ChronoTemplar

A Crunchy LitRPG Adventure

By: Burt Wrenlaw

Narrated by: Alex Knox

You don't always get a second chance...unless you're a pawn for an eldritch horror that: A) can bend time, and B) is a sore loser.

Justin Thyme is not a good man, nor one destined for glory. He was meant to die in obscurity, yet another level 82 Templar that was just about to get chewed up by a horde of skittering monstrosities clawing at humanity's last enclave.

One short conversation with a time-splitting monstrosity later, and Justin finds himself flung five years into the past-right when the Earth was first chosen to host the 9,947th Gladiatorial Games.

Justin must now do all that he can to help save the world from crumbling under the twin pressures of monsters and murderers. But it's not all about grinding experience, gaining the most levels, and kicking the most ass. He can't even stand out too much, lest he draw the attention of the other eldritch horrors observing Earth's struggles for their amusement.

No, it's all about making the right connections, sowing the seeds of hope, culling the pests causing despair...oh, and exploiting the hell out of the System with his "borrowed" ability to tweak time to his advantage.

©2021 Burt Wrenlaw (P)2021 Tantor

Hooked instantly. a good listen for DnD

I am always looking for a good book to just listen to while I work and this is it. the performance by Alex Knox was great and did a great job that even the repeating of skills wasn't a drag.
this is a great story that I intend to buy the second book right away. I didnt want to stop it.
there is some heavy language at times and even a few disturbing scenes that took me by surprise. not to graphic of details but enough to make me queasy which I found surprisingly positive.
a great listen

great ending

the pay off was worth it. what if your whole world turned upside down. how would you react. OK now what if you got to do it over.

Very unique time reversal story

It seems like a common trope in this genre is to have the MC's skills with fighting to make them virtually invulnerable in the early times to people of their level, and to have had them be a pinnacle of humanity at the end before reverting. This MC breaks all those tropes, and it makes for a very compelling story.

very good dark hero story.

The MC Justin Time (a pun thankfully not overused). It is definitely a dark hero book.

The book starts with the MC pulled back in time as humanity's hope at the end by a powerful entity. The human race was exterminated. A powerful being give the MC a chance to bolster humanity to be better contestants. to that end, Justin is sent back to when the games began.
Justin has to figure out how to save us all in this alternate timeline. Still get powerful and hide anything about his knowledge. Both from otherworldly observers and from humanity as a condition of his return.

Decent book

I liked this book. It was a good placeholder while I waited for my next credit. I do wonder why he keeps saying “The Confederated States of America” I mean, is the author one of the hobos who cried about the fact that the confederacy lost the civil war? Or is it just a thing about the US after the story begins?

Too many states reads that take 3 min to listen through

I love lit rpg's but the author put in way to many llloonngg reqd through of player stats and "goblin hits for 45 blunt damage". stats over story wore me down. also there is limited sub story beyond big goal defined for the book.

Pretty okay first book. Ravenous desire for book 2

I don't like to write reviews since I'm clumsy with my words. that being said I took a risk on this book and i want others to give it a chance as well.

I really wasn't expecting much, crunchy is usually code for lots of numbers and statistics without story. and while the book does have all the stats read out continuously, this does not detract all that heavily from the absolutely fascinating and very entertaining story. ((I enjoyed this book a lot!)) The main character is reasonably likable which is a lot more than I can say for other books. and his growth feels natural without being forced or rushed. A well-rounded set up for book 2. We don't spend a lot of time with secondary characters but the few that are there feel mostly fleshed out.

But the Cliffhanger at the end absolutely had me raving and hunting to see if I can get a head start on the next book. it appears the author is still working on book 2. and I simply cannot wait to get my hands on it!

This is most definitely a young adults book. Don't recommend for this sophisticated reader. but for anybody who just enjoys a good brain candy story, this is for you!

Please forgive any spelling and grammatical errors.

Diverged from regular tropes

Pretty good, quite different. I do feel like the story could be a bit more fleshed out at times to increase world building. Nevertheless, the tempo is very good and keeps readers engaged. Chronokinesis is also an unusual power so there's lots of potential and it keeps things fun.

really good

I think I really like how this first book ended. In fact I was kind of giddy and started looking for the sequel to it in paperback or electronic. I just couldn't help but laugh I think this story is overall fantastic and I think that the creator should definitely consider making a book two in the next year.

it started off strong and got stronger. I really enjoyed this book guys I don't know if I can say that again without it becoming redundant.

I thought the human race in this book was completely screwed.

ready for round 2 of this LitRPG

if it ever comes out.
The MC isnt too OP.
Author isnt one who spends night worying over realistic details and just explains away things with magic, not that it is bad, but logic is consistent and fight scenes are good.
The characters are just deep enough for my liking.