Shareholder

Tower of Somnus #4

by Cale Plamann

Kat achieved what she wanted. It put a target on her back. She can only hope to dodge the bullet.

Kat paid for her position with blood. Hers, and from those who stood in her way. Now, she has finally climbed to a spot where she has real power; she can improve things the way she thinks is necessary. But power isn't as simple as she thought it would be. It comes with complications and obligations that stop her from taking action and enemies that don't like to share their authority.

While Kat may be one of the strongest humans alive, physical and magical strength hasn't prepared her to deal with the politics and backstabbing that can end her life just as quickly as a knife in a back alley. With the tables turned, she has to fend off the same tactics she used to get into her infiltrators and samurai are gunning for Kat on the orders of her political rivals.

In a race against time, Kat must unmask her enemies before her friends and family pay the blood price.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Audiobook

440 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 17, 2024

About the author

A lifelong fan of Fantasy and Science Fiction, I usually spent my nerdy energy creating overly elaborate homebrew RPG campaigns. As it became harder and harder to juggle schedules for a half dozen players, I eventually made the logical choice and just cut them out of the picture entirely.

Now I write novels. They whine a lot less about critical failures.

Reviews

[GaiusPrimus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super glad that this series is back. I really like the dichotomy between what's happening in the game and in the real world. It really allows the author's creativity to come through.

[Roberto Flores · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lacking any solid direction.

Plamann writes books with horrible settings. Betrayal, inequality and elitism set the strange for all his series. With the story arc ending last book, there is nothing to grab onto in this one. It feels like filler. A few minor plot points but nothing is consequence.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to like this series, but the sexism is just getting to me now. Obviously, I don't have an issue with reading a female mc driven novels but this is turning out to be a feminist/lesbian wet dream. All the POWERFUL main characters just happen to be female, and the male are just blubbering idiots. So a slip of girl is supposed to effortlessly beat out hardened criminals who have been at the prime of their craft...fin3 she's OP. The first male friend who introduced her to the Tower turns out to be a complete jerk without ANY redeeming qualities, so she left him to die. And the second fri3nd is just a damsel in distress in book 3 AND in book 4.

Gtfo

I'm done with Cale Plamann.

[Cmoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a dynamite addition to this series. Initially I had lost track of the storyline, I think the book could actually be improved if there had been a summary of the action to bring us up ta date, as almost 2 years had passed since Starfall bk3 was written. But I finally caught up on things... And, boy the action never stopped! Kat has crawled her way from lowly player to Shareholder in her own company by getting stronger! But she soon found that, being a shareholder isn't a bed of roses. As at least half the other members on the board wished for her death so they could get stronger within the company, and some even hired assassin to take her out! So she fought for her life during the day only barely being one step ahead, as she hung onto her company. And at night in the game world of Somnus she was dungeon diving with the team she formed in the very first book! Somnus might be a dreamscape, but the people are real and dying has consequences... and yes the more powerful you are in game, you'll find that the power transcends into the real life world. So it's best to play the game hard and power-up fast!
I also gotta say that Andrea Parsneau slam dunks this through the hoop, 'cause she's one of the top narrators out there. So grab this action-driven novel and power-up...

[Andy Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shareholder

In a legendary feat, Kat has climbed from employee to shareholder. This rare achievement does nothing to endear her to her fellow shareholders. Quite the opposite in fact. Now she has to contend with the invading aliens, as well as the sharks sitting next to her in the boardroom.

I have been really enjoying this cyberpunk with LitRPG dreamscape story! It’s been a very fun rise to where it is at. I have a feeling that the aliens will be even more involved in the next couple books. There was a chapter or two that the action slowed down for the romance sub plot, but it picks back up almost immediately after! Andrea Parsneau does an amazing job with the narration.

Content Warning: language

[Peter Braun · Rating 5 out of 5]

** I received an ARC from Mountaindale Press **

I really can't express my love of this series. I had never even considered Cyberpunk as a genre before this series. I was missing the series in the 18 month hiatus it took. The first three books were so amazing and this one definitely did not disappoint.

The action is amazing and Andrea Parsneau really sells the tension in every fight. If you were expecting Kat to sit back in her cushy position as a Shareholder and let others do the fighting you are dead wrong.

I hope I don't have to wait another 18 months for more of Kat and the crew.

[Thorsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great series, and I was disappointed when it looked like the author might have abandoned it. But here we are, 18 months later, with a new installment, and it does not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, with its perspective change for Kat as her role starts to shift from the infiltrator to the infiltrated and all the new problems that brings with it.

The book maintains the format of splitting chapters between the real world and the game, and it was fun to visit again with Dorrik and Keleek as Dorrik sought to complete a significant personal goal.

I can't wait for the next book and just hope it's not another 18-month wait.

[Elaina Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another satisfying book in this series 😊

The switching between reality and the game world works very well to keep the story moving. I like that there are times the minutia is skipped, but the advancements are still acknowledged, even if in just a quick sentence.

The characters themselves are believable, and I'm fully invested in their lives now. Since they're on floor nine and the goal seems to be over 140, I'm hoping for many more books.

Maybe Kat will even get to explore other planets in her reality at some point. 😃

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid entry in the series. There was a bit too much repetitive explanation of Kat's security, why she's so important, why Heather could have been fired, etc. But the fights were exciting and there was just enough advancement to keep me hooked.

I really enjoyed Dorrik's fight at the end. The author did a fantastic job of showing how hard the fight was. He deftly avoided the characters always beening super OP trap, while also showing what a monumental skill they had to take on such an opponent

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series continues its ups and downs for me. I was quite focused on the Tower quest to mature Kat's companion, but less so in the endless machinations of the forces in her real life. I was also frustrated that this has turned into yet another litrpg series with a female lead romantically involved with another female. If this were one of the side characters, it would be fine, but I find it more difficult to relate to when it's the main character.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fighting from the top

Now that Kat is a shareholder, her battles and enemies are starting to look different. This was another great entry in the series. I found the character development to be as engaging as always, and the action was great as well. Looking forward to the next book!

[Shane Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another solid entry in my favorite Sci-Fi LitRPG series. This combination of cyberpunk and Fantasy continues to charm me. The author has become really adept at writing fight scenes that are distinct from one another, detailed enough to be easy to follow, and short enough that they don't ever drag.

[M L Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little lacklustre

It took quite a while for this one to come out and it felt that it was about halfway filler content. The rest was good though and a lot happened in the latter half to tie it up.

[Carson]

This was a great addition to the story line. Lots of action and lots of tower. A whole boat load of corporate intrigue.

[Johnie C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great one sitting read

I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who likes LitRPG and progression type of books with lots of action.

[Mike Rempel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrea parsneau. Excellent

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the themes I appreciated about this book is how big, societal, problems can't just be solved by one uber-powerful person. And as her personal fighting power grows, it's nice to see Kat with problems that she can't just stab (though there is still a lot of stabbing, naturally). Corporate espionage, board rooms, strategizing over board meetings instead of just going 'my way or the highway', having to hire people and associated security issues, I quite enjoyed all of that. Also, she's certainly getting used to throwing money around, which I suppose is inevitable.

Similarly, the whole galactic situation is complicated and messy and slow (though the stallesp appears to be one of those 'every member of the entire species that we see is a backstabbing asshole' species, which I have mixed feelings about), and not (seemingly) just as a 'bureaucracy is the enemy' bit.

But most importantly, Dorrik is on earth now with Kat! I'm super excited to see the tower plot and earth plot collide in a more definitive way, and watching Kat and Kaleek support Dorrik in his coming-of-age in the tower was sweet.