Hey all I just finished this gem and thought I would leave review here to recommend it to the community. I posted this on FB and thought I would copy it here as well.

Disclaimer: I was lucky enough to get free early access to the audiobook narrated by Steve Campbell, featuring Andrea Parsneau. However part way through I realised I was enjoying the book enough I had to purchase the ebook. Please note as I want to avoid spoilers, if you have any questions that might result in them, feel free to PM me.

Note: I'll be first to admit the cover art isn't the most exciting, the drawing is fine but didn't really draw me to the book. Part of the reason I wanted to post the review was because I liked the book, thought others might like it too, but they might overlook it.

Rating: 5/5

World:The book is primarily set 100 years after an event called The Rise. An event in which 7 pillars rose from the Earth and led to the ultimate fall of civilisation as we know it. Each person alive discovered they now contained a new organ, the God Organ, an organ which provided humanity with new powers to face the new threat...only there was no instruction manual.

Tone:In terms of litRPGs despite being a post-apocalyptic world with many houses reclaimed by nature. The general tone relatively light with a sense of adventure about the new world. This send there are darker themes that do crop up, which in my opinion are handled well and with the correct tone.

Plot:The book centres around Jeff Smith (a name which I suspect was chosen by the author intentionally because it is so regular), who travels around with a band of mercenaries and his overbearing mother. A mother who's past trauma haunts her and who is intent that he should learn as little as possible about cultivating and making his God Organ stronger. One who Jeff plans to escape from. This is his life until he is one day separated from his mother and finds himself in a unique dungeon portal. One that has not seen use in nearly a hundred years.Now free of her tyrannical rule Jeff finds himself trying to make his way in a world he is not entirely unfamiliar with but has been sheltered from.

Why I love this book:The first thing to note is that in LitRPGs there are a number of different standard trope and this book pulls on some providing its own unique flavour and does so well.The main character feels rather real, making wise decisions as well as understandably naive or occasionally irrational ones. Resulting in a well rounded feeling. He is a product of his upbringing and acts accordingly.The world is wonderful with the foundation of it set, the author drops hints and notes about other events have and will occur in the future. Some to help round out the world and some as portent for a later narrative.The LitRPG system is based on this mysterious organ and what they refer to as "liquid" (effectively Chi) with humanities understanding or lack there of driving it to become more powerful. What this results in is a system in that increasing in strength is not a matter of slaying enemies but rather by improving and cultivating oneself and one's understanding of the God Organ and internal path ways. There a quick routes to power, but the quickest routes may not always be best.An additional aspect I love about this system is the foundation of exercise and study in making oneself stronger, in addition to the regular acclimation of stat points. The author's background as an ex-professional athelete, makes an appearance here as full exercise routines are dotted throughout the book. (Yes before you ask I do intend to give them a go 📷).The main story arc is set such that it is completed within this narrative but as the story progresses enough points are hinted as to where the narrative may follow and the adventures that are yet to come. This left me finishing the book with a good feeling of completion but with excitement for the next in the series.

Narration:This is the first time I've listened to Andrea and I am confident to say that it will not be the last as I'll have to look for more of her work. I have listened to Steve before and continue to enjoy his narrations. His pacing and inflection is excellent, his range of character voices enables you to easily identify who is speaking, I'm always happy to listen to his books.

Overall:Loved it and I hope others give it a try. I think it's a welcome addition to the genre. You might not find it the most original, but I definitely found it entertaining and it has a lot of unique features that really drew me in.

*Update*
Just had a quick review of some of the negative reviews on good read. So to manage expectations.
The MC in this book isn't OP (they may get so later, I don't know, but in this book they are a small fry). As I mentioned earlier, in my review the MP has isn't the most socially adroit and are flawed. These factors can be things that attract readers (like myself) or detract others (each to their own).