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Pendulum Heroes #1
Pendulum Heroes
Melvin Morrow has become a barbarian warrior maiden. Will he be able to escape this new, dangerous world and the chainmail bikini he foolishly chose as his armor or will he and his friends be stuck living their lives as their game avatars?
Melvin's a teenage boy not used to being ogled or the real world consequences of wearing a steel bikini. But the real world has shifted... him, his friends Jason and Rich, and his big brother Mike are stuck in character, in a place where danger doesn't lurk because it prefers to boldly stride out in the open.
Mages import game players like Melvin via the Rift Pendulum. The reason: the work's suicidal and pendulum heroes are insanely powerful. Usually. Melvin and his friends can be, too, if they're in the right emotional state to trigger into character. Melvin's a one-man, uh, one warrior maiden army when he's angry but anger's hard to find with all that mortal danger striding around everywhere.
The road back home's at the end of a suicidal quest. Melvin better find something to rage about... because being genre-savvy only gets you so far.
Pendulum Heroes, James Beamon's debut novel, is an adrenaline fueled adventure for anyone who's spent a little too much time on the character creation screen instead of playing the game, those of us who have thought just how godmode we'd be with mage power, but mostly it's for all of us who have wondered who the heck installs a portal to another world in a wardrobe. Fans of Ernest Cline and Scott Meyer better be prepared to fall in love with a new series..
276 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 10, 2018
39 people are currently reading
371 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 13, 2019
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I lucked out when I was approved for a copy of Pendulum Heroes, the first YA fantasy adventure book in a new series, by James Beamon. It's my second LitRPG novel (my first was Radioactive Evolution by Richard Hummel) and this one is a lot of fun. In this story, a group of friends playing an RPG when they get sucked into a fantasy world as their game characters and the only way they can get home is by saving their new world. The novel is very fast-paced and it's a lot of fun. If you're a fan of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, The Legend of Drizzt series by R.A. Salvatore, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle I have a feeling you'll enjoy this series opener. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more from this author in the future.
I lucked out when I was approved for a copy of Pendulum Heroes, the first YA fantasy adventure book in a new series, by James Beamon. It's my second LitRPG novel (my first was Radioactive Evolution by Richard Hummel) and this one is a lot of fun. In this story, a group of friends playing an RPG when they get sucked into a fantasy world as their game characters and the only way they can get home is by saving their new world. The novel is very fast-paced and it's a lot of fun. If you're a fan of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, The Legend of Drizzt series by R.A. Salvatore, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle I have a feeling you'll enjoy this series opener. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more from this author in the future.
December 8, 2018
I received a free copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.
Melvin, Mike, Jason and Rich are playing a Fantasy PC RPG game when they are suddenly transported inside the game. The only way they can get home is if they fix their mistakes and save the world they are now in. Will they succeed or are they trapped forever. Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a pretty good action-packed fantasy read which is the first of a series. I look forward to checking out book 2 in the future. If you love fantasy, action, and more then you will enjoy this novel. Look for this book on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
Melvin, Mike, Jason and Rich are playing a Fantasy PC RPG game when they are suddenly transported inside the game. The only way they can get home is if they fix their mistakes and save the world they are now in. Will they succeed or are they trapped forever. Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a pretty good action-packed fantasy read which is the first of a series. I look forward to checking out book 2 in the future. If you love fantasy, action, and more then you will enjoy this novel. Look for this book on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
September 2, 2018
Happy to say that I was an early reader for James's novel. It's fun - a classic gamers-enter-fantasy-world style story, but done really well. The twists will keep you guessing, but there's real magic in the character interactions.
Keep your eyes out folks, this guy can write!
Keep your eyes out folks, this guy can write!
September 2, 2018
Mishaps happen. Big ones too. And Pendulum Heroes starts off with one of the largest. Four guys - three teens and a wayward adult - intend to play a fantasy board game, but before the first move they are transported to that actual fantasy world.
Melvin Morrow, his brother Mike - on leave from military service in Afghanistan - and schoolmates Rich Bates and Jason Streible find themselves in the middle of a forest. Their would-be characters, respectively, are warrior woman Zhufira, a 4-foot-tall megrym Ballztowaltz, a wizard Razzleblad, and an aian archer Cephrin.
The problem is that although they have the bodies and clothing of Zhufira, Ballztowaltz, Razzleblad, and Cephrin, in terms of personality they are still Melvin, Mike, Rich, and Jason.
Before they can comprehend their situation, they're attacked, and with the exception of Mike, they make a thorough mess of it.
All that occurs in the first few pages. Life becomes better and worse, with the addition of friends, enemies, and goals.
The fast-reading novel travels from countryside to cities and back again while the stakes involved become increasingly higher.
All of James Beamon's characters are drawn well, and it's easy to have favorites. My own first choice is Mike, who has colorful dialogue and a handy club. Among the world's inhabitants who become involved with the group, the nasran woman Savashbahar stands out. She has an interesting form of magic and an ability for getting people into and out of trouble. However, if one's interest is in the exceedingly hot and (at times) deadly female warrior Zhufira, Melvin is your man, so to say.
Melvin Morrow, his brother Mike - on leave from military service in Afghanistan - and schoolmates Rich Bates and Jason Streible find themselves in the middle of a forest. Their would-be characters, respectively, are warrior woman Zhufira, a 4-foot-tall megrym Ballztowaltz, a wizard Razzleblad, and an aian archer Cephrin.
The problem is that although they have the bodies and clothing of Zhufira, Ballztowaltz, Razzleblad, and Cephrin, in terms of personality they are still Melvin, Mike, Rich, and Jason.
Before they can comprehend their situation, they're attacked, and with the exception of Mike, they make a thorough mess of it.
All that occurs in the first few pages. Life becomes better and worse, with the addition of friends, enemies, and goals.
The fast-reading novel travels from countryside to cities and back again while the stakes involved become increasingly higher.
All of James Beamon's characters are drawn well, and it's easy to have favorites. My own first choice is Mike, who has colorful dialogue and a handy club. Among the world's inhabitants who become involved with the group, the nasran woman Savashbahar stands out. She has an interesting form of magic and an ability for getting people into and out of trouble. However, if one's interest is in the exceedingly hot and (at times) deadly female warrior Zhufira, Melvin is your man, so to say.
August 29, 2018
This was a fun read for me, even though I’m not familiar with fantasy lit and its challenges; in particular, I get easily overwhelmed by an abundance of characters, objects, and events---in fantasy world, there’s no clear separation between these concepts, apparently---named "Aian", "Megryms," "Weagre," Ballztowallz," "Nasran hexation," "Onesource," "Celestial All," and "Nasreddin," among others. I googled, expecting them to point to some modern version of Chess, but failed, so it seems they all flow from the prodigious fantasy of the author. There’s also the “Rift Pendulum,” a device responsible for sending the four protagonists of this novel----adolescent gamers from the “burbs”---into the reality of their fantasy world from which there’s no escape unless many heroic deeds are done. And so our kids are condemned to a road trip of self-discovery---a charming, hilarious, exciting, wondrous affair and so histrionic that giving any specifics here would clash with the taboo of spoiler alerts. The writing is exquisite (I mean it) and the adolescent jargon is funny, revealing, and intelligent. Five Stars.
January 20, 2019
I don't generally read LitRPG, which this arguably is (it's the old "D&D players drawn into the world of the game" premise, which goes back almost as far as the game itself). I decided to give this one a shot, though, because the blurb intrigued me - particularly the teenage boy stuck as a warrior princess in a chainmail bikini - and I recognised the author's name from a writers' forum we both belong to. (I don't think we've ever directly interacted there, and I don't believe this connection influenced my rating.)
It's capably done, not just your standard campaign transcript or thud-and-blunder pulp, but with enough extra depth to make it more interesting and thought-provoking. In particular, it highlights the shallowness of teen boys who delight in death and destruction without empathy, or are thoughtless in their attitudes to women. It's not preachy, though; it shows rather than tells.
The plot is standard enough, a travelling quest in which the party faces multiple and varied challenges, but it's kept moving well and enjoyably executed. The characters are distinct, and have a bit of depth to them, particularly Rich, Melvin, and Melvin's older veteran brother Mike. There's a lightly sketched romantic triangle to provide extra tension.
I enjoyed it, and I would read a sequel.
I received a pre-release copy from Netgalley for review.
It's capably done, not just your standard campaign transcript or thud-and-blunder pulp, but with enough extra depth to make it more interesting and thought-provoking. In particular, it highlights the shallowness of teen boys who delight in death and destruction without empathy, or are thoughtless in their attitudes to women. It's not preachy, though; it shows rather than tells.
The plot is standard enough, a travelling quest in which the party faces multiple and varied challenges, but it's kept moving well and enjoyably executed. The characters are distinct, and have a bit of depth to them, particularly Rich, Melvin, and Melvin's older veteran brother Mike. There's a lightly sketched romantic triangle to provide extra tension.
I enjoyed it, and I would read a sequel.
I received a pre-release copy from Netgalley for review.
October 17, 2019
This book confuses me in that it feels like it was written for a young audience in its writing style but not in its topics. The humour was not for me, and kind of felt like it was trying too hard too be funny all the time. The action scenes felt rather rushed to me. I did like the inclusion of some of the downsides to being a woman in this book, and I liked how the relationship between Rich and Melvin changed throughout the book.
August 30, 2018
love, love, loved it!
November 2, 2018
Review of PENDULUM HEROES
(PENDULUM HEROES #1)
This novella is hilarious! Laughing out loud occurs practically on every page. It is well-written and compelling, and I am certain will be a big hit with YA's who game (video, PC, or RPG). Certainly the characters are engaging and easy to empathize with. You have to feel for a batch of adolescents who are at one moment gleefully engaged in a Role-Playing setup, and at the next moment find themselves quite literally “in character,” literally “living the game.”
My only objection to the story is the use of profanity and obscenity, so even though this is clearly a YA-targeted title, I rate it at 18+ for Language and Gore. If you don't mind either, go for it; it really is a fun story.
(PENDULUM HEROES #1)
This novella is hilarious! Laughing out loud occurs practically on every page. It is well-written and compelling, and I am certain will be a big hit with YA's who game (video, PC, or RPG). Certainly the characters are engaging and easy to empathize with. You have to feel for a batch of adolescents who are at one moment gleefully engaged in a Role-Playing setup, and at the next moment find themselves quite literally “in character,” literally “living the game.”
My only objection to the story is the use of profanity and obscenity, so even though this is clearly a YA-targeted title, I rate it at 18+ for Language and Gore. If you don't mind either, go for it; it really is a fun story.
October 21, 2018
A great romp though a fantasy world that's a combination of D&D and Jumanji, with the added fun of tehe consequences of choosing the wrong things for your character to wear....
September 28, 2018
Several male friends find themselves inside the fantasy software game they have been playing and are now on a quest in search of the Death Null. FYI: the boys have become them, their alter ego's in the game, so Melvin is now a Warrior Hot Fighting Girl and another a Wizard...
With that said, there was plenty of joking around, many interesting fight scenarios, some wicked cool monsters plus a whole slew of humanoid creatures that will become friends or foe to our band of brothers. I felt this was a wonderful book that has some great potential for this to become a series.
With that said, there was plenty of joking around, many interesting fight scenarios, some wicked cool monsters plus a whole slew of humanoid creatures that will become friends or foe to our band of brothers. I felt this was a wonderful book that has some great potential for this to become a series.
September 13, 2018
What do four unprepared heroes have in common? One fantasy world that's constantly trying to kill, date, or maim them. When it's not messing with their heads or trying make them clean up its own mess. If you like your adventures fast paced and hilarious, blending High Fantasy magic with a dash of Steampunk and Cyberpunk, you're bound to enjoy it as much as I did. Just don't let the Rift Pendulum suck you in...
September 11, 2018
I received this book for free through Voracious Readers Only.
Pendulum Heroes is a quick fun fantasy read. A group of guys gets magically pulled into the board game they are playing, and have to learn to deal with their characters' quirks and abilities while they are thrown straight into the action of a fantasy world. Their decision to just travel to the nearest village quickly devolves into a zombie encounter, the group gets split up, and things just get more and more out of hand from there.
There's a lot of action, an interesting fantasy world, and a lot of great characters and humor. Too bad it ends in a cliffhanger and book 2 isn't out yet. I can't wait to read how to story ends!
Pendulum Heroes is a quick fun fantasy read. A group of guys gets magically pulled into the board game they are playing, and have to learn to deal with their characters' quirks and abilities while they are thrown straight into the action of a fantasy world. Their decision to just travel to the nearest village quickly devolves into a zombie encounter, the group gets split up, and things just get more and more out of hand from there.
There's a lot of action, an interesting fantasy world, and a lot of great characters and humor. Too bad it ends in a cliffhanger and book 2 isn't out yet. I can't wait to read how to story ends!
February 25, 2019
This book was either slow or super fast paced, there seemed to be no in-between. I enjoyed this book for the most part, especially toward the end. Though, I feel like the way it wrapped up was too hasty and didn't answer enough questions. I expect there to be a sequel coming out to do that. It seems to be set up for that.
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My MAIN issue with the book was the blatant issue of how he was treated as a woman. There were some uncalled for things mentioned in this book. I understand that he is stuck in a woman's body, but I don't need reminded every other page of how her body looks.
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I wouldn't read this book again, but I recommend giving it a chance! I believe this author has amazing potential and would read more books from him. 2 stars.
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My MAIN issue with the book was the blatant issue of how he was treated as a woman. There were some uncalled for things mentioned in this book. I understand that he is stuck in a woman's body, but I don't need reminded every other page of how her body looks.
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I wouldn't read this book again, but I recommend giving it a chance! I believe this author has amazing potential and would read more books from him. 2 stars.
June 11, 2019
Friends go on a quest
The 'In-game' universe is almost convincing. Almost because the characters motivations didn't quite ring true.
The cast have both thier in-game and their real characters, casting dimensioned characters is hard enoigh without compounding the difficulty.
I like fantasy and SciFi it seems to me it misses bothh of those boats but for all that its not a bad read.
The 'In-game' universe is almost convincing. Almost because the characters motivations didn't quite ring true.
The cast have both thier in-game and their real characters, casting dimensioned characters is hard enoigh without compounding the difficulty.
I like fantasy and SciFi it seems to me it misses bothh of those boats but for all that its not a bad read.
January 3, 2019
3.5/5.0
“Pendulum Heroes” takes four gamers where they never thought they would be, or they would have been more careful when planning their avatars.
Read full review in the 2018 holiday issue of InD'tale Magazine.
“Pendulum Heroes” takes four gamers where they never thought they would be, or they would have been more careful when planning their avatars.
Read full review in the 2018 holiday issue of InD'tale Magazine.
May 28, 2019
A different kind of D&D Story
This was fast paced and made for a quick read. Read it on a whim, but was pleasantly surprised. Sort of reminds me of a coming of age story.
This was fast paced and made for a quick read. Read it on a whim, but was pleasantly surprised. Sort of reminds me of a coming of age story.
September 6, 2021
This was a DNF for me, but I am mostly the problem with this book. It’s not written for me, so I don’t think I should be the one to critique it. However, I did get to about page 65 and I’ll let you know what I learned about the story while reading:
This book reminded me of the latest Jumanji movie, where the characters get sucked into a video game. However, part of the mystery of this story is why and how they got sucked in — the characters don’t even know. The opening scene is of the main character looking down and realizing he’s in a female body (which is pretty funny, to be honest). I liked that aspect of the novel and it’s what made me interested to read it.
Unlike Jumanji, we don’t have a lot of backstory on the characters when Pendulum Heroes starts — it begins in media res. It’s action-packed and we learn about who all got sucked in as we go along. I think the target audience for this book is young gamer boys; YA fantasy readers.
Read my full review here: https://blackandwhitepandaduh.wordpre...
This book reminded me of the latest Jumanji movie, where the characters get sucked into a video game. However, part of the mystery of this story is why and how they got sucked in — the characters don’t even know. The opening scene is of the main character looking down and realizing he’s in a female body (which is pretty funny, to be honest). I liked that aspect of the novel and it’s what made me interested to read it.
Unlike Jumanji, we don’t have a lot of backstory on the characters when Pendulum Heroes starts — it begins in media res. It’s action-packed and we learn about who all got sucked in as we go along. I think the target audience for this book is young gamer boys; YA fantasy readers.
Read my full review here: https://blackandwhitepandaduh.wordpre...
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews