An interesting take on both Greek mythology and the LitRPG genre

In a lot of LitRPG book the levelling system is sort of a crutch. There’s a lot of focus on levelling, on what talents to pick and everything is kind of directed through that. The same cannot be said for Kairos: The Last Gods. In fact for a lot of the book you could be forgiven for forgetting that the levelling system was there at all. There’s no keeping track of experience points or working out how much you can get. Every so often, once the main characters have performed some impressive feat, a message will pop up saying that they’ve got a level. A character saving up skill points so they could unlock a specific class is the most indepth we get with it.

Well that and the legends, which leads us into the unique and interesting take on Greek Mythology.

This is set in a world where humanity rose up and overthrew the Greek Pantheon. In doing so they gained access to the LitRPG System that gave them their powers. The world also flooded as a result of their actions, leaving humanity based on a bunch of islands that used to be mountains. Everyone can level themselves up to a certain point but to go beyond they have to gain a legend. I’m not sure if they can be gained by just doing mighty deeds or if you have to kill a previous holder of a legend. It was suggested the latter, but the former seems to be more the case.

It’s a really interesting setting and the writer takes full advantage of it. There’s a nice change of opinion through the book about the overthrow of the Gods as the main character reflects on it. A lot of inspiration has been taken from shows like Rome so there’s plotting, alliances, and politics aplenty. There’s just also monsters and magic. And it definitely feels like a living world, with things happening independent of Kairos, the titular main character.

Speaking of Kairos, as a character he is fine. Mostly what you’d expect from a LitRPG hero, he charges at challenges and seeks to build both his own personal legend and his country. The side characters are much more interesting. There’s a nice spattering of those who remember the old world and those born into the new, each with their own unique view on things. I especially liked the character arc of Cassandra, the first mate. 

I believe this is a web serial, though I haven’t read anything outside of this book. As such it’s definitely building to something bigger on the horizon. But I found it very well paced. Yes, it’s fairly long at 704 or so pages but it has a definite arc and it ends at a nice point. I’m looking forward to reading the next book but I don’t feel like I’ve been left on an unfortunate cliff-hanger, which is occasionally the case with web serial adaptations.

All in all Kairos was a fun read and I’m looking forward to reading more.