The Ultimation

Play to Live #7

by D. Rus

The magic flames are raging. Blades are melting. Souls are reduced to ashes in the fury of battle. The grand finale of the war for the First Temple is upon us. The last trump cards have been played, the reserves are all exhausted, and even the gods have engaged in the plebeian fight. The universe is on the point of collapse. Broken are the chains that held the worlds together. The icy waters of the Baltic cool the scorching sands of the Frontier. The creatures of AlterWorld spill the first blood on the quiet streets of Earth’s cities.
What is Max to do? Become embittered and butcher his enemies? Seize the deserted castles and abandoned lands? Attempt to save the one who had given her life for him? Or try to win the jackpot by finding a way home, back to Earth?

Genres: Fantasy, Virtual Reality, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Russia, Mmorpg

197 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

D. Rus is a young Russian author whose books took the Russian literary market by storm in 2013. AlterWorld - the first novel of his Play to Live series - made him a bestselling author overnight as critics now credit him with single-handedly creating a new science fiction genre: LitRPG. Set in the virtual reality of MMORPG - Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games - his books tell stories of real people who'd become stuck in the game and are forced to follow its rules while preserving their intergrity and fighting to make their new world a better place. The five books of the series have created a huge following as more authors followed suit, making LitRPG the latest bestselling Russian genre that merges science fiction, fantasy and gaming conventions. D. Rus has been nominated for Start, one of Russia's prestigious literary prizes for the best debut science fiction novel. The first two novels of the Play to Live series - AlterWorld and The Clan - have been translated into English, and talks are under way to have the rest of the series published on Amazon.

Reviews

[Lazybee · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading The legendary moonlight sculptor and coiled dragon, I feel that this book below average.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall good series, for me it got weaker as it progressed but if you're a litRPG fan with a strong desire to read of epic war battles one after another then you'll like the latter books more then me. I prefer weaker characters who accomplish great things. I loved that the author used Gods from Tolkien's Middle Earth as pantheons in his game.

[Lundos · Rating 3 out of 5]

The conclusion of the weird(ly satisfying) Alterworld series.

As the Devils attack Earth we don't really get the feeling that it's so bad - ok Africa and Australia is lost and millions are dead in the Americas, Asia and in Europe. But Max is more powerful than the Gods and he can brings his power to Earth so it's not really a problem. To combat the too increased power of Max the author adds monsters from other games - Diablo and Heroes of Might and Magic (3 - the best of them). But Max is unkillable and can resurrect so no danger.

The ending
A two page ending. Very fitting and actually well done. Max finishes the game, beats the last boss and becomes a God.

[Devan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was expecting more

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed this, especially the end, but I feel like nothing really happened. This book could be half the length without sacrificing anything. I found my attention wandering quite a bit.

[Kurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's almost like book 6 was written by a different author. Books 5 and 7 were so... meh. There was a lot of potential wasted here, not to mention the unanswered questions. Oh well, thus ends the least interesting LitRPG series of the ones I'm reading. It had some good bits, but mostly it was just ok.

[Cergorach · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't write reviews often, almost never actually, but when I do it's because of something a bit more extreme then usual. Usually because it's terribly bad in some way.

This review isn't just about one book in the series, it's about all seven of them. The books themselves are terribly short at around 200-250 pages, the last one going under 200.

Let me start by saying that if you cannot read around sexism, misogyny, racism, Russian nationalism, homophobia/hate, etc. This entire series is not for you the first (free) book isn't that bad, the farther you go into the series, the worse it becomes and you'll be able to ignore it less and less. If you love that sort of thing, this series will rate an absolute 5 out of 5 for you, you won't notice the other things wrong in the books, I just don't want to know you. If you can read around those things, I still am not certain that you should read this series.

One really annoying thing in the series is inconsistency, some of it you could write of due to a bad translation (from Russian), but it's so rampant that I suspect that it's the author and no one did any actual good editing. The author is also very bad at math and numbers in general, the average of a price of 10.000 and 100.000 isn't 50.000, it's 55.000. That's the most obvious example, but there are many, many others. On their own not an issue, but combined with the inconsistencies, it's starts to annoy.

The first book is free, it's the least offensive in the lineup, but the rest of the series isn't worth $5-$7 for a digital copy that's so short and certainly not the $17 for a physical copy.

Not everything is bad though, I read through the series in a week and quite often the writer had my attention with cool ideas that made me want to see what happened next. But then absolutely grinding to a halt when he went of again about the "place of the woman and the role of the man" or a "girlfriends training manual". Being an Goblin, Orc, or Troll is alright, even an actual demon is (initially) welcomed as an ally, but if you black, yellow or god forbid, Jewish... *facepalm* This isn't unique to this series or this character by this author, I checked out his other book and found similar issues. It's as if it was written with a certain target audience in mind...

This could have been an interesting and enjoyable experience if all the bigotry was removed and a good editor went over the book with a fine tooth-comb removing all the inconsistencies.

I'm no white knight, I can read/watch around a lot of stuff that I don't agree with or have no interest in. But even I have limits and this sorely tested them. There is bigotry in a lot of older titles, written in a different time, for example The Destroyer series which was mostly written in the 60s-70s, but this is from a (Russian) kid and written in 2012-2015.

There are far better, more consistent, and less offensive titles that cover this genre.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started this series because I was interested in the concept of getting sucked into a fantasy series. By the end there are tanks and guns and nukes. I very specifically don't read those types of books because they hit too close to home. Of the seven books in the series, this was absolutely my least favorite. 80% of the novel didn't even take place on Alterworld. If I hadn't already invested myself into 6 books and pushing 50 hours of said story, I wouldn't have finished this book. The ending was exceptionally rushed and lackluster. Zero resolution. SO MANY plot threads left unresolved. This is even better at The Chris Carter effect than Chris Carter was with his own body of work (X-Files, specifically).

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This Series is more than just about games, it is one.

First three books are easy difficulty. Easy to read, easy to enjoy and easy to finish.

Next two are medium. Less fun to read, still decent and has a lot of great moments but harder to get through.

Last two are set to Max Difficulty. A pain to read, not much fun. (1 example. theres a fight in the last one that takes an hour to get through on the audiobook version... no twists or plots, complicated tactics or special skills. they just blandly fight the same dudes for a solid hour.)

[Merr49 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book bad translation (I couldn't wait).

[Mortimer Snerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

a torrent of action!

Our main character is a relatable noob who through luck and circumstance becomes the most powerful hero of his age. This book has action, intrigue, our hero overcomes all odds but still pays a price. This is no adolescent fantasy character who is incredible lucky and overpowers the other players.

This guy is a regular guy. Russian but still regular. It’s interesting to glean a little Russian culture from the author. If accurate, the temperament is wholly foreign to us as Americans.

There is the mixture of modern culture interposed with a centuries old culture in a part of the world we don’t know much about. This mixture of honorable behavior in a world of corruption and a little seasoning of larceny. I like to Greedy Pig character trait; as if it weren’t part of the main character and yet still it’s core!

I’ve made Russian salad more times than I can say (no ham!). I’m over it, way over it!

The torrent of words, the flow and articulation is tremendous. The complex internal dialogue that is constant and yet seamless with the external. This author is a wordsmith with skill! Better educated than most English language writers, this book is grammatically correct and structurally sound and yet keeps the idioms or at least the feel of Russian perspective.

I would hope to know how accurate it is. I can’t help but wonder how the author is doing in this world crisis that Putin has created…or maybe that not the authors perspective.

Is the common soldier a thief and vandal (are all common soldiers?).

Russia has this weird mix of third world country and 1st world education. A long history of intellectualism along with very rough living conditions by western standards.

At least I so I imagine and the main characters internal monologue supports that view.

Anyway, a great story an epic effort for the author. Thank you. Thank you. Great fun!

[Tony · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having LOVED this genre and the first few books (1-4) available, I’ve eagerly awaited each new installment of this series and was (without fail) disappointed after every release. The last...2 books in this series seemed to be written by someone else. Storyline (which started off fantastic) was dramatically changed from LitRPG to just war! The main character changed into an egomaniac that now belittles women, treats comrades horribly, and with every other word in these books, swears uncontrollably. So, he now appears has some sort of Tourette syndrome then?? Only got about 50% through final book before I couldn’t take it any longer! What a waste of time and an unfortunate ending to what could have been a great series

[Nanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ending of this series felt terribly rushed. It seemed like the author just wanted to get it over with...

Anyways as a whole this series was decent but not truly exciting, it's storytelling was so haphazard and events just seemed to completely fall from the sky. As a reader this left me detached and not truly caring about what went on in the stories, I felt like a spectator rather then being emerged in a story. Not necessarily a bad thing but it made me care less about everything that went on. I still really enjoy the LitRPG genre and will continue to explore new stories there but I think I can do without D.Rus's stories in the future.

[Jonathan Pettit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great! LitRPG, fantasy series, book 7. Max / Lathe continues to grow in power in Alterworld. Alterworld and the Earth are breached as the demonic hordes of Asmodeus attempt to enslave Earth. And, of course, Max goes to save the Motherland, and the rest of earth. The characters are still interesting, but always seem to have a solution on hand, perhaps too easily? The book was much better than the last one and advanced the story significantly, and is back on track, though I'm not sure where book 8 will lead. The series and the author will continue on my to-read list. Great narration by Michael Goldstrom for the audible version.

[Antoine Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit disappointing.

All strands come more or less together, Laith manages to survive all that gets thrown at him, the reading is fast-paced... but.. like everything since book 4, it feels very rushed.
Besides the issue in book 6 with Bagheraa and Tigress getting mixed up, we have many storylines not brought to a satisfying conclusion:
- does Dan reunite with his family ?
- are the PCs rescued in time ?
- what happens in real world ?
- are bridges between worlds kept open ?

Just to name a few.

I know the author wanted only to finish the story of Laith, but nonetheless, a bit disappointing.

[Lubos Elexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Šestka bola strašná, toto bolo len zlé. Akoby sám autor to chcel mať rýchlo za sebou. Všetko to, čo robí LitRPG zaujímavou, sa tu pokašľalo. Zaujímavá myšlienka prepojenia svetov padla za obeť politikárčeniu a keď som v dvoch tretinách knihy zistil, že sa ešte nič nestalo, odpočítaval som stranu za stranou, nech to už mám zavreté. Skončilo to ako guláš špionáže, záškodníctva, hrdinstva, čarodejníctva, až tak, že sa šesť dielov rozvíjajúceho sveta (klastra) na konci nikam nedostala, postavy vyšumeli a hrdina skončil na Zemi. Najhoršie hodnotím to, že v podstate všetky kľúčové postavy autor niekde zabudol, akoby bol zbytočné. A to vrátane vlastnej rodiny.

[Derek · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really liked the other books I found them amazing but ever since the last few books seems like quality has dropped a little. It was fine I know every book in the series cant be as amazing as the others were. But in the last book which is the final book in the series you fucked up the ending so bad. I will never read another one of you books ever again, I fucking hate you and wish I had never read any of your books to begin with. I have never been this angry with an author ever! Not even the "Dark Tower Series" which just starts over at the end at least its an ending though. It not that It was bad ending you left out a huge amount of unfinished story, you left us with a cliff hanger with no fucking end or explanation If you had another book I would be ok with the cliff hanger but you just rushed what seemed like the last 3rd of the book and cut off the ending to the series. How are you going to have what was supposed to be the final battle last like 4 mins/few pages and then leave everything out there is many many many unfinished parts in the story what about the earth? what about the angles? what about alter world? what about the new ability's max unlocked at the end?There where so many plots and events that were foreshadowed and brought up that were never discussed especially with Max the main character. Its like there is a meteor on the path to destroy the world and we plant a bomb on it before it gets to earth and the bomb is placed and we are about to blow it up but just then the book ends no conclusion not even a crappy one with the world being destroyed and everybody dying no conclusion at all no explanation on if anything when wrong or if the earth was saved. If your not going to finish a series then don't start one you fucking piece of shit.

[Carol Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not high literature, if you ever played and enjoyed RPGs or MMORPGs you will have a blast with this entire series. I've been an RPG fan since the old days of Telengard, and found these books had great world building and characters, events and terms that any player newb, noob or leet could follow and enjoy. For nongamers, it may be a fun way to get a feeling for why gamers have so much fun online.

[Kelly Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an ok series. Was worth the read. Drifted into clan politics a little too much and had some propaganda moments but all in all the story was fun. There was one glaring error that bugged me though. The author forgot which feline was the pet in a later book and had the main character chumming up to the wrong one.

[Brad Theado · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've never hated a book as badly as I do this one because I loved the rest of the series. Really loved. I hated this one so badly I just stopped reading it because I just stopped caring. Got about 1/3 in and just stopped out of rage.

[Jose Porras · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite series, even though it felt a little rushed a the end.

But after some 'detective work' found out that the author is working on book 8 with a estimated translated release in 2018.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this 7 book series. But, the last two books were a whole lot weaker than the first five. The author started going off on additional tangents while leaving obvious ones unfinished. Still, all in all, it was a fun series to read.

[Eduard Antipa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did give 4 stars to other books in the series and i would have given 4 to this one, but is the last and overall i really liked the series.
Likes: The world / the idea. I really hated the idea that all we want from a woman is to be submissive and look good and be "available"

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the series, really didn't expect this to wrap up so quickly. I felt like there were a lot of unfulfilled plot lines. I look forward to the future works mentioned in the outro/postscript.

[David Bos · Rating 4 out of 5]

No resolution chapter.

Epic build up to the final battle then it's over in a page without resolving olga, taali or a myriad of other plot lines. Feels like the author couldnt be bothered finishing so just wrote a full stop and printed 'the end'

[Alex Mazuryak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Вся серія книг читалась на одному подиху, всі хто любить мморпг та фентазі світ та поступовий розвиток та становлення з простої та звичайної людини в героя! Запрошую до цього чудового перебування в Дру світі. Я впевнений що вам сподобається!

[Oleksii Shyliaiev · Rating 1 out of 5]

И все бы ничего, все можно понять. Кроме ура-патриотизма, разбавленного шовинизмом, о котором я говорил ранее, войной с американцами, куда же без них? И всего прочего, что так любо промытым мозгам. Это печально. А могло быть вполне хорошо.

[Zrzi čte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Už jsem ani nedoufala, že se dočkám pokračování Glebova dobrodružství, takže zjištění že je kniha dostupná aspoň jako ekniha, bylo velkým překvapením.
Finále pokračuje ve stejném duchu jako předešlé díly. Ano, je to plné klišé, naivní a předvídatelné ale mě to i tak baví. Od začátku do konce je to nabité akcí a prakticky není chvilka oddechu. Pro mě je to především oddechové čtení a jde mi jen o to abych se bavila, a to Hraju abych žil splňuje. Konec je klasicky utnutý v nejlepším a já budu doufat že i případné další díly budou dostupné aspoň jako eknihy.

[Erik Larson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give the entire series five stars easily. The final book was a bit off-putting, but it didn’t take away from how enjoyable the series was. I didn’t like how he brought everything together because it made the LitRPG element feel irrelevant, but up until the ending, it was great.

[Laura May · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Kevin Mc Cafferty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

What a great ending, sad to see it end but it was a thrilling ride from start to finish! Thank you Dimitri Russ!