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TransDimensional Hunter #2

Through the Storm: TransDimensional Hunter, Book 2

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"Augmented reality" game Transdimensional Hunter seems too real for comfort as the world of the game merges with reality. Now, teenage game prodigy Lynn Raven will have to conquer the game or be destroyed by it.

Reality bites—and it has big teeth.

Becoming a global celebrity overnight would make most people happy.

Not Lynn Raven.

As a teenage gaming prodigy, she’s enjoyed years of anonymity behind the virtual mask of Larry Coughlin, war-hardened vet and virtual gaming mercenary. But now Lynn has stepped out of the shadows to compete in the cutting-edge augmented reality game TransDimensional Hunter that has taken the world by storm.

And she’s winning.

But with success has come swarms of paparazzi drones, jealous teammates, and a backstabbing rival team that will use any trick in the book to ruin her.

Then there’s the game itself. At times, the “augmented” reality seems too real for Lynn’s comfort, and strange accidents keep happening. Something is going on; she just has to figure out what.

Lynn would much rather fight monsters than do paparazzi interviews, but somehow she’ll have to master both—and pass her senior year to boot. She managed to step into the real, but will the storm of reality now defeat her for good?

Audible Audio

Published March 5, 2024

67 people are currently reading
121 people want to read

About the author

John Ringo

101 books1,830 followers
John Ringo is a prolific author who has written in a wide variety of genres. His early life included a great deal of travel. He visited 23 foreign countries, and attended fourteen different schools. After graduation Ringo enlisted in the US military for four years, after which he studied marine biology.

In 1999 he wrote and published his first novel "A Hymn Before Battle", which proved successful. Since 2000 Ringo has been a full time author.

He has written science fiction, military fiction, and fantasy.


Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

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5 stars
422 (73%)
4 stars
114 (19%)
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34 (5%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
231 reviews
May 28, 2024
I still love this science fiction plot of an AR video game being more than just a game. There’s no news yet of a third book, and the book stays open to finish the plot - and the lack of news is a little concerning because I’d love to see the open plots resolved. And there are several.

I can’t give it a 5-star. Unfortunately, having now read another of John Ringo’s books, I can see where his specific voice bleeds through, specifically in board meetings. Fortunately, those are few and far between, but they are enough to grate on my nerves and make me cringe.
Profile Image for Carla.
264 reviews1 follower
August 3, 2024
A good read and the plot progressed. In certain passages #2 struck me more like a YA novel than #1; the YA feel was due to dwelling on teenage angst and relationships, but appreciated avoiding anything too emotional. Lynn Raven is great.

Let the series continue!
Profile Image for Jim Gutzwiller.
248 reviews4 followers
February 23, 2025
Through the Storm

Book 2 of the trans dimensional Hunter series. Right on !! This was exciting, imaginative , and awesome all at the same time!
Loved it!!
Profile Image for Johnny.
2,170 reviews79 followers
November 8, 2023
Book two

Oh how I want to give this book five stars! Unfortunately I can't. I disliked the character Conner so much that I skimmed every time he made an appearance. I went back to really reading when he showed his true colors and enjoyed Edgar beating him down.

Great editing. Nothing to post on Goodreads. Now begins the wait for book three.

Oh, and just so you know taco pizza is nasty! I got one of them and one of the burger pizzas when they first came out and they were both disgusting. Don't let this book influence you into making a mistake that will haunt your tastebuds for the rest of your life.

8/10 another fun read!
203 reviews6 followers
December 23, 2023
Well, certainly couldn't put this one down!

When I read and reviewed the first volume, I didn't best to keep some elements of the book unspoken. With this second volume, however, the secrecy has been broken - at least to the reader. We - as in humanity - are under a very real threat by brings from another dimension.

They devour energy. They are beginning to become unworkable and we don't have what it takes to destroy them in military warfare - M14s can't cut it. So a successful camera created an augmented reality game unlike any other, and the world' s hopes rely on teenaged gamers. Nice premise, eh? Well, it works!

Lynn Raven is about to turn 18 and has been gaming for more than a decade. And she has become humanity's hope, except she doesn't know it. That invasion is being kept quiet. One suspects that come the next volume she's going to learn about it - but that's just a guess.

The realms of the books has been her growth. From a gamer unwilling to leave the house, out of shape and full of self-doubt, her journey is the heart and soul of the work so far. Yes, there's John Ringo's world building with evil.monsters we haven't seen before and which demand new tech, but the really tough work of chronicling a young teen's growth and maturation has been the clear work of Lydia Sherrer. Working together, their characters have the tech, the weapons,, the banter and combat edge combined in a.coming of age saga rivaling Card's Ender saga.

I eagerly await the next volume!
63 reviews2 followers
December 13, 2023
So exciting, tough, and clean

Not a gamer, yet I have no trouble following the story (thank you, John and Lydia). It is so absorbing. Crazy fast, well-described battles — lots of those — sandwiched in a well-done teen storyline. The usual teen angst about school, friends, love, and appearance without rubbing the reader’s face in it. This 69-year-old reader is plenty entertained. And it’s refreshing to have a military-style setting yet no gross swearing or graphic descriptions of sex or gore. Yes, you can tell a gripping, tough, action story that appeals to adults without that stuff. It’s implied, and that’s enough to make it real and not turn the story too Disney-safe. The little teases are great, too. Just who are Steve and Derek, and is Mr. Thomas what he seems to be? Is Lynn’s Warmonger secret going to come out? And what are these TDMs anyway? Great stuff! Bring it on. I am loving it!
22 reviews
February 13, 2025
Well, this does not appear to be the end of this series. However, it was tedious at times. I give it a C+ grade rating. Why? An outdated and dull sexual harassment/metoo section in the book. Old news which has faded from view, thankfully. I can see somebody justifying it because 'it happens all of the time in gaming.' Don't care. It's OLD news. Further, it added zip to the plot. It was included because the female author just HAD to do it, and they approved it. It IS beating the proverbial dead horse, again. Moving on. There was also a significant amount of 'girls are wonderful and can be super-heroes and bosses.' included throughout the book. It was almost done tastefully, but in the end that too became tedious. I have written female leads, so I am not complaining about that. Again, too much focus for too many years on this topic. It gets boring. Time to drop it. Thus, the C+ rating.
Profile Image for Ed Hillenbrand.
62 reviews5 followers
November 13, 2023
The second book in the TransDimensional Hunter set. A different coming of age/teenager saves the world book. Written by two excellent authors, John Ringo and Lydia Sherrer, it combines their strong suits for an excellent read that isn't too heavy on the teenage angst. What is different in this book is that the "old fossils" aren't the stereotypical brain dead adults who have to be saved from themselves; they have knowledge and skills to pass on to the new generation, and the new generation has skills that the old folks no longer posses. There are lots of Ringo Easter eggs, and Miss Sherrer's influence is plain to see. Well worth the time to read. And if you haven't read "Love, Lies and Hocus Pocus" I suggest you try it. Not science fiction, fantasy, with a ton of snark and a cat, but I repeat myself. ; )
Profile Image for Oliver Bogert.
174 reviews
April 11, 2024
Loved book #2! It is a blend of things I liked from Ready Player One, Armada, and Ender's Game, all while adding connections with all the hours I spent playing Pokemon Go! All that and a heroic cat appearance make this the best of the series so far.

There is a massive setup for the rest of the series, and I am guessing this will be more than a regular trilogy series. I am excited to see where they take it next. There is still a big reveal sitting out there for the primary characters. I don't want to say too much because I would hate to share a spoiler, but it falls into the typical BOOK 2 setup where the world is looking pretty bleak going forward. To toss in another pop culture reference, it was giving Empire Strikes Back vibes where you feel the authors are done with the happy-go-lucky moments for these characters. Dark days are coming and I can't wait!
2,071 reviews5 followers
May 23, 2024
I do not actually play online games. I toyed with some a few decades ago, and did DnD, but I am a limited tech person. However, I found this book quite enthralling.
Lynn is a teenage girl obsessed with battling in online games. She’s incredibly good at it, although she prefers to avoid attention in her life. Her main protagonist is a wealthy high school Mean Girl, who uses social media and dozens of drones to insult and challenge Lynn. Rather fortunately, Elena has limited gaming skills, and tends to frequently annoy her teammates enough that they quit. The whole world seems to be preparing for a huge competition. Plus, there are hidden government agencies involved with the games.
Yeah, there’s tons of teen angst. I certainly often flashed on Ender’s Game. The book certainly ends with a cliff hanger. I certainly will be looking for the sequel!
Profile Image for Elena.
62 reviews2 followers
April 1, 2025
Page-turner for many Ages

I read Through the Storm in one sitting. Action-packed, appealing to gamers of all ages, fans of tech and sci-fi, this novel has enough to keep you happy, reading, and waiting with bated breath for the next in the series.

I've come to really admire the multi-dimensionality of the main characters, especially Lynn Raven. Their foibles and strengths are given complete coverage. There are important issues tackled for teens, as well as world issues handled on other levels. None of it is "preachy"; all contributes to plot and character.

And the story is riveting. I can't say too much without adding spoilers. Kudos to Mr. Ringo and Ms. Sherrer. (And thanks for Poe!)
177 reviews1 follower
November 12, 2023
Solid Read

Solid read on so many levels.
Great action (actually found myself rubbing my hands together in anticipation to some scenes.) Great character development. Excellent social commentary (I can only rave about how this book avoids glamorizing sex, sexual preference, gender, ethnicity, nationality, and race. The authors get the purpose of America in that we are all in this together and not better when siloed.) Real world quality role modeling to be gained from Lynn and the other characters of the story.
IMO this book should be required read in Junior High.
Keep it up and I look forward to the next book.
Profile Image for Cynthia Dalton.
316 reviews2 followers
September 5, 2024
I just finished Through the Storm. Shortly after finishing Into the Real. Great books, as we expect from John and his co authors. The character development is excellent, as is the realistic depiction as teen gamers develop into a coherent team of warriors. Lynn changing from someone who prefers to not interact with people into a leader who organizes a large team and leads the to victory over a boss monster too large for any one team to take out is particularly well done, The reader knowing the stakes that the game player doesn't adds to the tension in these scenes.
If you haven't read this, you need to.
Profile Image for J W.
13 reviews
July 26, 2023
Into The Real gave me high expectations, but Through The Storm did not fail to live up to book one! Through The Storm is an action packed book, and keeps your attention all the way through. On top of that is character building so good, that you feel like you're there with them fighting TDMs and the paparazzi and occasionally their enemy team. The only downfall to how quickly I read it is that now I have to wait even longer for the next book to come out!

I would definitely recommend this series to any gamer, and I'm sure plenty of non-gamers would enjoy it too!
14 reviews
November 8, 2023
ok but not great

The book starts out ok but a bit slow with the feeling of transport towards book 3. Quite a lot of pages are then spent on L’s way to become a women and things I don’t want to spoil that is well written but not what I wanted to read about in this kind of book so skipped ahead several times.
The last third of the book is what saves the story and feeling from book one and makes me want to read book 3.
So in the end an ok (but somewhat short) read for an evening but not exceptionally so.
150 reviews4 followers
December 16, 2023
Just keeps getting better

Just keeps getting better! This second book is awesome in terms of strategy, world building, fighting descriptions, character development, plot, and engaging writing. Fun science fiction as a prediction of near future inventions, society and government, and fascinating alien threat.
I can't wait for the next one.
Also, fortunately, I found my reread of the first book to bring me back into this world just as captivating as this first time I read it = A true sign of quality wordsmithing!
Profile Image for Kathy Austin.
170 reviews
December 17, 2023
I was happily surprised at how much the second book in this series drew me in. I'm not a gamer, and the technical/gamer jargon was rather off-putting in the first book. I get why they put it in, but it was still rather a slog to read through those parts of the first book. However, I think the authors redeemed themselves in this next book.

I loved how they developed the Lynn Raven character and showed her growth throughout the story. I also like how she's beginning to figure out what's really going on.
81 reviews
January 6, 2024
Very cool!

I loved it and can't wait for the next one!

I love Lydia as a writer, but I have to say this isn't her usual style.... but I see her touch in it. I haven't read any of Ringo's books, but I definitely need to check them out based on this series.

The story is progressing nicely, and I appreciate the character growth across the board. I look forward to Lynn connecting those elusive dots going forward. I don't want to say more beyond read the first book in the series before reading this one. And editing is as excellent as I've come to expect from Lydia's books!
Profile Image for Allen McDonnell.
552 reviews1 follower
February 7, 2025
Excellent!

For whatever reason I found book two in the series to be an easier more enjoyable novel than book one. The characters continue to develop in plausible, reasonable ways and the adventures were more intriguing.
Not to spoil anything but the relationships between the characters are good development in the theme of resisting bully's without being so heavy handed that they seem like social messaging. This can be a very hard balance to achieve and seeing it done skillfully is a pleasure.
Profile Image for Child960801.
2,799 reviews
December 10, 2025
I'm enjoying this series a lot. Our main character, Lynn, continues to grow in maturity and self confidence and her team mates also grow in this book. I found the discription of her relationship and how it just happened without her really know what was going on or what she could do about very real.

Lynn and her team have passed the qualifiers for the big tournament, but that doesn't mean things are all good. Friction in the team causes some changes and everyone has to grow and learn more about themselves and what they want from life.
4 reviews
November 10, 2023
Another book that I lost sleep reading. :)

The story marches right along and the character development is fun. I want my hero’s to have the physical and moral strength to make them interesting. The coverage of “imposter syndrome” is well done.

If you are a fan of either John Ringo or Lydia Scherrer, you know that the prose is comfortable and flows easily. I greatly enjoyed reading and it was over too soon. I have no higher praise.
Profile Image for Per Gunnar.
1,313 reviews74 followers
November 22, 2023
As with the previous book in the series this book is quite geared for the gaming community. Still, other people might, or will even probably, like it.

I’m not really a die hard game and I am getting a bit to old for the fast klick first person perspective shooters. I started my gamin “career” with Wolfenstein 3D (yes I am that old) but no I am more into slower strategy games. Preferably turn based actually.

Back to the book. It continues from where the previous book left off. See my previous review for the basics of the series.

As I wrote I found this a fun read overall. There are a few things I was not overly thrilled about though. Actually, one thing in particular. That would be that total asshat Ronnie. His stupidity and bigotry is off the charts and all he does is dragging down the book. Totally unnecessary.

Also, this is the second book where there are hints, well it is more than hints actually, it is pretty clear, that this is way more than a game. This is all fine but I really hope that the author(s) do not drag this out forever.

I think it is about time, like in the next book, that a few more characters, especially Lynn & Co, is let in on that little secret. I so hate when authors just drag out things forever. There’s only so much jump, kick, upgrade, rinse and repeat you can take (read) before it becomes boring and repetitive after all.

Having said that the book does advance the story with new discoveries here and there and also a bit of character development for the persons involved.
21 reviews1 follower
November 12, 2023
Such fun to read! Action and sense in 1 book

Yes, it has a taste of Enders game to it but oh the fun! There is a ton of action for those that love it but there is thought in each battle too! I love the budding thought of hearts starting to react to one another in an innocent life way during the insanity of our worlds pending demise. Read this series and enjoy each book as it comes. You won't regret it!
17 reviews
May 3, 2025
exceptional new series

Ringo and Sherrer have crafted an outstanding new series in TransDimensional Hunters. This series has the ‘bones’ to be an equal to Ringo’s Black Tide series with non-stop action and character development of another female teenager but without repeating from his earlier books. Lydia Sherrer has done an excellent job of writing. I highly recommend this book and series. I look forward to the next book.
132 reviews
December 24, 2025
Given how engaging the first book was, i was looking forward to this. but it's a tired, formulaic and cliched repeat of the first with more relationship and social media focus than any gaming/fighting. It takes 333 pages for the protagonist to suggest the team not have another ego-centric and incompetent captain (rather than offering to step in). I get that women tend to be self-deprecatory, but who wants to read tiresomely triggering drivel..
Profile Image for Katrina Espey.
2 reviews1 follower
November 9, 2023
I loved the first book and couldn't wait for this one. It didn't disappoint. I was up until 3am reading it the day it came out, just finished it tonight.
Can't wait for the next book in the series. Great development of not only the story but also the characters. And yes, even the villains- the human ones that is.
Oh, and I adore Edgar's gaming handle!!!!!
Nice Easter egg!
77 reviews
November 9, 2023
Fantastic. Go and get it now!

I really loved the book and series. Can’t wait for the rest. I especially appreciate the way it deals not just with gaming and action but also the issues one deal with in daily life. Bullying, stress and overcoming struggles. Go and get tour copy. I’m sure you will love it too.
Profile Image for William Howe.
1,800 reviews87 followers
November 10, 2023
surreal

That’s the word I want to use. I can tell that I am reading a book by John Ringo. but it is also a young adult book, with all of the teenage angst baked in. Then you have the moments where the secret war is revealed.

You can probably get away with just reading this one, but you should really read both books in order to understand the characters.
100 reviews2 followers
November 18, 2023
NO!!! DON’T Stop now!!!

I need this story to keep going! I love how the Strike Team has grown and Lynn has developed both physically and emotionally. All the characters have become real people for me. Edgar needs to stop dawdling and let Lynn know how he feels! They need to get on with saving the world so they can have those grand babies;-)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews

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