What do you think?
Rate this book
Hellscape
What do you get when you refuse a direct order from a superior and, on top of it, sock him a good one in the face? You get demoted and sent to the most remote and desolate region in the Realm to serve the rest of your pitiful career.
And if you’re as “lucky” as Major… er, now Private Nathaniel Ratkovich? You get there only a few hours before the start of the apocalypse!
----
Nathaniel didn’t want to believe the rumors about Castle Drachenstein and the strange experiments taking place where his new home was to be. But when a shockwave of dark energy erupts from the research facility, and the dead villagers start turning into monsters, he can do nothing but agree that he’s now in a literal hell!
If he wants to stay alive, he will have to make good use of the Tiler he’s been provided. Contrary to the other units he’s been a part of, soldiers around here have a peculiar device on their wrist which can grant them powers. But as a basic grunt, with no hellrunes to fuel his Tiler, there’s only so much he can do.
To stand any type of chance, as he looks around for answers in a world now ripe with twisted abominations, Nathaniel will need to remain cautious and not attract any unwanted attention. The key to his survival is simple: upgrade his weapon and armor set, and gather enough runes and mana to unlock his first few spells. This is the only possible way out of this horrible mess.
Warning: this book contains a good deal of profanity, gore and graphic violence. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
And if you’re as “lucky” as Major… er, now Private Nathaniel Ratkovich? You get there only a few hours before the start of the apocalypse!
----
Nathaniel didn’t want to believe the rumors about Castle Drachenstein and the strange experiments taking place where his new home was to be. But when a shockwave of dark energy erupts from the research facility, and the dead villagers start turning into monsters, he can do nothing but agree that he’s now in a literal hell!
If he wants to stay alive, he will have to make good use of the Tiler he’s been provided. Contrary to the other units he’s been a part of, soldiers around here have a peculiar device on their wrist which can grant them powers. But as a basic grunt, with no hellrunes to fuel his Tiler, there’s only so much he can do.
To stand any type of chance, as he looks around for answers in a world now ripe with twisted abominations, Nathaniel will need to remain cautious and not attract any unwanted attention. The key to his survival is simple: upgrade his weapon and armor set, and gather enough runes and mana to unlock his first few spells. This is the only possible way out of this horrible mess.
Warning: this book contains a good deal of profanity, gore and graphic violence. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
506 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 5, 2021
113 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
December 17, 2021
Stand Alone
Mistakes: Those that I found have been listed on Goodreads.
Plot: This book reminded me strongly of the Doom book series. Has the same kind of vibe.
Mix knightly armor with modern weapons, magic, and zombies and you have an interesting read.
Characters: He spent a lot of time wondering about his sanity.
7/10
Mistakes: Those that I found have been listed on Goodreads.
Plot: This book reminded me strongly of the Doom book series. Has the same kind of vibe.
Mix knightly armor with modern weapons, magic, and zombies and you have an interesting read.
Characters: He spent a lot of time wondering about his sanity.
7/10
January 3, 2022
This is Resident Evil good from the perspective of Doom.
And it works! There is nothing overtly taken from either work. You simply see their influence. This reads like a video game, ones I would love to play.
And it works! There is nothing overtly taken from either work. You simply see their influence. This reads like a video game, ones I would love to play.
January 12, 2022
Holy frigging hell, that was dark. Well-written in general, but could have been edited down a bit with no loss of story fidelity. Blurb covers the essentials, and looks like a stand-alone book. Read if it appeals, but it's not for the faint of heart.
December 30, 2021
Wow
It's a not quite litrpg and it's definitely crazy, and I'm not sure what else to say. I will say lucky to be born is an apt description. I liked this book a lot.
It's a not quite litrpg and it's definitely crazy, and I'm not sure what else to say. I will say lucky to be born is an apt description. I liked this book a lot.
December 27, 2021
Oh my Gods
The best grimdark post apocalyptic soldier book I have ever read, from cover to cover a spellbinding edge of your seat horror show. Absolutely fantastic. Thank you.
The best grimdark post apocalyptic soldier book I have ever read, from cover to cover a spellbinding edge of your seat horror show. Absolutely fantastic. Thank you.
December 26, 2021
Doom meets RPG
Fun story full of horror and insanity. Like the MC and how this is a contained story. Worth a read.
Fun story full of horror and insanity. Like the MC and how this is a contained story. Worth a read.
December 25, 2021
DNF at 23 percent of the book.
The book is areally strange convoluted mess.
The plot idea sounded interesting. A demoted soldier is sent to a forsaken far corner of the medieval kingdom to serve for his crimes.. But once arrived the setting changes. All of a sudden there are guns (with magazines even), magical interfaces and access codes. Later on there is a magical vendor machine where you can buy skills and items. The story just doesn´t add up for me.
It feels like the author changed the MC from being someone from our reality to a being from that reality rather late as the former major keeps being totally flabberghasted by everything, can´t fight and acts like a total noob. Not like a major made by his own merrits should act. When he goes to town he doesn´t try to find himself a better melee weapon or equipmentwhile passing heaps of dead soldiers. After fighting and killing several undead he is bewildered when someone calls them "undead". At the cemetery he wonders about scratching sounds coming from the graves and "moving tree branches" coming out of the earth..I stopped reading when the undead rip off parts of their bodies to throw them at the MC..
The book is areally strange convoluted mess.
The plot idea sounded interesting. A demoted soldier is sent to a forsaken far corner of the medieval kingdom to serve for his crimes.. But once arrived the setting changes. All of a sudden there are guns (with magazines even), magical interfaces and access codes. Later on there is a magical vendor machine where you can buy skills and items. The story just doesn´t add up for me.
It feels like the author changed the MC from being someone from our reality to a being from that reality rather late as the former major keeps being totally flabberghasted by everything, can´t fight and acts like a total noob. Not like a major made by his own merrits should act. When he goes to town he doesn´t try to find himself a better melee weapon or equipmentwhile passing heaps of dead soldiers. After fighting and killing several undead he is bewildered when someone calls them "undead". At the cemetery he wonders about scratching sounds coming from the graves and "moving tree branches" coming out of the earth..I stopped reading when the undead rip off parts of their bodies to throw them at the MC..
February 8, 2022
I had to stop about 60 pages in because of boredom. I guess if you're in the mood to read a story that tries to capture the feel of an early Resident Evil game with a medieval feel, then you might find something here.
I had a hard time with the main character being a bit of a moron. That and the writing being ok from a grammar/proofreading standpoint, but just failing to make anything exciting. This book suffered from what they call Driving to the Plot. Usually, the author needs to warm up a bit before they really get going and it results in some bland opening chapters where nothing much happens other than the presentation of a bunch of filler details the author wants the reader to know. The story could have (and should have) started with chapter two.
It wouldn't have kept me reading, but maybe I would have gotten a little deeper into the story. Also, way too many adverbs. It felt like the author was putting too much burden on the prose to make the scene rather than describing better visuals.
This will probably be an enjoyable read for some people, but it missed the mark for me.
I had a hard time with the main character being a bit of a moron. That and the writing being ok from a grammar/proofreading standpoint, but just failing to make anything exciting. This book suffered from what they call Driving to the Plot. Usually, the author needs to warm up a bit before they really get going and it results in some bland opening chapters where nothing much happens other than the presentation of a bunch of filler details the author wants the reader to know. The story could have (and should have) started with chapter two.
It wouldn't have kept me reading, but maybe I would have gotten a little deeper into the story. Also, way too many adverbs. It felt like the author was putting too much burden on the prose to make the scene rather than describing better visuals.
This will probably be an enjoyable read for some people, but it missed the mark for me.
May 4, 2024
If I had to sum up this book: Disturbing in all the right ways.
This is a mixture of Fantasy, Half-life, Zombie-apoc, Resident Evil, Witcher, Doom and lit-RPG.
I'd go so far as to say Jared created a new genre.
Pros:
1. You have a character that goes down into the earth. Every encounter is worse than the previous one. Each more disturbing. He finds tablets that show communication by the deceased that each gives you a tidbit of information about what's going on behind the scenes, and so the story grows, while the character descends into ever increasing darkness, madness and horror. (Kind of like The Umbrella Conspiracy)
2. All the elements come together wonderfully. It's an amazing feat to blend so many different genres and elements together into one cohesive story.
3. There's an extreme sense of claustrophobia and suspense
4. Mystery
5. Magic
Cons:
1. He scoffed. And scoffed. And scoffed. I wanted to scream whenever I read that word. Sometimes it appears 3 times in one paragraph.
2. I felt like the first few pages could have been handled a little differently. I almost gave up, because I couldn't tell what this book was. I'm afraid he's going to lose some readers along the way because the first few pages seem to promise a traditional fantasy story and then it turns into something else. In my case I loved the "something-else", but someone else may want the fantasy. So I'd hint more about the coming horror in those first paragraphs.
3. And then the every-failing nature of lit-RPG. The math.
He had 135 mana, but one spell cost 7 and the other cost 5, but the enemy had a magic resistance of... etc. And the armor cost so many blood points, but he only had...
Please lit-RPG writers, STOP. We want to READ, not do math! XD
Definitely a must-read for horror fans and gamers.
This is a mixture of Fantasy, Half-life, Zombie-apoc, Resident Evil, Witcher, Doom and lit-RPG.
I'd go so far as to say Jared created a new genre.
Pros:
1. You have a character that goes down into the earth. Every encounter is worse than the previous one. Each more disturbing. He finds tablets that show communication by the deceased that each gives you a tidbit of information about what's going on behind the scenes, and so the story grows, while the character descends into ever increasing darkness, madness and horror. (Kind of like The Umbrella Conspiracy)
2. All the elements come together wonderfully. It's an amazing feat to blend so many different genres and elements together into one cohesive story.
3. There's an extreme sense of claustrophobia and suspense
4. Mystery
5. Magic
Cons:
1. He scoffed. And scoffed. And scoffed. I wanted to scream whenever I read that word. Sometimes it appears 3 times in one paragraph.
2. I felt like the first few pages could have been handled a little differently. I almost gave up, because I couldn't tell what this book was. I'm afraid he's going to lose some readers along the way because the first few pages seem to promise a traditional fantasy story and then it turns into something else. In my case I loved the "something-else", but someone else may want the fantasy. So I'd hint more about the coming horror in those first paragraphs.
3. And then the every-failing nature of lit-RPG. The math.
He had 135 mana, but one spell cost 7 and the other cost 5, but the enemy had a magic resistance of... etc. And the armor cost so many blood points, but he only had...
Please lit-RPG writers, STOP. We want to READ, not do math! XD
Definitely a must-read for horror fans and gamers.
January 27, 2022
Gives a different perspective to those fps horror games
The author did a great job of translating the creepiness and the horror of a the fps game genre to a book. Since you are no longer consumed with the constant activity of the game, you are now more exposed and more in tune with the ever increasing horror, dread, and reality disassociation the character is feeling. I admit that I could not read this in just one sitting. I had to put it down at several points to take a mental step back.
Cons:
The mechanics of the tiler with the text messages and such, felt like a huge disconnect at the beginning. I can understand why the author did it that way, but it took a district decision on my part to suspend my disbelief. Also, MC picks up a gun for the first time ever and is pretty much instantly a good shot.
Overall though, I really enjoyed the character and how we went on a journey with him through ”hell" while still being emotionally connected.
The author did a great job of translating the creepiness and the horror of a the fps game genre to a book. Since you are no longer consumed with the constant activity of the game, you are now more exposed and more in tune with the ever increasing horror, dread, and reality disassociation the character is feeling. I admit that I could not read this in just one sitting. I had to put it down at several points to take a mental step back.
Cons:
The mechanics of the tiler with the text messages and such, felt like a huge disconnect at the beginning. I can understand why the author did it that way, but it took a district decision on my part to suspend my disbelief. Also, MC picks up a gun for the first time ever and is pretty much instantly a good shot.
Overall though, I really enjoyed the character and how we went on a journey with him through ”hell" while still being emotionally connected.
January 28, 2022
Can One Man Stop The Apocalypse?
It may be that Nathaniel Ratkovich can stop an apocalyptic event from destroying the world on which he, and the rest of the human race, live. He just needs to be strong, smart, suspicious, stubborn, inordinately lucky (or unlucky -- depending on how one looks at his situation) and in the right place at the right time.
This is an interesting take on a zombie apocalypse story as it is set in a world where low level magical abilities exist for some people. However, re-animating the dead is definitely beyond their abilities -- until the day Nathaniel Ratkovich arrives at Castle Drakenstein; and this fortunately, or not, puts him in the right place at the right time.
This novel may appeal to fans of the wider Fantasy genre, to fans of Apocalyptic fiction, and to those who enjoy playing RPGs.
It may be that Nathaniel Ratkovich can stop an apocalyptic event from destroying the world on which he, and the rest of the human race, live. He just needs to be strong, smart, suspicious, stubborn, inordinately lucky (or unlucky -- depending on how one looks at his situation) and in the right place at the right time.
This is an interesting take on a zombie apocalypse story as it is set in a world where low level magical abilities exist for some people. However, re-animating the dead is definitely beyond their abilities -- until the day Nathaniel Ratkovich arrives at Castle Drakenstein; and this fortunately, or not, puts him in the right place at the right time.
This novel may appeal to fans of the wider Fantasy genre, to fans of Apocalyptic fiction, and to those who enjoy playing RPGs.
August 27, 2022
This is not a perfect book. It doesn't make sense if you look to deep, and some of the plot loses itself but... I had a ton of fun with it. It's basically Doom the book, with a big focus on the spooky bits. It is dumb, violent and I had no regrets when I finished it. The world building is interesting, if only a little too fluffy. Plenty of interesting elements were introduced that don't go anywhere. This book seems pretty self contained, but if it got a sequel I would pick it up. Five dumb guns go boom out of five.
March 14, 2024
Long, gruesome and repetitive. Definitely felt like an old school RPG where the hero kept finding written / magical email clues, but never quite enough to put it all together. And for some reason, he keeps getting hit from behind by monsters. Why does he keep turning his back on the baddies? So frustrating. And why do we live in a world of magic and monsters, yet the grunt main character thinks about things like genetics?
February 6, 2022
Doom meets Medievalist
Really fun story that felt like reading through the Doom story but with a unique twist that made the story entirely it’s own, awesome descriptions really bring the story to life in your mind which make it amazing? Horrifying? Either way definitely pretty cool!
Really fun story that felt like reading through the Doom story but with a unique twist that made the story entirely it’s own, awesome descriptions really bring the story to life in your mind which make it amazing? Horrifying? Either way definitely pretty cool!
January 19, 2022
A good, but long horror game adventure
This book has a lot of the same feel as Resident Evil and Silent Hill and does it all well. It’s only problem is that it’s a little long and a bit of a slog, much like the games if you ever stop to think about their story. Still a good read.
This book has a lot of the same feel as Resident Evil and Silent Hill and does it all well. It’s only problem is that it’s a little long and a bit of a slog, much like the games if you ever stop to think about their story. Still a good read.
January 22, 2022
Great book
This is great really! Read it for yourself, it's got the realism and the fantasy. Main character feels human and not like a doll. Also that ending really good, it makes the book feel complete
This is great really! Read it for yourself, it's got the realism and the fantasy. Main character feels human and not like a doll. Also that ending really good, it makes the book feel complete
January 25, 2022
Now that's original
Seriously you can take all the litrpg elements out and it would still be a great book. Only problem is it needs to be edited, there are some spelling errors and misuse of words.
Seriously you can take all the litrpg elements out and it would still be a great book. Only problem is it needs to be edited, there are some spelling errors and misuse of words.
January 25, 2022
interesting but annoying
Resident evil with a LITRPG spin. The main character is an idiot. Somehow even though he has guns, a sword and magic he’s always getting jumped by undead. Their are so many things in this book that just don’t make sense. I won’t read the sequel.
Resident evil with a LITRPG spin. The main character is an idiot. Somehow even though he has guns, a sword and magic he’s always getting jumped by undead. Their are so many things in this book that just don’t make sense. I won’t read the sequel.
January 26, 2022
Just wow
Where to start! Great book, solid storytelling and overall good character development I felt. It didn't really have the level ups that you would expect from most likely in the same way, using access rather than a leveling system, but it worked.
Where to start! Great book, solid storytelling and overall good character development I felt. It didn't really have the level ups that you would expect from most likely in the same way, using access rather than a leveling system, but it worked.
June 13, 2022
1.5 stars
Kind of litRPG, except rather than being inspired by generic fantasy RPGs it is inspired by Doom and its ilk. A lot of potential. Unfortunately the writing and editing are horrible. If for some reason you are looking for Doom fan fiction, maybe give it a try.
Kind of litRPG, except rather than being inspired by generic fantasy RPGs it is inspired by Doom and its ilk. A lot of potential. Unfortunately the writing and editing are horrible. If for some reason you are looking for Doom fan fiction, maybe give it a try.
January 22, 2022
Ok story
I guess it could have been more hard hitting but all about man's greed and hubris. I found it lacking
I guess it could have been more hard hitting but all about man's greed and hubris. I found it lacking
January 25, 2022
Good horror
A good long book of horror, kind of plays out like the plot of a video game, upgrades and all
A good long book of horror, kind of plays out like the plot of a video game, upgrades and all
February 2, 2022
Like deadspace but without any fun
The whole book is written by someone whose only exposure to literature is the exposition from cheesy horror games. The plot is a grotesque amalgamation of every tried and true horror game cliche you can think of with zero effort put into making it fun to read. The whole thing comes across so much like a novelization of a forgettable b tier horror game that you can mark the exact start and end of each unskipable cutscene.
The whole book is written by someone whose only exposure to literature is the exposition from cheesy horror games. The plot is a grotesque amalgamation of every tried and true horror game cliche you can think of with zero effort put into making it fun to read. The whole thing comes across so much like a novelization of a forgettable b tier horror game that you can mark the exact start and end of each unskipable cutscene.
November 30, 2022
Very good one sitting read
I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who like LitRPG and progression type of books with lots of action.
I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who like LitRPG and progression type of books with lots of action.
March 15, 2024
Author is much too online. Nobody talks like this.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews