Dead Tired I by RavensDagger
Blurb:
In the distant past, a time of magic and swordplay, there lived Harold, the mightiest lich of all, a master of arcane sciences, and a challenger of gods. After reaching the pinnacle of his power and finding it surprisingly bland, Harold waged a cataclysmic war against the gods, aiming to shatter the very system that confined him.
Then, he took a nap.
An incredibly long nap that ends with a jolt, thanks to an unwitting adventurer who trips into Harold's crypt. Blinking into the torchlight, Harold finds a world he barely recognizes. No more swords and sorcery, but a universe buzzing with cultivation, celestial sects, and far too many pretentious dialogues about the path to godhood.
Harold is no naïve cultivator, he's an ancient lich with a single ambition: to slide back into his uninterrupted eternal slumber. But the cacophony of quarreling sects and smug martial artists seems determined to keep him awake.
Undeterred, the sleep-deprived overlord is ready to confront this brave new world. After all, no aspiring deity, no grandiose sect, and certainly no self-righteous martial artist is going to rob him of his beauty sleep.
Review:
After a short break from LitRPG, I decided to dive back in with another audio production by the fantastic Soundbooth Theater. In all honesty, Jeff Hays and the rest of the crew at Soundbooth Theater were the main draw for me in giving Dead Tired I by RavensDagger a go. And they did not disappoint.
Dead Tired follows an immortal lich named Harold that has achieved the pinnacle of knowledge and power, even conquering the gods of this world, and has struggled to gain further accomplishments and new experiences. So what does one do when faced with such a dilemma? One of the things I appreciate most about this particular LitRPG story is the overarching theme of the burdens of immortality. The best option for our protagonist is to enter a deep slumber and perhaps awaken after centuries, or even millennia, to practically discover life anew upon a much different world, so to speak.
The world-building is secondary to other elements of the story, which I find is typical for LitRPG. However, I really enjoyed the mixture of RPG and Progression, as our protagonist struggles to understand this new system of cultivation that has come to dominate the world. Luckily, he acquires underlings who are eager to serve him, and happily take part in his various experiments. Ultimately, Harold is driven by curiosity, and a hunger to devour all the knowledge he can.
Now, at first, I struggled with the humour in this book. Exhausting wordplay that triggers a face-smack each time can get old real quick. BUT, considering how witty Harold is, and how warped one may get when faced with immortality, I can see the need to find humour in whatever way serves you. And I can only speculate on the level of neurosis one may achieve through such a long existence.
Interestingly, I found a great many similarities between Dead Tired, and one of the first LitRPGs I listened to: Everybody Loves Large Chests by Neven Iliev. The cast of characters and their roles, along with elements of the plot, were undeniably familiar. Not to mention the same narrators for both stories. While I’m not exactly sure whether one may have been inspired by the other, there is definitely enough distinction between them. My only advice is, if you’re looking for a PG-rated story, then Dead Tired is your best bet, as Everybody Loves Large Chests contains plenty of R-rated material that may be a shock to some.
Overall, this is an interesting story that sets the stage nicely for plenty more adventures to be had, and discoveries to be made. New cultures, new advances, even new gods, are all in store for one witty and all-powerful immortal lich.
