BuyMort: Grand Opening: How I Became the Accidental Warlord of Arizona

Shopocalypse Saga, Book 1

By: Damien Hanson, Joseph Phelps

Narrated by: Wayne Mitchell

Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Some predicted that the AI singularity would result in robots destroying the world. None of them ever understood that it was the sales algorithms they had to be afraid of.

After the arrival of the multiversal monopoly BuyMort, life got brutal. All systems were through BuyMort. All currency was through BuyMort. All sales were through BuyMort. You could resist, you could compete, but it didn’t really matter because in the end you used BuyMort—or you perished. BuyMort be praised.

But not everyone’s happy with the new system. Some, even, want to see it destroyed.

It’s quick. It’s convenient. And it will help people kill you and your family as readily as it will help them sell you knickknacks for a quick mortie. Because BuyMort doesn’t care about anything except the bottom line.

Enter Tyson Dawes, a no-cares slacker with a traumatic past, two wrinkled bucks in his wallet, and a crap job caretaking a crap campground in the desert sands of Arizona. He had a deal with the world. He didn’t change it, and it didn’t change him. Seemed simple enough. He liked it, anyway.

BuyMort changed all that the moment it let loose a torrent of alien entrepreneurs upon his planet, intent on selling everything that hadn’t been tagged through the system and classified as his private property.

When a man has little, he cherishes it. When that little is lost, he’ll do whatever it takes and change into whatever he needs to be able to get that little bit back.

©2022 Damien Hanson and Joseph Phelps (P)2023 Podium Audio

Very entertaining

I see that this is classified as "LitRPG" but I'm not a gamer and this is my first foray into the genre, so I don't know if this is a good example or not.
Given this background (or lack thereof) I thought it was a great post apocalyptic SciFi book, chock full of dark humor. The protagonist is a slacker working at an RV park who is thrust into a new insane reality and slowly comes to realize he needs to get off his butt and face this new reality or he's not going to be around for very long.
I wasn't sure I liked the narrator at first, but once I understood the characters better, I understood his style better and came to like it. By the end of this first in the series, I was ready for more. Lucky for me, Part 2 is out and I can't wait to crack it open. (so to speak) You know, Nu-Earth humans have the strangest idioms...

Good start

this is the first book in a series that has several already written. it's a good book. I hate that audible makes me do this for a review.

Oh yeah!

This story is hilarious and exactly what I needed. The narration might not be for everyone but I enjoyed it. The pacing, concepts and multiverse that’s been crafted here is right up your alley if you like alien invasions and crazy systems being integrated into everyday tasks like making a call.

Do yourself a favor and spend the credit, you’ll be in for a fun ride.

loved it.

I really enjoyed the book. and though I hadn't heard anything ny the narrator before, I really enjoyed the narration as well.

So good that I might actually "read" book 2

Be a good shopper and buy this one ...very DCC type story without the reality/game show or "damn it Donut" elements. would be a solid streaming series that is easier to pull off than what the DCC one is going to take given how the story is rolled out.

seriously...Get thru day one and you won't regret the credit or cash spent on it.

given there is a sneak peak I hope book 2 comes out quick without any of the Kickstarter mechanics.

The narrator is elite ...nothing more I can add.

Bit of a slow start, but awesome adventure!

This book had a bit of a slow start in that the MC was a little frustrating, and I'm not one to say that often. He's slow to act and slow to explore the new system, and flashbacks and internal monologue conflicts with this attitude, which was what made it so frustrating. However, this specific aspect was definitely intentional and added quite a bit of depth and improved the experience overall by the end. The book picks up about halfway through, and I greatly look forward to listening to the next book and seeing how the story unfolds!

Overall, this book wasn't completely amazing in that it had the slow start and wasn't really "unputdownable", but there were quite a few truly unique aspects to the system, characters, and plot. I definitely enjoy the different consumerism/item based system, and it has a very "dungeon crawler carl" feel to it in the insanity of everything going on and the tongue in cheek humor. However, I did find the intrusive ads and system messages to be quite frustrating by the end, which accurately captures the MC's experience, so I don't really see it as a bad thing. Based on the latter half of the book, I believe the subsequent books will be exactly in-line with what I am looking for.

Wayne Mitchell does a great job with all of the male characters and very non-human characters, though I was wishing for a narrator collaboration with Reba Buhr as he's done before: some of the female character voices were actually a little ambiguous as to who was talking since they were women with deep voices and sounded a bit too close to the MC. Wayne Mitchell is great with the gritty fight scenes, and I think based on how the MC is developing, this will make the subsequent books particularly awesome.

just can't wait for the next audio book

this was great it scratched so many itches I've had for a good scifi book as of late and just can't wait for the next in the series

A fresh idea!

A fresh litrpg (ish) idea is not only uncommon but a great opportunity for something great. The author does pretty well with his idea, but frankly there is alot of weirdness and repetition. The snake priestess bit makes me pretty uncomfortable especially because of her role and the main characters dislike of buy-mort. That said the book is a pretty good time once you get past those few things, and i do overall recommend it.

The main character is likeable, as well as his relationship with those around him. So much of the cast of characters will give you an impression of them being one dimensional at first glance but the author does do a fantastic job of giving you insight into them and their lives, as well as making you like some of them even though you don't want to! Plus, doofus is a good boy.

BUT! The narrator is, im sorry to him or those who like him BEYOND GRATING! He chews the scenery with every single word, shouting out EVERY single WORD in certain sentences. Alot of his voices are good and fun, and others are beyond grating. BUT WHEN HE GETS TO CERTAIN SCENES ESPECIALLY ACTION SCENES. he loud yelling and over-pronunciation reminds me less of an audio-book and more like a children's play. Please, please tone it down in future books.

As well, a star deducted for a "free" preview. Its not free, time is part of what i judge when using a credit.

good premise, narration cheesy

Narrator somehow managed to sound drunk and stoned at the same time. Eye rolling female voice. If you can stomach the overly enthusiastic narration, you might enjoy this audio book.

Dungeon Crawler Carl, but also not

Lots of comparisons to Dungeon Crawler Carl, and I get it, the stories have a similar tone, but if that is your expectation, you will be disappointed. The story is good in its own right. The narrator isn't as good as Jeff Hays, but he is okay at 1.3 speed. The main character isn't as compelling as Carl, but besides some minor plot armor doesn't have a major flaw. However, the story (as crazy as the buymort system is) is actually better than the dungeon Crawler story (at face value, it remains to be seen if the author can build the word beyond the initial introduction). Assuming the story doesn't fall flat in book 2, this is worth a read.