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Hero of Thera #1
Hero of Thera
BE A HERO IN THE ULTIMATE GAME Are you a top-rated gamer? Then you might have the skills to play the Game … where players are sponsored by actual demon lords, gods and goddesses, or Lovecraftian nightmares. Enter Thera, a real kingdom at the crossroads of many other worlds, but with all the augmented-reality interfaces, character progression, and game mechanics that players know and love. And the stakes of The Game? Nothing less than Creation—every world in every universe and reality. So … no pressure. Thus Hector Savage, gamer extraordinaire, comes to Thera. Nothing can prepare him, though, for the schemes of Abyssal Lords, rampaging barbarian ghosts, and a host of nefarious forces who want him dead—before he can even make fifth level!
477 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 8, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
September 12, 2017
My original Hero of Thera audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
If you are looking for a Literary Role Playing Game (LitRPG) that is not only immersive but also tells a great story, look no farther that “Hero of Thera”. The book is wonderfully written by Eric Nylund and narrated by none other than the expert voice of the genre; Jeff Hays. What events occur when a condemned man on death row is given the chance to engage in a game that is not your run of the mill, “I’m stuck in a virtual world story.” Not at all, this story is also not simply involving the life or death of a single person, but instead, the outcome determines the fate of everyone because the makers of the game are actual demons, gods, and other nightmarish creatures. For almost any person faced with these events would be driven insane, can our main character survive and save all creation? If any of this sounds remotely interesting, I recommend you pick up a copy and have a listen.
The game our main character joins is not one where you simply die and come back to life at a specified location. This game is instead played in “Hard Core” mode, meaning that if you die in the game, you die physically. No pressure here. The story itself is quite weighty and involved, yet at the same time, the author uses humor at appropriate times, and not excessively. Even on a plane while traveling I laughed out loud as the main character faced the dreaded End User License Agreement (EULA). Should you read all the terms and conditions fully before clicking “I Agree”, or do you simply click and get on with the game? After selecting that you agree to the terms, what choice did he have, and clicking on the “OK” button, our character is forced to watch the initial game title screen. Once again, this brings me back to my gaming days when it was nearly impossible to skip these opening sequences.
On the surface, the book seems like a standard LitRPG story. But, it goes much deeper and wider the more you dive into it. There is mystery and suspense that will raise your blood pressure along with some humorous wit. Sometimes it is the little subtle things that keep you laughing such as a few of the quest names or story events. There are many of the standard character types one would expect to find in an RPG story such as skeletons, ghosts, gnomes, and elves. However, you are also introduced to “Mr. Pinchy” one of the childhood pets of our main character. So, what about our main character? Who is he? He was raised a gypsy elf who was trained in the skill of martial arts from birth, but he still does not know how to fully utilize his powers. He struggles when he is drafted into the world of evil. What I enjoyed was the main character was not invincible and instead required assistance from many of the friends he picked up along the way. There are friendships, relationships, and a few shocking and unsuspected events along the journey. I found the story to be enjoyable and inspirational.
I would have liked to have had more time and action during the many battle scenes because they seemed to start and finish rather quickly. The story appeared to lack some of the more intense or graphic aspects, but this may have been intentional to keep the book available to younger audiences. On that note, I do not remember any use of vulgar language, nor were there any sexual subject matter that I recall while listening.
Let me turn to the book’s audio narration by Jeff Hays. It is no surprise, and I would expect nothing less from one of his narrations, the audio is expertly and professionally done. Jeff continues to amaze me with his ability to voice multiple characters while giving them all unique personalities. I am able to quickly get a picture in my head of the character simply by listening to their accents. Jeff always includes that extra effort by adding some special audio effects to so of the characters and he never over uses them. It can often be a fine line, and Jeff knows when to quit. There were no noticeable audio artifacts such as swallows, page turns, or other distractions.
In summary, if you want to hear a high-elf speaking to the main character about the unified theory of the universe, or if you are in the mood for a town that serves bacon and eggs with cheddar cheese as one of their staples, or a cola beverage that not only allows you to see in the dark but comes with an interesting side-effect, I think you will not be disappointed by picking up and listening to “Hero of Thera”. You will laugh, you may cry, but you will have a load of fun along the way.
Audiobook was provided for review by the author.
If you are looking for a Literary Role Playing Game (LitRPG) that is not only immersive but also tells a great story, look no farther that “Hero of Thera”. The book is wonderfully written by Eric Nylund and narrated by none other than the expert voice of the genre; Jeff Hays. What events occur when a condemned man on death row is given the chance to engage in a game that is not your run of the mill, “I’m stuck in a virtual world story.” Not at all, this story is also not simply involving the life or death of a single person, but instead, the outcome determines the fate of everyone because the makers of the game are actual demons, gods, and other nightmarish creatures. For almost any person faced with these events would be driven insane, can our main character survive and save all creation? If any of this sounds remotely interesting, I recommend you pick up a copy and have a listen.
The game our main character joins is not one where you simply die and come back to life at a specified location. This game is instead played in “Hard Core” mode, meaning that if you die in the game, you die physically. No pressure here. The story itself is quite weighty and involved, yet at the same time, the author uses humor at appropriate times, and not excessively. Even on a plane while traveling I laughed out loud as the main character faced the dreaded End User License Agreement (EULA). Should you read all the terms and conditions fully before clicking “I Agree”, or do you simply click and get on with the game? After selecting that you agree to the terms, what choice did he have, and clicking on the “OK” button, our character is forced to watch the initial game title screen. Once again, this brings me back to my gaming days when it was nearly impossible to skip these opening sequences.
On the surface, the book seems like a standard LitRPG story. But, it goes much deeper and wider the more you dive into it. There is mystery and suspense that will raise your blood pressure along with some humorous wit. Sometimes it is the little subtle things that keep you laughing such as a few of the quest names or story events. There are many of the standard character types one would expect to find in an RPG story such as skeletons, ghosts, gnomes, and elves. However, you are also introduced to “Mr. Pinchy” one of the childhood pets of our main character. So, what about our main character? Who is he? He was raised a gypsy elf who was trained in the skill of martial arts from birth, but he still does not know how to fully utilize his powers. He struggles when he is drafted into the world of evil. What I enjoyed was the main character was not invincible and instead required assistance from many of the friends he picked up along the way. There are friendships, relationships, and a few shocking and unsuspected events along the journey. I found the story to be enjoyable and inspirational.
I would have liked to have had more time and action during the many battle scenes because they seemed to start and finish rather quickly. The story appeared to lack some of the more intense or graphic aspects, but this may have been intentional to keep the book available to younger audiences. On that note, I do not remember any use of vulgar language, nor were there any sexual subject matter that I recall while listening.
Let me turn to the book’s audio narration by Jeff Hays. It is no surprise, and I would expect nothing less from one of his narrations, the audio is expertly and professionally done. Jeff continues to amaze me with his ability to voice multiple characters while giving them all unique personalities. I am able to quickly get a picture in my head of the character simply by listening to their accents. Jeff always includes that extra effort by adding some special audio effects to so of the characters and he never over uses them. It can often be a fine line, and Jeff knows when to quit. There were no noticeable audio artifacts such as swallows, page turns, or other distractions.
In summary, if you want to hear a high-elf speaking to the main character about the unified theory of the universe, or if you are in the mood for a town that serves bacon and eggs with cheddar cheese as one of their staples, or a cola beverage that not only allows you to see in the dark but comes with an interesting side-effect, I think you will not be disappointed by picking up and listening to “Hero of Thera”. You will laugh, you may cry, but you will have a load of fun along the way.
Audiobook was provided for review by the author.
October 24, 2018
This was a nice, quick read. I had several frustrating/annoying issues but I got over them, and I ended up enjoying the overall story. Even if parts were obvious and predictable. Very predictable. So predictable that I was glad the kindle e-book didn’t have x-ray enabled, so I couldn’t verify my predictions and spoil the story.... Not like I’ve ever done that before....
Anyway!
I probably should have given this three stars, but this is the first book I’ve finished in what seems like forever (meaning I’ve dnf’d 10 books in the past week), so it’s 3.5 Stars, rounded up to 4.
And there may be a few dnf’d books that I’ll go back to, on account of this one rewarding me for going to the end.
I’m looking forward to the sequel. Here’s hoping I enjoy it more and like it just as much!
Anyway!
I probably should have given this three stars, but this is the first book I’ve finished in what seems like forever (meaning I’ve dnf’d 10 books in the past week), so it’s 3.5 Stars, rounded up to 4.
And there may be a few dnf’d books that I’ll go back to, on account of this one rewarding me for going to the end.
I’m looking forward to the sequel. Here’s hoping I enjoy it more and like it just as much!
June 6, 2017
Masterful
Once again, Eric Nylund has worked his particular brand of magic into an engaging tale. Hero of Thera kicks off an exciting new series that will keep you on your toes. Follow the trials of Hector Savage - a framed death row inmate - as he struggles to survive the real life game world of Thera. If you liked this story check out his books "A Game of Universe" and "Mortal Coils" - I guarantee you will love them!
Once again, Eric Nylund has worked his particular brand of magic into an engaging tale. Hero of Thera kicks off an exciting new series that will keep you on your toes. Follow the trials of Hector Savage - a framed death row inmate - as he struggles to survive the real life game world of Thera. If you liked this story check out his books "A Game of Universe" and "Mortal Coils" - I guarantee you will love them!
June 2, 2017
What a ride
Let's just start by saying this book could have never ended and I would have been ok with that. Great writing the flow was so good when I looked at what percent I was on I was sad since I was halfway thru so sad😢. Great job author and hurry with book 2 I need more heroes in my life.
Let's just start by saying this book could have never ended and I would have been ok with that. Great writing the flow was so good when I looked at what percent I was on I was sad since I was halfway thru so sad😢. Great job author and hurry with book 2 I need more heroes in my life.
September 22, 2017
This book was next in line in my LitRPG genre exploration. I follow the Goodread's LitRPG list, but will try to read at least ten books before making my own top 5.
Compared to the previous one that I read (not from this series and not from this author), this book was a significant improvement! The backstory is really nice and the plot is thickening in both the "real" and "virtual" world. Character development is very powerful. It gives perspective from the hard core gamer taking the character creation very seriously. People with RPG gaming background can understand what I am talking about: the difference between "random roll or use the pre-created character" vs "fully customize your own avatar from the scratch". The serious gamer will always go for the latter.
The book shows what the "ultimate" MMORPG game could look like, so it contains the variety of options, selections, choices, experiences etc. The depth is there, and the author will choose how much he wants to show us. The surface is only scratched in the book 1 and the reader is left to hope for more. Personally, I want to read the descriptions of each skill, ability, synergy, class etc etc, I want to understand how the character is choosing to spend valuable points and I want to read what each level brings. So, for me, as long as there is bolded text in the book (messages in the game interface), I am happy.
The writing style is very nice, it is far from the "book for kids, everything goes smoothly". It has a good balance between the narrating pace, descriptions, dialogs and actions. A spice of good humor was thrown in the mix and it makes the book really enjoyable to read.
The book closes a chapter but also opens up a story that could show much more. At this pace I believe author has created a possibility for at least 5 or 10 more books to complete the series. I will definetely wait for the sequel(s)!
I really liked the book and my final verdict is 4.5 out of 5 stars. I will be rounding down though, until I see if the next books get better or worse. Highly recommended!
Compared to the previous one that I read (not from this series and not from this author), this book was a significant improvement! The backstory is really nice and the plot is thickening in both the "real" and "virtual" world. Character development is very powerful. It gives perspective from the hard core gamer taking the character creation very seriously. People with RPG gaming background can understand what I am talking about: the difference between "random roll or use the pre-created character" vs "fully customize your own avatar from the scratch". The serious gamer will always go for the latter.
The book shows what the "ultimate" MMORPG game could look like, so it contains the variety of options, selections, choices, experiences etc. The depth is there, and the author will choose how much he wants to show us. The surface is only scratched in the book 1 and the reader is left to hope for more. Personally, I want to read the descriptions of each skill, ability, synergy, class etc etc, I want to understand how the character is choosing to spend valuable points and I want to read what each level brings. So, for me, as long as there is bolded text in the book (messages in the game interface), I am happy.
The writing style is very nice, it is far from the "book for kids, everything goes smoothly". It has a good balance between the narrating pace, descriptions, dialogs and actions. A spice of good humor was thrown in the mix and it makes the book really enjoyable to read.
The book closes a chapter but also opens up a story that could show much more. At this pace I believe author has created a possibility for at least 5 or 10 more books to complete the series. I will definetely wait for the sequel(s)!
I really liked the book and my final verdict is 4.5 out of 5 stars. I will be rounding down though, until I see if the next books get better or worse. Highly recommended!
February 6, 2019
Prose is good. Story is nice, and plot is thought through. Stuff mostly happens for a reason, except for the main characters decisions.
The biggest downside is the main character, and how he behaves. There is a lot of disconnect between the internal ruminations of the main character, and how he behaves. In the novel, pages upon pages are spent on him acknowledging he needs more power, and how to better use his power. And then he proceeds to do nothing about it, even when given the distinct possibility to do so, via levelling up and choosing more skills. The excuse that always is given, and a bad one at that, is that he does not have time.
The MC is also quite annoying in his constant, almost masturbatory level of mentioning of how good a gamer he is. Even the supporting cast lavish him with praise. But his choices and actions contradict that almost to a point. He always, always mentions how he needs time to min-max his character, but once he gets down to it, there is no min-maxing involved. It feels more like a child in a you shop, with no self control, bordering on teenager edginess. "Oooh, I want my class to be cool, like martial arts and stuff. With cool jumps. You know what else is cool? Ninjas. Yeah, I wanna be a ninja too. You know what else is cool? Magic, but not any type, the making bunnies disappear type. "
There is some semblance of internal conflict, but it's so underdeveloped that it actually feels it detracts from the story by the dissonance it provides.
The biggest downside is the main character, and how he behaves. There is a lot of disconnect between the internal ruminations of the main character, and how he behaves. In the novel, pages upon pages are spent on him acknowledging he needs more power, and how to better use his power. And then he proceeds to do nothing about it, even when given the distinct possibility to do so, via levelling up and choosing more skills. The excuse that always is given, and a bad one at that, is that he does not have time.
The MC is also quite annoying in his constant, almost masturbatory level of mentioning of how good a gamer he is. Even the supporting cast lavish him with praise. But his choices and actions contradict that almost to a point. He always, always mentions how he needs time to min-max his character, but once he gets down to it, there is no min-maxing involved. It feels more like a child in a you shop, with no self control, bordering on teenager edginess. "Oooh, I want my class to be cool, like martial arts and stuff. With cool jumps. You know what else is cool? Ninjas. Yeah, I wanna be a ninja too. You know what else is cool? Magic, but not any type, the making bunnies disappear type. "
There is some semblance of internal conflict, but it's so underdeveloped that it actually feels it detracts from the story by the dissonance it provides.
June 6, 2017
Best new series I've started in quite some time.
Enjoyed everything about this book, the game mechanics, characters, stories, all of it. Can't wait for the next book in the series!
Enjoyed everything about this book, the game mechanics, characters, stories, all of it. Can't wait for the next book in the series!
June 21, 2017
Probably one of the best LitRPG stories out there right now.
Good character development, good story and world elements, and good internal logic.
Looking forward to the next one.
Good character development, good story and world elements, and good internal logic.
Looking forward to the next one.
August 17, 2017
Exceptional LitRPG story with fun characters, interesting world, and great mechanics. This book falls kind of, but not entirely, into the 'The Land' style of, Hero is recruited into becoming part of another world. Only, in this case, the god doing the recruiting gives the subject a choice and explains what their purpose is. It also has a bit of 'Dark Paladin' tint to it where there is a bit of a multiverse and a larger game being played.
That said I believe this book actually does both those premises better. Unlike in 'The Land' the LitRPG elements are unique to the players with it being an entirely standard fantasy/multiverse setting for everyone else. Eric also doesn't throw in unnecessary pop culture or gaming references.
It does the 'Dark Paladin' premise where there is more existing without cheapening it all. I picture it like this: at the foundation there is earth. Multiple earths as it seems but a real, solid reality. One level up from there is Thera, a game board created by all the gods of every imaginable pantheon where they compete with their pawns to see how much control they get of the foundation reality. Branching off on this level are supplementary realms that either inspire or are generated from the imaginations of earth authors. The point of these seem mostly to be as resource generators for the game. The top level are the various pantheons. It doesn't leave the 'Dark Paladin' books do by leaving the reader wondering about the system running the game worlds as there isn't really a game world.
One this this does better than both of those as well is it actually has character creation. Species, gender, appearance, class, ext. They aren't simply auto created as themselves. Now... the author does end up falling back on the lazy human, pointy eared human, short bearded human, very short human, fantasy standard, unfortunately, but it was nice to see other options existed.
The story it's self is tight, engaging, and fun, I highly recommend it.
That said I believe this book actually does both those premises better. Unlike in 'The Land' the LitRPG elements are unique to the players with it being an entirely standard fantasy/multiverse setting for everyone else. Eric also doesn't throw in unnecessary pop culture or gaming references.
It does the 'Dark Paladin' premise where there is more existing without cheapening it all. I picture it like this: at the foundation there is earth. Multiple earths as it seems but a real, solid reality. One level up from there is Thera, a game board created by all the gods of every imaginable pantheon where they compete with their pawns to see how much control they get of the foundation reality. Branching off on this level are supplementary realms that either inspire or are generated from the imaginations of earth authors. The point of these seem mostly to be as resource generators for the game. The top level are the various pantheons. It doesn't leave the 'Dark Paladin' books do by leaving the reader wondering about the system running the game worlds as there isn't really a game world.
One this this does better than both of those as well is it actually has character creation. Species, gender, appearance, class, ext. They aren't simply auto created as themselves. Now... the author does end up falling back on the lazy human, pointy eared human, short bearded human, very short human, fantasy standard, unfortunately, but it was nice to see other options existed.
The story it's self is tight, engaging, and fun, I highly recommend it.
June 4, 2017
Just wow
This is incredibly well written and fun.
A likable underdog hero, a world of endless adventures and possibilities.
I love the fact that the MC isn't over powered, and that he actually rejects the option to be so. Instead he uses his brain to fight smart. I liked all the support characters, even the nasty ones because they felt real.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
I just wish I could already jump into book two.
This is incredibly well written and fun.
A likable underdog hero, a world of endless adventures and possibilities.
I love the fact that the MC isn't over powered, and that he actually rejects the option to be so. Instead he uses his brain to fight smart. I liked all the support characters, even the nasty ones because they felt real.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
I just wish I could already jump into book two.
August 7, 2020
Rating 3.0 stars
This was just okay. It was annoying at first and very slow to start. There was a lot of preamble. I listened to the audiobook and it took about an hour before the MC was put into the "game". But that was just the trial run part of the game. It was about 4-5 hours before he was in the game for real with a level 1 character. There were aspects of this story that I found very interesting. When a player in the game chose a character or skill, the player was given all the memories of that skill and backstory. So this was kind of like the person lived it. This was much better than someone picking up a sword, killing one person and gaining the skill. It takes years to master any skill and by giving the person the memories it made the story better for me. There were things that bothered me though and one really hit one of my pet-peeves.
With all these lit rpg books I break things down into categories. The stories are all about the same in general so the parts are what I really care about. Those parts include world building, character building, magic system/leveling system, and then character interactions
For this story
World building - 3.5 stars
Character building - 3 star
Magic system/leveling - 3 stars
Character interactions - 2.5 stars.
For me with these type of books at least one of those categories has to be 4 or 5 stars. If the magic system was great, even if everything else was just okay I would continue the story. Unfortunately nothing really stood out to me. I don't have any real reason to read the next book. If someone gave me a free copy and I had nothing else to read, sure. I didn't dislike the book, just nothing stood out.
This was just okay. It was annoying at first and very slow to start. There was a lot of preamble. I listened to the audiobook and it took about an hour before the MC was put into the "game". But that was just the trial run part of the game. It was about 4-5 hours before he was in the game for real with a level 1 character. There were aspects of this story that I found very interesting. When a player in the game chose a character or skill, the player was given all the memories of that skill and backstory. So this was kind of like the person lived it. This was much better than someone picking up a sword, killing one person and gaining the skill. It takes years to master any skill and by giving the person the memories it made the story better for me. There were things that bothered me though and one really hit one of my pet-peeves.
With all these lit rpg books I break things down into categories. The stories are all about the same in general so the parts are what I really care about. Those parts include world building, character building, magic system/leveling system, and then character interactions
For this story
World building - 3.5 stars
Character building - 3 star
Magic system/leveling - 3 stars
Character interactions - 2.5 stars.
For me with these type of books at least one of those categories has to be 4 or 5 stars. If the magic system was great, even if everything else was just okay I would continue the story. Unfortunately nothing really stood out to me. I don't have any real reason to read the next book. If someone gave me a free copy and I had nothing else to read, sure. I didn't dislike the book, just nothing stood out.
June 6, 2019
Exciting, clean, optimistic litRPG
This is among the top 4 litRPG’s I have read, along with The Wandering Inn, Play to Live, and The Land. Hero of Thera is adventurous and morally clean, with a creative plot, hints of beauty and — get this — in a litRPG novel... actual character development. (I know, right?) Honorable mentions for those seeking more litRPG’s: Blaise Corvin’s Ludus books, the WordTree series, and Reality Benders.
This is among the top 4 litRPG’s I have read, along with The Wandering Inn, Play to Live, and The Land. Hero of Thera is adventurous and morally clean, with a creative plot, hints of beauty and — get this — in a litRPG novel... actual character development. (I know, right?) Honorable mentions for those seeking more litRPG’s: Blaise Corvin’s Ludus books, the WordTree series, and Reality Benders.
February 1, 2022
The fact that I completely forgot I read this novel until now should be all anyone needs to know.
I realize now that a lot of these litrpg novels suffer in the character development stage. It's literally as though you're watching some random person streaming on twitch. I cannot for the life of me fathom how that could be entertaining.
Things just happening on a screen without meaning.
And to read that was even worse. Good is forget this again by. tonight
I realize now that a lot of these litrpg novels suffer in the character development stage. It's literally as though you're watching some random person streaming on twitch. I cannot for the life of me fathom how that could be entertaining.
Things just happening on a screen without meaning.
And to read that was even worse. Good is forget this again by. tonight
June 29, 2018
Further proof as to why Nylund is my favorite author to read. Every story of his is so engaging and so well thought out, I am consistently amazed by how much he can squeeze in without making the read a slog. The feeling I repeatedly get out of his novels is to have this moment of realization about 2/3rds in that "Wait, we are still in the beginning of my predicted plot arc for this story, but he managed to keep me so engaged that I did not even notice he crammed a full adventure in there... and now I want more." Can't wait for the second novel.
May 10, 2019
4.25 Stars
July 11, 2019
Silly fun.
Had a great time reading it.
Had a great time reading it.
November 15, 2019
I really enjoyed this. I hunted this down after a while of not reading much, Eric had been my favourite author of the Halo books so if I loved them so much the logic was I'd like this too, and I was right! Hero of Thera takes you on a very adventurous and perilous journey, I really liked the pacing and the suspense was killer.
It had a good plot and some good twists too, I'm looking forward to some more character development and adventures in the second one!
Oh by the way I haven't read any other LITRPG's so my opinion might be a bit off with nothing to compare it too except maybe that LITRPG... is basically western Isekai, so there's that.
If I had to say one thing bad, I guess it would be that the characters weren't anything that special or interesting to me, it was more so the world he crafted, but that's an insane nitpick as I enjoyed them all anyway.
It had a good plot and some good twists too, I'm looking forward to some more character development and adventures in the second one!
Oh by the way I haven't read any other LITRPG's so my opinion might be a bit off with nothing to compare it too except maybe that LITRPG... is basically western Isekai, so there's that.
If I had to say one thing bad, I guess it would be that the characters weren't anything that special or interesting to me, it was more so the world he crafted, but that's an insane nitpick as I enjoyed them all anyway.
August 10, 2017
Worth the read
For whatever reason I didn't enjoy the beginning of the book. That said I continued on and quickly found a rhythm I enjoyed and was glad I checked the book out. Overall I would give the book 4.5 stars. While there are some areas of improvement and some decisions just didn't understand, I will read the next in the series to continue the journey.
For whatever reason I didn't enjoy the beginning of the book. That said I continued on and quickly found a rhythm I enjoyed and was glad I checked the book out. Overall I would give the book 4.5 stars. While there are some areas of improvement and some decisions just didn't understand, I will read the next in the series to continue the journey.
December 13, 2017
LitRPGs! I've read a couple by this point and so far they've all been really solid. Lucky me!
Now, Eric Nylund is the name I look for when I'm reading Halo novels. From the ones I've read, he writes my favorite. I just love this man's writing. He gets stories. He gets characters. It's good stuff. When I learned Eric Nylund had a LitRPG novel, I had to read it of course. I'm happy to report, Hero of Thera was another solid novel. I enjoyed it.
I gotta say, from the very beginning, Hector made me laugh. I loved his character voice. I've never read first person by Eric Nylund before, but man, did I enjoy it. Hector was funny. There was a healthy helping of humor, but there was plenty of seriousness as well. The book had a good balance that kept me hooked the whole way through. Solid characters? Check.
The world, the whole preface to this story, was quite interesting. To sum it up quickly, various gods from fiction, mythology, all that goodness, all exist in this story world and they are fighting over all of Creation. At certain points in time, different gods had more or less say over our earth, the parallel earth to that, and all other numerous worlds and dimensions. Fun right? And how these gods go about claiming Creation is by playing a game. They get people from these different worlds to be their players and represent them in, basically, an RPG. The ultimate RPG.
Come on, that's cool. Yay fantasy worlds!
So the game is played in Thera, the heart of everything. It's not much of a game though since everyone there is alive and breathing. There are no NPCs. They're all real people (or elves, dwarves, whatever the case may be) so the stakes are high. I mean, if gods looking to control all of Creation wasn't a high enough stake. A lot rests on Hector's shoulders. What role will he play and what god will he represent? You'll have to read to find out. So do yourself a favor and check out Hero of Thera. If you like fantasy novels and video games, I see no reason why you wouldn't fall in love with this book.
Now, Eric Nylund is the name I look for when I'm reading Halo novels. From the ones I've read, he writes my favorite. I just love this man's writing. He gets stories. He gets characters. It's good stuff. When I learned Eric Nylund had a LitRPG novel, I had to read it of course. I'm happy to report, Hero of Thera was another solid novel. I enjoyed it.
I gotta say, from the very beginning, Hector made me laugh. I loved his character voice. I've never read first person by Eric Nylund before, but man, did I enjoy it. Hector was funny. There was a healthy helping of humor, but there was plenty of seriousness as well. The book had a good balance that kept me hooked the whole way through. Solid characters? Check.
The world, the whole preface to this story, was quite interesting. To sum it up quickly, various gods from fiction, mythology, all that goodness, all exist in this story world and they are fighting over all of Creation. At certain points in time, different gods had more or less say over our earth, the parallel earth to that, and all other numerous worlds and dimensions. Fun right? And how these gods go about claiming Creation is by playing a game. They get people from these different worlds to be their players and represent them in, basically, an RPG. The ultimate RPG.
Come on, that's cool. Yay fantasy worlds!
So the game is played in Thera, the heart of everything. It's not much of a game though since everyone there is alive and breathing. There are no NPCs. They're all real people (or elves, dwarves, whatever the case may be) so the stakes are high. I mean, if gods looking to control all of Creation wasn't a high enough stake. A lot rests on Hector's shoulders. What role will he play and what god will he represent? You'll have to read to find out. So do yourself a favor and check out Hero of Thera. If you like fantasy novels and video games, I see no reason why you wouldn't fall in love with this book.
January 31, 2018
An OK read, or listen in this case. Quite typical of the genre. Nothing earth-shattering.
Some realistic choices made, which is better than I can say for other books of that kind.
A decent effort to turn the massive coincidence chains into a plot tool. I didn't always buy it, but I will acknowledge the attention.
Still bugs me that levels don't seem to matter much for this kind of books, though.
And the whole quest mechanism took all agency away from the MC by simply pointing him in the next direction all the time, and actually solving puzzles before the MC ever had to deal with them.
That's a shame.
The language got very flowery at times. The neverending analogies got tiring pretty quick.
The pacing was also a bit off. The MC has a nasty tendency to bactrack for _long_ paragraphs every time he wakes up.
The fight scenes were ridiculous, to be honest. For example, pretty hard to combo flat-palming someone's face right after you kicked them in the chest. There's a such a thing as momentum and counter force after all. Unless you're in Street Fighter, of course.
And the whole "Save All Creation" thing was so freaking corny that my eyes tried to oggle my frontal lobe every time it came out.
But.
There was a decent "story", some nice "NPCs" with rather more personality that the average, and not all simply the MC's crutches. The whole game mechanics and status updates are blessedly kept to a decent minimum, to keep the book readable...
If this is your first LitRPG, it will be a good one.
Some realistic choices made, which is better than I can say for other books of that kind.
A decent effort to turn the massive coincidence chains into a plot tool. I didn't always buy it, but I will acknowledge the attention.
Still bugs me that levels don't seem to matter much for this kind of books, though.
And the whole quest mechanism took all agency away from the MC by simply pointing him in the next direction all the time, and actually solving puzzles before the MC ever had to deal with them.
That's a shame.
The language got very flowery at times. The neverending analogies got tiring pretty quick.
The pacing was also a bit off. The MC has a nasty tendency to bactrack for _long_ paragraphs every time he wakes up.
The fight scenes were ridiculous, to be honest. For example, pretty hard to combo flat-palming someone's face right after you kicked them in the chest. There's a such a thing as momentum and counter force after all. Unless you're in Street Fighter, of course.
And the whole "Save All Creation" thing was so freaking corny that my eyes tried to oggle my frontal lobe every time it came out.
But.
There was a decent "story", some nice "NPCs" with rather more personality that the average, and not all simply the MC's crutches. The whole game mechanics and status updates are blessedly kept to a decent minimum, to keep the book readable...
If this is your first LitRPG, it will be a good one.
July 8, 2019
This was an enjoyable DnD style book about a guy on death row given the opportunity to represent a faction in an ongoing game to determine the rulership of the multiverse. A little reminiscent of Mortal Kombat, if I do say so myself except rather than a fighting tournament it's an open world DnD game where a faction's score in the game is represented by the number and strength of their representative players.
This story played out like a well-run DnD campaign. The world had lots of flavor and felt like a real place and the various characters had good backstories. The thing that does bother me a bit about DnD stories is the tendency for fights to be resolved by way of asspull. That happens here somewhat every fight where it's like a completely impossible outcome, but it's definitely something that only out-of-the-box thinking leads to.
Despite the methods of resolving fights being 'creative' relative to the structure of the game rules, I thought pretty much everything was predictable. Initially, this was a good thing because it just made me feel like a Fancy Pants. But some significant plot elements/twists were a bit too obviously forecast for my tastes.
Regardless, I still thought this was a very well-written story and enjoyable. I would recommend it for any fan of the litrpg genre, especially someone looking for a DnD campaign by way of print.
This story played out like a well-run DnD campaign. The world had lots of flavor and felt like a real place and the various characters had good backstories. The thing that does bother me a bit about DnD stories is the tendency for fights to be resolved by way of asspull. That happens here somewhat every fight where it's like a completely impossible outcome, but it's definitely something that only out-of-the-box thinking leads to.
Despite the methods of resolving fights being 'creative' relative to the structure of the game rules, I thought pretty much everything was predictable. Initially, this was a good thing because it just made me feel like a Fancy Pants. But some significant plot elements/twists were a bit too obviously forecast for my tastes.
Regardless, I still thought this was a very well-written story and enjoyable. I would recommend it for any fan of the litrpg genre, especially someone looking for a DnD campaign by way of print.
August 17, 2017
3.5 stars
The book follows a very typical RPG story.
Guy is stuck in a game and he needs to make the most of it. The difference here is that things get personal.
I mean wouldn't you take it personally if the lord of the Abyss themselves signed you up for said game as an unwillingslave player? If they tried to manipulate you into doing their dirty work for them?
The storyline is simple yet charming with very well defined characters and an interesting world (think of it as a melting pot of everything from both fantasy and multiple realities!)
The "tutorial" section is about 1/3 of the audio (and the book I'm guessing) and to be honest it felt like a separate part altogether since the characters and overall atmosphere where different compared to the rest of the book. Once that ended it was like I started another book about someone else. complete with an intro and character creation so it felt like it was dragging a bit at that part.
If you look past that and all the (oh the odds of that are 3%, and the odds of this are 2%. you've managed to beat the odds!) you'll get a fun and light read for the weekend.
The book follows a very typical RPG story.
Guy is stuck in a game and he needs to make the most of it. The difference here is that things get personal.
I mean wouldn't you take it personally if the lord of the Abyss themselves signed you up for said game as an unwilling
The storyline is simple yet charming with very well defined characters and an interesting world (think of it as a melting pot of everything from both fantasy and multiple realities!)
The "tutorial" section is about 1/3 of the audio (and the book I'm guessing) and to be honest it felt like a separate part altogether since the characters and overall atmosphere where different compared to the rest of the book. Once that ended it was like I started another book about someone else. complete with an intro and character creation so it felt like it was dragging a bit at that part.
If you look past that and all the (oh the odds of that are 3%, and the odds of this are 2%. you've managed to beat the odds!) you'll get a fun and light read for the weekend.
February 22, 2018
First let me tell you I’m not a professional critic, editor, or writer. I’m just an avid reader/listener to fantasy. I just recently got into the LitRPG genre and I’m likening it so far. Now, this book has everything I’ve been wanting in a story for a while now. Great writing, excellent story, excellent characters, great power/magic, and potential for a long series. I now I’m not the first person to give a review so I’m not going into details about the story itself. I just want to tell you what I liked about it so Nylund will keep writing. I love the fact that the character is essentially a good guy that is going to help the game master keep the game going. Which to me means eventually he’ll have to fight the “good guys” too. I love OP characters and he has the potential to be one, and even though he may eventually be OP there is a host of beings able to challenge him. I cant wait for this book to turn into a long series. Great job Nylund.
June 7, 2017
Enjoyed the book a lot. I'm a gamer and familiar with a lot of the terminology but the author was really thorough in providing explanations with skills and things for the non gamer to understand things easily. It is in all honesty the first book I've ever come across with this idea so to me this is a new and unique idea. Also as bonus I did not see some of the plot twists coming which is always nice and kept me interested in the book. My one complaint is that the main character is a little lackluster and tends to overthink things, yes it was necessary but there was a lot of internal dialogue going on at times.
November 30, 2018
2.5 stars, I am 90% into this book and I really don't care if I finish or not. That is not a good place to be when you are doing a book review. This one maybe a DNF for me and the reason why is it is the same as every other book of its type. It has not really given me much to distinguish it from other books in its class. I have done other books of this type and this one looks to be same old same old for me.
May 13, 2017
I read an ARC of this book and loved it. What if you were playing a character in an adventure game and all of a sudden you ARE this character, but you're able to meta-game it and manipulate the game in the game? That's this book.
But even if you're not a gamer, you'll like this book because Nylund just plain knows how to tell a great story.
But even if you're not a gamer, you'll like this book because Nylund just plain knows how to tell a great story.
May 29, 2019
Grabbed me and held my face to the screen
Couldn’t put it down.
Its amazing what a good story will do. This book approaches the whole fantasy realm in ways that I thought was revolutionary and somehow familiar. Totally worth reading, no cringe moments, tons of character development and moments at the edge of your seat. Loved every moment.
Couldn’t put it down.
Its amazing what a good story will do. This book approaches the whole fantasy realm in ways that I thought was revolutionary and somehow familiar. Totally worth reading, no cringe moments, tons of character development and moments at the edge of your seat. Loved every moment.
June 3, 2017
A very good first book
I genuinely enjoyed this novel. The MC diverted from the usual rogue/cleric/warrior that you find in fantasy/litrpg and went more wuxia monk. The world is interesting, and the dialogue is well done. I look foreword to the rest of the series
I genuinely enjoyed this novel. The MC diverted from the usual rogue/cleric/warrior that you find in fantasy/litrpg and went more wuxia monk. The world is interesting, and the dialogue is well done. I look foreword to the rest of the series
June 3, 2017
An excellent read.
It took a little bit to get going, but it hit its stride. The mc had a little too much world shaking influence for my tastes but at least not everyone knew about it. Good pacing in the action scenes.
It took a little bit to get going, but it hit its stride. The mc had a little too much world shaking influence for my tastes but at least not everyone knew about it. Good pacing in the action scenes.
June 7, 2017
Great Read
Enjoyed the LitRPG story. The twist and turns kept the story fresh. The character class were a surprising choice that worked for the story. The hints and clues in the story were resolved in the end for a great ending. I am looking forward to the next book in the story.
Enjoyed the LitRPG story. The twist and turns kept the story fresh. The character class were a surprising choice that worked for the story. The hints and clues in the story were resolved in the end for a great ending. I am looking forward to the next book in the story.
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