Awakener

A Post-Apocalyptic LitRPG

By: Persimmon

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

In post-apocalyptic New York, a young man accepts the challenge of a lifetime, joining an elite team to fight the monsters threatening humanity's future.

Eleven years after the Mana Apocalypse, nineteen-year-old James Summers has more on his mind than just the flailing economy and a country full of monsters. Orphaned and living with his grandparents, he's given up on college in favor of working at the Coney Island Home Depot while pining for Sally, his cool, beautiful colleague.

But it's hard to ignore the news of dungeons opening up all over the country, in both cities and across lonely stretches of rural land. Mutated rats, crocodiles, and spiders pour out of them to face off against mankind, and all that stands in their way is the Awakeners, people who, in moments of great stress, are able to tap into the mana that now pulsates throughout the world.

When James receives the System message that he'll join their ranks, naturally he's thrilled. The Awakeners live like kings in powerful guilds and are solely responsible for humanity's survival. Ever since his father—who worked for a mysterious agency—passed away, he's wanted to follow in his footsteps to improve society. This is his chance to make that dream come true.

But when James joins the Awakeners Association, it quickly becomes apparent that not all is as it seems. The bureaucratic institution is weakening, and fraud and corruption are rife, while a conspiracy sprawls through the most powerful guilds. Meanwhile, Sally's ex, Callum, is hot on his tail. Oh, and a dungeon is opening under Manhattan. As James develops his skills, he'll have to be quick—and smart—to stay alive.

The hit LitRPG adventure—with more than a million views on Royal Road—now available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible!

©2025 Persimmon (P)2025 Podium Audio

really good

This book is like an NYC cop version of monster hunter. very well written, good story, a lot of foreshadowing of a more complex story in future. Completely worth a 5 star. My only gripe is the cop morality, because it seems hypocritical. I'm not one to downgrade a rating because of a difference in ways of seeing the world. it's a really good book and I look forward to reading more.

Synopsis is a bit misleading

The synopsis suggests Callum is going to have more of a role than he does. Even though he is supposed to be a major driver for the actions throughout the story, he is only in two scenes until the end of the book. It feels like Callum got into the MC’s head. The MC and his leaders are driving a lot of the story based on a couple seemingly minor interactions. The leaders have their own reasons for allowing the actions to proceed, but it still feels like something that was made out to be bigger than it really is.

A couple spots in the story get too wordy and it drags a bit.

Overall not a bad book, but it could have been better. Not sure if it’s good enough to get the next in the series or if it will be more of the same.

Ending was a bit of a surprise, but not a cliffhanger, just a a point to make you desire getting the next book.

Book art confused me, Not a solo tale, but team

I initially thought this was a solo tale, buts it's not. This is new team fighting against corrupt guilds, They are very much just starting out into a larger world with larger, more significantly/ stronger enemies. I'm interested; I plan to get second book to see how this one progresses. I gave a high rating as I have read worse books that have much higher average rating (Its probable a 4/5).

Interesting dystopia

The story was incredible, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were intriguing, and the action sequences were engaging. The overall plot was well-crafted and entertaining. However, I found the narration to be somewhat lacking. While it wasn’t terrible, I felt that the characters were indistinguishable from one another.

Dropped this opus halfway despite the long flight ahead

The details of the story make less and less sense. Evil guilds and their evil plans don’t make any sense. The government plans to counter the evil guilds also totally nonsensical. Skill systems and progression is absolutely ridiculous. MC is only protected by two feet thick plot armor)))