Left Out by the System

Lonely Apocalypse, Book 1

By: Constantin Step

Narrated by: Greg D. Barnett

Imagine waking from a three-year coma in an abandoned hospital, on an Earth that has recently fused with a different dimension.

Last I remember I was saving my high school crush from the path of an oncoming truck. Now I'm a skin-and-bones weakling wearing nothing but my hospital gown. Oh yeah, the world is also full of monsters, and I'm the only human left.

It turns out a godlike System evacuated humanity but decided to leave the vegetable in the bed. From the moment my parents named me Lex Lurker, I was destined to be ignored. Everyone else has received a chance to prepare for what's to come in the Tutorial. I've only gotten a snarky talking cat for a companion.

I could crawl into a corner and wait to get eaten by a kobold, but after years of being asleep, I have a new appreciation for feeling alive. And for all the chaos, there are game-like rules and magical powers that could help me avoid becoming a meal and perhaps even thrive in this hellscape.

But first I'll have to find the tenacity to survive, the courage to fight, and the strength to face some dark truths about myself. Whispered voices call me the Hope of Humanity, but it turns out I might be the villain of this story.

©2021 Constantin Step (P)2022 Tantor

Fun concept system apocalypse

This is a pretty fun spin on the system apocalypse genera. the story does have some bouts of info-dumping but it seems like it's just doing a good job building up for future storyboarding.

average

it wasn't the worst one I've bought. nice length but nothing special. would likely be worth the credit if combined with 2nd book

very childish. pretty much for young listeners only

This is definitely a young teen book. The author info dumps constantly. The pov of the main character feels like the author is trying to write him as a psychopath. I say this because his personality completely diverges from a pacifistic 12 or 13-year-old who was in a coma to someone who enjoys killing extremely quickly . Also the author decided that his main premise will be cats vs dogs. Which in my opinion is extremely niche And kind of limiting in this system. universe, genre type. Overall, it's a ok story. It has really decent fight scenes. The constant monster povs are frankly unnecessary and I think they are done poorly. The first entire book location setting is a single building/ dungeon making it feel a lot less creative considering the fact that it's in New York City/ jumbled up otherworldly planetary buildings. The story feels short and rushed.

overly complicated system

it was worth finishing but not continuing on the series. extra word extra word extra word

good listen

it was touch and go for a bit here and there, but came through solid by the end. I enjoyed the magic system as well as the unseen twist, it makes me want to buy the sequel to see how the story progresses.