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HOPE Engine
A world on the brink of war, absent parents, and no friends sounds like a disaster unless all you ever wanted was to live inside your virtual reality pod.
Meet Severo, a fresh-eyed graduate, as he joins the ranks of new players in the HOPE engine, but quickly finds out that everything isn’t as advertised. An unnatural enemy is rising, more glitch than feature, that not even the highest level players can stop. A noob like Severo doesn’t stand a chance! Right?But with his starter village in the enemy’s warpath, he better figure something out! Before that, he needs to learn that NPCs are sentient, friends are needed, and food in fantasy games sucks! Oh yeah, and pick a class!
As if all that wasn’t enough to worry about, outside of the VR pod, real life is starting to have its own technical difficulties...
Meet Severo, a fresh-eyed graduate, as he joins the ranks of new players in the HOPE engine, but quickly finds out that everything isn’t as advertised. An unnatural enemy is rising, more glitch than feature, that not even the highest level players can stop. A noob like Severo doesn’t stand a chance! Right?But with his starter village in the enemy’s warpath, he better figure something out! Before that, he needs to learn that NPCs are sentient, friends are needed, and food in fantasy games sucks! Oh yeah, and pick a class!
As if all that wasn’t enough to worry about, outside of the VR pod, real life is starting to have its own technical difficulties...
482 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 30, 2019
15 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Lynch
3 books54 followersAndrew Lynch is an author of fantasy and science fiction in his spare time. When not being lured by such productive things that stave off the darkness of being, he is a gamer (PC and board), a youtuber, and a struggling enthusiast (that’s right, I struggle to be enthusiastic!).
He lives in the well known hive of scum and villainy, London. England, as if that needed to be said.
On the occasional times he feels the need for luxurious things like food and rent, he’s got one of those jobs where if he told you what he did he’d have to kill you.
If you’re into the more exotic things in life (wargaming and rants) he can be found on Youtube with the mysterious name of Glass Half Dead.
If you want to find more of his writing, he has a highly under utilised site which gets irregular updates at http://www.lynchwriting.com
He lives in the well known hive of scum and villainy, London. England, as if that needed to be said.
On the occasional times he feels the need for luxurious things like food and rent, he’s got one of those jobs where if he told you what he did he’d have to kill you.
If you’re into the more exotic things in life (wargaming and rants) he can be found on Youtube with the mysterious name of Glass Half Dead.
If you want to find more of his writing, he has a highly under utilised site which gets irregular updates at http://www.lynchwriting.com
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 25, 2019
Disclaimer: I was lucky enough to receive a free copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review. However, please note that all opinions and views are my own.
In the beginning we meet Severo, the protagonist, who is finally old enough to enter a popular VRMMO (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online) fantasy game. After entering the world, building his character, and learning the ropes - Severo quickly finds himself within the main story line. While he levels up his character, he also has to deal with his village being right smack in the middle of a conquering enemy. After the intro (or tutorial if you will) of the world Andrew Lynch has created, the books starts to focus on a deeper plot line - as the same time as Severo learns the game. Participating in his first event really gets things going and following that, we learn what/who the main threat is.
One of the reasons I at times had a hard time really getting into the book was Severo. He is sixteen but at times he didn't behave like that at all, and that made him downright annoying. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all the time. But it was enough to pull me out of the plot. The world building is pretty solid! The way the game is explained is worked in quite well. As a (former) gamer I do have a pretty thorough understanding of how characters work. However, the game I played was MMORPG, so there's still a difference. And therefore I was glad that Andrew Lynch clearly defines equipment, loot, abilities, class and stats. That made it a lot easier to follow - and even if you've never played any game like this, I don't think you'd have any trouble following at all.
Another thing that made me struggle at times, is the focus in the book. After the beginning the story kind of felt rushed, which was a shame. There was so many different directions, and each of them really intrigued me, but there wasn't enough time to really get into it. It also raised a lot of questions that I felt was overlooked. In the spirit of full disclosure I should mention, that most of it is summoned up really nicely towards the end. However, I think it was a case of being too late for me, as I would have liked it to be addressed earlier. But if you enjoy any kinds of litRPG, I would definitely recommend that you give HOPE Engine the ol' college try.
In the beginning we meet Severo, the protagonist, who is finally old enough to enter a popular VRMMO (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online) fantasy game. After entering the world, building his character, and learning the ropes - Severo quickly finds himself within the main story line. While he levels up his character, he also has to deal with his village being right smack in the middle of a conquering enemy. After the intro (or tutorial if you will) of the world Andrew Lynch has created, the books starts to focus on a deeper plot line - as the same time as Severo learns the game. Participating in his first event really gets things going and following that, we learn what/who the main threat is.
One of the reasons I at times had a hard time really getting into the book was Severo. He is sixteen but at times he didn't behave like that at all, and that made him downright annoying. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all the time. But it was enough to pull me out of the plot. The world building is pretty solid! The way the game is explained is worked in quite well. As a (former) gamer I do have a pretty thorough understanding of how characters work. However, the game I played was MMORPG, so there's still a difference. And therefore I was glad that Andrew Lynch clearly defines equipment, loot, abilities, class and stats. That made it a lot easier to follow - and even if you've never played any game like this, I don't think you'd have any trouble following at all.
Another thing that made me struggle at times, is the focus in the book. After the beginning the story kind of felt rushed, which was a shame. There was so many different directions, and each of them really intrigued me, but there wasn't enough time to really get into it. It also raised a lot of questions that I felt was overlooked. In the spirit of full disclosure I should mention, that most of it is summoned up really nicely towards the end. However, I think it was a case of being too late for me, as I would have liked it to be addressed earlier. But if you enjoy any kinds of litRPG, I would definitely recommend that you give HOPE Engine the ol' college try.
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July 10, 2019
Deep in a strange dystopian future, wars have been won with video games. People climb into virtual reality pods and lose themselves in a digital fantasy world. Be who you wanna be, kill who you wanna kill, meet other players from all over the globe - hey, the game translates language - and level up to become the greatest of your class.
Lynch builds an excellent world here, one which will be entirely familiar to gamers. He minutely describes the mechanics of the game; stats, loot, levelling, melee, minions, village crafting, NPCs - the lot. Lynch knows his stuff here, and immerses us flawlessly into the fantasy gameplay.
I found the plot itself to be slightly confusing and jarring. There were lots of interesting elements introduced and only partially explored, with Lynch seeming to prefer paying attention to the intricacies of battle and the mechanics of the game. This meant there was a lack of care in developing characters and relationships, and I felt I needed a little more guidance through the plot.
The twist in the tale was incredibly clever, but explored fairly loosely. It could be that Lynch is saving his explanations for the sequel, but there definitely could have been some more detail and foreshadowing around this, as it felt a bit shoehorned.
With that being said, I enjoyed the read, and was intrigued by Lynch’s originality. An excellent read for gamers.
Lynch builds an excellent world here, one which will be entirely familiar to gamers. He minutely describes the mechanics of the game; stats, loot, levelling, melee, minions, village crafting, NPCs - the lot. Lynch knows his stuff here, and immerses us flawlessly into the fantasy gameplay.
I found the plot itself to be slightly confusing and jarring. There were lots of interesting elements introduced and only partially explored, with Lynch seeming to prefer paying attention to the intricacies of battle and the mechanics of the game. This meant there was a lack of care in developing characters and relationships, and I felt I needed a little more guidance through the plot.
The twist in the tale was incredibly clever, but explored fairly loosely. It could be that Lynch is saving his explanations for the sequel, but there definitely could have been some more detail and foreshadowing around this, as it felt a bit shoehorned.
With that being said, I enjoyed the read, and was intrigued by Lynch’s originality. An excellent read for gamers.
January 30, 2019
The ARC of HOPE Engine was provided by the author in exchange for a review.
HOPE Engine is a strange beast. It's long, at times it meanders, and it often doesn't follow the paths that I expect (or necessarily want), but it's still a very fun ride.
It follows a young man that has just graduated and is looking forward to his new life inside the HOPE Engine, a video-game where most people spend their time. He jumps in, selects a class, gains some followers, and starts building a village. It enjoys a small section of slice-of-life style gaming where he learns the rules (of his class, of village building, of crafting, and of the game in general) and I feel that this is the strongest section.
When the main character dies exploring a 'Situation', the story becomes more 'epic' and there is a race against time for him and a couple of new player companions to power up themselves and their village before the big bad appears and ends the game world or something.
The weak parts of the book are an overload of too many infrequently used mechanics, and the plot. For the later, it seems to zig and zag all over the shop, and it's a little confusing what would have happened at certain points (especially early) had the main character chosen a different path. It also falls back on that trope where only this one dude has figured out the (fairly obvious) way to fight back. There is also an interesting vibe going on IRL, but it takes a turn towards the end that had me scratching my head (not because I didn't follow, but because I would have preferred it go somewhere else).
So far it seems like I've been quite critical for something I've rated rather highly, and in reality it's just a bit of frustration for what could have been, and a whole heap of 'personal preference'. The characters are very strong - a few scene-stealing minions are particularly memorable - and there are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. I had a great time reading, and I really want to believe in the author's vision for the story. I have some doubts about the direction, but I'll be there day 1 for the next book hoping to be proved wrong.
HOPE Engine is a strange beast. It's long, at times it meanders, and it often doesn't follow the paths that I expect (or necessarily want), but it's still a very fun ride.
It follows a young man that has just graduated and is looking forward to his new life inside the HOPE Engine, a video-game where most people spend their time. He jumps in, selects a class, gains some followers, and starts building a village. It enjoys a small section of slice-of-life style gaming where he learns the rules (of his class, of village building, of crafting, and of the game in general) and I feel that this is the strongest section.
When the main character dies exploring a 'Situation', the story becomes more 'epic' and there is a race against time for him and a couple of new player companions to power up themselves and their village before the big bad appears and ends the game world or something.
The weak parts of the book are an overload of too many infrequently used mechanics, and the plot. For the later, it seems to zig and zag all over the shop, and it's a little confusing what would have happened at certain points (especially early) had the main character chosen a different path. It also falls back on that trope where only this one dude has figured out the (fairly obvious) way to fight back. There is also an interesting vibe going on IRL, but it takes a turn towards the end that had me scratching my head (not because I didn't follow, but because I would have preferred it go somewhere else).
So far it seems like I've been quite critical for something I've rated rather highly, and in reality it's just a bit of frustration for what could have been, and a whole heap of 'personal preference'. The characters are very strong - a few scene-stealing minions are particularly memorable - and there are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. I had a great time reading, and I really want to believe in the author's vision for the story. I have some doubts about the direction, but I'll be there day 1 for the next book hoping to be proved wrong.
February 6, 2019
It appears that we have gone from playing games for enjoyment to watching people play games for enjoyment. It comes as no surprise that the next step would be reading about people playing games. Hope Engine is the latter, a “lit RPG” and quite frankly it's the best I have read yet.
Hope Engine is a combination of “Ready Player One” and “The Matrix”. Lynch has a good touch with funny. The humor is very relatable. One of the problems Lit RPG often has is creating believable stakes, after all it's just a game. This is another thing Lynch does well. Without ruining too much I can say the NPCs are more than NPCs.
Maybe the best part of Hope Engine is the plot that keeps the page turning. It's comparable to quests in a game with a main quest and lots of side quests. You have your standard action that is straightforward and enjoyable, but the real reason to keep reading is the side quests. They are the mystery you really want to unravel and Lynch drops just enough hints to keep it interesting.
Hope Engine has serious momentum that keeps you wanting more until the end. I look forward to the next installment.
Hope Engine is a combination of “Ready Player One” and “The Matrix”. Lynch has a good touch with funny. The humor is very relatable. One of the problems Lit RPG often has is creating believable stakes, after all it's just a game. This is another thing Lynch does well. Without ruining too much I can say the NPCs are more than NPCs.
Maybe the best part of Hope Engine is the plot that keeps the page turning. It's comparable to quests in a game with a main quest and lots of side quests. You have your standard action that is straightforward and enjoyable, but the real reason to keep reading is the side quests. They are the mystery you really want to unravel and Lynch drops just enough hints to keep it interesting.
Hope Engine has serious momentum that keeps you wanting more until the end. I look forward to the next installment.
February 22, 2019
"Log Horizon Meets the Animus 3.5/5"
I found myself really enjoying parts of this book but feeling it was held back by small moments that would interrupt the flow. There was a lot of promise here and I am looking forward to the sequel but the development of the characters/plot felt a little slow.
You can tell something is going on in the background throughout the story but it seems to take a backseat to the main story. Unfortunately the background stuff felt more interesting that what was happening in the main arc.
The main thing I felt holding this story back was the main character. Sometimes Severo felt painfully like a 16 year old but his behavior didn't always seem consistent. He would introduce some cringe into some otherwise cool moments. His love interest with Bri also felt incredibly forced. Now the end events of the book could explain why the love interest was handled the way it was but this unfortunately wasn't fleshed out in this book.
Overall, if you are a fan of LitRPGs and don't mind an immature protagonist I would recommend this book. Even though my experience wasn't consistent with this book I'm looking forward to a sequel.
I found myself really enjoying parts of this book but feeling it was held back by small moments that would interrupt the flow. There was a lot of promise here and I am looking forward to the sequel but the development of the characters/plot felt a little slow.
You can tell something is going on in the background throughout the story but it seems to take a backseat to the main story. Unfortunately the background stuff felt more interesting that what was happening in the main arc.
The main thing I felt holding this story back was the main character. Sometimes Severo felt painfully like a 16 year old but his behavior didn't always seem consistent. He would introduce some cringe into some otherwise cool moments. His love interest with Bri also felt incredibly forced. Now the end events of the book could explain why the love interest was handled the way it was but this unfortunately wasn't fleshed out in this book.
Overall, if you are a fan of LitRPGs and don't mind an immature protagonist I would recommend this book. Even though my experience wasn't consistent with this book I'm looking forward to a sequel.
February 1, 2019
I received an ARC of this book from the author and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I expected a fun, light litRPG story, with the usual game mechanics, quests and the rather black+white sort of distinction between the main player and the monsters. What I got was a huge surprise.
The game world is way more complex than I expected, with decisions that bring way more consequences than a simple "quest achieved/failed" and corresponding rewards. There's a large cast of creatures, though none appearing as the classic monsters to be beaten in order to level up and gain loot.
The main character Severo, of whom we know nothing except the name and appearance of his game avatar, is delightfully snarky and sarcastic. Most of the remaining characters are NPC, but they all have a personality, and I found quite a few of them very likeable and fun. Horace in particular, Severo's "second in command", is quite the character.
There were quite a few unexpected twists in the story, but the twist at the end caught me totally by surprise! I now need the next volume badly!
I expected a fun, light litRPG story, with the usual game mechanics, quests and the rather black+white sort of distinction between the main player and the monsters. What I got was a huge surprise.
The game world is way more complex than I expected, with decisions that bring way more consequences than a simple "quest achieved/failed" and corresponding rewards. There's a large cast of creatures, though none appearing as the classic monsters to be beaten in order to level up and gain loot.
The main character Severo, of whom we know nothing except the name and appearance of his game avatar, is delightfully snarky and sarcastic. Most of the remaining characters are NPC, but they all have a personality, and I found quite a few of them very likeable and fun. Horace in particular, Severo's "second in command", is quite the character.
There were quite a few unexpected twists in the story, but the twist at the end caught me totally by surprise! I now need the next volume badly!
October 20, 2019
Full disclosure: I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.
Another exciting book in the LitRPG genre. Hope Engine starts fast and furious and doesn't let up. Not only is it action packed, there's humor throughout. This book holds twists and turns and ends with a cliff hanger, which left me immediately ready to pounce into a sequel! Which I will be patiently waiting for (drums fingers...).
Another exciting book in the LitRPG genre. Hope Engine starts fast and furious and doesn't let up. Not only is it action packed, there's humor throughout. This book holds twists and turns and ends with a cliff hanger, which left me immediately ready to pounce into a sequel! Which I will be patiently waiting for (drums fingers...).
August 1, 2019
A thoroughly enjoyable read, although my thoughts on the last third or so are decidedly mixed. The RPG world is a bit vague at times, but issues with the realism of it are more than balanced out by some great characters, in particular head minion Horace. The cliffhanger ending does intrigue me enough to want to pick up the sequel whenever it comes out.
August 23, 2020
I received an eARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
HOPE Engine by Andrew Lynch is an interesting litRPG that dives straight into the action but falters a bit in the execution.
In the book, Severo, an orphan, has just reached the age where he is able to enter a widely played VRMMO fantasy game. Soon after entering the world, making his character, and learning some of the basics, Severo is plunged into the main storyline. He starts leveling up his character but has to deal with his village being in the path of a conquering enemy.
My overall impression of the book was that there were a lot of great ideas that didn’t really get the attention they needed to be fully realized, leading to a bit of a lack of focus in general.
The format of the game was a definite strong point, with clearly defined class, stat, equipment, loot, and ability system. The gameplay also included a situation feature that I found pretty cool, since it transported a player straight into a high stakes situation, cutting down on a lot of the traveling involved in quests or grinding. It also had the feature that the NPCs were aware of what players were and that the world was a game.
After the tutorial the book starts up a village building plotline as the protagonist figures out the game. The first situation Severo participates in and the events that follow establish the main threat and get the plot of the story going. At this point the plot starts going in a number of directions, each interesting but slightly rushed since too much was going on and not being sufficiently explained. The story tries to simultaneously run too many plot threads, and suffers for it.
Another weakness of the book was the main character, Severo, who is somewhat annoying, and often behaves inconsistently and out of character for a sixteen year old.
Some of the issues I had with the book were addressed to some degree by some of the plot elements towards the end of the book, but those issues still had a pretty significant impact on my enjoyment of the middle of the story.
In conclusion, if you enjoy litRPGs, I would recommend giving HOPE Engine a shot, since the overall premise and ending of the book definitely have potential in sequels.
3/5
HOPE Engine by Andrew Lynch is an interesting litRPG that dives straight into the action but falters a bit in the execution.
In the book, Severo, an orphan, has just reached the age where he is able to enter a widely played VRMMO fantasy game. Soon after entering the world, making his character, and learning some of the basics, Severo is plunged into the main storyline. He starts leveling up his character but has to deal with his village being in the path of a conquering enemy.
My overall impression of the book was that there were a lot of great ideas that didn’t really get the attention they needed to be fully realized, leading to a bit of a lack of focus in general.
The format of the game was a definite strong point, with clearly defined class, stat, equipment, loot, and ability system. The gameplay also included a situation feature that I found pretty cool, since it transported a player straight into a high stakes situation, cutting down on a lot of the traveling involved in quests or grinding. It also had the feature that the NPCs were aware of what players were and that the world was a game.
After the tutorial the book starts up a village building plotline as the protagonist figures out the game. The first situation Severo participates in and the events that follow establish the main threat and get the plot of the story going. At this point the plot starts going in a number of directions, each interesting but slightly rushed since too much was going on and not being sufficiently explained. The story tries to simultaneously run too many plot threads, and suffers for it.
Another weakness of the book was the main character, Severo, who is somewhat annoying, and often behaves inconsistently and out of character for a sixteen year old.
Some of the issues I had with the book were addressed to some degree by some of the plot elements towards the end of the book, but those issues still had a pretty significant impact on my enjoyment of the middle of the story.
In conclusion, if you enjoy litRPGs, I would recommend giving HOPE Engine a shot, since the overall premise and ending of the book definitely have potential in sequels.
3/5
May 1, 2019
My book.
What can I say about my own book?
LitRPG is such a weird genre. It's a way to portray something that is trying to portray something that you are currently portraying. But, I like fantasy, I like books, and I like gaming. It was basically MADE just for me. So I wrote one!
Like most of my books, this one has a muddy middle.
My one real take away from this year long writing experience is that I NEED to plan my plots. Figuring them out as I go might be fun for me, but if I'm not going to majorly restructure the book after the first draft, then I'm disrespecting my readers.
My next book will be a master piece!
What can I say about my own book?
LitRPG is such a weird genre. It's a way to portray something that is trying to portray something that you are currently portraying. But, I like fantasy, I like books, and I like gaming. It was basically MADE just for me. So I wrote one!
Like most of my books, this one has a muddy middle.
My one real take away from this year long writing experience is that I NEED to plan my plots. Figuring them out as I go might be fun for me, but if I'm not going to majorly restructure the book after the first draft, then I'm disrespecting my readers.
My next book will be a master piece!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews