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Sky Realms Online #3
Axestorm: (Sky Realms Online Book 3): A LitRPG Series
Hall had hoped things would finally start to settle down. He should have known better.
He's been trapped within the new version of Sky Realms Online for months. At peace with it, mostly, he's started to make a new life within the game world. He's found a woman to love, the NPC Druid Leigh, and a village to call home.
Skara Brae is still mostly ruins but he now has friends and citizens to rebuild the village. But he's still missing many of the resources needed.
A quest for one of those resources, an airship, will send Hall and his companions far away from Skara Brae down to the cold island of Huntley, home to Storvgarde tribesmen and the Dwarven citadel of Axestorm Hall.
What should have been a simple voyage by airship will become much more as Hall will face shipwrecks, stolen Dwarven artifacts, rampaging tribesmen, a blast from his past and more mysteries from a game they no longer know.
The Players will find themselves more connected to the world of Hankarth than ever before or they even thought possible and Hall will face his greatest challenge. Fighting for his life and his beliefs.
Will Hall survive long enough to learn who or what the Champions are?
The hit LitRPG Series continues with Axestorm. It's perfect for fans of J.A. Hunter, Dakota Krout and Edward Brody.
He's been trapped within the new version of Sky Realms Online for months. At peace with it, mostly, he's started to make a new life within the game world. He's found a woman to love, the NPC Druid Leigh, and a village to call home.
Skara Brae is still mostly ruins but he now has friends and citizens to rebuild the village. But he's still missing many of the resources needed.
A quest for one of those resources, an airship, will send Hall and his companions far away from Skara Brae down to the cold island of Huntley, home to Storvgarde tribesmen and the Dwarven citadel of Axestorm Hall.
What should have been a simple voyage by airship will become much more as Hall will face shipwrecks, stolen Dwarven artifacts, rampaging tribesmen, a blast from his past and more mysteries from a game they no longer know.
The Players will find themselves more connected to the world of Hankarth than ever before or they even thought possible and Hall will face his greatest challenge. Fighting for his life and his beliefs.
Will Hall survive long enough to learn who or what the Champions are?
The hit LitRPG Series continues with Axestorm. It's perfect for fans of J.A. Hunter, Dakota Krout and Edward Brody.
554 pages, Paperback
First published February 18, 2020
193 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Troy Osgood
47 books105 followersBorn and raised in the granite state of New Hampshire, Troy is a lifelong and avid reader of comic books and novels (mostly in the fantasy, sci-fi and adventure/thriller genres). The ongoing serial storytelling methods of comic books and television has always fascinated him and provided inspiration for his writing. He’s always had a love of creating and world building and dreams of someday seeing his creations expressed across all media: books, comic books, movies, TV and even toys.
When not writing, Troy can be found outside hiking, kayaking or out back at the bonfire with beer in hand. Don’t expect to bother him during football season, especially when the Patriots are playing.
When not writing, Troy can be found outside hiking, kayaking or out back at the bonfire with beer in hand. Don’t expect to bother him during football season, especially when the Patriots are playing.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 7, 2020
Worth continuing
March 15, 2020
Great book
Stellar work once again from Troy Osgood. Lots of action and adventure, skills and a deeper look into the larger world. Looking forward to the next one!
Stellar work once again from Troy Osgood. Lots of action and adventure, skills and a deeper look into the larger world. Looking forward to the next one!
Read
March 7, 2020So much FUN!
This is the first litRPG IVE READ. I picked the first one up on a whim and was truly pleased. The characters, the story, and the plot are all amazing. I can't wait to read the next installment in what I hope is a LONG story!! Keep up the amazing work! I'll be waiting lol.
This is the first litRPG IVE READ. I picked the first one up on a whim and was truly pleased. The characters, the story, and the plot are all amazing. I can't wait to read the next installment in what I hope is a LONG story!! Keep up the amazing work! I'll be waiting lol.
April 22, 2020
The first two were OK. This one seems to have the storyline very forced, no natural flow and yet it's obvious where it's going for most of it. The main character must have taken too many hits to the head as his intelligence is down to borderline coma levels.
July 21, 2020
NPCs need love too
Hall’s starting to build up his community and getting a reputation for himself. He is building up allies but in the process is also building up enemies. His friends and lover, the NPC Leigh, who is the Druid of the Grove, are all with him in the village. But more quests await and more supplies are needed. This one Hall and his team will have to do without Leigh.
On the way for a quest, their airship crashes. There are giant monsters on this island and even a Kong Glo. His dwarf pal, Rockshard, has to prove that he is a true son of his clan. Along the way, the find the hammer of his ancestor stolen and follow the trail. There is war brewing between two factions. One faction belongs to Iron, a player who also must have been trapped in game and always lead the top guild. And another one that is stealing dwarfish artifacts to fight them. Iron’s faction and Hall’s group’s goals align, but for how long?
Hall’s starting to build up his community and getting a reputation for himself. He is building up allies but in the process is also building up enemies. His friends and lover, the NPC Leigh, who is the Druid of the Grove, are all with him in the village. But more quests await and more supplies are needed. This one Hall and his team will have to do without Leigh.
On the way for a quest, their airship crashes. There are giant monsters on this island and even a Kong Glo. His dwarf pal, Rockshard, has to prove that he is a true son of his clan. Along the way, the find the hammer of his ancestor stolen and follow the trail. There is war brewing between two factions. One faction belongs to Iron, a player who also must have been trapped in game and always lead the top guild. And another one that is stealing dwarfish artifacts to fight them. Iron’s faction and Hall’s group’s goals align, but for how long?
March 25, 2023
Axestorm is another full-on adventure in this thrilling series, and so much happens in book 3, that by the time you reach the end of the book, you are left stunned by the events that have taken place. This is a fascinating series, one in which it is not just about the hack’n’slash of Fantasy, or the LitRPG aspects, but there are some real moral aspects to this story with what it means to be a Player Character and an NPC. There are also some really in-depth character development aspects to this story that were very powerful and quite moving in an emotional sense as the story developed.
On top of this, there is a very complex story arc that has been developing for some time that gets a lot more attention in this book, and has some major impacts for Hall and the group. This series is really becoming such a multi-faceted and comprehensive storyline, and as such is becoming not only more in-depth with every book, but just so much more interesting to.
This book starts with Hall wanting to follow up on the plans for the Airship that he found as they are incomplete and need to be finished, and the only way to do that, is to head to the Isle of Huntley, one of the other floating islands, as they have to go and see the Dwarves. The plans belong to a Dwarven airship maker, and so it is off to the home of the Dwarves at Axestorm the party heads. Leigh is not going this time, staying with the Grove as it needs her attention. Going to Axestorm means that Roxhard is going to have to meet the Dwarves as well, and this could pose some interesting character questions for him.
Axestorm is made up of multiple stories, and I don’t want to give too much away, but the trip to Huntley is one that is not easy for the group, and there is an entire side story there that is rather fascinating and opens up some new storylines that are sure to come up later. It does start to show some issues between Sabine and Caryn, but it also starts to give us a greater insight into Caryn as well, which allows us to understand her better.
The main part of this book though is about Axestorm, and the Isle of Huntley. Axestorm is the home of the Dwarves, I am not going to spoil the descriptions of Axestorm, as the world building here is what can only be described as ‘glorious’ and Osgood has done true justice to the Dwarven Kingdom. This part of the book is just exceptional as you read the various attributes of the Dwarven haven, it is just amazing.
The other really interesting part of this story is that it opens up a part of Roxhard’s storyline and character development. For the most part, this book focuses on Hall, but in Axestorm, we get to see a bit more of Roxhard’s character, and as a part of this, there is an entire storyline dedicated to his heritage as a Dwarf, which is not only really fascinating as a part of the story, but it is also interesting from the aspect of what has happened for the actual Players and their new lives within the games.
The other major part of this story for the characters on Huntley is the continuation of the ‘Army of Iron’. This has been touched on several times in the other books, and we have met other characters in the army of Iron, Davit, Cuthard etc, but (again, without trying to give too much away), Hall and the group finally come face to face with the Army and begin to realise what is going on. Iron is a Storvgarde Player, one that sees NPCs as just pawns, things to be used in his game of world domination. For he believes that Players are superior and NPCs don’t count – as do all the Players in his ‘Army’, and he has amassed quite a few of the remaining ‘Players’ in the game.
Hall and his group become involved in a series of events whilst trying to learn more about Iron and his Army, much to Hall’s horror at how these people treat NPCs. There are some really fascinating moral implications in the story here, and it is intriguing just how Osgood has looked at different people (Players) might play out the game if put into this situation (And frighteningly, I don’t think he is far off).
The character work is exceptionally well done in this book, as there are just so many different facets to the characters as they are faced with all these different challenges. Young Roxhard is faced with this overwhelming challenge of his heritage, as well as still trying to deal with the loss of his Mum. All of the Party are dealing with their own thoughts with regards to where they stand on NPCs, Hall continues to struggle with not just the challenges of Skara Brae, but also leading the Party, and now a relationship with Leigh, who is an NPC. Hall’s development in this series continues to be just fascinating, with his skills in cartography, and strategy, it is intriguing watching as he puts them to use in his leadership role within the group. It is obvious that Hall is destined for something bigger, especially now with the threat of Iron’s Army, but it is whether Hall is able to rise to the challenge.
The other really interesting bit of character development in this story has been Caryn. Newer to the story, we get to see a lot more of who she is in this story, not just the Duelist, but the real Caryn, and her moral compass.
As with the other books, the combat is just amazing, so detailed, you could be standing there watching it, and I think that in this book, the LitRPG has only grown stronger as we have seen not just the stats continue, but real character growth within the Players as well, for all of the Main Characters.
Axestorm is easily the best in the series so far, this is a series that I have been hooked on from the start as it has been so good, and by far, one of the best LitRPGs I have read, but Axestorm has taken it to a whole new level of storytelling and character development – if you want a brilliant Fantasy/LitRPG series – this is the one!!
On top of this, there is a very complex story arc that has been developing for some time that gets a lot more attention in this book, and has some major impacts for Hall and the group. This series is really becoming such a multi-faceted and comprehensive storyline, and as such is becoming not only more in-depth with every book, but just so much more interesting to.
This book starts with Hall wanting to follow up on the plans for the Airship that he found as they are incomplete and need to be finished, and the only way to do that, is to head to the Isle of Huntley, one of the other floating islands, as they have to go and see the Dwarves. The plans belong to a Dwarven airship maker, and so it is off to the home of the Dwarves at Axestorm the party heads. Leigh is not going this time, staying with the Grove as it needs her attention. Going to Axestorm means that Roxhard is going to have to meet the Dwarves as well, and this could pose some interesting character questions for him.
Axestorm is made up of multiple stories, and I don’t want to give too much away, but the trip to Huntley is one that is not easy for the group, and there is an entire side story there that is rather fascinating and opens up some new storylines that are sure to come up later. It does start to show some issues between Sabine and Caryn, but it also starts to give us a greater insight into Caryn as well, which allows us to understand her better.
The main part of this book though is about Axestorm, and the Isle of Huntley. Axestorm is the home of the Dwarves, I am not going to spoil the descriptions of Axestorm, as the world building here is what can only be described as ‘glorious’ and Osgood has done true justice to the Dwarven Kingdom. This part of the book is just exceptional as you read the various attributes of the Dwarven haven, it is just amazing.
The other really interesting part of this story is that it opens up a part of Roxhard’s storyline and character development. For the most part, this book focuses on Hall, but in Axestorm, we get to see a bit more of Roxhard’s character, and as a part of this, there is an entire storyline dedicated to his heritage as a Dwarf, which is not only really fascinating as a part of the story, but it is also interesting from the aspect of what has happened for the actual Players and their new lives within the games.
The other major part of this story for the characters on Huntley is the continuation of the ‘Army of Iron’. This has been touched on several times in the other books, and we have met other characters in the army of Iron, Davit, Cuthard etc, but (again, without trying to give too much away), Hall and the group finally come face to face with the Army and begin to realise what is going on. Iron is a Storvgarde Player, one that sees NPCs as just pawns, things to be used in his game of world domination. For he believes that Players are superior and NPCs don’t count – as do all the Players in his ‘Army’, and he has amassed quite a few of the remaining ‘Players’ in the game.
Hall and his group become involved in a series of events whilst trying to learn more about Iron and his Army, much to Hall’s horror at how these people treat NPCs. There are some really fascinating moral implications in the story here, and it is intriguing just how Osgood has looked at different people (Players) might play out the game if put into this situation (And frighteningly, I don’t think he is far off).
The character work is exceptionally well done in this book, as there are just so many different facets to the characters as they are faced with all these different challenges. Young Roxhard is faced with this overwhelming challenge of his heritage, as well as still trying to deal with the loss of his Mum. All of the Party are dealing with their own thoughts with regards to where they stand on NPCs, Hall continues to struggle with not just the challenges of Skara Brae, but also leading the Party, and now a relationship with Leigh, who is an NPC. Hall’s development in this series continues to be just fascinating, with his skills in cartography, and strategy, it is intriguing watching as he puts them to use in his leadership role within the group. It is obvious that Hall is destined for something bigger, especially now with the threat of Iron’s Army, but it is whether Hall is able to rise to the challenge.
The other really interesting bit of character development in this story has been Caryn. Newer to the story, we get to see a lot more of who she is in this story, not just the Duelist, but the real Caryn, and her moral compass.
As with the other books, the combat is just amazing, so detailed, you could be standing there watching it, and I think that in this book, the LitRPG has only grown stronger as we have seen not just the stats continue, but real character growth within the Players as well, for all of the Main Characters.
Axestorm is easily the best in the series so far, this is a series that I have been hooked on from the start as it has been so good, and by far, one of the best LitRPGs I have read, but Axestorm has taken it to a whole new level of storytelling and character development – if you want a brilliant Fantasy/LitRPG series – this is the one!!
June 11, 2022
Know your enemy , then run like hell.
A good addition to the Sky Realms , Hall and his companions set out from Skara Brae to aquire an airship , this involves travelling via airship to various other islands and visiting the dwarf kingdom with numerous quests and adventures on the way. Thoroughly enjoyable and with the exception of Sabine being a bitch and Hall proving that his big mouth and overactive analysis of the "game" are going to cause future problems on top of the ones already experienced .
A good addition to the Sky Realms , Hall and his companions set out from Skara Brae to aquire an airship , this involves travelling via airship to various other islands and visiting the dwarf kingdom with numerous quests and adventures on the way. Thoroughly enjoyable and with the exception of Sabine being a bitch and Hall proving that his big mouth and overactive analysis of the "game" are going to cause future problems on top of the ones already experienced .
May 31, 2020
Interesting if a little obvious
Beware of grammatical issues that can pull you out of the story.
Story slowly continues and finally brings the tiny stories in the past epilogue into the main story.
Some of the twists are obvious, but the characters are still awesome. Still waiting for the author to officially say if they are really trapped in a game or if they got pulled into a new world.
Beware of grammatical issues that can pull you out of the story.
Story slowly continues and finally brings the tiny stories in the past epilogue into the main story.
Some of the twists are obvious, but the characters are still awesome. Still waiting for the author to officially say if they are really trapped in a game or if they got pulled into a new world.
September 19, 2020
An excellent continuation of the series, with strong plotting and character development. The world is growing and, with it, the complexities of this new life. The author did an excellent job of portraying antagonists, such as Iron. The plot points involving Rockshard, the teen trapped in a Dwarf's persona, and the betrayal of another close party member, were both very well drawn.
It was a stronger book than the second installment.
It was a stronger book than the second installment.
Read
November 18, 2020Axestorm: Sky Realms Online, Book 3, my third read/listen from author Troy Osgood . An enjoyable read, especially for fans of LitRGG & FRP. I was given an Audible copy of this book in March of this year and am just now getting around to reading & reviewing it. I especially enjoyed the narrative talents of Pavi Proczko whose voice made an enjoyable book even better. Now I need to get Greenfire (Sky Realms Online #4). (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).
January 18, 2021
For Want of a Ship
The complexity of the virtual realm of Hankarth grows -- or does it? Is Hankarth, The Realm of Floating Isles, really a virtual world? Or was the VRMMORPG, in which Hall and company once played a portal to a parallel universe set up to recruit Champions for a proxy war between two competing powers? Powers who have agreed not to clash personally since the last time they did so they shattered a world. The answers to these questions won't be found in this book, but there is plenty of action, intrigue, romance, and betrayal as Hall and his companions set out on their quest to acquire an airship for their isolated village of Skara Brae.
The complexity of the virtual realm of Hankarth grows -- or does it? Is Hankarth, The Realm of Floating Isles, really a virtual world? Or was the VRMMORPG, in which Hall and company once played a portal to a parallel universe set up to recruit Champions for a proxy war between two competing powers? Powers who have agreed not to clash personally since the last time they did so they shattered a world. The answers to these questions won't be found in this book, but there is plenty of action, intrigue, romance, and betrayal as Hall and his companions set out on their quest to acquire an airship for their isolated village of Skara Brae.
February 28, 2023
On a quest for an airship, Hall and his friends travel to the cold and far away island of Huntley and on to the Dwarven citadel of Axestorm Hall.
Before they get there however, The airship is attacked and crashes on an unknown island. They manage to repair it and reach their destination.
There they face rampaging tribesmen, stolen Dwarven artifacts, a danger from Hall's past, and other mysteries in a game that has become different from the one they remember.
Before they get there however, The airship is attacked and crashes on an unknown island. They manage to repair it and reach their destination.
There they face rampaging tribesmen, stolen Dwarven artifacts, a danger from Hall's past, and other mysteries in a game that has become different from the one they remember.
February 9, 2023
What started out as a whim to possibly get a airship at the Dwarven hold of Axestorm ended up as a quest chain for Roxhard as he searches for his dwarven heritage. It actually seems that Sky Realms Online might be tied closer to reality than one would've thought. But by following the Roxhard's quest it leads to an accidental meeting with Iron and his group of players. And lines have been drawn!
July 18, 2020
Overall, I enjoy the story and the writing. The reason I'm not giving it 5* is that the MC is just too moody and acts quite morally superior to anyone who disagrees with him. Took a bit of the fun out of it for me.
January 15, 2021
Great series
The whole series is riveting. Love the ingenuity of it. Could not have put the books down if I tried.
The whole series is riveting. Love the ingenuity of it. Could not have put the books down if I tried.
April 22, 2021
Another good addition to the series
I have liked the series so far and will continue to read the series. I look forward to seeing what happens next
I have liked the series so far and will continue to read the series. I look forward to seeing what happens next
April 28, 2021
Excellent
A lot better because it travel to different places and dialog lead to fighting different people and not always winning very interesting
A lot better because it travel to different places and dialog lead to fighting different people and not always winning very interesting
July 4, 2022
Good story. Planning on reading more in this series.
May 9, 2024
Again this was okay. More depth to the story expanding the character and their arcs but again it is slow going.
February 23, 2021
As with many series these days the first book is great, then the political and social views start bleeding through and bog down the story till it's not really enjoyable anymore. Each book in this series has done that (more slowly than most) and I'm not really wanting to even read the next book.
The story is ok but struggling with believability. Finding myself frustrated with the MC's actions more and more and having a hard time enjoying the story.
The story is ok but struggling with believability. Finding myself frustrated with the MC's actions more and more and having a hard time enjoying the story.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews