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Chronicle #1
First Login
Time in a capsule.
People seek out escapes through countless avenues, but when the product is extra time to live—within an emerging digital world—everyone’s a customer. Game capsules transport players to a new world where time is perceived far more slowly. Why study for eight hours in the real world when you could get it all done in a single hour? Why work slowly? Why relax that way? Following this mentality, Chronicle has become more than a game for governments, businesses, and players alike.
When Corbin Landrick, an unlucky but hardworking guy, finally gets his hands on a ChronPod, he jumps headfirst into his second life. While he struggles to plant both feet firmly on the ground in a world of magic and monsters, he finds out that virtual reality is what you make of it.
People seek out escapes through countless avenues, but when the product is extra time to live—within an emerging digital world—everyone’s a customer. Game capsules transport players to a new world where time is perceived far more slowly. Why study for eight hours in the real world when you could get it all done in a single hour? Why work slowly? Why relax that way? Following this mentality, Chronicle has become more than a game for governments, businesses, and players alike.
When Corbin Landrick, an unlucky but hardworking guy, finally gets his hands on a ChronPod, he jumps headfirst into his second life. While he struggles to plant both feet firmly on the ground in a world of magic and monsters, he finds out that virtual reality is what you make of it.
273 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 7, 2017
390 people are currently reading
440 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Murphy
3 books103 followersHello!
For years I’ve been a massive fan of the LitRPG genre. Initially, I devoured the few books available in English and sought more content in episodic fan translations. Now, finally, the genre is starting to rapidly grow. I love how authors manipulate progression. There’s something wonderful about being presented with a mold, only to see it broken and surpassed.
I’ve always been drawn to stories that work to build a stable world then, once norms are established, begin to rock the boat in a big way. The first book in my series aims to establish this world boat, while offering glimpses beyond the horizon. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
For years I’ve been a massive fan of the LitRPG genre. Initially, I devoured the few books available in English and sought more content in episodic fan translations. Now, finally, the genre is starting to rapidly grow. I love how authors manipulate progression. There’s something wonderful about being presented with a mold, only to see it broken and surpassed.
I’ve always been drawn to stories that work to build a stable world then, once norms are established, begin to rock the boat in a big way. The first book in my series aims to establish this world boat, while offering glimpses beyond the horizon. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
January 7, 2020
This was an OK LitRPG that had a lot of good things going for it but that still managed to fall just a little short of rising above average in quality. It was typical LitRPG in a lot of ways and the story provided a decent mix of action and adventure.
The premise was fairly standard stuff. Corbin, an average Joe, lives in some sort of sci-fi future Earth where full VR-immersion worlds are a thing and where there use is fairly common. Chronicle is a new VR full immersion game. It hit the market six months ago, and has taken the world by storm, but it has taken Corbin that amount of time to save up the money to buy the immersion rig! Chronicle is a mega hit as it has more depth and realism than has been seen in any previous game. It also has time dilation. Users can live 4 days in Chronicle for every one earth day! This has practical real world advantages as well as just providing players more time to game as users have access to the internet even while playing in the fantasy world of the game so can use in game time to do stuff like read, watch TV, or study! The game is so popular that people can even make a real living just from the game alone.
Corbin mostly just bought the game to play it and enjoy the adventures of the fantasy world of Chronicle. He sets about exploring the world and levelling up by taking tasks and quests.
It ended up being an OK tale. The worldbuilding was solid. I did not come across anything original but the concepts used by Kevin Murphy were some of my favourite LitRPG building blocks so I was a fan of the worldbuilding and the world we got in this story. The main character, Corbin, was also a win for the book. He seemed a likeable and decent guy. A slight negative for the story was the fact that only two or three of the secondary characters were particularly memorable. I feel like more work is needed there to make the others players and even the game NPC's much more interesting. The quest/adventuring part of the game was both a strength and a weakness. Sometimes the quests were fun but as we got more and more of them they started to get a little boring as it became apparent there was no more depth to them than your average game quest. It did not matter if Corbin or any other player died as they all got other shots at life and it was the same issue with the NPC's as we were given zero reason to invest emotionally in any of them. That lack of investment was the biggest issue I had with the story! A late twist in the story offered some hope that would actually change in the second book but we will have to wait and see how it all plays out.
Another plus for this LitRPG story was the fact that it was pretty inoffensive. It was tame stuff in terms of tone and content and lacked a lot of the typical misogyny that permeates the genre. The story was a little one tone though and did not really try its hand at any romance or much in the way of strong emotional investment on Corbin's part for any of the other characters. I'd like to see that change even if it means Kevin Murphy plays it less safe in the sequel.
I liked the fact that Corbin spent some time in the "real" world as well as time in Chronicle. I'd have liked for that aspect of the story to be explored a little more as we got hints that this sci-fi future Earth Corbin lived in had some pretty cool technology above just the VR games. He even had a cool virtual AI assistant in his home! On top of that we got hints that not all was healthy and rosy in the world as jobs were scarce and the economy seemed in a bad place. I'd like to see this explored more in the future books.
The VR seemed a fun enough place in its own right. The game was fairly new so none of the players were experts. The VR game was more advanced than any other and was run by advanced new AI's that were capable of adapting and changing things to keep the game world a pretty realistic place and not one that just reset each quest when they were completed. The NPC's seemed pretty real! Chronicle did seem a standard LitRPG fantasy world in a lot of ways in terms of content but a few twists towards the end hinted that we might get something a bit more original in the sequels as the game world continues to develop and grow.
Kevin Murphy's writing style was fairly engaging so it pulled me along even at times when the story was a tad slow. We did have to suffer a bunch of LitRPG style stats but I felt like those did not slow the story too much.
All in all I found this to be an OK LitRPG. It never quite managed to be anything special or overly exciting but still managed to be a fun read. I'll read the sequel for sure and hopefully it offers a bit more emotional investment to the story and characters.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Audio Note: Nick Podehl is one of the very best narrators and he gave a terrific performance of this one. I mostly bought First Login because it had him as a narrator while a few of the others I could have picked did not! He is that good!
The premise was fairly standard stuff. Corbin, an average Joe, lives in some sort of sci-fi future Earth where full VR-immersion worlds are a thing and where there use is fairly common. Chronicle is a new VR full immersion game. It hit the market six months ago, and has taken the world by storm, but it has taken Corbin that amount of time to save up the money to buy the immersion rig! Chronicle is a mega hit as it has more depth and realism than has been seen in any previous game. It also has time dilation. Users can live 4 days in Chronicle for every one earth day! This has practical real world advantages as well as just providing players more time to game as users have access to the internet even while playing in the fantasy world of the game so can use in game time to do stuff like read, watch TV, or study! The game is so popular that people can even make a real living just from the game alone.
Corbin mostly just bought the game to play it and enjoy the adventures of the fantasy world of Chronicle. He sets about exploring the world and levelling up by taking tasks and quests.
It ended up being an OK tale. The worldbuilding was solid. I did not come across anything original but the concepts used by Kevin Murphy were some of my favourite LitRPG building blocks so I was a fan of the worldbuilding and the world we got in this story. The main character, Corbin, was also a win for the book. He seemed a likeable and decent guy. A slight negative for the story was the fact that only two or three of the secondary characters were particularly memorable. I feel like more work is needed there to make the others players and even the game NPC's much more interesting. The quest/adventuring part of the game was both a strength and a weakness. Sometimes the quests were fun but as we got more and more of them they started to get a little boring as it became apparent there was no more depth to them than your average game quest. It did not matter if Corbin or any other player died as they all got other shots at life and it was the same issue with the NPC's as we were given zero reason to invest emotionally in any of them. That lack of investment was the biggest issue I had with the story! A late twist in the story offered some hope that would actually change in the second book but we will have to wait and see how it all plays out.
Another plus for this LitRPG story was the fact that it was pretty inoffensive. It was tame stuff in terms of tone and content and lacked a lot of the typical misogyny that permeates the genre. The story was a little one tone though and did not really try its hand at any romance or much in the way of strong emotional investment on Corbin's part for any of the other characters. I'd like to see that change even if it means Kevin Murphy plays it less safe in the sequel.
I liked the fact that Corbin spent some time in the "real" world as well as time in Chronicle. I'd have liked for that aspect of the story to be explored a little more as we got hints that this sci-fi future Earth Corbin lived in had some pretty cool technology above just the VR games. He even had a cool virtual AI assistant in his home! On top of that we got hints that not all was healthy and rosy in the world as jobs were scarce and the economy seemed in a bad place. I'd like to see this explored more in the future books.
The VR seemed a fun enough place in its own right. The game was fairly new so none of the players were experts. The VR game was more advanced than any other and was run by advanced new AI's that were capable of adapting and changing things to keep the game world a pretty realistic place and not one that just reset each quest when they were completed. The NPC's seemed pretty real! Chronicle did seem a standard LitRPG fantasy world in a lot of ways in terms of content but a few twists towards the end hinted that we might get something a bit more original in the sequels as the game world continues to develop and grow.
Kevin Murphy's writing style was fairly engaging so it pulled me along even at times when the story was a tad slow. We did have to suffer a bunch of LitRPG style stats but I felt like those did not slow the story too much.
All in all I found this to be an OK LitRPG. It never quite managed to be anything special or overly exciting but still managed to be a fun read. I'll read the sequel for sure and hopefully it offers a bit more emotional investment to the story and characters.
Rating: 3.5 stars.
Audio Note: Nick Podehl is one of the very best narrators and he gave a terrific performance of this one. I mostly bought First Login because it had him as a narrator while a few of the others I could have picked did not! He is that good!
unfinished
March 1, 2023I got about a third in before I realized I don't really like the LitRPG where the protagonist is actually in a game. I think I mostly knew this, but this story brought it home. Corbin is a nice-enough guy. And he fumbles around in an interesting way. And Murphy does a decent job with the story. But I got to the point where he logged out after dying and found I didn't really care about the story of the guy.
I'm going to call this a faultless dnf (no rating) and I'm glad this book helped me realize my genre limitation.
I'm going to call this a faultless dnf (no rating) and I'm glad this book helped me realize my genre limitation.
November 21, 2017
Unexpected great read
Really surprise how the book sucked me in. It's a bit reminiscent of Ready Player One with the virtual reality aspect and how the two situations of success bleed in to real life for Dakkon though the stories aren't really similar I will be eagerly awaiting more to come!! Great find on kindle unlimited !
Really surprise how the book sucked me in. It's a bit reminiscent of Ready Player One with the virtual reality aspect and how the two situations of success bleed in to real life for Dakkon though the stories aren't really similar I will be eagerly awaiting more to come!! Great find on kindle unlimited !
November 19, 2017
Enjoyable
I have fallen in love with LITRPG as a category of fiction. First Login is a good start to a new LITRPG series. When you finnish a book and want to read the next installment immediately, that is a good thing. Keep writing Mr. Murphy. I'm waiting.
I have fallen in love with LITRPG as a category of fiction. First Login is a good start to a new LITRPG series. When you finnish a book and want to read the next installment immediately, that is a good thing. Keep writing Mr. Murphy. I'm waiting.
October 13, 2022
I enjoyed it! The writing is pretty straightforward, not much setup. Just a simple story with a simple group of characters. The actions of the characters often don't make a lot of sense and the value of in game currency to be changed for real world currency makes no sense at all. Basically if every gold you get in game is worth real world money why would you spend excessive money on in game food? I get it if you are extremely rich, but if you are broke, and unemployed? Anyway the main arc of the story wasn't bad, then there was this side quest at the end that just seemed slapped onto the end of the book that again wasn't bad. Overall it filled the role that I wanted filled just a simple fun story to pass the time while I attempt to go to sleep.
January 10, 2019
Mini-Review:
5 Stars for Narration by Nick Podehl
4 Stars for Characters
3 Stars for Plot
2 Stars for Generic Setting
1.5 Stars for Action Scenes
The story starts off rather well and it engaged me from the get go but the book started to sound more like a game summary and that's where it started to lose my interest. Obviously part of the fun of reading a LitRPG is to see how game mechanics will become a part of the story. Kevin Murphy has a nice set of characters for the book and nuggets of potential for where the story will unfold. However, the action scenes are lackluster and that seems to make up half the book.
I'm going to read the next book and see if it the potential I saw here will continue to evolve & form into substance in the next one. I hope so! Hopefully, I can read it and have fun.
5 Stars for Narration by Nick Podehl
4 Stars for Characters
3 Stars for Plot
2 Stars for Generic Setting
1.5 Stars for Action Scenes
The story starts off rather well and it engaged me from the get go but the book started to sound more like a game summary and that's where it started to lose my interest. Obviously part of the fun of reading a LitRPG is to see how game mechanics will become a part of the story. Kevin Murphy has a nice set of characters for the book and nuggets of potential for where the story will unfold. However, the action scenes are lackluster and that seems to make up half the book.
I'm going to read the next book and see if it the potential I saw here will continue to evolve & form into substance in the next one. I hope so! Hopefully, I can read it and have fun.
January 7, 2018
Good read
A good litrpg book, I especially like that 98 percent of it is in game. I am looking forward to the next one
A good litrpg book, I especially like that 98 percent of it is in game. I am looking forward to the next one
January 15, 2018
Lots of setup but a good hook for the next book
The author has done well in creating a world in which I would want to play. While I wish the real world portion was more fleshed out, the online world teems with life and character. This bodes well for the series.
The author has done well in creating a world in which I would want to play. While I wish the real world portion was more fleshed out, the online world teems with life and character. This bodes well for the series.
December 31, 2017
Very enjoyable
The main character is an interesting series of luck both good and bad.
As a new "character" he stumbles his way along not realizing how powerful his skill can be. I'm inclined to think the author is seriously trained as a scientist or engineer.
As an engineer myself his power is fairly amazing. A maxwell's demon. It'll be interesting to see the development.
Overall a good book. Protagonist isn't all powerful, but is brash and courageous to keep the action going. In a computer world in many ways more real than our own to the "players" of the game.
The main character is an interesting series of luck both good and bad.
As a new "character" he stumbles his way along not realizing how powerful his skill can be. I'm inclined to think the author is seriously trained as a scientist or engineer.
As an engineer myself his power is fairly amazing. A maxwell's demon. It'll be interesting to see the development.
Overall a good book. Protagonist isn't all powerful, but is brash and courageous to keep the action going. In a computer world in many ways more real than our own to the "players" of the game.
November 18, 2017
Surprisingly good.
Well written. Very few errors left in this book.
Plot is decent. The MC isn't a jerk, but is smart enough to take advantage of business developments when they appear without being so greedy that he will do anything for a quick buck.
I can easily recommend this book.
Well written. Very few errors left in this book.
Plot is decent. The MC isn't a jerk, but is smart enough to take advantage of business developments when they appear without being so greedy that he will do anything for a quick buck.
I can easily recommend this book.
May 1, 2019
A pretty good LitRPG. Not my favorite character or story, but enjoyable nonetheless. I liked the abilities, they weren't your typical kind so that was unique. Didn't care for the little "twist" if you can call it that about one of the characters. I didn't find it plausible, felt like it was just a way to expand the story / create new drama. But it wasn't book breaking. Will read more.
December 4, 2017
Well now.
It was a slow start for me. I actually expected to be bored, and give up reading it all together. But I'm glad I was wrong. This was a awesome start to what I believe, to be a fantastic series.
It was a slow start for me. I actually expected to be bored, and give up reading it all together. But I'm glad I was wrong. This was a awesome start to what I believe, to be a fantastic series.
November 15, 2017
This was a fun book, a literary version of a summer popcorn movie, our hero and readers do not have to grit their teeth, gird their loins and slog through the minutia of dungeons and mobs. A fast moving story with tons of luck thrown in, was a quick and fun read. There were a couple of times when a word was misspelled, probably a result of relying on auto complete and spell check. Seeing the wrong words (vile, instead of vial) was jarring an disrupted the flow as I thought about the wrong word but this happened only a couple of times and I have to be forgiving considering how many times I let mistakes slip by because I was lazy or rushed. Good effort, good lightweight reading, hope to see more soon.
November 11, 2017
I liked this one a lot. It wasn't the typical character gets sucked into a game and has to make the best of it. No, in this case, it's a standard virtual reality game that the main character logs into when he wants to, and although he seems to like the virtual world better than the real one, he doesn't go out of his way to avoid the real world. Even using virtual world resources to give himself a real world income. Very innovative that way. I've seen this sort of thing rarely in the LitRPG books I've read, and I like that bit of humanity thrown into the hero that can do anything type of environment most LitRPGs tend to create.
This was a very down to earth having a good time story, and it was even professionally edited as so many LitRPG books aren't, so if you want a sample of what the genre is capable of being, then put this one on your list to read, because it's definitely worth the time spent.
This was a very down to earth having a good time story, and it was even professionally edited as so many LitRPG books aren't, so if you want a sample of what the genre is capable of being, then put this one on your list to read, because it's definitely worth the time spent.
January 11, 2019
I've never listened to LitRPG before (unless Ready Player One counts) so I didn't quite know what to expect. I was sucked in to the game and felt like I was right alongside Dakkon during his exploits. I enjoyed all the characters and Nick Podehl does an amazing job with the narration. I loved all the different accents and the sound effects. Now I anxiously await the sequel!
December 16, 2017
Good book, decent plot
The plot was good for the style of book. Grammar was well written. Characters were interesting, with plenty of thought in world design. It is not perfect, but it is better than many out there!
The plot was good for the style of book. Grammar was well written. Characters were interesting, with plenty of thought in world design. It is not perfect, but it is better than many out there!
November 29, 2017
Fun and satisfying read.
I really enjoyed the book. It had likeable characters, humor, good story progression and lots of in-game action. What more could you ask for? Easily one of the best rpglit books on the market right now. ~ Felleyes
I really enjoyed the book. It had likeable characters, humor, good story progression and lots of in-game action. What more could you ask for? Easily one of the best rpglit books on the market right now. ~ Felleyes
December 29, 2017
Great read
Had a hard time putting this one down. The main character made some really interesting connections and progress that I felt weren't pursued. Here's to hoping there will be a book 2 soon to see what happens further!
Had a hard time putting this one down. The main character made some really interesting connections and progress that I felt weren't pursued. Here's to hoping there will be a book 2 soon to see what happens further!
January 5, 2018
Wonderful
A nice story with a not to powerful mc while keeping a simple but story which is full of twist which makes you feel like part of the story
A nice story with a not to powerful mc while keeping a simple but story which is full of twist which makes you feel like part of the story
March 8, 2021
3.75☆
November 15, 2017
Woot!
I gave this book 5 stars because it was well written and I had fun reading it. I look forward to the next book.
I gave this book 5 stars because it was well written and I had fun reading it. I look forward to the next book.
November 16, 2017
Superb
The mix of irl and gameplay was just the right amount. The classes are intriguing and the way the game is played is fun and non restricting. I truly enjoyed this book.
The mix of irl and gameplay was just the right amount. The classes are intriguing and the way the game is played is fun and non restricting. I truly enjoyed this book.
December 3, 2017
Love it!
Fantastic story line. Wonderful surprises in character development. Love the way this is written. Very refreshing. Great job by this author.
Fantastic story line. Wonderful surprises in character development. Love the way this is written. Very refreshing. Great job by this author.
December 7, 2017
A LitRPG Keeper!
This made for a good read. Genre fans will not be disappointed. I look forward to more of Dakkon’s in-game adventures.
This made for a good read. Genre fans will not be disappointed. I look forward to more of Dakkon’s in-game adventures.
December 10, 2017
Fantastic read!
Exceptional pacing, editing, and depth. I can't wait until the next book! I agree with another reviewer,"Write dang it! Write!"
Exceptional pacing, editing, and depth. I can't wait until the next book! I agree with another reviewer,"Write dang it! Write!"
December 25, 2017
Good book
Good book, good flow. No real slow times but good background was provided. Will get the next when it is out. No problem recommending this
Good book, good flow. No real slow times but good background was provided. Will get the next when it is out. No problem recommending this
November 22, 2017
Excellent book
Well written and edited (a blessing in itself); good pacing, interesting characters and engaging storyline with plenty of action. I want more! Write, man! Write!
Well written and edited (a blessing in itself); good pacing, interesting characters and engaging storyline with plenty of action. I want more! Write, man! Write!
November 21, 2017
Interesting
Yes this story is worth reading I just hope the author keeps it this way. I like the characters in this story and I hope the follow up comes out soon Enjoy my Friends
Yes this story is worth reading I just hope the author keeps it this way. I like the characters in this story and I hope the follow up comes out soon Enjoy my Friends
December 24, 2017
Page turner
Fast, smooth, exciting, all around a great read, the only negative I have is I can read faster than the writer can write,.
Fast, smooth, exciting, all around a great read, the only negative I have is I can read faster than the writer can write,.
August 1, 2018
Sadly gonna have to give this book 3 stars...Aside from the fact that it could still go for another round of proofreading it's pretty good in the literacy department of being a Lit!RPG.
I think this may need a better Beta-Reader though mostly because it's just dragging in some parts and could use a good ellipsis or a time jump. As much as I love the gaming aspects and grinding in Lit!RPG books...this book takes it a bit too far for me I think. Mostly because....*spoilers*
Basically the 1st book is an entire book of 1st time MMORPG newb player playing and stumbling along without anything planned and becoming a special snowflake because they found mysterious item. Mysterious item allows them to beat much better monsters/characters of higher levels just "because" and Luck plays an important role....somehow. SOMEHOW.
Just. I will probably read the next book but I just hope it'll be less meandering that the 1st one. Thank you.
p.s. one last thing. His weird quick get rich schemes are less genius and more scammer style. It's up to the reader if they like that thing. But to me it makes me actually dislike the character mostly because he profits from others but doesn't care if others (even his allies) get hurt from said scheme. UGH.
I think this may need a better Beta-Reader though mostly because it's just dragging in some parts and could use a good ellipsis or a time jump. As much as I love the gaming aspects and grinding in Lit!RPG books...this book takes it a bit too far for me I think. Mostly because....*spoilers*
Basically the 1st book is an entire book of 1st time MMORPG newb player playing and stumbling along without anything planned and becoming a special snowflake because they found mysterious item. Mysterious item allows them to beat much better monsters/characters of higher levels just "because" and Luck plays an important role....somehow. SOMEHOW.
Just. I will probably read the next book but I just hope it'll be less meandering that the 1st one. Thank you.
p.s. one last thing. His weird quick get rich schemes are less genius and more scammer style. It's up to the reader if they like that thing. But to me it makes me actually dislike the character mostly because he profits from others but doesn't care if others (even his allies) get hurt from said scheme. UGH.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews