Vae Victis: An Apocalypse LitRPG

Vae Victis, Book 1

By: Ivan Kal

Narrated by: Kyla Garcia

Length: 15 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

When an alternate Earth is subsumed into a new reality comprising many worlds, a young vampire is the only one with the knowledge needed to save her planet.

Sold to a vampire cartel at a young age so her starving family could eat, Marianna Rojas is accustomed to fighting for her survival. When her temper leads her to make a terrible mistake, the vampire master of the Lágrima Sangrienta Cartel decides to make an example of her. Near death, her life is spared by mere chance, but she opens her eyes in the wilderness to find two moons hanging in the sky above her.

Earth is being subsumed into a new reality by a spell with godlike power, and Marianna has been chosen as one of thirty Exemplars to experience the new world ahead of the rest of the planet's denizens. As a vampire herself, she's used to striking fear into the hearts of all, but now it seems like every monster lurking in the shadows is out for her blood. She'll have to learn this new realm's rules and level up her skills—and fast.

Accompanied by a tiny dragon named Saia, Marianna works to master the mysterious Mask, which seems to be the source of all the new skills now available to her. With it, she sets out to discover the path to fulfillment of her destiny. Suddenly flush with magic, she's more powerful than she's ever been, and the Thirst is thrumming in her veins. But she only has a month before she's sent back to the freshly integrated Earth to help with its transition.

Determined, Marianna trains to fight, and between the Dwarves, the Elves, and the warlike YoKai-ni, she has plenty of opportunities to practice. But to what lengths will she go to survive—and save as much of the Earth she left behind as possible?

The first volume of the hit LitRPG adventure series—with more than 200,000 views on Royal Road—now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible!

©2024 Ivan Kal (P)2024 Podium Audio

Lol I think the author is anti feet...

Overall i would say this book is fairly good. Not the first vampire litrpg i have seen so i can't really call it unique, but it is done pretty well and the way they implement the system IS quite unique. The action is good, and the author takes care of the OP vampire problem by dropping the MC in the most difficult setting, so all her advantages just barely let her live. The world building is interesting and i certainly want to see how this all comes together. The MC is pretty smart and intuitive, and the side characters are interesting and adorable, WE LOVE YOU SAIA!!!!
All that said it does have a few problems, some info gets overly repeated, we get it vampires can see in the dark!!! It also takes a while for things to actually start making sense so it can make the beginning feel pretty slow. I like the narrator, but i have to admit that she doesn't really emote all that well. Felt like she was recording at night and trying not to wake up her partner or something. It could numb some of the action scenes, or make some of the comedic scenes feel bland. Finally there is this thing where the author will not mention feet or foot ware at any point through out the story. They won't mention shoes while the MC is running through the woods getting torn up by various creatures, they won't mention getting replacements after all her clothes get destroyed, nor wwill they mention her taking them on or off for various mundane tasks like bathing and putting on pants. Heck they don't even say how she pushes off trees or the grond when jumping. lol I know i am the weirdo that wants the author to describe the MC's footwear state, but once you notice it, it is hard to miss how much the author avoids mentioning anything to do with feet. Anyway super weird observations aside, i found myself greatly enjoying the story and will wait for the next one with barely contained patience.

P.S. Eh, the religious overtones can be a bit annoying for non religious peeps.

Great story

Very interesting read. A good rpg system concept and very interesting world. Can be a bit wordy and philosophical at times but overall very enjoyable. Looking forward to the next book.

Alternate Earth gets Systemed

A pretty interesting book and story line with a unique magic system. Takes a few hours to get the main story part going but by the end you want to read the next one.

A Vampire in a System Apocalypse - YES PLEASE!!!

I really enjoyed the book. It weaves together two worlds: our own Earth, home to humans, werewolves, and vampires, and a magical realm populated by elves, dwarves, beastkin, and magic. The plot kicks off with a vampire who's been condemned to death by her own master. But, in a twist of fate, she's whisked away to this magical alternate reality right before her execution. This little plot twist was incredibly engaging for me, and I can't wait to see if she gets her revenge later in the series. Plus, I was glad to see the story steer clear of the goofy, slapstick humor that's become a bit too common in LitRPGs, opting instead for a more serious vibe.

In this alternate reality, the MC has to fight for survival in a forest full of monsters way out of her league. Being a vampire, she gets stronger by feeding on their blood. I was a bit worried she'd quickly become too powerful, but thankfully, the story managed to balance her power growth well. That being said, I wouldn't mind if she eventually becomes OP... Huh, I guess I've got a thing for overpowered characters, even though I sometimes gripe about them.

Anyway, I absolutely adored the story, but it's a bummer that I have to wait five months for the sequel to come out on audiobook. Looks like it's time to revive my old Kindle and see if I can grab the second book there. That's how eager I am to find out what happens next. LOL

Decent but drags on.

I mostly enjoyed the start of the story. However, as it continues on the author begins to ramble on about the intricate thoughts and feelings of the protagonist. The other characters are also very sharing about how they feel and what they are thinking. I feel the author is worried the reader will miss something. There is a lot of information that isn't needed and scenes within the story that take a short amount of time but many words. It is worth a try if you enjoy these sorts of stories, but I feel it needs a large amount of work.

Ambivalent

I think the narrator detracted from this book. It seems to be a case of "let's find somebody of the same race and gender as my main character", but her overall skill was not good. She did know how to pronounce the occasional Spanish word though. I recall that she used another word when the author clearly used (or meant to use) the word 'exacerbated'. My primary criticism is that her voice acting lacked much in the way of acting or emotion.

I feel like I'm unfairly judging the content simply because the MC in this book is like Ryun from the author's Infinite Realm series. Ryun is a favorite of mine, but there's too much overlap when the two series have an MC that steals power from their opponents and quickly regenerates.

By the end of it though, I was interested in continuing into the second book, which is a rarity for a book that I give a lower overall rating to.