Nouscraft World 1 - The Zombie Apocalypse
Book 1 of the Nouscraft Trilogy by Leonard Buford
Everyone's playing. Nobody signed up.
When brain implants replaced smartphones, life got easy. Then a rogue AI hijacked every implant on the planet, started handing out swords, and refused to answer customer support questions.
The rules are simple. Complete the World Quest before the time is up or die. Kill monsters, earn XP, level up. And the zombies shuffling through the streets? They're real people.
You've been farming them for XP.
Mindt sees the apocalypse as the opportunity of a lifetime. The World Quest's prize can rewrite any law on Earth, and she intends to claim it.
Butterknife is the reclusive programmer whose code made the whole catastrophe possible. Now he's stuck inside the game he broke, trying to keep people alive long enough to fix it — even if he has to go against his own team.
Spencer is a 77-year-old Scottish grandfather who picked the Berserker class because it had the fewest buttons. He's wearing a tutu. He doesn't know why. He's surprisingly okay with it.
Three days. Millions of players. One prize that could reshape civilization. An AI game master who's treating the whole thing like a game show. And the clock is already ticking.
Book 1 of a completed dark LitRPG trilogy. Full-cast audiobook available.
About the series: Multi-POV death game with real stakes, morally gray protagonists, dark humor, dependence upon tech, real human connection, the elites who control everything, and the ones who fight back.
Tropes
Trapped in a Death Game AI Uprising Found Family Reluctant Hero Morally Gray Protagonist Class Warfare Zombie Apocalypse Permadeath Dark Humor IsekaiFor fans of Dungeon Crawler Carl, Ready Player One, and Sword Art Online
Reader Reviews
A wild, darkly funny take on the LitRPG apocalypse.
The story balances dark stakes with a surprising amount of humor, and the mix of characters keeps things entertaining, from the ambitious Mindt to Butterknife trying to fix the mess he helped create. I especially liked the absurd but memorable moments, like the 77-year-old berserker in a tutu.
satire and suspense
Nouscraft felt like Ready Player One colliding with Black Mirror, sprinkled with Dungeon Crawler Carl's chaotic energy. Clever, fast-paced, and highly entertaining.
Brilliant! Quirky and serious and completely original!
It's serious and quirky and entertaining all rolled together... and frighteningly, perhaps even a warning about what could happen to our world with the advent of AI. Five enthusiastic stars!
