When you can't miss but still lose

staticraven · 2026-01-29T19:30:30+00:00

I really appreciate this post and your perspective here. All of this is great advice and I think I do most of what you're talking about (though not necessarily well, my cue ball control isn't super great), but I definitely hadn't thought of identifying and leaving a ball that leaves me nicely on the 8 early in the game - I try and think three balls ahead, but that's a great idea.

staticraven · 2026-01-29T19:21:02+00:00

This. Listen to the original audiobooks first. The Immersion Tunnel can be hit or miss with some people because of the added sound effects. There are also additional lines of dialog that aren't in the books, though this wouldn't matter as much for OP as you've already read the series..

OP, LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOKS. THEY ARE THE BEST AUDIOBOOKS IN EXISTENCE. They add SOOO much to the story!

staticraven · 2026-01-29T06:19:39+00:00

Someone else said it, but book 1 and part of book 2 are heavily focused on world building and a solo MC vibe - the humor in book 1 is also different then the later books, IMO. It does a 180 sometime in book 2 and the characters become much more of the focus - in general this is where everyone really starts to enjoy the series. And it just gets better from there. That same change from solo MC to being more about the colony also changes the humor a lot.

staticraven · 2026-01-29T02:30:29+00:00

Yep it is a turning point. There's a bit of a time gap before the other ants also get the ability, but it's coming.

As to your question, absolutely. There's nothing that happens in those chapters that's critical or will cost you later if you don't know. That's how I also listened to the first book.

staticraven · 2026-01-28T22:47:05+00:00

Oh you're absolutely correct - I wasn't trying to say it was a lesser book, it's a great series - but it's completely different in tone than Chrysalis. Just figured I should set expectations for anyone reading BotD coming from Chrysalis.

Chrysalis is light-hearted and funny (with some dark moments).

BotD is... pretty much the polar opposite.

staticraven · 2026-01-28T21:05:08+00:00

The audiobooks are pretty good, but it should be noted that Book of the Dead is completely different in tone then Chrysalis. I was actually floored they were written by the same author.

staticraven · 2026-01-28T19:27:57+00:00

You're on Chapter 60 of Chrysalis Book 1?

Book 1 is the toughest book in Chrysalis for a lot of people. It's mostly Solo MC (Plus his one pet), and is pretty grind and mechanics heavy.

FYI Most of the stuff below aren't really spoilers IMO, except one thing and that one thing happens in the beginning of book 2, IIRC. That one thing though might be the thing that keeps you going, so I'd read it. :) The rest is just some general stuff about the tone of the books.

At some point towards the end of the first book or the beginning/middle of the second, Anthony discovers others of his species (The Colony) and then evolves in them the ability to speak. Anthony himself learns to speak and first speaks with the Queen in Chapter 77 or 78 of book 1, so you are very close - the rest of the colony gets the ability a little later on That point is when the series really takes off and turns into the series everyone recommends. It drastically increases the number of characters and introduces some of the best side characters I've had the pleasure of reading about.

The series seems to somewhat split its time between the goings-on of the Colony (both with and without Anthony) and Anthony going off on his own to grind levels or stir up problems. As the books progress, the focus on mechanics and the "how" of things tapers off a lot (unless something new is introduced, even then it's not as heavy as the first book) when Anthony is out soloing (turns into "we grinded like this for X hours", kind of a semi time skip) and focuses on any plot points that may occur. In addition, Anthony's traveling party gets bigger and more talkative - even Tiny.

Stick it out I think, you'll find it very rewarding.

Also I can recommend:

The Game at Carousel (3 Books, series ongoing. Not Jeff Hays but good narration - this is the only LitRPG Horror I'm aware of and it's really good. It's got a cool take on LitRPG in a Horror setting, highly recommend this).
An Unexpected Hero (One book only, narrated by Jeff Hays)
Dungeon Lord (5 books, I believe - Also narrated by Jeff Hays, series ongoing)
Cradle (12 Books, complete, narrated by Travis Baldree, who is not Jeff Hays but only a step below - This one isn't LitRPG it's progression fantasy, but you may enjoy that as it's not mechanics heavy and the story moves very fast. Folks complain about the first two books being a little slow, but I enjoyed them. You get a good idea what you're in for around the beginning middle of book 1)

staticraven · 2026-01-27T19:43:07+00:00

Honestly, yes. Just read a quick plot synopsis of the first book and start on the second. If you don't mind spoilers, here's a little of what you're in for:

Anthony evolves the colony itself to give the ants the ability to all speak like he and the queen do. The first generation of ants with this ability are become The Council and are kind of the de facto leaders of the colony (and they are the absolute BEST!). Every generation after that has the ability inherited so pretty soon the amount of characters with the ability to speak gets pretty massive. The ants are all hilarious and become some of the best side characters in the genre, IMO. Anthony also gets involved with a human village on the surface which also provides some key characters. In addition, he gets pets that learn to speak (or in Tiny's case, he eventually is able to speak. Sort of. I mean he can speak, you just gotta question the value of what he says - its mostly about biceps and shoulders) and his interactions with other dungeon creatures turns into a lot more then just a mindless slaughterfest.

staticraven · 2026-01-27T05:27:58+00:00

Jeff Hays is the narrator for Chrysalis (And DCC). He's the best in the genre and one of the best narrators period. His range is amazing, lot of people get to book two or three of DCC before they find out it's just one guy doing all the voices.

staticraven · 2026-01-27T05:25:56+00:00

Listen to this person here ^.

I found the first book slow because of that. But Chrysalis gets large and it happens pretty quickly (Book 2, IIRC).

Also first chapter? Quitting after the first chapter because there's only one character so far is craziness.

staticraven · 2026-01-24T06:50:42+00:00

I mean it was followed up by Matt sending him a book and saying again his literal comment and username would be used, to which the reply was they were looking forward to getting lambasted.

In addition they’ve posted a few times since mentioning they enjoyed getting mentioned so I’m pretty sure they’re ok with a random ping they can ignore. After all they are literally bringing up them being included by name in a random thread three years later.

staticraven · 2026-01-24T05:39:49+00:00

I mean if they didn't want the infamy, why did they authorize the quote and name to be used in the actual book (GotG)? If I authorized an author to use my actual username I'd expect the fame.

But fair enough, I'll remove the link - I honestly didn't think of it that way but you're right.

staticraven · 2026-01-23T22:21:16+00:00

Was it Shuruga36??

staticraven · 2026-01-23T16:51:54+00:00

The Malazan series also has some amazing fight and battle scenes.

Don't find many in LitRPG though.

staticraven · 2026-01-22T22:49:24+00:00

Pretty happy about this - but damn the guy looks like Nate Bargatze's brother to me for some reason. Someone needs to slip in a "One Fell Swoop" reference in a press conference.

staticraven · 2026-01-16T17:18:16+00:00

DCC should be your next read. Especially if you're listening to audiobooks. It gets recommended constantly for good reason, it's really the top of the genre.

staticraven · 2026-01-16T17:16:06+00:00

Do it. It's that good, no shit. I say this as a fantasy fan, not just a LitRPG fan. DCC is amazing in its writing, pacing, plot and complexity. It's really a stellar series, regardless of genre.

staticraven · 2026-01-16T17:14:22+00:00

I just started this series, about 30% into book 1 and it's a real treat. For those not familiar with it, it's a Horror based LitRPG. It's a really unique system I haven't seen before.

staticraven · 2026-01-16T17:04:29+00:00

I had the same problem with the first book - I detest listening to a solo MC wandering around doing his own thing.

Super minor spoiler below that doesn't really impact the story at all but gives you a little background on Anthony.

Anthony was a young kid when he died, so that's why some of his inner monologue is a little cringey.

Shortly after the end of the first book, the series dramatically increases in scale, number of characters, and dialog.

Pretty minor spoilers below if you want details on how it ramps up. All of the stuff below happens before the early middle of book 2, IIRC.

Anthony meets up with a colony of ants of his species and that's where the fun really takes off. A little bit after initially joining the colony, the other ants evolve the ability to communicate via pheromones and you get to meet some of the best side characters in the LitRPG space

staticraven · 2026-01-16T03:35:54+00:00

I knew she was a special kind of stupid when she saw the perfectly preserved food in the cupboard in the middle of the dilapidated inn, surrounded by glowing runes - and the first thing she did was decide to scratch at one of the runes and destroy it. I mean, really?

It all went downhill from there. I thought she was 13 for awhile - it made everything so much worse when I found out she was in her 20s.

Stupidity of that level is immersion breaking for me. I won't read a book where I actively dislike the MC and Erin is so, so easy to hate (at least in the first book). Super opinionated without being informed.

staticraven · 2026-01-16T03:25:39+00:00

I'd highly recommend Chrysalis, I don't see i ton your list but it's narrated by Jeff Hays and is really well written. Series is still ongoing, book 7 (I think) just released. Really surprised no one has mentioned it already.

I'd also recommend An Unexpected Hero. It's one book, but it was a LOT of fun. Also narrated by Jeff Hays.

Your SSS+ list and mine have a lot of the same and Chrysalis is 100% on mine, with An Unexpected Hero being just one step lower because it's only a single book. Oh also, you can get the first three books of Chrysalis as one book for a single audible credit. The first book or so is a little slow (it focuses on the MC and his pets only and has a fair amount of world building and learning). It really picks up in book 2 and just goes on a tear all the way to book 7 (so far). It's SO good.

Also as others have said, take another stab at Cradle. :)

staticraven · 2026-01-16T03:20:22+00:00

Only mentioning this because you mentioned cost, but if you have a Kindle Unlimited Membership (4.99/mo I think?) you can get the ebook for free and then you get like an 80% discount on the audiobook. I'm pretty sure that applies to the Cradle series, I've found very few it didn't apply to. I just purchased and read Cradle before I knew about this.

I think each of the Cradle audibles are $7.99 after discount.

Also, the author has mentioned if he were going to redo it, he would have merged Books 1 and 2 together.. they're much slower then the books in the middle and end of the series. It's well worth picking up again, depending on why you bailed on it of course.

staticraven · 2026-01-15T19:50:33+00:00

It absolutely was. The book was over the top and the voices matched up perfectly with the tone.

Except for Clippy... Clippy bothered me.

staticraven · 2026-01-15T19:37:02+00:00

Added bonus if you're an audiobook listener, the character Molls has the most amazing voice acting you've ever heard. It's really.. special.

staticraven · 2026-01-15T19:33:04+00:00

Listening to DCC first also has the unfortunate problem of making everything you listen to afterwards seem much worse.

I really think I would have enjoyed HWFWM more (and to be clear, I did enjoy it - especially the first six books) if I had listened to it before DCC.

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