Alpha Company

Alpha World #3

by Daniel Schinhofen

(This book still contains adult themes, like the first two did. if you didn't care for them, you probably won't care for this one either.)

Rejoin Alburet Two-souled as his journey in Alpha World continues. He has two quests that still need to be resolved; one that deals with Nobility, while the other is from the Dark Lord. Before he can deal with either of them, Mindblown brings down the server. As they are about to launch a mass scale immersion testing phase.

Gerald, Marysue, Karen and Fluffball are four of the lucky ones selected for the testing phase. Gerald plans to drum up recruitment for the guild, Alpha Company, during the meet and greet before the immersion testing starts.
The quartet of newly minted friends will meet for the first time in the real world. Will they get along or will something force them apart before the game goes back on-line with them immersed.

Welcome to Book 3 of Alpha World: Alpha Company. It is based on the newly minted guild getting its feet under it and seeing what they can do as hundreds of new long-term testers get used to the idea of long term immersion.

(This book still contains adult themes, like the first two did. if you didn't care for them, you probably won't care for this one either. You've been warned twice now, don't say I didn't warn you. The detail of the adult content didn't increase, but it is still present.)

Genres: Litrpg, Fantasy, Harem, Audiobook, Science Fiction, Classics, Romance

360 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2017

About the author

Daniel James Schinhofen is a self-published author in the burgeoning genre of LitRPG/Gamelit. He published his first book, Last Horizon: Beta, in October of 2016, and has recently published his fifteenth book. A best-selling author on Amazon multiple times, his four series have achieved name recognition in the genre. When not slavishly typing away at the next book, Daniel tries to unwind with video games, playing with his dog Sugar, or going for walks around his neighborhood. His books can be found easily via his website http://schinhofenbooks.com/. Daniel can be found via Twitter using the handle @DJSchinhofen.

Reviews

[Kyte]

I was a bit disappointed by the Book. While its well written and offers a good flow, i missed actual content in it.
Nothing really happens and i can't shake the feeling that you could skip this book and continue directly with book 4 (when it gets released) without missing out much of the story.

The Book title "Alpha Company" suggest that the focus would be on the founding and management of said clan, however actual interaction of our hero with his clan is sparse. Instead the emphasis stays with the interaction of our heroes group which only gets some development towards the end.
I was also missing some grand plan the hero would follow and work on trough the story.

Luckily a grand quest awaits in the next book as explained on the end, so i look forward to it.

[Steve]

Rating 3.0 stars

The first book is still the best. One good thing is that I read this book instead of listening to the audio book. I was getting really tired of how pompous Albert sounded and the way he said "kitten" all the time. I found that it wasn't as annoying while reading as it was while listening. The rest of the group heads for long term immersion and meets up with Albert as they start the guild. Not a whole lot happened. It appears that there is more to this game than we are aware of though. Most of the people around Albert are broken and the succubi in the game are helping Fluffball and Albert deal with their issues. For Alburt it turns out that he has forgotten some of his past in order to protect himself. The backstories are some of the most interesting things about the book. The characters otherwise are pretty one dimensional.Some of the other issues are that the action isn't very good, the world building isn't great and the level up aspect isn't very in depth. It was also annoying to read about Albert fighting tooth and nail against having a harem. Like that's a real problem, having too many women want to sleep with him. While most of the book is mediocre at best, I am still interested to find out more about everyone's past and what this game is really all about. I have to assume it is more than we have been told.

[Jay Collins]

2.5 stars to 3, not as good as the first book but still okay and I will continue with the series.

[Sydney]

3 If We Fail, We Only Die Horribly Stars

Alpha Company is the third book in the Alpha World series by Daniel Schinhofen.

I find it upsetting how understanding and comforting everyone is towards Fluff and her need to hold back from anything more than friendship, when you take into account how they pressure Alburet. Sure, it's nearly entirely different... But it still comes off in a disappointing manner. That these women who claim to love him can't be more patient with his qualms, and instead keep trying to force him into the situation. While you can tell he is still interested in further exploring a deeper connection to more women, it's almost insulting that they aren't willing to understand and work at his pace. While it appears the author is trying to lay the blame solely on his head with his self inflicted wounds and memory repression. I think it all truly adds more credence to view their actions in a hypocritical fashion, when comparing the way they treat two people they claim to care for whom share similar insecurities. It comes off really forced to skew towards a harem.

I was really hoping this book would pick up and force the story into more development for Alpha World. However, their questing was all over the place compared to how they previously acted and seemed moreso to shake up the foundation of their previous growth, than to add to it. Taking into account, also, that they merely spent a slim fraction of the book exploring one small section of the Elven Lands. All adding up into a combobulation of randomness.

I'm going to at least check out the next book because the Dead Lands as a concept are an intriguing mystery hinted at since the very first book in this series. But if we don't at least tackle some of Seamus' deep seeded internalized issues, or have some compounding world building, I won't be reading further.

[Brad Theado]

great book

[Brandon Purcell]

Authors wannabe sex fantasy in the guise of litrpg

I enjoyed the first two books quite a bit, they had their flaws, but I found the story and the game world to be interesting so I continued. Unfortunately as the series progresses the plot weakens and development of the story quits being about the game and focuses almost entirely on how the author can make Alburet have a harem without making it look like the author is trying to gratify his own fantasy. I have zero problems with sex in books, but the author literally weakened the whole plot by making long term testing to everyone (why have Alburet test if everyone else is doing it?). Now there's almost zero reason for him to be in Alpha World. Instead the plot and premise has shifted to let's grind a little bit, listen to Bob who only talks about sex now when he used to be funny, and then it's all about how all but one female wants to convince Alburet to sleep with him and be his wife. Hopefully the author fixes this in the next installment or I'm done with this series.

[DJay]

I rather liked the development in this series. The MC is starting to find out more about himself that I thought was a nice and pleasant surprise. Well, not pleasant surprise, but it was a nice change of pace for a litRPG. The story sets a nice pace and the multiple plots running throughout the book are not over encumbering to the story and help to set up things to come. I love the character development in this series as we get to know more about all of the characters a bit. I'm awaiting with baited breather the next installment in this series.

[Lurino]

Nakama LitRPG

Teamwork is the primary flavour of the story, straight from the first book up to the third. While the primary character started off as a lone fighter, he grew to be someone who prioritise his teammates more than himself. All the grinding, special powers, unique loots, and conveniences aside, if you’re looking for a story about friendship and awkward attempts to show others that you care about them, this series would be something to fill that niche

[Cloak88]

Alpha World 3 worth about 3.5 stars.

Alburet is back for novel number #3, this time with the addition of other long-term testers for the game. We get more background on Alburet and his companion and some extra world-lore. In all this was a decent, if not an all that memorable one. The addition of background for the side-characters was nice, but did not advance the plot overmuch.

Anyhow, this was a fun read and I had a good time.

[Wolfgarr]

What can i say about this 3rd book in an amazing series? ........Well there are still no monkey's throwing banana's... I think i am going to cry. Anyways. This book lets off where the last book stopped. No spoilers.. If you want to read a great story buy the book!!!

Recommended reading for all litrpg/fantasy fans

[Art Lueder]

Ah the joys of running a big guild. Been there done that. Albuert and crew pull their guild together, face some griefing members, etc. Stacey uses her succubus powers to begin healing Fluffball's and Albuert's mental issues. Plus Albuert get's a race change and the whole guild decides to foray into the Deadlands to capture a keep.

[James]

A very good book.

The story continues to get better as the author has done a wonderful job in telling the story in a way that makes me want more.

[Kiba Snowpaw]

Final Rating: 3.21/5.00
Starting score: 2.50
+0.44 for Alburet's grief, guilt, and fear of recovering his past
+0.24 for Fluff's developing self-worth and the changing view of her experiences
+0.17 for the real-world opening giving the companions distinct personal stakes
+0.18 for practical guild leadership, mentoring, and member participation
+0.15 for the native characters' work, ambitions, and lives beyond the main party
+0.21 for cooperative combat that requires adaptation and sometimes fails
+0.14 for distinct locations, cultural differences, and consequential world lore
+0.14 for advancing the infernal storyline and resolving earlier personal obligations
+0.09 for companion humour and cultural references that build relationships
+0.09 for affectionate domestic chemistry and willingly shared intimacy
-0.32 for pressure against sexual boundaries and insufficient scrutiny of the helpers' power
-0.22 for repetitive domestic exchanges, errands, and quest presentation
-0.16 for thin antagonists and predictable social confrontations
-0.11 for favouritism that cushions the protagonist's growing power and status
-0.16 for sexual encounters repeatedly receiving less development than their buildup
-0.09 for selective attention to the personhood of intelligent native creatures
-0.08 for ending at the departure for the major guild expedition
Calculated final score: 3.21/5.00

The buried pain gives this stretch of the story more weight than another bag of loot ever could. Alburet has a wife, companions, and a guild to organise, but a comfortable new life has not made him comfortable inside his own head. That is the part worth sinking my claws into. The audiobook develops the people behind the avatars and gives its growing community something to do together, while grief begins breaking through the routines. It also spends far too long circling familiar conversations, and its treatment of sexual boundaries becomes a serious problem. The sexual atmosphere remains prominent throughout: teasing, nakedness, possessive affection, and recurring encounters, with some explicit description but many short scenes or jumps past the activity.

Opening outside the game is a useful decision. Gerald's negotiations and obligations explain why competence comes so naturally to him, while his uncertainty with Marysue shows where that confidence runs out. She has reasons to distrust attention that comes attached to her money and position. Karen arrives with physical confidence and an appetite for pleasure, but her account of family conflict and responsibility gives that confidence a history. Fluff's difficulty simply entering a room makes the difference between being visible and feeling safe painfully clear. These people have chosen the same immersion programme for different reasons. I particularly appreciate the way gestures from their time together in the game carry into the meeting outside it. The habits of belonging have started to cross that boundary. My pack instincts respond to that: a familiar touch can mean more than another speech about friendship when someone is struggling to stay in the room.

Alburet's memories are the strongest part of the book. His fear extends beyond remembering something painful. He has to consider that the version of his life he relies on may be protecting him from truths he cannot comfortably carry. His father becomes a person within that conflict, with affection, faith, disappointment, and a wish to help his son. Love does not make them agree about revenge. That gives the family material a harder edge than the repeated declarations that Alburet deserves everything good. After losing my own father, I find particular weight in his desire to recover an ordinary moment of closeness and see a loved face clearly again. An empty place in the den remains empty even when the rest of life gets busy. The contrast between his growing authority in the game and his helplessness around those memories is effective. He can direct a group through a fight, then struggle to consent to help with his own mind. His hesitation, postponement, and eventual request to proceed gently give the recovery thread an actual emotional progression.

Fluff's story deserves similar attention, especially when the book returns to an event we have already encountered and shows how differently she understood it. Ordinary attention can arrive in her memory as contempt; friendliness can sound like condescension. That changes the meaning of her withdrawal. Her ears and purring are expressive parts of her avatar, but the important movement comes when she asks for affection, chooses who may witness something painful, or risks believing that friendship will survive disclosure. The childhood abuse behind her fear is ugly and degrading. My protective anger at that cruelty and my enjoyment of consensual adult intimacy are separate responses. Let her take her damn time. The story is strongest when it follows that principle, allowing reassurance, uncertainty, and rest between difficult steps. I also value the distinction between being desired and believing oneself worthy of care. Her kindness and existing friendships give the reassurance more substance than the repeated emphasis on her extraordinary beauty.

There is warmth in the household that has earned its place. Stacia enjoys her chosen submission, initiates affection, has opinions, and can put practical responsibilities ahead of immediate sexual gratification. The exchange between her eagerness and Alburet's teasing control can have believable chemistry. Karen's frustration also gains meaning when she admits that casual fun has become an attachment she did not expect. Her loud confidence has been concealing a wish to be wanted consistently. I like that admission because it gives her something more specific to risk than missing another opportunity for sex. Holding someone through distress and making room for a guest help the den feel inhabited. The domestic fantasy has an appeal beyond collecting beautiful partners, particularly when affection is given without demanding that the recipient immediately become cheerful, sexually available, or easy to understand.

Alburet repeatedly asks for time and asks the women to stop pushing his relationship boundaries. His attraction is treated as proof that his stated position should be overcome. Later, an open-ended promise to grant a wish is invoked to secure a sexual encounter while he is still expressing uncertainty, and physical initiation happens before he has finished resolving or answering that pressure. He subsequently participates and experiences pleasure; the troubling beginning remains part of the scene. I want his surrender to feel chosen. Stacia's access to his past also becomes part of her argument for the relationship arrangement she wants. A comforting memory of his father carries emotional force, but selecting it to help win that argument puts her own interests inside the help she offers. The wider explanation of mental access through buried agreement terms also receives remarkably little scrutiny. These beings can inspect memories and influence feelings. The story asks for enormous trust in their good intentions while examining their power much less carefully. My ears pin back when a book protects one vulnerable person's pace so attentively, then treats another person's reluctance as an obstacle for loved ones to work around.

The erotic writing has a separate weakness: too much of the work goes into anticipation. Sex appears early and recurs later, and there are explicit moments, including oral sex and an encounter involving Stacia's duplicate. Many encounters establish the situation, provide a brief piece of activity, and then move to everyone being satisfied afterwards. The later group encounter likewise skips past much of its duration. A substantial amount of sexual conversation surrounds comparatively compressed sexual scenes. I want a good book and good porn, with developed physical detail, individual responses, and the emotional presence that makes the activity feel particular to these people. Repeated promises of what will happen after dinner or after a bath cannot provide that by themselves. Even the possibilities of Stacia's duplicate receive little exploration within the sex itself. The book keeps warming the room, pulling me toward the bed, and then spending much of the encounter somewhere beyond the scene.

The guild material gives Alburet a more convincing use for his protective instincts. He helps inexperienced members understand their roles, arranges useful combinations of players, checks on their progress, and passes along information that can improve their levelling. Those groups continue doing things when he is elsewhere. The guild quests exclude his own established team from the competition, and the raffle makes surplus equipment useful to other members. Delegating noble meetings to Gerald recognises a skill Alburet lacks. Letting Kim organise practical matters acknowledges that enthusiasm does not replace someone who knows how to run a workplace. This is where the Alpha in me finds something solid to respect. A pack needs more than an impressive creature standing in front of it; its members need opportunities to become capable themselves. Voting on the expedition and making participation optional give the company substance beyond its emblem.

The native characters help that community feel like a place where lives continue between hunts. Kim takes satisfaction in useful work and deserves to be paid for it. Shopkeepers benefit when guild members become regular customers. Wilbur has a vocational ideal and a family problem that do not begin with wanting to serve Alburet. Erin wants love, work, and a future she can recognise as her own, even when those ambitions change shape. Her willingness to speak plainly when someone tries to bargain with her feelings gives her welcome force. The earlier problem involving House Theron also reaches an outcome, making an established obligation matter beyond the moment it was acquired. Likewise, the long-discussed infernal progression moves forward during this book. Old connections become useful for specific reasons, and practical arrangements can meet several people's needs. That is more persuasive community building than another round of everyone praising the guild leader.

Combat works best when the group has to discover what the current creatures actually allow. The spiders restrict movement, attack from awkward positions, apply inconvenient effects, and resist abilities that made previous enemies easier to control. The party's usual approach has to change. Against the creatures in the snow, working out the range of an attack matters more than announcing impressive statistics. Fluff contributes an observation; Gerald organises; the healer's positioning matters. A later dungeon goes far enough to defeat the entire group, and the solution depends on understanding how the encounter behaves. The use of summoned copies also creates tactical choices about damage, protection, and recovery. That is satisfying LitRPG material, with enough cause and effect to follow the decisions. The repeated use of a previously encountered scaling trick makes part of the solution familiar, but the larger strength is the cooperation. The party can be surprised, lose control, and need another attempt. Alburet's most convincing competence appears when he contributes to that process alongside everyone else.

The locations gain character when their design affects living there. Brightgrove's enormous trees, living walkways, and shaped wooden structures suggest a culture with a different relationship to its surroundings. The woodweaver making something for a grandchild gives that impressive architecture a domestic counterpart. The cold region makes clothing and exposure relevant, which naturally gets this Ice Wolf's attention, but the useful detail is how the environment changes the group's preparation and performance. Lore about gods, ancestry, and the possibility of another world also widens the setting beyond the next hunting area. Most consequential is the divide between people who return after death and natives who might not. A dangerous expedition means something different to a player, a parent, and the child that parent fears losing. The concern voiced by the native families brings a necessary weight to the excitement. Their anxiety makes sense even when the volunteers are eager. That friction gives the world more life than a reputation notification can manage alone.

The humour is most effective when it reveals the companions' attachments. Bob's excitement about his personal life becomes more interesting when the thought of responsibility briefly interrupts his swagger. Tiny's solemn certainty about family life plays well against everyone else's uncertainty. The friends sharing scenes from The Princess Bride with Stacia is another good touch: she has to learn their cultural shorthand, and it becomes something they can use affectionately together. Sir Jones's hat, whip, and account of a trapped idol make the Indiana Jones echo unmistakable, giving his enthusiasm for dangerous relics an immediately recognisable shape. The strongest moments have someone learning about another person, or exposing an insecurity through a joke. They let the pack relax without making every exchange another formal declaration of loyalty.

Opposition outside the party is much less interesting. Blood Moon escalates into an openly abusive bully so completely that the guild dispute leaves little room for an awkward decision between legitimate competing needs. The hostile nobles repeatedly rely on contempt, status, and offers involving desirable women. Alburet's defence of his wife or his members becomes the obvious answer to behaviour designed to make him look correct. His anger receives very little sustained challenge from these encounters. Even discomfort expressed about finishing an already helpless opponent passes quickly. There is also a cushion around his advancement. His infernal reward combines advantages from different bloodlines, and a powerful figure supplies the destination for the next expedition. His changed standing does produce suspicious looks and an ugly encounter with a guard, but recognition and powerful connections soften much of the immediate cost. Calling in favours secures substantial assistance with remarkably little negotiation. The world is considerably harder on his memories than on his ambitions.

Its moral attention is selective as well. Bob's fear of the fate awaiting unclaimed demons helps establish that his existence matters. The cursed demons encountered later belong to that same larger system, have reasons to fear death, and can speak. They attack, and the party kills them, with little interest in what the system means for those creatures beyond providing an encounter to clear. I want the theme of native personhood to travel farther than the circle of named friends. This world repeatedly asks me to recognise a soul behind what another player might dismiss as an NPC, then becomes incurious when a creature fills the role of an enemy. My loyalty to a pack does not stop me recognising another creature's fear. The story has created enough awareness to make the omission visible, but it rarely lets that awareness complicate the hunt.

The pacing problem accumulates through repetition. Visits to shops, accounts of the same developments, discussions of the next hunt, meals, and familiar sexual negotiations keep bringing the conversation back to information or feelings already established. The food can make a home welcoming; another explanation of how a special meal tastes and how everyone reacts to it adds little once that effect is secure. The quest presentation repeatedly supplies near-identical objectives and rewards, and having the characters comment on the lack of variety does not remove the repetition from the listening. Whole stretches of routine hunting are summarised, so the drag cannot fairly be reduced to every fight taking too long. It is the surrounding loop that keeps digging its paws into the same snow. I know where the portal is. Get us somewhere new. Affection also loses force when reassurance repeats without a corresponding change in the relationship. The best scenes alter how I understand someone; too many surrounding exchanges merely confirm what I already know.

The final assembly brings the guild's preparations together, but the book stops as the major expedition is departing. The journey and the attempt to take the keep remain ahead. Ending on another threshold is frustrating after so much organisation and anticipation, especially when the community has finally acquired the people and resources to undertake something substantial. The personal developments carry this volume. Alburet's grief has weight. Fluff's struggle to accept kindness has weight. The repetitive routines, indulgent treatment of the protagonist, and selective respect for boundaries keep the book from fulfilling that emotional promise consistently. From my den in HowlStrom, I can recognise the warmth these people are trying to build and still bare my fangs at what the story asks me to overlook. The wounded members of this pack deserve more care than the fantasy gives their choices.

[Douglas]

I went through all the Alpha World books one right after another. I considered going back and giving specifics for each book but the simple truth is that each book has the same positives and negatives. The negative is that the author doesn't actually care about telling a story. None of his books involve any kind of a resolution. Normally this is an automatic 1 star since this is essentially novel writing 101. Here, however, the author writes in what I think of as a pseudo-travel style. By this I mean that the author emphasis the journey which takes some of the sting out of failing to reach a destination.

The positive is that the author is a fairly good writer other than his complete blind spot for resolution. The characters and scenes he writes are interesting, which is why I was able to complete the series (at least as much of it currently available). The author does repeatedly hint at some big reveal to come about the MC in the future and the jury is still out on this. The repeated hints are annoying since it is basically the author repeatedly saying to the reader "there's something I'm not telling you" and could be handled better. Still, part of the reason the hints keep coming up is the care with which the author is developing his MC. Therefore it will depend on what is actually revealed to know whether this is a good or bad part of the story.

Bottom line: Not terrible but not great either and lacks resolution.

[Shea]

Review for complete series Books 1 - 8
Mr. Schinhofen's Alpha world series is an epic tale of pain, suffering, discrimination, and the healing through love and support. . A word of warning though the earlier books contain a moderate to extreme, depending on your view points, amount of erotica in them. This tapers off near the end of the story and I recommend readers not to judge harshly. I found the scenes to fit within the flow of the story and within scope of the personality of the characters involved.

It is my recommendation that these scenes be simply skimmed over by readers who might be put off by them. The series contains so much more than erotica that readers would miss out on. Mr. Schinhofen's series delves into the darker side of human nature and the traumatic wounds of the mind that we not only inflict upon others, but ourselves as well. I applaud Mr. Schinhofen for showing such trauma and how with help such conditions can be mitigated.

Mr. Schinhofen borrows heavily from World of Warcraft for his class system and for some points of his story. I believe he is a great author regardless and look forward to additional works he might create.

Very Respectfully,
Shea

[RJ]

Alburet got his guild; Alpha Company. He also managed to get some boons granted from the king that was helpful to summoners and necromancers alike. When Alburet and Stacia married, her parents gave them a house with an attached building for a wedding present. The attached building is perfect for their guildhall for now. Another immersion break took place, so Alburet had to leave Alpha World once again. Happily, he was back on time. The immersion break, which was a promotional event, garnered a large number of players interested in joining the guild. The next few days would be spent reviewing and helping the recruits. Alpha Company is growing! The items that Alburet found in the Forgotten Prison drew much interest from the nobles of Alpha World. They all wanted to know where it was for lost history and/or relics. The game mechanics are spot-on, the author is certainly a gamer. The story is enthralling, the dungeon diving exciting, the relationship between Alburet and Stacia heart-warming, and the remaining cast of characters cementing all together. I look forward to continuing the series.

[Stephen]

Not great but not bad

The author kept with his pattern from the last two books. Focusing more and more on the main character and his sex life then questing or world building. There is a decent amount of the book focused on some character backstory but it really wasn't that interesting. Conflicts that occur in the world while questing or within the new guild feel like they are only in the story to check a block. Each being resolved in the simplest and quickest way you could think of, nothing at all has really been a challenge to Alburet and that is kind of disappointing. The books was enjoyable I guess but didn't really stand out to me compared to the first in the series or other books in genre. If you like the rest in the series it will pass a day or two of reading for you, I'm probably gonna pass on the next book though.

[Anthony]

The third book in the Alpha World series outshines the previous two books.

I was a little hesitant to continue after the first book due to all the sex scenes. But i’m glad I stayed with the series since the third book really stands on it’s own. Alpha Company explores more of the main characters stories (Fluffball, Karen, Alburet, Stacia and her family.) I think that’s where the true story lies anyway. Most LitRPG authors tend to worry to much about levels and powers and not enough about the actual characters. I’m glad that that isn’t the case here. Sometimes secondary characters will overact, they’ll be too mean or say something that doesn’t really fit what a normal person in that position would say. However those scenarios are few and far between. Overall I’m crazy excited how the story and characters are taking shape. Highly recommend this to any LitRPG lover.

[Dave]

Unique premise makes for a very interesting story. The places they are create situations and challenges, but ultimately a story is about the characters and their interaction and growth. I was so excited just from reading the blurb that I immediately bought book 2, and when I finished this first book and came up for air, I immediately bought book 3. I laughed and smiled a lot and occasionally got anxious for the "hero", but I read all three books in 4 days. Imagine my delight as I write this review to discover the 4th book is available.

[Jonathan Campbell]

I love this series I'm going to be sad when I finish them all.

This is a wonderful progression of the plot and characters, I could read all these books over and over again and often have gone back to refresh myself on any detail I might have forgotten or even overlooked while waiting for the next release and I have NEVER gotten tired of any of them. In case you're incapable of reading the warning in the description please be aware that this book and storyline contains graphic intimate and explicit content! Happy reading to you all!

[Locuus]

The book is very similar to the previous ones but at this point it is no longer breaking any new ground and has become repetitive. We keep reading the same daily grind formula which makes it feel more like watching a reality show than living an adventure.
A couple of new things happen but together they probably take 10-15% of the book.
Hopefully the next volume will quicken the pace and give the main character something to work towards different than mob grinding.

[Bolajide Adeyoye]

Looking forward to the next entries

I like this author. I like the way this story focuses on relationships and character interactions, even when I started to get series fatigue from stationing all three books it never felt pointless to read them, I never felt like I was wasting my time. Like the author said if you don't like books or his writing then you probably should have stopped by now, but if you do like what he's offering you're in for something nice.

[David]

An expanding world

I like how the story begins with all of the main characters friends entering the game for long term immersion. There is a lot of character building for all members of the main party as well as more world building a fun nods to other MMOs and online gaming culture. I’m looking forward to the next book as this one ends with everyone set to embark on a grand adventure.

[Dave Stone]

Feels like one continuous story at this point
I had Alpha Company in hand when I finished Forming the Company. I switched from one book to the next with out getting up and I can tell you that the transition was smooth and seamless.
The Sex scenes have been dialed down and there is more back story about the other company members. if you've enjoyed book 1 & 2 have no fear, the fun continues with no change in style or tone.

[Jake]

A real page turner

While the last book was a bit slow, this book absolutely makes up for it. Action, adventure, plot, as well as some world lore and out of game intrigue.

Some of the topics discussed tug at the heartstrings a bit, but that also shows a lot of background to the characters. More than merely one dimensional puppets, they're imperfect people with lives before the story begins. I find it rather interesting.

Going straight to the next book!

[Jeff]

Still going strong!

Normally, I start getting tired of series after a few books. With most, the world building and lore tends to be the most exciting part, and after a book or two the writing falters because the character writing is bad. With these books, the characters are full and the writing is very good. I’m still very interested to see, not what happens, but what they will do next. Great book!

[Luek]

Another good installment

The AW third installment. This series maintains a level excellence and consistency that is hard to find in litrpg. Yes it has sex. No the sex isn't terribly graphic, and is pretty tastefully done. The characters are well put together, and the mic and overall power levels aren't ridiculously op.

[Heath]

Good Read.

A LitRPG story. Does have adult content. The story does pick up from the previous book with the creation of a guild. Some history is revealed of the main character and his group. The book ends with more to be told (with the next book). I enjoyed the story that I read it as soon as I found it available.

[Mike Goodman]

Dang You

Yes he ended the book with unfinished things. The story is very interesting and entertaining. He has added a lot of emotional issues. At least he made the choice of what to read next easier. I will be reading L. D., because I can't handle P.S. after this rolled coaster.

[David Steele]

Not enough game and too much feelings....

I could put up with the adult content in book one since it was minimal and took a back seat to game mechanics and leveling. This latest book seems to be all high school mushy drama. I felt like it was another super hero show ruined by the CW. Cut the relationship garbage and return to the game mechanics and leveling.