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The Dragon's Revenge
When a multinational games company recruit Tom, a smart, streetwise Dublin teenager, to get a team together and come to San Francisco to immerse themselves in a massive fantasy world, he thinks it is the job of his dreams. His challenge is to level up fast so as to eliminate an AI dragon that has gone rogue and is preventing the release of the game.
As Tom comes closer to that goal, he starts to realise that the game is not what it seems, not least because a powerful crypto-currency company seem to have funded the creation of the game for their own purposes.
LitRPG from Level Up
https://www.levelup.pub/
As Tom comes closer to that goal, he starts to realise that the game is not what it seems, not least because a powerful crypto-currency company seem to have funded the creation of the game for their own purposes.
LitRPG from Level Up
https://www.levelup.pub/
- GenresFantasy
453 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 9, 2019
14 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Conor Kostick
44 books148 followersConor Kostick was a designer for the world's first live action role-playing game, Treasure Trap. He is the author of many historical, political and cultural articles. Epic was his first novel and was awarded a place on the International Board on Books for Young People Honours list for 2006 and on the Booklist Best Fantasy Books for Youth list for 2007. Set in a fantasy MMORPG, Epic can be considered an early example of LitRPG. The sequel to Epic, titled Saga, was first published in Ireland in 2006. Conor received a Special Merit Award from the Reading Association of Ireland in 2009.
In 2018, Conor joined Level Up as commissioning editor to publish LitRPG books.
https://www.levelup.pub/what-is-litrpg
In 2018, Conor joined Level Up as commissioning editor to publish LitRPG books.
https://www.levelup.pub/what-is-litrpg
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 12, 2022
It really reads like you're observing players on Twitch. It's a good book, and it's certainly different from most game literature out there, but I'm not really diggin' it.
August 8, 2019
This is one of those books that you can look into as deeply as you wish. Since the book is written in a way that has a solid plot for everyone, each person may interpret it in a completely different way.
All of the characters have their own drive; some for the common goal, some not. Each one has a unique believable personality that influences every action taken. The book gives a sense of progression to the goal, just enough to make each chapter feel like the most important one yet. Still, every time, a snippet of the backstory is given so that it feels like you are learning along with the characters.
This story explores what a multi-billion-dollar company might do under the prospect of losing it all, when a loophole threatens to destroy it within a matter of months.
In the company’s virtual reality game on the brink of demise, every character stat, enemy attack pattern, even that seemingly minimal event that happened hundreds of pages ago will somehow circle back, both in the game and outside. I could read this book again and again, and still find new connections every time.
If you have read this author’s trilogy, Epic, this is set in the world that would have existed if those characters had stayed on Earth all along; this is essentially Epic’s utopian twin.
This quality work highlights the best of the LitRPG series. I really loved this novel, and I think you will too.
(Advanced Reader Copy)
All of the characters have their own drive; some for the common goal, some not. Each one has a unique believable personality that influences every action taken. The book gives a sense of progression to the goal, just enough to make each chapter feel like the most important one yet. Still, every time, a snippet of the backstory is given so that it feels like you are learning along with the characters.
This story explores what a multi-billion-dollar company might do under the prospect of losing it all, when a loophole threatens to destroy it within a matter of months.
In the company’s virtual reality game on the brink of demise, every character stat, enemy attack pattern, even that seemingly minimal event that happened hundreds of pages ago will somehow circle back, both in the game and outside. I could read this book again and again, and still find new connections every time.
If you have read this author’s trilogy, Epic, this is set in the world that would have existed if those characters had stayed on Earth all along; this is essentially Epic’s utopian twin.
This quality work highlights the best of the LitRPG series. I really loved this novel, and I think you will too.
(Advanced Reader Copy)
August 12, 2019
Conor Kostick is an extremely gifted writer who has written a story in which the fantastical and the mundane are intertwined with extraordinary skill and empathy. I am delighted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and, as with all great stories, I was sorry to leave the world the author so skillfully created.
August 15, 2019
I have been a big fan of the genre and author since I read Epic, so I was overjoyed when I found out there was going to be a new book. It did not disappoint and I can't wait for the next one!! Sadly I don't think I can go further into it without getting excited and unwillingly giving spoilers, so read for yourself! 😁
July 21, 2019
(review of an Advance Reader Copy)
This was an excellent story, and I have no doubt most LitRPG fans will thoroughly enjoy this one.
I suspect there will be more in the series, and if there are, I'd certainly do my best to track them down and read those too.
I like the world building here, the character progression (not just of the actual players), and the real world depiction of possible issues players would face in a similar scenario. This was a very well done piece of work, and I highly recommend it.
This was an excellent story, and I have no doubt most LitRPG fans will thoroughly enjoy this one.
I suspect there will be more in the series, and if there are, I'd certainly do my best to track them down and read those too.
I like the world building here, the character progression (not just of the actual players), and the real world depiction of possible issues players would face in a similar scenario. This was a very well done piece of work, and I highly recommend it.
May 15, 2021
Massive great read if you are into brilliant better-than-life reality games. And even if you're not the plot line will have you wondering about the future of AI. Are we building a type of intelligence that will eventually be superior to us? A young guy from Cabra in Dublin is recruited by the makers of a game where the dragon they created has gone rogue and can't be controlled. The only way to bring him back under control is go into the game. But only the very best have a chance of surviving. The description of the change of reality once the players put on earphones and goggles and strap themselves in is so realistic even someone like this reader, with no experience in these games, could feel a sense of anticipation. It made me want to go out and buy the gear (I didn't; all my money goes on books :) )
December 29, 2019
“Let’s try again”.
If you’ve ever been or seen players in an RPG, facing off against a large Boss, these words may seem familiar. In The Dragon’s Revenge, Tom Foster and his online companions must face off foes such as this in order to gain experience for their avatars. Although after being scouted by the creators of Epic, Tom, a teenage boy still in high school, is offered a compromising job prospect…
And with that, the adventure begins. The book is a great insight into what being a part of a global community is like for players of various types and ethnicities. For me, it was hard to put the book down because of the immersive world inside. Kostick creates a likeable band of characters, each with their own unique aspects and noteworthy dynamics between them.
At the end of the book, you’ll be left wanting more, which of course there will hopefully be. If you do enjoy it as much as I did, be sure to check out Kostick’s other fiction as well as LitRPG novels by other authors, as this book is a terrific addition to the genre.
If you’ve ever been or seen players in an RPG, facing off against a large Boss, these words may seem familiar. In The Dragon’s Revenge, Tom Foster and his online companions must face off foes such as this in order to gain experience for their avatars. Although after being scouted by the creators of Epic, Tom, a teenage boy still in high school, is offered a compromising job prospect…
And with that, the adventure begins. The book is a great insight into what being a part of a global community is like for players of various types and ethnicities. For me, it was hard to put the book down because of the immersive world inside. Kostick creates a likeable band of characters, each with their own unique aspects and noteworthy dynamics between them.
At the end of the book, you’ll be left wanting more, which of course there will hopefully be. If you do enjoy it as much as I did, be sure to check out Kostick’s other fiction as well as LitRPG novels by other authors, as this book is a terrific addition to the genre.
December 2, 2019
This is the first time I read a LitRPG book. I really enjoyed it, I've read a few books by Kostick and I really enjoyed it. The book goes into the mechanics of the game play and tactics of RPGs. I don't play computer games but what is going on is laid out easily enough that even this oldie got what was going on.
The book is about a poor young lad from Ireland who is a top player in a fictional RPG game. The makers of the game are releasing a new version of the game but there is a problem with it and the makers are getting all the best players of the old version together to carry out a challenge to sort out the problem
<\story set up from here>
The reason why the company needs players to fix the problem rather than patch the problem is cleverly set up and there is a very clever twist in the plot that I didn't see coming.
<\slight spoiler from here>
The book is about a poor young lad from Ireland who is a top player in a fictional RPG game. The makers of the game are releasing a new version of the game but there is a problem with it and the makers are getting all the best players of the old version together to carry out a challenge to sort out the problem
<\story set up from here>
The reason why the company needs players to fix the problem rather than patch the problem is cleverly set up and there is a very clever twist in the plot that I didn't see coming.
<\slight spoiler from here>
July 21, 2019
Good Read Alert !! Good book that tells a good story.
Enjoyable journey with good character development.
Suitable for all ages.
Hope to see more from this author !
I was lucky to get a pre-release copy to review. For those that love this Genre, it's a good choice !
Enjoyable journey with good character development.
Suitable for all ages.
Hope to see more from this author !
I was lucky to get a pre-release copy to review. For those that love this Genre, it's a good choice !
December 20, 2020
Why has this been my favorite LitRPG book to date? Simply, it is much more complex than most other LitRPG books I have read so far. The characters are not just playing another virtual reality game simulation. Within this book, we are introduced to an assortment of diverse and multi-sided characters. We had Tyro our rebellious Irish teenager with a mind that wartime generals would envy and his sidekick Rathia being backed up by Sapentia, Braja, and my main dude, Grythiss! This team of adventures is not just here to grind levels and become online superstars to the fans of raids on massive and dangerous bosses. Rather we are introduced to them in the middle of taking down the baddest bad in the Epic game, the dragon Mikarkathat. Here we can all see that we are not dealing with just your average players, but the best of the best. Soon after this exciting and thrilling introduction, we can see that Tyro, or Tom in the real world, is not some fancy executive, but a street-wise boy from Dublin attempting to make his way in life. However, the opportunity of his dreams approaches as an executive from Yuno, the creators of Epic, reaches out to him to ask for his assistance. What assistance, you may ask? Well, they need him to come and takeout Mikarkathat in the newest addition game, Epic 2. The only issue, the dragon is AI and has gone rogue. She is turning the bosses of the game against the player characters and slowly taking over the game. However, this might seem all clean-cut, but there are secrets to be learned and untold truths that plague the real and virtual world. Will Tyro and his team be able to save the virtual world in time for its release? Will they be able to uncover all the dark secrets that run throughout Yuno and the larger corporate world? I know, but you don't. You will have to read the book to find out, I guess.
Overall, this book was absolutely so much fun to read. If you were to ask what I hated about the book, I would struggle to find anything to talk about. However, the book is long, but Conor Kostick uses every bit of it. Could the story have been slimmed down? Certainly. Did it need to be slimmed down? Not necessarily. There were points within the book that might be utilized in the second installment (pray there is one). Therefore, I cannot make a just ruling that every part was truly unnecessary. However, outside of that I truly enjoyed the complexities that went into the ambitions of our main cast of characters. It is rather refreshing to not have to suspend belief when comprehending a character's motivations. The real-world ramifications in this book were excellent and provided solid and respectable reasons for the character's goals throughout the entire book. The humor was on point, and while it was not exactly my humor I was with it and would say that it would be excellent for many who enjoy a bit of humor in their books. The characters were certainly in-depth, but the side cast's depth was not as present as Tom's there was truly no need for more. Conor gave us exactly what you needed to see each character as an individual and built up an amazing world around them. Lastly, I could say that this is probably one of my top LitRPG books of the year, and I would recommend it to anyone. The book gives enough information to allow entry from non-LitRPG readers. Also, it has enough juice for those dedicated Lit-RPG fans to get into the book.
Overall, this book was absolutely so much fun to read. If you were to ask what I hated about the book, I would struggle to find anything to talk about. However, the book is long, but Conor Kostick uses every bit of it. Could the story have been slimmed down? Certainly. Did it need to be slimmed down? Not necessarily. There were points within the book that might be utilized in the second installment (pray there is one). Therefore, I cannot make a just ruling that every part was truly unnecessary. However, outside of that I truly enjoyed the complexities that went into the ambitions of our main cast of characters. It is rather refreshing to not have to suspend belief when comprehending a character's motivations. The real-world ramifications in this book were excellent and provided solid and respectable reasons for the character's goals throughout the entire book. The humor was on point, and while it was not exactly my humor I was with it and would say that it would be excellent for many who enjoy a bit of humor in their books. The characters were certainly in-depth, but the side cast's depth was not as present as Tom's there was truly no need for more. Conor gave us exactly what you needed to see each character as an individual and built up an amazing world around them. Lastly, I could say that this is probably one of my top LitRPG books of the year, and I would recommend it to anyone. The book gives enough information to allow entry from non-LitRPG readers. Also, it has enough juice for those dedicated Lit-RPG fans to get into the book.
July 17, 2024
I was thrilled to find an SF book with an Irish hero. Tom is a city kid who started playing RPGs early, and now earns from streaming his adventures in a massive online world called Epic. He's still in school, but has amassed an army of online friends who join him at the start to take down a dragon.
Tom's knowledge of the game world and organising abilities draw the game makers to consult him about their new version, Epic 2, which is nearly ready for release. There's a slight problem, as the dragon was this time given an AI and has started to take over large sections of the landscape. If Tom is willing to sign a contract he gets paid to game test in America, catching bugs.
I like that Tom isn't a perfect character. He still makes mistakes and owns up to them pretty quickly, hoping to keep the loyalty of his online friends, who are nearly all older. They're mistakes that someone of his age would easily make. Sometimes the friends are exactly what he needs, more wary of corporate greed and potential outcomes. Like, why can't the makers shut the game down, or debug it themselves? Why are they paying dozens of gamers and making them sign non-disclosure agreements?
The best battle of the game is one near the end, against a god of war in a jungle ziggurat, and after that, the rest is rather anticlimactic, but the real star is the game landscape and the immersion created by gaming rigs with surfaces, scent, sights and sounds recreated. I want to go. I was homesick for Oblivion and Morrowind and Aranna and Dungeon Siege, and they aren't MMOGs. Read, enjoy, sit up late several nights like I did, not wanting to put the book down but wanting to have more to read tomorrow. I hadn't read any others by this author but will now look out for them.
This is an unbiased review.
Tom's knowledge of the game world and organising abilities draw the game makers to consult him about their new version, Epic 2, which is nearly ready for release. There's a slight problem, as the dragon was this time given an AI and has started to take over large sections of the landscape. If Tom is willing to sign a contract he gets paid to game test in America, catching bugs.
I like that Tom isn't a perfect character. He still makes mistakes and owns up to them pretty quickly, hoping to keep the loyalty of his online friends, who are nearly all older. They're mistakes that someone of his age would easily make. Sometimes the friends are exactly what he needs, more wary of corporate greed and potential outcomes. Like, why can't the makers shut the game down, or debug it themselves? Why are they paying dozens of gamers and making them sign non-disclosure agreements?
The best battle of the game is one near the end, against a god of war in a jungle ziggurat, and after that, the rest is rather anticlimactic, but the real star is the game landscape and the immersion created by gaming rigs with surfaces, scent, sights and sounds recreated. I want to go. I was homesick for Oblivion and Morrowind and Aranna and Dungeon Siege, and they aren't MMOGs. Read, enjoy, sit up late several nights like I did, not wanting to put the book down but wanting to have more to read tomorrow. I hadn't read any others by this author but will now look out for them.
This is an unbiased review.
June 30, 2023
A very original cast of characters and an exciting LitRPG adventure that takes the reader through the MMORPG online type game world, interspersed by nefarious intrigue in the real world also. The story is told in first person, and the main character is a likeable youth who has some flaws but also garners friendship from those around him. His close friends in the novel are well written and the story is immersive. A very intricate planned book and one that deserves to be read by all who like LitRPG. I recommend this book.
May 21, 2020
Quite a pleasant surprise
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. Had someone told me I would read and enjoy a book about role playing in a VR world, I would have laughed. But I really did. The characters are strong and the story flows. I felt immersed in the VR world, which provided a mix of high fantasy and sci-fi very successfully. Highly recommended.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. Had someone told me I would read and enjoy a book about role playing in a VR world, I would have laughed. But I really did. The characters are strong and the story flows. I felt immersed in the VR world, which provided a mix of high fantasy and sci-fi very successfully. Highly recommended.
October 4, 2020
This really felt like a retread of Epic. I also rather resented that there was only one substantial female character. The world of gaming has changed a lot in the past 20 years. Over 40% of gamers are now female. And the more narrative based a game is, the more female players.
Read
October 24, 2019A very imaginative novel. The novel I feel exists on multiple levels without complicating the story. The story is narrated by a gaming player who becomes involved with taking part in saving a digital game Epic 2 as he works with others who are contracted to correct an anomaly within the gaming program. A deeper level of the story is all the action that takes place within the game itself. The author takes us into the gaming world and describes a state of the art game and gaming equipment that Tyro takes part in with very individual and varied characters who become his friends, a world within the real world. Among other themes of modern concern expressed in the narrative are the rights of artificial intelligence, when should artificial intelligence have rights if at all. The strangest of all worlds to Tyrol and his friends are a third level of the story, the workings of corporate America and how the cogs of a gaming company turn that has contracted them to fix the defects written into the gaming program. A good read and well written.
September 1, 2019
This really was a gripping novel, a genuine page-turner, as they say. For those unfamiliar with gaming, the characters and plot are strong enough to hold interest. The battles in the real world are intriguing, but the fantasy world of rpg is where the full intrigue and excitement is to be really enjoyed. An understanding of rpg terms isn't necessary and I'm sure the technical details can be skipped through without spoiling the excitement; but to gamers those details make the story all the more vivid and real. Tom is a hero the reader can readily engage with and the storyline is all-too believable. The story unfolds at a perfect pace and, although I formulated ideas with each revelation, I couldn't guess the ending. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
August 14, 2019
Interesting
Not thrilling or heartwarming but interesting. The closest I've come to playing an RPG is the Facebook game Castle Age and a recent expensive month trying out Final Fantasy 15, so the raid leader point of view impressed me. I would like to read the next book.
Not thrilling or heartwarming but interesting. The closest I've come to playing an RPG is the Facebook game Castle Age and a recent expensive month trying out Final Fantasy 15, so the raid leader point of view impressed me. I would like to read the next book.
August 18, 2019
Entertaining, thought provoking and engrossing. I particularly enjoyed the deft weaving of the in-game story with Tom's real life arc. Recommended for gamers and non-gamers alike.
(I received an advance review copy)
(I received an advance review copy)
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews