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The Ringer
What do you do when your game is too tough? Bring in a ringer.
On his first night as a beta tester for Sicora Online, twenty-one-year-old Galen Cole meets the clone: Prairie 'Ringer' Powell. He isn't sure what to make of Prairie; she's engineered for violence, a maestro with a bow, and a real wild card. But they need each other. Galen and Prairie are two of the first batch of testers for the game that has a tendency to stomp its players.
Fresh from debugging, Sicora Online is an ever-shifting world whose AI has been programmed to alter its level based on the personalities inside it. But Sicora needs to feed before she can blossom into an MMORPG: she must learn human behavior, motivations, and reactions to setback.
Enter the level crawl.
Ten days. Ten unpredictable worlds. If Galen survives, he’ll be granted his heart's desire: a lifetime of free access to Sicora Online.
But first he has to survive.
The Ringer is a prequel novella to the Sicora Online series. If you love strong females, gritty worlds and characters who are put through the wringer, then you'll love these books.
On his first night as a beta tester for Sicora Online, twenty-one-year-old Galen Cole meets the clone: Prairie 'Ringer' Powell. He isn't sure what to make of Prairie; she's engineered for violence, a maestro with a bow, and a real wild card. But they need each other. Galen and Prairie are two of the first batch of testers for the game that has a tendency to stomp its players.
Fresh from debugging, Sicora Online is an ever-shifting world whose AI has been programmed to alter its level based on the personalities inside it. But Sicora needs to feed before she can blossom into an MMORPG: she must learn human behavior, motivations, and reactions to setback.
Enter the level crawl.
Ten days. Ten unpredictable worlds. If Galen survives, he’ll be granted his heart's desire: a lifetime of free access to Sicora Online.
But first he has to survive.
The Ringer is a prequel novella to the Sicora Online series. If you love strong females, gritty worlds and characters who are put through the wringer, then you'll love these books.
152 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 9, 2018
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12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 9, 2018
Light LitRPG / GameLit, but it focuses more on the main female character, Prairie, a “dupe” (clone) and the societal implication surrounding her. Honestly, that’s what makes this one interesting. The descriptions are good, but it’s a lot darker in tone than some of the other LitRPG/GameLit novels I’ve read. Grim... and the main character is most definitely not over-powered (his greatest strength comes from his allies, and his “lawful good” tendencies).
It’s short, so it doesn’t require a lot of extra time on your part to see if your interested. The downside is that there’s not much time spent in each world (each level takes place in its own world: a fantasy world with centaurs, a western with SciFi elements, and a near-future cyberpunk setting).
I’m not quite sure if I want to pick up the next one or not, though it certainly leaves you wanting to know more about what is going to happen to Prairie (even while fully completing its story arc). If you like dark sci-fi stories and are looking for something to ease your way into LitRPG / GameLit, this might be a good choice.
It’s short, so it doesn’t require a lot of extra time on your part to see if your interested. The downside is that there’s not much time spent in each world (each level takes place in its own world: a fantasy world with centaurs, a western with SciFi elements, and a near-future cyberpunk setting).
I’m not quite sure if I want to pick up the next one or not, though it certainly leaves you wanting to know more about what is going to happen to Prairie (even while fully completing its story arc). If you like dark sci-fi stories and are looking for something to ease your way into LitRPG / GameLit, this might be a good choice.
December 17, 2019
Incredibly good and a refreshing take on the LitRPG genre. I'm surprised by the low rating on goodreads; perhaps the score is skewed due to the low number of reviews. I suspect it's possible that readers expected a more traditional litrpg and were displeased with the book. The Ringer has very, very few traits considered standard in a litrpg. Besides the story happening in a vrmmorpg, I'd say it would be better categorized as standard fiction.
However, I definitely recommend the book. Interesting plot, incredibly well developed characters, and a thought-provoking conundrum offered up at the end, The Ringer was a delightful read. And not tediously long like too many other litrpgs.
However, I definitely recommend the book. Interesting plot, incredibly well developed characters, and a thought-provoking conundrum offered up at the end, The Ringer was a delightful read. And not tediously long like too many other litrpgs.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews