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Somnia Online #1
Initializing
Discover the class you were born to play.
Wren, a seasoned healer, is dismayed when Somnia Online automatically assigns her character, Murmur, to the Enchanter class. Determined to overcome the unexpected setback, she assembles her guild, intent on the coveted #1 spot. Twelve keys stand between her and victory, but finding them is only part of the puzzle.
Armed with telepathic abilities, Murmur rises to the challenge. However, old rivals have followed her to Somnia Online desperate for revenge. Intricate quest lines become more dangerous as NPCs absorb powerful artifacts, and Murmur begins to wonder just what sort of AI controls the world.
Murmur questions her sanity as the real and virtual worlds mesh together. Everyone is keeping secrets from her, even the AI, and Murmur's determined to uncover them.
Wren, a seasoned healer, is dismayed when Somnia Online automatically assigns her character, Murmur, to the Enchanter class. Determined to overcome the unexpected setback, she assembles her guild, intent on the coveted #1 spot. Twelve keys stand between her and victory, but finding them is only part of the puzzle.
Armed with telepathic abilities, Murmur rises to the challenge. However, old rivals have followed her to Somnia Online desperate for revenge. Intricate quest lines become more dangerous as NPCs absorb powerful artifacts, and Murmur begins to wonder just what sort of AI controls the world.
Murmur questions her sanity as the real and virtual worlds mesh together. Everyone is keeping secrets from her, even the AI, and Murmur's determined to uncover them.
390 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 2018
406 people are currently reading
469 people want to read
About the author
K.T. Hanna
29 books168 followersKT Hanna has a love for words so extreme, a single word can spark entire worlds.
Born in Australia, she met her husband in a computer game, moved to the U.S.A. and went into culture shock. Bonus? Not as many creatures specifically out to kill you.
When she’s not writing, she freelance edits for Chimera Editing, and chases her daughter, husband, corgi, and cat. No, she doesn’t sleep. She is entirely powered by the number 2, caffeine, and beef jerky.
Note: Still searching for her Tardis
Born in Australia, she met her husband in a computer game, moved to the U.S.A. and went into culture shock. Bonus? Not as many creatures specifically out to kill you.
When she’s not writing, she freelance edits for Chimera Editing, and chases her daughter, husband, corgi, and cat. No, she doesn’t sleep. She is entirely powered by the number 2, caffeine, and beef jerky.
Note: Still searching for her Tardis
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
November 20, 2018
I'm not sure how to start. Probably by defending yet another 5-star rating, after I said I won't do it again lightly 😂
Essentially, I stopped giving 5* ratings to just about everything that amused me. It beats the entire point of the rating system. And, also, not everything deserves five stars. You can like a book very much and still rate it 4. True story 😎
Remember Solo? I was really biased there. But for the other people who were, too, it turned out to be the same. Wow, such a shocker, right? 😆 So it's probably alright to five-star a work in a niche category, as long as the audience for it is clearly defined.
And there you go. Like GameLit/LitRPG? Like World of Warcraft? This book is definitely for you. Go grab it!
You can tell pretty early in the book that K.T. Hanna was influenced by World of Warcraft. Another big surprise, I know. There are people influenced by WoW who have never even played the game. Still, it's both obvious here and welcome.
Who doesn't like mages?
Welcome as in "I've been playing WoW a long time ago and had tons of fun. Realized it's a drug that will ruin my life in the long term and have quit it. Reading books about it helped me from ever returning back to it but still enjoying the huge universe Blizzard built for us." That's a short version.
The book even starts like the game. There's an "intro video" for it. It's actually an ad for the upcoming game in the in-book universe which neatly summarized what you're getting yourself into even though I didn't realize that at the time.
"Find the 12 keys... choices you make, shape the world... discover the class you were born to play..." The camera pans on to the snow-covered mountains, shows the mist swirling around dark dungeons, rare spawns beating the living shit out of poor newbies. Yes, I giggled like a girl 😅
Our main character, Wren, is a gamer. Her mother is a lead game developer and the launch date for her new project, Somnia Online, is set for the beginning of a summer break. What more could a gamer want?
Somnia Online is run by the three AIs. They create and control all the NPCs in the world. Characters have history, family trees, they learn, live and die. Oh, and they are very life-like.
Did I mention that they learn? Treat one NPC like an asshole once and by the next time you return to town to sell your loot you'll notice prices going up. That 2-handed axe you've been saving up for? It's unavailable now. "Someone must have bought it." They also talk to one another 😎
What the three AIs do impressively well is figuring out the class you'll excel at playing. It shouldn't come as a surprise, considering we learn that's exactly the reason both them and the game were created for. Military application, of course. But let's run tests on the unsuspecting human population first and fine-tune our system. Oops! Have I said too much?
Seriously? This is associated with military application? Kids these days...
OK, a step back. Our heroine Wren, known as Murmur in-game, used to play healer-type classes. Now, the Somnia Online recommends her to play a Mesmer (Mesmerizer?). And by "recommends" I mean states there's no other way. "This is your class, go play it." Naturally, she's pissed. But so is everyone else 🤣
But isn't Mesmer a badass class? Of course it is.
And while players try to make themselves comfortable in their new avatars using unexpected skills and abilities in an unknown game, we learn a bit more about what happens behind the scenes of Somnia.
The helmet for the game is designed to read the players' thoughts and allow AIs to get to know them better than players know themselves. Helmet comes with a suit (if you're rich, or your mom is a lead dev) which allows for a full immersion experience. Better than just a helmet, suit stimulates nerves receptors all over the body to accurately simulate the in-game pain experience.
Looking back, the story really starts all nice and happy - think "Yay! We'll play a new game!" rainbows and unicorns kind of a feeling. It doesn't last long, though. Confusion among players is clear as the game obviously doesn't function in the same way everyone is used to, even though there's plenty of known and familiar elements. Determined to beat the content, players start encountering unexpected and weird enemies and events with increased frequency.
Even NPCs which should be friendly by default behave strangely, like they are hiding something. NPCs are hiding something! When even the class trainers are not telling the whole story, it's not a wonder that even the trash mobs glare hatred towards players. The unsettling, creepy feeling crawled up my spine more than a few times.
Knowing what we know from a parallel story about the three AIs and the real research done by the game development company we quickly build up a sense of impending doom. All is good, people are happy, raids are going on nicely, loot is plentiful, but there's this unsettling feeling that shit is just about to hit the fan. Nobody knowing, or willing to say, what is kind of a problem 😅
In addition, there's this thing with Wren/Murmur. Something's... off. But it's barely noticeable. Hanna did a great job introducing events gradually. As usual, I'm afraid the sequel will screw it all up to the point where I want to stop after book #1 and call it a day. Nobody needs another Matrix 😂
Last chapter, aptly named Epiphany, starts with only 10 minutes left on the clock. That's a bit of a shame as veil gets lifted and we see everything with new eyes. Delivered thusly, it serves as no more than a cliffhanger. 8 million Gods damn it! I need part 2 now. I'm hooked!
And I really cannot tell you anything more. I suck at building suspension and non-revealing spoilers. If you read literally any review of mine you know that by now. Reading this one, too, means you also usually forgive me 😘 And I love you for that ❤️
Not to waste any more of your time, because I have no idea how coherent this text has been by now. I'm trying that thing where you just write-write and don't look back, aside from a spellcheck... well, check 😅 Not sure it's working out.
Adding more to things that may not work, I decided to try something new again. I'll just make a list of some of the goods and some of the bads I noticed. Never done this, so it's possible this will be a giant failure, but you know... reading any review of mine? I'm not really worried 🤣
Here we go. Liked things:
- Quest descriptions are awesome. And by awesome I mean awesomely sarcastic. Go, AI(s) and randomly added weird motivational messages 😄
- Proper cursing! No "Oh, happy Buddha!" here, nor "Gosh darn it!". No sailor-level curses though, although some pretty specifically describe the state of the given situation. We have a healthy amount of shits and fucks here, depending on the context, without going overboard. Get it? Overboard? Because of a sailo-- Moving on!
- Once your avatar dodges an attack, your body becomes heavy and unwilling to move if your agility is too low. No high dodge chances for non-agility based classes. Hey, look! A game where stats actually matter!
- Memorable skill descriptions. "Root. Cast - Others, or self if you really want to. Type, immobilization..." It's everywhere. Impossible not to grin every time Murmur learns a new spell.
- Super-specific fights. Details about damage and aggro. Yeah, you can tell Hanna is a WoW player 😉 And you can tell some people may be bothered by it 😑
- Kawaii voice on level-up or on status message popup. Very fitting to the overall atmosphere. Harlow has a similar voice.
- Male voices are done extremely well. It's usually easier for male narrators to get female voices better than the other way around so I'm super-impressed by Andrea!
- The real mind blowing starts when two parties meet for the first time. So many different voices and accents! And you can tell who is who fairly quickly. No need for ""Go!" Person A said. "OK," Person B replied." If I didn't know any better, I'd say there were at least three different narrators.
- Sheila, the British scientist, has the bestest voice ever. I'd listen to Andrea read a phone book using that voice. She's not British, right? Hold on. Googles. Nope. California, USA. Even more impressive.
This list should be very, very long and very, very detailed but I just cannot do it. You already got a general idea anyway. This is a great book.
That said, let's move on to not-liked things:
- How do players know that dying levels you down / you lose experience? It's not that common in MMOs. Well, it is present but surely not as common that our protagonists would just assume that's the case. I never liked the idea of losing XP. A point which could have been used a bit more.
- After the Epiphany, we should have had a bit more content in the new light. We kinda did have some but needed more. Cliffhangers - the evil of the world.
- Not enough (any?) information about other classes and their skills. Seems like Murmur's Enchanter is the central piece of every fight.
- Continuing, it seems she's the only one who can crowd-control mobs. Mesmerizer, duh! The class which basically is a crowd control, but it's just casting "MEZ! MEZ! MEZ!" If a mez fails, she takes a hit. If it breaks, she's pretty much dead. Did not like it. Many of the battles depended on her stunning or incapacitating multiple mobs. In the world where everyone discovers a lot of hidden skills, she cannot possibly be the only one with any CC utility 🤔
- I'm going to reinforce this in yet another bullet-point as I really had a problem with this. The book was obviously written in gamer-for-gamers fashion, so this shouldn't have happened. We had a raid of 12 people and Murmur still had to control everything or the raid wipes 🙄
- Not enough time passed between skill descriptions and item descriptions when players bought new items. This is, naturally, only an issue with the audio version. If I couldn't tell if a description was about an item or a skill, it was hard to figure out what the thing being described is. At least until the end of description when I'd manage to pick it up from a context. Needed some mental rewinding, on-the-fly, which isn't easy on 1.3x speed.
Speaking of 1.3x (enough about not likes), Andrea allows for it! Wooo! Even more awesome narrator <3 Her default speed is slow enough that even audiobook newbies can follow the book nicely and fully enjoy it. For me, that meant shaving off 30% of the total playtime, which is 12+ hours. Chalk this under "likes" above. A nice and long book, unlike the 3-hour-long ones which I totally don't read anymore. Among other lies, I totally arrived on time to work today. Or, any other day this month 😂
My records show I've listened to Andrea narrate three books before. So far, the perfect score. And I recall her doing amazing things before, but this... This was stupefying! Lending different voices to 10+ characters, and doing it well, is a giant feat! 😲
Me again with the giants 😎 Here, have a picture:
Giants are awesome! 🤣
Andrea kicks ass here. She's a narrating giant. Go and listen, be amazed.
The book has a very nice community call at the end, really liked that. LitRPG Society is a good place to get together with other fans and authors. You can lurk if you want, but if you're into LitRPG, make sure to check it out. In addition to tons of good content, there's a sticky announcement poll for the highest-suggested GameLit stories. Just in case you're in need of a good recommendation 😎
In the end, a huge "Thank You!" to Hanna for providing me a copy of the audiobook for a review! Yes, yes, "voluntary, unbiased, not held at gunpoint," and all that jazz. I'm really happy I got picked as I'd otherwise likely miss this gem.
The saddest thing would be me not even knowing about it, because of too much LitRPG everywhere. Almost as sad as people who never watched Breaking Bad 😰
Total review time: 64 minutes. SIXTY FOUR MINUTES! GODS DAMMIT! I need to stop doing this... From tomorrow - 15-minute reviews maximum! But this was totally worth it 🤗
As always, be good to your neighbors, don't eat too much chocolate, and may the Force be with you.
P.S. I wrote this in one go, not really looking at the big picture as small pieces of the puzzle were put in their place. It's quite possible they haven't actually been put into place as I currently imagine and I might have embarrassed myself (more than usual) 🤣 Be a friend and let me know, 'kay? ❤️
- I want less vague quest descriptions!
- Go now. You must find them, and protect them. Or doom us all!"
- Well, shit.
This may or may not be an actual quote, but that's how I remember it 😅
Initializing (Somnia Online #1)
K.T. Hanna, Andrea Parsneau (Narrator)
Essentially, I stopped giving 5* ratings to just about everything that amused me. It beats the entire point of the rating system. And, also, not everything deserves five stars. You can like a book very much and still rate it 4. True story 😎
Remember Solo? I was really biased there. But for the other people who were, too, it turned out to be the same. Wow, such a shocker, right? 😆 So it's probably alright to five-star a work in a niche category, as long as the audience for it is clearly defined.
And there you go. Like GameLit/LitRPG? Like World of Warcraft? This book is definitely for you. Go grab it!
You can tell pretty early in the book that K.T. Hanna was influenced by World of Warcraft. Another big surprise, I know. There are people influenced by WoW who have never even played the game. Still, it's both obvious here and welcome.
Who doesn't like mages?
Welcome as in "I've been playing WoW a long time ago and had tons of fun. Realized it's a drug that will ruin my life in the long term and have quit it. Reading books about it helped me from ever returning back to it but still enjoying the huge universe Blizzard built for us." That's a short version.
The book even starts like the game. There's an "intro video" for it. It's actually an ad for the upcoming game in the in-book universe which neatly summarized what you're getting yourself into even though I didn't realize that at the time.
"Find the 12 keys... choices you make, shape the world... discover the class you were born to play..." The camera pans on to the snow-covered mountains, shows the mist swirling around dark dungeons, rare spawns beating the living shit out of poor newbies. Yes, I giggled like a girl 😅
Our main character, Wren, is a gamer. Her mother is a lead game developer and the launch date for her new project, Somnia Online, is set for the beginning of a summer break. What more could a gamer want?
Somnia Online is run by the three AIs. They create and control all the NPCs in the world. Characters have history, family trees, they learn, live and die. Oh, and they are very life-like.
Did I mention that they learn? Treat one NPC like an asshole once and by the next time you return to town to sell your loot you'll notice prices going up. That 2-handed axe you've been saving up for? It's unavailable now. "Someone must have bought it." They also talk to one another 😎
What the three AIs do impressively well is figuring out the class you'll excel at playing. It shouldn't come as a surprise, considering we learn that's exactly the reason both them and the game were created for. Military application, of course. But let's run tests on the unsuspecting human population first and fine-tune our system. Oops! Have I said too much?
Seriously? This is associated with military application? Kids these days...
OK, a step back. Our heroine Wren, known as Murmur in-game, used to play healer-type classes. Now, the Somnia Online recommends her to play a Mesmer (Mesmerizer?). And by "recommends" I mean states there's no other way. "This is your class, go play it." Naturally, she's pissed. But so is everyone else 🤣
But isn't Mesmer a badass class? Of course it is.
And while players try to make themselves comfortable in their new avatars using unexpected skills and abilities in an unknown game, we learn a bit more about what happens behind the scenes of Somnia.
The helmet for the game is designed to read the players' thoughts and allow AIs to get to know them better than players know themselves. Helmet comes with a suit (if you're rich, or your mom is a lead dev) which allows for a full immersion experience. Better than just a helmet, suit stimulates nerves receptors all over the body to accurately simulate the in-game pain experience.
Looking back, the story really starts all nice and happy - think "Yay! We'll play a new game!" rainbows and unicorns kind of a feeling. It doesn't last long, though. Confusion among players is clear as the game obviously doesn't function in the same way everyone is used to, even though there's plenty of known and familiar elements. Determined to beat the content, players start encountering unexpected and weird enemies and events with increased frequency.
Even NPCs which should be friendly by default behave strangely, like they are hiding something. NPCs are hiding something! When even the class trainers are not telling the whole story, it's not a wonder that even the trash mobs glare hatred towards players. The unsettling, creepy feeling crawled up my spine more than a few times.
Knowing what we know from a parallel story about the three AIs and the real research done by the game development company we quickly build up a sense of impending doom. All is good, people are happy, raids are going on nicely, loot is plentiful, but there's this unsettling feeling that shit is just about to hit the fan. Nobody knowing, or willing to say, what is kind of a problem 😅
In addition, there's this thing with Wren/Murmur. Something's... off. But it's barely noticeable. Hanna did a great job introducing events gradually. As usual, I'm afraid the sequel will screw it all up to the point where I want to stop after book #1 and call it a day. Nobody needs another Matrix 😂
Last chapter, aptly named Epiphany, starts with only 10 minutes left on the clock. That's a bit of a shame as veil gets lifted and we see everything with new eyes. Delivered thusly, it serves as no more than a cliffhanger. 8 million Gods damn it! I need part 2 now. I'm hooked!
And I really cannot tell you anything more. I suck at building suspension and non-revealing spoilers. If you read literally any review of mine you know that by now. Reading this one, too, means you also usually forgive me 😘 And I love you for that ❤️
Not to waste any more of your time, because I have no idea how coherent this text has been by now. I'm trying that thing where you just write-write and don't look back, aside from a spellcheck... well, check 😅 Not sure it's working out.
Adding more to things that may not work, I decided to try something new again. I'll just make a list of some of the goods and some of the bads I noticed. Never done this, so it's possible this will be a giant failure, but you know... reading any review of mine? I'm not really worried 🤣
Here we go. Liked things:
- Quest descriptions are awesome. And by awesome I mean awesomely sarcastic. Go, AI(s) and randomly added weird motivational messages 😄
- Proper cursing! No "Oh, happy Buddha!" here, nor "Gosh darn it!". No sailor-level curses though, although some pretty specifically describe the state of the given situation. We have a healthy amount of shits and fucks here, depending on the context, without going overboard. Get it? Overboard? Because of a sailo-- Moving on!
- Once your avatar dodges an attack, your body becomes heavy and unwilling to move if your agility is too low. No high dodge chances for non-agility based classes. Hey, look! A game where stats actually matter!
- Memorable skill descriptions. "Root. Cast - Others, or self if you really want to. Type, immobilization..." It's everywhere. Impossible not to grin every time Murmur learns a new spell.
- Super-specific fights. Details about damage and aggro. Yeah, you can tell Hanna is a WoW player 😉 And you can tell some people may be bothered by it 😑
- Kawaii voice on level-up or on status message popup. Very fitting to the overall atmosphere. Harlow has a similar voice.
- Male voices are done extremely well. It's usually easier for male narrators to get female voices better than the other way around so I'm super-impressed by Andrea!
- The real mind blowing starts when two parties meet for the first time. So many different voices and accents! And you can tell who is who fairly quickly. No need for ""Go!" Person A said. "OK," Person B replied." If I didn't know any better, I'd say there were at least three different narrators.
- Sheila, the British scientist, has the bestest voice ever. I'd listen to Andrea read a phone book using that voice. She's not British, right? Hold on. Googles. Nope. California, USA. Even more impressive.
This list should be very, very long and very, very detailed but I just cannot do it. You already got a general idea anyway. This is a great book.
That said, let's move on to not-liked things:
- How do players know that dying levels you down / you lose experience? It's not that common in MMOs. Well, it is present but surely not as common that our protagonists would just assume that's the case. I never liked the idea of losing XP. A point which could have been used a bit more.
- After the Epiphany, we should have had a bit more content in the new light. We kinda did have some but needed more. Cliffhangers - the evil of the world.
- Not enough (any?) information about other classes and their skills. Seems like Murmur's Enchanter is the central piece of every fight.
- Continuing, it seems she's the only one who can crowd-control mobs. Mesmerizer, duh! The class which basically is a crowd control, but it's just casting "MEZ! MEZ! MEZ!" If a mez fails, she takes a hit. If it breaks, she's pretty much dead. Did not like it. Many of the battles depended on her stunning or incapacitating multiple mobs. In the world where everyone discovers a lot of hidden skills, she cannot possibly be the only one with any CC utility 🤔
- I'm going to reinforce this in yet another bullet-point as I really had a problem with this. The book was obviously written in gamer-for-gamers fashion, so this shouldn't have happened. We had a raid of 12 people and Murmur still had to control everything or the raid wipes 🙄
- Not enough time passed between skill descriptions and item descriptions when players bought new items. This is, naturally, only an issue with the audio version. If I couldn't tell if a description was about an item or a skill, it was hard to figure out what the thing being described is. At least until the end of description when I'd manage to pick it up from a context. Needed some mental rewinding, on-the-fly, which isn't easy on 1.3x speed.
Speaking of 1.3x (enough about not likes), Andrea allows for it! Wooo! Even more awesome narrator <3 Her default speed is slow enough that even audiobook newbies can follow the book nicely and fully enjoy it. For me, that meant shaving off 30% of the total playtime, which is 12+ hours. Chalk this under "likes" above. A nice and long book, unlike the 3-hour-long ones which I totally don't read anymore. Among other lies, I totally arrived on time to work today. Or, any other day this month 😂
My records show I've listened to Andrea narrate three books before. So far, the perfect score. And I recall her doing amazing things before, but this... This was stupefying! Lending different voices to 10+ characters, and doing it well, is a giant feat! 😲
Me again with the giants 😎 Here, have a picture:
Giants are awesome! 🤣
Andrea kicks ass here. She's a narrating giant. Go and listen, be amazed.
The book has a very nice community call at the end, really liked that. LitRPG Society is a good place to get together with other fans and authors. You can lurk if you want, but if you're into LitRPG, make sure to check it out. In addition to tons of good content, there's a sticky announcement poll for the highest-suggested GameLit stories. Just in case you're in need of a good recommendation 😎
In the end, a huge "Thank You!" to Hanna for providing me a copy of the audiobook for a review! Yes, yes, "voluntary, unbiased, not held at gunpoint," and all that jazz. I'm really happy I got picked as I'd otherwise likely miss this gem.
The saddest thing would be me not even knowing about it, because of too much LitRPG everywhere. Almost as sad as people who never watched Breaking Bad 😰
Total review time: 64 minutes. SIXTY FOUR MINUTES! GODS DAMMIT! I need to stop doing this... From tomorrow - 15-minute reviews maximum! But this was totally worth it 🤗
As always, be good to your neighbors, don't eat too much chocolate, and may the Force be with you.
P.S. I wrote this in one go, not really looking at the big picture as small pieces of the puzzle were put in their place. It's quite possible they haven't actually been put into place as I currently imagine and I might have embarrassed myself (more than usual) 🤣 Be a friend and let me know, 'kay? ❤️
- I want less vague quest descriptions!
- Go now. You must find them, and protect them. Or doom us all!"
- Well, shit.
This may or may not be an actual quote, but that's how I remember it 😅
Initializing (Somnia Online #1)
K.T. Hanna, Andrea Parsneau (Narrator)
Verdict Top 5 books I read in 2018.
Runtime 12:14
Overall
Performance
Story
July 25, 2019
This was a decent LitRPG story that was held back from being a really good one by a few flaws. The focus was on action and mystery in this LitRPG story.
Somnia Online is a new state of the art VR game. Wren gets the chance to be one of the very first players as her mother is part of the design team. Some experimental military software, that is being secretly tested in the game, makes it an unusually realistic VR world where the players can even experience pain! The NPC's also prove surprisingly real. Wren usually plays as a healer but the intuitive Somnia Online software assigns her an Enchanter class character based on its profile of her brain scans. Wren had to battle to beat the game ahead of other players while also finding out why the NPC's in the game are acting weird and why her friends and family are acting a little weird on top of that.
I did enjoy Initializing but felt like I would have enjoyed the story a whole lot more had the focus been more on the mystery aspects of the story than the action. The action mostly came in the form of RPG game quests and missions for Wren and her fellow players to level up. I have to admit I found this bit of the story a bit dull. It ended up being too realistic and felt more like reading about watching people play an RPG game than reading about people adventuring in a fun fantasy world. Watching people game is super boring! I felt like there needed to be more investment in the adventures to make them matter. As it was it was just Wren and the others squishing nameless monsters or NPC characters in throwaway battles to level up. It was grinding in the most gruelling sense lol.
What I did like was the set up of the story. The action bounced between the VR world and the "real" world. We got to see a bit of Wren's life outside the game and get a few tiny hints of what the sci-fi future world was like. In the form of flashbacks at the start of each new chapter we also got to see some scenes of the people who were designing the Somnia Online game. That ended up being a lot of fun as there was plenty of mystery and intrigue to be had in those flashbacks. The VR world itself was a mixed bag. Some of it was really cool. I loved the potential the game running AI had and I felt like Wren's alien Enchanter character had the potential to develop some cool magical powers. Mostly of the mind-control variety! The negative was that despite the potential of the AI powering the game only a few of the NPC characters were of any importance. The rest were just worthless props there for the human gamers to squish. I felt like that and the dull action scenes really hurt the story.
Most LitRPG stories I've read focus exclusively in the VR world so it was actually fun that this one bounced between the real world and the VR world. The other good thing about this particular LitRPG story was the fact that the main character not only played the game alongside her real life best friend but also that she interacted with a lot of other human players along the way. That is something that has been pretty rare in the LitRPG stories I've read so far.
I also liked the relationship Wren had with her best friend. They were a team in the game and while Wren was the special snowflake of the story she did lean on her friend for emotional support both in the VR world and the real one. It was a fun change to have human characters in a LitRPG story that were not enemies or rivals!
I felt like the mystery aspects of the story were really fun but that the twist at the end was a little too obvious so lacked the shock factor it really needed to make a big finale impact. On the whole I feel like this was a book that started strong but faded a little as it went. I think I felt that way because it felt like the story never really kicked on from its early promise to fulfil its maximum potential.
The other thing worth noting about this LitRPG is that it is low on both romance and the typical misogyny found within the genre.
All in all I think this was an OK LitRPG and I might move onto the sequel at some point. I would have been more enthusiastic about getting to the sequel if the final third of this one had not been the weakest part of the story!
Rating: 3.5 stars. I'm rounding down as the start was better than the finish.
Audio Note: I felt like Andrea Parsneau did a fantastic job with the audio. She was god with the various character voices and was also a pretty talented voice actor in general.
Somnia Online is a new state of the art VR game. Wren gets the chance to be one of the very first players as her mother is part of the design team. Some experimental military software, that is being secretly tested in the game, makes it an unusually realistic VR world where the players can even experience pain! The NPC's also prove surprisingly real. Wren usually plays as a healer but the intuitive Somnia Online software assigns her an Enchanter class character based on its profile of her brain scans. Wren had to battle to beat the game ahead of other players while also finding out why the NPC's in the game are acting weird and why her friends and family are acting a little weird on top of that.
I did enjoy Initializing but felt like I would have enjoyed the story a whole lot more had the focus been more on the mystery aspects of the story than the action. The action mostly came in the form of RPG game quests and missions for Wren and her fellow players to level up. I have to admit I found this bit of the story a bit dull. It ended up being too realistic and felt more like reading about watching people play an RPG game than reading about people adventuring in a fun fantasy world. Watching people game is super boring! I felt like there needed to be more investment in the adventures to make them matter. As it was it was just Wren and the others squishing nameless monsters or NPC characters in throwaway battles to level up. It was grinding in the most gruelling sense lol.
What I did like was the set up of the story. The action bounced between the VR world and the "real" world. We got to see a bit of Wren's life outside the game and get a few tiny hints of what the sci-fi future world was like. In the form of flashbacks at the start of each new chapter we also got to see some scenes of the people who were designing the Somnia Online game. That ended up being a lot of fun as there was plenty of mystery and intrigue to be had in those flashbacks. The VR world itself was a mixed bag. Some of it was really cool. I loved the potential the game running AI had and I felt like Wren's alien Enchanter character had the potential to develop some cool magical powers. Mostly of the mind-control variety! The negative was that despite the potential of the AI powering the game only a few of the NPC characters were of any importance. The rest were just worthless props there for the human gamers to squish. I felt like that and the dull action scenes really hurt the story.
Most LitRPG stories I've read focus exclusively in the VR world so it was actually fun that this one bounced between the real world and the VR world. The other good thing about this particular LitRPG story was the fact that the main character not only played the game alongside her real life best friend but also that she interacted with a lot of other human players along the way. That is something that has been pretty rare in the LitRPG stories I've read so far.
I also liked the relationship Wren had with her best friend. They were a team in the game and while Wren was the special snowflake of the story she did lean on her friend for emotional support both in the VR world and the real one. It was a fun change to have human characters in a LitRPG story that were not enemies or rivals!
I felt like the mystery aspects of the story were really fun but that the twist at the end was a little too obvious so lacked the shock factor it really needed to make a big finale impact. On the whole I feel like this was a book that started strong but faded a little as it went. I think I felt that way because it felt like the story never really kicked on from its early promise to fulfil its maximum potential.
The other thing worth noting about this LitRPG is that it is low on both romance and the typical misogyny found within the genre.
All in all I think this was an OK LitRPG and I might move onto the sequel at some point. I would have been more enthusiastic about getting to the sequel if the final third of this one had not been the weakest part of the story!
Rating: 3.5 stars. I'm rounding down as the start was better than the finish.
Audio Note: I felt like Andrea Parsneau did a fantastic job with the audio. She was god with the various character voices and was also a pretty talented voice actor in general.
zzz-books-not-for-me
July 23, 2019DNF: 10%
I really wanted to like this one. I really wanted to read a LitRPG book targeted at women, but just couldn't get through how much I F%$£ING HATED THE PROTAGONIST XD No worries, I'm a minority, but F£$% she made me want to teleport in her world and give her a bitch slap! This is extremely rare for me.
JUDGEMENTAL!!! That's the word that describes this girl. (Ironic, that I'm being judgemental towards a fictional character, but the hell with it, it's goodreads!). She judges everyone, including her best friend. Her favourite thing to bitch about (in the first 10%) is how rich people, especially children with parents who don't mind giving their offspring money, are disgusting and stupid, and she's far better than them because she earns her money. Hmmm, jealous a bit? Even her friend, who pre-ordered the game with her own money, the money she worked for, managed to trigger her! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY??? This mentality is so sad. And of course, she was extremely critical and ungrateful for the game her parents got her too. She would be happy 1 minute, then she would "glare" at her parents when the game was not to her standards. THIS IS RIDICULOUS! And sure, she's a prodigy at gaming, of course, what did you expect?
Plenty of people enjoy this book and I won't say I don't see why. I'm glad for them, and I regret being so triggered myself by a fictional character. I just can't stand this kind of mentality, personally. It's a toxic way to think about people. I won't go into details about my past, but we weren't rich either. And let me tell you, judging others for having money or an easier life will not make you a saint. It makes you a disgusting human being. Not everyone has to share your values.
This is my personal opinion on a website about personal opinions. Please don't take my review too seriously and feel free to judge for yourself.
I really wanted to like this one. I really wanted to read a LitRPG book targeted at women, but just couldn't get through how much I F%$£ING HATED THE PROTAGONIST XD No worries, I'm a minority, but F£$% she made me want to teleport in her world and give her a bitch slap! This is extremely rare for me.
JUDGEMENTAL!!! That's the word that describes this girl. (Ironic, that I'm being judgemental towards a fictional character, but the hell with it, it's goodreads!). She judges everyone, including her best friend. Her favourite thing to bitch about (in the first 10%) is how rich people, especially children with parents who don't mind giving their offspring money, are disgusting and stupid, and she's far better than them because she earns her money. Hmmm, jealous a bit? Even her friend, who pre-ordered the game with her own money, the money she worked for, managed to trigger her! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY??? This mentality is so sad. And of course, she was extremely critical and ungrateful for the game her parents got her too. She would be happy 1 minute, then she would "glare" at her parents when the game was not to her standards. THIS IS RIDICULOUS! And sure, she's a prodigy at gaming, of course, what did you expect?
Plenty of people enjoy this book and I won't say I don't see why. I'm glad for them, and I regret being so triggered myself by a fictional character. I just can't stand this kind of mentality, personally. It's a toxic way to think about people. I won't go into details about my past, but we weren't rich either. And let me tell you, judging others for having money or an easier life will not make you a saint. It makes you a disgusting human being. Not everyone has to share your values.
This is my personal opinion on a website about personal opinions. Please don't take my review too seriously and feel free to judge for yourself.
May 16, 2018
Great story wrapped around the gameplay here. It would help if I had played an MMO in the last few years, but the last MMO addiction I had was the amazing City of Heroes, may it lag in peace, and stats management was never a big deal for that game. That said, while I found some of that boring, the core story is one that I enjoyed, with layer after layer of mystery unraveling. And while the twists were ones I thought I saw coming, not everything was as expected--in fact, the reveal I thought we were building to was not it.
To be honest, I enjoyed the interaction with the NPC character way more than the interaction with her in-game guild, most of whom I would trade for three coppers and a broken wand of coffee summoning. The NPCs, however, were fascinating, as the conversations went off the rails. I would have preferred to see more conflict and development between them to see opposing goals, but there's always book two...
To be honest, I enjoyed the interaction with the NPC character way more than the interaction with her in-game guild, most of whom I would trade for three coppers and a broken wand of coffee summoning. The NPCs, however, were fascinating, as the conversations went off the rails. I would have preferred to see more conflict and development between them to see opposing goals, but there's always book two...
June 8, 2018
Too much vague overly emotional drama
This book was trying to be mysterious and all it ended up being was irritating. I didn't care if the MC survived or not. In fact by the end I was rooting for the mindless 'bad guy' who irrationally hated her.
Suspension of belief should not require suspension of thought, but that is what is required to get through this book.
Add in the stupid flashbacks at the beginning of each chapter, missing words in sentences and unrealistic reactions of every single character in this book makes for a long unenjoyable read.
This book was trying to be mysterious and all it ended up being was irritating. I didn't care if the MC survived or not. In fact by the end I was rooting for the mindless 'bad guy' who irrationally hated her.
Suspension of belief should not require suspension of thought, but that is what is required to get through this book.
Add in the stupid flashbacks at the beginning of each chapter, missing words in sentences and unrealistic reactions of every single character in this book makes for a long unenjoyable read.
May 5, 2018
I will admit, I'm a bit biased on this one, and it has nothing to do with reading an ARC. I've been on a bit of a gamelit binge, since KT discovered it and told me about it. When she decided to write one, I was like... Oooh, yes please! And she didn't disappoint. Great action, relatable characters, and an underlying mystery that isn't solved in this one, but can grow throughout the series. I really like Mummur/Wren. She's the kind of person I'd love to hang out with-Smart, loyal, but taking no one's shit.
<3 Now she just needs to whip the rest of the series out for me to devour faster. Luckily, she writes fast. Damn good thing, if she wrote at my speed, I'd go nuts waiting!
<3 Now she just needs to whip the rest of the series out for me to devour faster. Luckily, she writes fast. Damn good thing, if she wrote at my speed, I'd go nuts waiting!
May 16, 2018
If I had to compare this book, I would say the closest would be Tad Williams' Otherland series or Clines' Ready Player One. Both have fantastical worlds that are more than they seem. What separates this from Williams is that KT adds the depth of making it feel like a true MMO instead of focusing only on the world. With beautiful and deadly landscapes, intrigue, and NPCs that are a little too real, Hanna brings to life a truly wondrous, and digital world that will truly blow your mind. I've read it. You should read it.
May 9, 2018
Initializing (Somnia Online # 1) by K. T. Hanna is about a video game involving full immersion using a headset, virtual reality to the next level. You create your character, enter the game world, and feel like you are actually living there. Wren or Murmur while online is a high achiever, and with her group of friends plans to master the game, and try to be the first winners. They are excited for the challenge, and capable from the many years of playing other games together.
The book takes place in two parts, one side being before the game was created, and all of the development that went into the creation of the headsets, and the other being the game itself, and Wren’s home life when she is offline temporarily.
Murmur discovers secrets within the game, and uses her prowess and any skills she unlocks to help her progress quickly through the world. Her group reaches several achievements before anyone else, but there is a concerning darkness dwelling below the surface. The npcs seem too real to be simple npcs, and Murmur has some trouble deciding who she can trust.
The real world has had some issues, and the longer Murmur spends in the game, the harder it is to return to the real world. It becomes harder to see the real world as real.
The ending leaves you wanting more, and wishing you could be part of this world and try out the game for yourself. I am definitely left with questions, and wanting to learn more about this world, and the secrets it is keeping from the reader.
If you play video games or enjoy fantasy worlds you will enjoy this book. The world is described vividly using all of your senses to imagine yourself there. I can’t wait to read more.
The book takes place in two parts, one side being before the game was created, and all of the development that went into the creation of the headsets, and the other being the game itself, and Wren’s home life when she is offline temporarily.
Murmur discovers secrets within the game, and uses her prowess and any skills she unlocks to help her progress quickly through the world. Her group reaches several achievements before anyone else, but there is a concerning darkness dwelling below the surface. The npcs seem too real to be simple npcs, and Murmur has some trouble deciding who she can trust.
The real world has had some issues, and the longer Murmur spends in the game, the harder it is to return to the real world. It becomes harder to see the real world as real.
The ending leaves you wanting more, and wishing you could be part of this world and try out the game for yourself. I am definitely left with questions, and wanting to learn more about this world, and the secrets it is keeping from the reader.
If you play video games or enjoy fantasy worlds you will enjoy this book. The world is described vividly using all of your senses to imagine yourself there. I can’t wait to read more.
January 22, 2023
I really didn't know anything about this book other, than that I've enjoyed other LitRPG books in the past, and that I know Andrea Parsneau is a fantastic narrator!
Currently I am at a point where I start a LitRPG with some trepidation. I've enjoyed them, but... well, isn't the trope kinda' played out? The answer, after listening to this book, is a resounding NO! I loved this vrmmorpg book! I just checked, and I see that the sequel has just been released in eBook, so now, at least I can continue reading... I seriously need to know what happens next!
As I suspected would be the case, Andrea Parsneau did a Bang-Up job! I'm gonna be recommending this book to all my friends...
If you like LitRPG's, or you're just trying one for the the first time, grab Initializing, sit back and enjoy!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Currently I am at a point where I start a LitRPG with some trepidation. I've enjoyed them, but... well, isn't the trope kinda' played out? The answer, after listening to this book, is a resounding NO! I loved this vrmmorpg book! I just checked, and I see that the sequel has just been released in eBook, so now, at least I can continue reading... I seriously need to know what happens next!
As I suspected would be the case, Andrea Parsneau did a Bang-Up job! I'm gonna be recommending this book to all my friends...
If you like LitRPG's, or you're just trying one for the the first time, grab Initializing, sit back and enjoy!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
August 6, 2021
Poor, Wren...
I'm not sure how I feel about the series as yet, all I know is I feel strongly for Wren and Harlow. Whilst I like the story, I'm uncertain as to who's side the AI's are on. I know they must remain neutral but c'mon... Wren's just a kid!
I'm not sure how I feel about the series as yet, all I know is I feel strongly for Wren and Harlow. Whilst I like the story, I'm uncertain as to who's side the AI's are on. I know they must remain neutral but c'mon... Wren's just a kid!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2020
Notes:
Narration was great but the story. Hm. I feel like I was suckered into a story that slapped together a bunch of well worn LitRPG tropes.
Narration was great but the story. Hm. I feel like I was suckered into a story that slapped together a bunch of well worn LitRPG tropes.
June 19, 2019
The end of this book should have been where this story started. This is like watching someone grind for twelve hours without having any story to make it interesting. The action sequences are uninspired, boring, and lack that wow factor to grab the reader's attention. I thought the RPG system was generic and offered nothing new. The characters are one dimensional, and those beyond the two girls are cliche gamer stereotypes that add nothing to the story other than to kill things and offer meaningless banter. The plot is dreadfully weak. The flashback backstory about the systems development and deployment is more interesting than what happens in game. For the actual plot, I don't think there is one until the "twist" at the end of the book, which just seems a cheap cliffhanger to get you to buy the next book. I know all characters have to come from somewhere but do we need an entire book on watching them learn to control their avatars?
May 20, 2018
To start off, I really enjoyed reading this book, and would highly recommend to others looking for something new to read in this genre. This was my first introduction to LitRPG, and it's made me want to continue reading not only this series, but also other LitRPG titles! It took a bit for me to get used to the (genre) writing style, but once I became accustomed to it, I couldn't put it down.
Initializing is the first book in the Somnia Online series. It follows its main character Wren as she begins to explore Somnia Online, a recently released VRMMO. It follows her adventure, from the time she first logs in, through the first few levels, and through a few group/raid-style dungeons. Many of the encounters will be familiar to those who have played D&D, or some older MMOs (EverQuest, Vanguard, etc.), though it's easy enough to follow for everyone.
My favourite part of Somnia Online is how the world is built up over time. The way players and non-player characters interact, and how each area of the world has its own feeling makes me want to know more about the environment. I really liked the world building, and can't wait to see what happens in future installments (surprising twists aside)!
Initializing is the first book in the Somnia Online series. It follows its main character Wren as she begins to explore Somnia Online, a recently released VRMMO. It follows her adventure, from the time she first logs in, through the first few levels, and through a few group/raid-style dungeons. Many of the encounters will be familiar to those who have played D&D, or some older MMOs (EverQuest, Vanguard, etc.), though it's easy enough to follow for everyone.
My favourite part of Somnia Online is how the world is built up over time. The way players and non-player characters interact, and how each area of the world has its own feeling makes me want to know more about the environment. I really liked the world building, and can't wait to see what happens in future installments (surprising twists aside)!
dnf
August 1, 2024Chapter 3. Wait this is my only second lit rpg series (already read 5 books in my first series) and I'm so not used to numbers being mentioned everytime there was a fight. The series that I read took a narrative approach with the way the skills and enemies interacted, as opposed to mentioning specific amounts of damage. I guess I prefer that writing instead
Chapter 6. The writing for the evil scientist part of this chapter and everything before it is so much more riveting and entertaining compared to murmur's journey in this game world.
.
Wait so they knew the tech for the headgear is going to be used in the military??? How are people not scared for this shit??
.
Also, is that last line foreshadowing that you CAN die irl after dying in game???? What an evil fucking game
Chapter 8. While reading about how Wren is planning what to do in-game in terms of progress, I realized that the video game part of the book is what irked me the most. It's one of the most dull things to ever read about. This isn't really the author's fault, it's just how my brain can't really take it seriously that I'm reading a book about someone playing an online game. It just feels so uncanny, the opposite of a 4th wall break. It's like I'm adding a 5th wall that seems unnecessary. Perhaps that's the reason I like the scientist parts more, it talks about an actual person doing stuff in this fictional world. Murmur's story is about wren, which is already in a fictional world from my perspective, playing a character in her own fictional world game. Feels too boring to read sorry.
Chapter 10. The fighting dialogue always confuses me, like it adds another punch to my face that I'm reading a game and it feels utterly confusing and boring doing so.
Ok, it hurts to say that I'm dropping this book :'( idk it's just too game-y for me. I'll leave it unrated since i can say for myself that it's a me problem. I should have managed my expectations for my second litrpg series.
Chapter 6. The writing for the evil scientist part of this chapter and everything before it is so much more riveting and entertaining compared to murmur's journey in this game world.
.
Wait so they knew the tech for the headgear is going to be used in the military??? How are people not scared for this shit??
.
Also, is that last line foreshadowing that you CAN die irl after dying in game???? What an evil fucking game
Chapter 8. While reading about how Wren is planning what to do in-game in terms of progress, I realized that the video game part of the book is what irked me the most. It's one of the most dull things to ever read about. This isn't really the author's fault, it's just how my brain can't really take it seriously that I'm reading a book about someone playing an online game. It just feels so uncanny, the opposite of a 4th wall break. It's like I'm adding a 5th wall that seems unnecessary. Perhaps that's the reason I like the scientist parts more, it talks about an actual person doing stuff in this fictional world. Murmur's story is about wren, which is already in a fictional world from my perspective, playing a character in her own fictional world game. Feels too boring to read sorry.
Chapter 10. The fighting dialogue always confuses me, like it adds another punch to my face that I'm reading a game and it feels utterly confusing and boring doing so.
Ok, it hurts to say that I'm dropping this book :'( idk it's just too game-y for me. I'll leave it unrated since i can say for myself that it's a me problem. I should have managed my expectations for my second litrpg series.
May 30, 2022
Great
This was a great beginning for a series
I'm excited for what will come in the next books. I'm definitely a fan of this author now.
This was a great beginning for a series
I'm excited for what will come in the next books. I'm definitely a fan of this author now.
November 22, 2018
Decent litrpg. Isn't friendly to people new to the genre, as it doesn't explain terms like kiting, line of sight, pulling, but uses them frequently. It was fairly entertaining but I did not find it as engaging as I would have liked.
November 18, 2018
Enjoyable start of a new litrpg series.
Certainly worth a read if you are a fan of litrpgs. There is a lot going on in the world, and some interesting characters. A good way of dropping hints to the reader without them being obvious, allows you to guess at what is really happening throughout the book.
Certainly worth a read if you are a fan of litrpgs. There is a lot going on in the world, and some interesting characters. A good way of dropping hints to the reader without them being obvious, allows you to guess at what is really happening throughout the book.
November 11, 2018
Great book
Really enjoyed reading this book. Cannot wait for the next book. Going to read it after I finish this review. Well written and does not lose the story when explaining the game mechanics.
Really enjoyed reading this book. Cannot wait for the next book. Going to read it after I finish this review. Well written and does not lose the story when explaining the game mechanics.
October 28, 2018
Loved it
I really enjoyed this story, I can totally relate to the main character of Wren \ murmur. I even share some of her outlooks. I would do totally role a Locus but would also be torn between the Feles. I will so totaly be reading the next one.
I really enjoyed this story, I can totally relate to the main character of Wren \ murmur. I even share some of her outlooks. I would do totally role a Locus but would also be torn between the Feles. I will so totaly be reading the next one.
May 16, 2018
Initializing is the first in a series (according to the author) of a book based in the gameworld Somnia Online. Somnia is an MMORPG where the gameworld is controlled by 3 main AI personas. The characters are portrayed in such a manner that anyone can find a player to relate to. The fights are detailed, but not so detailed as to get bogged down in minutae.
Somnia is almost a character in its own right. Descriptions of the gameworld are vivid and make the reader feel like they would like to play in the world themselves. With varied terrains, many of which feel familiar to long term MMORPG players, the journey of the characters pulls the reader along in a way that simply playing a game does not. (The closest I have come is SWTOR.)
Somnia is almost a character in its own right. Descriptions of the gameworld are vivid and make the reader feel like they would like to play in the world themselves. With varied terrains, many of which feel familiar to long term MMORPG players, the journey of the characters pulls the reader along in a way that simply playing a game does not. (The closest I have come is SWTOR.)
August 3, 2018
It's good, and worth a read if you like the genre. It avoids a lot of the needless explaining of game terms that other books have, and just dives into it. Good characters, good-ish plot, and relatively good combat scenes.
I have a small problem with how some of the game elements are, but all in all they are minor things. More interesting to me is how the author seems to have a cleanliness issue... They bathe twice a day even though all they do is lie on a bed, and they still feel like they really need it. They also talk a lot ingame about bathing, so I have to conclude that the author has some sort of peeve about it.
Significant spoiler (that is just me whining):
I have a small problem with how some of the game elements are, but all in all they are minor things. More interesting to me is how the author seems to have a cleanliness issue... They bathe twice a day even though all they do is lie on a bed, and they still feel like they really need it. They also talk a lot ingame about bathing, so I have to conclude that the author has some sort of peeve about it.
Significant spoiler (that is just me whining):
October 11, 2018
Very fun read
This was just a fun read. It had mystery, great game interaction and very good character development. The back and forth of the years before launch and the mc’s story was interesting and added a depth and complexity that I really enjoyed. I will be getting the next books in the series. I also listen to the audiobook and the narrator Andrea Parsneau did a great job of bringing the characters to life. The different voices were great and I thought she did a very good male voice which can be my biggest complaint. K.T. Hanna thank you for a wonderful story that kept me intrigued and wanting more. Take the time to read this! The McC’a story and the real world story were both integral to each other.
This was just a fun read. It had mystery, great game interaction and very good character development. The back and forth of the years before launch and the mc’s story was interesting and added a depth and complexity that I really enjoyed. I will be getting the next books in the series. I also listen to the audiobook and the narrator Andrea Parsneau did a great job of bringing the characters to life. The different voices were great and I thought she did a very good male voice which can be my biggest complaint. K.T. Hanna thank you for a wonderful story that kept me intrigued and wanting more. Take the time to read this! The McC’a story and the real world story were both integral to each other.
October 26, 2018
While I mostly enjoyed this story, I didn't find it so engaging or engrossing that I couldn't look away. The storyline was actually almost as tedious as the grinding it described, and the main character was pretty annoying, always being told she's special, whining about being special, and complaining hardcore about how cryptic questlines are. Her parents came across as super fake as well as a bit whiney and fretful in her mom's case, and the twist regarding her irl stuff was telegraphed pretty heavily. It wasn't a horrible book, but I doubt I'll keep going with the series.
May 22, 2018
Great story
I was enchanted by the story and loved the twists. The only stumbling block I had was the periodic PC gender pronoun use - a plural pronoun “they, their” for a singular entity “he/she, his/hers”. This caused a stumbling in the flow of the narrative as the reader has to figure out that the author is referencing a character’s preferred gender pronoun without a lead in.
I was enchanted by the story and loved the twists. The only stumbling block I had was the periodic PC gender pronoun use - a plural pronoun “they, their” for a singular entity “he/she, his/hers”. This caused a stumbling in the flow of the narrative as the reader has to figure out that the author is referencing a character’s preferred gender pronoun without a lead in.
June 2, 2018
My only semi-complaint is that all the mind-messing-stuff going on with Murmur was messing with my own head as I read, so I had trouble continue reading as I would put it down each night - as I like reading mostly before bed. Serious head trip, but at least two of my mad-scientist theories panned out, though it seems I missed the twist on the the WHEN mentioned in the epilogue. (If you can't stand that, you'll seriously be annoyed while reading. Ha ha ha~)
June 5, 2018
Very well crafted fun
While not perfect, Hanna has created a fun world for her characters to play in. I enjoyed the growth that Wren went through throughout the novel. Although I thought that there were some things that were too easy, the twist at the end made much of the journey worth thinking about again. Looking forward to the series.
While not perfect, Hanna has created a fun world for her characters to play in. I enjoyed the growth that Wren went through throughout the novel. Although I thought that there were some things that were too easy, the twist at the end made much of the journey worth thinking about again. Looking forward to the series.
June 10, 2018
Great read!
I really enjoyed this! The characters are wonderful and they interact I'm ways that are realistic, rather than far fetched ideas that make readers cringe. I liked the mystery inherent in the story, how everything links together. If you enjoy fantasy, science fiction, and, or, litrpg... Well... Read this!
I really enjoyed this! The characters are wonderful and they interact I'm ways that are realistic, rather than far fetched ideas that make readers cringe. I liked the mystery inherent in the story, how everything links together. If you enjoy fantasy, science fiction, and, or, litrpg... Well... Read this!
August 13, 2018
What an amazing new series I found myself hooked from the 1st page it was just written in such an interesting and different way. This one lands in my top 5 Litrpg of the year. It really sucks you in and keeps you hooked and when it ends you'll want more. Found it fascinating how different Murmurs gaming experience seem to be compared to others.
May 31, 2018
Enjoyable
Pretty good story, decent mystery involved, but the mystery is a bit easy to guess (in general. I got the wrong answer, but the basic idea). Looking forward to the next book.
Pretty good story, decent mystery involved, but the mystery is a bit easy to guess (in general. I got the wrong answer, but the basic idea). Looking forward to the next book.
June 30, 2018
Love the gaming elements
If you’re a gamer, you’ll love this as much as I did. I found myself chuckling out loud at several points through the book. The noob zone antics and group dynamics had me feeling like I was playing along with my own guild.
If you’re a gamer, you’ll love this as much as I did. I found myself chuckling out loud at several points through the book. The noob zone antics and group dynamics had me feeling like I was playing along with my own guild.
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