INDIE BOOK REVIEW - PAXOR 7 OMNIBUS by BEN MEEKS

INDIE BOOK REVIEW 

PAXOR 7 OMNIBUS EDITION 

BY BEN MEEKS

REVIEW WRITTEN BY JOE COMPTON

PUBLISHED BY SIDESTREET PUBLISHING
PUBLISHED ON FEB 16TH, 2026
438 PAGES
GENRE(s): LIT RPG/ACTION-ADVENTURE/SCIFI

This is a review of firsts for me: 1st time reading a LitRPG novel, although I contend it might not be after all; more on that later in this review. This is the 1st time reviewing an Omnibus, and my 1st time reading something from the author Ben Meeks. 

I have to say, I don't know if all LitRPGs are going to do what this one did for me, because I do think this has more to do with the way Ben Meeks writes than with the format. In fact, to be fully candid and transparent, I found the format a tad distracting, to the point where I started skipping most of the looting gear stat info. What I focused on was what I found to be an incredible strength of Ben's writing: his innate ability to put you in the shoes of characters and still bring about this grand sense of wonderment, mixed in with some intrigue, some sarcasm, and a sentient being that has all the makings of needing their own series. 

I loved how we twisted and turned with Jeremiah as Spector. There was something about his poise to trust his gut and intellect that served as a nice comfort blanket. His tact, which had the perfect pitch to it, really worked well to allow room for going for it and even failing, a lot but still showing the growth to learn from those mistakes. I think the age of the person playing the character gave us so much more to be free with and enjoy the exploration more. Ben does an incredible job, in a world where being stuck is more prevalent than being dead, of building tension, providing stakes, and giving us as readers reasons to care.

I also appreciate how well, even in a fictional setting within a fictional book, Ben took heed of the one group he represented most in this design: the Marines. Now I am not sure how much research Ben did or didn't do, but the mere fact that he had the respect to know that when Marines talk to other Marines, we call each other "Marine" is a testament to how details can keep someone who was a Marine, in the story and rather than cringe every time I would read a misnomer. Also, the fact he rarely used soldier is an awesome little detail that only us Marines would give two shits about, but nonetheless I will appreciate it here. Though I will say, with a tad bit of nitpicking, he could have mixed in a "Devildog" and an "ooh-rah," here and there, especially in some of the mission scenes that resulted in success, but I will let those minute details slide and take the victories where I can get them.    

Beyond Jeremiah, Buttons steals the show for me, especially when they are upgraded to a combat companion. I love that all of a sudden we go from a silent piece of metal to Billy Rosewood (You haven't seen Beverly Hills Cop, educate yourselves) with a a few minor upgrades.  I love the shift, I love the campiness, it feels appropriate for the world, for the genre, and for this story. One of those characters you can see the one people cosplay as or say is their favorite with some its lines on a t-shirt. 

I do feel like their are limitations here. Even though Ben tries to be a good writer and produce some inner monologuing and give us some depths of feel and pacing, there is a lot of what feels like starts and stops and in some cases incompleteness. Where if this was a fish out of water straight up novel, when Spector comes across some of the players he mentors in the game, moments like waiting for something to happen and then you get these rich character reveals through dialogue or someone looking at a picture they carry with them would happen. That kind of richness doesn't exist here except for one nice moment at the bar and the narrative suffers a little bit for me in that regard. I do feel like more so though that is a product of staying true to the genre and not an indictment of Ben's writing.

The fact we got any little bit of that at all is a testament of how Ben stays true to the craft and defies the genre conventions. I appreciate what we did get. There is a little more to the NPC's here and when Ben writes them you get a clear picture of the characters in your mind without hesitation. It also plays a great role in how Spector manages the game and when his comfort level grows so does the personality of those NPC characters and I like how that reads here.

All that to say I am not so sure I am sold on LitRPG as a genre that I would go back too. I mentioned this is technically my 1st read through of something labeled LitRPG but I feel like these read like the "Choose Your Own Adventures" back in the day. I get a very similar detachment from reality with those. Which is nice every once in while. Not everything needs to have a thespian or deep conversation associated with it. Though I would contend there was more meat on this bone thrown away for the sake of genre then didn't exist at all. Like I could see a scene in which Jeremiah comes through versus Spector and with all this being as overwhelming as it is and just crawls in a corner and loses it from the loneliness and depth of his dire situation. It strikes me as not something you would see in this genre though and that's okay, The world needs Michael Bay movies as much as it needs Ingmar Bergman movies. 

Though I would contend you can see where this story does try to not just give you Michael Bay and a little more Michael Mann. Ben is a talented writer I can't wait to read something in a space that more conventional from him because I think his style which shows enough here is one I would enjoy.   

If you are a fan of stories like Edge of Tomorrow or are old like me and remember Choose Your Own Adventure books, I think you would really dig a trip to Paxor 7. I enjoyed the getaway myself. 

YOU CAN GRAB YOUR COPY HERE OF THE OMNIBUS: