Runescribe: Book One

The Wylds Online #1

by H.G. Chambers

Who needs fireballs when you’ve got fancy handwriting?

Ben thought Cerebral VR would be the perfect escape from his dead-end life. Instead, he wakes up inside a merciless fantasy world with no starting class, no gear, and a seemingly useless calligraphy skill.

When an impossibly powerful item falls into his lap, Ben goes from underpowered to hunted by the most dangerous players in the Wylds.

Ben’s no hero. He’s just an anxious, stat-point-hoarding gamer with a crippling fear of horses. But with a quill in hand and a wisecracking friend at his side, he just might make it past level one.

Perfect for fans of He Who Fights with Monsters, Awaken Online, and The Land. Log into the Wylds, an adventure so real it hurts.

Genres: Fantasy

184 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 24, 2024

About the author

H.G. Chambers is a huge nerd. I mean, you should see this guy’s collection of Zelda, Star Wars, D&D, and Tolkien nonsense! He’s also written a few books, I’m told, though chances are they’re equally nerdy. So unless you’re fluent in Klingon and enjoy painfully drawn out conversations about obscure Elden Ring lore, maybe don’t ask what he’s into. Despite what should be a catastrophic social handicap, he’s managed to find an awesome wife and has two implausibly awesome kids (talk about beating the odds). H.G.C. lives out his pathetically nerdy life on Vancouver Island, Canada, where people are polite, and the geese are complete jerks. Seriously…don’t mess with the geese, they will end you.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
I read this in an afternoon/evening. The story clips along at a great pace and wastes no time getting us in the shoes of our main character Ben. And before long we’ve been sucked into the world of the game and it never stops. The LitRPG genre expectations are fulfilled but I really just felt a particular personality and air of mystery propelling this narrative forward. It’s funny and fun! Can’t wait for more!

[Lori Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received as an ARC, this is an honest review. The author behind the breathtaking, exhilarating Windwalker series is back to launch a brand new series in the litrpg genre. And whether you're a fan that consumes every book of this kind emerges or discovering the genre for the first time, The Wylds Online is going to provide you an addictive adventure that will make you hungry for more.

Cursed with a shitty job that only enables his bastard of a boss to humiliate Ben with a sick pleasure; leaves his love of gaming the only salvation in Ben's sad life. When his fellow work colleague and friend gets hold early access to a new immersive game from Halcyon corporation, Will convinces Ben to jump into the complete unknown as a part beta testers of the game. Plunged into the seriously realistic world The Wylds Online can offer, things get off to a rocky start for Ben and confirmed by Will once they meet up in the city of Corehaven that Ben is in for the not-so-typical role playing adventure. And understanding what it means to be a Runescribe... everything from finding a trainer to teach him how to master skills to survive to numerous quests that will test his bravery; at the very least Ben isn't facing dangerous zombies or a powerful necromancer alone. And his friend Will and any other ally that can be found will make this unfolding fantasy much more bearable.


Grab your extra lives and healing potions and step into an epic adventure you won't soon forget.


Highly recommended.

[Kanyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun book and a first in a brand-new series! From the start, the pacing is fast and entertaining. I never felt a slow spot or got bored. I thought the author did a great job placing the player stats effortlessly throughout the story. I am invested into seeing what else Ben and Will get into in future books. I particular hope to know more about Ben’s class glitch and where the story will go with that thread. I would recommend this story to anyone who enjoys lit-RPG books. If you haven’t tried a lit-RPG book yet, it’s still an enjoyable read and you should try it out!

This is the first book in The Wylds Online series.

I voluntarily received and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

Final Rating: 5 Stars

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is always that one person in the group who takes your carefully planned campaign and completely makes the whole thing go sideways but somehow in a earnest, inadvertent way so you you can't stay mad and just have to work with it. That's Ben. The Nice Guy who somehow blows up everything he touches. Only it is totally not his fault. He's fumbling his way through, doing the noble thing - somehow completely missing the obvious path everyone else is on and lucking into some serious wins. Dude is trying - and you know what, I will forgive him a lot of his knowledge fails but Ben, my man, how did you not get B.O.H?!

This had the classic elements you are looking for in LitRPG, but didn't get lost in them. The fast-paced action adventure and surprising character growth shone though and made for a very entertaining story. With all the Easter eggs and teaser set ups I am looking forward to where this story goes next. Thsi had to be fun to write too with the "no one does that....what effect would that have?" stuff Ben pulls. Chambers really let his geek flag fly with this one because it takes someone with some serious RPG hours to understand the gameplay well enough to deconstruct and reassemble the pieces into a new shape that works as well as this does and is accessible and an enjoyable read for gamers and non-gamers alike.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben is really down on his luck, he is a loser in life, with no job and no family or girlfriend to come home to, however he has a friend, Will who got him a job which turned out to be just an embarrassment. But just when Ben was ready to give up on everything, Will wins tickets to be a beta player in the latest VR game called The Wylds Online, and he could take a friend. Ben nearly refused to join him on this venture, because to top it all he was a coward, but he was also a gamer and quite good at this. They accepted to be beta testers and entered the game, however even here Ben gets a Null class, and does not get tutorials or starting out gear or cash, but he is told he could be a runescribe whatever that might mean. Will meantime had sorted himself out quite well having been given the usual intro chances. Was what happened to Ben a glitch in the game, or was it intentional? Can Ben prove himself even after such a sorry start? He gets to battle zombies, a necromancer and other monsters, as he and Will partner up with another player called Zoe. I love this first book, seeing Ben persist and even get stronger no matter the bad start he was given. I also love LitRPG and am looking forward to seeing Ben's story develop, so onward to book 2.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to confess I am not normally a great fan of LitRPG books, but I read this one and thoroughly enjoyed it!
I particularly liked the early part, when there was a good and inventive reason for the boys becoming involved in the game, but there again, I love scifi, so that made sense. I look forward to the author exploring this further in future books ... I hope!
Regarding the game itself, it was understandable even to those of us who are not gamers, and so I just sat back and enjoyed the story. And it was great fun!

[Will Knight]

Note to self: It's fine, but I reaaaaally don't like it when the author introduces the book's tutorial by making the MC very unknowledgeable in the area. It makes them look dumb, and hard to relate to when this isn't my first litrpg book.

Will keep going, it shows promise (though the deus ex is starting to get a bit heavy handed).

Nope, not into it. Not into the narrator, the interactions, the Deus ex coincidences... Not enjoying it.

[Christinaraven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. While it did start a bit slow in real life, once Ben and Will get into the game it really shined and became a good story that had me laughing and shaking my head. Liked the game setup and thought the way it all goes down had potential to cause mayhem in the future. But enjoyed the story, liked Ben, and cannot wait to see what next.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant I loved this book from the very first page. It's got everything high adventure plenty of humour also. Ben and Will enter a virtual world and must earn points as they complete quests.
There are fantastic strange creatures and undead to do battle with. Great from start to finish definitely recommend

[Terry M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good start to the series. I liked the main characters and found the storyline and humour enjoyable. Looking forward to what comes next. Recommended.. I received an ARC copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received as a ARC. A good fast read. The main character gained access to new technology of full immersive gaming pods. The book covers their first day in the game as new players. Looking forward to the next book.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shirt but sweet…

Great start! Extremely short though. Worth the .99 cents I paid. I’m not sure I’ll continue the series if they are as short as this one…especially if they are charging the same price as a Novel.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and quick story

Well.....I'm not sure if "quick" is fair - when I enjoy a story I tend to read it much faster 😅 this had an intriguing premise and the pacing was excellent. Looking forward to the next book!

[Jace March · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome

I really enjoyed the book. The MC has an interesting class. I am definitely going to read the next book.

[Woulf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very nice book.

My only complaint is that there aren't more pages to read.

A likable MC, a good world, and interesting action are what I always ask for.

[David Sadler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good fun

Didn't take long to read but good fun popcorn litrpg. Blessedly free from the reams of stats some suffer from and well edited.

[Danny Moody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good start. The story was fun. It lacks some of the high stakes because the game is VR and not real. It does a good job creating some tension with player interaction though.

[Jim Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Start

Rather enjoyable story though it seemed kind of short. I or I was enjoying it so much I read threw it fast

[Casey Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

*ARC Review*

This is my first LitRPG Novel and it did not disappoint. This first book in the series has really good pacing and introduces you to some very interesting characters. I love how detailed the gameplay elements and skills are. I feel like I can see the video game in my mind as I read it. This was a very fun and funny read. Cant wait to read book two!

[Manie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wylds Online by author HG Chambers, aimed appropriately at our modern LitRPG electronic game playing youths, Runeplayer Book 1 is a surefire hit. As are the next two in this box set.
It certainly raised my eyebrows when Ben, a failed telephonic sales person, joined his friend, Will, in testing a new electronic game by a world renowned company as test subjects.
But this is no simple electronic game. Oh no. And it is here that I got so immersed in what follows that it was quite the shock to me when I read the words "The End"
Really? With three books?
Enjoy!