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LaLiga Santander

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YouTube Channel

Canal oficial de LaLiga Santander en YouTube. No te pierdas detalle de todos los resúmenes de la...

Sony AF8 OLED Smart TV

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Step ever closer to reality See how our latest OLED screen, processor and sound technologies come...

Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, #1)

Stacia Kane

6.8 (4 Ratings) Rate It

Book

THE DEPARTED HAVE ARRIVED. The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living...

Ross (3284 KP) rated Death March (Euphoria Online Book 1) in Books

Nov 19, 2018

Death March (Euphoria Online Book 1)

Phil Tucker | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Thrilling, compelling LitRPG

I am a massive fan of Phil Tucker's Chronicles of the Black Gate series and was intrigued at this venture, largely funded by kickstarter.
While the term "LitRPG" isn't necessarily something that would attract me (I've read and mostly enjoyed Ready Player One but the idea of people escaping the real world to enter an online one doesn't seem to justify a whole sub-genre to my mind).
The book sees Chris struggling to make ends meet teaching disinterested kids while he fights his brother's death sentence. A former compulsive gamer, given the chance to enter the world of Euphoria, normally too expensive for him to consider, he throws himself into the game with gusto. By playing on the hardest level (Death March), he is risking his own life as he cannot re-spawn in the game and death will mean actual death for him. The prize on offer for this risk, if he can survive 6 months game-time (the equivalent of a weekend in the real world), is a cash sum plus the chance to request anything at all of the AI running the government - including a pardon for his brother.
Chris finds himself in a ruined medieval setting in the game, struggling to earn points to level up and make his character stronger. This levelling up and earning/spending XP is a main part of the book. While not a RPG fan myself, I loved this aspect as it meant he learned new skills and abilities throughout the book with good reason (so no sudden new strengths here!) and he had to choose what kind of character he wanted to become.
The action sequences are sublimely written and narrated and the whole book is so immersive. Sadly, it is also really short so was over in no time, but with 2 more books already available I will get cracking on those.
Heartily recommend to anyone who is a fan of fantasy, gaming/RPG or anyone looking for some real escapism.

Kudos

Ross (3284 KP) rated Awaken Online: Precipice in Books

Jan 14, 2019

Awaken Online: Precipice

Travis Bagwell | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

10.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

Fantastic follow-up LitRPG

Jason continues his playing of Awaken Online, the massive multiplayer online RPG. Now the ruler of a city of zombies, he has more concerns than simply levelling up his skills and getting new loot.
I was worried this change in fortunes might lead to a more boring, admin-focused book (much like what happened with Phil Tucker's Euphoria Online). Thankfully this is not the case, as Jason hits on a way to keep his undead population count up, but also have some fun, by venturing into some unexplored dungeons.
He does this with his real-world friends Frank and Riley, which adds a different element to the action, as he can use and rely on other people and their skills added into the mix make for a much more interesting sequence of conflicts.
We are treated to a number of large-scale battles on the way to the dungeon, and within it. The way Jason's strategy is worked out and implemented make it a truly immersive, thrilling read.
As with the first book, the start of each chapter contains an excerpt of someone else's view, either the game developers, or other players. This adds context to Jason's story and allows you to see consequences and foresee some issues.
As well as this, we see Jason in the real world, though less than in the first book. There are moments where decisions made in-game have real world consequences, either impacting friendships or leading to nastiness and bullying.
The fact that Jason decides to become "the villain" is a little hard to take, as apart from the very early stages, all of his decisions have been made out of him trying to do the right thing for himself/others and this is even more the case in this book.
Aside from a few grammer crimes, continuity errors and head-scratching game mechanics, this was a very enjoyable exciting read.