG into litRPG, taking the ever-growing gamelit genre back to its tabletop roots. If you miss the rattle of dice and gaming at a table with your friends, the Metagamer Chronicles are what you've been craving. Fans of Dungeons and Dragons and old TSR novels will love Homebrew.

©2018 Xavier P. Hunter (P)2026 Xavier P. Hunter

Near perfect

Lit-RPG books have become repetitive. Gamer gets sucked into the game, and basically plays from the inside. What happens when it’s the Game Master that gets pulled in? That’s what Homebrew is about. The GM gets pulled into a world of his own creation, and is forced to play alongside his friends, who while not knowing who he is, are the embodiment of their characters. The humor hits dead on, with plenty of Easter eggs for tabletop gamers. The story contains several rpg tropes, and subverts them, all the while acknowledging them. It’s a very funny, and entertaining book. The narration is excellent. I have no problems there. The only problem I had, and it’s a small one, was with the main character and his character sheet. Every time he checks it, the entire thing is gone through. It gets repetitive very quickly. By the end, even the performer rushes through it. Still, it’s a small gripe about an otherwise excellent book. It does end on a cliffhanger, and I hope to get the next in the series very soon.

In the tradition of first-edition D&D

I am a huge fan of litRPG and have read most of the big names in the genre. I'll be as fair as I can be by saying if you like the style of first or second edition Dungeons & Dragons modules, you will love this book. The writing is polished, the concepts are solid, and the narration is professional.

That being said, this style was not for me. My explanation will be a little technical:

My biggest issues were (1) the chapters seemed like a D&D module - a series of unconnected events; and (2) the story structure was unclear. The emotional depth suffered from the lack of a clear main protagonist who is striving for a goal against a clear opponent with a set of stakes hanging in the balance.

For the reader, the emotional engagement will be like seasons 6-8 of Game of Thrones vs. Seasons 1-5 of Game of Thrones. For those looking for a more complex experience, you won't get it here.


I recommend this book for those who want easy reading with an almost "slice of life" tone. It's also good if you're not looking to remember a ton of details from book to book.

Homebrew

Homebrew by Xavier P. Hunter is an excellent litRPG. Mikael Naramore did an excellent job on the narration the story comes to life. This maybe the typical trapped in an RPG story is good. There are many twists and turns that make you wonder if you could be trapped would you survive. The story is interesting, entertaining and exciting. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.would recommend

Great book written by a forever DM

I can tell this author is a forever DM!! MC was fleshed out, the side characters have defined lore and don’t over shadow or out shine the MC. It’s funny, witty, sarcastic and number crunchy all at the same time. Throughly enjoyed the book…the narrator really brought this book to life!!
If you take a well honed DND adventuring party and throw them against the BBEG and you have this book.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A good start

it's a decent start to a series. the author isn't on the level of primal hunter series or the he who fights with monsters series. Bit this is at least worth a listen.