(Spoiler for the faint hearted at the bottom of the blurb. Please read all the way through.)In a world full of super powers, Felix has a pretty crappy one.He has the ability to modify any item he owns. To upgrade anything. Sounds great on paper. Almost like a video game.Except that the amount of power it takes to actually change, modify, or upgrade anything worthwhile is beyond his abilities.With that in mind, Felix settled into a normal life. A normal job.His entire world changes when the city he lives in is taken over by a Super Villain. Becoming a country of one city. A city state.Surprisingly, not a whole lot changed. Politicians were still corrupt. Banks still held onto your money. And criminals still committed crime.Though the black market has become more readily available. And in that not so black market, Felix discovers he has a way to make his power useful after all, and grasps a hold of his chance with both hands.Warning and minor spoiler: This novel contains graphic violence, undefined relationships/partial harem, unconventional opinions/beliefs, and a hero who is as tactful as a dog at a cat show. Read at your own risk.This is the Omnibus edition of the 1st Super Sales on Super Heroes Trilogy. It contains all three books of the first trilogy. Only the description of the first book has been included to prevent spoilers from occurring.(Product Page for Book 1: https: //www.amazon.com/Super-Sales-Heroes-Wil... Page for Book 2: https: //www.amazon.com/Super-Sales-Heroes-Boo... Page for Book 3: https: //www.amazon.com/Super-Sales-Heroes-Boo...
First off, let it be known that I did not complete this omnibus edition. I enjoyed the first two novels of the series and would have given each of them a 4/5 star rating, but the third book was like trying to walk through a swamp with lead boots. I tried for over a year to finish the third book, but every time I started reading, it felt like forcing myself to swallow poison, so in the end, I had to stop and call the match.
The first two books in the series were riveting with a well developed plot, characters that were interesting and engaged the reader's emotions, and continued at a well orchestrated pace. The third book, not so much. First, there is a large time skip of over 4 years that leaves the reader feeling lost and confused. Second, the story and characters seem to suffer from stagnation. The story skipped 4 years, and yet the characters don't seem to have developed any during that time. It's as if time continued on and the characters were simply frozen in time until they were called upon to be used again. They hadn't grown as individuals or as a group, which made the time skip disconcerting at best.
I would give the third book in the series 2/5 stars, which is why the overall series earned a 3/5 star rating instead of the 4 it would have gotten originally. I think the story would have benefited if there was a third novel that took place before the time skip to clear up certain confusion and if the time skip weren't as far into the future. Also, the characters needed to grow psychologically in the last novel to keep me interested in reading.
Overall some of my favorite books to read for pleasure. Unfortunately I am disappointed in how the trilogy ended. The first two books are great and I love them and their characters to death. Unfortunately,the third book changes everything. It ties too hard to incorporate itself into the overall multi-series story the author is creating. In the first two books every character has their place, and archetype, character development and growth. Unfortunately, book three throws most of this out of the window, while managing to undermine not only its own characters but characters from other series as well. Just about every character losses their well established place, their characterization, their archetypes, they are all upset and swapped around given to others to create an overall really bland characters and story. Finally shoehorn-ing in aspects from the wild wastes series so as to create one huge unified story/series. However this is done in a cobble together forced fashion. Still worth reading especially for fun. The last book leaves a bad taste in my mouth,like the characters were let down with how they were treated.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Initially, I passed by the omnibus because I judged the book by its cover. Recognizing the prejudice I went back and was surprised to find an immersive world filled with vibrant and interesting characters.
The first book kept me hooked in a way I hadn't experienced since reading Sara King's Zero or Outer Bounds novels. The second novel had odd pacing at times, but presented enough interesting ideas that it too was quite enjoyable. However, the third novel, while written with as much passionate the first two, ultimately felt rushed.
I found myself having to digest massive changes in the world, without ever having fully come to terms with previous sets of massive changes. I also felt that some of the newly introduced characters, while interesting, served to do little more than emphasize the protagonists relationships.
In summary is rather the first book 6/5, the second 4/5, and the third 3/5.
I disliked that despite countless characters reminded Felix to upgrade Ioana over the course of 3 books, he still doesn't do it. Could it be that Mr. Arand forgot this background story thread? Her family name also sticks out a lot to me due to being a name with strong political background for my country, while rest of them aren't nowhere near similar in strength.
I liked the story line most of all and that despite being a harem book, it has no explicit sex scenes so I could indeed focus on the heroes vs villains and all the corporate intrigue happening. It's definetely easy to feel absorbed into the action and by the mix of magic, technology, fantasy and horror aspects that each book explores. I get the feeling next book in the series will be closer to SF so I'm looking forward to it as well.
Before reading the Omnibus, I have read the first two books, so I not gonna review them again, just go read them yourself. I will say that in first two there was a dividers missing between sections. This was fixed in the third. Alot has happen. Legion still hanging in there, barely. Everyone is out to get Felix. He meets family he didnt know he had. His group of wives is starting to expand. All and all a very good book. I cannot wait for the next installment and I want to read the other books by the author especially Wild waste becuase they were mentioned.
Others have noted the uneven quality of these books and I definitely agree. The first book is one of the author's best in my opinion, but the problem with that is the other books have little chance of meeting that bar.
Reading other mentions of the odd pacing and perceived rushing of book 3 I concur, but I suspect that this was (at least somewhat) intentional to capture the chaotic accelerating downward spiral of Felix's world. The second epilogue found in this compilation helps situate this in the overall "Runnerverse" which I found helpful.
If you like the books, picking them up like this helps the author's bottom line, and I'd like to see more KU authors do this with their popular series. Price points for pulp ebooks is tricky and highly subjective, but 3 full-length novels (or equivalent) for $10 works for me.
Although my fourth favorite series from Will/Randi, it's still very much one of my fa favorite books. Bonus epilogue is a sweeter ending to a more bittersweet conclusion at the end of the third book. Not necessary to the series but a great gift to fans. I'll be picking up every compilation.
I just reread this story to help me figure out the complexity of the whole Runnerverse. Great writing, my kind of character development and plenty of action. The whole harem thing is a bit hinky, but hey it's fantasy. I know I have a hard enough time keeping up with one. Looking forward to see how the saga continues.
This collection is a great read, and the first novel in the series was one that got me into the idea of the litRPG genre. I have read the book at least five times now, one for each release and a few times just for fun.
Loved this from beginning to end and enjoyed all the characters, their quirks and personalities really bought it to life. Loved the concepts and world building and really just want to read more!
Must read. One of my favorites. Can't wait to continue the journey. Such a full universe and interconnecting plots. Just wish they had a recommended reading order posted in the back lol
The character and plot development in this series are excellent. Very well fleshed out. My only issue with it is in how long it’s taking to produce the next book! Seriously, stop adding to other series and finish this one first!
The Runnerverse is an awesome amalgamation of characters and conflicts. I love how everything intertwines and comes together, I am excited to see the final confrontation but dreading it at the same time.
Great story all the great story telling as wild Wastes (written as Randi Darren) with out the smut! One of those times when greatness is thrust upon someone. Nice world, great characters.
Out of all the series in this author’s (Arrand/Darren) multiverse, I love this story the best and wish it was expanded more. I read this series first which got me hooked on other series that all tie together in this massive multiverse (similar concept to marvel’s multiverse). The Pen named books by Randi Darren have more xx scenes, lol which remind me of a male teenager’s version of a romance novel 🤣
Love these books, and absolutely loved the additional epilogue in for the omnibus edition. Cannot wait to see where these go in the future. And definitely looking forward to more Felix and Vince.
The first two books are an easy 4 stars but the 3rd book is not as good. The 3rd book to me was very disappointing but the first two were excellent. This series has a lot of adult content and is not for everyone.