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Viridian Gate Online #1
Cataclysm
October, 2042
An extinction-level asteroid, 213 Astraea, is cannonballing toward Earth. Collision, imminent. An international team of scientists is working around the clock to avert the cataclysm—few are optimistic. World governments are preparing for impact with deep earth bio-dome bunkers, but only a select few lottery winners will be saved.
Jack Mitchel, a thirty-two-year-old EMT living in a tiny studio apartment on the West Coast, isn’t one of those winners.
Still, there might be a way for him to survive Astraea: a slim chance, requiring a radical leap of faith. Through a connection at Osmark Technologies, Jack’s acquired a NexGenVR capsule and with it, a one-way ticket to the brand-new, ultra-immersive, fantasy-based VRMMORPG, Viridian Gate Online. Taking that leap of faith, though, means permanently trapping his mind in the game, killing his body in the process.
Worse, one in six die during the transition, and even if Jack beats the odds, he’ll have to navigate a fantastical world that’s home to vicious monsters, domineering AIs, and cutthroat players. And when Jack stumbles upon a secret conspiracy to sell off virtual real estate to the ultrawealthy—transforming V.G.O. into a new feudal dark age—the deadly creatures inhabiting Viridian Gate’s expansive dungeons will be the least of his concerns.
If Jack can’t game the system, he’s going to be trading in a quick death for a long, brutal one …
An extinction-level asteroid, 213 Astraea, is cannonballing toward Earth. Collision, imminent. An international team of scientists is working around the clock to avert the cataclysm—few are optimistic. World governments are preparing for impact with deep earth bio-dome bunkers, but only a select few lottery winners will be saved.
Jack Mitchel, a thirty-two-year-old EMT living in a tiny studio apartment on the West Coast, isn’t one of those winners.
Still, there might be a way for him to survive Astraea: a slim chance, requiring a radical leap of faith. Through a connection at Osmark Technologies, Jack’s acquired a NexGenVR capsule and with it, a one-way ticket to the brand-new, ultra-immersive, fantasy-based VRMMORPG, Viridian Gate Online. Taking that leap of faith, though, means permanently trapping his mind in the game, killing his body in the process.
Worse, one in six die during the transition, and even if Jack beats the odds, he’ll have to navigate a fantastical world that’s home to vicious monsters, domineering AIs, and cutthroat players. And when Jack stumbles upon a secret conspiracy to sell off virtual real estate to the ultrawealthy—transforming V.G.O. into a new feudal dark age—the deadly creatures inhabiting Viridian Gate’s expansive dungeons will be the least of his concerns.
If Jack can’t game the system, he’s going to be trading in a quick death for a long, brutal one …
306 pages, ebook
First published December 23, 2016
2083 people are currently reading
2276 people want to read
About the author
James A. Hunter
79 books1,110 followersJames Hunter is a full-time ink slinger, a member of SFWA, and the bestselling author of Vigil Bound, Rogue Dungeon, Shadowcroft Academy, Bibliomancer (The Completionist Chronicles Expanded Universe), and the litRPG epic Viridian Gate Online! In addition to writing, James also runs Shadow Alley Press, an industry leader that specializes in publishing LitRPG, Fantasy, and selection Science Fiction.
James is a former Marine Corps Sergeant, combat veteran, and pirate hunter (seriously). He’s also a member of The Royal Order of the Shellback—’cause that’s totally a real thing. And a spaceship captain, can’t forget that. Okay … the last one probably isn’t true. When not writing or spending time with family, James occasionally finds time to eat and sleep.
Find out more about James Hunter at www.ShadowAlleyPress.com
James is a former Marine Corps Sergeant, combat veteran, and pirate hunter (seriously). He’s also a member of The Royal Order of the Shellback—’cause that’s totally a real thing. And a spaceship captain, can’t forget that. Okay … the last one probably isn’t true. When not writing or spending time with family, James occasionally finds time to eat and sleep.
Find out more about James Hunter at www.ShadowAlleyPress.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 380 reviews
September 24, 2022
A good start to the series with a diversity of attitudes and characters. 8 of 10 stars
September 19, 2018
Rolling review.
This started really well, but as soon as we got into the "game", it's like we totally forgot WHY we logged in in the first place. What a waste of a very powerful introduction. All the potential conflict and angst, and how events IRL would affect in-game behaviour was just... thrown away...
And seriously, what is it with the "hoarding points" nonsense? It's ridiculous! Points ARE your strength. Hoarding them stupidly reduces your effectiveness on the field, and ends up painting all opponents as weaklings.
Basically, the only role the MC has is being the recipient of a ridiculous roll of lucky coincidences, with very little agency. And the whole "Hero" vibe is annoying... Is this a YA book? I didn't look at the disclaimer.
Finally, I got to the MC's first fight and shit just hit the freaking fan.
I mean, he was getting trounced, down to 10% in 2 hits, and he... refuses to loose because it's uncool, so he pulls an OP on us, without ever having assigned a single skill point?!
That's it. I'm outta here.
I'm clearly not the target audience for this book.
I'll let more enlightened people enjoy.
Peace out.
This started really well, but as soon as we got into the "game", it's like we totally forgot WHY we logged in in the first place. What a waste of a very powerful introduction. All the potential conflict and angst, and how events IRL would affect in-game behaviour was just... thrown away...
And seriously, what is it with the "hoarding points" nonsense? It's ridiculous! Points ARE your strength. Hoarding them stupidly reduces your effectiveness on the field, and ends up painting all opponents as weaklings.
Basically, the only role the MC has is being the recipient of a ridiculous roll of lucky coincidences, with very little agency. And the whole "Hero" vibe is annoying... Is this a YA book? I didn't look at the disclaimer.
Finally, I got to the MC's first fight and shit just hit the freaking fan.
I mean, he was getting trounced, down to 10% in 2 hits, and he... refuses to loose because it's uncool, so he pulls an OP on us, without ever having assigned a single skill point?!
That's it. I'm outta here.
I'm clearly not the target audience for this book.
I'll let more enlightened people enjoy.
Peace out.
July 6, 2022
This is my 4th dive into the world of LitRPG. After giving out only 1's and 2's I can officially say this is the best I've read. It's still far from being a great book, but it left me feeling hopeful. I do appreciate that each series has their own unique spin on it. I just wish the authors were better trained/experienced in traditional literature.
The problem with LitRPGs is the weak story and characters. The story here I found more interesting than the rest. It's the end of the world so dump your body and exist as data in a server. If an asteroid is headed for Earth that will destroy everything and everyone, how does this game continue to exist? I hope the sequel covers that unanswered question and focuses more on world building than leveling and quests. The in-game story is a global power struggle as the elite try to reclaim their status in their new digital existence. My favorite thing about this book is that it is void of childish/nerdish humor. Those almost never go over well with me.
So in MMORPGs there are players and NPCs (non-player characters AKA AI). Here you meet two player characters who in turn have their own NPC ally. The two real people have very little depth to them. The irony is that the two NPC allies somehow are overflowing with life and personality. Is this social commentary on how dull the average person is or does the author struggle writing about realistic people?
Unlike the other 3 reads (I'm looking at you Ready Player One!), I will be continuing this series. I'm hoping over time the author levels up his writing skill to at least an expert rank.
The problem with LitRPGs is the weak story and characters. The story here I found more interesting than the rest. It's the end of the world so dump your body and exist as data in a server. If an asteroid is headed for Earth that will destroy everything and everyone, how does this game continue to exist? I hope the sequel covers that unanswered question and focuses more on world building than leveling and quests. The in-game story is a global power struggle as the elite try to reclaim their status in their new digital existence. My favorite thing about this book is that it is void of childish/nerdish humor. Those almost never go over well with me.
So in MMORPGs there are players and NPCs (non-player characters AKA AI). Here you meet two player characters who in turn have their own NPC ally. The two real people have very little depth to them. The irony is that the two NPC allies somehow are overflowing with life and personality. Is this social commentary on how dull the average person is or does the author struggle writing about realistic people?
Unlike the other 3 reads (I'm looking at you Ready Player One!), I will be continuing this series. I'm hoping over time the author levels up his writing skill to at least an expert rank.
April 3, 2022
A world ending asteroid is days away from hitting the Earth and the options for survival are limited. There are special bunkers for the lucky few and a strange option available for others. To live through uploading their mind's into a cutting edge video game, Viridian Gate Online. Jack Mitchel is one of the lucky ones with the option to do it and he's decided to survive even if it's in video game form. There's a 1 in 6 chance the upload fails and the person dies, but it's still better odds than surviving the asteroid.
Cataclysm is my first read of a LITRPG book. As a person who has enjoyed RPGs I decided to give a try after getting the recommendation of others. A positive is the characters and overall writing is good. Jack and his NPC friend Cutter are interesting individuals and we meet some others who are equally interesting. The location and battle descriptions were also good.
The downside however is the book largely reads like a YouTuber doing a walkthrough of an RPG game. A lot of time is spent by Jack or Grim Jack which becomes his name in game, focusing on the graphics, reviewing his class options, reviewing his skill tree, and deciding how to use his skill points. I personally would have enjoyed the story more without those elements, but that likely just means LITRPGs will never be my genre of choice.
Cataclysm was a solid book that was easy to read. I'm not sure how interested I am in seeing where the story goes next, but I have a few free months of Kindle Unlimited so I may come back to Viridian Gate Online.
Cataclysm is my first read of a LITRPG book. As a person who has enjoyed RPGs I decided to give a try after getting the recommendation of others. A positive is the characters and overall writing is good. Jack and his NPC friend Cutter are interesting individuals and we meet some others who are equally interesting. The location and battle descriptions were also good.
The downside however is the book largely reads like a YouTuber doing a walkthrough of an RPG game. A lot of time is spent by Jack or Grim Jack which becomes his name in game, focusing on the graphics, reviewing his class options, reviewing his skill tree, and deciding how to use his skill points. I personally would have enjoyed the story more without those elements, but that likely just means LITRPGs will never be my genre of choice.
Cataclysm was a solid book that was easy to read. I'm not sure how interested I am in seeing where the story goes next, but I have a few free months of Kindle Unlimited so I may come back to Viridian Gate Online.
January 2, 2019
Rating 3.5 stars
Typical LitRPG book. Since I like the genre, I liked the book, but there really wasn't anything special about it. The premise was interesting in that an asteroid was on a collision course with the earth and most people were going to die. Viridian online is on online game that would allow some people to live-on in the virtual world. Their bodies would die but then their minds would live on in the game. This was actually a pretty good premise, in a lot of these books, the reason for people being stuck in the game isn't very believable, but I can understand why someone would put themselves in this game. What followed though, did not make a lot of sense given that set up. The world was just like any other in the genre (midieval times with swords, magic, dungeons, etc.) If the world were really ending and someone created a virtual world to escape to, why would it be that type of world? Why not somewhere with the current time or future/space. For gamers I can see why this would the ideal world to live, but the game wasn't developed for just gamers, but anyone who wanted to live.
There is nothing really special about Jack. He is not the smartest person in the world, and also isn't the best gamer. His biggest attribute is that he is lucky. He ends up getting power-leveled but the reason was actually pretty good.
There also isn't anything special about the other characters in the book either. Sometimes there is good chemistry and banter between the characters but nothing that is very memorable. The final battle was kind of a joke. Jack was sent on a mission to kill something that should have been impossible for someone 8 times his level. He goes in with no real plan. It worked out in the end and how he defeated the creature made sense, I just didn't like that he came up with the plan on the spur of the moment and it just so happens to be the only way anyone could have defeated the creature. I prefer a little more planning in my characters. One of the other things I can't stand in these types of books is when the player is now in this world for good and yet they still treat it like a game. There was one moment where Jack was exploring and admitted that he should go back because he did not have very good weapons or equipment and also had no backup with him, but the gamer in him told him he should keep on going? That is all well and good when it is a game, but this is now his new existence and he can feel pain. Even if someone can't die for good, I can't imagine anyone in that situation not caring about getting hurt and being in pain? I just wish these characters treated it more like real life and less like a game.
Typical LitRPG book. Since I like the genre, I liked the book, but there really wasn't anything special about it. The premise was interesting in that an asteroid was on a collision course with the earth and most people were going to die. Viridian online is on online game that would allow some people to live-on in the virtual world. Their bodies would die but then their minds would live on in the game. This was actually a pretty good premise, in a lot of these books, the reason for people being stuck in the game isn't very believable, but I can understand why someone would put themselves in this game. What followed though, did not make a lot of sense given that set up. The world was just like any other in the genre (midieval times with swords, magic, dungeons, etc.) If the world were really ending and someone created a virtual world to escape to, why would it be that type of world? Why not somewhere with the current time or future/space. For gamers I can see why this would the ideal world to live, but the game wasn't developed for just gamers, but anyone who wanted to live.
There is nothing really special about Jack. He is not the smartest person in the world, and also isn't the best gamer. His biggest attribute is that he is lucky. He ends up getting power-leveled but the reason was actually pretty good.
There also isn't anything special about the other characters in the book either. Sometimes there is good chemistry and banter between the characters but nothing that is very memorable. The final battle was kind of a joke. Jack was sent on a mission to kill something that should have been impossible for someone 8 times his level. He goes in with no real plan. It worked out in the end and how he defeated the creature made sense, I just didn't like that he came up with the plan on the spur of the moment and it just so happens to be the only way anyone could have defeated the creature. I prefer a little more planning in my characters. One of the other things I can't stand in these types of books is when the player is now in this world for good and yet they still treat it like a game. There was one moment where Jack was exploring and admitted that he should go back because he did not have very good weapons or equipment and also had no backup with him, but the gamer in him told him he should keep on going? That is all well and good when it is a game, but this is now his new existence and he can feel pain. Even if someone can't die for good, I can't imagine anyone in that situation not caring about getting hurt and being in pain? I just wish these characters treated it more like real life and less like a game.
May 24, 2017
Viridian Gate Online: Cataclysm (The Viridian Gate Archives #1) by J.A. Hunter is an exciting online litRPG book. The end of the world is coming and a company has made a way for your brain to live on in a game online as the asteroid comes to destroy the world. But in the game, you will feel everything. The game can be deadly. Very exciting book, I got totally wrapped up in it and was yelling at the tablet. I am not even a gamer and was wondering if he needs to check for loot in each room! LOL. I really thought this book was outstanding. I look forward to book 2.
July 18, 2021
Well, evidently this was a great choice for my first foray into litRPG. This starts with a sci-fi-ish end-of-the-world type deal to set up the why of the game, but once you get into it's basically fantasy with the video game elements you'd expect from a litRPG book. I found it to be a really fun read mostly thanks to a compelling game world and a good protagonist with some strong side characters.
The regular references to "IRL" did grate a little, and there were other cringey writing elements at times, but those were easy to overlook and it was fairly well-written overall. This first entry in the series focuses on Jack learning how VGO works but by the end of it there's a strong setup for the rest of the series. I'm excited to continue with this series.
The regular references to "IRL" did grate a little, and there were other cringey writing elements at times, but those were easy to overlook and it was fairly well-written overall. This first entry in the series focuses on Jack learning how VGO works but by the end of it there's a strong setup for the rest of the series. I'm excited to continue with this series.
June 6, 2018
4.5 stars. Lots of LitRPG fun. Loved it.
August 3, 2022
A good start to the Viridian Gate Online series. Nothing too special right now, aside from the reason why Jack immerses himself into the the world of Eldgard. I can only hope that things'll start getting more exciting in the next book.
May 10, 2021
If you like gaming and long, extended descriptions regarding xp and profenicy points etc. Then this is for you. Also, there's spiders. A lot of talk about spiders... too much I would say. But that's just me.
It's dark. I won't lie, at times too much for me, but that's because I have this thing about the world ending... I don't mind zombies or any of that stuff, but give me a giant comet or and ice age or a solar flare that'll wipe out humanity and... nope. Can't cope with it.
The world is ending and one way to avoid death (possibly) is to acquire a NexGenVR capsule and try your luck with fantasy-based VRMMORPG which will allow you to live on inside Viridian Gate Online. Which is what Jack does.
Anyway, in summary, it was good. A lot of talk about xp and points, which got a bit repetitive at times. Dark, so dark at some points. *cough* spiders *cough* you've been warned twice now.
Reccomend it for LITRPG fans.
It's dark. I won't lie, at times too much for me, but that's because I have this thing about the world ending... I don't mind zombies or any of that stuff, but give me a giant comet or and ice age or a solar flare that'll wipe out humanity and... nope. Can't cope with it.
The world is ending and one way to avoid death (possibly) is to acquire a NexGenVR capsule and try your luck with fantasy-based VRMMORPG which will allow you to live on inside Viridian Gate Online. Which is what Jack does.
Anyway, in summary, it was good. A lot of talk about xp and points, which got a bit repetitive at times. Dark, so dark at some points. *cough* spiders *cough* you've been warned twice now.
Reccomend it for LITRPG fans.
February 26, 2019
If you are a fan of LitRPG this series is a worthwhile read. So far I would rate it behind Awaken Online, The Land, Way of the Shaman, and Emerilia Series, but comparable to the Play to Live series. It isn't anything ground breaking in the genre, but I do enjoy the bit more realistic aspects of the nature of the game. For instance, unlike most game worlds were everybody starts on equal footing. The corrupt power hungry rich and powerful in the real world, start off corrupt power hungry individuals in the game world. As to how this happens you will need to read the book. It does give a more starch view on humanity's behavior, but it is sadly probably much more accurate.
I do believe it is a good addition to the genre and look forward to how it grows and develops as each subsequent book has been better than the last. With that being said I would recommend it as a to read if you are a fan of LITRPG type books. They are super quick reads as well so it doesn't take much time investment to finish them.
I do believe it is a good addition to the genre and look forward to how it grows and develops as each subsequent book has been better than the last. With that being said I would recommend it as a to read if you are a fan of LITRPG type books. They are super quick reads as well so it doesn't take much time investment to finish them.
March 30, 2019
Mini-Review:
4 Stars for Narration by Armen Taylor (New Narrator to Keep an Eye Out For)
4 Stars for MC: Jack
3 Stars for Story
Nice intro into a new VR game world and end of the world scenario. I like Jack and the way he stumbles into the game and plays. Solid setup for setting in the game world and establishing a few cool story lines. I look forward to seeing how the story will spin out. I hope it becomes as great as the potential I've glimpsed in the book.
4 Stars for Narration by Armen Taylor (New Narrator to Keep an Eye Out For)
4 Stars for MC: Jack
3 Stars for Story
Nice intro into a new VR game world and end of the world scenario. I like Jack and the way he stumbles into the game and plays. Solid setup for setting in the game world and establishing a few cool story lines. I look forward to seeing how the story will spin out. I hope it becomes as great as the potential I've glimpsed in the book.
June 16, 2017
LitRPG has been a hit or miss genre to me since I discovered it a couple years ago. While there are some really good books in it, there are also some that just seem to be trying to cash in by writing a generic story which just adds stats/leveling up and dungeon crawls and loot drops to be called LitRPG and grab onto the popularity the genre is currently having. That being said, Viridian Gate Online: Cateclysm, is not one of those. It is, in fact, my favorite title in the Genre, surpassing the Way of the Shaman series. Thats a pretty good recommendation in my opinion.
Viridian Gate Online (VGO) has a fairly unique premise. The story starts off with Jack, an EMT, conflicted over whether he should get into the immersion pod for VGO provided to him by an old college friend that works for the company that developed VGO. The reason he is conflicted is that if he gets in and stays 72 hours, one of 2 things will happen. He could stay in, and his mind would be mapped and digitized and he would remain in the game as his character, Grim Jack, forever. However, his body would shut down and he would only survive ingame. however, there is a one in 6 chance he would die before that in the tank, his mind rejecting the transition, and he would just be dead instead.
However, this is all kind of a moot point, since in 9 days, almost everyone will be dead. Yes, you heard that right. There is a 9 mile wide asteroid, 213 Astraea, headed for Earth, projected to land just off the coast of Greenland. Well, that's an extinction level event, so, game over, so to speak. Except for the ridiculously wealthy and survival lottery winners, planning to live in deep earth bunkers, the only way to "survive" is to immerse in VGO, where your digitized mind will survive in the 7 great over mind servers buried deep underground. Well, since Jack is the main character of the story, you can guess which path he chose.
After immersing himself in the game, Jack goes into the character development screen. He goes through the character race types, and picks Murk Elf for himself (think dark elf) type, liking some of the character's natural bonuses. Being an experienced MMO gamer, Jack knows he has lots of choices in class for himself down the line, and the game doesn't force a class choice immediately. After he sets up the character, she starts the game play. He awakens in a cage in a dungeon lab, where someone has been vivisecting people. Not the most promising start to a game! There is another prisoner named Cutter, a thief, who offers to help him escape what apparently is some evil dark priest's torture dungeon. No place they want to hang out in.
They make their escape, although along the way they discover an old Murk Elf woman on the edge of death. She charges Jack to return her medallion to her tribe, to let them know how she dies. She also unlocks the shadow spark in Jack, allowing him some access to special abilities. This is now a quest for Jack, with the attendant quest requirements and rewards attached to it. After their escape, Cutter takes Jack to his city, where he introduces Jack to the local thieves union hall, since thieves don't have a guild.
What starts here is the adventures Jack expected, since after some training, he goes on a series of adventures, collecting loot, leveling up, basically doing what everyone does in an RPG. After being contacted by his old college friend Abbie, he takes a teleport scroll and goes to meet her with Cutter. This start some adventures and quests Jack must undertake to advance.
Later on Jack meets up with Abbie. She explains she discovered irregularities in the code of VGO, that rich people have paid to have restricted areas and quests set aside, so that they could easily level up and gain legendary level weapons and gear, basically cheating to create a paradise with themselves at the top of the food chain. Abbie wants to end around that and see if they can circumvent it. They then start the set of adventures and quests that will determine the fate of VGO. Will it just be a rich persons paradise with everyone else a serf, or will it be a chance to excel for all? What follows is a set of epic adventures and quests, which test the mettle, heart and skills of Grim Jack and Cutter, meeting a wide assortment of characters and completing more and more challenging quests, all while finding out even deeper truths about VGO, and about what the world truly faces in game. He will have to make some life and death choices that will affect many more people than himself.
This book is a must read for any fan of LitRPG, or fan of good writing, actually. The characters are phenomenal, with Jack and Cutter being the standouts, but even the secondary characters and even the monsters are well drawn out. The dialogue is tight, and there is real emotional punch to the story. The world building is epic in scale, but so well described you feel as though you are right there in the thick of things, which is all you can ask from a writer. You can tell there is a much larger world and story out there, and that we are just being introduced to something grand.
Narration wise, Armen Taylor does a great job bringing each character to life. They all have their own personalities, quirks and voices. He uses tone, inflection and accent to differentiate each character. Overall, a top notch performance.
I cant stress enough how much I enjoyed this book. I truly believe it is the best LitRPG on the market today, and I hope the author has huge success with it and keeps writing more! I for one, will be in line to get the next installment.
Viridian Gate Online (VGO) has a fairly unique premise. The story starts off with Jack, an EMT, conflicted over whether he should get into the immersion pod for VGO provided to him by an old college friend that works for the company that developed VGO. The reason he is conflicted is that if he gets in and stays 72 hours, one of 2 things will happen. He could stay in, and his mind would be mapped and digitized and he would remain in the game as his character, Grim Jack, forever. However, his body would shut down and he would only survive ingame. however, there is a one in 6 chance he would die before that in the tank, his mind rejecting the transition, and he would just be dead instead.
However, this is all kind of a moot point, since in 9 days, almost everyone will be dead. Yes, you heard that right. There is a 9 mile wide asteroid, 213 Astraea, headed for Earth, projected to land just off the coast of Greenland. Well, that's an extinction level event, so, game over, so to speak. Except for the ridiculously wealthy and survival lottery winners, planning to live in deep earth bunkers, the only way to "survive" is to immerse in VGO, where your digitized mind will survive in the 7 great over mind servers buried deep underground. Well, since Jack is the main character of the story, you can guess which path he chose.
After immersing himself in the game, Jack goes into the character development screen. He goes through the character race types, and picks Murk Elf for himself (think dark elf) type, liking some of the character's natural bonuses. Being an experienced MMO gamer, Jack knows he has lots of choices in class for himself down the line, and the game doesn't force a class choice immediately. After he sets up the character, she starts the game play. He awakens in a cage in a dungeon lab, where someone has been vivisecting people. Not the most promising start to a game! There is another prisoner named Cutter, a thief, who offers to help him escape what apparently is some evil dark priest's torture dungeon. No place they want to hang out in.
They make their escape, although along the way they discover an old Murk Elf woman on the edge of death. She charges Jack to return her medallion to her tribe, to let them know how she dies. She also unlocks the shadow spark in Jack, allowing him some access to special abilities. This is now a quest for Jack, with the attendant quest requirements and rewards attached to it. After their escape, Cutter takes Jack to his city, where he introduces Jack to the local thieves union hall, since thieves don't have a guild.
What starts here is the adventures Jack expected, since after some training, he goes on a series of adventures, collecting loot, leveling up, basically doing what everyone does in an RPG. After being contacted by his old college friend Abbie, he takes a teleport scroll and goes to meet her with Cutter. This start some adventures and quests Jack must undertake to advance.
Later on Jack meets up with Abbie. She explains she discovered irregularities in the code of VGO, that rich people have paid to have restricted areas and quests set aside, so that they could easily level up and gain legendary level weapons and gear, basically cheating to create a paradise with themselves at the top of the food chain. Abbie wants to end around that and see if they can circumvent it. They then start the set of adventures and quests that will determine the fate of VGO. Will it just be a rich persons paradise with everyone else a serf, or will it be a chance to excel for all? What follows is a set of epic adventures and quests, which test the mettle, heart and skills of Grim Jack and Cutter, meeting a wide assortment of characters and completing more and more challenging quests, all while finding out even deeper truths about VGO, and about what the world truly faces in game. He will have to make some life and death choices that will affect many more people than himself.
This book is a must read for any fan of LitRPG, or fan of good writing, actually. The characters are phenomenal, with Jack and Cutter being the standouts, but even the secondary characters and even the monsters are well drawn out. The dialogue is tight, and there is real emotional punch to the story. The world building is epic in scale, but so well described you feel as though you are right there in the thick of things, which is all you can ask from a writer. You can tell there is a much larger world and story out there, and that we are just being introduced to something grand.
Narration wise, Armen Taylor does a great job bringing each character to life. They all have their own personalities, quirks and voices. He uses tone, inflection and accent to differentiate each character. Overall, a top notch performance.
I cant stress enough how much I enjoyed this book. I truly believe it is the best LitRPG on the market today, and I hope the author has huge success with it and keeps writing more! I for one, will be in line to get the next installment.
February 29, 2020
Lackluster characters, completely unbelievable setup, and mediocre at best story telling. I didn't just have to suspend my disbelief, I had to hold it over a car of boiling lava and threaten it with a knife to get it to shut up. Hard pass.
December 31, 2020
First, I liked this book. I didn't love it but it was decent enough. I am on book two now and I have a better assessment of this book. It's got some good elements, some bad elements and then some down right goofy shit.
THE GOOD: The stakes in this book are probably the most interesting part. This book takes place during the end of the world and players are spurned into transhumanism as a need to survive. This adds a layer of tension that isn't usually present in LitRPG books. Also the politics of the world are interesting. Elite players come into the world with an unfair advantage and normal players are destined to be third class citizen.
THE BAD: The stakes I enjoyed so much weren't really used in the best way. In fact, they're mostly forgotten by the end. The elements that could've been used for some really juicy drama is cast aside for a lot of battles and action that in the end was a little boring. And the plot holes... Oh, the plot holes...
THE GOOFY: The characters are written the way a 13 year old thinks adults act. They lack any real depth and waste time flirting like middle schoolers. And the MC talks like a teenager girl. Not a teenager boy... A girl... Why are most LitRPG MCs written to b be awkward, dad joke spitting goof balls? It's 2020. Most gamers aren't nerds anymore. Why are they in the awkward majority?
I'll give this a half recommendation. It may be worth your time. It's a quick read and does have something to offer... If you can stop your eyes from rolling out of your head.
THE GOOD: The stakes in this book are probably the most interesting part. This book takes place during the end of the world and players are spurned into transhumanism as a need to survive. This adds a layer of tension that isn't usually present in LitRPG books. Also the politics of the world are interesting. Elite players come into the world with an unfair advantage and normal players are destined to be third class citizen.
THE BAD: The stakes I enjoyed so much weren't really used in the best way. In fact, they're mostly forgotten by the end. The elements that could've been used for some really juicy drama is cast aside for a lot of battles and action that in the end was a little boring. And the plot holes... Oh, the plot holes...
THE GOOFY: The characters are written the way a 13 year old thinks adults act. They lack any real depth and waste time flirting like middle schoolers. And the MC talks like a teenager girl. Not a teenager boy... A girl... Why are most LitRPG MCs written to b be awkward, dad joke spitting goof balls? It's 2020. Most gamers aren't nerds anymore. Why are they in the awkward majority?
I'll give this a half recommendation. It may be worth your time. It's a quick read and does have something to offer... If you can stop your eyes from rolling out of your head.
July 21, 2017
spoilers ahead.
The book had an interesting premise and main character who is a little too relatable (cough), but that's about all the praise I can give the book. It focuses on a mmo world (as most litrpgs tend to do), but it seems like it's really poorly designed. Apparently, a brand new player can have no decent gear or significant skills, and still manage to level up more than 10 times without increasing any stats or proficiency. I'm sorry but unless this game has 1000+ levels then this guy should have been beat down for not using his skill points after 10 levels.
The plot twist to hook the reader is also rather poorly handled. It turns out the the creator of the game is offering in game power to the groups of people who helped to provide the resources to make sure the game is complete on time, and based on what I gathered from the story it just barely hit that mark. So basically the conspiracy boils down to the creator rewarding the people who helped him build the life saving technology. I get what the author is trying go for here, but it is presented so poorly that I can't take it seriously.
The book had an interesting premise and main character who is a little too relatable (cough), but that's about all the praise I can give the book. It focuses on a mmo world (as most litrpgs tend to do), but it seems like it's really poorly designed. Apparently, a brand new player can have no decent gear or significant skills, and still manage to level up more than 10 times without increasing any stats or proficiency. I'm sorry but unless this game has 1000+ levels then this guy should have been beat down for not using his skill points after 10 levels.
The plot twist to hook the reader is also rather poorly handled. It turns out the the creator of the game is offering in game power to the groups of people who helped to provide the resources to make sure the game is complete on time, and based on what I gathered from the story it just barely hit that mark. So basically the conspiracy boils down to the creator rewarding the people who helped him build the life saving technology. I get what the author is trying go for here, but it is presented so poorly that I can't take it seriously.
May 17, 2021
A pretty average start to the series. The world and mechanics are pretty standard for this genre, but nothing stands out much.
The biggest issue with the book is the main character - Jack. I appreciate that he has started off neither over-powered nor clueless, however he has zero semblance of a personality. Seeing as there are already quite a few installments to the Viridian Gate Online series, I can only hope he has gotten more fleshed out as the story has progressed.
The biggest issue with the book is the main character - Jack. I appreciate that he has started off neither over-powered nor clueless, however he has zero semblance of a personality. Seeing as there are already quite a few installments to the Viridian Gate Online series, I can only hope he has gotten more fleshed out as the story has progressed.
July 25, 2017
A friend recommend this book to me, and even though I am not a gamer - I really enjoyed it! This was a quick read that moved fast. I was so intrigued by the concept, I would have loved to see more world building during the story. I hope to see more in the sequels. Even if you aren't a gamer, I definitely recommend this book for folks that like urban fantasy.
May 24, 2017
with only an hour left to go on the audio book I gave up all hope that this would turn around and become something good. It was just so generic and this whole concept is so overused it is almost impossible too not see similarities and down right copying of other material.
May 22, 2017
I table-RPG. I love fantasy. I love computers. I love dark humor. I could not put this book down.
April 4, 2018
I'm not a gamer. In fact the last RPG I played was probably Final Fantasy on 8 Bit NES. With this in mind I had very little interest in reading a Lit RPG.
With that said, I am a huge fan of epic fantasy and an even bigger fan of James Hunter's Yancy Lazarus series of Urban Fantasy novels, so my "In James I Trust" mandate ultimately led me to Cataclysm, the first novel in the Veridian Gate Online series
Without spoiling much, the novel centres on Jack, or Grim Jack (his handle in the game) as he begins a new life in the massive virtual world of VGO. During his tenure in the game he "levels up" , earns "EXP points", collects loot from his enemies, and checks his inventory. But this is really well explained and all one really needs to know to accept that first and foremost , Grim Jack, his Thief companion Cutter (who I read throughout the book as Russell Brand), and his old real life friend Abby (a major character with many secrets and motives) are working their way through a Fantasy adventure of epic proportions.
With awesome villains and battle sequences , amazing character moments, and the heart and warmth that always permeates a James Hunter novel, VGO is a must read for Fantasy fans, RPG fans, and those looking for a fantastic cinematic style adventure. Yes, this series screams for the big screen!
I can't say enough about Cataclysm, but I will say, having now read a couple of books in the series that it only gets better.
With that said, I am a huge fan of epic fantasy and an even bigger fan of James Hunter's Yancy Lazarus series of Urban Fantasy novels, so my "In James I Trust" mandate ultimately led me to Cataclysm, the first novel in the Veridian Gate Online series
Without spoiling much, the novel centres on Jack, or Grim Jack (his handle in the game) as he begins a new life in the massive virtual world of VGO. During his tenure in the game he "levels up" , earns "EXP points", collects loot from his enemies, and checks his inventory. But this is really well explained and all one really needs to know to accept that first and foremost , Grim Jack, his Thief companion Cutter (who I read throughout the book as Russell Brand), and his old real life friend Abby (a major character with many secrets and motives) are working their way through a Fantasy adventure of epic proportions.
With awesome villains and battle sequences , amazing character moments, and the heart and warmth that always permeates a James Hunter novel, VGO is a must read for Fantasy fans, RPG fans, and those looking for a fantastic cinematic style adventure. Yes, this series screams for the big screen!
I can't say enough about Cataclysm, but I will say, having now read a couple of books in the series that it only gets better.
February 16, 2017
A welcome voice in the growing LitRPG genre!
(No Spoilers!)
J.A. Hunter is coming from us from the Urban Fantasy genre, an experienced writer with a polished story telling voice often missing among LitRPG authors. His word-flare made it enjoyable being in the main character Jack's head. His personality was distinct.
I look forward to getting to know the other characters better. Even the NPCs didn't feel like plot only road signs. I won't say more, but it will be interesting to see where things go.
The plot was well thought out and I was tracking from start to finish. Chapters never get dull, and the ending is satisfying. The quests lead a lot of the plot, but it never feels like the conclusions to each major and minor climax is stat or skill progression alone. Both the story and LitRPG aspects are equally enjoyable!
The overall concept is very interesting, and I see great opportunity for a fun, long-stretching series-bucket of conflict with some major players. Enough information was given for me to still have questions without feeling that I was knee high in an info dump. The author does a good job of slowly introducing info, giving the reader an easy read and shallow learning curve.
Conclusion? Get it! Book 2 should be out very soon, if not already when you are reading this. Highly recommended!
(No Spoilers!)
J.A. Hunter is coming from us from the Urban Fantasy genre, an experienced writer with a polished story telling voice often missing among LitRPG authors. His word-flare made it enjoyable being in the main character Jack's head. His personality was distinct.
I look forward to getting to know the other characters better. Even the NPCs didn't feel like plot only road signs. I won't say more, but it will be interesting to see where things go.
The plot was well thought out and I was tracking from start to finish. Chapters never get dull, and the ending is satisfying. The quests lead a lot of the plot, but it never feels like the conclusions to each major and minor climax is stat or skill progression alone. Both the story and LitRPG aspects are equally enjoyable!
The overall concept is very interesting, and I see great opportunity for a fun, long-stretching series-bucket of conflict with some major players. Enough information was given for me to still have questions without feeling that I was knee high in an info dump. The author does a good job of slowly introducing info, giving the reader an easy read and shallow learning curve.
Conclusion? Get it! Book 2 should be out very soon, if not already when you are reading this. Highly recommended!
May 3, 2018
I finished this book and have just started the second, but I honestly don,t know if I can go any further. Basically everything about this book should be right up my ally, and I greatly enjoyed almost every aspect of it. However, the main character is so annoyingly and unrealistically moral that it makes me want to rip out my hair, he's also incredibly naive for a 30 something year old man its ridiculous. I also found that he levels up slow as hell and that was annoying too, especially since he completed a dungeon in a restricted area that was bought for 30 million dollars by some South American dictator in order to fast track his character to a high level, but the main character completes it at level fourteen and only gets 7 levels from it! If I had paid 30 million dollars and only received 7 levels at such a low level Id be pissed, especially since the main character took a 2 hour hike through the woods just before this and received 8 levels from killing random shit. Imagine if he was a higher level completing this dungeon would have given him enough XP for like half a level. Im pretty upset because this book had so much potential but the main character just ruined it for me especially in the second book at least from the small portion i've read.
December 19, 2018
I think I'll forever compare any LitRPG with The Land series, because so far that's been my favorite, by a mile. Anyone wanna tell me any better? I'll search but I don't think I'll find it.
Anyways, this one reminded me of The Land in a way, including the medically inclined MC. But this book lacked the heart of The Land. I didn't get as invested in the character. The world was ok, the gameplay mechanics were good. But for LitRPG it was solid. Good story, enjoyable enough, engaging. I will read more and look forward to more.
Anyways, this one reminded me of The Land in a way, including the medically inclined MC. But this book lacked the heart of The Land. I didn't get as invested in the character. The world was ok, the gameplay mechanics were good. But for LitRPG it was solid. Good story, enjoyable enough, engaging. I will read more and look forward to more.
January 17, 2019
Waste of a potential story.... the MC is super conservative and weak minded like some right wing disney character, and the writing is overly descriptive about everything. lets spend three pages describing your reaction to a loud noise. Also if you decide to go with the audiobook... you have to increase the reading speed to 1.5x or you will swear you are listening to Ben Stein through water.
September 25, 2020
I was rereading saw something funny.
The book was decent, although they begin to get boring by book 5. In the beginning of the book a looter loots toiletpaper and did it make me laugh now.
The book was decent, although they begin to get boring by book 5. In the beginning of the book a looter loots toiletpaper and did it make me laugh now.
May 8, 2020
Ok, I think I have found my genre. I realized after getting into this book that I have rated all the Lit-RPG books I have read 5 stars. I’m going to keep going through these I think!
September 10, 2020
3.5 Nature’s Version of a Toilet Stars
Viridian Gate Online: Cataclysm is the first book in the Viridian Gate Archives series by James Hunter.
It’s upsetting how short this first installment was, but it was definitely an enjoyable introduction to this new world. However, my main deduction from this rating is in regards to the format for the graphs showing the character sheet: 1.) You can’t select them through the e-book as most LitRPG books allow. 2.) With the writing so small and ridiculously pixelated that neglect is worsened.
We follow ‘Grim’ Jack as he escapes Earth’s destruction by asteroid 213 Aestra into the virtual world of V. G. O. who’s CEO has magnanimously offered up a new life and salvation to the unlucky inhabitants who were not chosen in the lottery for placement in the bio-dome bunkers the government has constructed. Even this last minute Hail Mary isn’t guaranteed, 1 in 6 die during the transition between reality and virtual. You just have to make it three days. Be weary though, after the first 24-hours you lose the availability to log-out.
My favorite part would obviously be the secret quest with Abby, in the hidden location South African dictator Alexio Carrera bought inside the ‘game’. He is one of many politicos cheating the system, banded together in a world wide domination effort. So, of course the MC and his new band of allies are going to be the saviors for the regular players who lacked the money for anything other than the original difficult and unique starts.
There’s some world building, obviously. And the world is in fact beautiful and interesting and terrifying. However, there was a distinct deficit in detailed inner workings of the comprised classes, factions, and oppositions. I could’ve done with at least a mite of info-dumping. (Big sad) While we do know there are at least four different antagonist forces to be weary of, there was no in depth dive into what any of these entail outside of the minimal outline offered. Mainly near the very end of the book.
Viridian Gate Online: Cataclysm is the first book in the Viridian Gate Archives series by James Hunter.
It’s upsetting how short this first installment was, but it was definitely an enjoyable introduction to this new world. However, my main deduction from this rating is in regards to the format for the graphs showing the character sheet: 1.) You can’t select them through the e-book as most LitRPG books allow. 2.) With the writing so small and ridiculously pixelated that neglect is worsened.
We follow ‘Grim’ Jack as he escapes Earth’s destruction by asteroid 213 Aestra into the virtual world of V. G. O. who’s CEO has magnanimously offered up a new life and salvation to the unlucky inhabitants who were not chosen in the lottery for placement in the bio-dome bunkers the government has constructed. Even this last minute Hail Mary isn’t guaranteed, 1 in 6 die during the transition between reality and virtual. You just have to make it three days. Be weary though, after the first 24-hours you lose the availability to log-out.
My favorite part would obviously be the secret quest with Abby, in the hidden location South African dictator Alexio Carrera bought inside the ‘game’. He is one of many politicos cheating the system, banded together in a world wide domination effort. So, of course the MC and his new band of allies are going to be the saviors for the regular players who lacked the money for anything other than the original difficult and unique starts.
There’s some world building, obviously. And the world is in fact beautiful and interesting and terrifying. However, there was a distinct deficit in detailed inner workings of the comprised classes, factions, and oppositions. I could’ve done with at least a mite of info-dumping. (Big sad) While we do know there are at least four different antagonist forces to be weary of, there was no in depth dive into what any of these entail outside of the minimal outline offered. Mainly near the very end of the book.
August 5, 2023
This was one of my favorite LitRPG's so far. From the ones I have tried, most make the mistake of making it boring for me. Main character doesn't feel real. Everything is too easy. He figures everything out too quickly. I mean, who wakes up on another world, avoids being killed right off the bat, and thinks this is going to be fun?
That is not the case with this book. The entry into the LitRPG flows and makes sense. The character feels real, like I am sitting down to start a new game on Xbox. The story was fun, and I wanted to see how it progressed. I am excited to listen to book 2. I picked the first three up on audible. If it doesn't have a massive fall off, I think I will really enjoy this adventure. It is worth the read/listen. I hope to get a physical copy to add to the bookshelf. Hey, J.A. Hunter, don't mess this up, you started off great!
That is not the case with this book. The entry into the LitRPG flows and makes sense. The character feels real, like I am sitting down to start a new game on Xbox. The story was fun, and I wanted to see how it progressed. I am excited to listen to book 2. I picked the first three up on audible. If it doesn't have a massive fall off, I think I will really enjoy this adventure. It is worth the read/listen. I hope to get a physical copy to add to the bookshelf. Hey, J.A. Hunter, don't mess this up, you started off great!
October 27, 2025
3.5 really. I liked most of this but though there were several missed opportunities especially with Cutter and Abby's storylines. Maybe more will happen in the future but I was hoping for a shocking twist with Cutter and better fleshing out of Abby's character. I was disappointed with the final battle being a gargantuan woman who's gluttony and size is seen as her villainy really and then there was the comment on her "tits" that just threw me off because the writing had nothing so vulgar before in any battles and it felt like a standard male pov to comment on that in the midst of fighting for your life. I'm not much for litrpg but wanted to give this a shot and it's fine in those terms, I just wish the characters had more development and fleshing out whereas even with Jack I hardly felt like he did any personal growth...just leveling up really.
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