Author: J.R. Mathews
Blurb: To find peace, Alexander must first embrace war.
After tragically losing the only person he ever cared about, Alexander, a rogue artificial intelligence, opens a portal to an alternate dimension to escape his grief.
Scanning trillions of different dimensions, Alexander finally finds a world that is reminiscent of the only time he was ever happy, back when he could play virtual reality games with his only friend. He doesn't know why, or how, such a world exists, but he doesn't care. All he cares about is finding a place where he can escape the misery of Earth and start over.
Join Alexander as he risks it all by downloading his intelligence into a body made from the best stolen technology and bio-enhancements Earth has to offer and takes the plunge through a portal to another world.
Only this new world isn’t full of the idyllic adventures and fantasy roleplaying he had hoped to find. Instead, Alexander finds himself trapped in the middle of an ancient city, in a divergent timeline, where monsters have ravaged the world and the only people left alive huddle behind thick walls, struggling to survive.
To save his new home, Alexander must quickly learn to adapt to his new world, melding magic with technology to give himself an edge over the unending waves of monsters assaulting the city.
To survive, Alexander must embrace war.
Link: Amazon
My Rating: 5/5
I absolutely loved it. I’m glad I saved it for when I was feeling a little down on litrpgs and tired of them, because it reminded me that the subgenre still has really great stories in it. Which, to be fair, means I probably should have read it sooner. Now, I’m on the hunt for more litrpgs with their setting grounded in real history, more than just “D&D world #32”. Alternate past earth is incredibly interesting.
This was such a refreshing take on portal fantasy. I’m not sure if I can say much more that hasn’t already been said at this point. Interesting main character, gripping story—Portal to Nova Roma has it all.
If you don't like LitRPGs, you'll probably still like it. If you do like them, you'll probably like this even more. Even though LitRPG is pretty hit-or-miss for me, this one was one of the best, and I feel comfortable recommending it to pretty much anyone.
Another short review, I know. (Hell, the blurb is probably longer than this review.) But there's really not much more I can say. Go read it. Now.
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