Tower of Ruin: Volume I

A Dark Dungeon Realm LitRPG (Pandemonium - Afterlife - A Dark Dungeon Realm LitRPG Series, Book 1)

By: Wolfe Locke

Narrated by: Travis Baldree

Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

Tell me, Daniel can you kill a god?

A tower, perched on the edge of infinity.
A man, doomed to wander its floors eternally.
A mission, where the balance of the world is at stake.

Daniel is a trapped soul. His life has one purpose - survive floor after floor of enemies determined to destroy him. But when a Dark Lord with his own agenda arrives offering a second chance at life, everything changes.

Bestowed the Godhand, Daniel has but one mission: Survive and climb the tower to overthrow its master and claim the tower as his own.

But the journey will be perilous.

Every floor of the tower contains unique challenges. Each revealing apocalyptic perversions of humanity.

In the monster-ridden realm of Pandemonium, Daniel has but one choice. He must become one.

He must become a monster.

Yes. I can.

©2021 Wolfe Locke (P)2021 Spectrum Audiobooks

This needs to be much longer

An excellent take on tower climbing litrpg. It was over far too soon, however, and I look forward to the next volume.

Yeah, this "little" guy packs a punch

I received this book for free dollars, my integrity is worth at least 30 hrs so you can bet this is an honest review.

I generally frown upon audiobooks that are short, and this one is definitely pretty dang short, but after listening I have 0 frowns. The book feels "bigger" than the four hour read it is. The characters are well thought out and engaging, the main character and his companion have a real sense of depth to them. I was genuinely surprised to find myself as emotionally committed to characters as I was...after only 4 little hours.

The action is well written, with a pacing that elicits anxious anticipation, that's edge of the seat thrills folks. The world is surprisingly believable, probably due to converting the real world location to a dungeon. The mechanics are convenient, detailed enough without becoming obtrusive, perfect for an introduction to gamelit/litRPG.

The narration/voice acting is absolutely spectacular. The narrator used a low, gritty, gravelly voice that suits the post apocalyptic/rogue like setting superbly. I was absolutely taken in, and blown away by this book.

10/10 definitely recommend.

Awesome in all the right ways

Loved it wish it was longer but am definitely waiting on the next book with bated breath.

Tower rebirth!

Wonderful story and narration!

Elite tower climber Gavin get sent back in time for a chance to save humanity. The god of the tower is unjust and the tower is infinite. To have a chance he must kill the arbitrators of the tower floors, and even at the height of his power he and his powerful friends were never able to face them. How will he take on the arbitrators while humanity dies in droves?

Travis does a fantastic job of narration!

I really enjoyed this story, and can't wait to see where it goes from here!

I thought it was amazing

I started to listen to it early, and I thought I heard something about time travel, which sparked my interest. It made me want to hear more, I hope there is more to this story. It was a great story.

Travis does wonderful

I follow both the author and the narrator, and was pleasantly surprised to find them in tandem. The book, while shorter was a great pickup and a fantastic listen. I am certainly looking forward to the next installment.

A perfect balm, today!

This was exactly the right Rx, a balm for my action-lovin heart!
It's a short quick read. Grab the book and let Travis Baldree's wonderful voice performance take you away, as Daniel (MC) rampages through the tower's first floor!

absolutely excellence

Literally the only problem with this book is how short it is. If you want an action packed anime style litrpg, this book is awesome.

The main character is likeable so that's a plus, and he's always trying to get the people around him to better themselves. It doesn't really work out super well cause he's not super good with people but he has great intentions.

There are hints about the rules of the world that make it sound very intriguing.

The action is well choreographed and there is a bunch of it.

Travis Baldree doesn't need a whole lot of talking up, he's simply one of the best in the business right now.

Survival of the fittest!!

This is a fast-paced, action packed, adventurous story with well developed characters and a phenomenal narrator who brings it to life in your mind!! The story demonstrates how trust, compassion, intelligence, forgiveness and willingness to learn may be utilized to persevere!! Survival of the fittest is taken to heart and ethical dilemmas are plentiful in this tale of intrigue!!This was a fantastic listening experience and I look forward to more of this intriguing storyline!!

A fast-paced timetravel second chance litrpg

~Disclaimer: I received a free audiobook copy of this book. ~

I read this book on kindle awhile back and have been contemplating picking up the story again. So, I nabbed an audiobook code when the opportunity came around. I’m a fan of both second chance time travel and litrpg books and this scratches both. Of course, there is the downside that the sequel isn’t available at this time.

This is a rather short listen. It is a solid intro, but not a ton happens. But there are other books in the series that are longer to listen to. So, the value overall might be worth it to you.

I like the protagonist. I found him relatable.

The story is fast-paced and the action is well described. The imagery I have of the creatures in the story is vivid and interesting. I think this is a fun litrpg for folks looking for a quick listen.

The narration is excellent. I have no complaints there. It was very immersive.

Too short

Really good so far I feel like I'm already invested, but I just finished listening to a 28 hour book, so this felt laughably short, I wouldn't say it's worth a credit unless you have nothing else to spend it on, hopefully more will get released soon, otherwise I'd suggest at least waiting for for book 2 and some story progression.

Great regressor novel

I really enjoy novels in this genre and this book did not disappoint. Narration was excellent as always from anything Travis Baldree. One complaint would have to be how short it was, but still thoroughly enjoyed.

A short introduction to the series

This is my first time reading a LitRPG book and I thought it was pretty good, but just like the other reviewers found it to be too short. It is more like an introduction to the series and can leave you feeling a little short changed. The narration only really covers one long battle and one short one. That said it has good potential for a great series. The narrator did an excellent job.

I was given a copy of this book for free of my own choosing and have voluntarily left this review.

Brief but enjoyable start to this series

Getting the obvious point out of the way at the start, this is not a long audiobook, but it does deliver a suitable conclusion to this instalment of the series and it does not feel incomplete. Both the world build and mechanics that the author establishes in this book seem to be well-thought out and interesting with somewhat of a battle royale feel to this first book, although it is unclear if that last part will continue in subsequent ones as what worked for the starter zone in this book may not be applicable in later ones.

As always, this narrator delivers a very strong performance, enhancing the enjoyment of the book with their clear and distinctive delivery.

Overall, overlook the runtime and you'll find an enjoyable book and a string start to a new series.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]

Great novella/first third of a book

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

Tower of ruin follows in the footsteps of a couple of other tower climbing books I've read, most notably reborn Apocalypse. It's a little weird to me when authors choose to go with common tropes rather than do something original but I guess there's also a reason why these premises become tropes, being that it's a quick way to get someone into a story.

I like Reborn but I think this book is much better written which also makes it a bit of a shame how short it is. It has the length of a novella or very long short story but it feels like neither. It just feels like the first third of a book that's waiting to be continued. The nice thing about novellas and short stories is that that they usually have a clear beginning, middle and end, and due to their length they really pack a punch if they're done right. TOR does manage to pack a lot of good stuff in there but there's no real end, just a to be continued...

All that said, if you have money to burn or credits to spend, the story's worth it. Personally I hope the next book will be longer because otherwise I'll probably wait for it to be put in a publishers pack.

Travis Baldree does a great job narrating as usual.

Liked it tho a bit short

This was quite well done, the general story and execution of how our MC Daniel shall climb the tower with added knowledge is done well ,a little too short as i would of preferred a bit longer audio to get into the story more.
More characters etc would be advantageous for us to spend a bit longer with but the ones we seen were fleshed out well.
Narration is by Travis so of course is a 5 star and brings the entire rating up and I would like more about this series.
I requested this audio and have decided to leave my thoughts for others to peruse.

"People can surprise you."

Towers of Ruin is a surprising LitRPG book in that it doesn't bother with most of the personal statistics so copiously given in most such stories: no levelling up or endless lists of the users current strengths or. life force remaining or - whatever, all delivered with a flourish. Of course, they are there, but in a more gentle presentation. What isn't gentle is the action with grisly death aplenty as one of four travellers trapped in their final minutes in the many floored Tower is given a chance to return to the beginning, memory in tact, to once again battle the daemons and monters, and climb in an attempt to save them all. A wonderfully melodramatic meeting of Mr.Black both with the four companions in the Tower and with the organizing committee.

Plenty of often stomach clenching action throughout plus the repeated mental anguish of Daniel, the returning saviour, all performed with carefully calculated enthusiasm by narrator, Travis Baldree, this short novella at a little over two and one half hours left me wanting more: how will Daniel fare on the next storey of the tower? This should be a fun and entertaining series..

My thanks to the rights holder of Tower of Ruin, who, at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy via Audiobook Boom. Good stkry, good fun.

Great first book

This was a great first book a little short for my taste but I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the next one

With a title almost as long os the book.

This was good but too short in my mind. It was more of a long intro.
It has basic RPG tropes, kill things to get stronger, find better equipment.
It is well read as always by Travis.
Hopefully there will be somme explaination as to the whys and wherefores in the future. Why are people being transported to a tower that seemingly isn't a tower. Where are they coming from, what triggers the transfer. All this could have fleshed things out more. As could a back story for the hero as we know little about him currently.
What's there is good, but I would have hoped for more.
Will follow the series and see where it goes.

Great story!

Absolutely excellent book. Great ideas, a brilliant story that is incredibly well read. Can’t recommend it enough. The only point I’d have to say is that I’d wish it were far, far longer!