Turret Mage: An Isekai LitRPG

In My Defense, Book 1

By: J. Drude

Narrated by: Robb Moreira

A teenage mechanic must battle nightmarish creatures and create formidable weapons to defend his new home from dark forces in this thrilling portal fantasy.

When Ryan Kotes awakens on an alien planet, his mind is a complete mess. But even with his memories ground into a fine paste, he's pretty sure he would remember having a metal arm . . . not to mention the flashing messages that keep playing across his vision.

Anyone in Ryan's position would have a few questions. It's too bad the tutorial intelligence meant to guide him through the vulnerable start to his new life on Ralqir has gone slightly insane, and his arrival may have kicked off this world's version of the apocalypse.

Not everything is doom and gloom, though. Because Ryan discovers he's an Exotic: an ascended being with a connection to the great cosmic machine known as the System. What could stand in his way? Well, other than having a skill set that is not suited to combat. If things come down to fighting, his abilities to shape metal and infuse objects with mana won't cut it.

If Ryan wants to survive the coming end times, when the dead will walk and the darkness will feast on the living, he'll need to get creative, transforming his crafting Class into something deadly. Building fearsome munitions, he'll hone his mind itself into a weapon and use his mechanical know-how to usher in a new age of warfare.

The first volume of the hit LitRPG adventure series—with almost 900,000 views on Royal Road—now available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook!

©2025 Jonathan Pampell (P)2025 Podium Audio

where is the next one.

this is a refreshing look at the turret world at large. it took a while to get to the turrets. but that builds the interest for what is next. Let's Go! I will take 20 or so of these. thanks.

The MC is such a disappointment, I’m unsure if that was the point or not…

The MC has the brain of someone who would watch a train coming at them and just stand there screaming. He could even see it coming a mile away but would still just stand there. He might even ask why it’s coming towards him while standing on the tracks. I’m truly uncertain if the authors intentions are for the MC to be stupid and weak but if it is then he aced it.
Genuinely, some of the choices he makes and the way he acts makes you think he’s missing a few. Also, somewhat more importantly, there isn’t enough turrets to be blunt. You could blame my expectations but I started the book thinking I was gonna see many different types of turrets with multiple element types, a sort of tower/city defense story or even a more active version of turrets (like tech from The Division) but not as far as I’ve gotten which is past chapter 30. The book introduces interesting scenarios at least but the MC just isn’t who you want to be handling them.

awesome story

Great story, fantastic world building. character is reasonable and makes good choices. strongly recommended 👌🏾 👍🏾

A Solid First Entry - Enjoyed the story

The story was excellent and while the main character is idealistic and young, he's still not too unlikable. He doesn't come across as holier than thou and while swept up in events, you can see where he is coming from. A solid first entry and I look forward to the next one.

Great start

Interesting system and world, MC is flawed and human. He makes some questionable decisions but it’s done in a way that makes sense for the character. Overall excellent all the way around.