WARGAMES! (Action, LitRPG, Dark Comedy)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

World peace was mankind's biggest mistake.

United under one banner, humanity erased war, hunger, and disease. A utopia of peace, compassion, and cooperation.

Then the stars took notice.

The Intersol called us forward, claiming we’d earned a place amongst them. But their judgment was swift—our kindness was weakness, our mercy a joke. Too soft. Too fragile. Too naive to stand among real civilizations.

Earth was declared a game reserve, a zoo where we could live out our little fantasy of peace. The price of safety? Biomass harvesting—our people taken as food for the cosmos.

But there is an escape clause. Wargames. A brutal bloodsport where species prove their worth—or are eradicated. A hundred thousand humans thrown into a meat grinder against billions. A species that abandoned war, fighting civilizations that never stopped.

The aliens think they’ve already won.

But they never studied our history.

They don’t know about our fallen blood-soaked empires, the instinct for cruelty, the hunger for dominance lurking beneath our progress.

Humanity hasn’t forgotten war.

We’ve just been waiting for an excuse.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2024
Author: Paul Fortunato

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 392
Views: 73,843

Chapters(51 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(5)

DiplomancerRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Y'all. This story has a sentient gelatinous cube lady having too much fun with her clones. It's got deathmatches and stuck up humans and stuck up aliens who are begging for Allan to smash their heads in with a rock. I can't wait for Allan to get back to Earth with his new powers and kill his overlords. This is dark, and bloody, and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
Allan is a very interesting protagonist and the tension between him and the other humans, who see him as a mass murderer / wild animal / mindless drone is really interesting. I only wish we had a bit more insight into the minds of the minor characters, but I think we'll get there as time goes on.
The aliens are wonderful and the Wargames are suitably named and bloody. I really hope that humanity is able to keep advancing, but I honestly would be OK if they lose but Allan keeps fighting somehow.
Please give this fiction a shot if you're into a) gritty survival stories b) underdog stories c) dystopian stories. I am really into it and I think the writing is very engaging. There are no major plot holes, no noticeable typos, and the formatting works well. The pacing is about right and the character development, while heavily focused on the 1st person, is going well. The short flashbacks are some of my favorite scenes and help us learn more about Allen's past.
SneakyWombatRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Do you want visceral action, fully realised characters and are after something that moves at the pace of meth'd up Jack Russell? Then look no further.
For me, though, the cherry on top has to be the parasocial relationship between Priorita and Allan. She comes at him like a pre-teen in the front row of a boy-band concert, adding a certain je ne sais quoi (as Ariel would put it).
Great start, can't wait to binge the next chapters.
BananatekRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Really engaging start, can't wait to see where this goes. Love the concept and the writing is top notch. Would love to see some more character development but I reckon that's coming. Keep it up!! What's your release schedule look like, and have you planned much of the arc out or are you just riffin off the dome man?
SKFAHPUDSRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Currently reviewing at chapter 27, and I’ve got to say that while the setting isn’t exactly new, the way it is presented is wonderfully cathartic. The environmental descriptions and visceral air of ‘consequence’ that surrounds the plot creates a sort of weight that tricks me into pausing every now and then to really consider the implications of how things play out. Of course, while I’m a sucker for stories involving humanity catching the greater galaxy off-guard, this series kicks off with so much more than just the ‘cruel and dehumanizing game show’ aspect. It establishes an amazing environment upon which the characters inflict themselves effectively, but the story is, already, so much more than the immediate surroundings of the main character. Some interactions may feel somewhat stilted, a few character traits seem out of left field, and some of the developments may lack in nuance, but the author’s excitement in putting forth these interesting concepts colors the brutal, existential, and absurd world the cast finds themselves in in a much more immersive manner than I had expected going into this. Good start to what will hopefully be a great story! …Glory to the great chum bucket; arbiter of our fates…
IndieFantasyClubRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
I review indie fantasy stories on my YouTube channel and I gave WARGAMES! (Up to chapter 23) an 8.1/10 overall score.
immersion (worldbuilding): 8.5/10 - Loved the world and the premise of the story. Very engaging throughout.
Names (characters): 7/10 - I wanted more dialogue to explore character motivations and values. It helps showcase their personalities. But I do really enjoy Allan.
Da Magic (& Creatures/Tech): 9/10 - Loved the skills and perks and technology. Super easy to grasp and very entertaining.
Infrastructure (plot, pacing, prose): 7/10 - I do like the pacing, but it is pretty fast. I think it would benefit from slowing down and doing more character development. And it’s not finished, but I love what I’ve read so far.
Enjoyment: 9/10 - super fun read! Definitely makes me want to continue the story. This was a great intro to litrpg for me.