LitRPG Audiobook Podcast 076 - Noobtown Book 5, Mixed Martial Cultivator, Dungeon Crawler Carl You can read the full reviews and show notes if you visit us at: https://litrpgpodcast.com/litrpg-audiobook-podcast-075 “Hello everyone. Welcome to the LitRPG Audiobook Podcast. I’m Ray. I’ll be reviewing some recent and classic LitRPG Audiobooks for you. I’ll begin with: ” Noob Game Plus - Noobtown Book 5 (02:08) Score: 8.6 out of 10 https://amzn.to/3s0r98w Mixed Martial Cultivator Series Complete Box Set (14:31) Score: 8.4 out of 10 https://amzn.to/3juuZ5W Soundbooth Spotlight Dungeon Crawler Carl (25:40) Score: 8.6 out of 10 https://amzn.to/37qEtcY ------------------ Noob Game Plus By: Ryan Rimmel Narrated by: Johnathan McClain Series: Noobtown, Book 5 Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins Book five in the series, and this series is only getting better. I often cite this series in conjunction with Ugland’s Guy series, whereas that series and its companion pieces remain steady, I can’t help but feel that Noobtown improves every time I get a new book. That, by the way, is not a knock on either of the Guy series which I feel are completely amazing, only that Noobtown seems to have no problem hitting new notes and is not afraid to takes risks. For example, the intrepid mayor Jim, pretty much eschews most of his supporting cast as he ends up remorting in Flacon Crest with a completely new class and few of his old skills. Shart is still trapped in limbo and Badgerlore is leagues away. Jim is pretty much on his own and makes one hell of an escape. Things just get wilder from there. One of the best parts of the series is the reuse of running gags, particularly the fecking pumas and puma checks. The line, “Wait, there are pumas too?” literally made me do a spit take and I wasn’t drinking anything at all. Thankfully, the humor isn’t just limited to that little bit, like when Jim surfs on an unconscious bear he has to keep beaning to keep in unconscious made my ribs hurt. Rimmel makes me jealous of his ability to take a scene and make it utterly kill with just a subtle few words or actions. For instance, the assassin the keeps getting her face messed up and talks with a lisp due to broken teeth was one of the best bits I’ve read in a long time. One of the things I feared was that with the remort there were going to be too many changes and a new direction for the series. One this book first came out, i.e. pre-audio, I talked to a guy who absolutely hated it due to all the changes. I now question whether he actually read the book at all, since the “changes” were necessary and a part of the overall story for some time. Jim always had to remort. It was inevitable. Some unexpected things is that Jim does do is to get a new new name, Oh Really, you ask? And I say, yes, really. It is a great introspection into his character, and helps show just how shattered he is from the fight with the dark overlord. Additionally, Rimmel breaks the 4th wall, aka Deadpool, no more like She-Hulk, and also takes a moment to pay some homage to his narrator. Personally, I just don’t get how you can have a narrator named John McClain and not have some character say Yippie Ki-ayy or Come out the coast and have a few laughs. When we met the orcs I thought that moment was nigh, but alas! Not. Speaking of Johnathan McClain, can I just say his contribution to this series cannot be overemphasized or overstated. The man knows how to do a table reading, and his malicious lisping killer was wonderful. I was heartbroken when she got to a dentist “off screen”. Also, the aforementioned, “Wait, there are pumas, too!?!” line was interrobanged with perfection. McClain only elevates, and interjects even more into the humor when he reads his lines. There are damn few narrators who can do what he does. Overall, the book was a more than pleasant surprise. It was action packed, pulsed with humor, had character growth, and served to move the story ahead in a neat little package. My final score is an easy 8.6 stars. I hated to see this book end. ------------------------- Mixed Martial Cultivator Series Complete Box Set By: Austin Beck Narrated by: Robert West, Erin Bateman Length: 22 hrs and 39 mins Here’s one I held off on for a while. Why? I figured you’d ask me that. Well, if I’m honest I will tell you that the narration done in book one was lacking, and it was so lacking that it stood out and I didn’t want to pull the equivalent of slashing a narrator’s tires, so I opted not to review. That being said, others noticed this as well, and I guess enough people mentioned it that they went back and rerecorded lines with a different narrator. It was a nice save. So let me start there. The original narration was on a bumpy road, but after a work crew came in, they fixed the problem. Thankfully, it doesn’t sound like ...
