Towers of Heaven: Book 1

By: Cameron Milan

Narrated by: Steve Campbell

Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

One day, six towers appear on Earth. Each one stands hundreds of stories tall, and are invulnerable to all attacks. At the base of each tower is a portal, welcoming in all who dare enter it. All sorts of magical monsters can be found inside the towers. Even treasure, magic, and superhuman strength can be acquired.

The problem is that the towers aren't a friendly place. Even worse, the towers sometimes release waves of monsters to attack Earth. In the year 2083, there are only a hundred survivors. In one last attempt, they challenge the final floor without regard for their lives. By some miracle, they manage to beat the floor at the cost of their lives, leaving only one survivor. As a reward for clearing the tower, he is granted one wish. He decides to go back in time to before the towers arrived. His goal is simple: prevent humanity from being wiped out.

©2019 Cameron Milan (P)2019 Cameron Milan

Apocalypse + Time-travel + Litrpg = Yes Please

Honestly amazed that the author managed to combine these concepts in what feels like such a smooth way. None of the individual elements are particularly groundbreaking but the way they are put together here is fantastic. The story drops right in with excitement and then fills in the world components once it has you hooked. The main character is well-rounded, he does seem to fail to rely on his years of experience in a few cases, but mostly displays the wisdom that should be expected. The story is a lot of fun and has me hooked for a sequel.

The narration by Steve Campbell brings things to life very naturally and just allows you to immerse yourself in the experience. Could not ask for more.

I was given a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review.

A really interesting mix of real and game worlds

This story has a unique twist to the standard LitRPG formula. It mixes a slightly futuristic setting with a game like fantasy setting. At first I thought it would just be Jason abusing his knowledge of the future (and he does some of that) but it turned out to be more about him trying to fix things. Like all time travel stories though it just gets more complicated.

This story is really lite on the stat dumps which was a pleasure. I know that reading off of character stats is a signature feature of LitRPG but some books over do it. Cameron Milan seems to have found a good balance for it.

I really liked how the game in the towers interacted with world politics and society in general. I could see similar events happening if magical towers really appeared. I think that is is going to be a great series.

Steve Campbell did a good job on the voices. His timing was spot on and he was clear and easy to understand. He really brought the story to life.

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

Finished in one sitting

247 Audible titles in (most of them litrpg) and this is my first review if only so that Audible would let me know when the author releases a sequel. I bought the book right after I read the description. I mean, it's got towers, dying actually means something (ie. it's not a game), and it's got time travel all together. I was hooked in the first 5 minutes (what an awesome intro) and the rest surpassed my expectations. The characters were the best part and I just enjoyed everyone in it. When I recount all of the top litrpg works I know, I'll be adding this one to the shortlist.

I love this book!!!! I can't wait for the next one

why must I have to wait! if you like tower climbing books this is by far one of the best!

horribly written

I have no problem with the premise of this book. on the contrary, I picked this book up because it sounded interesting. what I got was a badly handled opening that completely took me out of the book entirely.

I can only imagine that the author was trying to catch the audience up to speed quickly so that they could get on with the story they wanted to write. unfortunately, this meant being thrust headlong into a dizzying description of the world and the people in it. Immediately the characters are being talked about as if there was a book that should have been read before this one. I had no chance to care about this characters and so, when they started spitting out the cheesiest dialogue I've heard in an actual published work, I could only groan from the pain of it all.

in short, the beginning of this book is boring, full of itself, and very cliche. I dont reccomend this to anyone.

Struggled.

No continuity, no depth, lack of development and detail. I found the narrators performance to be acceptable but I was absolutely struggling to finish this first book. Opening scene was forced, though could be considered necessary. Definitely do feel that the overall concept is a fun experience - just poor delivery.

Good! Just short

The Author really knows how to make you know the characters and feel like your inside the tower in a very short time, when the book ends you want to stay inside the tower and with the characters it’s a great quick read and a unique take on the genre!

Do you love Lit-RPG

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

TLDR; Solid Lit-RPG

If you enjoy Lit-RPG this is a great addition, it has a fantastic concept and a really enjoyable world. It's your standard Fantasy Fare and has a tower system, so not new territory, but a really enjoyable rendition of it.

This is one of those books that if you think you'll enjoy it you probably will, and you'll get sucked into it as soon as you start it.

GameLite/Tower Climber at its best

I really love the premise of this story. I enjoyed the traveling back in time elment mixed with tower climbing leveling of a gamelite. The tower being such an integral part of the stories real world and also being its own dynamic elment was really orginal feeling. I liked how the MC used his knowledge of the past to change his present and learning that some outcomes are inevitable. The writing was great and I warmed to the narrator by the second chapter. I recommend this story and suggest you move it up your list.

Amazing story. And the narration was perfect

This is the kind of lit RPG that would be good for anyone. It doesn't over do the RPG stuff that a non-gamer wouldn't understand at first. the concept and whole world draws you in and leaves you wanting to know more.

Solid enjoyable LitRPG with a few twists

General Thoughts
Don't be put off with the boring generic chapter set in the far future. This is the weakest point of the story but doesn't last long. The rest of the book has great pacing and I finished it very quickly.

Story - 9
The story starts at the end. In the year 2083, there are only a hundred human survivors. Jason is one of the strongest survivors who has been fighting demons and ascending the mysterious towers which appear on Earth. He defeat the end boss Ba'al and given one wish. He decides to go back in time, to before the towers arrived and prevent humanity from being wiped out. The first problem is he is not sent far back enough and only has 5 years to beat the towers and has to start from level 1 again. He has all the knowledge but lacks stats, skills, money and allies. He has to ascend the tower which original took decades as quickly as possible.

Characters - 7
The main character Jason is very knowledgeable but doesn't come across overly arrogate. It helps that at his current state he is powered down. I love how he becomes a mentor figure when he meets Roy. Roy is a very young boy with high aspiration. He is an orphan of parents who were very talented ascenders. Some of these talents where pass on to him which gives him a huge advantage starting but has never set in the tower so is lacking experience. Jason spends a lot of time with Roy training him because Jason knows who Roy will become. Later on they meet Olivia who is a bit of a 'Frenemy’. She comes across as not caring and only in for herself but you know it's only an act.

The Narration - 8
This is the second audio booked I've heard by Steve Campbell; the first being Star Touched (not sure which order he did these). Steve has another outstanding performance with Tower of Heaven. He is a very good narrator with good vocal range and great pacing. As this is the second audible book I've listen to by Steve which I've enjoyed I might have to start following his future releases.

Wrap Up
Basically ticks all the boxes. If you like manga/ anime genre Isekai you will love this. The tower has distinct floor themes a bit like Made in the Abyss, Sword Art Online, etc. With loads of different mechanics and monsters which keep it interesting. I really liked the idea of the 'real life' game so they have conversation rates between the tower's gold and real world money. The whole economy aspect was great with spells having a real world value because once you learn them they will cure disabilities. It took aspects of many different games I've played like World of Warcraft (who probably nicked from another place but I can only comment on the things I've seen and played) like heritage armour which level up as you do. With all these different element brought to together in a book I really liked and more than the sum of its parts. I would recommend this and going to buy the second audible book when it's out.

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

Can the apocalypse be prevented

The premise for this book is an interesting one if handled properly, the lone survivor of an apocalyptic event is sent back to an earlier point in his life and attempts to use his knowledge of events to prevent that disaster from happening again, but as he changes things, will his knowledge eventually become invalidated and if so will he still be able to succeed with his task.

With the main character, the author treads a fine line, giving him some skills and advantages that could easily end up being overpowered, but on the whole manages to keep things moving along nicely with the benefits serving to accelerate the main character's progression towards his goal rather than sidestepping vast swathes of it and the new dynamics with people he previously knew in different contexts also helps to make the story work well.

The author's performance works well with this book, a somewhat understated style, while still providing a suitable range of tones for the varied cast.

Overall, a very strong start to this series with the only main drawback being that you want to keep listening to more of it.

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

Stop 🛑

Just awful the performance and the story was rubbish🤮 no idea what the writer is trying to do this

post apocalyptic gem!

This is a masterpiece, it has a solid plot and great action scenes. The MC is a total badass. His ability isn't the best but he has his amazing companions to help him along the way. I am very interested to see how this turns out. On to book 2!

P.s. Narrator did a fabulous job!

Part one in a series

Which is fine if you get the next one straight afterwards....But not so great if you get into it thinking it’s a stand alone book.
It starts of very strong and I was really impressed, at the end of the book I was less impressed, mainly because I wanted to the story to be completed in this book and it very much isn’t.
Maybe at some point will get the next but not rushing straight away.

Amazing!

Absolutely loved everything about this book! totally recommend! possibly my favourite book I have listened to!

onto book 2!

Nice introduction to litRPG

it was really interesting... first time i've ever read(heard) litRPG and must admit that it was cool. Felt like playing DnD.

great read

Fantastic story I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it to anyone who likes Fantasy, gaming or time travel stories.

Very good, but quite short.

Excellent narration, decent pace and the voice acting was particularly good.

There's a few common ideas here with other series like Arcane Ascension and they work quite well here.
I liked that nothing was overly complicated where you end up pages deep in explanation before getting to the real content.
With minimal commentary on the environment, there's just enough to get a nice picture going in your head as you're listening along, so props for that.
There are a few elements to the story going on simultaneously and I appreciate the fact that this author has not taken us away from the main line of the main character to have us listen about Mr.X doing Y that will eventually meld together. Instead the elements are side thing and not a distraction that we learn as the MC learns.

It's typical litrpg, with companions, skills, stats, monsters to overcome and an end goal at greatness etc etc.
I normally leave the shorter books until I'm scraping the barrel, which I was honestly. But being a litrpg fan this does well, albeit over a little too quickly.

Pleasantly surprised.

I really enjoyed this book, I'm a little confused though, it's litrpg but not. There is character building but still being on earth, though in a tower. The main character has been sent back in time but not to where he expected, great concept and delivered perfectly.
The narration is superb.
Overall 10 out of 10.
can't wait to get the next instalment.