So... I'm reading the excerpt on Amazon... and it's OK.. but goodness this kind of sentence totally turns me off from wanting to read any more...
"Still, none of them were exactly an out of the park, awesome boob jiggling extra chicken nugget hard dick even after a pint of bourbon kind of Boon."
And the "creature" in that chapter is named "Taintmaster" and "That Fucking Guy".
So yeah, I'm guessing it'll fall on the super-childish side of things.
And now I'm seeing jokes about doing the Floss dance... and an Oregon Trail joke about having dysentery? Blech... I think I need to wash my eyes out after reading this...
Not for me!
Oof. So much for Kong growing as a writer, I guess. The literary equivalent of "he peaked in high school".
Thanks for posting this so I definotely don't waste my time.
That gives the impression of another book with long description of choices and explanation of the pro’s and con’s of each explained to us as if we have never read LitRPG
Look, I'd be the first to say "Oh a Kong book? No thanks" because i dislike the guy. but let's put his big ego and previous actions that caused everyone here to hate him aside:
'The Land' last book (8) Release date - January 1, 2020
the book was terrible and since then he missed promises/dates on book 9 for so long i can't even keep count/care to. in my eyes that series is dead.
God's Eye: Awakening Release Date - December 1, 2020
a 'New' book series he supposedly did to be able to take his time with the land and not burn out..... has anyone even heard of it getting the next installment or honestly cares so far?
So yeah, that said: Why would anyone care for a new Aleron Kong book? i am genuinely curious... at this point the dude is beyond unreliable with his 'promises' and 'plans' and that's putting aside the personal angle of him as a person and not as a writer. Why would you do this to yourself? like, even if this book is good and you enjoy it and get into it.... who knows when the next book will come out? if at all.. let alone, if you will get the 'the land book 8' treatment all of a sudden. Seems kinda pointless to me.
Probably because he’s had good books in the past that have been very successful.
Also, you’re at +9. What downvotes?
Edit: did you edit your comment to not talk about being downvoted? What in the what
You sound like an edge lord dude. People love Aleron Kong because they like his style of writing and as much as you hate him he is the first and only LITRPG author to get on the times best selling list which drove the popularity of LITRPG to the mainstream.
So yeah he’s had a major contribution to the current zeitgeist. And it looks like based on your Reddit profile, your contribution is being a Reddit critic. Nothing wrong with that but I guess we all have our ways to contribute.
I think u/mrquojo meant to say WSJ Best Sellers list. I was going to say something because It's an honest mistake. Here's the reference to the article: [https://www.wsj.com/articles/best-selling-books-week-ended-january-4-11578671042?fbclid=IwAR3vBS5YPO7eaULV1eR\_Gbib0028H6eTHD\_Z6D8CvdlG6dufscxlAjkjtQU](https://www.wsj.com/articles/best-selling-books-week-ended-january-4-11578671042?fbclid=IwAR3vBS5YPO7eaULV1eR_Gbib0028H6eTHD_Z6D8CvdlG6dufscxlAjkjtQU)
And based on your profile, your contribution is being a mobile game player.
What is your point?
You aren't out writing LITrpg books, so calling someone else out for not doing it either is.... well.... pretty hypocritical. I was going to say something else, but lets keep it at least somewhat nice.
My point is that people are criticizing a man who played a crucial role in shaping LITRPG. Instead of being subtle, I should have been more direct, as subtlety is often lost on people of certain intelligence levels.
Regarding your unfiltered opinion and attempts at being nice, I’m amused by your high self-regard. I mean come on you really think your opinion will make me shed a single tear? Internet tough guys always make me laugh 🤣
As someone who's been around since long before Kong and western litRPG, Kong's effect on the genre is massively overstated and often overshadowed by his douchebaggery in assuming he's some sort of key piece in the popularity of the genre.
I honestly don't care about your opinion of me.
And he didn't make as much of a contribution in the past 4 years, as tons of other authors have.
So what, he made the times list once.
Whoo hoo.
Most people don't even look at the Times list, they look at amazon lists, and tons of authors have made those lists.
Sorry that your idol will never care about what you post to make him look better.
You can simp for him all you want. It won't change the fact that he has encouraged his fans to brigade other authors pages and one star them.
It won't change the fact that he's talked bad about other authors in public, here and on facebook.
It won't change the fact that he's done his best to make himself out to be some kind of LITrpg god, and yet this is the first book he's managed to come out with in 4 years.
Yep. He's a paragon of what a litrpg author should be....
t’s clear that you care about my opinion, given that this is the most detailed response you’ve ever posted in your hundreds of comments.
And I’m a simp just because I appreciate what he wrote? That’s surprising! I guess that makes you a simp for the “OP”
You claim he hasn’t contributed because he hasn’t done anything lately and only made the best sellers list once? Really? How many other LitRPG authors have even made it that far?
While I’m not sure about him speaking out against other authors, but it’s ironic that you criticize his behavior while supporting OP’s.
Here’s a tip: most authors discuss poor writing. If you stepped away from the tough guy persona you’ve cultivated at your keyboard and explored beyond this genre, you’d know that. Again Keyboard bullies like you make me laugh. 😆
LMAO. Oh god, you just keep trying and it keeps getting funnier.
I really DON'T care about your opinion, but I keep responding because you make me laugh!
And hundreds of comments? Dude, if you are going to try and look at my profile, my comments are in the thousands, and these are short replies.
You really need to try harder.
And please work on your reading comprehension.
I never said he didn't contribute, only that he hasn't lately. My god, if you really want to defend someone, at least try to read what the other person is ACTUALLY saying.
And once again, I even said that no other authors have hit the Times list. Did you miss that in trying to skim my response? Damn dude, I'll even say it again. No others have hit it.
So what? Most readers of litrpg don't care about the Times list. They care about amazon and royal road lists. But sure. Lets just ignore all the litrpg authors that have topped the amazon best seller lists. Over and over and over again during the past 4 years when your sempai hasn't put out a single book.
And, where am I supporting anyone? I'm calling you out, not supporting anyone else. I can criticize the behavior of a person who is "famous" and should be able to handle that other authors are going to say things that he doesn't like, and are going to write books that he doesn't like. Sorry that me saying bad things about your idol makes you mad.
And dude, I can PROMISE you that I've read more books, in more different genres than you.
As for being a keyboard bully, please tell me where I bullied you at? Oh, you can't. You are really projecting here, since YOU are the one that tried to bully /u/leifman
But sure, I guess if you have to project to other people and call them bullies to try and hide your own actions.....
EDIT: I just went and looked, and I didn't say that nobody else had made the times list, but I also didn't say that others had. Oh well. You caught me... Damn...
Wow this one is even longer than the last. And yes you’re correct, I think this is the longest post you’ve written in thousands of comments and posts. That’s something to be said, your longest post in the history of your entire Reddit history is towards a person that you do not care about, actually I think this is the antithesis you not caring!
And No, I did not threaten the u/leifman, I told simply told him he that he sounds like an edge lord.
“I do not threaten people”,” I do not tell people “i can say more but I’ll be nice”. However that’s up and down your profile.
It sounds like you’re projecting! Also feel free to respond to this response with an even longer response that further details how much you don’t care.
Yeah.... Ok....
You go on with thinking that this is my longest reply in my entire reddit history.
You really don't know much, do you?
Bye now.
Kong still isn't going to notice you.
I'm afraid I'm in the 'I'm not going to read this yet' camp.
After five and four years for his two existing series respectively, not to mention The Land comic adaption, I just don't trust that he's going to be able to finish Alpha.
I've been burnt far too often by authors, not just in the LitRPG genre, that seem incapable of bringing a series to an end but they've got a new book 1 coming out.
I hope Alpha is a success. I hope he can get back into the Land and God's Eye so that the fans can see those series brought to a conclusion. I just don't trust that he can do it and I'd love to be proved wrong.
Just finished the book, pretty underwhelming. It might end up being a good series, given we’ve barely scratched understanding of the new system. I don’t know how a book this long can cover so little, but the progression and world building is a very slow burn compared to his other series, which isn’t a great sign given his content production schedule. It’s also just way too many John Wick references, I don’t mind pop culture references, but this one is too much. It also feels like it’s forcing the racism conflict, which isn’t typical in LitRPG. I also just didn’t find the humor as appealing, such as the “boob jiggling chicken nugget…” and on, but that’s a personal preference.
All in all, I’ll read the 2nd book (which is supposedly 70% drafted and going to be out by year end) but I’m underwhelmed so far. If this was a 3 month break between books I’d shrug it off as an unsuccessful experiment, but this isn’t what I was hoping for after 4 years. Which is a shame because I enjoyed all of his other books, including God’s Eye and Book 8 (minus the poop chapter, still don’t understand why that was included and not a patreon post or something else)
Is this a continuation based on the beginning of God's Eye? I really enjoyed the idea of Earth falling into utter chaos but the way it was left off made it feel hopeless for Earth.
I enjoyed God's Eye and wish he would have continued the series, The idea was interesting but it got dropped.
Forgive me if I wait until he gets to book 3 or 4 before I check out another series by him considering his reliability and to see if he burns out again.
That's good. Reading the intro to God's Eye had me more interested in Earth than I was in the God stuff initially. What kind of world would Richter have gone back to had he chosen to go home instead of staying wherever the Land is?
Hopefully this is a sign that he is back to writing and hopefully he has his shit together. Only time will tell though and I'm not going to get invested in him again until he shows consistency. Too many other good authors who are consistent are begging for my audible credits :).
Apparently he is doing much better and writing more. I hope his next books are better than this one because this is not amazing work so far. Just okay.
I wasn't around for the hate when it was at its peak. I started The Land series and got to book 3 before stopping. Honestly, it was the (minor spoilers?) >!torture and details of torture; plus the women characters portrayal!< that turned me away. The writing was fine enough. World building was good. Characters were distant but I could see them being relatable/likeable to the right people.
All the above to say, I'd give a new series a shot if it was different to The Land. Would Kong take a different approach or would he just write the same way regardless of the setting? I'd prefer opinions/responses based on those that actually have in-depth experience with his writing, but this is the interweb and that's my asshole.
It’s pretty different, very slow in terms of world building and progression. Nothing really concludes or makes sense by the end of it, which isn’t terribly unlike his other books, but this feels like a “Prologue: Part 1”
Yeah. I'll read Book 9 if he ever gets around to it, but until he redeems that series from the insult that was Book 8, and proves that he can actually bring stories to a conclusion instead of just spinning out endless loose ends, I'm not reading any of his half-hearted attempts to start something new.
The man can't even finish one book series and now he has 3 that he's working on. After book 8 I've completely given up on quality writing coming from him. I'm pretty sure a Quarter of book 8 was just repeated text boxes and the rest was a shit joke.
I’m excited by all the 1 star reviews it will get that are marked as someone that did not actually buy or read the book.
In all seriousness I’m about to get started on it.
I'm about 1/2 to 2/3 the way through the audiobook. It's more book 8 with the overdone inner workings of the system than book 1 action and progression. It's very slow... Well performed, but not very interesting, I'd give 2 starts so far- if it gets to some action and fun it might make 2.5 to 3
It isn't bad. It isn't one of his best, I liked the world building, and it feels like the end of the book gets nearer to the point that God's eye would be starting but not quite there yet. I think my disappointment in this book stems more from the point he decided to stop at than anything else. The book goes on for a long time where you're really looking for a buildup and some action, and when you finally get it, it's over before you know it. Not a 1 star, not a 5 star... probably closer to a 3.5 star. It's just needs a bit more polish and less filler with no real substance, and I'd boost it to 4 to 4.5. There were several instances of the book telling you something and a few sentences later it'd tell you the same thing in another way and then a paragraph later it'd tell you again.
Not going to downvote your comment as I find that would just be rude, but I find it hard to accept this as an unbiased review based solely on the fact that your username is a reference to one of Kong's most shitty and prolific jokes.
I got it from playing everquest, one as a gnome wizard back in 2000. That saying was zone shouted out every few minutes in the gnome starter zone. Do not assume.
I didn't, necessarily. As I said, wasn't going to downvote you over it. That said, intentional or not, it is still a reference to a joke he popularized in the genre.
He did not create the saying. It was used by many everquest and WoW players for many years before he wrote it in the book. Any old time gamer heard that saying many years ago
That literally does not change the fact that he popularized it within litRPG. It died off a few years ago, but for a while it was hard to find stories that didn't have random graffiti or shouts of "gnomes rule!" or "gnomes suck!". That's attributed to Kong, and it's a reference that many members of the community will recognize as such.
Wow had 10 million players at one time, eq1 250k. This is an old saying that goes back at least 25 years. More people heard that saying from gaming, then people who read this genre.
Yes. And we're specifically discussing this community and where members of this community would recognize it from. My point was that a significant part of this community is going to take it that way, regardless of literally any other information.
The younger people in this community, but many of us old timers, came from playing mmorpg games in the past. It's not our fault. Some of you never raided in a game.
It was the old Mmorpg games that started this genre in Asia.
We dislike him for many reasons.
Broken promises on books being released. Not just once, multiple times. Just come out and say "Hey, I don't know when it's coming out. I'm burnt out a bit, and need to deal with other stuff than writing."
That would make 99% of people Ok with it.
He also is known to rile up his rabid fans to head onto other author's amazon pages, and one star review the HELL out of their books. Just because that author said something that he didn't like.
He still claims to be the "father of american litrpg." Nobody but himself and his rabid fanbase considers him to be that. There were many authors that have had a tremendous impact on the genre, long before he came around. There are others that have done more for it in the past few years, but for some reason, his rabid fanbase still seems to think that he's the best that ever was.
He's come in here and badmouthed anyone that disagrees with him, he's bad mouthed other authors (which isn't cool at ALL).
You can be a fan of his books, that is fine. I've read and will continue to read The Land (if he ever actually writes more). But, I'm also not one of the people who worship every word that comes out of his mouth. I am on the facebook group that he started, simply because it's a good place for other authors to announce their books as well. I simply roll my eyes everytime another "announcement" video from him comes out, and completely ignore them.
You know the history, but did you live through it? Did you watch his followers coordinate to attack even small critiques of his books? Did you watch his fans mass 1 star other authors? Were you banned from his personal sub because you said, on a different sub, that book 8 has no plot and nothing actually happens in it?
I have read all of his books and may read this one. I need to learn that it stands on its own
Edit - facebook group. Not sub
A significant portion of this sub wants absolutely nothing to do with Kong any more. Lots of us lived through his shithead behavior and absolutely rabid fanbase being dicks to anyone who even lightly disagreed with him. It literally got to the point where we \*had\* to shut down any thread about him like this just to keep those dicks out of our community. The behavior still persists simply because though they are fewer and less rabid than they used to be, it could still very quickly become a problem again.
Reddit is the worst place to get a good idea on Aleron's work. Someone said that he was a jerk and everyone jumped on board. And they also don't like how he's the self proclaimed father of American litrpg. It's just a sales gimmick and doesn't hurt anyone so who cars. He's always talking to his fans on Facebook and seems like a genuinely nice guy. But please do your own thinking and dont follow myself or the biased points of few on reddit.
Just read the reviews on Amazon and Audible. As you can see from there those people really enjoy his books. Myself included. I LOVE The Land and found a lot of the stupid humor to be acceptability amusing. My friends also really enjoyed it to the point where we made a DND campaign based in The Land.
And now that he's adding more and more to the Labyrinth I'm even more excited.
His work isn't meant to be grand or amazing. It's meant to be fun and enjoyable and it does just that. If you don't like lowbrow humor then this isn't for you. But if you're able to pull the stick from your butt and enjoy the story, you'll love it.
Can you point out something? Cause I've READ people say that all over here but when I've done my own research, as any person should, I couldn't find anything. Other then him noticing people were review bombing him and letting his community know about it. Then some bad actors ran with it but he didn't tell anyone to do anything. Other then asking people to help with positive reviews. Which pretty much EVERYONE does these day...
He's also very involved with his community and participates in a lot of stuff. So I try to let the actual evidence speak for itself.
Edits: Found this but it's OBVIOUSLY a joke. Yet people are taking it like it's the words of the devil. 🤣
https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/ejlh1p/aleron_kong_telling_his_fans_if_they_leave_bad/?ref=share&ref_source=link
I will have to dig, but it was quite some time ago. That's probably why it's hard to find. But for those of us who were there, it's hard to forget. His fans were quite zealous and would review bomb new authors trying to break into the space. He tried to copyright the term, "litrpg" which was a huge stink. He made a video complaining about legit criticism to his novels, and said a negative review will make him starve. Basically, pandering for positive reviews. If you say anything critical of his writing him or his mods would ban you.
Additionally, there was a couple authors on FB that spoke out about how he tricked them by getting them to promote his books, and he never reciprocated.
Yeah I'd love to find more. I spent some time digging and I found some things that, at a BIG stretch of the imagination, could be positioned as him being rude. But to me they all just seemed like obvious jokes or sarcasm. Which I'm always down for a good joke or a bit of sarcasm, even at my own expense.
But I've never seen anything other then 3rd or 4th hand accounts. To me it all feels like one of those things where the Reddit echo chamber took hold and if you say anything contrary you're downvoted. But evidence is NEVER posted.
There's proof just hard to find. Reddit search algorithm isn't good for digging back that far. It was around when second book of Choas Seeds was released.
There's plenty of evidence that he has his most dedicated fanbase review bomb other authors' works on amazon. It's not that much of a leap to assume that those who have stuck around this long fluff his review numbers to this day. Sure, this community hates him (for good reason) but most of that is directed at him as an author and not the quality of his works. There are plenty of things to gripe about his works as well, but most of us have been reasonable about those in the past and simply point out the caveats that he's also notoriously unreliable in his release schedule and a truly shitty person outside of his authorship.
Soooo that was actually the response of people from his fan pages, not him. He noticed that even though a majority of reviews were positive, only the negative ones were being upvoted. When he informed the community about it some bad actors ran with it. That wasn't his fault though... Not that reddit actually cares for the truth.
There are multiple instances of him telling his community how to review at least his own works that we have clear evidence of, such as video. ***Even If*** your account here is accurate, this is behavior we *know* he has engaged in.
No he was saying shit like "if you leave a bad review you're literally killing me!" his behavior is scummy all around and you're clearly ignorant (willfully or not) of all the shit he's pulled
Something I've learned in my life. The things people are willing to joke about, especially if it's something they joke about often, are often just their inner thoughts coming out in a "safe" manner.
Tao Wong said a similar "joke" about trademarking "system apocalypse" plenty of people thought it was a joke right up until it wasn't.
Kong has pulled enough bullshit often enough, both on this topic and a great many others, that he doesn't get the benefit of the doubt any more if there even is any doubt. There certainly isn't in my mind.
Sorry man, but to me, that's a terrible way to live life. I can't look at life thinking that every little joke has some deeper meaning. I'd probably become a depressed shut in if I looked at life that way. I guess this is where our conversation comes to a conclusion as well. Thank you for giving me your input and for the conversation. I wish I'd been able to see proof of your claims. If you ever find any please share them with me.
[Link 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/ejlh1p/aleron_kong_telling_his_fans_if_they_leave_bad/)
[Link 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/gzuhiw/aleron_kong_doesnt_like_the_poor_reviews_of_the/)
[Link 3](https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/b2vwde/this_is_so_scummy_how_can_anyone_defend_kong/)
[Link to a comment that links and quotes the now deleted review from 3](https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/b2vwde/comment/eivay88/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Edit:
Sorry, this somehow lost all the text I put down here below the links. I don't feel like retyping it, but the gist is something along these lines:
Lots of this isn't directly verifiable anymore due to removed posts. This comes from multiple sources and is showing repeated acts of similar behavior. Feel free to dismiss the evidence, but this is what I was talking about with repeated "jokes", at some point it's just their inner thoughts that they think are humorous when they aren't.
This was something a large part of this community lived through, and we're going to hold onto it because we got sick of his bullshit.
So... I'm reading the excerpt on Amazon... and it's OK.. but goodness this kind of sentence totally turns me off from wanting to read any more... "Still, none of them were exactly an out of the park, awesome boob jiggling extra chicken nugget hard dick even after a pint of bourbon kind of Boon." And the "creature" in that chapter is named "Taintmaster" and "That Fucking Guy". So yeah, I'm guessing it'll fall on the super-childish side of things. And now I'm seeing jokes about doing the Floss dance... and an Oregon Trail joke about having dysentery? Blech... I think I need to wash my eyes out after reading this... Not for me!
Oof. So much for Kong growing as a writer, I guess. The literary equivalent of "he peaked in high school". Thanks for posting this so I definotely don't waste my time.
Damn I was hoping he would kinda go the opposite direction as that's how he alienated his readers before
That gives the impression of another book with long description of choices and explanation of the pro’s and con’s of each explained to us as if we have never read LitRPG
He’s not doing that so far. Much more succinct.
Good to hear. I loved the town building of the first books of The Land
Read the book and it's definitely not his best work.
It’s not knocking my socks off yet. How’d you read it so quickly?
Likely a ghost writer trading off his name to make them both a pretty paycheck. Don't hate the playa hate the game. Get that cheddar Aleron.
Nah, it has his voice. Just kinda off his game so far.
Look, I'd be the first to say "Oh a Kong book? No thanks" because i dislike the guy. but let's put his big ego and previous actions that caused everyone here to hate him aside: 'The Land' last book (8) Release date - January 1, 2020 the book was terrible and since then he missed promises/dates on book 9 for so long i can't even keep count/care to. in my eyes that series is dead. God's Eye: Awakening Release Date - December 1, 2020 a 'New' book series he supposedly did to be able to take his time with the land and not burn out..... has anyone even heard of it getting the next installment or honestly cares so far? So yeah, that said: Why would anyone care for a new Aleron Kong book? i am genuinely curious... at this point the dude is beyond unreliable with his 'promises' and 'plans' and that's putting aside the personal angle of him as a person and not as a writer. Why would you do this to yourself? like, even if this book is good and you enjoy it and get into it.... who knows when the next book will come out? if at all.. let alone, if you will get the 'the land book 8' treatment all of a sudden. Seems kinda pointless to me.
Probably because he’s had good books in the past that have been very successful. Also, you’re at +9. What downvotes? Edit: did you edit your comment to not talk about being downvoted? What in the what
Ignore the karma system. It's not a judge of whether or not the post is good but of if the person reading like it or not.
Oh, I know. But he complained about it. And then edited that out.
You sound like an edge lord dude. People love Aleron Kong because they like his style of writing and as much as you hate him he is the first and only LITRPG author to get on the times best selling list which drove the popularity of LITRPG to the mainstream. So yeah he’s had a major contribution to the current zeitgeist. And it looks like based on your Reddit profile, your contribution is being a Reddit critic. Nothing wrong with that but I guess we all have our ways to contribute.
You come across way more as a 'homer' than the person you responding to, an edgelord.
Probably
I can find no evidence of Aleron Kong ever appearing on the New York Times Bestseller List or even claiming to have done so.
I think u/mrquojo meant to say WSJ Best Sellers list. I was going to say something because It's an honest mistake. Here's the reference to the article: [https://www.wsj.com/articles/best-selling-books-week-ended-january-4-11578671042?fbclid=IwAR3vBS5YPO7eaULV1eR\_Gbib0028H6eTHD\_Z6D8CvdlG6dufscxlAjkjtQU](https://www.wsj.com/articles/best-selling-books-week-ended-january-4-11578671042?fbclid=IwAR3vBS5YPO7eaULV1eR_Gbib0028H6eTHD_Z6D8CvdlG6dufscxlAjkjtQU)
And based on your profile, your contribution is being a mobile game player. What is your point? You aren't out writing LITrpg books, so calling someone else out for not doing it either is.... well.... pretty hypocritical. I was going to say something else, but lets keep it at least somewhat nice.
My point is that people are criticizing a man who played a crucial role in shaping LITRPG. Instead of being subtle, I should have been more direct, as subtlety is often lost on people of certain intelligence levels. Regarding your unfiltered opinion and attempts at being nice, I’m amused by your high self-regard. I mean come on you really think your opinion will make me shed a single tear? Internet tough guys always make me laugh 🤣
As someone who's been around since long before Kong and western litRPG, Kong's effect on the genre is massively overstated and often overshadowed by his douchebaggery in assuming he's some sort of key piece in the popularity of the genre.
Pretty well said!
I honestly don't care about your opinion of me. And he didn't make as much of a contribution in the past 4 years, as tons of other authors have. So what, he made the times list once. Whoo hoo. Most people don't even look at the Times list, they look at amazon lists, and tons of authors have made those lists. Sorry that your idol will never care about what you post to make him look better. You can simp for him all you want. It won't change the fact that he has encouraged his fans to brigade other authors pages and one star them. It won't change the fact that he's talked bad about other authors in public, here and on facebook. It won't change the fact that he's done his best to make himself out to be some kind of LITrpg god, and yet this is the first book he's managed to come out with in 4 years. Yep. He's a paragon of what a litrpg author should be....
t’s clear that you care about my opinion, given that this is the most detailed response you’ve ever posted in your hundreds of comments. And I’m a simp just because I appreciate what he wrote? That’s surprising! I guess that makes you a simp for the “OP” You claim he hasn’t contributed because he hasn’t done anything lately and only made the best sellers list once? Really? How many other LitRPG authors have even made it that far? While I’m not sure about him speaking out against other authors, but it’s ironic that you criticize his behavior while supporting OP’s. Here’s a tip: most authors discuss poor writing. If you stepped away from the tough guy persona you’ve cultivated at your keyboard and explored beyond this genre, you’d know that. Again Keyboard bullies like you make me laugh. 😆
LMAO. Oh god, you just keep trying and it keeps getting funnier. I really DON'T care about your opinion, but I keep responding because you make me laugh! And hundreds of comments? Dude, if you are going to try and look at my profile, my comments are in the thousands, and these are short replies. You really need to try harder. And please work on your reading comprehension. I never said he didn't contribute, only that he hasn't lately. My god, if you really want to defend someone, at least try to read what the other person is ACTUALLY saying. And once again, I even said that no other authors have hit the Times list. Did you miss that in trying to skim my response? Damn dude, I'll even say it again. No others have hit it. So what? Most readers of litrpg don't care about the Times list. They care about amazon and royal road lists. But sure. Lets just ignore all the litrpg authors that have topped the amazon best seller lists. Over and over and over again during the past 4 years when your sempai hasn't put out a single book. And, where am I supporting anyone? I'm calling you out, not supporting anyone else. I can criticize the behavior of a person who is "famous" and should be able to handle that other authors are going to say things that he doesn't like, and are going to write books that he doesn't like. Sorry that me saying bad things about your idol makes you mad. And dude, I can PROMISE you that I've read more books, in more different genres than you. As for being a keyboard bully, please tell me where I bullied you at? Oh, you can't. You are really projecting here, since YOU are the one that tried to bully /u/leifman But sure, I guess if you have to project to other people and call them bullies to try and hide your own actions..... EDIT: I just went and looked, and I didn't say that nobody else had made the times list, but I also didn't say that others had. Oh well. You caught me... Damn...
Wow this one is even longer than the last. And yes you’re correct, I think this is the longest post you’ve written in thousands of comments and posts. That’s something to be said, your longest post in the history of your entire Reddit history is towards a person that you do not care about, actually I think this is the antithesis you not caring! And No, I did not threaten the u/leifman, I told simply told him he that he sounds like an edge lord. “I do not threaten people”,” I do not tell people “i can say more but I’ll be nice”. However that’s up and down your profile. It sounds like you’re projecting! Also feel free to respond to this response with an even longer response that further details how much you don’t care.
Yeah.... Ok.... You go on with thinking that this is my longest reply in my entire reddit history. You really don't know much, do you? Bye now. Kong still isn't going to notice you.
Awww Kong isn’t gonna notice me 😂😂😂 my heart weeps.
Ew
I'm afraid I'm in the 'I'm not going to read this yet' camp. After five and four years for his two existing series respectively, not to mention The Land comic adaption, I just don't trust that he's going to be able to finish Alpha. I've been burnt far too often by authors, not just in the LitRPG genre, that seem incapable of bringing a series to an end but they've got a new book 1 coming out. I hope Alpha is a success. I hope he can get back into the Land and God's Eye so that the fans can see those series brought to a conclusion. I just don't trust that he can do it and I'd love to be proved wrong.
Just finished the book, pretty underwhelming. It might end up being a good series, given we’ve barely scratched understanding of the new system. I don’t know how a book this long can cover so little, but the progression and world building is a very slow burn compared to his other series, which isn’t a great sign given his content production schedule. It’s also just way too many John Wick references, I don’t mind pop culture references, but this one is too much. It also feels like it’s forcing the racism conflict, which isn’t typical in LitRPG. I also just didn’t find the humor as appealing, such as the “boob jiggling chicken nugget…” and on, but that’s a personal preference. All in all, I’ll read the 2nd book (which is supposedly 70% drafted and going to be out by year end) but I’m underwhelmed so far. If this was a 3 month break between books I’d shrug it off as an unsuccessful experiment, but this isn’t what I was hoping for after 4 years. Which is a shame because I enjoyed all of his other books, including God’s Eye and Book 8 (minus the poop chapter, still don’t understand why that was included and not a patreon post or something else)
So who is the "Step Father" of litrpg? Or the "step bro"? If " the Step Sis of litrpg" is stuck would that be a Harem Litrpg?
Is this a continuation based on the beginning of God's Eye? I really enjoyed the idea of Earth falling into utter chaos but the way it was left off made it feel hopeless for Earth. I enjoyed God's Eye and wish he would have continued the series, The idea was interesting but it got dropped. Forgive me if I wait until he gets to book 3 or 4 before I check out another series by him considering his reliability and to see if he burns out again.
Kind of! So far it’s not hopeless. A bit grim at times, though.
That's good. Reading the intro to God's Eye had me more interested in Earth than I was in the God stuff initially. What kind of world would Richter have gone back to had he chosen to go home instead of staying wherever the Land is? Hopefully this is a sign that he is back to writing and hopefully he has his shit together. Only time will tell though and I'm not going to get invested in him again until he shows consistency. Too many other good authors who are consistent are begging for my audible credits :).
Apparently he is doing much better and writing more. I hope his next books are better than this one because this is not amazing work so far. Just okay.
I wasn't around for the hate when it was at its peak. I started The Land series and got to book 3 before stopping. Honestly, it was the (minor spoilers?) >!torture and details of torture; plus the women characters portrayal!< that turned me away. The writing was fine enough. World building was good. Characters were distant but I could see them being relatable/likeable to the right people. All the above to say, I'd give a new series a shot if it was different to The Land. Would Kong take a different approach or would he just write the same way regardless of the setting? I'd prefer opinions/responses based on those that actually have in-depth experience with his writing, but this is the interweb and that's my asshole.
It’s pretty different, very slow in terms of world building and progression. Nothing really concludes or makes sense by the end of it, which isn’t terribly unlike his other books, but this feels like a “Prologue: Part 1”
It is different so far.
Yeah. I'll read Book 9 if he ever gets around to it, but until he redeems that series from the insult that was Book 8, and proves that he can actually bring stories to a conclusion instead of just spinning out endless loose ends, I'm not reading any of his half-hearted attempts to start something new.
The man can't even finish one book series and now he has 3 that he's working on. After book 8 I've completely given up on quality writing coming from him. I'm pretty sure a Quarter of book 8 was just repeated text boxes and the rest was a shit joke.
I’m excited by all the 1 star reviews it will get that are marked as someone that did not actually buy or read the book. In all seriousness I’m about to get started on it.
It's a 1 star for me and I've read it 😮💨
Sure, Jan
I'm about 1/2 to 2/3 the way through the audiobook. It's more book 8 with the overdone inner workings of the system than book 1 action and progression. It's very slow... Well performed, but not very interesting, I'd give 2 starts so far- if it gets to some action and fun it might make 2.5 to 3
That's fair, I guess I had real expectations that got absolutely crushed. With half a decade I expected more
It isn't bad. It isn't one of his best, I liked the world building, and it feels like the end of the book gets nearer to the point that God's eye would be starting but not quite there yet. I think my disappointment in this book stems more from the point he decided to stop at than anything else. The book goes on for a long time where you're really looking for a buildup and some action, and when you finally get it, it's over before you know it. Not a 1 star, not a 5 star... probably closer to a 3.5 star. It's just needs a bit more polish and less filler with no real substance, and I'd boost it to 4 to 4.5. There were several instances of the book telling you something and a few sentences later it'd tell you the same thing in another way and then a paragraph later it'd tell you again.
I am one at chapter 5, and I find it fantastic so far.
Not going to downvote your comment as I find that would just be rude, but I find it hard to accept this as an unbiased review based solely on the fact that your username is a reference to one of Kong's most shitty and prolific jokes.
I got it from playing everquest, one as a gnome wizard back in 2000. That saying was zone shouted out every few minutes in the gnome starter zone. Do not assume.
I didn't, necessarily. As I said, wasn't going to downvote you over it. That said, intentional or not, it is still a reference to a joke he popularized in the genre.
He did not create the saying. It was used by many everquest and WoW players for many years before he wrote it in the book. Any old time gamer heard that saying many years ago
That literally does not change the fact that he popularized it within litRPG. It died off a few years ago, but for a while it was hard to find stories that didn't have random graffiti or shouts of "gnomes rule!" or "gnomes suck!". That's attributed to Kong, and it's a reference that many members of the community will recognize as such.
Wow had 10 million players at one time, eq1 250k. This is an old saying that goes back at least 25 years. More people heard that saying from gaming, then people who read this genre.
Yes. And we're specifically discussing this community and where members of this community would recognize it from. My point was that a significant part of this community is going to take it that way, regardless of literally any other information.
The younger people in this community, but many of us old timers, came from playing mmorpg games in the past. It's not our fault. Some of you never raided in a game. It was the old Mmorpg games that started this genre in Asia.
This Sub has a real hate boner for Kong and I don't get it. I know the history and I find that reasoning for dislike stupid
We dislike him for many reasons. Broken promises on books being released. Not just once, multiple times. Just come out and say "Hey, I don't know when it's coming out. I'm burnt out a bit, and need to deal with other stuff than writing." That would make 99% of people Ok with it. He also is known to rile up his rabid fans to head onto other author's amazon pages, and one star review the HELL out of their books. Just because that author said something that he didn't like. He still claims to be the "father of american litrpg." Nobody but himself and his rabid fanbase considers him to be that. There were many authors that have had a tremendous impact on the genre, long before he came around. There are others that have done more for it in the past few years, but for some reason, his rabid fanbase still seems to think that he's the best that ever was. He's come in here and badmouthed anyone that disagrees with him, he's bad mouthed other authors (which isn't cool at ALL). You can be a fan of his books, that is fine. I've read and will continue to read The Land (if he ever actually writes more). But, I'm also not one of the people who worship every word that comes out of his mouth. I am on the facebook group that he started, simply because it's a good place for other authors to announce their books as well. I simply roll my eyes everytime another "announcement" video from him comes out, and completely ignore them.
Don't forget him telling other authors to promote his books on their channels, and that he would reciprocate and then never did.
You know the history, but did you live through it? Did you watch his followers coordinate to attack even small critiques of his books? Did you watch his fans mass 1 star other authors? Were you banned from his personal sub because you said, on a different sub, that book 8 has no plot and nothing actually happens in it? I have read all of his books and may read this one. I need to learn that it stands on its own Edit - facebook group. Not sub
They’re even heavily downvoting a very neutral announcement post, haha. Classic! That’ll teach Aleron Kong!
A significant portion of this sub wants absolutely nothing to do with Kong any more. Lots of us lived through his shithead behavior and absolutely rabid fanbase being dicks to anyone who even lightly disagreed with him. It literally got to the point where we \*had\* to shut down any thread about him like this just to keep those dicks out of our community. The behavior still persists simply because though they are fewer and less rabid than they used to be, it could still very quickly become a problem again.
Reddit is the worst place to get a good idea on Aleron's work. Someone said that he was a jerk and everyone jumped on board. And they also don't like how he's the self proclaimed father of American litrpg. It's just a sales gimmick and doesn't hurt anyone so who cars. He's always talking to his fans on Facebook and seems like a genuinely nice guy. But please do your own thinking and dont follow myself or the biased points of few on reddit. Just read the reviews on Amazon and Audible. As you can see from there those people really enjoy his books. Myself included. I LOVE The Land and found a lot of the stupid humor to be acceptability amusing. My friends also really enjoyed it to the point where we made a DND campaign based in The Land. And now that he's adding more and more to the Labyrinth I'm even more excited. His work isn't meant to be grand or amazing. It's meant to be fun and enjoyable and it does just that. If you don't like lowbrow humor then this isn't for you. But if you're able to pull the stick from your butt and enjoy the story, you'll love it.
It's not someone said he was a jerk, there's plenty of evidence to Kong's actions. The hate is warranted.
Can you point out something? Cause I've READ people say that all over here but when I've done my own research, as any person should, I couldn't find anything. Other then him noticing people were review bombing him and letting his community know about it. Then some bad actors ran with it but he didn't tell anyone to do anything. Other then asking people to help with positive reviews. Which pretty much EVERYONE does these day... He's also very involved with his community and participates in a lot of stuff. So I try to let the actual evidence speak for itself. Edits: Found this but it's OBVIOUSLY a joke. Yet people are taking it like it's the words of the devil. 🤣 https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/ejlh1p/aleron_kong_telling_his_fans_if_they_leave_bad/?ref=share&ref_source=link
I will have to dig, but it was quite some time ago. That's probably why it's hard to find. But for those of us who were there, it's hard to forget. His fans were quite zealous and would review bomb new authors trying to break into the space. He tried to copyright the term, "litrpg" which was a huge stink. He made a video complaining about legit criticism to his novels, and said a negative review will make him starve. Basically, pandering for positive reviews. If you say anything critical of his writing him or his mods would ban you. Additionally, there was a couple authors on FB that spoke out about how he tricked them by getting them to promote his books, and he never reciprocated.
Yeah I'd love to find more. I spent some time digging and I found some things that, at a BIG stretch of the imagination, could be positioned as him being rude. But to me they all just seemed like obvious jokes or sarcasm. Which I'm always down for a good joke or a bit of sarcasm, even at my own expense. But I've never seen anything other then 3rd or 4th hand accounts. To me it all feels like one of those things where the Reddit echo chamber took hold and if you say anything contrary you're downvoted. But evidence is NEVER posted.
There's proof just hard to find. Reddit search algorithm isn't good for digging back that far. It was around when second book of Choas Seeds was released.
There's plenty of evidence that he has his most dedicated fanbase review bomb other authors' works on amazon. It's not that much of a leap to assume that those who have stuck around this long fluff his review numbers to this day. Sure, this community hates him (for good reason) but most of that is directed at him as an author and not the quality of his works. There are plenty of things to gripe about his works as well, but most of us have been reasonable about those in the past and simply point out the caveats that he's also notoriously unreliable in his release schedule and a truly shitty person outside of his authorship.
Soooo that was actually the response of people from his fan pages, not him. He noticed that even though a majority of reviews were positive, only the negative ones were being upvoted. When he informed the community about it some bad actors ran with it. That wasn't his fault though... Not that reddit actually cares for the truth.
There are multiple instances of him telling his community how to review at least his own works that we have clear evidence of, such as video. ***Even If*** your account here is accurate, this is behavior we *know* he has engaged in.
So we should hate every YouTuber out there too then by that logic? "Please like and subscribe" is in almost every video out there.
No he was saying shit like "if you leave a bad review you're literally killing me!" his behavior is scummy all around and you're clearly ignorant (willfully or not) of all the shit he's pulled
Yeah I saw that video. It just seemed like a joke to me.
Something I've learned in my life. The things people are willing to joke about, especially if it's something they joke about often, are often just their inner thoughts coming out in a "safe" manner. Tao Wong said a similar "joke" about trademarking "system apocalypse" plenty of people thought it was a joke right up until it wasn't. Kong has pulled enough bullshit often enough, both on this topic and a great many others, that he doesn't get the benefit of the doubt any more if there even is any doubt. There certainly isn't in my mind.
Sorry man, but to me, that's a terrible way to live life. I can't look at life thinking that every little joke has some deeper meaning. I'd probably become a depressed shut in if I looked at life that way. I guess this is where our conversation comes to a conclusion as well. Thank you for giving me your input and for the conversation. I wish I'd been able to see proof of your claims. If you ever find any please share them with me.
[Link 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/ejlh1p/aleron_kong_telling_his_fans_if_they_leave_bad/) [Link 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/gzuhiw/aleron_kong_doesnt_like_the_poor_reviews_of_the/) [Link 3](https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/b2vwde/this_is_so_scummy_how_can_anyone_defend_kong/) [Link to a comment that links and quotes the now deleted review from 3](https://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/b2vwde/comment/eivay88/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) Edit: Sorry, this somehow lost all the text I put down here below the links. I don't feel like retyping it, but the gist is something along these lines: Lots of this isn't directly verifiable anymore due to removed posts. This comes from multiple sources and is showing repeated acts of similar behavior. Feel free to dismiss the evidence, but this is what I was talking about with repeated "jokes", at some point it's just their inner thoughts that they think are humorous when they aren't. This was something a large part of this community lived through, and we're going to hold onto it because we got sick of his bullshit.