Irrelevant Jack

By: Prax Venter

Narrated by: Justin Thomas James, Jeff Hays, Andrea Parsneau

Jack is violently pulled into a game-like universe and dumped into a seaside town on the brink of destruction. When the people of Blackmoor Cove begin to ask about his combat role, Jack discovers his odd Hero Class and finds that parts of his game interface are riddled with exposed coding errors.

He quickly learns that the only way the town can grow and push back the unknown substance threatening to consume it is if brave Heroes venture into an infinitely high, ever-changing tower, kill bizarre monsters for their valuable equipment drops, and then deposit those items into a special chest.

As Jack struggles to level up and help save the people he has grown to care for, he learns the true nature of this simulated world and his destiny.... But can he overcome his reckless nature and become the leader this strange world needs?

This “crunchy” GameLIT/LitRPG story contains: item-based game mechanics, town building, countless unique monsters, boss fights, and cheaty special abilities.

©2018 Prax Venter (P)2019 Prax Venter

Tower-climbing, town-building dream game

I love Azure Dreams, An old, obscure JPRG from PS1 that involved turning a dying town into a metropolis while slowly expanding the power you can take with you into a randomized tower. This book reminds me immensely of that, in all the best ways, and makes me want to listen to roughly 6 more books in the series right now. As an audio-only reader for years, I am supremely tempted to go grab the Kindle version of the next book...but SBT did a truly excellent job performing this book. One of my favorite performances I've heard from the cast, alongside a well-orchestrated use of music and sound effects that added to the book in quiet and smart ways, without distracting from the narration.

The only con I can think of is the gear lists get a bit long towards the end...it was hard to follow all the values, and I barely cared- the story is excellent even with minimal attention paid to the crunch (genre term for the hard numbers in LitRPG). I imagine if I was reading it, the numbers and values would be around the sweet spot for frequency and info- and tables are easily glanced over and absorbed from the page-, but it did remind me of my wish that LitRPGs be edited separately for their audiobook performances. Overall, a minor quibble on a fun, clever book that left me wanting the next book ASAP!

Perfect to listen to, great narration and story

usually I always buy any soundbooth theater productions and this did not disappoint. hoping for a sequel!!!

So much Prax-y goodness

Loved every bit of the book. Compared to the Crystal Heart series, I'm surprised Jack never got laid. Maybe something to look forward to in the next book 😁

Great litrpg, great narration

I really enjoyed reading this book, but the narration was even better. Prax Venter deserve kudos for such a great litrpg.

Slow Start but Great Story and Performance

Another awesome performance from Justin Thomas James and the SBA crew.

The book starts slowly so it doesn't overwhelm you with a new world so suddenly. Well structured and while I was curious I was never really confused. A good way for an introduction to a series to go.

The music from the SBA team really makes this book. Instead of just reading out assorted lines you get immersed into the feeling or suspense of the moment like the characters.

Only down side is the story math. Too much of that doesn't work well in audio formats like written formats. If you're like me you try to keep up with it in your head then miss critical dialog and have to go back. Only a few times but it broke me out of the spell of the story for sure so it loses a star on story for that.

Already started book 2! I'll post on that as soon as I'm done!

Weird to begin then comes the loop

Starts weirdly progresses with little info and then finally starts to explain the situation and happenstance of MC, added romance with some intrigue made for a good listen all the same. SBT continues to deliver stellar performances and added flavor to the story to make it more engaging and enjoyable! JTJ keep it up!

Great book but...

So first an foremost this is a pretty good book. It gets a bit repetitive in the beginning but I urge you to soldier through it. I will say that if you can't stand chewing sounds the this book is a little annoying. I like production flourishes as much as the next guy but if I have to hear the characters talk while chewing food anymore I'm going to go insane. I'm buying the next book but this part will make or break the books for me.

Kind of a Litrpg?

I really like this book let me start off it’s saying that. After listening to the first one I got the second and third book as well. But the litrpg spec of this book is to save The world he got transported into he has to climb a tower and bring the loot back out from the tower to feed the town to push back the darkness. When he goes up a level that is when his level goes up. So when you’re in level two or level two. When you’re on level 2 your lvl 2 . So it’s not really a Litrpg per se but it is a good read.

Waited way to long to read this one

This series has always been popping up in my recommended list for a long time and I was just never interested in it. Not sure why must have been the covor or the name that didn't really pull me in. While looking for a good tower climber series I saw this one mentioned and thought I'd finally give it a shot and it did not disappoint at all. This is quickly becoming my favorite tower climber series of all time and would recommend it to anyone.

Excellent!

An excellent book with an interesting premise, great characters and an engaging plot! The thing that characters and non-characters is is the ability to truly interact with them. The NPC’s here have real feelings and hopes whether or not they are flesh and blood, this is what makes us care. I am truly invested and can’t wait to see more of the story.
The narration is excellent also the actors are fantastic and always draw me deeper into the story!