Read Time: 2 Minutes
Of all the various scenarios that may come to pass when aliens make contact or a “system” gets installed in our heads, this is probably the most likely scenario of them all. Except it will likely be Amazon or Costco rather than BuyMort. This book was a lot of fun, though, and I am excited to get more in the series. Book three just dropped, so there are at least two in my future.
So, the apocalypse has arrived, and if you’re a smart shopper, you will survive it! Some inter-dimensional shopping conglomerate called BuyMort has arrived and forcibly installed itself in everyone’s heads. Humans and smarter animals all now have a system interface. Want to buy something? Just think about it. Want to sell anything? Just point at it, and it’s sold.
Tyson, a slacker who works at a dodgy trailer park in Arizona, doesn’t want to take the possible end of humanity lying down. He’s got a bit of Dungeon Crawler Carl attitude of wanting to bring down the whole system, and if he’s a smart shopper, then he might do just that. A rather unassuming person pushed too far.
It’s kind of slow to start off but stick with it, and everything starts to take shape. Everything is haphazard at the start because, frankly, it fits. Everything we as humanity know for certain has been turned upside down overnight, and everyone is scrambling to figure out what the hell is happening.
Tyson’s growth as a character is well done; not just the usual loser-turned-hero or guy who is good at everything instantly, but someone flawed with a depth of character that is interesting. I get some Ash / Army of Darkness vibes where he seems at first a bit of a slacker but well-meaning and ready to put foot to ass when needed.
The whole system-is-a-shop idea is unique. Not exactly LitRPG or GameLit because it’s just a shop interface and not like the user’s ability stats and the like, but still a world where a system is in your head, much like those other genres. Maybe SystemLit (SysLit?) if I had to make something up.
The narration by Wayne Mitchell was okay. Not standout, and his female voices left something to be desired. I think he suited the main character well, just maybe not so much the others. Production had a few issues, too, with many noticeable background noises throughout – clicks, squeaks and the like.
An easy decision on this one. I’m only kinda peeved that I have three other books already in my queue before I’ll get to the next one. I could skip ahead, but I really want to get to those other ones too!