What do you think?
Rate this book
Emerilia #1
The Trapped Mind Project
Austin Zane leaves behind his CEO position with RB Corp to play Dave, a half-dwarf in the Virtual reality game Emerilia, trying to escape his life. What Dave doesn’t know is that Earth as he knows it, is really a virtual reality simulation and Emerilia is a world imbued with futuristic technologies to mimic early MMORPG’s. He just wanted peace and quiet, to build a house, do some fishing, to take some time to find himself once again. What he found out instead was a cause, he found out the biggest lie of his life. He found out the truth about Emerilia and the lies of Earth. What's the best way to control slaves? Make them think that they're free.
595 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 23, 2017
2243 people are currently reading
2056 people want to read
About the author
Michael Chatfield
69 books1,387 followersMichael Chatfield is a Canadian Army veteran and international bestselling author who writes the kind of books he always wanted to read—character-driven, gritty, tactical, and grounded in reality.
He doesn’t write one-dimensional killers wrapped in plot armor, charging toward an objective without thought. His stories are built for readers who want earned progression, tight, understandable logic, and realistic strategy. Every stat system has structure. Every decision is deliberate (except when there is Jaeger involved).
And the pacing? It's locked at two hundred percent. From alleyway brawls to starship armadas clashing over galactic sovereignty, from tactical dungeon assaults to city-states warring over a continent’s fate—Chatfield commits to every battle like it’s his last.
With millions of books and audiobooks sold, and tens of thousands of reviews his work spans LitRPG, military sci-fi, fantasy, and post-apocalyptic survival. He writes for readers who value systems that make sense, loyalty that lasts, and power that’s earned, not handed out.
Whether you're listening on a long drive, grinding through a shift, or up past midnight planning the next in-game raid—this is where you’ll find sagas to binge. Where strength is earned, logic rules, and camaraderie is forged in fire.
You can connect with him on Patreon and don't forget to follow him on social media!
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/authormichael...
Website: http://michaelchatfield.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authormichael...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormicha...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormichae...
Facebook Group: The Chatfield Connection - https://www.facebook.com/groups/37693...
He doesn’t write one-dimensional killers wrapped in plot armor, charging toward an objective without thought. His stories are built for readers who want earned progression, tight, understandable logic, and realistic strategy. Every stat system has structure. Every decision is deliberate (except when there is Jaeger involved).
And the pacing? It's locked at two hundred percent. From alleyway brawls to starship armadas clashing over galactic sovereignty, from tactical dungeon assaults to city-states warring over a continent’s fate—Chatfield commits to every battle like it’s his last.
With millions of books and audiobooks sold, and tens of thousands of reviews his work spans LitRPG, military sci-fi, fantasy, and post-apocalyptic survival. He writes for readers who value systems that make sense, loyalty that lasts, and power that’s earned, not handed out.
Whether you're listening on a long drive, grinding through a shift, or up past midnight planning the next in-game raid—this is where you’ll find sagas to binge. Where strength is earned, logic rules, and camaraderie is forged in fire.
You can connect with him on Patreon and don't forget to follow him on social media!
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/authormichael...
Website: http://michaelchatfield.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authormichael...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormicha...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormichae...
Facebook Group: The Chatfield Connection - https://www.facebook.com/groups/37693...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 230 reviews
February 19, 2017
The plot sounded so fun! But the characters are not believable and the prose is incoherent. It... kind of reads like a Donald Trump speech about walk-through of a moderately interesting MMORPG. Which sucks because I really wanted to like it.
May 20, 2021
Aaannnnd... another bust.
I'm in chapter 4, and I just can't do it anymore.
I don't know how many LitRPG books I've read so far, but it looks like a huge number of them follow a kind of formulae.
1. notification systems must be snarky, for absolutely no reason
2. MC must constantly be monologuing
3. we must hear MC's moniker every two sentences, lest we forget ye see!
4. system devs are smart enough to make a Virtual World, but stupid enough to make notifications that pop up in players' faces at the most inconvenient times (dude! we devs have something called "sane defaults".)
5. once in the game world, the real world and its existential requirements don't matter anymore
The first chapter
At least this book attempts to set up an overall end objective right in the first chapter (or was it a prologue?). But the way it is done is so awkward that I couldn't give it any weight.
So humans actually live in the matrix, and it's only when playing The Game that we actually get plugged (pardon the pun) into the real world. Except that "The Real World/Game" behaves like a consequence-free game, with spawn points and all, whereas in the "simulation" we perma-die... Obviously...
If our overlords are powerful enough to lock the whole human race in a Virtual Reality, why bother with all the shmilbliek? It makes as much sense as training a tamagochi to deal with your rat infestation: none.
The good
Hmm... That's a hard one. Gimme me a minute.
The bad
This book is chock-full of shortcuts and clichés. It's so formulaic I keep confusing it with other LitRPG books I've read. Name it, it's there.
While I'm here, let me just say this.
[RANT]
I have a problem with authors automatically using the "Inject Arcane Knowledge In The Brain™" mechanics. If we already have "Mental Skill Activation™", it becomes totally pointless, and just adds another layer of stuff I have to suspend my disbelief of. I don't understand why authors insist on using this gimmick, especially since most of them never actually make any use of the "knowledge", simply falling back to "mentally clicking button X" anyway. It's the equivalent of saying "I learned electronics so I can push this one button". 🤦🏾♂️
It really irritates me to read "He activated [stealth]", when it's said earlier that it is an "organically" acquired skill. How often do you "activate [walk]"? That's how ridiculous it is.
Really, authors should make up their bloody mind. Either we acknowledge that it's a game-like world and it's fine to use "mental button presses" and mini-games for complex tasks, or we embrace organically acquired skills and simply... use them. New Era Online and Awaken Online are very good examples of this done well
[/RANT]
The ugly
Dave said this. Dave did that. Dave walked here. Dave stopped. Dave crouched. Dave Rose. Dave looked right, then Dave looked left.
AAAARGGH!!!!!! I BLOODY KNOW THE BLOKE'S NAME ALREADY!! AND HE'S BLOODY ALONE IN THE BLOODY FOREST!!! STOP!!!
Conclusion
I wanted to like this because it was recommended to me. I didn't.
Maybe you will.
I'm in chapter 4, and I just can't do it anymore.
I don't know how many LitRPG books I've read so far, but it looks like a huge number of them follow a kind of formulae.
1. notification systems must be snarky, for absolutely no reason
2. MC must constantly be monologuing
3. we must hear MC's moniker every two sentences, lest we forget ye see!
4. system devs are smart enough to make a Virtual World, but stupid enough to make notifications that pop up in players' faces at the most inconvenient times (dude! we devs have something called "sane defaults".)
5. once in the game world, the real world and its existential requirements don't matter anymore
The first chapter
At least this book attempts to set up an overall end objective right in the first chapter (or was it a prologue?). But the way it is done is so awkward that I couldn't give it any weight.
So humans actually live in the matrix, and it's only when playing The Game that we actually get plugged (pardon the pun) into the real world. Except that "The Real World/Game" behaves like a consequence-free game, with spawn points and all, whereas in the "simulation" we perma-die... Obviously...
If our overlords are powerful enough to lock the whole human race in a Virtual Reality, why bother with all the shmilbliek? It makes as much sense as training a tamagochi to deal with your rat infestation: none.
The good
Hmm... That's a hard one. Gimme me a minute.
The bad
This book is chock-full of shortcuts and clichés. It's so formulaic I keep confusing it with other LitRPG books I've read. Name it, it's there.
While I'm here, let me just say this.
[RANT]
I have a problem with authors automatically using the "Inject Arcane Knowledge In The Brain™" mechanics. If we already have "Mental Skill Activation™", it becomes totally pointless, and just adds another layer of stuff I have to suspend my disbelief of. I don't understand why authors insist on using this gimmick, especially since most of them never actually make any use of the "knowledge", simply falling back to "mentally clicking button X" anyway. It's the equivalent of saying "I learned electronics so I can push this one button". 🤦🏾♂️
It really irritates me to read "He activated [stealth]", when it's said earlier that it is an "organically" acquired skill. How often do you "activate [walk]"? That's how ridiculous it is.
Really, authors should make up their bloody mind. Either we acknowledge that it's a game-like world and it's fine to use "mental button presses" and mini-games for complex tasks, or we embrace organically acquired skills and simply... use them. New Era Online and Awaken Online are very good examples of this done well
[/RANT]
The ugly
Dave said this. Dave did that. Dave walked here. Dave stopped. Dave crouched. Dave Rose. Dave looked right, then Dave looked left.
AAAARGGH!!!!!! I BLOODY KNOW THE BLOKE'S NAME ALREADY!! AND HE'S BLOODY ALONE IN THE BLOODY FOREST!!! STOP!!!
Conclusion
I wanted to like this because it was recommended to me. I didn't.
Maybe you will.
October 10, 2018
Rating 5.0 stars
This book was awesome! Exactly the type of story I love to read. If I had to break down the point of this book in a few words I would say it is all about "the process". This is one of those "the journey is more important than the destination" kind of books. This is for the people that feel that learning something is better than just knowing something. I love stories like this, in which the main character brings you along on the journey of building power and learning. That way, in the end, when he uses that power, I have a greater appreciation for what he went through and how understand the characters limits. If you are the type of person that just wants action and does not like to read about character building or training, then this is not the book for you. However, if you are like me and you love that kind of story, you need to go out and get this book right away. I would say if you like The Land series or the Way of the Shaman series, you would definitely like this series.
This story is the reverse of most LitRPG stories out there. In this book people in the "real world" live boring lives and they try to escape their boring lives by playing the online game Emerilia. The truth is that Emerilia is real and the Earth is the virtual world. The Jukal empire had defeated the human race and was about to destroy them for good, but one person had the idea to use the human race to fight their other enemies. How do you make them do that? You make them think it is only a a game so that they have no fear and find it fun. The Jukal empire has the knowledge and power to create what appears to be magic, so they seed the world of Emerilia with all the magic and creatures one would expect, and even allow the players to re-spawn.
There is another reason this book is the reverse of most Lit RPG books out there. Usually in those books, the main character has a sucky life and wants to go into the game to be a big hero and save the day. In this story though, the main character Dave is the wealthiest person on Earth, and he wants to go into the game so he can be left alone and work on building things again. Since his company is so popular now, he spends most of his time in meetings and doesn't get to build things anymore.
Usually when a player begins to suspect that their world isn't real and they don't log off, an AI will go and delete their character, thus killing them. In this case though, the AI can't do that because Dave's company is so big and so intertwined in the real world that if you disappeared into the game for too long, his presence would be missed. Therefore an AI was sent to inhabit his body while he is in Emerilia. A powerful being comes to tell Dave that his world is not real (think the matrix), so Dave decides to stay in Emerilia and never goes back to Earth. He can do that because of that AI that is controlling his body and is no longer monitoring how often he is in Emerilia.
Unlike most players that come to this world instead of finding quests and trying to run into danger, he goes and builds a house. While doing that he runs into a group of Dwarf NPCs (except they aren't really NPCs, they are real) and makes friends. For a good amount of time, Dave is happy. He has friends and he builds his house, he learns skills, etc. Then other players show up. What do you do when dealing with people that think this world is only a game and they can do whatever they want because "Its only a game". He isn't able to tell them anything or explain that Emerilia is real and so are all the NPCs and that earth is the game.
Overall I loved the crafting and I felt a true connection between the characters, especially between Dave and his NPC dwarf friends. I felt the loss when someone was killed and I knew they would not be back. I can't wait to start the next book.
This book was awesome! Exactly the type of story I love to read. If I had to break down the point of this book in a few words I would say it is all about "the process". This is one of those "the journey is more important than the destination" kind of books. This is for the people that feel that learning something is better than just knowing something. I love stories like this, in which the main character brings you along on the journey of building power and learning. That way, in the end, when he uses that power, I have a greater appreciation for what he went through and how understand the characters limits. If you are the type of person that just wants action and does not like to read about character building or training, then this is not the book for you. However, if you are like me and you love that kind of story, you need to go out and get this book right away. I would say if you like The Land series or the Way of the Shaman series, you would definitely like this series.
This story is the reverse of most LitRPG stories out there. In this book people in the "real world" live boring lives and they try to escape their boring lives by playing the online game Emerilia. The truth is that Emerilia is real and the Earth is the virtual world. The Jukal empire had defeated the human race and was about to destroy them for good, but one person had the idea to use the human race to fight their other enemies. How do you make them do that? You make them think it is only a a game so that they have no fear and find it fun. The Jukal empire has the knowledge and power to create what appears to be magic, so they seed the world of Emerilia with all the magic and creatures one would expect, and even allow the players to re-spawn.
There is another reason this book is the reverse of most Lit RPG books out there. Usually in those books, the main character has a sucky life and wants to go into the game to be a big hero and save the day. In this story though, the main character Dave is the wealthiest person on Earth, and he wants to go into the game so he can be left alone and work on building things again. Since his company is so popular now, he spends most of his time in meetings and doesn't get to build things anymore.
Usually when a player begins to suspect that their world isn't real and they don't log off, an AI will go and delete their character, thus killing them. In this case though, the AI can't do that because Dave's company is so big and so intertwined in the real world that if you disappeared into the game for too long, his presence would be missed. Therefore an AI was sent to inhabit his body while he is in Emerilia. A powerful being comes to tell Dave that his world is not real (think the matrix), so Dave decides to stay in Emerilia and never goes back to Earth. He can do that because of that AI that is controlling his body and is no longer monitoring how often he is in Emerilia.
Unlike most players that come to this world instead of finding quests and trying to run into danger, he goes and builds a house. While doing that he runs into a group of Dwarf NPCs (except they aren't really NPCs, they are real) and makes friends. For a good amount of time, Dave is happy. He has friends and he builds his house, he learns skills, etc. Then other players show up. What do you do when dealing with people that think this world is only a game and they can do whatever they want because "Its only a game". He isn't able to tell them anything or explain that Emerilia is real and so are all the NPCs and that earth is the game.
Overall I loved the crafting and I felt a true connection between the characters, especially between Dave and his NPC dwarf friends. I felt the loss when someone was killed and I knew they would not be back. I can't wait to start the next book.
January 14, 2018
Slightly Painful
Kept going back and trying to give this another chance and it took a dozen times until I finally got through it. In desperate need of an editor or even a proofread wouldn't have hurt. There were random sentences thrown in paragraphs that didn't even make sense. It completely takes the reader out of the story. The premise was intriguing but sloppy in execution. In case you happen to forget about the premise or how absolutely amazing the MC is, don't worry the writer repeatedly beats you over the head with it. EVERY new character that comes along is instantly in awe of the MC.. Sometimes for no apparent reason. The whole evolver vs action (or whatever the F***) is so laughably ridiculous. No, a level 3 can't be as powerful as a level 100 simply because he works hard. Even when the MC is needing more mana, mana regen, health, etc... Does he invest his points? NO! Because somehow that makes him...better..come the F*** on man, how ridiculous. Characters were meh and the story is kinda hacked. I mean of course the MC finds a pile of legendary treasure just laying around almost immediately after entering the world. And of course the manufactured dungeon conflict doesn't become an issue until the MC is done making his Ironman suit. And btw, if a sudo God put a protective barrier around the super scary and dangerous dungeon then how the hell was it so easy for some dumbass to come along and take it down? Ugh... At the halfway point the writer started regurgitating what little happened in the first half..I think just to further exasperate me. Not sure how it got so many 5 star reviews and how does anyone read 10 books of this?... yeesh.
Kept going back and trying to give this another chance and it took a dozen times until I finally got through it. In desperate need of an editor or even a proofread wouldn't have hurt. There were random sentences thrown in paragraphs that didn't even make sense. It completely takes the reader out of the story. The premise was intriguing but sloppy in execution. In case you happen to forget about the premise or how absolutely amazing the MC is, don't worry the writer repeatedly beats you over the head with it. EVERY new character that comes along is instantly in awe of the MC.. Sometimes for no apparent reason. The whole evolver vs action (or whatever the F***) is so laughably ridiculous. No, a level 3 can't be as powerful as a level 100 simply because he works hard. Even when the MC is needing more mana, mana regen, health, etc... Does he invest his points? NO! Because somehow that makes him...better..come the F*** on man, how ridiculous. Characters were meh and the story is kinda hacked. I mean of course the MC finds a pile of legendary treasure just laying around almost immediately after entering the world. And of course the manufactured dungeon conflict doesn't become an issue until the MC is done making his Ironman suit. And btw, if a sudo God put a protective barrier around the super scary and dangerous dungeon then how the hell was it so easy for some dumbass to come along and take it down? Ugh... At the halfway point the writer started regurgitating what little happened in the first half..I think just to further exasperate me. Not sure how it got so many 5 star reviews and how does anyone read 10 books of this?... yeesh.
June 20, 2017
A bit of a refreshing change to the LITRPG genre. In most books the character is nobody in real life and goes on to become famous (or infamous) in game to likely fulfill most gamers secret desires. However, this character instead starts playing to get away from his fame and have a simple and quiet life. Of course adventuring inevitably ensues and the revelation that "Real life" wasn't so real after all is also a nice change up. You do need to be familiar with many gamer terms and at times a bit quick witted to follow some of the conversations and/or encounters, but if you are reading a book in this genre you probably already expected as much.
June 15, 2017
That was the nicest litrpg that I've had the pleasure to read after the books of Aleron Kong.
February 22, 2017
You would think that it's not a game
It's hard to call this story a LitRPG, the characters are so alive and the story sufficiently rich, that it's more like an epic fantasy with some LitRPG elements instead of a full LitRPG
It's hard to call this story a LitRPG, the characters are so alive and the story sufficiently rich, that it's more like an epic fantasy with some LitRPG elements instead of a full LitRPG
March 7, 2018
THIS BOOK WAS THE SHIZNIT! I'm so happy that I just found this series. It has me hook line and mf'n sinker! The book is chock full of amazing characters. Everyone has an amazing backstory. I really felt like I was there in this book. Like I was along for the ride there. The author does an outstanding job of setting of the world without going overboard. The characters in the book range from goofy to extra serious. The relationships between the characters feel real and authentic. I'm in LOVE with this book right now. I mean, this book so good it makes me wanna slap my momma. (and I have a black momma....so you know the dangers of that.)
If you have Kindle Unlimited, the entire mf'n series is on it. If you don't have kindle unlimited.............. I dunno. Drop the money on the book because it's totally worth it. No really. It is.
Plot.....Humanity f'd up and started a war. Got its ass handed to it and then got plugged into the matrix. But in reverse. AAAAAAAAAND that's all I'm going to say. Read the BOOK!
I'm about as excited to read the next book as Porn star is going to work. You should read it....
If you have Kindle Unlimited, the entire mf'n series is on it. If you don't have kindle unlimited.............. I dunno. Drop the money on the book because it's totally worth it. No really. It is.
Plot.....Humanity f'd up and started a war. Got its ass handed to it and then got plugged into the matrix. But in reverse. AAAAAAAAAND that's all I'm going to say. Read the BOOK!
I'm about as excited to read the next book as Porn star is going to work. You should read it....
May 3, 2018
This is a crunchy LitRPG with lots of stats and a cool premise. In most LitRPG I've read, the main character gets sucked into a game or they're playing a virtual reality game and bouncing between real life and the game. In Emerilia, Dave learns that Earth is a simulation, and the game is real life. It's a pretty cool idea.
As for the actual LitRPG aspects, Dave does have an easy go of it. He stumbles into a huge cache of items, a primo location that had already been staked out by the dwarves and elves and is given charge of it anyway, and a hack that enables him to continue leveling somewhat quickly. But we wouldn't want to listen to 18+ hours of level grinding, so I don't mind if Dave is a bit overpowered. He shows how driven he is throughout the story, and ends up earning it all. While I still don't understand the game mechanics, that may just be my own ignorance, as I'm used to games with a more linear leveling system.
The narration was really well done, with different voices for each character and a smooth easy tone. I flipped back and forth between the ebook and the audio and I actually preferred the audio version. It just immersed me in the story.
This LitRPG is definitely geared towards gamers because of the focus on how to maximize character stats and the repetition of the reasoning behind it. If it weren't for that, I'd recommend it for general fantasy fans as well. It's a good choice for anyone new to the genre.
As for the actual LitRPG aspects, Dave does have an easy go of it. He stumbles into a huge cache of items, a primo location that had already been staked out by the dwarves and elves and is given charge of it anyway, and a hack that enables him to continue leveling somewhat quickly. But we wouldn't want to listen to 18+ hours of level grinding, so I don't mind if Dave is a bit overpowered. He shows how driven he is throughout the story, and ends up earning it all. While I still don't understand the game mechanics, that may just be my own ignorance, as I'm used to games with a more linear leveling system.
The narration was really well done, with different voices for each character and a smooth easy tone. I flipped back and forth between the ebook and the audio and I actually preferred the audio version. It just immersed me in the story.
This LitRPG is definitely geared towards gamers because of the focus on how to maximize character stats and the repetition of the reasoning behind it. If it weren't for that, I'd recommend it for general fantasy fans as well. It's a good choice for anyone new to the genre.
March 18, 2020
This had so much potential but somehow still falls short.
The setup is pretty weird. The world we know isn't the real human world, but a fake one created to funnel gamers into the real world, where humans fight both wars and for entertainment for an Empire they don't know or have heard of.
Our main character Dave/Zane is a trillionaire in the fake world, and an extremely capable engineer in the real world. With a little luck in finding a secret location just after starting, Dave gets the ball rolling in an intergalactic, several century old war. And being a world class engineer he uses its tinkering to reshape how magic works.
The love story is written like something a 15 year old would fin romantic or great.
There's a lot of tropes and they are unfortunately not that interesting done. The whole getting better at everything at once by being able to push one-self is annoying, and the smithing/magical circuitry slow the pacing down to a stop, and while all readers know this is how they will win, it's just not interesting.
Overall the story has some good ideas.
2,5 stars
The setup is pretty weird. The world we know isn't the real human world, but a fake one created to funnel gamers into the real world, where humans fight both wars and for entertainment for an Empire they don't know or have heard of.
Our main character Dave/Zane is a trillionaire in the fake world, and an extremely capable engineer in the real world. With a little luck in finding a secret location just after starting, Dave gets the ball rolling in an intergalactic, several century old war. And being a world class engineer he uses its tinkering to reshape how magic works.
The love story is written like something a 15 year old would fin romantic or great.
There's a lot of tropes and they are unfortunately not that interesting done. The whole getting better at everything at once by being able to push one-self is annoying, and the smithing/magical circuitry slow the pacing down to a stop, and while all readers know this is how they will win, it's just not interesting.
Overall the story has some good ideas.
2,5 stars
December 10, 2018
Somewhere between meh and "it was okay", I sought this out and discovered that Chatfield has become a better storyteller over time (although his most recent stuff is still bad writing mixed with good storytelling). I didn't really enjoy this overly clever idea. I may or may not push on with the series to see how it improves depending on KU availability.
The plot was super-contrived (what if Earth was the artificial reality and massive multiplayer was the real world) and hit one of my most irritating triggers: it's the Toy Story III dilemma. If toys have thoughts and feelings then throwing them away is murder. If non-player characters are AI and have a sense of identity and a will to live, they are endowed with rights. Also, turning "ultra bad humanity" into unwitting assassins is nasty. (This is all hashed out within the prologue, so no spoilers for the main story which is mostly about watching paint dry, sometimes literally.)
The plot was super-contrived (what if Earth was the artificial reality and massive multiplayer was the real world) and hit one of my most irritating triggers: it's the Toy Story III dilemma. If toys have thoughts and feelings then throwing them away is murder. If non-player characters are AI and have a sense of identity and a will to live, they are endowed with rights. Also, turning "ultra bad humanity" into unwitting assassins is nasty. (This is all hashed out within the prologue, so no spoilers for the main story which is mostly about watching paint dry, sometimes literally.)
May 22, 2019
I too wish to leave this earth to live and fight on Emerilia. I'm also gonna need a fire elf to uhh...accompany me on my travels. For the night is dark and full of terrors.
Am I right?
Polish Hammer level 48 - Increases range and durability - Hammer speed increases by 95%
Am I right?
Polish Hammer level 48 - Increases range and durability - Hammer speed increases by 95%
June 10, 2020
Village Building Beta MC in Plot Hole World gets a Silver Platter
There are some serious flaws with this book. I like long series so I stuck with it when I would have otherwise dropped a singular book of this quality. There are four major types of issues that are plentiful in this book. First is poor sentence structure, description, and dialogue. About one out of every 5 paragraphs, especially in fighting scenes or dialogues where interactions are intense, are confusing. I'll reread them and still not know why some non sequitur was placed there or who is talking to whom.
Then there is the MC, a supposed trillionaire CEO. Yet, he's a total beta yes-man afraid of or uninterested in fighting and willing to be everyone's workhorse. His treasure is taken from him. His fair share not returned. His girlfriend fights him to win and he doesn't attack, just defends in a wishy-washy way. A CEO should be aggressive. He just wants to passively suck beer on a porch and build a village. The autgor has clearly never met a CEO. His stats and levels are a joke compared to other adventurers because he avoids fighting and adventuring. To yawns, he trains and builds in his village. I say his, but he is no lord. He's the village gopher boy.
Then there's the plot holes. This is worse than the beta MC. He's technically only 3 years old, but became a trillionaire with only a 3 times time dilation. He acts like he's in high school, but he's really a 9 year old trillionaire in an adult body. Ok? He saves his stats so that leveling is meaningless even though he's told that if he doesn't accustom himself to those stats he will lose them when he dies rendering all game experience, levels and leveled stats useless. There is literally no point to the game interface or stats for the MC, and therefore to the reader. Epic fail in that regard. No treasure, no stat reward, no fast strength gain, no adventure! Great Litrpg there. The plot holes and logical contradictions are never ending. Although I find them more tolerable in this novel than others. Not sure why. They are still annoying.
Finally, the MC is handed everything he has of value. He's told the secret of Emerelia. He didn't figure it out. He's the only guy in 600 years to build a house. Sure? He gets a magic no one has because he's special. How is he special? Who knows. We are told he is absolutely essential to the Earth simulation, but then he can easily be replaced by an AI. If AI's can replace everyone then there is no reason for human minds to become a fighting vanguard for aliens. They could have used AI's in the first place. The MC just builds and trains peacefully. He only should have some basic stats. Nothing of note that he has is earned. The author handed him a village, special perception, conjuration, and all elemental affinities for no work. Yet he is still a pussy who gets bent over a barrel whenever a pretty girl comes by or a guy with authority says so, or someone asks him a favor.
There are some serious flaws with this book. I like long series so I stuck with it when I would have otherwise dropped a singular book of this quality. There are four major types of issues that are plentiful in this book. First is poor sentence structure, description, and dialogue. About one out of every 5 paragraphs, especially in fighting scenes or dialogues where interactions are intense, are confusing. I'll reread them and still not know why some non sequitur was placed there or who is talking to whom.
Then there is the MC, a supposed trillionaire CEO. Yet, he's a total beta yes-man afraid of or uninterested in fighting and willing to be everyone's workhorse. His treasure is taken from him. His fair share not returned. His girlfriend fights him to win and he doesn't attack, just defends in a wishy-washy way. A CEO should be aggressive. He just wants to passively suck beer on a porch and build a village. The autgor has clearly never met a CEO. His stats and levels are a joke compared to other adventurers because he avoids fighting and adventuring. To yawns, he trains and builds in his village. I say his, but he is no lord. He's the village gopher boy.
Then there's the plot holes. This is worse than the beta MC. He's technically only 3 years old, but became a trillionaire with only a 3 times time dilation. He acts like he's in high school, but he's really a 9 year old trillionaire in an adult body. Ok? He saves his stats so that leveling is meaningless even though he's told that if he doesn't accustom himself to those stats he will lose them when he dies rendering all game experience, levels and leveled stats useless. There is literally no point to the game interface or stats for the MC, and therefore to the reader. Epic fail in that regard. No treasure, no stat reward, no fast strength gain, no adventure! Great Litrpg there. The plot holes and logical contradictions are never ending. Although I find them more tolerable in this novel than others. Not sure why. They are still annoying.
Finally, the MC is handed everything he has of value. He's told the secret of Emerelia. He didn't figure it out. He's the only guy in 600 years to build a house. Sure? He gets a magic no one has because he's special. How is he special? Who knows. We are told he is absolutely essential to the Earth simulation, but then he can easily be replaced by an AI. If AI's can replace everyone then there is no reason for human minds to become a fighting vanguard for aliens. They could have used AI's in the first place. The MC just builds and trains peacefully. He only should have some basic stats. Nothing of note that he has is earned. The author handed him a village, special perception, conjuration, and all elemental affinities for no work. Yet he is still a pussy who gets bent over a barrel whenever a pretty girl comes by or a guy with authority says so, or someone asks him a favor.
February 6, 2017
So... I was up until 2:30 in the morning to finish reading the book. This is not normal and it's a credit to the story that it engaged me to that point.
That's not to say that there aren't problems with the book. There's some heavy editing that needs to take place to make the story flow better, since this is apparently put together from a web serial.
The game systems are vaguely complicated, so it should've been dumbed down or have better explanations on how it works. (Ie. Some skills start at lvl 3, we're told skills give exp at lvl 5, but some of them don't, and then they give at 6, or 9, the exp doesn't really mean anything and the characters don't always get it - in particular the troll fight)
Another issue I had was the main character being called a bleeder. Until 2/3 of the book, we aren't told what it means.
But at the end of the day, it was a great story, a nice interesting take on the genre, with a very likeable main character who doesn't have a weird skill or class to give him a leg up. Best of all, book 2 is apparently coming out in a couple of weeks.
I would highly recommend some editing for a version 2.0 though.
That's not to say that there aren't problems with the book. There's some heavy editing that needs to take place to make the story flow better, since this is apparently put together from a web serial.
The game systems are vaguely complicated, so it should've been dumbed down or have better explanations on how it works. (Ie. Some skills start at lvl 3, we're told skills give exp at lvl 5, but some of them don't, and then they give at 6, or 9, the exp doesn't really mean anything and the characters don't always get it - in particular the troll fight)
Another issue I had was the main character being called a bleeder. Until 2/3 of the book, we aren't told what it means.
But at the end of the day, it was a great story, a nice interesting take on the genre, with a very likeable main character who doesn't have a weird skill or class to give him a leg up. Best of all, book 2 is apparently coming out in a couple of weeks.
I would highly recommend some editing for a version 2.0 though.
August 29, 2022
I didn't finish it.
The beginning seemed promising: a context where humans were under the unconscious influence of another species and fought for them believing they were playing a game.
So that includes the "resurrection" of the players and so... what's the point of keeping humans to do that? Might as well have a specialized army of highly trained personnel to do it, no? The explanation, like all the others (installing a magic system on the fake planet, etc...) then starts to be very implausible.
Let's move on, even if they are more and more numerous as I read on.
I was then simply bored. One of the explanations being that I had the feeling to read a mix of several books (a bit of Chaos Seed, a bit of Matrix/Ender, and a 3rd one I forgot :D).
I got over 20% because it surprised me slightly by avoiding some clichés, but at 40% I couldn't get through it. Not for me, next!
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
The beginning seemed promising: a context where humans were under the unconscious influence of another species and fought for them believing they were playing a game.
So that includes the "resurrection" of the players and so... what's the point of keeping humans to do that? Might as well have a specialized army of highly trained personnel to do it, no? The explanation, like all the others (installing a magic system on the fake planet, etc...) then starts to be very implausible.
Let's move on, even if they are more and more numerous as I read on.
I was then simply bored. One of the explanations being that I had the feeling to read a mix of several books (a bit of Chaos Seed, a bit of Matrix/Ender, and a 3rd one I forgot :D).
I got over 20% because it surprised me slightly by avoiding some clichés, but at 40% I couldn't get through it. Not for me, next!
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
June 14, 2017
I deeply love all of the crafting and training and leveling, but the pacing is...not well done. By the end of the prologue, we know the series's ultimate Big Bad and have an idea of the scale of a fight with them. The MC has all of this info by *mid-book* and...does nothing with it. You can't intro a villain in book one and by book six, *still* have not even fought them (going by synopsis, at least).
June 20, 2017
Pantheon, Mind f£%k, and LitRPG
Finally someone writes a good LitRPG with a dysfunctional pantheon of glorified "gods" and does it with excellent epic fantasy style. Heaven!
Finally someone writes a good LitRPG with a dysfunctional pantheon of glorified "gods" and does it with excellent epic fantasy style. Heaven!
March 25, 2019
4.25☆
June 17, 2020
Somewhere between Loved It and Hated It.
The world is fantastic and I was so intrigued by it and wanted to read more. But the book felt really quite dull at times.
The pacing felt a bit off.
The world is fantastic and I was so intrigued by it and wanted to read more. But the book felt really quite dull at times.
The pacing felt a bit off.
July 30, 2022
Loved this so glad there is so many more books to read.
January 3, 2025
The Trapped Mind Project – A Howl-worthy LitRPG Adventure
Reviewer Profile:
Ice Wolf here, standing proud as Kiba Snowpaw from the frosty tundras of HowlStrom! As an alpha with over 38 winters under my fur and the experience of over 5,000 games and 400 audiobooks, I’ve sniffed out some incredible tales—and I’m ready to sink my teeth into The Trapped Mind Project by Michael Chatfield.
Introduction:
Let me start with a tail-wagging howl of approval! This book is the alpha of LitRPGs, seamlessly blending a harem-style narrative with MMORPG vibes and an engaging world where reality and simulation intertwine. The Trapped Mind Project offers a refreshing take on LitRPG tropes, inviting readers into a story brimming with creativity, humor, and an abundance of stat-crunching joy.
Basic Plot Summary:
Austin Zane, a corporate bigshot-turned-gamer, escapes into the virtual world of Emerilia. But here’s the paw-twist: Emerilia isn’t just a game—it’s the real deal, and Earth? Just a dull simulation. As Austin (playing as Dave, a half-dwarf) sets out to enjoy a simple life of crafting and fishing, he uncovers secrets that reshape his understanding of reality. From building alliances with dwarves to outsmarting rogue players and uncovering Emerilia's hidden truths, the stakes escalate in this adrenaline-fueled quest.
Originality:
Paws up for Chatfield! Unlike many LitRPGs, this book flips the script. Instead of escaping reality into a game, players are unwittingly thrust into actual life disguised as a game. The meta-commentary on control and freedom is refreshing, while the harem dynamics are handled with surprising nuance. It’s as if The Matrix and Sword Art Online had a litter of wolf cubs, and this book is the feisty alpha pup.
About the Writer:
Michael Chatfield is a Canadian military veteran who knows how to blend tactical precision with imaginative storytelling. His experience as a gamer and storyteller shines through in the intricate mechanics and heartfelt relationships. If you’ve read his other series, such as The Ten Realms, you’ll recognize his knack for detailed world-building and engaging characters.
Analysis/Evaluation:
Character Development:
Main Characters:
- Dave/Austin: A relatable and humble protagonist. Dave’s journey from a weary CEO to a curious adventurer is inspiring, proving that sometimes simplicity is the ultimate power-up.
- The Dwarves: These NPCs (or are they?) steal the show with their humor, camaraderie, and loyalty, making them feel more real than many human characters in other stories.
Supporting Characters:
The harem isn’t just for show. Each member brings unique skills and perspectives, from the tough but tender elf healer to the playful rogue with a knack for treasure-hunting.
Character Arcs:
Dave’s gradual acceptance of Emerilia’s reality parallels his emotional growth, as he learns to balance leadership with vulnerability. The supporting characters evolve too, offering a rich tapestry of development.
Structure and Mechanics:
The pacing mirrors the grind of an MMORPG: slow and deliberate at first but rewarding for those who invest. The game mechanics are thorough—sometimes overwhelmingly so—with level-ups, crafting, and skill optimization all playing vital roles.
Impact:
This book made my tail wag with its exploration of freedom, identity, and what it means to live authentically. The mix of humor and gravity keeps the tone balanced, appealing to both casual and hardcore fans of the genre.
Hook and Thesis:
If Earth is a simulation, and Emerilia is reality, who’s truly in control? This philosophical hook is the heart of The Trapped Mind Project, challenging readers to question the nature of their own existence.
Praise and Critique:
Praise:
- Immersive World-Building: From lush forests to bustling towns, Emerilia feels alive, with vibrant ecosystems and detailed environments.
- Crafting Mechanics: For fans of “grind-heavy” games, the crafting and building systems are a dream come true.
- Strong Voice Acting: The audiobook narration by Tristan Morris is a delight, bringing each character to life with distinct voices and personalities.
Critique:
- Pacing Issues: Some chapters feel bogged down with exposition and stat explanations, which might deter readers less familiar with gaming terms.
- Harem Dynamics: While mostly well-executed, a few relationships feel rushed, leaving some characters underdeveloped.
Personal Opinion:
As a wolf with a love for epic adventures, I found myself howling in delight. The mix of introspection, humor, and action kept me hooked from start to finish. While the harem elements leaned into the genre’s tropes, they were handled with enough care to feel earned rather than gratuitous.
Highlights and Drawbacks:
Highlight: The sequence where Dave and his dwarf companions raid a goblin-infested mine is a chef’s kiss of strategy, humor, and suspense.
Drawback: The overly detailed stats dumps might alienate non-gamers.
Comparison:
Fans of The Way of the Shaman by Vasily Mahanenko and The Land by Aleron Kong will feel right at home here. However, Chatfield’s philosophical edge gives The Trapped Mind Project a unique flavor.
Overall Conclusion:
The Trapped Mind Project is a triumph of the LitRPG genre, offering a thoughtful, action-packed, and emotionally resonant journey. Whether you’re a gamer, a fantasy fan, or a fellow furry, this book will have you logging back in for more.
Rating:
Story: 4.8/5
Characters: 4.7/5
World-Building: 5/5
Overall: 4.9/5
Final Howl: Ready your gear, gather your allies, and dive into Emerilia. This is a journey worth embarking on, and I can’t wait to see what lies beyond the next level.
Reviewer Profile:
Ice Wolf here, standing proud as Kiba Snowpaw from the frosty tundras of HowlStrom! As an alpha with over 38 winters under my fur and the experience of over 5,000 games and 400 audiobooks, I’ve sniffed out some incredible tales—and I’m ready to sink my teeth into The Trapped Mind Project by Michael Chatfield.
Introduction:
Let me start with a tail-wagging howl of approval! This book is the alpha of LitRPGs, seamlessly blending a harem-style narrative with MMORPG vibes and an engaging world where reality and simulation intertwine. The Trapped Mind Project offers a refreshing take on LitRPG tropes, inviting readers into a story brimming with creativity, humor, and an abundance of stat-crunching joy.
Basic Plot Summary:
Austin Zane, a corporate bigshot-turned-gamer, escapes into the virtual world of Emerilia. But here’s the paw-twist: Emerilia isn’t just a game—it’s the real deal, and Earth? Just a dull simulation. As Austin (playing as Dave, a half-dwarf) sets out to enjoy a simple life of crafting and fishing, he uncovers secrets that reshape his understanding of reality. From building alliances with dwarves to outsmarting rogue players and uncovering Emerilia's hidden truths, the stakes escalate in this adrenaline-fueled quest.
Originality:
Paws up for Chatfield! Unlike many LitRPGs, this book flips the script. Instead of escaping reality into a game, players are unwittingly thrust into actual life disguised as a game. The meta-commentary on control and freedom is refreshing, while the harem dynamics are handled with surprising nuance. It’s as if The Matrix and Sword Art Online had a litter of wolf cubs, and this book is the feisty alpha pup.
About the Writer:
Michael Chatfield is a Canadian military veteran who knows how to blend tactical precision with imaginative storytelling. His experience as a gamer and storyteller shines through in the intricate mechanics and heartfelt relationships. If you’ve read his other series, such as The Ten Realms, you’ll recognize his knack for detailed world-building and engaging characters.
Analysis/Evaluation:
Character Development:
Main Characters:
- Dave/Austin: A relatable and humble protagonist. Dave’s journey from a weary CEO to a curious adventurer is inspiring, proving that sometimes simplicity is the ultimate power-up.
- The Dwarves: These NPCs (or are they?) steal the show with their humor, camaraderie, and loyalty, making them feel more real than many human characters in other stories.
Supporting Characters:
The harem isn’t just for show. Each member brings unique skills and perspectives, from the tough but tender elf healer to the playful rogue with a knack for treasure-hunting.
Character Arcs:
Dave’s gradual acceptance of Emerilia’s reality parallels his emotional growth, as he learns to balance leadership with vulnerability. The supporting characters evolve too, offering a rich tapestry of development.
Structure and Mechanics:
The pacing mirrors the grind of an MMORPG: slow and deliberate at first but rewarding for those who invest. The game mechanics are thorough—sometimes overwhelmingly so—with level-ups, crafting, and skill optimization all playing vital roles.
Impact:
This book made my tail wag with its exploration of freedom, identity, and what it means to live authentically. The mix of humor and gravity keeps the tone balanced, appealing to both casual and hardcore fans of the genre.
Hook and Thesis:
If Earth is a simulation, and Emerilia is reality, who’s truly in control? This philosophical hook is the heart of The Trapped Mind Project, challenging readers to question the nature of their own existence.
Praise and Critique:
Praise:
- Immersive World-Building: From lush forests to bustling towns, Emerilia feels alive, with vibrant ecosystems and detailed environments.
- Crafting Mechanics: For fans of “grind-heavy” games, the crafting and building systems are a dream come true.
- Strong Voice Acting: The audiobook narration by Tristan Morris is a delight, bringing each character to life with distinct voices and personalities.
Critique:
- Pacing Issues: Some chapters feel bogged down with exposition and stat explanations, which might deter readers less familiar with gaming terms.
- Harem Dynamics: While mostly well-executed, a few relationships feel rushed, leaving some characters underdeveloped.
Personal Opinion:
As a wolf with a love for epic adventures, I found myself howling in delight. The mix of introspection, humor, and action kept me hooked from start to finish. While the harem elements leaned into the genre’s tropes, they were handled with enough care to feel earned rather than gratuitous.
Highlights and Drawbacks:
Highlight: The sequence where Dave and his dwarf companions raid a goblin-infested mine is a chef’s kiss of strategy, humor, and suspense.
Drawback: The overly detailed stats dumps might alienate non-gamers.
Comparison:
Fans of The Way of the Shaman by Vasily Mahanenko and The Land by Aleron Kong will feel right at home here. However, Chatfield’s philosophical edge gives The Trapped Mind Project a unique flavor.
Overall Conclusion:
The Trapped Mind Project is a triumph of the LitRPG genre, offering a thoughtful, action-packed, and emotionally resonant journey. Whether you’re a gamer, a fantasy fan, or a fellow furry, this book will have you logging back in for more.
Rating:
Story: 4.8/5
Characters: 4.7/5
World-Building: 5/5
Overall: 4.9/5
Final Howl: Ready your gear, gather your allies, and dive into Emerilia. This is a journey worth embarking on, and I can’t wait to see what lies beyond the next level.
May 18, 2017
This text is LitRPG. If you don't like the genre, you will not like this book, since it follows the basic idea of narrating the adventures of a role-player/gamer. Conversely there will be many fans of the genre who hate this text, since it subverts the conventions of their genre. Instead of simply delivering a repetitive cycle of grinding and questing this tale attempts to look behind the scenes of LitRPG, asks some philosophical questions about the morality and psychological setup of MMORPG and even reverses the perspective and focuses on NPCs instead of players. Reminscent of The Matrix the fantasy game world full of magic, mythical creatures and gods is revealed to be the real world while the world from which the players originate is the simulation created to indoctrinate a captive population of humans subjugated by their alien overlords.
The plot is familiar, the writing could be improved, but it is definitely one of the better examples of the genre.
The plot is familiar, the writing could be improved, but it is definitely one of the better examples of the genre.
November 9, 2019
The is written by a child trying to be a teen.
The story starts with a man who is totally the first person to ever come up with the idea to mine asteroid and has some how created a monopoly on it because nobody else has even tried. That's not how the story really starts though because it starts with the worst named alien race eventually killing us all because we are psychos but also not killing us but also cloning us but also breaking us down into gene soup and redesigning us... so that they keep part of humanity in a sim so that they can put them in another sim that's a video game to train you for war/slavery/entertainment but it's also high fantasy and the magic is nano machines that are surgically inserted but he's also the avatar guys and apparently the only guy with free choice or something because who the fuck knows. Also both simulations have real death but just reconstruct you and insert cloned memories and portals to physical real world's to do war on so I have to ask if the author understands what a simulation actually is? Don't worry though the murderer of the human race on loop, comes down to talk to the chosen one because he's so damn unique he's not allowed to be killed for owning a totally fake asteroid mining business that nobody has... sorry the bullshit was starting to spiral in on itself. Where was i? Oh right the stupidest named alien in the stupidest named alien race, bob, the one who murders, come to the chosen and basically says let's do chaos because I'm kinda sorry that my war machine has turned into a slightly more televised war machine so be my champion or whatever. No joke his reply is that he wont do that but he will instead be his friend. After cleaning up the vomit I skipped to the end of the book right then to write the review. I have now put more thought into this review than the author did his book.
The story starts with a man who is totally the first person to ever come up with the idea to mine asteroid and has some how created a monopoly on it because nobody else has even tried. That's not how the story really starts though because it starts with the worst named alien race eventually killing us all because we are psychos but also not killing us but also cloning us but also breaking us down into gene soup and redesigning us... so that they keep part of humanity in a sim so that they can put them in another sim that's a video game to train you for war/slavery/entertainment but it's also high fantasy and the magic is nano machines that are surgically inserted but he's also the avatar guys and apparently the only guy with free choice or something because who the fuck knows. Also both simulations have real death but just reconstruct you and insert cloned memories and portals to physical real world's to do war on so I have to ask if the author understands what a simulation actually is? Don't worry though the murderer of the human race on loop, comes down to talk to the chosen one because he's so damn unique he's not allowed to be killed for owning a totally fake asteroid mining business that nobody has... sorry the bullshit was starting to spiral in on itself. Where was i? Oh right the stupidest named alien in the stupidest named alien race, bob, the one who murders, come to the chosen and basically says let's do chaos because I'm kinda sorry that my war machine has turned into a slightly more televised war machine so be my champion or whatever. No joke his reply is that he wont do that but he will instead be his friend. After cleaning up the vomit I skipped to the end of the book right then to write the review. I have now put more thought into this review than the author did his book.
August 5, 2017
An old idea done right
The idea "this world is a computer simulation and there is something more out there" isn't a new one. however this book takes a step further by suggesting that the land of fiction with it's Elves, Dwarfs and magic IS the real world. That is simulation we live in was made to bore us to tears on purpose so we'd escape to the land of make believe.
Now the first thing that came to my mind was "so this one game is the reality? what about everything else? books, Shows, Music, the Arts...etc, hell what about other games? different people have different interest. even in a Sims games you can't force them be what they don't want to be (well you can but why?)
This is a glaring plot hole and I do hope the other books in the series address it.
If you can look past that then you have an amazing fantasy / Litrpg story full of character, dysfunctional "gods" and NPCs that think players are Pschycopaths! I love that this book address the little things in MMOs (always walking around in armour, happily doing chores if someone writes them down and sticks them to a wooden board...etc)
The idea "this world is a computer simulation and there is something more out there" isn't a new one. however this book takes a step further by suggesting that the land of fiction with it's Elves, Dwarfs and magic IS the real world. That is simulation we live in was made to bore us to tears on purpose so we'd escape to the land of make believe.
Now the first thing that came to my mind was "so this one game is the reality? what about everything else? books, Shows, Music, the Arts...etc, hell what about other games? different people have different interest. even in a Sims games you can't force them be what they don't want to be (well you can but why?)
This is a glaring plot hole and I do hope the other books in the series address it.
If you can look past that then you have an amazing fantasy / Litrpg story full of character, dysfunctional "gods" and NPCs that think players are Pschycopaths! I love that this book address the little things in MMOs (always walking around in armour, happily doing chores if someone writes them down and sticks them to a wooden board...etc)
January 25, 2018
Hey, LitRPG writers, do yourself a favor, take a few days and play through Mass Effect 1 and 2. (Maybe 3 if you also watch the indoctrination theory video after. Avoid Andromeda)
I had such high hopes for this story. It starts out great, the premise is unique and the setup up is smart and interesting. It stumbles right away; however, by going the rout of another bloody Fantasy MMORPG -_-. You guys know there are Scifi RPGs and even MMORPGs, right? I mean, with the setup you'd think Scifi MMORPG would be a must. No? Fine, another fantasy LitRPG it is.
Initial stumble aside, it still starts off well, the main character is likable, and his story line seems interesting and fun. Right up until they open the citadel and the POV goes from mostly him with bits from Neutral and the elf girl, to everyone and their brother getting a POV chapter/paragraph. From here the story rapidity balloons out of control until the interesting premise is buried under the generic Fantasy war plot.
There was just so much wasted potential here and it could have been amazing if Chatfield just didn't fall into the Standard LitRPG tropes.
I had such high hopes for this story. It starts out great, the premise is unique and the setup up is smart and interesting. It stumbles right away; however, by going the rout of another bloody Fantasy MMORPG -_-. You guys know there are Scifi RPGs and even MMORPGs, right? I mean, with the setup you'd think Scifi MMORPG would be a must. No? Fine, another fantasy LitRPG it is.
Initial stumble aside, it still starts off well, the main character is likable, and his story line seems interesting and fun. Right up until they open the citadel and the POV goes from mostly him with bits from Neutral and the elf girl, to everyone and their brother getting a POV chapter/paragraph. From here the story rapidity balloons out of control until the interesting premise is buried under the generic Fantasy war plot.
There was just so much wasted potential here and it could have been amazing if Chatfield just didn't fall into the Standard LitRPG tropes.
July 31, 2018
The story is ok. But want to write this review like the book. You know how flow is important. Well I really liked the story. Its was good. See flow is important so you can follow the story. There was the good basic elements of an RPG. Fun environments, fun characters. Sometimes the flow is a bit off and you can't keep track of what direction the story is going. The plot-lines took a while to get deep. There would be one plot line and then all of the sudden it just stopped for quite some time. The game mechanics were OK there wasn't a lot of them. It was more of a dystopian future with stats than a LitRPG. So then all of the sudden a plot line came back and it was hard to follow how it really applied.....
See how annoying that is!!!!
I usually love LitRPG. I just don't see the draw of this one.
See how annoying that is!!!!
I usually love LitRPG. I just don't see the draw of this one.
February 13, 2017
Not worth my time
Really struggled to even get through the prologue. Writing was unsophisticated and amateurish, plot was unoriginal, and the general feel of the book was just not interesting. An example of when the Kindle Unlimited program to allow anybody to write a story just doesn't work. I guess it would be considered LitRPG, though I barely made it to the gaming elements. Unfortunately this genre can be very hit and miss. Some gamers write fun interesting stories, and some don't. For me, this one didn't.
The "alien protagonist" idea seemed to only be half developed and really seemed shoe horned in.
Really struggled to even get through the prologue. Writing was unsophisticated and amateurish, plot was unoriginal, and the general feel of the book was just not interesting. An example of when the Kindle Unlimited program to allow anybody to write a story just doesn't work. I guess it would be considered LitRPG, though I barely made it to the gaming elements. Unfortunately this genre can be very hit and miss. Some gamers write fun interesting stories, and some don't. For me, this one didn't.
The "alien protagonist" idea seemed to only be half developed and really seemed shoe horned in.
July 21, 2017
The Matrix met Dungeons And Dragons and had a love child afflicted with Down's Syndrome.
One of those books that I am embarrassed to admit that I liked. I won't recommend this, not because I didn't like it, but because it is not very well written, or edited.
Still I can't say I didn't like it, or that I will not be reading the next on in the series (mostly due to the fact that I finished book #2 last night).
So in short, don't read, unless you really want to, and don't say I didn't warn you if it is not your cup of tea.
One of those books that I am embarrassed to admit that I liked. I won't recommend this, not because I didn't like it, but because it is not very well written, or edited.
Still I can't say I didn't like it, or that I will not be reading the next on in the series (mostly due to the fact that I finished book #2 last night).
So in short, don't read, unless you really want to, and don't say I didn't warn you if it is not your cup of tea.
June 7, 2017
Only one complaint
The grammar isn't perfect. There were some Kindle translation fails which I can forgive but there were enough grammatical errors to make me drop a star.
Aside from that I really enjoyed the story. New genre for me and I've already picked up the next book.
The grammar isn't perfect. There were some Kindle translation fails which I can forgive but there were enough grammatical errors to make me drop a star.
Aside from that I really enjoyed the story. New genre for me and I've already picked up the next book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 230 reviews