Nullform #1 Audiobook By Dem Mikhailov, Mariah Frances Astulfi - translator cover art

Nullform #1

Nullform Series, Book 1

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Nullform #1

By: Dem Mikhailov, Mariah Frances Astulfi - translator
Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
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About this listen

In this world, everyone starts with no memory and no recollection of their past life. In this world, you have nothing - even your limbs are rented, and you'll have to pay up every day. In this world, you must complete tasks assigned to you by the System or be fined and stripped of everything, including your arms and legs. In this world, you're under unrelenting supervision. But in dark corners hidden from the System's watchful eye, violence, brutality, and lawlessness abound.

In this world, you're assigned a number. You're a volitional Nullform. Now it's up to you to adapt to this reality and try to survive without ending up crippled. Just don't mess up, or you'll be wishing you were dead as you dig yourself deeper into an endless pit of debt. This world will not take pity on you. You'll have to work tirelessly to earn the right to live another day....

©2021 Dem Mikhailov; English translation copyright 2021 by Mariah Astulfi (P)2021 Tantor
Fantasy Fiction

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well...

this was unexpectedly great. awesome narrator, weird story that i enjoyed thoroughly. I'm looking forward to the next one!

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I LOVE THIS SERIES!

You have to go into this blind, theirs just too much crazy shit in this world to describe, but I assure you, its an interestingly fun ride. The people in the story are crazy assholes, but likeable. Not your typical LitRPG, but the style is there, but not as cliched. Plus, can we give it up for Jeffrey Kafer killing the narration! Every voice is different and I can clearly tell the difference between all the characters which is all you can really want when you see one narrator.

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Surprisingly it turned into something very unique

it was a very odd start to a story but that was refreshing to me anyway an after this first book there's still tons of unanswered questions, can't tell where it's going next which is exciting, an the narrator is a favorite of mine so even better.

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loved cheering on the protagonist and his group

I loved hearing the internal monologuing of the protagonist when figuring out how to earn more money. I did not like hearing blow up and die every 5 minutes. kinda cringe.

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Give it a listen

Jeffrey Kafer is one of my favorite narrators and I searched for books he’s read and found this one. Wow! What an amazing story.

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Dark, Brutal, and Intruging

This review is going to be a bit odd, because the books in this series are weird. They're really short, and book one is free to boot. Rather than giving them each a review, I'm going to review the whole series here, on my review of book one. For reference, I only got to about a quarter into book five, which is roughly 38 hours of story, and halfway through the series.

Okay, so, overall, this setting is fantastic. Brutally motivated people trapped in a dying artificial world. In an interesting change of pace, the governing system seems to be doing its best to keep everyone alive and happy, and the current situation of grimdark misery where your limbs are rented commodities is a result of necessary resource budgeting. As we get further into the series, we get glimpses of the desperate measures that have been taken to stave off the decay of the artificial world, and we get little hints at the horrors that forced this to be a fate worth volunteering for.

The characters are mostly good as well. Many have turned to abusing what little power they have, with no future in sight and the reality of being a limbless worm just around the corner. Still, kindness has not been lost, and people still cling to scraps of humanity, protecting friends and loved ones, and perhaps giving a handout to a beggar now and then. Our protagonists are forced to adapt and overcome their terrible situations, and the whole thing feels so human and believable that I never had to suspend my disbelief for any character interaction.

The narration is really good, as is much of the prose and dialog. I could practically see the dingy, dirty hallways these people live in, and could imagine the squirming wretches that were the limbless worms. There are a few cases of painfully expository dialog, but they were few and far between.

However, when all is said and done, I DO NOT recommend this series. The characters may be believable and human, the world may be complex and interesting, and the writing may be good, but the main character is ultimately a detriment to the story.


So, our protagonist, Elb, is a pretty interesting case, at first. He's driven, confident, morally outraged at the situation, and perfectly willing to risk his life to make things better. Like everyone else, his memories are gone, so he's pretty much building himself from the ground up. For most of books one through three, he's a great driving force in the plot, seeking out ways to acquire power, and using it to right the wrongs in this rotting world, hunting down slavers, cannibals, and even small-time bullies.

But the thing is, as he gets more and more power, and as he gets exposed to more and more situations, something becomes very clear. Elb is a piece of shit. He's cruel, callous, self-centered, and utterly unconcerned with anyone else's opinions or feelings. He has no concept of honor, and has no qualms about anything, from torture to cold-blooded execution. He's got an ego to make Narcissus blush, and is the most foul mouthed person I've ever read about.

He technically has a "live and let live" policy, but immediately jump to torture and killing over a verbal slight (Remember, limbs are an EXTREMELY valuable commodity in the world, and those who lose them are explicitly doomed to the worst sort of life). He takes pleasure in scalping people, and will crush someone's genitals to pulp just for the sin of belonging to a neutral faction. He makes no consideration for the station of others, and will thoughtlessly insult people who he really cannot afford to alienate. The only reason he doesn't get killed out of hand before the end of book two is sheer luck and plot armor.

The concept of other people deserving any modicum of respect or them having things they care about is foreign to him, and this includes his companions. He views them as nothing more than tools, and constantly attempts to mold them into obedient soldiers for him to command. There's a strong correlation between how "well trained and experienced" he considers his friends, and how little they're willing to offer their opinions. He views subordinating their personalities to his as progress towards them being worthy of following him.

As mentioned previously, he's also driven. Insanely driven. He actively intends to die pursuing his goals, and expects all his friends to die with him. He has no intention to find a happy ending, and actively scorns the concept of trying to live a fulfilling life. He isn't even a "enjoy the journey" type of person. He seems to just hate the world, hate his life, and hate the idea of not hating everything. And if his companions are unwilling to abandon any chance at happiness and join him on a nebulous and likely impossible crusade, then he cuts them loose. And while he claims it's in the "This is for your own good" sort of way, the subtext very clearly shows that it's actually the "You worthless trash" sort of way.

The only reason it took me five books to realize that Elb is a terrible person with no sense of empathy, honor, human decency, or any other redeeming qualities is that, for most of the series, he's surrounded by people who are worse. In a very real sense, his only virtue is not being as evil as the cannibal slaving rapists he fights.


Eventually, I became disgusted with him and couldn't read the series any further. By the beginning of book five, I had no faith that I would enjoy seeing the world from this monster's twisted perspective. The only thing he seems interested in doing is causing suffering, and as the story progressed, we moved away from those who it was fun to see him hurt and torment. I could be certain that anyone I liked in the story would either be killed, cut loose, or beaten down until they viewed the world from the same hateful lense as Elb.

This series is 100% a grimdark story, and if that's your thing, this is great for you. Otherwise, I'd give this a hard pass.

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