Το Ενδιάμεσο Βασίλειο: Η Κατάρα

The Realm Between #1

by Phoenix Grey, Στέφανος Καράμπαλης (Translator)

Πεταμένος σε έναν φανταστικό κόσμο γεμάτο εφιαλτικά τέρατα, σε έναν κόσμο με μαγικά που προκαλούν δέος, σε έναν κόσμο με πολύ περισσότερο περπάτημα απ' ό,τι πίστευε, ο Γουίλ πρέπει να περιηγηθεί στους κινδύνους του Βασιλείου και να ξεδιαλύνει το μυστήριο του πώς βρέθηκε εκεί και πώς θα βγει από εκεί. Η φαντασία συναντά τις συνέπειες της πραγματικής ζωής σε ένα παιχνίδι που μπορεί να σημαίνει τη διαφορά μεταξύ ζωής και θανάτου. Αλλά πρώτα, ο Γουίλ πρέπει να ξεπεράσει το γεγονός ότι είναι νουμπάς...

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Fiction, Magic, Role Playing Games, Science Fiction, High Fantasy

302 pages, ebook

Published June 17, 2023

About the author

Phoenix Grey is the super secret nerd pen name of a USA Today bestselling author. She currently lives in a secluded podunk town outside of San Antonio, Texas where she can hermit away while working on books and playing video games. When she's not busy plotting her world domination, she can be found hosting game nights at the local comic book store or checking out the latest recommended anime.

She loves hearing from and interacting with fans, so feel free to stalk her in the following ways:

1. Phoenix Grey's Mailing List: http://www.subscribepage.com/TheRealm...
Sign up to learn when the next installment of The Realm Between is coming out.

2. The Realm Between's Facebook page: fb.me/TheRealmBetweenLitRPG

3. Phoenix Grey's Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Phoen...

4. Phoenix Grey's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxd...

Reviews

[Rebecka · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reasons I didn't like this book:

MC was morally ambivalent, not a good hero to cheer for or an evil villain to be chocked by. Just a selfish, spoiled dude that never really does anything bad, but only reluctantly does something good. Why couldn't he just have been a "normal good guy"? It was so hard to like him.

MC is passive and never shows any initiative or drive

MC is stupid and can't put two and two together

The time in-game is repetitive and boring

It felt like a really bad psychological thriller a lot of the time

The hints and foreshadowing were so big they blocked out the sun. Too bad our MC is blind and stupid.

No likable characters. I mean, not a single one.

Why are all the women mothers or girlfriends? Or victims. Or helpless.


Yay, let's throw in some rape....

I take it the author has read Goblin slayer for inspiration?

Ah, and why not throw in a "no homo" moment for good measure? (These scenes are all too common , at least in the genres I read) That moment our MC assures us he's NOT GAY. With horror. But of course he's all for them gays it's just he likes BOOBS! Only. No men! I don't get it.... the author chooses to write in a scene like that and I don't understand why when there hasn't even been a hint of homosexuality in the book. It just feels insulting, out of the blue. Like being thought of as gay by someone would be such a bad thing. It's so horrible you have to blurt out how straight you are immideatly. Usually mentioning boobs or something similar.

The pacing was off and there's no build up of tension toward the end

...the end. Well, I guess all we won't be getting ANY answers until the next book because the story just ends. I struggled to finish this book, but I hoped until the end that something clever would happen. It doesn't. It's stupid all the way through.

Who would create such a shallow game world? You have a village, a farm and two camps. You can walk for days without seeing anything. It's an island but there is never any ocean, fishing boats or ships. We never get to know any lore. It's just so.... boring.

The game system is unbalanced and boring. (You can level up by killing bunnies, so why isn't everything high level?) There's magic but we don't get to see more than glimpses of it. There's loot, but 99% trash tier. There are quests, but only one at a time? No side quests?

[Steve · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh...started out good.

Started out ok but lots of really unnecessary swearing just bogged it down. Then right at the end, one of the main characters makes a same-sex pass at the main character and killed the minimal interest I had in the series. I don't read books to get bombarded with political crap, religious crap, LGTB crap, or excessive sexual crap.

I was planning to read the next book but the last 10 pages pushed me from 3 stars to 1, and I think I'll just check out something else instead.

[Chris Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

All around disappointing I'm afraid. The set up for The Realm Between is pretty much the same as Sword Art Online: Project Alicization Manga #1. The MC has an accident and is put into a game to recover. Unfortunately, the LitRPG aspect it's self is really bland really has nothing to set it apart from dozens of other generic fantasy setting stories. This is a real shame since he had the opportunity to weave the medical recovery aspect into it. Grey tries to set it up too, saying his recovery will be dependent on him completing certain tasks and what not. This never happens. Not only is he mentally completely functional from the word go, but none of the quests seem to have to do with healing at all.

Here's what could have been done. Say, before the game starts, the system analyzes his brain and determines he has damage to his Motor Function, Emotional Area, Wernicke's area, and Higher Mental Functions.



Have him starts off with detriments in those areas to reflect the rl damage and allow the reader to get a real sense of his progression. (maybe have the system artificially augment the damaged areas so he's functional)

Then, the system gives him quests and create situations to simulate those areas. Make him not know the primary language of the realm so he has to try to learn it, simulating the Wernicke's Area. Give him crafting class quests to Stimulate the Higher Mental Functions, Combat training and quests for the Motor Functions, and the Emotional Area gives a good excuse to have things like the demon that stimulate fear or a reason to have an NPC love interest.

On top of that, this book doesn't really have a conclusion, it's just a setup for a sequel with no payoff in this story.

[Douglas · Rating 1 out of 5]

I listened to an audio book that isn't currently listed on Goodreads.com so I am placing my review here.

I had a love/hate relationship with this book from the beginning until the book ended in the middle of the first major quest for the MC. There is no excuse for ending a book like this and it shows a complete lack of professionalism and basic competency. Honestly no one should ever waste their time on book by this author given how terrible this book was.

The complete lack of basic storytelling makes my other points moot but, since I have additional points, I may as well relate them. First the author spends a lot of time on a setting up the MC in the real world, his job hunt, finding a great job only to become bored with it and start to fail at the most basic task- showing up on time. Worse the job takes him away from his girlfriend, who eventually dumps him. I didn't check, but all of this felt like the first 1/4 of the book and it is all made meaningless when the MC becomes permanently (essentially) locked into a virtual reality with no access to the outside world.

Next the author constantly teases that one of the main NPCs is either bad or misunderstood and the author doesn't do it well. This whole "is he bad or not" story line became tiresome in about 10 pages and the author drags it out for the whole book.

Finally the MC is just stupid. To be fair the MC is fairly smart on a page by page basis but he never attempts to actually understand the world he is living in. For example, the MC discusses eventually going to a magic school on the mainland but never asks for any information about the mainland, the school, or even the island he is currently on. By all appearances, as the book ends the MC has taken on a quest he is unqualified for and he has never asked "Is there a government that can send troops to help?" or any one of 10,000 other questions: Any other adventurers who can help? Any guilds or magic users? Etc.

Bottom line: This book showed such a lack of basic storytelling nobody should ever waste their time on it.

[Mary Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite an engaging and lengthy story that was an enjoyable read. Following an accident, Will is unexpectedly cast into The Realm and suddenly his life takes on a new meaning, for which he is initially ill equipped. Will thinks he is in a game, but as time goes by, he begins to wonder if being on Crescent Island has been his real life all along and not the dream he thinks it is.

Positions at Radical Interactive were highly sought after and even though they were not a gaming company, Will accepts their offer to be a beta tester; finally he is going to get a shot at his dream, not realizing what he has actually signed up for. Will had moved away to take this job, leaving his family, girlfriend and friends behind because his career took precedence. After a while Will’s passion begins to wear off with the repetition of his job, leaving him bored. Will hadn’t really made any friends since moving away and to stave off his loneliness would often plug himself into a game at night and get lost in the fantasy world. Will liked to pretend that the games were real, while his real life was nothing but a make believe nightmare. When Will’s girlfriend of 6-years tells him she has met someone else, he feels like everything is falling apart around him. Will knocks himself out while helping a neighbor; now in a coma his unconscious body is the property of Radical Interactive. As Will wakes up on Crescent Island, it is as if his life before that moment didn’t exist. If not for the screen popping up in his vision, Will likely never would have known he was inside a game, so decides to play along. Yet everything looks and feels so real; it is like he has woken up in a different world. Will changes his name to Azure and together with Uden, a half-imp, and his brother Lonnell, the three set out on various adventures to find out who is responsible for the curse that is plaguing Crescent Island. Azure has a lot to learn, but is rewarded with each Quest he completes; he also has choices to make, but will they be the right ones. But not everything is as it should be and Will has to learn to use his instincts if he is to survive. A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and my comments here are my honest opinion.

[Rachel Tilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I enjoyed this book. I'm pretty sure I did. I read it over a couple of hours without putting it down.

The world building was what made it, with the levelling system detailed enough to be interesting but simple enough to remember without having to keep flicking back and forth.

It would have been nice to have a non-pointless female character.

The ending...Well, it felt like this story was just stopped part way through, but I will be tracking down book 2 (or should I say, the next installment of book 1).

Overall, 5* based on entertainment value and its ability to keep me interested.

[Wolfgarr · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was decently written (No obvious issues with grammar and spelling) +1 star
The MC is a clueless idiot -4 stars

Got to about half of the second book in the series and had enough..
Just so much i can stand now days of morons thinking they know better...Despite everyone and their brother telling said moron that it is a really bad idea to do something..
And then acting like it wasn't a big deal when their bad choices ended up costing others. Like oh well .. Sucks to be you.. At least i came out ok.. In two words (Selfish moron) << That was my breaking point

[Soo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notes:

Yay for Libraries!

The series showed up as a result for Gamelit. The installment is more of an episode vs a well fleshed out mini-arc within a larger arc. Characters & setting are fairly generic LitRPG. I'll check out the next book because my library has the series.

[Nikos Chaldogeridis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ένα βιβλίο βγαλμένο από την αγαπημένη μου κατηγορία anime τα isekai. Που ένας άνθρωπος όταν πεθαίνει πηγαίνει σε έναν κόσμο γεμάτο μαγεία και περιπέτεια.

Μου άρεσαν όλα, η πλοκή , το στήσιμο,  οι χαρακτήρες, βλέπουμε διαφορετικές φυλές εκτός από τους ανθρώπους. Έχει μέσα πολύ ωραίες αποστολές, μάχες, αρχίζει να μαθαίνει τον καινούργιο κόσμο και μέσα σε αυτό ανακαλύπτει καινούργιες δυνα��ότητες.

[NiteHaze · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not badly written and honestly there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it but it lacks a spark.
I didn't really enjoy the MC to be honest he grated on my nerves he just kept whining about everything.

[Brad Theado · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. A lot of it dragged on so I skimmed a lot of it

[Martha Steele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started out amazing but didn't deliver. If I had read a hard copy the Constant reviewing of stats wouldn't have been so annoying.

[Jon Kolbeinsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fear I have guessed the plot/twist for the coming book… Anyway nice read for all D&D players.

[Jacob Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this audiobook at no-cost from the author in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book is the bread and butter of LitRPG. It's a solid work that doesn't push any boundaries. It's quintessential LitRPG; you will get your hero's numbers going up, you'll have a good time, and sometimes that's all you need. The premise behind the MC getting trapped in the game is one of the more unique methods that I've seen which I really enjoyed.

The plot is solid, fairly standard starting zone MMORPG questline stuff. That being said it's not written in a way to be boring, more along the lines of familiar. The stats are frankly minimal, which for audiobookers tends to be the preference, though I'm aware that's not universal.

The narration is solid, I've had no issues with it. Even sped up to 2.5x speed it and the story still flow in an easily followed way. The writing feels natural and conveys the main character's thoughts and emotions well.

Speaking of the main character, he's very relatable, though at times I think he might be too much of a blank slate. This is great for when you want a little bit of the ability to lose yourself into the role of the MC. Looking for strong character growth and development this falls a bit flat, though this is very much a first book and I really look forward to seeing any consequences of the technology Phoenix Grey has created for the series.

Overall, this was a solid book that fulfills the hunger for LitRPG well. It's not pushing the boundaries of what LitRPG is, but it stands firmly in the genre and I'd feel comfortable recommending it to anyone interested in the genre.

[Tolla · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, I got to chapter 5 of the book before I just... couldn't anymore. The MC seemed to be pretty dumb, and the book kept going over things again and again, explaining the basics of things over and over. I can really only handle so much of a book treating me like I've never heard of a game before.

There was a spot near the end of ch 2 where a cat got hurt, and thats like, a trigger for me, I guess? I almost had to put it down there, so.. yeah.

The first... 3? 4? chapters of the book were setting up in the real world, which was pointless because if he ever comes back to the real world, it'll be in the final book. But I honestly thing it will never happen, so why waste all that time with the un-needed backstory?

The MC was also just annoying, like, the other characters will ask him a question about his menus or something, and then he'll just stare at them like an open-mouthed idiot, instead of saying something like 'oh, let me check.'. At one point someone asked him a question, and he got so distracted looking at his reflection in a mirror that he flexed at himself- rightfully annoying the other character.

He was also dumb, like when he was learning to shoot a bow and arrow. The arrow had a durability 1/1. Okay. He uses it. It disappears. (because now the durability is 0/1) and it took him forever to put two and two together. He knows he's in a game. But he still asked 'Oh! What happened!?' The durability ran out, dumba**.

[Tory · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a review of the audiobook version.
This is the first book I've listened to from author Phoenix Grey and the first audiobook I've listened to narrated by Neil Hellegers. The book starts off slow with real world events going on for awhile before the main character even arrives in the game with the most exciting thing in that segment being how the character came to end up there though that wasn't fleshed out very much. Most of the events in the book feel very familiar. There were parts where it felt like i had suddenly missed something so I would go back and re-listen to for several minutes only to find out that no it just suddenly changed mid sentence like something had been cut out. The main character doesn't have much depth but the supporting characters are a little interesting. The narrator does a good job of bringing the characters to life. The book kind of drags on only to end in a way that makes it feel like half of a book due to the fact that the initial quest chain and events aren't resolved. I wanted to like this book so I may check out the next one to see how it resolves which may cause me to change my rating on this but for now I can't really give it a higher rating.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was interested in reading this book because it was free and I love to read. Just being honest. I actually enjoyed it more than I thought it would. (I'm not really into young adult gaming type stories unless they are written by Drew Hayes). This book started off with me already disliking the main character. He seemed to be a bit of a whiny brat and I wasn't sure if I even wanted to finish. But I agreed to read it in exchange for a review so I wanted to fulfill my obligation. It picked up once he arrived in the Realm and I was glad I kept going! I liked the world building and the characters especially Uden and Azure. There is action and humor and I totally loved the sarcastic zingers the characters kept throwing around. The author had me fooled because I thoughtI had the villain figured out and knew who it was but I was so very wrong. I would really like to read more, to see what happens to everyone especially Uden. I have added Phoenix Grey to my author's to watch list so I will be looking for more from her.

[jerry smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was written by a woman who has absolutely no idea how men think. Evidently she thinks that men are just women with outies instead of innies. This wouldn't be so bad if not for the fact that this book is completely about male characters. All the main character does is wring his (her?) hands about his troubled thoughts and feelings. Men do not have feelings. We only pretend that we do to placate women into having sex with us. This author should only write about female characters from now on as she has no clue how men think. Other than that it is far to wordy. Author blathers on about nothing, continually. The pace is glacial and the action scenes are so poorly written as to leave the reader confused about what was happening. This book is a hot steaming pile, And I strongly advise you to give it a miss.

[Thomas Sizemore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good LitRPG!

I'm fairly new to the litRPG genre this will be about the fourth series I've read and I have to say I really enjoyed this first book.

I won't delve into a synopsis as you can find that on the description page and numerous other reviews.

This book was quick paced, with nice action and an engaging story line. It had enough game mechanics stuff to be fun, but not too much. One other series I started (but have up on because of this) had so much game mechanics stuff that it really bogged down the pace. This book however had the balance right.

I'm looking forward to the next book.

[Sandra Bergman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book but the world it self didn't make sense to me. How could everyone be such a low level when it just took the main character a few days to level up to the same level?

I also found it extremely annoying that there were basically no female characters beyond the wife/mother (read: person serving food but never speaking. Like, really, never speaking) and the "annoying" girl friend who wasn't really that annoying. I'd be a much bigger bitch if I was ignored to the extent which she was.

Also the main character basically jumping with fright when another character made a joke which implied that he (the other character) was gay.

[Logan Horsford · Rating 1 out of 5]

The MC hobby was supposedly computer gaming.

He gets dumped into a fantasy world - and acts like he's never played a computer game before.

Got through 3 hours (audio) and said "I hope the monsters eat his dumb a$$".

[Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Realm Between is the first book in a five book series (so far). The book was written by Pheonix Grey and first published on October 18th, 2019. At least the first book is on Kindle Unlimited, I am not sure of the others.

This book takes place in the future, VR has gone to new heights, but not as high as in other books. Currently, the best VR machines still haven't quite got smell or feeling quite right, but Radical Entertainment is leading the charge. Contrary to their name, they don't actually make games, but educational programs. Will is one of their beta testers, day in and day out he performs virtual, graphic, disgusting open heart surgery, searching for bugs. At first working for a company that big sounded amazing, but before long the appeal wore off and he found their wasn't too much for him in life anymore. His bad luck continues (or stops) when he gets a brain injury and goes into a coma, but Radical Entertainment will always try and care for their employees. Radical puts Will into a game called The Realm by installing the interface in his brain, all of a sudden, with no memory of the injury and no memory of how he got there, Will is in The Realm. Like a classic RPG he will need to work his way up from the very bottom, with no extra skills or special abilities. He groups up with two bickering brothers, one too law abiding and one not enough, it will be up to the three of them to save the island they live on from destruction.

I wasn't really a huge fan of this book. It was good, yes, but it wasn't something that really made me want to read as much as some of the other books I have read recently have. I wouldn't dissuade you from reading it. If you get it with Kindle Unlimited and decide to try it though, let me know what you think. When you read it though, if you don't like the first however long he is in the game too much, don't bother to continue reading because the story doesn't just get a lot better, like it does in some other books. The choice is yours however, but if you disagree, please let me know, I'd love to hear from some of my readers. It does have a really cool cover and really cool author name though.

Here is a link to the original review site: https://dragons-lair-book-blog.blogsp...

[John-Torleif Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing that I truly didn’t like about this book was that there were several instances where I’m pretty sure that I was missing text. I would finish one page mid-sentence and the next page would start mid-sentence of a completely different idea. I don’t know if it was just a few words missing, or pages, but it was never enough to be completely disorienting, just rather annoying, especially with as often as it happened.

In addition to the missing text, there were enough editing issues with tense, or incorrect word choice that I felt that it distracted from the story.

As for the actual story, I loved the idea that the purpose of The Realm is to help Azure regain brain function while in a coma. It was interesting to see how the game is funnelling Azure’s experiences to fit it’s parameters, and yet it feels real to him.

One last note - this is not a stand-alone. The book ends rather abruptly with a “to be continued”.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

[Paul Hathcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be aware... This is not a "one and done" standalone story. It ends before the final boss is defeated. This book is part of a series.

Now, with that out of the way...

Have you ever played one of those computer games where you follow some hero on a quest? From time to time those pop ups appear on-screen "QUEST: You must find the source of the curse which is poisoning the land." or something else like "You are holding a Goblin sword" (followed by the sword's stats). This book reminded me of those types of games and for me it was a nostalgic feeling. Don't worry. The book does not get too bogged down with game stats. They only come up once in a while.

When I read a book, especially fiction, I judge it in large part by whether or not I was entertained. In this case the answer is yes, I was. LitRPG is becoming a crowded genre these days. I found this author's writing style to be easy to read.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a mixed bag and it comes down to one’s personal preference. There are some aspects that are quite good as the characters have depth and their interactions are well written. This storyline reads like a video game brought to life where due to unfortunate circumstances, the main character winds up as an actual participant in the game. There are challenges that have to be met and people he encounters along the journey to help him. I liken it to having to play a new sport without really understanding the rules and having to muddle through. Although this was not my cup of tea, others may find it more appealing. It does end in a cliffhanger and you just want the next book to see how the journey plays out.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ownerofmars · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally loved the writing style of this book. I read it in one day because it just flowed so easily and kept my interest. I could distinguish each character and I was intrigued and not put off by the stat updates. I read it in prime reading but then I got kindle unlimited and saw book 2 is on there, so of course, I just started book 2. I am glad I read it when the next book is already available because otherwise I'd have to wait to see what else happens because book one was an ending that I typically don't like to see, because to me, it was unfinished. However, I definitely give high stars and really had an enjoyable spending of my time in my life by taking the time to read this book. ( Personal note : the ending and the lgbqt part threw me off a bit and I hope book 2 doesn't go into that much- would have been five star to me if not for that)

[Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book but I don't like Lionel he seems 😕 like a low key selfish a**hole I don't like the way the mc wanted a bag of holding and they just won a quest winning 1000$$ and the bag cost 25 but Lionel had the money and said he didn't have enough anything of value Lionel put in his bag and was always selfishly talking people around him into stuff they really didn't want to do like he told his girlfriend that his brother was 1/2 imp and she told her dad who told the whole town and turned everyone against him then talked him into going into the pub so he could see his trifling girlfriend knowing that everyone hated his brother like I said selfish I hope the mc leaves them soon.. but No he doesn't and so dnf I sneaked a peek at book 2 and I didn't like what I saw so nope this was awesome and it slipped right into lame

[Trek Lunden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the beginning was strong, building up a nice intro to the game world that a lot of litRPG books I've read don't seem to bother doing. The MC, however, showed no agency, reduced to solely being reactionary from the beginning to end.

The most contradicting factor about the MC is his apparent lack of knowledge with basic RPG mechanics despite letting us know how often he'd gamed in the past. For all his talk he didn't come across as an experienced gamer.

The story raised several key questions that weren't answered, having left them for the next book. While I'm fine with one or two questions leading into a sequel, this felt like too many and ended being unsatisfactory.

As the author's first book, I'll give the next a try and see if some improvements. There's potential despite knowing little about the world at this point.

[Patrik Rosén · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character puts himself in enormous danger with no conceivable benefit to himself.
He also accepts quests with almost no reward that have the failure penalty of death...
I finished this book hoping he would get his act together but it just escalates.

To make things worse the people he is sacrificing for are extremely shady and insult and betray him without recourse since he still decides to help out like he is offering to do a grocery run.


The setting has a lot of potential but I feel like the author wanted to cram in to many flags for her own good.

Started on the. Next book in the series but put it down after about a quarter.

[Joseph D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 1 of ​The Realm Between. This book fits nicely into the LitRPG genre. No exception to mature language. Aside from that, I loved the premise of this book and the story telling was entrancing. Not hard to see that with a strong foundation like this that this series is lengthy. This book does not have the feel of ever intending to be a stand alone novel giving it more of an epic fantasy feel. I like that the main character doesn’t start nor suddenly become way more powerful than everyone else. This change keeps us cheering to see if he will even survive. Excited to start the next book in this series.

Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com