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The Gam3 #2
Earth's Gambit
The Earth has changed. War is now fought in an alien virtual reality—the Game—where many of the players are anything but human.
Now part of the Black Rose guild, Alan heads to the Academy to level up and get stronger. He hopes to make allies and learn skills to win the battles to come. But with everyone pursuing their own agendas, what can one gamer do in a universe he still doesn’t fully understand?
Now part of the Black Rose guild, Alan heads to the Academy to level up and get stronger. He hopes to make allies and learn skills to win the battles to come. But with everyone pursuing their own agendas, what can one gamer do in a universe he still doesn’t fully understand?
409 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 15, 2017
208 people are currently reading
284 people want to read
About the author
Cosimo Yap
3 books499 followersA California native, Cosimo Yap has spent much of his life playing games. Opening Moves is his debut novel. It hopefully isn't his last.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
January 25, 2018
I was truly dissapointed with this sequel to The Gam3. I enjoyed the first book, and was excited to see where the story would go. Unfortunately, I can only describe this installment as "A hot mess." A wandering plot and awkward or non-existent segways made the story hard to follow and frankly boring. The main character was an infuriating combination of OP and gullible/stupid, which made it impossible to root for him. One of the key aspects of litrpg that make it so much fun is watching the evolution of characters as they grow in power. Alan grows in every direction and none. A machine-lord berserker, seriously? The book is full of filler, leading to a dragging pace. It feels as if the author spent little effort to edit or polish the book. Considering the relatively strong start of the first book, reading this was a real bummer. I doubt I will give this story another chance.
March 21, 2019
Oh no, Eve's not the protagonist anymore! The first half of Earth's Gambit is disjointed. Alan is a bit erratic. He'll be his normal, slightly diffident, self, and then all a sudden, and for a while, a jerk to everyone around him. Prone to tantrums for no reason that's mentioned or alluded to. I expect more consistency in a point-of-view character. I know that may not be how real life works, but it's an important part of how stories work. At least for me.
Parts of the academy do have an almost Harry Potter feel, which is cool.
About half way through another driving character is introduced. And everything rights itself, at least for a while.
Near the end there are some twists that strain credibility, and Alan starts talking about something he's never mentioned before, with authority. Something we didn't observe him learn - or at least connect. It's... jarring.
Still, I enjoyed it, and read it quickly, but it could use a thorough once-over. There are the makings of a good book here, but at times it reads as if it's a collection of adjacent parts rather than a cohesive whole. Things are occasionally repeated, with slightly alterations, in a way I believe is unintentional. If it is intentional, and meant toward the surreal, it could be subtler.
Parts of the academy do have an almost Harry Potter feel, which is cool.
About half way through another driving character is introduced. And everything rights itself, at least for a while.
Near the end there are some twists that strain credibility, and Alan starts talking about something he's never mentioned before, with authority. Something we didn't observe him learn - or at least connect. It's... jarring.
Still, I enjoyed it, and read it quickly, but it could use a thorough once-over. There are the makings of a good book here, but at times it reads as if it's a collection of adjacent parts rather than a cohesive whole. Things are occasionally repeated, with slightly alterations, in a way I believe is unintentional. If it is intentional, and meant toward the surreal, it could be subtler.
September 3, 2017
Really enjoyed the first book... This one not so much
I found myself skimming frequently. The hacking battles while creative were a confusing and clunky feeling addition. Book feels more sci fiction than lit rpg. I would recommend slowing down the pace, and developing some characters more fully rather than introducing characters briefly and then moving on.
I found myself skimming frequently. The hacking battles while creative were a confusing and clunky feeling addition. Book feels more sci fiction than lit rpg. I would recommend slowing down the pace, and developing some characters more fully rather than introducing characters briefly and then moving on.
September 25, 2020
So books 1-3 are getting the same review, which will be light on details to avoid spoilers. The overall story is pretty good, which is why this book gets 3 stars at all. The author goes out of his way to make his MC STUPID. For example, in book 1 the MC's highly intelligent AI tells the MC not to speak but the MC childishly shoots his mouth off anyway and ends up getting himself and his party hunted by the world government. Later, the MC attempts to hack the game in manners that will get him killed in real life but goes ahead with both attempts without even really thinking about them- he just does it because he wants to. In the first case the MC is caught AND WARNED even though the author has, up to this point, claimed the MC would be killed if caught. In the second case the MC succeeds and gets a reward way beyond his level. And that is the MC in a nutshell- acts stupidly but avoids any serious repercussions and often is rewarded due to dumb luck rather than competency.
Bottom line: Worth the read if you can stomach the idiot MC.
Bottom line: Worth the read if you can stomach the idiot MC.
December 19, 2017
After a great start, this book tries to be everything for everyone and it falls flat.
Gone is the original premise of the struggle for Earth ownership and now all we have is the MC doing everything but his main goal.
The story continues to hold my interest though, so we'll see what book #3 delivers.
Gone is the original premise of the struggle for Earth ownership and now all we have is the MC doing everything but his main goal.
The story continues to hold my interest though, so we'll see what book #3 delivers.
August 19, 2017
A book about the mc who fails at everything,
Hard to read a book about an mc who is only completing a few unimportant quests and failing all important ones. All romantic interests also fail to even be considered. Makes reading dull.
Hard to read a book about an mc who is only completing a few unimportant quests and failing all important ones. All romantic interests also fail to even be considered. Makes reading dull.
October 2, 2017
Started recently with the The Gam3 series, the first book Opening Moves was really amazing.
Now, about the sequel... Let's just say that hardly anything can be compared to the power of the predecessor (pun intended).
Book continues the story with same environment and same characters going forward. The plot thickens and there are so many possibilities on what to do and how to proceed. I like the path chosen by the main character and I also like how he develop his new abilities.
What I don't like this time is that the story feels a bit rushed. I am not sure if the writer got bored with writing some details or a deadline was put on him to release the book or is it something else. The strength of the first book was that every time something happens, the author dedicates enough time to describe it. Not too much, not too little, just the right balance. In the sequel I feel like some things get enough attention, but some things are just skipped where I hoped they are going to be a part of the story. This especially targets the academy time. "Hunger games"-like environment and plot should have been given with more details. It is a big potential and I was starting to enjoy the whole initiation time but then it was finished rather too quickly.
The other thing I don't like is re-using the characters, but not investing in developing them. They are still just the names for the readers, without real understanding who are they and why they are doing the things they do. If they are going to be a part of the story onward it should be nice that some different perspective is given or that they are better described.
Still, this series is the best in describing the skills and abilities compared to other LitRPG books. I would like that it is kept like that. Very complex system, even rearranging skills based on parameters, behavior and improvements.
I would also rather choose a longer book release cycle if it will improve the quality or keep it on the level of book one. For the series starting so strong and setting the bar for the genre it would be bad to lose the potential. This story should be a reference for all other LitRPG stories on both the plot and the RPG system and author should focus on keeping it this way.
As a final verdict, it was very good but not on the par with the first book. Four stars from me and I hope the next one will be an improvement...
Now, about the sequel... Let's just say that hardly anything can be compared to the power of the predecessor (pun intended).
Book continues the story with same environment and same characters going forward. The plot thickens and there are so many possibilities on what to do and how to proceed. I like the path chosen by the main character and I also like how he develop his new abilities.
What I don't like this time is that the story feels a bit rushed. I am not sure if the writer got bored with writing some details or a deadline was put on him to release the book or is it something else. The strength of the first book was that every time something happens, the author dedicates enough time to describe it. Not too much, not too little, just the right balance. In the sequel I feel like some things get enough attention, but some things are just skipped where I hoped they are going to be a part of the story. This especially targets the academy time. "Hunger games"-like environment and plot should have been given with more details. It is a big potential and I was starting to enjoy the whole initiation time but then it was finished rather too quickly.
The other thing I don't like is re-using the characters, but not investing in developing them. They are still just the names for the readers, without real understanding who are they and why they are doing the things they do. If they are going to be a part of the story onward it should be nice that some different perspective is given or that they are better described.
Still, this series is the best in describing the skills and abilities compared to other LitRPG books. I would like that it is kept like that. Very complex system, even rearranging skills based on parameters, behavior and improvements.
I would also rather choose a longer book release cycle if it will improve the quality or keep it on the level of book one. For the series starting so strong and setting the bar for the genre it would be bad to lose the potential. This story should be a reference for all other LitRPG stories on both the plot and the RPG system and author should focus on keeping it this way.
As a final verdict, it was very good but not on the par with the first book. Four stars from me and I hope the next one will be an improvement...
April 1, 2022
This was a huge bump up over book one, I'm glad I gave it a shot. It's hard to create a whole world, let alone a universe. The main character really steps into his own here and the story speeds up like crazy, but not so much that it is hard to follow. I'm looking forward to the final book!
October 30, 2020
I found this series while searching for cybersecurity related novels. I'm particularly looking for hacking/infosec focused fiction and this series was billed to fit that description.
The first novel in the series was not really what I was looking for. However, being an RPG game player I enjoyed the story and wanted to continue the series. This second installation of The Gam3 is probably why this series popped up in my cybersecurity novel search. There is a heavy focus on the main character taking up hacking and there is some social engineering tactics that are used or addressed.
I would not classify this as a cybersecurity fiction novel. However, I would call this a techno-thriller. Those are probably such niche categories that most people won't care, but as a cybersecurity professional I do draw a distinction. The hacking used in this novel is really just RPG fighting used as a proxy for hacking. The characters fight in "cyber space" with marines and shields in order to determine if a hack is successful. While this was disappointing from a real like cyber point of view, the story did otherwise follow some hacking tropes. The main character is young, skinny, and hyper focused. A lot of what he does is just in the pursuit of getting better. There's a decent amount of politics and social engineering going on. So it is a nice fantasy that - due to its lack of realism - is more of a technological thriller.
With that said, I enjoyed this novel. I did not enjoy it as much as the first one because it felt like a lot of the stakes from the first novel were ignored. I was very interested by the ending of the first novel and was hoping to explore that vein further. However, the majority of this novel plays out on Earth. Also the main character just kept stumbling into McGuffins such as getting a third AI and suddenly being able to do things that "should take months".
I'm going to read the third one in hopes that it picks back up on the original story of the predecessors and "seeing behind the veil" of the game.
The first novel in the series was not really what I was looking for. However, being an RPG game player I enjoyed the story and wanted to continue the series. This second installation of The Gam3 is probably why this series popped up in my cybersecurity novel search. There is a heavy focus on the main character taking up hacking and there is some social engineering tactics that are used or addressed.
I would not classify this as a cybersecurity fiction novel. However, I would call this a techno-thriller. Those are probably such niche categories that most people won't care, but as a cybersecurity professional I do draw a distinction. The hacking used in this novel is really just RPG fighting used as a proxy for hacking. The characters fight in "cyber space" with marines and shields in order to determine if a hack is successful. While this was disappointing from a real like cyber point of view, the story did otherwise follow some hacking tropes. The main character is young, skinny, and hyper focused. A lot of what he does is just in the pursuit of getting better. There's a decent amount of politics and social engineering going on. So it is a nice fantasy that - due to its lack of realism - is more of a technological thriller.
With that said, I enjoyed this novel. I did not enjoy it as much as the first one because it felt like a lot of the stakes from the first novel were ignored. I was very interested by the ending of the first novel and was hoping to explore that vein further. However, the majority of this novel plays out on Earth. Also the main character just kept stumbling into McGuffins such as getting a third AI and suddenly being able to do things that "should take months".
I'm going to read the third one in hopes that it picks back up on the original story of the predecessors and "seeing behind the veil" of the game.
September 4, 2019
This was a less consistently enjoyable read, but for the most part I enjoyed this about the same as the first book. I felt like this one might have suffered a little from sequel-itis, but after sagging a bit through the middle I still thought it ended strong and on a high note.
The focus for game mechanics was a bit more RTS style as the hacking mechanics are at the forefront. This is a unique aspect compared to a lot of litrpg out there and I liked it for that, but I was also a little disappointed that there was so little attention given to any of the RPG progression. All you get is about 6 pages of character sheet dumped on you a couple times. I had a Mass Effect vibe when I read the first book and that feeling was absent this time.
Alan was weird as a character to me. It seemed like his behavior was inconsistent and the subplot about him and Eve was being kind of forced. The middle especially seemed like a spilled plate of spaghetti for Alan as he would switch personality gears for little reason and it didn't feel natural. I tried to come up with different justifications for it since the other characters were all pretty consistent, but it still felt off to me.
Luckily, the end of the story put the plot back in motion and to me that's when things are best. It managed to pull me back in and Alan also seemed to figure out what the hell he was doing for the last part of the book as well. Will he regress in the next book? I dunno, but I actually do want to find out.
Anyone who liked the first book will probably still enjoy this one. From a game mechanics side, the focus on RTS strategy and lack of RPG elements which might turn off some people. Readers who disliked Alan being a complete beta who is given things for free will dislike him in this book quite often as well. If this was a longer series, I don't know if I would continue, but since there is only one more book, I'm eager to see how it ends.
The focus for game mechanics was a bit more RTS style as the hacking mechanics are at the forefront. This is a unique aspect compared to a lot of litrpg out there and I liked it for that, but I was also a little disappointed that there was so little attention given to any of the RPG progression. All you get is about 6 pages of character sheet dumped on you a couple times. I had a Mass Effect vibe when I read the first book and that feeling was absent this time.
Alan was weird as a character to me. It seemed like his behavior was inconsistent and the subplot about him and Eve was being kind of forced. The middle especially seemed like a spilled plate of spaghetti for Alan as he would switch personality gears for little reason and it didn't feel natural. I tried to come up with different justifications for it since the other characters were all pretty consistent, but it still felt off to me.
Luckily, the end of the story put the plot back in motion and to me that's when things are best. It managed to pull me back in and Alan also seemed to figure out what the hell he was doing for the last part of the book as well. Will he regress in the next book? I dunno, but I actually do want to find out.
Anyone who liked the first book will probably still enjoy this one. From a game mechanics side, the focus on RTS strategy and lack of RPG elements which might turn off some people. Readers who disliked Alan being a complete beta who is given things for free will dislike him in this book quite often as well. If this was a longer series, I don't know if I would continue, but since there is only one more book, I'm eager to see how it ends.
May 29, 2018
I recently read the first book of the series (Opening Moves), and liked it well enough to want to read the second one immediately. However, this one turned out to be a little disappointing in terms of character development.
The protagonist comes across as immature, and does not seem to have grown at all as a character since the first book.
I'm interested in reading the third instalment of the series, but I sincerely hope the author decides to work on his characters more. The protagonist, and every other character, needs more emotional growth. I'd like to see Alan become more independent, and start taking a more active role in developing as a player.
The protagonist comes across as immature, and does not seem to have grown at all as a character since the first book.
I'm interested in reading the third instalment of the series, but I sincerely hope the author decides to work on his characters more. The protagonist, and every other character, needs more emotional growth. I'd like to see Alan become more independent, and start taking a more active role in developing as a player.
September 2, 2020
You can clearly see that the writer has read all the feedback that they could get for book 1 and tried to incorporate the feedback in this book.
The book has tons of ups and downs and at times I felt clueless as to why are we wherever we are in the story.
But it was still really enjoyable. Plus bonus points to any author who actually listens to the fans.
The book has tons of ups and downs and at times I felt clueless as to why are we wherever we are in the story.
But it was still really enjoyable. Plus bonus points to any author who actually listens to the fans.
July 27, 2018
Good continuation of the story. I kind of anticipated a few things – not sure if pre-shadowing was too heavy or not, but...it all smacked of forced political intrigue. I prefer adventuring on a smaller scale, as it gets too complicated (and too unbelievable), if you try to involve the whole world.
January 22, 2018
Didn't like it as much as the first, there was so much weird stuff going on, and some of it bored me, but overall it was still enjoyable.
September 28, 2020
User uses sci fi and AI
Worth the read for the sci fi, AI. Audio book is pretty good. 7 more words a b c d
Worth the read for the sci fi, AI. Audio book is pretty good. 7 more words a b c d
August 20, 2019
Awesome!
That was enjoyable. Great book 2, can’t wait for book 4. Please keep it coming!
This series is worth your time as a reader.
That was enjoyable. Great book 2, can’t wait for book 4. Please keep it coming!
This series is worth your time as a reader.
July 24, 2021
He is taken into a video game, and is fully immersed in a world run in a enclosed VR pod that takes ones consciousness and transports it into a new reality. The premise, interstellar conflict taken out of the corporeal world, and put into a game with a playing area or map the size of the known universe. Political and military victories in the game and enforced in reality so as to avoid planets, cities, and people actually being destroyed by ultra-powerful space fleets and giant super robot warriors. It is all in the game, and all enforced by some super powerful galactic judge enforcers that will give away your planet if your team in the game loses it in the virtual space.
The game is a world made of computer code, logic, mathematics, algorithms and cyber-security. But just like there are assassin cyber-ninjas or bounty hunter battle robots, or space marines and armies of solders, fleets of ships, so too are there hackers, and other 'classes' of characters that fight in other ways. Those who gain power by manipulating the essence of the game itself, playing the game against itself and delving into the mysteries of this eons old virtual construct that now controls the galaxy.
This is some of the most brilliantly conceived stuff I have read in science fiction and definitely in any litRPG I've read. The imagery you get from following this character as he travels the games deep places and hidden pathways into the code-constructs and cyber-space is stunning.
The game is a world made of computer code, logic, mathematics, algorithms and cyber-security. But just like there are assassin cyber-ninjas or bounty hunter battle robots, or space marines and armies of solders, fleets of ships, so too are there hackers, and other 'classes' of characters that fight in other ways. Those who gain power by manipulating the essence of the game itself, playing the game against itself and delving into the mysteries of this eons old virtual construct that now controls the galaxy.
This is some of the most brilliantly conceived stuff I have read in science fiction and definitely in any litRPG I've read. The imagery you get from following this character as he travels the games deep places and hidden pathways into the code-constructs and cyber-space is stunning.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2017
An enjoyable story with enough twists to remain interesting until the end, even if they are predictable.
The problems that I had with the book are two fold. The first is that almost none of the characters are likable. Most of the secondary characters are either one-note or are just too scummy. Alan whines throughout the first half of the story and makes some stupid decisions that I thought were obvious.
*minor spoilers* The second issue that I have is at one point in the story the main character is working with a group of people who are planning what is essentially a large scale terrorist action. Alan brings up the point of the morality of their actions to the leader, and ultimately avoids making a moral choice of his own by saying that he was hired to do it so he's going to. This idea of the morality of their terrorist actions is never brought up again. Not even as a side conversation by the populace around them. The whole point of it seems to be to get the reader to think about it. The dramatic principle Chekhov's Gun comes to mind for this moment, as I kept on wondering when this would come up again because it really is an interesting bit of narrative, but it never did. That lowered my overall enjoyment of the story at the end because I was continuously looking for something the author hinted at without any payoff.
The problems that I had with the book are two fold. The first is that almost none of the characters are likable. Most of the secondary characters are either one-note or are just too scummy. Alan whines throughout the first half of the story and makes some stupid decisions that I thought were obvious.
*minor spoilers* The second issue that I have is at one point in the story the main character is working with a group of people who are planning what is essentially a large scale terrorist action. Alan brings up the point of the morality of their actions to the leader, and ultimately avoids making a moral choice of his own by saying that he was hired to do it so he's going to. This idea of the morality of their terrorist actions is never brought up again. Not even as a side conversation by the populace around them. The whole point of it seems to be to get the reader to think about it. The dramatic principle Chekhov's Gun comes to mind for this moment, as I kept on wondering when this would come up again because it really is an interesting bit of narrative, but it never did. That lowered my overall enjoyment of the story at the end because I was continuously looking for something the author hinted at without any payoff.
February 10, 2018
Good book, great universe the story takes place in. The delivery of our MC's progression is quite fun.
My only complaints are thus; the first is that Cosimo Yap feels like he's wasting my time with the way he decided to envision hacking in The Gam3. He made it this weird strategy game within the game, so now our MC has to train for 10%-20% of our book some fake soldiers in virtual reality that have no impact on anything else happening. It's an obscure progression that doesn't feel like it matters and is really just filling up time when that all could have been done much more simply with less boring explanations. The only benefit could be that Eve is visible in 'hacking'.
The second complaint is the minor romance/relationship instances within the book. On top of the MC being a weird level of awkward in social situations, he also randomly receives the weirdest interactions when exploring possible romantic interests in the book. He blurts things out with no flow to the conversation. And then the women randomly start giving him advice about how effectively he asked them out and consoling him after declining his advances. It just isn't realistic at all and it is extremely painful to read. Makes it really hard to enjoy the book when what could be very critical and interesting character interactions become this ball of awkward and forced touches on romance lessons...
My only complaints are thus; the first is that Cosimo Yap feels like he's wasting my time with the way he decided to envision hacking in The Gam3. He made it this weird strategy game within the game, so now our MC has to train for 10%-20% of our book some fake soldiers in virtual reality that have no impact on anything else happening. It's an obscure progression that doesn't feel like it matters and is really just filling up time when that all could have been done much more simply with less boring explanations. The only benefit could be that Eve is visible in 'hacking'.
The second complaint is the minor romance/relationship instances within the book. On top of the MC being a weird level of awkward in social situations, he also randomly receives the weirdest interactions when exploring possible romantic interests in the book. He blurts things out with no flow to the conversation. And then the women randomly start giving him advice about how effectively he asked them out and consoling him after declining his advances. It just isn't realistic at all and it is extremely painful to read. Makes it really hard to enjoy the book when what could be very critical and interesting character interactions become this ball of awkward and forced touches on romance lessons...
December 8, 2017
I totally loved this book. This series is probably the best LitRPG series I have read so far and the first book was so amazing because I wasn't expecting it to be as awesome and unique (from my perspective) as it was. The second book was equally amazing. It keeps up a pumping pace, making it very hard to put it down, and the cyber-cerebral nature of the setting, combined with the interstellar military sci-fi politics make this book (and series) something that a lot of different sci-fi fans will really enjoy.
Imagine being taken into a video game, fully immersed in the world via a fully enclosed VR pod that takes ones consciousness and transports it into a new reality. The premise, interstellar conflict taken out of the corporeal world, and put into a game with a playing area or map the size of the known universe. Political and military victories in the game and enforced in reality so as to avoid planets, cities, and people actually being destroyed by ultra-powerful space fleets and giant super robot warriors. It is all in the game, and all enforced by some super powerful galactic judge enforcers that will give away your planet if your team in the game loses it in the virtual space.
Then, the protagonist. He is awesome. Imagine as well, that the game is a world made of computer code, logic, mathematics, algorithms and cyber-security. But just like there are assassin cyber-ninjas or bounty hunter battle robots, or space marines and armies of solders, fleets of ships, so too are there hackers, and other 'classes' of characters that fight in other ways. Those who gain power by manipulating the essence of the game itself, playing the game against itself and delving into the mysteries of this eons old virtual construct that now controls the galaxy.
This is some of the most brilliantly conceived stuff I have read in science fiction and definitely in any litRPG I've read. The imagery you get from following this character as he travels the games deep places and hidden pathways into the code-constructs and cyber-space is stunning. My imagination was in hyperspeed while reading this and for a long time afterwards.
I will read this again, and again; I'll probably read the whole series each time a new book is about to be released. There are only a few series I can say that for.
I actually listened to the audiobook version and Nick Podehl did an amazing job. He really blew me away with his work on this series. I enjoyed it even more than his work on The Land: Chaos Seeds, and that is saying something. If you haven't tried audiobooks before but think you would like this series, well then go on Audible right now and use your first free credit to buy this book. Then, lay on a bed in a dark room with quality headphones and wait for your mind to be blown. POW.
Imagine being taken into a video game, fully immersed in the world via a fully enclosed VR pod that takes ones consciousness and transports it into a new reality. The premise, interstellar conflict taken out of the corporeal world, and put into a game with a playing area or map the size of the known universe. Political and military victories in the game and enforced in reality so as to avoid planets, cities, and people actually being destroyed by ultra-powerful space fleets and giant super robot warriors. It is all in the game, and all enforced by some super powerful galactic judge enforcers that will give away your planet if your team in the game loses it in the virtual space.
Then, the protagonist. He is awesome. Imagine as well, that the game is a world made of computer code, logic, mathematics, algorithms and cyber-security. But just like there are assassin cyber-ninjas or bounty hunter battle robots, or space marines and armies of solders, fleets of ships, so too are there hackers, and other 'classes' of characters that fight in other ways. Those who gain power by manipulating the essence of the game itself, playing the game against itself and delving into the mysteries of this eons old virtual construct that now controls the galaxy.
This is some of the most brilliantly conceived stuff I have read in science fiction and definitely in any litRPG I've read. The imagery you get from following this character as he travels the games deep places and hidden pathways into the code-constructs and cyber-space is stunning. My imagination was in hyperspeed while reading this and for a long time afterwards.
I will read this again, and again; I'll probably read the whole series each time a new book is about to be released. There are only a few series I can say that for.
I actually listened to the audiobook version and Nick Podehl did an amazing job. He really blew me away with his work on this series. I enjoyed it even more than his work on The Land: Chaos Seeds, and that is saying something. If you haven't tried audiobooks before but think you would like this series, well then go on Audible right now and use your first free credit to buy this book. Then, lay on a bed in a dark room with quality headphones and wait for your mind to be blown. POW.
November 21, 2020
Rating 3.5 stars
There were a lot of choices the author made that I didn't really understand. Most of the action on earth with Alan and his group didn't make much sense. ?
There were a lot of choices the author made that I didn't really understand. Most of the action on earth with Alan and his group didn't make much sense. ?
June 1, 2023
Earth's Gambit is a continuation into the vast world of The Game and Alan's journey for knowledge and understanding. Nick Podehl gives a stellar performance narrating, bringing Yap's world to life. I enjoyed this installment, having a baseline understanding expectations and how information would be presented, such as stats, abilities, quests, etc. Though I enjoyed the story, I don't really feel connected to most of the characters. Everyone seems very basic and underdeveloped. I get we're understanding everything through Alan's point of view, but that in itself is just a chaotic mess. A premise that is set in such a structured environment with rules for everything, the plot is a convoluted web. We get introduced to so many characters, subplots, side-quests, and I was never really sure what was important or relevant to the main story. Alan and his connection to his AI are still the best part of the story, but I still just wish I had some semblance of what is ultimately the point of the story. By the end of this iteration, I'm still left with so many unanswered threads that I hope to have answered by the end of the entire saga.
February 21, 2024
An interesting novel that was first published on Royal Road before being released on Amazon. It was here but will be stubbed soon: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/119...
The gamelit genre can often have MCs who are shallow and harem seeking. In this book, the MC wants to save the planet from alien domination in a hostile universe. No romance, which I like. I've read lots of bad and lots of mediocre fiction online, and this book is a cut above. While the genre might not appeal to traditional SF fans, it was enjoyable entertainment with some moments of deeper contemplation on existence and purpose and what makes one sentient.
I liked the complex plot with lots of intrigue and politics and betrayal. Many progression novels are so focused on stats and leveling that the plot is almost incidental. In this case, there are enough events to keep the reader engaged.
In this volume, the action is starting to heat up.
The gamelit genre can often have MCs who are shallow and harem seeking. In this book, the MC wants to save the planet from alien domination in a hostile universe. No romance, which I like. I've read lots of bad and lots of mediocre fiction online, and this book is a cut above. While the genre might not appeal to traditional SF fans, it was enjoyable entertainment with some moments of deeper contemplation on existence and purpose and what makes one sentient.
I liked the complex plot with lots of intrigue and politics and betrayal. Many progression novels are so focused on stats and leveling that the plot is almost incidental. In this case, there are enough events to keep the reader engaged.
In this volume, the action is starting to heat up.
May 12, 2018
The first book was my first introduction to LitRPG and it totally blew me away! Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! So I was pretty anxious to get to book two (as soon as I finished up another books and got some of my credits back in Audible). Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. The first half a little like Harry Potter at Hogwarts training and learning...and I totally was into that. But then the war began, the who direction of the book kind of shifted, and there was a lot of things happening that I was having trouble trying to follow. It was less about the geekiness of LitRPG and more like a political war novel (I kind of feared this from the end of the first book). At the end, it was ok. I still liked the main character a lot. I'd give a book 3 a definite GO, but the expectations are much lower now.
March 19, 2020
I'm not a huge fan of the political deviations being thrown at Alan. I feel like the concepts are straying a bit far from the standard mmorpg. I realize the entire concept of this is that earth is at war for control of the planet, but so much of book 2 hinges on political repercussions that are not typically considered in an mmorpg. Also the extended rez timers are an interesting addition and though frustrating actually seem to give the concept of gaming death more weight in game. I'm intrigued to continue this series and see where these tribulations will lead Alan and if he can maintain his steady progression of gaining levels through combat based guidance with Eve and Lambda spearheading his actions and pumping information through him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2019
I actually enjoyed this better than the first book. Still unfortunately, just slight development of the main character BUT the plot is page-turning, the intricacies of the game increase and continues the overall creative idea.
While many comments are upset about the idiocy of the main character and how easily he seems to progress in this game, there is foreshadowing throughout the book that there is an underlying plot going on. There is hidden unknown code in Eve, Allen has no idea how he created her...there is a significant reason why he is doing so well in the game - his fate has been pre-determined somehow and I want to know why and by who!
While many comments are upset about the idiocy of the main character and how easily he seems to progress in this game, there is foreshadowing throughout the book that there is an underlying plot going on. There is hidden unknown code in Eve, Allen has no idea how he created her...there is a significant reason why he is doing so well in the game - his fate has been pre-determined somehow and I want to know why and by who!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2018
This was an odd one in that it's the first book in quite a while that I started and then quickly realized I didn't really remember the events and people of book 1.
Other than that, it was a pretty decent second book. I wasn't exactly on the edge of my seat, but there were a fair number of interesting events, as well as some speculation about the game itself. This isn't my favorite LitRPG-style series, but it's also one of the more unique ones, leaning more toward sci-fi than fantasy. I'm not dying in anticipation of book 3, but I'll definitely be getting it when it comes out.
Other than that, it was a pretty decent second book. I wasn't exactly on the edge of my seat, but there were a fair number of interesting events, as well as some speculation about the game itself. This isn't my favorite LitRPG-style series, but it's also one of the more unique ones, leaning more toward sci-fi than fantasy. I'm not dying in anticipation of book 3, but I'll definitely be getting it when it comes out.
February 5, 2018
Still pretty interesting, good story, amazing MMO mechanics and world, not a huge fan of the main character yet, but he's ok, and his companions are interesting. Some good additions in this book, but felt overall a but weaker than the first one.
Liked the plot twist at the end, but the ending itself could have been crafted better imo. But that's what you get when chapterized internet releases are being transformed into a book I guess.
Eagerly waiting for a third book!
4.1/5
Liked the plot twist at the end, but the ending itself could have been crafted better imo. But that's what you get when chapterized internet releases are being transformed into a book I guess.
Eagerly waiting for a third book!
4.1/5
March 27, 2019
Dropped a star for the ending
I enjoyed the book. There were a number of funny moments and a generally fun story. However, I still have no idea where the story is going. It feels like a collection of random events that aren't really tied together. It's enjoyable, but with some kind of overarching plot it could have been amazing. Alan didn't really seem to care about earth all that much, even though the first two books seemed to be loosely about protecting it.
I enjoyed the book. There were a number of funny moments and a generally fun story. However, I still have no idea where the story is going. It feels like a collection of random events that aren't really tied together. It's enjoyable, but with some kind of overarching plot it could have been amazing. Alan didn't really seem to care about earth all that much, even though the first two books seemed to be loosely about protecting it.
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