612 books
—
868 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Life in the North (The System Apocalypse #1)” as Want to Read:
Life in the North
(The System Apocalypse #1)
by
All John wanted to do was get away for his life in Kluane National Park for a weekend. Hike, camp and chill. Instead, the world comes to an end in a series of blue boxes, animals start evolving and monsters start spawning. Now, he has to survive the apocalypse, get back to civilisation and not lose his mind.
Life in the North is Book 1 of the System Apocalypse, a LitRPG A ...more
Life in the North is Book 1 of the System Apocalypse, a LitRPG A ...more
Get A Copy
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Life in the North,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about Life in the North
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Life in the North (The System Apocalypse #1)
2nd Listen - Just as awesome & fun and a bit rough as the first time. =)
Mini-Review ~ LitRPG
5 Stars for Narration by Nick Podehl! I love the way he narrates the series. This is my new fav work by NP.
I read/listened to all the books that are out in the series. Whew! I'm so sad that I am caught up!!!
Upon reflection, I love the 1st and 6th book of the series! They are super!
The writing could be a little smoother. All of the books could use another wave or t ...more
Mini-Review ~ LitRPG
5 Stars for Narration by Nick Podehl! I love the way he narrates the series. This is my new fav work by NP.
I read/listened to all the books that are out in the series. Whew! I'm so sad that I am caught up!!!
Upon reflection, I love the 1st and 6th book of the series! They are super!
The writing could be a little smoother. All of the books could use another wave or t ...more
I continue my LitRPG tour with this novel. First impressions are that this is an excellent new litrpg adventure. Unfortunately that changed as I delved deeper into the story. This seems to be 50% story 50% mental health examination which starts to become tedious after awhile. John is a real asshole and no tragic backstory is going to excuse that. He does have his issues but he definitely gets the short end of the stick on multiple occasions but his constant rage reactions get boring QUICKLY. If
...more
Decent but not my type of MC
Decent book, read the sample and see if you like it. I personally prefer no nonsense focused MCs who act with reason rather than emotion. This one gets emotional more often than not. Which is fine, just not my type of book.
Decent book, read the sample and see if you like it. I personally prefer no nonsense focused MCs who act with reason rather than emotion. This one gets emotional more often than not. Which is fine, just not my type of book.
An absolute gem of a novel.
A great twist in the genre and just... wow.
Not much more to say than I'm looking forward to #2.
A great twist in the genre and just... wow.
Not much more to say than I'm looking forward to #2.
Plot: 6/15
Prose: 2/5
Character: 6/15
Setting: 20/25
Dialogue: 6/10
Enjoyment: 24/30
Overall: 64/100 (3 stars)
Life in the North is the story of the world being turned into one giant MMO Planet with everything from buildings to towns available to the players.
The story starts off very, very rough with you being dropped into the story head first into a world with a wide array of sweeping changes. This is said to happen to the planet due to ...more
Prose: 2/5
Character: 6/15
Setting: 20/25
Dialogue: 6/10
Enjoyment: 24/30
Overall: 64/100 (3 stars)
Life in the North is the story of the world being turned into one giant MMO Planet with everything from buildings to towns available to the players.
The story starts off very, very rough with you being dropped into the story head first into a world with a wide array of sweeping changes. This is said to happen to the planet due to ...more
Fun read!
I nearly read this book straight through from cover to cover. It has some stylistic issues such as frequent tense changes, and it could use a good edit, but it's a fun, fun read... especially if you're a fan of the genre. Pick it up, you won't be disappointed.
I nearly read this book straight through from cover to cover. It has some stylistic issues such as frequent tense changes, and it could use a good edit, but it's a fun, fun read... especially if you're a fan of the genre. Pick it up, you won't be disappointed.
Well that was... Great!
I've overlooked this book so many times in the past for various stupid reasons, and finally I just ran out of other books to read and started this... And well, this book was great bordering on awesome.
I do love fantasy LitRPG but this was such a breath of fresh air. And set in Canada to boot. No breaks for me, I'm diving into book 2 right away.
I've overlooked this book so many times in the past for various stupid reasons, and finally I just ran out of other books to read and started this... And well, this book was great bordering on awesome.
I do love fantasy LitRPG but this was such a breath of fresh air. And set in Canada to boot. No breaks for me, I'm diving into book 2 right away.
Bucking the trend of a main character being transported to another world, here's a story that brings the new world stuff to Earth. Not the first time I've seen it, but one of the best. Basically Earth has been deemed as a 'Dungeon Planet' which is a bit of an intergalactic hunting preserve and as mana levels on the planet are adjusted, people are able to gain new abilities that will help them survive the monsters that begin spawning as well as the existing animals that start mutating.
...more
...more
I’ve read some other reviews and the MC’s anger is usually something that disenchants some other reviewers. I actually kind of liked it and related to it a bit. I’ve never raged out and hurt anybody, but I’ve been in situations for that caused deep pain and struggle that were created by the greed or ineptitude of others. And believe me, it makes you MAD! Mad at the injustice, mad that there are no quick, easy answers.
As humans we tend to judge others on their actions, and ourselves on our inten ...more
As humans we tend to judge others on their actions, and ourselves on our inten ...more
The author is trying way to hard to be "Different" than other LitRPG by making his MC have a serious psychological handicap.
Problem with that? In this system, he could literally buy an item in a shop to fix his brain chemisty, and yet this guy just wollows in his own bullshit forever, because instead of focusing on the story, he wants to pad chapters by talking about how mad the MC is every 6th paragraph. No. that is not an exaggeration. Use a find a feature and see how often the MC talks about ...more
Problem with that? In this system, he could literally buy an item in a shop to fix his brain chemisty, and yet this guy just wollows in his own bullshit forever, because instead of focusing on the story, he wants to pad chapters by talking about how mad the MC is every 6th paragraph. No. that is not an exaggeration. Use a find a feature and see how often the MC talks about ...more
This is a review for both for the book and for the series.
The book has a generic litrpg with the twist that the world becomes the game. This means there is no in and out, and no respawn which I enjoy.
Our MC is ok. He's a bit bland but the standard progression is done reasonably well. The support team is about average. The setting of real world avoids the NPC issue to some extent.
As a book I'd give a 4/5, solid start.
Book two and some of book 3 are ...more
The book has a generic litrpg with the twist that the world becomes the game. This means there is no in and out, and no respawn which I enjoy.
Our MC is ok. He's a bit bland but the standard progression is done reasonably well. The support team is about average. The setting of real world avoids the NPC issue to some extent.
As a book I'd give a 4/5, solid start.
Book two and some of book 3 are ...more
This book had some promising things going for it. The whole Dungeon World concept was dumb, but I expect that from LitRPG and it was an entertaining kind of dumb. And having a non-white, bisexual male protagonist was a nice change from the norm for the genre. I started disliking it early on when the author played up the sci-fi aspects of the setting, especially with regards to the protagonist's equipment. That's a taste thing; I just would have preferred for it to lean more towards fantasy. What
...more
I can really only give this book two stars. It was a disappointment. I really wanted to like it. I like the narrator. Also, the premise was an interesting one and as a reader of LitRPG, I thought it was an interesting take on the genre. But it turned into more of pre-teen melodrama. That would be fine as I think we all could mention many pre-teen books that are smartly written, with drama, and are just plain awesome. This book, though, was immature...that's it. The main character spent much of t
...more
Life in the North: An Apocalyptic LitRPG (The System Apocalypse Book 1)
By: Tao Wong
5 out of 5 stars
The story of Life in the North: An Apocalyptic LitRPG (The System Apocalypse Book 1) by Tao Wong is a science fiction/fantasy book. It is a story that has action, danger, and animals that are mutating/evolving. It gives you the feeling of being in a role-playing game. I was constantly on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. It is a story that I didn’t ...more
By: Tao Wong
5 out of 5 stars
The story of Life in the North: An Apocalyptic LitRPG (The System Apocalypse Book 1) by Tao Wong is a science fiction/fantasy book. It is a story that has action, danger, and animals that are mutating/evolving. It gives you the feeling of being in a role-playing game. I was constantly on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. It is a story that I didn’t ...more
I give Life in the North: An Apocalyptic LitRPG (The System Apocalypse Book 1) by Tao Wong, 5 stars.
John was in the middle of the wilderness, enjoying the national park he was currently camping out in. One day he wakes up and feels like he is in the middle of one of those role playing fantasy video games. He has no idea what is going on. But he follows his mantra and just deals with it. Little does he know just how much things have changed. Will he be able to adapt to this new world ...more
John was in the middle of the wilderness, enjoying the national park he was currently camping out in. One day he wakes up and feels like he is in the middle of one of those role playing fantasy video games. He has no idea what is going on. But he follows his mantra and just deals with it. Little does he know just how much things have changed. Will he be able to adapt to this new world ...more
John is a deeply troubled guy with no luck in the world. His apartment burned down, he lost his job, and broke up with his girlfriend. He decided to get away from civilization for a bit to get some perspective and took a trip to the Kluane National Park. Unfortunately while he was asleep, the world was turned into a literal RPG and this is not the kind of thing John wanted to wake up to especially since his level is at 0 and the suggested level for this area is 110+ according to the weird blue d
...more
John had taken a brisk walk to get away and clear his mind. Life had been unkind, he had left everything to move to be with his girlfriend, his flat burnt down, and their separation was just another bead in a endless chain of misfortune. Of course, waking one morning to find out that the entire planet had been claimed by the System and was becoming a dungeon planet was just icing on a very bitter cake dressed with the fact he was level one in a level 110 zone. Luckily for him he has Ali, or shou
...more
Life in the North: An Apocalyptic LitRPG (The System Apocalypse Book 1) by Tao Wong is the first book in The System series. I have enjoyed reading this author's books and this one is no different. These books read like video games so they are a little different but enjoyable all the same. I enjoy how the characters are creative and engaging. They create a story that is easy flowing and will keep you reading until the end. In this story John has been looking forward in just getting away from his
...more
May 17, 2018
BookLoversLife
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audio-book,
for-review
This book rocked!! I read the blurb and had a picture of what I thought it was about, but this is so much better than I thought. The plot was unique and intriguing!! The basic premise is that John needed a break and so went to Kluane National Park for the weekend, little did he know that his life is about to change beyond anything he ever thought! He wakes up to a world completely changed. He is living in a game, but it's not a game, it's real life and he needs to figure out how to survive and l
...more
This is only the second book I've read where the earth itself is converted into a rpg environment, and I find it a refreshing change. Working within the bounds of reality, until it isn't, is an angle most other books of this kind don't employ, and I like the change of pace this affords. It makes world building interesting because of the need to explain how it happened. It also allows plenty of wrenches to be thrown into the works, because let's face it, who doesn't like a wrench or two to gum up
...more
I was introduced to LitRPG by this author a little bit ago. It's a very interesting way to read a story and in LIFE IN THE NORTH, I found myself reading in different voices as new instructions were given and new characters introduced.
Oh, btw, LitRPG is defined in Wikipedia as: LitRPG (Literary Role Playing Game) is a literary genre where games or game-like challenges form an essential part of the story. A LitRPG work simultaneously narrates the story of characters inside and outside of the game ...more
Oh, btw, LitRPG is defined in Wikipedia as: LitRPG (Literary Role Playing Game) is a literary genre where games or game-like challenges form an essential part of the story. A LitRPG work simultaneously narrates the story of characters inside and outside of the game ...more
Life in the North (The System Apocalypse #1)
By Tao Wong
4 stars
I remember when I first picked up a book by this author not only was it completely out of my comfort zone but I had no clue what LitRPG and it is through reading these books that I have found another genre to read! I love the uniqueness of Tao Wong’s stories – it is actually really refreshing to read something different and unpredictable.
I liked this story and think it might be my favourite that I have read by ...more
By Tao Wong
4 stars
I remember when I first picked up a book by this author not only was it completely out of my comfort zone but I had no clue what LitRPG and it is through reading these books that I have found another genre to read! I love the uniqueness of Tao Wong’s stories – it is actually really refreshing to read something different and unpredictable.
I liked this story and think it might be my favourite that I have read by ...more
4 Star
Life in the North:An Apocalyptic LitRPG(The System Apocalypse Book1) by Tao Wong is the first book in The System Series. Ive read other books by this author and I enjoyed this one just as much as the others. It took m ed a couple of chapters to get into but after that I couldn't put it down. All of his books read like video games it’s a different style of writing that the more I read the more I like. This story is about John and he just wants to get away from his life. Like going cam ...more
Life in the North:An Apocalyptic LitRPG(The System Apocalypse Book1) by Tao Wong is the first book in The System Series. Ive read other books by this author and I enjoyed this one just as much as the others. It took m ed a couple of chapters to get into but after that I couldn't put it down. All of his books read like video games it’s a different style of writing that the more I read the more I like. This story is about John and he just wants to get away from his life. Like going cam ...more
All John wanted to do was get away for his life in Kluane National Park for a weekend. Hike, camp and chill. Instead, the world comes to an end in a series of blue boxes, animals start evolving and monsters start spawning. Now, he has to survive the apocalypse, get back to civilisation and not lose his mind.
Life in the North is Book 1 of the System Apocalypse, a LitRPG Apocalypse book that combines modern day life, science fiction and fantasy elements along with game mechanics.
...more
Life in the North is Book 1 of the System Apocalypse, a LitRPG Apocalypse book that combines modern day life, science fiction and fantasy elements along with game mechanics.
...more
This book is actually not bad, despite originating from a very overused Chinese web novel concept.
Yeah, the system concept is really old in Chinese web novels. However, it is a very western-ish approach and fairly well done.
As for Tao Wong, props for the great improvement. I listened to the audiobook versions. His other series, Brad something, is really mediocre. Like, nothing in that book really happens. This is a great improvement. Many stuff happens and there are actual character issues and ...more
Yeah, the system concept is really old in Chinese web novels. However, it is a very western-ish approach and fairly well done.
As for Tao Wong, props for the great improvement. I listened to the audiobook versions. His other series, Brad something, is really mediocre. Like, nothing in that book really happens. This is a great improvement. Many stuff happens and there are actual character issues and ...more
Life in the North: An Apocalyptic LitRPG (The System Apocalypse Book 1) by Tao Wong is an action packed look at what our world would be like if it suddenly acted like Role playing games.This story follows John, an average guy that decides to go hiking for the weekend to get away for a while. Then the world goes mad. The animals suddenly become monsters and he is forced to adapt to a world that suddenly has very different rules. This book was in an entirely new genre for me and it was interesting
...more
good and bad, so strictly average overall.
The good: The reader for the audiobook (Nick Podehl) does a fantastic job of bringing comic relief to the Ali character with a Ukrainian accent. I'm a HUGE fan of sport motorcycles, so the moto-mech was a big draw for me. Yeah, I want one. The pace is well timed. The world building is excellent. The characters are interesting and well developed.
The bad: Violence for its own sake, eschewing sexuality for the most part... it's a boo ...more
The good: The reader for the audiobook (Nick Podehl) does a fantastic job of bringing comic relief to the Ali character with a Ukrainian accent. I'm a HUGE fan of sport motorcycles, so the moto-mech was a big draw for me. Yeah, I want one. The pace is well timed. The world building is excellent. The characters are interesting and well developed.
The bad: Violence for its own sake, eschewing sexuality for the most part... it's a boo ...more
Life In The North: An Apocalyptic LitRPG by Tao Wong is the first book in his The Systems Apocalypse series. This is a highly unique and interesting story.
When John goes away for he hopes will be a fun weekend the last thing he expects is for the whole world to end. Finding himself in an unprecedented situation it is up to him to find his way home while avoiding the new monsters that are spawning around him.
This isn’t the first book I have read by this author but it is pr ...more
When John goes away for he hopes will be a fun weekend the last thing he expects is for the whole world to end. Finding himself in an unprecedented situation it is up to him to find his way home while avoiding the new monsters that are spawning around him.
This isn’t the first book I have read by this author but it is pr ...more
Life In The North: An Apocalyptic litRPG (The System Apocalypse Book 1) by Tao Wong
This was a very different and interesting book for me. This isn't my usual genre and I thought I would give it a try. I enjoyed a lot of the supporting characters in this story. I thought the world building was excellent and the fighting kept me reading. It's really difficult to get into detail without giving anything away. I do think this was a well thought out story and I found it to be a bit dark, very d ...more
This was a very different and interesting book for me. This isn't my usual genre and I thought I would give it a try. I enjoyed a lot of the supporting characters in this story. I thought the world building was excellent and the fighting kept me reading. It's really difficult to get into detail without giving anything away. I do think this was a well thought out story and I found it to be a bit dark, very d ...more
Life in the North by Tao Wong is my first ever LitRPG experience. Let’s say that I was pleasantly surprised at what I came across.
To be honest with you, I wasn’t even familiar with this particular type of genre, and didn’t know that it existed. So, when I came across it – I figured why not give it a try. What I got from it was unexpected. I’m not a gamer, by any means. So diving into this world was a first for me.
I was pleased with the way in which the author created a world where it was easy ...more
To be honest with you, I wasn’t even familiar with this particular type of genre, and didn’t know that it existed. So, when I came across it – I figured why not give it a try. What I got from it was unexpected. I’m not a gamer, by any means. So diving into this world was a first for me.
I was pleased with the way in which the author created a world where it was easy ...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers also enjoyed
Tao Wong grew up in Malaysia, did his degrees in the UK and then after a years working in SEA, moved to Vancouver, BC, Canada. Afterwards, he ended up in Whitehorse, the Yukon where he resides most days with his wife and child working and writing the stories that build in his head.
A lifelong gamer and reader, he's managed to find a niche where he can write about areas to his content.
P ...more
A lifelong gamer and reader, he's managed to find a niche where he can write about areas to his content.
P ...more
Other books in the series
The System Apocalypse
(8 books)
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“If Steve Jobs was still alive, he probably would be jerking off to the System Help Guide.”
—
2 likes
More quotes…
