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Shadow for Hire #1

Shadow Gambit

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An impossible quest for a legendary item.

I love questing for loot.

And the more difficult the quest, the greater the reward.

So when I'm offered a chance to retrieve the ultimate treasure of all, I signed up.

Yet no one warned me the task would be impossible. Against overwhelming odds I'm also expected to defeat an ancient evil - one with the power of a god.

But you know what?

Some loot is worth risking it all.

The digital edition of this book also includes several bonus titles for a limited time.

319 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 27, 2016

86 people are currently reading
110 people want to read

About the author

Adam Drake

20 books8 followers

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5 stars
22 (18%)
4 stars
41 (34%)
3 stars
41 (34%)
2 stars
13 (11%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
12 reviews
February 12, 2019
My first LitRpg

I enjoyed this book. It was my first LitRpg, so I don’t have anything to compare it to. I am usually a slow reader but I got through this book rather quickly. I am definitely going to read book 2 sometime. It is free. No excuse not to try it.
Profile Image for Brian Tubbs.
95 reviews18 followers
October 4, 2017
Very Enjoyable

It's not high-brow literature by any means. Not nearly as nuanced or sophisticated as other books, but I found it very enjoyable nonetheless.
391 reviews1 follower
December 27, 2024
Shadow Gambit

Her character is a thief, a damn good thief. She loves nothing more than to quest after an item. Even multipart quests where one item leads you to another, and another, and so on. Usually, the harder the quest, the greater the loot, the greater the payout. Her level was high enough for her to have an NPC for a companion to help her out with small jobs or simple instructions. She thought she had completed the last leg of a multipart quest, but it was another link, and to a legendary quest no less. She thought legendary quests were mythical; they did not exist, but here she was, holding one right now. Then, out of the blue, someone messaged her in the game. She had just received this scroll, and now somebody was trying to buy it from her. Not only buy it, but buy it above market value. Most quests of uber and above require a team before they can be activated. That is if she wanted to go on this quest herself. Else, this guy would give her triple the value, and he would supply a player to protect his interests. She would need help, help she could trust.

I like this genre/trope. Between its real-world reality and fantastic RPG total immersion game. The physical world-building is OK. The ethereal world-building is personal. The character's interaction is believable. The character's history is mostly missing, but there is not a really huge need for it.

This tale contains all of the advertised genres. I give this tale four stars out of five stars.


Profile Image for Phillip Murrell.
Author 10 books68 followers
June 6, 2020
Too meta for my tastes

I can officially say LITRPG isn't for me. I've tried a few and none have sucked me in. This was a good enough story, but I would have preferred it to have been "real" instead of an MMORPG online. The characters were cool (especially Phlixx and Mudhoof) and the ending was satisfying, though it was a "to be continued." I also noticed a higher than expected number of typos; the book needs another pass at editing. Overall, LITRPG fans will likely enjoy this series.
Profile Image for SeveredTherapy.
Author 9 books1 follower
October 30, 2025
I love when it throws you right into the action and Mr. Drake did an impeccable job of this. There were a few moments that felt a little forced, but overall, a very fun read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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