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World of Karik #1
A Game of Villains
They lied, they lie, they will lie. This world is built on deception.
Vasily entered the store that fateful evening and became involved in a life-or-death game arranged by a mysterious creature. He survived, but instead of Earth, he now appeared to be in a different world, with other people who had passed a similarly deadly test. Some did so through force, some by using their cunning… Everyone has their own story, but they all have one thing in common—there are no good people among them.
The world of Karik turned out to be like a game. In it, one can level up, grow stronger, even resurrect in case of failure. But if one makes the mistake of believing the wrong person, they will die for real. Will the magic that Vasily needs to conceal, or maybe his patron, who seems incapable of telling the truth, help him? Who can say?
Vasily entered the store that fateful evening and became involved in a life-or-death game arranged by a mysterious creature. He survived, but instead of Earth, he now appeared to be in a different world, with other people who had passed a similarly deadly test. Some did so through force, some by using their cunning… Everyone has their own story, but they all have one thing in common—there are no good people among them.
The world of Karik turned out to be like a game. In it, one can level up, grow stronger, even resurrect in case of failure. But if one makes the mistake of believing the wrong person, they will die for real. Will the magic that Vasily needs to conceal, or maybe his patron, who seems incapable of telling the truth, help him? Who can say?
- GenresFantasy
653 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 2, 2019
185 people are currently reading
684 people want to read
About the author
Anton Emelianov
72 books66 followersHello, everyone. We’re two guys from Russia, and you probably won't believe us, but we write very good science fiction, fantasy, and LitRPG books. At least a hundred thousand people that have already read them have become our fans.
Honestly, writing has always been our passion. Therefore, we don't plan to stop. We’ll continue to develop our series; new books will be released, we'll start new projects as well... And we hope that more and more people will be able to enjoy our stories with the help of Amazon and other sites. We love that so many people, who might have never heard of us, just a few decades prior, might now get a chance to become our readers and, hopefully, fans.
Also, we have a little secret we'd like to share with you. My biggest dream is to have a film made, with a script based on our books, and my friend has always dreamt about seeing an anime based on one of our fictional worlds. I guess what remains is to find out which one of us will see his dream come true first!
Honestly, writing has always been our passion. Therefore, we don't plan to stop. We’ll continue to develop our series; new books will be released, we'll start new projects as well... And we hope that more and more people will be able to enjoy our stories with the help of Amazon and other sites. We love that so many people, who might have never heard of us, just a few decades prior, might now get a chance to become our readers and, hopefully, fans.
Also, we have a little secret we'd like to share with you. My biggest dream is to have a film made, with a script based on our books, and my friend has always dreamt about seeing an anime based on one of our fictional worlds. I guess what remains is to find out which one of us will see his dream come true first!
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 22, 2019
It's been three years since we finished A Game of Villains. Now it seems like it was a very long time ago. During this time, the series has grown to nine books and has become a real bestseller in our homeland (both e-books and audiobooks). Each book from the World of Karik series provoked heated discussions. Some thought that it's about egocentrism and rationality, other were able to take a fresh look at their friends and relatives thanks to it. Someone sincerely thanked us and said that they were able to change themselves after having read about Cat's adventures.
We think that it's really great that our books taught people to think and to see the things around them with a fresh perspective, and, most importantly, to grow and become better. Hopefully, A Game of Villains will help you discover something new, too.
We wish you a good read and great adventures!
We think that it's really great that our books taught people to think and to see the things around them with a fresh perspective, and, most importantly, to grow and become better. Hopefully, A Game of Villains will help you discover something new, too.
We wish you a good read and great adventures!
February 20, 2024
I just wanted it all to end. Besides not all of these beings were what they seemed. That's why I kept reading
September 11, 2019
Alert
I hate trying to write reviews because there are really only pass/fail results for me. Did I make it all the way through? Yes? 5 stars. No? There would be nothing here to read. In all fairness, if an author holds my attention from page one to the end, they’ve done their job. Anything less than 5 stars is petty criticism from someone incapable of even doing the job let alone doing a better one.
So in respect for the author and their work, I am going to start pasting this along with a generic review I found somewhere. “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Cheers
I hate trying to write reviews because there are really only pass/fail results for me. Did I make it all the way through? Yes? 5 stars. No? There would be nothing here to read. In all fairness, if an author holds my attention from page one to the end, they’ve done their job. Anything less than 5 stars is petty criticism from someone incapable of even doing the job let alone doing a better one.
So in respect for the author and their work, I am going to start pasting this along with a generic review I found somewhere. “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Cheers
August 22, 2019
A Game of Minds, a Game of Villains
The characters are all great, fun to read about and adventure with, and the world are both well done and portrayed, with its all mysteries and secrets. I wonder what part of it was shown to us so far.
The pace through the book is pretty good, great character development and the author did a great job of meeting his goals, which was to create a believable survival story with a smart and cunning MC.
The characters are all great, fun to read about and adventure with, and the world are both well done and portrayed, with its all mysteries and secrets. I wonder what part of it was shown to us so far.
The pace through the book is pretty good, great character development and the author did a great job of meeting his goals, which was to create a believable survival story with a smart and cunning MC.
August 22, 2019
I've read it on Reddit. Great novel, highly recommend it.
Have already pre-ordered the second book. Keep it up please!
Have already pre-ordered the second book. Keep it up please!
September 10, 2019
Great read. I did not notice any errors and had a hard time putting this book down. The world was interesting and was well developed.
August 30, 2019
This book is very awesome.
November 11, 2019
Always interesting
This story never stopped being interesting from start to finish the translation was a little rough but I still highly recommend
This story never stopped being interesting from start to finish the translation was a little rough but I still highly recommend
June 22, 2023
I didn’t really like this book because of how awkward it read. The story is told in first person point of view, which is fine. With first person, you’re in the head of the main character and understand their actions because of how you’d read their reasoning through scenes. This is not what happens in this story.
It’s confusing as fuck. You can’t even empathize with the character at all. He just jumps from one action to the next. It just comes off like the main character is the annoying one while everyone else he’s around is genuinely doing their best given the situation they find themselves in. There’s no sense of crises from him. Maybe that sense where he treats the world and those around him as NPCs that live in his world is intentional. I really don’t believe that’s the case though.
I understand this character is supposed to be a sort of ‘villain’ or a manipulative, lying guy. It’s what he has to do to get his stats up given the god that ‘blessed’ him. There’s many scenes that are incredibly awkward.
At one point, he’s tasked to go to this Forbidden City and must choose people to take with him. He decides to speak to one to read their stats without their knowledge. And then leaves in the middle of the conversation after he’s done. It’s incredibly abrupt and even I, as the reader, am baffled. There’s a lot of scenes like that where the main character makes an abrupt decision or action that takes me out of the story.
That’s my biggest gripe with the story. If it wasn’t for that, I’d enjoy it a lot more. It’s a crazy world set up and the story for it is really interesting. I just can’t bring myself to read anymore books in the series because I don’t want to subject myself to that reading experience again.
There was a lot of mentions about the guy maybe being attracted to some of the girls or checking them out. But every instance was so awkward and I got second hand embarrassment from it. And I think the story also tries to lead the reader to believe all the girls are into this guy. But it’s like reading about a teenager who thinks he’s hot shit and all the girls love him. It’s annoying but funny to think about after the fact.
I would recommend for others to read at least the first book. This is something someone has to read and decide for themselves if it’d affect their reading experience or not. Personally, it did for me. Sorry I couldn’t continue reading. I liked the idea behind the story. Just not how it was executed. Maybe others would enjoy this series more.
It’s confusing as fuck. You can’t even empathize with the character at all. He just jumps from one action to the next. It just comes off like the main character is the annoying one while everyone else he’s around is genuinely doing their best given the situation they find themselves in. There’s no sense of crises from him. Maybe that sense where he treats the world and those around him as NPCs that live in his world is intentional. I really don’t believe that’s the case though.
I understand this character is supposed to be a sort of ‘villain’ or a manipulative, lying guy. It’s what he has to do to get his stats up given the god that ‘blessed’ him. There’s many scenes that are incredibly awkward.
At one point, he’s tasked to go to this Forbidden City and must choose people to take with him. He decides to speak to one to read their stats without their knowledge. And then leaves in the middle of the conversation after he’s done. It’s incredibly abrupt and even I, as the reader, am baffled. There’s a lot of scenes like that where the main character makes an abrupt decision or action that takes me out of the story.
That’s my biggest gripe with the story. If it wasn’t for that, I’d enjoy it a lot more. It’s a crazy world set up and the story for it is really interesting. I just can’t bring myself to read anymore books in the series because I don’t want to subject myself to that reading experience again.
There was a lot of mentions about the guy maybe being attracted to some of the girls or checking them out. But every instance was so awkward and I got second hand embarrassment from it. And I think the story also tries to lead the reader to believe all the girls are into this guy. But it’s like reading about a teenager who thinks he’s hot shit and all the girls love him. It’s annoying but funny to think about after the fact.
I would recommend for others to read at least the first book. This is something someone has to read and decide for themselves if it’d affect their reading experience or not. Personally, it did for me. Sorry I couldn’t continue reading. I liked the idea behind the story. Just not how it was executed. Maybe others would enjoy this series more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2021
This book is reading off in some way. I don't know if it's because it wasn't translated properly from Russian to English, but the story isn't going smoothly. It feels like it was cut somewhere, but I can't tell where.
I really don't know if I should read the second book, the author is trying to have his character play 4D Chess with everyone. Sometimes his reasoning doesn't match how he came to a conclusion.
I will put this on the maybe list. The rating reflects the flow of the story, not the story itself, that was interesting.
2.5/5 Stars
I really don't know if I should read the second book, the author is trying to have his character play 4D Chess with everyone. Sometimes his reasoning doesn't match how he came to a conclusion.
I will put this on the maybe list. The rating reflects the flow of the story, not the story itself, that was interesting.
2.5/5 Stars
September 14, 2024
I appreciate the effort but this book is a horrible mess. It's convoluted and often contrived. It's all over the place. It's very inconsistent. Also the writing is quite often lazy. Much eye rolling with tropes and "surprise twists" that are nothing more than the author giving false info and changing it later.
That's all standard for poor writing. The really offensive part of it is the MC. He's stupid, weak, and worst of all soft. His empathy for people who are trying to kill him, and even monsters, just makes me gag.
That's all standard for poor writing. The really offensive part of it is the MC. He's stupid, weak, and worst of all soft. His empathy for people who are trying to kill him, and even monsters, just makes me gag.
December 2, 2020
An entertaining but frustrating read. It all comes together to make sense in the end but I struggled to make sense of motivations and character actions for the majority of the book. Even then, it kept me reading to when everything came together. Ultimately, would recommend.
July 30, 2021
An unique and "okayish" Story that does not quite work the way the author wants it to work.
However, seeing that the Author has split up the second book into two but still wants the same price for each made me classify this book series as a cheap cashgrab and wont continue.
However, seeing that the Author has split up the second book into two but still wants the same price for each made me classify this book series as a cheap cashgrab and wont continue.
April 5, 2020
As a avid reader/listener of litrpg I can not reccomend this book enough. It is a masterpiece and one of the best in the genre.
April 9, 2020
Amazing
Fantastic read for those looking to immerse themselves into a world of monsters, magic, and mystery. This is my new favorite book.
Fantastic read for those looking to immerse themselves into a world of monsters, magic, and mystery. This is my new favorite book.
May 28, 2020
I enjoy the post apocalyptic feel of this book with the influence of gods in a way that not typical. The process of learning how the world work with the mc is great and gives you even more question.
Read
February 1, 2022Read the synopsis, if you can stand this grammar, then go back to preschool and relearn your ABCs.
September 26, 2023
When will book four English translation come out?
October 4, 2020
Very good
i recommend these books for anybody who likes a fastflowing interesting story. In fact all of the books the authors have written
are imo worth reading !
i recommend these books for anybody who likes a fastflowing interesting story. In fact all of the books the authors have written
are imo worth reading !
December 12, 2019
enjoyable but didn't hook me the other books in the series are on the long to read list for me
November 21, 2019
Really keeps you on your toes. The book is action-packed, full of lies and deceit that you just don't see coming. I particularly applaud the characters here; Anton and Sergei provided great intros to a large amount of characters that weren't necessarily friendly, but were still very interesting and complex.
However, I will say that I have read every single book of these two that's been translated to English and this was probably the worst translated/edited (except the original translation of this). There were a few instances where things seemed to be translated too literally, not making a lot of sense, and I found myself being confused far more often than normal. Sentences are far too disjointed, not flowing into the next sentence at all. It's readable, but not like the previous books I've read from the same authors, and definitely came from translation.
However, I will say that I have read every single book of these two that's been translated to English and this was probably the worst translated/edited (except the original translation of this). There were a few instances where things seemed to be translated too literally, not making a lot of sense, and I found myself being confused far more often than normal. Sentences are far too disjointed, not flowing into the next sentence at all. It's readable, but not like the previous books I've read from the same authors, and definitely came from translation.
September 8, 2019
Couldn’t get into it.
September 21, 2019
Could not get through the Prologue
Extremely bad intro and I only made it a few pages in. I suppose that this might be another cultivation story.
Extremely bad intro and I only made it a few pages in. I suppose that this might be another cultivation story.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews