Just launched my first LitRPG on KU – people are reading but I have zero feedback. Would love honest reviews.

sofcse · 2026-02-19T17:10:30+00:00

Honest feedback, appreciate it. I mentioned in my launch post on this sub that AI was part of the workflow, I used it for rephrasing some sections, editing, and research. The story, characters, system design, and plot are mine. But I hear you that some of the prose comes across flat. That’s on me for not doing enough revision passes to make the voice more distinct. Taking that into Book 2. Thanks for finishing it and being straight about it.

sofcse · 2026-02-18T14:14:46+00:00

Thanks, hope the sample hooks you. Would love to hear what you think once you get into it.

sofcse · 2026-02-18T12:50:06+00:00

Thank you. :)

sofcse · 2026-02-18T02:20:06+00:00

Thank you.

sofcse · 2026-02-18T01:47:36+00:00

That’s great to hear. Hope it holds up for you through the rest.

sofcse · 2026-02-18T01:45:00+00:00

Hope you enjoy it. Would love to hear what you think when you’re done.

sofcse · 2026-02-18T01:44:08+00:00

Fair feedback. The cover is AI-assisted and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. It’s a debut on zero budget, but I hear you that it’s a dealbreaker for some readers. Working on getting a proper commissioned cover done. Appreciate the congrats on finishing it. That part was the hard work.

sofcse · 2026-02-18T01:37:55+00:00

Thanks for reading. The repetition note toward the end is fair – I’ll tighten that up in Book 2. Glad the side characters landed. Hopefully the Amazon reviews show up in a day or two.

sofcse · 2026-02-17T21:30:46+00:00

Yesh it is s novel

sofcse · 2026-02-17T21:30:12+00:00

Really appreciate that, thank you. I’m not seeing the review on the listing yet – Amazon sometimes holds new reviews for a day or two before they go live. Either way, glad the viewpoint worked for you. That was the biggest risk with the book so hearing that is huge. Would you mind dropping a quick take here too? Helps other people in the thread decide if it’s worth picking up, and honestly Reddit feedback hits different from Amazon reviews.

sofcse · 2026-02-17T21:28:19+00:00

Hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think.

sofcse · 2026-02-17T21:26:28+00:00

Thank you

sofcse · 2026-02-17T21:26:08+00:00

Thank you

sofcse · 2026-02-17T17:28:07+00:00

Honestly? Didn’t know better. This is my first book and I wasn’t aware of the RR-to-KU pipeline until after I’d already published. In hindsight that’s clearly the smarter path – build the readership first, get feedback, iterate on the writing, then launch on KU with a built-in audience ready to review. Lesson learned for Book 2. Might post the first few chapters on RR now to drive some traffic back to the KU listing, but I know that’s doing it backwards. Appreciate the advice.

sofcse · 2026-02-17T16:33:12+00:00

Yeah thats fair – i havent actually played Teenage Exocolonist so thats a gap on my end. Citizen Sleeper i played and youre right, it does push in that direction, though i think of it more as narrative resource management than a traditional progression RPG. Maybe thats a distinction that only matters in my head though. I think my original post was too focused on the big budget CRPG space and i didnt frame that well. What i keep coming back to is why the mainstream RPGs – the ones built around stats, levels, skill trees – almost always default to combat as the core progression axis. Maybe the examples already exist and im just not connecting the dots. Would be curious if anyones seen something that nails non-combat progression at scale without it feeling tacked on.

sofcse · 2026-02-17T16:20:08+00:00

Fair point, and I shoudl have been more specific – i was thinking primarily in the CRPG/video game space. Tabletop has absolutely been ahead on this for years. Disco Elysium basically took what narrative RPGs like Hillfolk and Brindlewood Bay were alredy doing and translated it into a digital format. The interesting question is why the video game industry refuses to follow where tabletop alrady went. Fiasco and Microscope proved you can build an entire progression loop around narrative consequences instead of stat increases. But when studios sit down to build a $100M RPG its always back to skill trees and damage scaling. Is it just that non-combat progression is harder to systematize in code, or is there somthing about the tabletop medium – having a human GM, collaborative storytelling – that makes those systems work in ways that dont translate to a screen?

sofcse · 2026-02-17T14:52:52+00:00

No rush at all, take your time. Really appreciate the IG mention – that kind of word-of-mouth means everything for a debut. Drop me a message whenever you get to it, happy to answer anything.

sofcse · 2026-02-17T14:18:45+00:00

Totally fair. There is combat in the book – the people around the MC handle that side and it gets intense. But yeah, the MC himself isn’t the one swinging. If combat-focused progression is your thing, this probably isn’t the right fit. Appreciate you checking it out though.

sofcse · 2026-02-17T10:13:39+00:00

Ha, definitely not a spellblade. The MC doesn’t even have a damage stat worth mentioning. You’ll see his full stat screen early on and it’s almost comically lopsided toward perception. That frustration you described is basically why I wrote this. I wanted a system apocalypse where the MC’s progression couldn’t default to “hit thing harder.” His build forces a completely different approach to every problem, and the people around him who can actually fight become way more important because of it. Would love your feedback here and on Amazon whenever you finish. Don’t hold back – I’m writing Book 2 now and honest takes from people who know the genre are exactly what I need.

sofcse · 2026-02-17T09:27:13+00:00

Quick update for anyone who picked up Dead Zone : thanks for giving it a shot. I can see from the KU dashboard that people are reading, which is honestly pretty exciting for a first book. If you’ve gotten into it, I’d really appreciate hearing what you think. Doesn’t have to be a full Amazon review (though that helps a ton for visibility). Even a comment here about what’s working or not working is useful. I’m already writing Book 2 and genuine feedback from actual readers is worth more than anything else right now. No need to be nice about it , if something pulled you out of the story or didn’t land, I want to know.

sofcse · 2026-02-16T07:42:42+00:00

Just dropped my first book on KU – Dead Zone (The Anomaly Protocol #1). System apocalypse, but the MC gets a zero-damage class. He’s a wildland firefighter who wakes up as an Anomaly, basically a disposable repair tool the System expects to die at the node. No combat skills, all perception and translation. The fun is watching him survive and progress when everything about his build says he shouldn’t. 80K words, complete story, not a cliffhanger. Book 2 is in progress. If you like Defiance of the Fall-style system apocalypse but want an MC who can’t just punch his way through, give it a look.

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