A fun and enjoyable read with engaging characters. Definitely not something I would normally read but I was intrigued by the cover and the blurb.

Normally I don't enjoy this kind of the story but it was pretty engaging. I just think that it wasn't that elaborated that left me hanging..

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. The idea and story behind this was good, but Jared seemed a little off to me. I would have like a bit more detail and adventure. It left me wanting more and more from it, but there just seemed to be something missing.

This book was so much fun to read! I pretty much enjoyed everything about it and loved the world the author created!! There was only minor issues that kept it from being a 5 star read.

The plot was fast paced and highly entertaining. Jared is trying to survive in a world ravaged by radiation and war. He scavenges what he can but it's hard because if he doesn't inject the nanites into himself regularly, he will die. On one such scavenger run, he finds a good deal of loot and a stone. Before he can study it fully he has to flee from an animal he hears. Safe for now, he is stunned to see the egg hatch into a Dragon. Dragons were long thought extinct so Jared takes a while to realise what he has. I loved seeing them grow together and their interactions were fun and easy. Both Jared and Scarlet were the reason I loved it so much!! Anyway, back to the plot, Now that Jared has Scarlet, he realises that he might have a chance to defeat the people who did this to the world but he will need help. He sets out to find other people who will help him.

As I said, the plot was fast paced, entertaining and was easy to follow, but there were quite a few unanswered questions I had. There wasn't much about the world before and how it came to be the way it is now. It also didn't fully explain the nanite situation and the way they are distributed. I understand how the nanites work, but why when Jared or Scarlet sucks up the dead things nanites, do they only get something like 60% to distribute? Where did the rest go? I'm not much of a gamer so maybe that's why I didn't fully understand it!

Other than the unanswered questions, I found myself immersed in the world the author created. I loved the mutated animals, especially the bunnies!! I loved the quest Jared and Scarlet were on. Their bond was compelling and I loved seeing it grow. I loved the fighting scenes, which were plenty by the way, and I loved the overall story! I'm really looking forward to the next one because despite not understanding everything, I've become invested in these characters stories and I can't wait to see where the author takes it.

Jared Cartwright is a twenty something young man, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world where animals are mutated, radiation is harming the world, and everyone has to live on nanite boosters to survive. One day while Jared is scavenging New York, he finds an egg that unexpectedly turns into a telepathic dragon, telling him that he's been chosen as her bonded. In a of turn events, Jared gains abilities he never believed he could have, and takes on deadly mutations in order to help save human and dragonkind With the help of Scarlet, his fire dragon, and a new colony he's saved, he believes he can change the world and take on those whose destroyed it.

I've got to say, I've never read LitRPG and it gives a unique way to how one would read it in regards to regular fiction. I'm not trying to say that it's bad in any means, but mostly surprised me that it focuses more on dialogue and interactions between the main protagonists. Jared is the main voice, and even though it's told in third person, his narration could be confusing when paired with Scarlet, who talks through telepathy. The writing is only distinguishable between the fonts that are bold for Scarlet and Jared in italicization, that is also told in first person. I'm not use to the transitions and some of the stylization could cause some grammatical errors throughout the ebook.

The story talks of nanites and Jared's use of them to gain new skills, and while interesting, took away some of the story for me. Jared had to go through alot of transitions, and most of the monologue is Scarlet telling him that it will take time for him to process and learn the abilities. I'm personally not one for techno-babble, but the repeated scenes was not the most enlightening. I did get confused on the nanites in general, but as I progressed through the story, it did become a bit clear, but could've been explained more easily as I was just as confused as Jared was most of the time. I was mostly focusing on Jared's progress with his fighting skills and trying to understand what his purpose was. Jared has a somewhat child-like narration and I was a bit put off by that. I understand he was a young man who went through some very tough situations, but his voice screamed teenager or even younger. I don't know if that was a bad choice or not, but I really could not empathize with him, or his plight because of it.

Scarlet is his dragon friend that he'd found, and who helps him throughout their journey. They have a nice relationship and while most of the time she's recalling her wisdom on him, she is there to help him kick some mutated animal butt. I thought she was the most intriguing of the whole book, and while her voice could've been a bit more polished, she adds alot to the story and its progression. I think I would've preferred the narration be told through her perspective, as she's the one with vast knowledge and probably would've made me more invested in the story.

Overall, decent story but the pacing was a bit slow when Jared or Scarlet had to advance their skills and could've been done in a more engrossing way. Jared's narrative is probably what took my interest away. I just found it a bit unbelievable, and it was hard to understand his mindset. It was hard for me to pick the book up a few times but I liked the general storyline. Still recommended for those who like this genre, and while I won't be picking up the sequel, others will certainly do so.

Can I just start with how great of a cover Radioactive Evolution has? Really. Great. It’s what first caught my attention. I know plenty of books and movies will have the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of how the world has fallen. It’s almost a gimme but for some reason, this time I stopped to admire the cover. Which then lead me to the blurb. Apocalyptic, wasteland, destruction – yup, yup, yup. Just like the cover implied. I came close to passing this one up until I saw it. The magic word. The one thing that will draw me in almost every time: Dragons.

Folks, I read this book because of dragons. Dragons, particularly a white one, is what first got me reading science fiction. Since then, I have been hard pressed to find dragons in a futuristic setting. And that’s what we have here. Earth has been ravaged by nuclear war, the rich are living in the sky and the rest of the survivors are struggling to live on Earth. The interactions Jared had with other survivors, the other mutated creatures and of course Scarlet, made for curious and sometimes icky outcomes. . Mr. Hummel has created a very interesting world here that, for the most part, I enjoyed. Now, to cover what worked for me and what didn’t.

Dragons. Taking a chance for that one word was a big risk and I was not disappointed. Scarlet, her kind and their role on this destroyed world made for a great adventurous reading. Not many authors will have taken a creature that is normally associated with knights of old and stick them in the destruction of a nuclear war. That alone has me applauding the author for this uniqueness

What didn’t work for me was the role-playing aspect. I’ve gone back a few times to the blurb to see if I missed or overlooked this side of the book. Nope, it’s not there. It wasn’t until I saw other reviews that I finally discovered the parts of the book that were a turn off to me, mainly the divvying up of the nanites, that I finally had a name to what I didn’t like. See, I thought I was reading an apocalyptic story which I really like. It’s all about the possibilities and the what if for me. Instead, I was reading LitRPG, that’s short for Literary Role Playing Game, which role-playing was never anything I was a fan of.

I do question whether or not I would have read Radioactive Evolution had I known about the RPG aspect. Dragons were a plus but the LitRPG, not so much. There’s a good chance I will read the next installment because I can’t wait to see what is in store next for Jared and Scarlet. But, more than likely I’ll skim through the portions I don’t care for.

Stars - 3.5

Radioactive Evolution is a story about the future. A future where nuclear war has ravaged everything. The wealthy live on floating cities. Everyone else must survive in a wasteland. People must also get booster shots periodically to combat the effects of radiation. The main character, Jared, is a scavenger. One day, he comes across an egg. This egg hatches and something crazy comes out of it. The story is good and unfolds at a good pace. The future world created is a crazy place. The characters are likeable clever and complex. A good read overall. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of Gilded Wolves through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Richard Hummel’s debut novel, Radioactive Evolution is nothing like anything else I’ve read. It’s a LitRPG, something I didn’t even know excised before now. It’s also a true sci-fi novel. It also throws in a dash of dystopian and action-adventure for good measure.
A LitRPG is short for Literary Role Playing Game. And it pretty much is exactly what it sounds like. It combines the conventions of science fiction and fantasy novels with the structures of role playing games. Sometimes the combinations are obvious, while other times it can be a bit more subtle.
Radioactive Evolution was an interesting reading experience. I mentioned above that I had never even heard of LitRPG before now, and that’s true. I certainly never had read anything like it before. That alone made this a fascinating adventure.
The familiar elements allowed the story in Radioactive Evolution to move along at a faster pace than it otherwise would have. By making it feel like a game it immediately connected games to an instinctive set of rules. This let Richard Hummel skip steps in his storytelling; skipping ahead to the more interesting elements.
The best way to explain the ups and downs in pacing would be to compare it to a video game. There are the quick action sequences, but then there’s also the part where you have to plan out your equipment and upgrades. Each part is necessary to have a chance at succeeding in the boss fight. That’s really the same concept here; we’re watching Jared prep for his boss fight.
I’ll admit that it took me some time to warm up to Scarlet. At first, her appearance was so sudden, that while I found her to be fairly awesome in the literal sense, I just wasn’t emotionally attached to her. That did change with time.
I actually didn’t know that Radioactive Evolution was a LitRPG from reading the blurb, but in a way, I’m glad I didn’t know that going into it. It gave me the unexpected chance to read something completely new. Ironically I picked up the novel because I was craving something more like Fallout 4. As in, I was craving a book to read like a video game. Hit the nail on the head, huh?
As far as debut novels go, this was a really strong one. I can’t wait to see what Richard Hummel will come up with next. And I’ll certainly be curious to see what genre the next book will be in.

The Earth has become a radioactive nightmare. The privileged few have retreated to floating cities while the rest of humanity is left to scrabble and die on the surface. Most of the surface survivors have grouped together into small communities to fight off all the mutated creatures filling the world. They also mine important resources for the floating cities in exchange for nanite injectors which keep the effects of the radiation at bay.

Jared is a loner scavenger. He searches the ruins for injectors and other valuable items. On a foray into the ravaged ruin of New York, Jared discovers that dragons are real, he can unlock amazing upgrades within himself, and that those in the floating cities have been deceiving everyone.

Richard Hummel’s Radioactive Evolution is a member of the LITRPG genre. While not everyone’s cup of tea, I enjoy the genre’s conventions of mixing prose with the structures of roleplaying games. Each LITRPG book I’ve read previously has used the premise of immersive video games with overt character development, but Hummel does well to make it more integral to the world setting. It can feel clumsy at times – especially early on – but it does work.

The story is interesting and the setting engaging. The characterisation lacks some depth, though, with all emotions full-on all the time. But in the end, I genuinely wanted to know what was going to happen next and was left wanting another instalment.

Radioactive Evolution is definitely a winner for LITRPG fans and a worth a look from general fantasy/sci-fi readers. 3 out of 5 stars.

Super post-apocalyptic fantasy tale that reads like a video game

This is a lengthy book at 390 pages, which I appreciated because I was having a lot of fun reading it.

Jared Cartwright is an explorer on an Earth that was decimated by nuclear wars. He left his home colony two years ago to explore and salvage.

To survive the radiation that was released on the planet,a scientist invented booster shots of nanites to counteract the effects of the radiation but humans need the booster shots periodically.

While exploring New York City Jared happens across an unhatched egg that changes his life completely when it does hatch shortly after.

This was such a fun read. Monsters and memories of Anne McCafferty books kept popping up in the book.

There were some issues with editing which is why I downgraded this a bit but don't miss this book just because of that.

The author does an excellent job with developing the characters and his world building was easy but scary to visualize.

Oh, and this is the first book of a series and I hope we don't have to wait too long for the next book.

I received this book from the Independent Book Publishers Association through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.