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The Way of the Shaman #4
The Phantom Castle
What can a game clan accomplish without a castle? The answer is obvious: nothing. Therefore, the main objective of any leader in a game world is to acquire a base of operations. Finding himself in exactly this position, High Shaman Mahan, leader of the Legends of Barliona, accepts an offer from the Emperor and the Dark Lord to vanquish the army of Phantoms that has inhabited Altameda, the phantom castle.
However, this seemingly ordinary quest sets in motion such a momentous chain of events that the Shaman can do nothing but resort to his intuition and act on instinct. After all, a player who is being hunted by the three top clans of the continent at once, can do little else...
However, this seemingly ordinary quest sets in motion such a momentous chain of events that the Shaman can do nothing but resort to his intuition and act on instinct. After all, a player who is being hunted by the three top clans of the continent at once, can do little else...
20 pages, Audible Audio
First published January 1, 2014
588 people are currently reading
781 people want to read
About the author
Vasily Mahanenko
98 books1,097 followersBe the first to know when Vasily Mahanenko’s next book is available! Follow him at https://www.bookbub.com/profile/v-mah... to get an alert whenever he has a new release, preorder, or discount!
Vasily Mahanenko is a fantasy author working in the new genre of LitRPG - the MMO-based fantasy and sci fi. His Way of the Shaman series took Russian literature by storm in 2012.
Vasily dipped into his college-days insider knowledge as a hardcore gamer in order to create a believable world of the virtual-reality MMO game. His bestselling series combines fiction and video games, telling the story of Shaman and his friends stuck in the ruthless reality of Barliona. He used his more than ten years' experience as an ERP implementation project manager to approach his writing in a well-organized manner, working to a strict schedule, a set of deadlines and even a budget. At the moment, the series boasts six novels with the seventh one in the works - this time the author expands on stories of Shaman's companions and those who helped and supported him in his trials and tribulations.
The first book of the series has already been translated into English, with more translations to follow, aiming to make the Way of the Shaman series available to the English-language reader in its entirety.
Vasily's other passion is space exploration which is why he now works on a follow-up series entitled Galaktiona. Set in a space-simulator based world, the first book of the series in already finished while Vasily works on its sequel.
Vasily Mahanenko is a fantasy author working in the new genre of LitRPG - the MMO-based fantasy and sci fi. His Way of the Shaman series took Russian literature by storm in 2012.
Vasily dipped into his college-days insider knowledge as a hardcore gamer in order to create a believable world of the virtual-reality MMO game. His bestselling series combines fiction and video games, telling the story of Shaman and his friends stuck in the ruthless reality of Barliona. He used his more than ten years' experience as an ERP implementation project manager to approach his writing in a well-organized manner, working to a strict schedule, a set of deadlines and even a budget. At the moment, the series boasts six novels with the seventh one in the works - this time the author expands on stories of Shaman's companions and those who helped and supported him in his trials and tribulations.
The first book of the series has already been translated into English, with more translations to follow, aiming to make the Way of the Shaman series available to the English-language reader in its entirety.
Vasily's other passion is space exploration which is why he now works on a follow-up series entitled Galaktiona. Set in a space-simulator based world, the first book of the series in already finished while Vasily works on its sequel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 199 reviews
June 22, 2017
This book is only a filler between books 3 and 5. nothing much happens here.
I'm actually shocked by how you can fill 19 hours of audio with nothing and yet manage to insult your reader's intelligence!
Only the owner and their spouse can enter the castle but because of your title you can't get married without a 6 month notice
Next chapter he magically finds a way around it
A little girl who has social issues over comes them by him giving her a ride as a dragon.
Guess what happens in the next chapter when he meets another little girl with issues and how he over comes them?
This series reached it's high point in book two, infact alot of the creative solutions from book two have been blatantly recycled in this one.
The only thing that really happens is that he got his castle, that's all. otherwise Mahan acts as a puppet being controlled by everyone and his personality suddenly warped into a spoiled brat, didn't even ease into it just dragon mode = pompous wind bag!
I had to power through this one so I will not keep going with this series, it's going down a very boring path which is a shame considering how well it started. I do not recommend it.
Infact I'm making a prediction regarding the next book or two, Mary Sue (or Ms. Perfect take your pick regarding her name) will betray him and say it was the plan all along landing him in jail again, that was how the series started and it was hinting at it since book two but the author keeps pushing that "twist" off.
I'm actually shocked by how you can fill 19 hours of audio with nothing and yet manage to insult your reader's intelligence!
Only the owner and their spouse can enter the castle but because of your title you can't get married without a 6 month notice
Next chapter he magically finds a way around it
A little girl who has social issues over comes them by him giving her a ride as a dragon.
Guess what happens in the next chapter when he meets another little girl with issues and how he over comes them?
This series reached it's high point in book two, infact alot of the creative solutions from book two have been blatantly recycled in this one.
The only thing that really happens is that he got his castle, that's all. otherwise Mahan acts as a puppet being controlled by everyone and his personality suddenly warped into a spoiled brat, didn't even ease into it just dragon mode = pompous wind bag!
I had to power through this one so I will not keep going with this series, it's going down a very boring path which is a shame considering how well it started. I do not recommend it.
Infact I'm making a prediction regarding the next book or two, Mary Sue (or Ms. Perfect take your pick regarding her name) will betray him and say it was the plan all along landing him in jail again, that was how the series started and it was hinting at it since book two but the author keeps pushing that "twist" off.
January 3, 2017
The more I was reading this book, the less I liked the protagonist. Everything was handed to him way too easily - quests, items, friends... He would enter a tavern and stumble on a secret, never before seen quest. He would try a weird crafting mix and create an unique item. He would talk with an NPC and it'll reveal to him an unknown, hidden dungeon to explore. His friends are loyal, his enemies respect him and the girl he likes loves him - without him doing much to achieve those, it just happens.
As a gamer myself, I take it personal. I know I shouldn't, it's a book after all. But I do. If a game says you need to be lvl. 20 to cast a spell, you need to be lvl. 20 to cast it! Our guy just wills it and it happens.
As a gamer myself, I take it personal. I know I shouldn't, it's a book after all. But I do. If a game says you need to be lvl. 20 to cast a spell, you need to be lvl. 20 to cast it! Our guy just wills it and it happens.
February 4, 2022
Uwielbiam serię Drogi Szamana i z każdym kolejnym tomem utwierdzam się w przekonaniu, że mało która seria dostarcza mi tyle rozrywki. Mimo dość prostych założeń fabularnych, sam motyw gry w książce wciąga mnie tak bardzo, że nie jestem w stanie się oderwać.
Każdy szanujący się klan musi mieć swoją siedzibę, a Legendy Barliony nie są w tym przypadku wyjątkiem. Ofiarowany im przez Imperatora zamek ma jednak pewien haczyk, o którym Machan i jego towarzysze bardzo szybko się przekonają. Rozwój tego wątku jest główną osią fabuły, jednak jak w przypadku poprzednich tomów, nie zabraknie tu innych. Głównymi postaciami przewijającymi się w tym tomie są Machan, Anastarija i Plinto. Energia między nimi i świetne słowne przepychanki są kolejnym atutem tej historii.
Bardzo podobał mi się istotny wątek klasowego rozwoju postaci, który się pojawił. Smoki, syreny i wampiry - Związane z tym historie rzucają nowe światło na całą Barlionę i czuję, że to jeszcze nie koniec smaczków, które autor trzyma w zanadrzu.
Największym minusem, który jest widoczny w tej części jest to, że każda akcja Machana wywołuje legendarny quest, a jemu zaskakująco łatwo udaje się je wykonywać. Autor jest jednak tego świadomy, bo sami bohaterowie kilkukrotnie z tego żartują. W całości tomu i rozrywce jakiej dostarcza jestem jednak w stanie przymknąć na to oko.
Mimo pewnej naiwności w rozwoju fabuły, rozwój tego świata i wszystkich wątków jakie oferuje seria, niezwykle mnie interesuje. Każdy tom dostarcza świetnej rozrywki, a zwroty akcji, choć czasem przewidywalne, nie pozwalają się nudzić. Jestem fanem tej serii od samego początku i jestem bardzo ciekawy co autor przygotował w kolejnej książce.
Każdy szanujący się klan musi mieć swoją siedzibę, a Legendy Barliony nie są w tym przypadku wyjątkiem. Ofiarowany im przez Imperatora zamek ma jednak pewien haczyk, o którym Machan i jego towarzysze bardzo szybko się przekonają. Rozwój tego wątku jest główną osią fabuły, jednak jak w przypadku poprzednich tomów, nie zabraknie tu innych. Głównymi postaciami przewijającymi się w tym tomie są Machan, Anastarija i Plinto. Energia między nimi i świetne słowne przepychanki są kolejnym atutem tej historii.
Bardzo podobał mi się istotny wątek klasowego rozwoju postaci, który się pojawił. Smoki, syreny i wampiry - Związane z tym historie rzucają nowe światło na całą Barlionę i czuję, że to jeszcze nie koniec smaczków, które autor trzyma w zanadrzu.
Największym minusem, który jest widoczny w tej części jest to, że każda akcja Machana wywołuje legendarny quest, a jemu zaskakująco łatwo udaje się je wykonywać. Autor jest jednak tego świadomy, bo sami bohaterowie kilkukrotnie z tego żartują. W całości tomu i rozrywce jakiej dostarcza jestem jednak w stanie przymknąć na to oko.
Mimo pewnej naiwności w rozwoju fabuły, rozwój tego świata i wszystkich wątków jakie oferuje seria, niezwykle mnie interesuje. Każdy tom dostarcza świetnej rozrywki, a zwroty akcji, choć czasem przewidywalne, nie pozwalają się nudzić. Jestem fanem tej serii od samego początku i jestem bardzo ciekawy co autor przygotował w kolejnej książce.
August 7, 2023
2.5/5⭐️
January 15, 2016
У шамана три руки
И крыло из-за плеча
От дыхания его
Разгорается свеча
И порою сам себя
Сам себя не узнает
А распахнута душа
Надрывается, поет
У шамана три руки
Мир вокруг, как темный зал
На ладонях золотых
Нарисованы глаза
Видит розовый рассвет
Прежде солнца самого
А казалось, будто спит
И не знает ничего
У шамана три руки
Сад в рубиновых лучах
От дыхания его разгорается, разгорается...
И крыло из-за плеча
От дыхания его
Разгорается свеча
И порою сам себя
Сам себя не узнает
А распахнута душа
Надрывается, поет
У шамана три руки
Мир вокруг, как темный зал
На ладонях золотых
Нарисованы глаза
Видит розовый рассвет
Прежде солнца самого
А казалось, будто спит
И не знает ничего
У шамана три руки
Сад в рубиновых лучах
От дыхания его разгорается, разгорается...
December 25, 2016
Disappointing
I really hope the author returns to his former way of writing. I hate seeing Mahan with a corporate sponsor and all this special treatment.
I really hope the author returns to his former way of writing. I hate seeing Mahan with a corporate sponsor and all this special treatment.
February 4, 2022
3.75 ⭐
to byłoby naprawdę świetne w momencie, w którym główny bohater nie byłby człowiekiem idealny, który znajdzie rozwiązanie na każdy postawiony przed nim problem, ALE miałem wiele rozrywki czytając ten tom i nie przeszkadzało mi to aż tak jak można byłoby się tego spodziewać, więc ocena taka jaka jest 👍
to byłoby naprawdę świetne w momencie, w którym główny bohater nie byłby człowiekiem idealny, który znajdzie rozwiązanie na każdy postawiony przed nim problem, ALE miałem wiele rozrywki czytając ten tom i nie przeszkadzało mi to aż tak jak można byłoby się tego spodziewać, więc ocena taka jaka jest 👍
February 16, 2022
Tęskniłam za Machanem😍
May 12, 2023
Kolejny tom za mną. Jestem wkręcony na tyle, że z 5 tomu już kilka rozdziałów za mną. W tym miesiącu pęknie cała seria. Majstersztyk jakich mało ❤️
November 21, 2018
I didn't like the change of the author's writing. I also didn't like the inconsistencies with the item abilities (sometimes they give 30% and sometimes 10%)
The whole plot felt like a filler chapter and if not for the twist at the end I would have just dropped this whole series, but the end has given me some curiosity towards the next book.
The whole plot felt like a filler chapter and if not for the twist at the end I would have just dropped this whole series, but the end has given me some curiosity towards the next book.
May 5, 2022
3.5 ⭐
Ten środek serii podoba mi się jakoś mniej niż początek. Wciąż doskonale się bawię, ale zaczynam się odrobinę nudzić. Zdecydowanie ten tom nie będzie należał do moich ulubionych. Mam wrażenie, że jednak mało się dzieje. Mimo to czekam na kolejny tom, ale raczej zrobię sobie dłuższą przerwę, żeby się nie znudzić!
Ten środek serii podoba mi się jakoś mniej niż początek. Wciąż doskonale się bawię, ale zaczynam się odrobinę nudzić. Zdecydowanie ten tom nie będzie należał do moich ulubionych. Mam wrażenie, że jednak mało się dzieje. Mimo to czekam na kolejny tom, ale raczej zrobię sobie dłuższą przerwę, żeby się nie znudzić!
June 11, 2025
4.5 ⭐
audiobook
audiobook
May 20, 2018
3.5 ☆
March 31, 2021
Większość z Was pewnie Wie, że od kiedy przeczytałam pierwszy tom "Drogi Szamana", od razu dołączyłam do grona fanów tej serii. W końcu przy okazji premier kolejnych części, zawsze o nich opowiadam. A dzisiaj chcę jeszcze raz wrócić do czwartego tomu, czyli "Zamek Widmo".
Wracając do początków serii, Berliona to wirtualny świat w którym każdy może być kim tylko zechce. Poprzez specjalne kapsuły podtrzymujące funkcje życiowe, można przenieść się do gry pozostając w niej nawet miesiącami. Każdemu zależy na podnoszeniu poziomu postaci, dostaniu się do jak najlepszego klanu, czy zdobywaniu osiągnięć. Historia naszego bohatera jest trochę inna. Dmitrij Machan został skazany na 8 lat więzienia za nieumyślnie popełnione przestępstwo. W ramach kary osadzono go w jednej z kopalni świata Berliony, gdzie ma odpracowywać swój dług. Tak zaczynał się pierwszy tom, a do czwartego wydarzyło się tyle świetnych wydarzeń, że żeby nie psuć nikomu frajdy, postaram się jak najmniej nawiązywać do samych wydarzeń.
Każdy tom skrywa w sobie coś innego i każdy z nich zaskakuje. Mogę szczerze porównać to do odkrywania kolejnych poziomów gry. Tomy różnią się klimatem. Pierwszy był takim wprowadzeniem, przedstawieniem świata, ale kolejne to już rollercoaster wydarzeń. A czwarty skupia się na tajemnicy pewnego zamku i całej masie wątków rozpoczętych w poprzednich tomach. Autor ma to do siebie, że lubi przeskakiwać pomiędzy wydarzeniami i wątkami, których jest taka masa, że nikt nie powinien narzekać na niedobór akcji.
Cała książka oparta jest na jednym głównym wątku (zadaniu) i masie różnych linii zadaniowych, które mu towarzyszą. I tutaj właśnie rozwiązanie i pomysł na fabułę wydały mi się trochę słabsze niż w przypadku drugiego i trzeciego tomu, które całkowicie mnie zaskoczyły. Z drugiej strony "Zamek widmo" to pierwsza część w której Machan nie był aż tak nieomylny. Poza tym mamy tutaj całą gamę postaci drugoplanowych, których można polubić i kibicować im w ich działaniach i celach.
Tym co bardzo lubię w serii są typowe dla niej komunikaty o zdobytych poziomach, artefaktach, przedmiotach, punktach do statystyk, czy zadaniach. To sprawia, że ma się takie poczucie, jakby faktycznie śledziło się czyjąś rozgrywkę, a Wasilij Machanienko stworzył tak fascynujący świat, że aż sama chciałabym mieć dostęp do takiej Berliony.
Niezwykłym plusem tej historii jest dla mnie to, jak bardzo rozwija się w dalszych tomach. Pod koniec każdej zastanawiam się, jak autor planuje ją dalej rozwinąć, przecież już wyczerpał temat. A potem zaskakuje mnie coraz to nowymi rewelacjami. Napisałabym jeszcze więcej, ale już i tak się rozpisałam i wyszedł z tego trochę hymn pochwalny, ale jeżeli mowa o tej serii to po prostu nie mogę się powstrzymać.
Jeżeli jesteście fanami Warcross, albo Ready Player One, zdecydowanie powinniście dać jej szansę. Osobom, które nie lubią science fiction i nie interesują ich gry komputerowe, raczej nie przypadnie do gustu, ale jeżeli lubicie fantastyczne, świetnie skonstruowane światy, mimo wszystko zachęcałabym do dania szansy tej serii. I pamiętajcie: pierwszy tom to jedynie wprowadzenie, kolejne mają zdecydowanie więcej akcji!
Wracając do początków serii, Berliona to wirtualny świat w którym każdy może być kim tylko zechce. Poprzez specjalne kapsuły podtrzymujące funkcje życiowe, można przenieść się do gry pozostając w niej nawet miesiącami. Każdemu zależy na podnoszeniu poziomu postaci, dostaniu się do jak najlepszego klanu, czy zdobywaniu osiągnięć. Historia naszego bohatera jest trochę inna. Dmitrij Machan został skazany na 8 lat więzienia za nieumyślnie popełnione przestępstwo. W ramach kary osadzono go w jednej z kopalni świata Berliony, gdzie ma odpracowywać swój dług. Tak zaczynał się pierwszy tom, a do czwartego wydarzyło się tyle świetnych wydarzeń, że żeby nie psuć nikomu frajdy, postaram się jak najmniej nawiązywać do samych wydarzeń.
Każdy tom skrywa w sobie coś innego i każdy z nich zaskakuje. Mogę szczerze porównać to do odkrywania kolejnych poziomów gry. Tomy różnią się klimatem. Pierwszy był takim wprowadzeniem, przedstawieniem świata, ale kolejne to już rollercoaster wydarzeń. A czwarty skupia się na tajemnicy pewnego zamku i całej masie wątków rozpoczętych w poprzednich tomach. Autor ma to do siebie, że lubi przeskakiwać pomiędzy wydarzeniami i wątkami, których jest taka masa, że nikt nie powinien narzekać na niedobór akcji.
Cała książka oparta jest na jednym głównym wątku (zadaniu) i masie różnych linii zadaniowych, które mu towarzyszą. I tutaj właśnie rozwiązanie i pomysł na fabułę wydały mi się trochę słabsze niż w przypadku drugiego i trzeciego tomu, które całkowicie mnie zaskoczyły. Z drugiej strony "Zamek widmo" to pierwsza część w której Machan nie był aż tak nieomylny. Poza tym mamy tutaj całą gamę postaci drugoplanowych, których można polubić i kibicować im w ich działaniach i celach.
Tym co bardzo lubię w serii są typowe dla niej komunikaty o zdobytych poziomach, artefaktach, przedmiotach, punktach do statystyk, czy zadaniach. To sprawia, że ma się takie poczucie, jakby faktycznie śledziło się czyjąś rozgrywkę, a Wasilij Machanienko stworzył tak fascynujący świat, że aż sama chciałabym mieć dostęp do takiej Berliony.
Niezwykłym plusem tej historii jest dla mnie to, jak bardzo rozwija się w dalszych tomach. Pod koniec każdej zastanawiam się, jak autor planuje ją dalej rozwinąć, przecież już wyczerpał temat. A potem zaskakuje mnie coraz to nowymi rewelacjami. Napisałabym jeszcze więcej, ale już i tak się rozpisałam i wyszedł z tego trochę hymn pochwalny, ale jeżeli mowa o tej serii to po prostu nie mogę się powstrzymać.
Jeżeli jesteście fanami Warcross, albo Ready Player One, zdecydowanie powinniście dać jej szansę. Osobom, które nie lubią science fiction i nie interesują ich gry komputerowe, raczej nie przypadnie do gustu, ale jeżeli lubicie fantastyczne, świetnie skonstruowane światy, mimo wszystko zachęcałabym do dania szansy tej serii. I pamiętajcie: pierwszy tom to jedynie wprowadzenie, kolejne mają zdecydowanie więcej akcji!
September 4, 2018
Rating 3.0 stars
There has been a drop off in the quality of this series in this book. At this point I don't know the goal of the player or the developer of this game. This audiobook was about 18 hours long and it was just a lot of filler. Man gets awarded a castle from the empire but there is a problem, it is cursed. If he is not able to take control of the castle in 3 months, it will no longer be his castle. It takes about 16 1/2 hours of listening before he actually gets into the castle though. There a lot of side trips and quests. It doesn't seem like Man is the one causing things to happen anymore like in previous books. It seems like he is just a pawn and only responding to what other people are doing. He has too many things going on as well. He is a clan leader, but also a shaman, and at the same time a craftsman. There is only so much time in the day and it seems impossible for him to do all three at the same time. I have read reviews from the next books and I can get an idea of where the story is going. If not the entire story, the part with him and Stacy. I like the Shaman and the craftsman aspect of Man, but I could do without the Clan leader part. It is kind of weird to have the clan leader be a much lower rank and much less experience than most other people in the clan. I have already bought the next book, but I don't think I will listen to it right away.
There has been a drop off in the quality of this series in this book. At this point I don't know the goal of the player or the developer of this game. This audiobook was about 18 hours long and it was just a lot of filler. Man gets awarded a castle from the empire but there is a problem, it is cursed. If he is not able to take control of the castle in 3 months, it will no longer be his castle. It takes about 16 1/2 hours of listening before he actually gets into the castle though. There a lot of side trips and quests. It doesn't seem like Man is the one causing things to happen anymore like in previous books. It seems like he is just a pawn and only responding to what other people are doing. He has too many things going on as well. He is a clan leader, but also a shaman, and at the same time a craftsman. There is only so much time in the day and it seems impossible for him to do all three at the same time. I have read reviews from the next books and I can get an idea of where the story is going. If not the entire story, the part with him and Stacy. I like the Shaman and the craftsman aspect of Man, but I could do without the Clan leader part. It is kind of weird to have the clan leader be a much lower rank and much less experience than most other people in the clan. I have already bought the next book, but I don't think I will listen to it right away.
February 28, 2021
Jestem pod ogromnym wrażeniem poziomu jaki utrzymuje ta seria. Każdy kolejny tom jest wprost cudowny. Nigdy nie czytałam książki z tak rozbudowanym światem i fantastycznym głównym bohaterem. Chodź moje zdolności grania w gry pozostawiają wiele do życzenia, tak w świat Barliony wniknęłam całkowicie.
Fabuła jest bezpośrednią kontynuacją wcześniejszego tomu i trochę żałuję, że nie zrobiłam sobie rereadu serii, ponieważ nie raz łapałam się na tym, że nie pamiętam z jakiego powodu dzieją się główne wydarzenia. Pomimo zagubienia bawiłam się przednio i aż mnie serduszko boli, że już skończyłam czytać.
Nie mogę się doczekać kolejnych tomów! Coś czuję, że zakończenie tej historii zmiecie nas z nóg!
Fabuła jest bezpośrednią kontynuacją wcześniejszego tomu i trochę żałuję, że nie zrobiłam sobie rereadu serii, ponieważ nie raz łapałam się na tym, że nie pamiętam z jakiego powodu dzieją się główne wydarzenia. Pomimo zagubienia bawiłam się przednio i aż mnie serduszko boli, że już skończyłam czytać.
Nie mogę się doczekać kolejnych tomów! Coś czuję, że zakończenie tej historii zmiecie nas z nóg!
December 1, 2016
The thing that really made me enjoy these books was the fact that the translation had been done in a way that made sense to us "westerners".
It seems like the quality control on the translation (and to a certain extent, editing) has suffered from less stringent expectations. There's a lot of idiomatic phrasing that just doesn't make any sense...
I'm also peeved with the cliffhanger ending, but some people enjoy that.
Anyways, it was good, but not on par with the previous 3.
It seems like the quality control on the translation (and to a certain extent, editing) has suffered from less stringent expectations. There's a lot of idiomatic phrasing that just doesn't make any sense...
I'm also peeved with the cliffhanger ending, but some people enjoy that.
Anyways, it was good, but not on par with the previous 3.
July 24, 2023
The Phantom Castle
The Way of the Shaman, book 4
By Vasily Mahanenko
Series Overview:
Barliona is the largest fully-immersive virtual RPG game in the world with most of the world’s population choosing to live their lives in-game rather than in the real world.
Daniel Mahan is a computer programmer who was duped by a mysterious woman, Marina, into sabotaging a city’s sewage system AI controller and was sentenced to 7 years of incarcerated 24/7 full-immersion into Barliona with his pain tolerance sensors turned off.
All throughout the series, Mahan has an uncanny knack to unlock secret game content for the advancement of his own purposes. It almost seems like there is someone pulling the strings for Mahan, or more aptly put: Mahan is a marionette who has his strings pulled for advancing game content. Since he is a prisoner of the corporation’s, whose game capsule is kept and monitored by its techs 24 hours a day, this may not be far off.
The series centers around Mahan’s class, skills, professions, quests, compatriots, teachers, relationships between other clans, and his own clan. Each section of the book typically focuses on one of these items and one of the author’s strengths is that he is usually able to tie in each section with somehow affecting the overarching whole of the book.
Book 4 Summary:
Mahan’s journey continues in “The Phantom Castle” where he is awarded an option by the Emperor of Malabar and the Dark Lord of Kartoss (for aiding them with “The Dark Forest” and “The Kartoss Gambit” game scenarios) to either take Castle Drangor near the dwarven capital of Sintana for free OR find a way to defeat the boss of a haunted castle, Castle Urusai (aka Castle Altameda). Mahan agrees to take the quest, tries to complete it in a 3-month time requirement, is granted the title of Earl, and becomes the castle’s owner (for purposes of entering it).
The Good:
One of the most redeeming aspects of the series is that there is never a dull moment. Mahan goes from one improbable event to the next ad infinitum. Some things I liked about book 4 are:
1. In a lot of ways, it’s Mahan against the rest of the world, a rags to riches story. We all want Mahan to succeed or win or not being taken advantage of, and there are many new opportunities for him to do so in this novel.
2. Mahan, Anastaria, and Plinto are asked by the corporation to use their footage of the events that took place in the previous 2 novels as scenario movies for players to watch. Will this book’s events be converted into canon also?
3. The enigmatic Crafting skill continues to have new uses, such as a speculation by Mahan of how, alongside his Charisma stat, he gets all of his special quests and event scenarios.
4. At face value, Mahan and Anastaria grow ever closer and more loving to each other, such as trusting each other implicitly, which leads to a prerequisite to joining their essences to the artifact crafted from the flowering Ying-Yang stone, marrying in-game, and enjoying many visits to “the dating house” (cyber sex).
5. Pop culture references such as “Lord of the Rings” and “That Mitchell & Webb Look” abound, as well as themes from other LitRPG books like “Ready Player One”.
6. We finally get confirmation that James is a developer behind the previous books’ game scenarios and is the central figure who is helping Mahan do the impossible, literally. He pulls Mahan out of the game at one point, introduces himself, and explains that whenever Mahan tries to do something impossible, the techs send him into a black out period until they can develop the code and lore surrounding the feat, and then turn Mahan back on to finish the process.
7. Mahan affirms his rank as High Shaman and continues to level up his Dragon form, Anastaria gains Paladin Captain rank with a nice strength buff, Plinto gains
The Meh:
The backstories behind quests, skills, and item achievements are so convoluted that it feels like the author intentionally brainstorms ways to make them intricately more complicated. It’s not uninteresting, but neither is it ever straightforward. Several examples come to mind throughout the book:
1. The phantom castle is initially named Urusai, but it is actually called Altameda (Kartossian for “phantom castle”). It changes locations every 6 months but physically lands on another castle (Glarnis) near the province of Narlak on its latest relocation, crushing all the former castle’s inhabitants. It further displaces the barbarians from the area, which somehow means a mysterious monster boss has taken up residence and requires players to infiltrate and destroy this malignant presence.
2. The quest to infiltrate such a castle came about from a set of such unlikely events that the probability would rival being struck by lightning. A failed jewel-crafting quest leads Mahan to reconcile with the Princess by breaking a game rule where non-shaman classes can enter the Astral Plane, thereby allowing the royalty to meet before wedlock, and Mahan completing the quest after all, which leads to the groom’s father finding Mahan—but only after Mahan wanders the Emperor’s gardens for 3 hours—which leads to the Emperor and the Dark Lord themselves showing up and explaining the curse of the castle.
3. 2 more Karmadont chess pieces are crafted by the completely random coincidence that Mahan soothes a little girl inside a dragon race-specific scenario by making up a story of 2 ogre children who become revered by their actions. Mahan then decides to craft these children for the girl and poof, 2 more pieces to the set.
4. Mahan fails the aforementioned scenario and is “punished” by being rewarded only 2 items of immense power: a smithing hammer that grants +5 to Crafting and a dragon armor set that grants -40% to all incoming damage and +30% speed to Dragon Flight.
5. Mahan is “punished” in another instance by the Supreme Spirits of the Astral Plane during his ploy to reconcile with the Princess Tavia, in which he broke a shamanistic rule that no other classes may enter. The spirits gave him a fabled and mesmerizing rock called the “Ying-Yang stone” and “sentenced” to figure out what it’s for.
6. Ehkiller grants Mahan a visit to the Thricinians for epic quality scalable armor which leads to Mahan wondering why he hasn’t encountered their race in his available factions list. This leads to Anastaria telling him about a book he needs to read to unlock the faction which leads to knowledge of a quest chain to collect shards of the Thricinians’ spaceship—which are rewarded to players in the loot of the final boss of certain dungeons throughout Malibar. Mahan gets teleported into the final boss fight of one dungeon by one of his clan’s raid groups, collects the shard, which is broken into tiny pieces that forms a sculpture when combined. The sculpture can only be created through a special unity between other master crafters’ Design Modes. Mahan gathers 2 others and succeeds. He turns in the shard and instantly gains Exalted reputation with the Thrisinians as well as a quest to unlock his true class of a Shaman, which is how his race’s arch-nemesis, a siren, becomes his ad hoc Shaman teacher. Apparently the point of this class quest serves only to reaffirm Mahan’s current rank as High Shaman though, learning that he can’t go higher because of his race, but at least he doesn’t get demoted (which never happens in MMO’s).
7. The secret boss of Altameda is actually an Angel of Eluna named Urusai who was sent out by the Holy Goddess Eluna herself. Eluna was aware of what she was doing, casting Urusai out of her kingdom to propitiate the sins of the Phantom Castle’s cursed denizens, but in order to protect against a much deeper evil: that of the Heart of Chaos. The Heart, borne from the Lord of Chaos Himself (a character so evil… or maybe so unimportant… that he isn’t mentioned at all up to this point) was buried deep beneath the town of Glarnis many millennia ago. Eluna altered Altameda Castle’s wandering, accursed path throughout the Free Lands to bodily sit on top of Glarnis’ Castle, in an attempt by Eluna to thwart the Lord from being reincarnated. She then sent Urusai to be the castle’s guardian against any who would attempt to rescue the Heart for their own devious purposes. The true nemesis is of course the antagonist from book 3, Geranika, who by some crafty loop hole, Mahan unwittingly summons him to the castle, thereby circumventing Eluna’s holy blessings emanating around Altameda, but not before Mahan was led by a carrot through the back entrance of Glarnis, thereby circumventing Urusai’s watchful, fatherly gaze for the new owner of the castle (Mahan) to continue Urusai’s vigil against the Magnus evil. Well, Geranika takes the heart and unlocks the next Barliona scenario in which the populace has 2 months before the game is overtaken by shadows. Only “the Creator”, buried in the depths of His Own creation (which only the Karmadont Chess Set can unlock), can stop Geranika. Will Mahan make it out on top once again? We shall see in book 5!
The Bad:
1. Communicating telepathically during a quest until the devs catch on and stop the channel was pretty lame.
2. Somehow their clan rank goes form 1-4 throughout the book with little explanation (surprising since most things are over explained in excruciating detail). The second rank came from completing a dungeon, but 3-4 was not explained at all.
3. Some random loop hole in game logic prevents Mahan from becoming a Harbinger Shaman because his race as Dragon prevents it???
4. Giving unique crafting items that are never transferable I an actual MMO to Mahan’s crafter, Eric.
5. Mahan finds a loophole in the Castle Rules where they can take Plinto in with them alongside each other (himself and Anastaria, his wife). Of course.
6. Rogzar’s Crystal: an in-game item made up on the spot to explain a massive plot hole. Equally fabricated is who this Kreel might actually be.
7. Mahan teleports his castle at the very end with zero forethought to its consequences.
Mahan’s Folly:
Warning: Big Spoilers Ahead:
If one were to fast forward to the end of book 5, Mahan is betrayed by all his trusted core members of his clan in a colossal cluster-fuck move by the author that guaranteed only a fraction of his readership would actually continue on to books 6-7. However, possessing this knowledge already and reading the series for a second time has shown me that there are events in every single book that has foreshadowed this eventuality. Some of Book 4’s yellow and red flags include:
1) His clan convening the board meeting without him when Mahan was stuck in jewel-crafting mode for a day to complete the princess’s gift quest.
2) Everyone has an excuse of why they can’t sit with the trial period of their new castle for 3 months.
3) Anastaria’s resigning from the deputy position should have called for more inquiry, as well as her keeping players from Mahan’s use as head of the clan.
4) The head of Malibar’s top clan personally takes Mahan shopping for legendary loot due to a flimsy accord that prevents Mahan from completing the very quest that the entire series is devoted to (more or less): the completion of the Karmadont Chess Set.
5) The story continues to impress upon the fact that Mahan’s and Anastaria’s in-game races are mortal enemies to each other. Mahan takes the high road and defends Anastaria from his brethren. Anastaria’s motives are never so clear, however.
The Way of the Shaman, book 4
By Vasily Mahanenko
Series Overview:
Barliona is the largest fully-immersive virtual RPG game in the world with most of the world’s population choosing to live their lives in-game rather than in the real world.
Daniel Mahan is a computer programmer who was duped by a mysterious woman, Marina, into sabotaging a city’s sewage system AI controller and was sentenced to 7 years of incarcerated 24/7 full-immersion into Barliona with his pain tolerance sensors turned off.
All throughout the series, Mahan has an uncanny knack to unlock secret game content for the advancement of his own purposes. It almost seems like there is someone pulling the strings for Mahan, or more aptly put: Mahan is a marionette who has his strings pulled for advancing game content. Since he is a prisoner of the corporation’s, whose game capsule is kept and monitored by its techs 24 hours a day, this may not be far off.
The series centers around Mahan’s class, skills, professions, quests, compatriots, teachers, relationships between other clans, and his own clan. Each section of the book typically focuses on one of these items and one of the author’s strengths is that he is usually able to tie in each section with somehow affecting the overarching whole of the book.
Book 4 Summary:
Mahan’s journey continues in “The Phantom Castle” where he is awarded an option by the Emperor of Malabar and the Dark Lord of Kartoss (for aiding them with “The Dark Forest” and “The Kartoss Gambit” game scenarios) to either take Castle Drangor near the dwarven capital of Sintana for free OR find a way to defeat the boss of a haunted castle, Castle Urusai (aka Castle Altameda). Mahan agrees to take the quest, tries to complete it in a 3-month time requirement, is granted the title of Earl, and becomes the castle’s owner (for purposes of entering it).
The Good:
One of the most redeeming aspects of the series is that there is never a dull moment. Mahan goes from one improbable event to the next ad infinitum. Some things I liked about book 4 are:
1. In a lot of ways, it’s Mahan against the rest of the world, a rags to riches story. We all want Mahan to succeed or win or not being taken advantage of, and there are many new opportunities for him to do so in this novel.
2. Mahan, Anastaria, and Plinto are asked by the corporation to use their footage of the events that took place in the previous 2 novels as scenario movies for players to watch. Will this book’s events be converted into canon also?
3. The enigmatic Crafting skill continues to have new uses, such as a speculation by Mahan of how, alongside his Charisma stat, he gets all of his special quests and event scenarios.
4. At face value, Mahan and Anastaria grow ever closer and more loving to each other, such as trusting each other implicitly, which leads to a prerequisite to joining their essences to the artifact crafted from the flowering Ying-Yang stone, marrying in-game, and enjoying many visits to “the dating house” (cyber sex).
5. Pop culture references such as “Lord of the Rings” and “That Mitchell & Webb Look” abound, as well as themes from other LitRPG books like “Ready Player One”.
6. We finally get confirmation that James is a developer behind the previous books’ game scenarios and is the central figure who is helping Mahan do the impossible, literally. He pulls Mahan out of the game at one point, introduces himself, and explains that whenever Mahan tries to do something impossible, the techs send him into a black out period until they can develop the code and lore surrounding the feat, and then turn Mahan back on to finish the process.
7. Mahan affirms his rank as High Shaman and continues to level up his Dragon form, Anastaria gains Paladin Captain rank with a nice strength buff, Plinto gains
The Meh:
The backstories behind quests, skills, and item achievements are so convoluted that it feels like the author intentionally brainstorms ways to make them intricately more complicated. It’s not uninteresting, but neither is it ever straightforward. Several examples come to mind throughout the book:
1. The phantom castle is initially named Urusai, but it is actually called Altameda (Kartossian for “phantom castle”). It changes locations every 6 months but physically lands on another castle (Glarnis) near the province of Narlak on its latest relocation, crushing all the former castle’s inhabitants. It further displaces the barbarians from the area, which somehow means a mysterious monster boss has taken up residence and requires players to infiltrate and destroy this malignant presence.
2. The quest to infiltrate such a castle came about from a set of such unlikely events that the probability would rival being struck by lightning. A failed jewel-crafting quest leads Mahan to reconcile with the Princess by breaking a game rule where non-shaman classes can enter the Astral Plane, thereby allowing the royalty to meet before wedlock, and Mahan completing the quest after all, which leads to the groom’s father finding Mahan—but only after Mahan wanders the Emperor’s gardens for 3 hours—which leads to the Emperor and the Dark Lord themselves showing up and explaining the curse of the castle.
3. 2 more Karmadont chess pieces are crafted by the completely random coincidence that Mahan soothes a little girl inside a dragon race-specific scenario by making up a story of 2 ogre children who become revered by their actions. Mahan then decides to craft these children for the girl and poof, 2 more pieces to the set.
4. Mahan fails the aforementioned scenario and is “punished” by being rewarded only 2 items of immense power: a smithing hammer that grants +5 to Crafting and a dragon armor set that grants -40% to all incoming damage and +30% speed to Dragon Flight.
5. Mahan is “punished” in another instance by the Supreme Spirits of the Astral Plane during his ploy to reconcile with the Princess Tavia, in which he broke a shamanistic rule that no other classes may enter. The spirits gave him a fabled and mesmerizing rock called the “Ying-Yang stone” and “sentenced” to figure out what it’s for.
6. Ehkiller grants Mahan a visit to the Thricinians for epic quality scalable armor which leads to Mahan wondering why he hasn’t encountered their race in his available factions list. This leads to Anastaria telling him about a book he needs to read to unlock the faction which leads to knowledge of a quest chain to collect shards of the Thricinians’ spaceship—which are rewarded to players in the loot of the final boss of certain dungeons throughout Malibar. Mahan gets teleported into the final boss fight of one dungeon by one of his clan’s raid groups, collects the shard, which is broken into tiny pieces that forms a sculpture when combined. The sculpture can only be created through a special unity between other master crafters’ Design Modes. Mahan gathers 2 others and succeeds. He turns in the shard and instantly gains Exalted reputation with the Thrisinians as well as a quest to unlock his true class of a Shaman, which is how his race’s arch-nemesis, a siren, becomes his ad hoc Shaman teacher. Apparently the point of this class quest serves only to reaffirm Mahan’s current rank as High Shaman though, learning that he can’t go higher because of his race, but at least he doesn’t get demoted (which never happens in MMO’s).
7. The secret boss of Altameda is actually an Angel of Eluna named Urusai who was sent out by the Holy Goddess Eluna herself. Eluna was aware of what she was doing, casting Urusai out of her kingdom to propitiate the sins of the Phantom Castle’s cursed denizens, but in order to protect against a much deeper evil: that of the Heart of Chaos. The Heart, borne from the Lord of Chaos Himself (a character so evil… or maybe so unimportant… that he isn’t mentioned at all up to this point) was buried deep beneath the town of Glarnis many millennia ago. Eluna altered Altameda Castle’s wandering, accursed path throughout the Free Lands to bodily sit on top of Glarnis’ Castle, in an attempt by Eluna to thwart the Lord from being reincarnated. She then sent Urusai to be the castle’s guardian against any who would attempt to rescue the Heart for their own devious purposes. The true nemesis is of course the antagonist from book 3, Geranika, who by some crafty loop hole, Mahan unwittingly summons him to the castle, thereby circumventing Eluna’s holy blessings emanating around Altameda, but not before Mahan was led by a carrot through the back entrance of Glarnis, thereby circumventing Urusai’s watchful, fatherly gaze for the new owner of the castle (Mahan) to continue Urusai’s vigil against the Magnus evil. Well, Geranika takes the heart and unlocks the next Barliona scenario in which the populace has 2 months before the game is overtaken by shadows. Only “the Creator”, buried in the depths of His Own creation (which only the Karmadont Chess Set can unlock), can stop Geranika. Will Mahan make it out on top once again? We shall see in book 5!
The Bad:
1. Communicating telepathically during a quest until the devs catch on and stop the channel was pretty lame.
2. Somehow their clan rank goes form 1-4 throughout the book with little explanation (surprising since most things are over explained in excruciating detail). The second rank came from completing a dungeon, but 3-4 was not explained at all.
3. Some random loop hole in game logic prevents Mahan from becoming a Harbinger Shaman because his race as Dragon prevents it???
4. Giving unique crafting items that are never transferable I an actual MMO to Mahan’s crafter, Eric.
5. Mahan finds a loophole in the Castle Rules where they can take Plinto in with them alongside each other (himself and Anastaria, his wife). Of course.
6. Rogzar’s Crystal: an in-game item made up on the spot to explain a massive plot hole. Equally fabricated is who this Kreel might actually be.
7. Mahan teleports his castle at the very end with zero forethought to its consequences.
Mahan’s Folly:
Warning: Big Spoilers Ahead:
If one were to fast forward to the end of book 5, Mahan is betrayed by all his trusted core members of his clan in a colossal cluster-fuck move by the author that guaranteed only a fraction of his readership would actually continue on to books 6-7. However, possessing this knowledge already and reading the series for a second time has shown me that there are events in every single book that has foreshadowed this eventuality. Some of Book 4’s yellow and red flags include:
1) His clan convening the board meeting without him when Mahan was stuck in jewel-crafting mode for a day to complete the princess’s gift quest.
2) Everyone has an excuse of why they can’t sit with the trial period of their new castle for 3 months.
3) Anastaria’s resigning from the deputy position should have called for more inquiry, as well as her keeping players from Mahan’s use as head of the clan.
4) The head of Malibar’s top clan personally takes Mahan shopping for legendary loot due to a flimsy accord that prevents Mahan from completing the very quest that the entire series is devoted to (more or less): the completion of the Karmadont Chess Set.
5) The story continues to impress upon the fact that Mahan’s and Anastaria’s in-game races are mortal enemies to each other. Mahan takes the high road and defends Anastaria from his brethren. Anastaria’s motives are never so clear, however.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2018
The author returns to not telling a complete story. It could be argued that that this is a complete story since it is focused on the main character taking possession of a castle but once he does that it is revealed that the whole thing was just a set up with earth shattering results. Then the book ends. Does that sound like a complete story to you?
The author also lacks focus, constantly bringing up irrelevancies. For example, in an earlier book (book 2 I believe) the MC only partially completes a quest in such a way that full completion will have to wait months. Even though the MC can't go complete this quest the author spends time on it.
Bottom line: the author is good page to page but generally fails to provide satisfactory resolution to large story lines and constantly steals focus from the main story lines.
The author also lacks focus, constantly bringing up irrelevancies. For example, in an earlier book (book 2 I believe) the MC only partially completes a quest in such a way that full completion will have to wait months. Even though the MC can't go complete this quest the author spends time on it.
Bottom line: the author is good page to page but generally fails to provide satisfactory resolution to large story lines and constantly steals focus from the main story lines.
August 5, 2021
Trochę taki zapychacz między 3 a 5 tomem. Wciąż dobrze i całkiem płynnie się to czyta, jednakże miałam miejscami wrażenie, że autor sam pogubił się w tym, o czym pisze. Powtarzają się schematy z poprzednich tomów, ale tak jak tam doskonale działały, tak tutaj brakuje im składności i sensu, ze względu na to, że za dużo wydarzeń upchnięte zostało w za mało stron. Jednak mimo tego nagromadzenia akcji, do fabuły nie jest wnoszone nic nowego i nie wyjaśnia się żadna z kwestii, na której wyjaśnienie niecierpliwie czeka czytelnik. Ponadto zostały też zaniedbane kreacje postaci pobocznych, które do tej pory były jedną z silniejszych stron tej serii. Prócz głównego bohatera, niestety wszyscy inni stali się jedną szarą masą graczy.
March 1, 2019
Dějově pomalejší než předchozí díly, Hrad fantomů totiž mnohem víc rozvíjí vztahy mezi jednotlivými postavami (pokud nemáte rádi Anastarii, v tomhle díle budete ronit hořké slzy). V jednu chvíli vám Mahaněnko skoro udělá fakt velkou radost – to když se začne zdát, že by se Mahanovi mohlo přestat všechno tak dařit. Pak ale zjistíte, že to všechno vlastně byl jen jeden velký prequel k dalšímu dílu, a musíte skončit s konstatováním: jednou šaman, vždycky šaman.
(Mimochodem, naprosto zbytečné pasáže typu „hrdina léčí malou dívku z sociální úzkosti tím, že ji nechá proletět se na drakovi“ jsou fakt cringe.)
(Mimochodem, naprosto zbytečné pasáže typu „hrdina léčí malou dívku z sociální úzkosti tím, že ji nechá proletět se na drakovi“ jsou fakt cringe.)
June 16, 2023
Męczy mnie trochę ta seria. Dimo jest typowym przykładem tzw. Mary Sue, której wszystko wychodzi, bo tak… im dalej w las, tym bardziej denerwujące to się staje. Sama Nastia nierzadko zadaje pytania dotyczące jego szczęścia i nie dziwię się, że jest sfrustrowana.
Pierwszy tom naprawdę mi się podobał. Każdy kolejny coraz mniej, ale nie przywykłam do porzucania serii.
Oceny Szamana są zawyżone przez psychofanów WOWa. Albo inaczej… dla nich jest to idealna seria, bo miłość do gry zasłania wszystko inne.
WOWa lubię, ale nigdy nie byłam w nim zakochana bez reszty, więc wszystkie niedociągnięcia mnie drażnią.
Fakty są takie, że mało co idzie zapamiętać z przeczytania książki. Nic nie zmienia w życiu, nic nie wnosi, nie pobudza emocji.
Pierwszy tom naprawdę mi się podobał. Każdy kolejny coraz mniej, ale nie przywykłam do porzucania serii.
Oceny Szamana są zawyżone przez psychofanów WOWa. Albo inaczej… dla nich jest to idealna seria, bo miłość do gry zasłania wszystko inne.
WOWa lubię, ale nigdy nie byłam w nim zakochana bez reszty, więc wszystkie niedociągnięcia mnie drażnią.
Fakty są takie, że mało co idzie zapamiętać z przeczytania książki. Nic nie zmienia w życiu, nic nie wnosi, nie pobudza emocji.
March 19, 2024
Honestly this book felt like it was almost entirely filler. The phantom castle aka the main plot of the book is not addressed until the last third of the book.
I didn’t love the way the romance was done nor the pages and pages of dragon history just dumped on me either.
Overall I had fun but the book itself felt pointless to the series as a whole. Though it also set up something really cool for the next book.
I didn’t love the way the romance was done nor the pages and pages of dragon history just dumped on me either.
Overall I had fun but the book itself felt pointless to the series as a whole. Though it also set up something really cool for the next book.
November 13, 2023
Tak samo dobre jak poprzednie, świetna zabawa .
February 12, 2023
Jak dotąd to najsłabsza część, ale i tak dobrze się bawiłam
September 8, 2023
Snöpligt slut på en spännande cykel.
April 16, 2024
W mojej ocenie - najsłabsza część serii. Pojawia się przesyt tego samego, historia staje się chaotyczna, akcja nie wciąga już tak bardzo. Być może jest to spowodowane pojawieniem się wątku ekonomicznego, chociaż zwykle takie rzeczy wzbudzają we mnie jeszcze większe zainteresowanie. Są też nagle ucięte ciekawe questy i nielogiczne zwroty akcji, przez co trudno za tym wszystkim nadążać bez wypadania z czytelniczego transu.
July 12, 2017
Maybe I shouldn't be reading these books one right after the other. Much like the previous book this one is complete chaos the entire time. Vasily has so many plot threads going, and attempts to continue going, that the narrative ends up being scattered and rushed. Adding the fact that he's gotten into the habit of referring to multiple characters by two different names (Their real one and their game one) isn't helping. In particular, the expansion of the lore and altering the games mechanics/rules in this one are starting to become a huge drag on the story. What's worse, it's resulted in me starting to question the functionality of the game. Who's going to play a game there you might spend hours upon hours doing nothing but traveling? Who's going to play a game that might put a requirement of staying in it for weeks at a time? I get Mahan and his friends are stuck in game as a prison sentence (he did a good job showing the positives and negatives to this in the last book), but it's starting to look like the average player would need to sink 8 hours a day in at minimum to play, and any more advanced player would need to have no life outside the game.
The mysticism as part of the shaman is getting out of hand too and becoming off putting.
The amount of money being thrown around is becoming ridiculous too. Seems like Million of gold are being thrown around like pocket change, It's becoming unreal. It might help a little to have had another tier of currency (platinum for example), but he also needs to tone things down a bit as ' one million gold' is starting to sound small.
As much as I'm hoping for him to try to reign in his story, given the number of plot threads he now needs to tie up, I have a feeling the next book is going to be worse.
2.5/5 rounded up.
The mysticism as part of the shaman is getting out of hand too and becoming off putting.
The amount of money being thrown around is becoming ridiculous too. Seems like Million of gold are being thrown around like pocket change, It's becoming unreal. It might help a little to have had another tier of currency (platinum for example), but he also needs to tone things down a bit as ' one million gold' is starting to sound small.
As much as I'm hoping for him to try to reign in his story, given the number of plot threads he now needs to tie up, I have a feeling the next book is going to be worse.
2.5/5 rounded up.
December 3, 2017
November 30:
I'm still making my way through this one, so I'll update this as I go. I enjoyed the beginning of the series, but something's off in this book. Maybe he's rushing too much? There seems to be a downward trajectory in the quality of storytelling. The protagonist seems to get powerful items way too easily, and I really dislike that he keeps referring to the person that starts as his crush, becomes his girlfriend, then his wife as "The Girl."
December 1:
OK I've finished, and my opinion hasn't changed much. This series is falling into the trap of the gods of the virtual world basically handing out amazing advantages to the protagonists with not all that much effort on their part.
I've also noticed something that I haven't seen in many LitRPGs - inconsistencies. On one page a buff might be 10% and another the same buff is said to be 20 or 30% It's like the author just pukes random numbers all over the page to sound impressive without keeping track of what he said last time or the time before. Not good in a world where the laws of the universe are governed by said numbers.
There are still a few things that I liked, but overall the language was a lot harder to listen to in this installment (I listened to the audiobook). I could be wrong but I think I heard that they used a different translator to English on this project, which might have caused some of the problems. I normally binge listen/read to series like this, but the downhill trajectory of the last couple books makes me want to give this series a rest.
For the audiobook, the narrator isn't bad but he doesn't blow my socks off. He's kind of like a jolly version of Casey Kasey with a slightly higher voice. I wonder what these stories would have sounded like with a narrator with a voice that had more gravity.
I'm still making my way through this one, so I'll update this as I go. I enjoyed the beginning of the series, but something's off in this book. Maybe he's rushing too much? There seems to be a downward trajectory in the quality of storytelling. The protagonist seems to get powerful items way too easily, and I really dislike that he keeps referring to the person that starts as his crush, becomes his girlfriend, then his wife as "The Girl."
December 1:
OK I've finished, and my opinion hasn't changed much. This series is falling into the trap of the gods of the virtual world basically handing out amazing advantages to the protagonists with not all that much effort on their part.
I've also noticed something that I haven't seen in many LitRPGs - inconsistencies. On one page a buff might be 10% and another the same buff is said to be 20 or 30% It's like the author just pukes random numbers all over the page to sound impressive without keeping track of what he said last time or the time before. Not good in a world where the laws of the universe are governed by said numbers.
There are still a few things that I liked, but overall the language was a lot harder to listen to in this installment (I listened to the audiobook). I could be wrong but I think I heard that they used a different translator to English on this project, which might have caused some of the problems. I normally binge listen/read to series like this, but the downhill trajectory of the last couple books makes me want to give this series a rest.
For the audiobook, the narrator isn't bad but he doesn't blow my socks off. He's kind of like a jolly version of Casey Kasey with a slightly higher voice. I wonder what these stories would have sounded like with a narrator with a voice that had more gravity.
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