Boost

Tower of Gates #5

by Paul Bellow

Even the Dead Trees are Coming to Life!
Eric and company search for Sarah on level 1-3 while also dealing with overwhelming hordes of undead. With tougher mobs comes better loot, but the group needs to be on their toes as they fight to survive. Every battle brings them closer to uncovering an unsettling truth about the Tower of Gates. Will escape ever be possible?

356 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2018

Reviews

[Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review covers books three through six that I read consecutively. So far the series has shown the less pleasant side of human nature. The story is imaginative with interesting twists of plot. The decisions and actions of the characters are sometimes baffling and illogical. All characters in the book appear to have the inability to learn from past mistakes. The main characters themselves at times appear to have the same personality with a mediocre dose of arrogance. Situations and their solutions at times seem to be contrived.

The actions of the characters and the situations were hard to stomach until I had a change of perspective. The question I came up with is "Are their actions due to the style of writing of the author or are they being heavily influenced by the AI?" I was able to utilize suspension of belief by choosing the latter. I have found my enjoyment of the series to increase as I follow it further and look forward to seeing future growth and more of the world created by Mr. Bellow. In this book specifically he did a good job in portraying addiction and its consequences.

Very Respectfully,
Shea

[The Mysterious Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a gamer and a fantasy and sci fi lover, so it’s no surprise that I love LitRPG novels. Paul Bellow has proven himself to be a master of this genre with his superb A Tower of Gates series. It has just what I want from this genre, real immersion into the RPG world but with a link that somehow brings in the RPG element in a manner that actually makes sense, while providing a story that’s fun and exciting. That’s certainly been the case with Eric, Sarah Josh and company in the complex bit exciting and fun tale to date - and its most definitely true in the case of the series fifth book (ignoring a related side-story tale), Boost. This is the kind of series that really should be started with its first book (the excellent Hack, separately reviewed) for maximum enjoyment, but its fun even as a stand-alone. Frankly, for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed, I could go on and on with praises - the series and this book both definitely deserve it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that this book is most definitely one to read, it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. It extends the story nicely, and also brings back a character we lost a couple books ago. Of course, not all is well, since our main character gets himself into a situation that the next book should tell us all about. I can't say I saw this one coming, but I should have. If this book is any indication of how the series is going to play out, then I anxiously await the next one in the series, as this is going to be a wild ride, no doubt of that. Highly recommended, if you haven't read any books in this series yet, then you don't want to start here, you'll want to start at the beginning, but when you get to this one, you will most likely enjoy it as thoroughly as I did. Great stuff here.

[Gustavo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little better than the previous book, this one features one of the main heroes also, but it goes through a dark area where you see him going through a downright spiral.

It's hard to relate to characters that make such poor decisions, so the book was hard for me to read. The supporting cast is getting better, and we finally, after a book and a half, get to see a peek of the new character Sarah has.

The lack of switching between characters keep some surprises, but makes this a lesser book than the first three books of the series.

And the party keeps getting apart time and time again.....

[Μιχάλης · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining

This one was a return to the party adventuring and trying to understand the mysteries of the game.
It is a slow burn that sometimes can get frustrating but does answer a few questions about the game and the characters, including info on the main antagonist and a climactic encounter towards the end (and some good cliffhanger to a book that may not be released at all).

[ALEXANDRA VELANDIA-KELLY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Virtual world RPG that I wish I could be trapped in

First review of this series I have to go back and give the rest 5 stars. Very addictive read, almost like everlast potions, but with better side effects. Can't wait to read the next... so I'm off right now to go read more of the story.