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Light Online #1
Farmer
Eddie Hunter is about at the end of his rope, so when he stumbles across an ad looking for people to farm in Long Term Immersion in the game Light Online, he can't believe his luck. Once hired he enters the game as soon as he can. Unbeknownst to him, though, the person that hired him is also doing illicit research on the pods that he and the other farmers are using.
The research is rapidly discovered by the AIs that monitor the game and shut down, forcefully, by the company that runs Light Online. But the code that runs those pods has been altered, and until it's fixed Eddie and the others can't log out. Although the devs assure him that it won't take long to fix, Eddie's not so sure of that himself.
Eddie entered the game to make money in real life, and as he tries to do that he finds himself getting entangled deeper and deeper in the game and with the people he meets there. But when he discovers a side of the game that the previous players had apparently never even considered, he knows he has to find a way to stay in the game.
This story is approximately 120,000 words long and DRM free.
The research is rapidly discovered by the AIs that monitor the game and shut down, forcefully, by the company that runs Light Online. But the code that runs those pods has been altered, and until it's fixed Eddie and the others can't log out. Although the devs assure him that it won't take long to fix, Eddie's not so sure of that himself.
Eddie entered the game to make money in real life, and as he tries to do that he finds himself getting entangled deeper and deeper in the game and with the people he meets there. But when he discovers a side of the game that the previous players had apparently never even considered, he knows he has to find a way to stay in the game.
This story is approximately 120,000 words long and DRM free.
520 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 13, 2019
1069 people are currently reading
390 people want to read
About the author
Tom Larcombe
28 books251 followersTom Larcombe was introduced to fantasy books at a young age. Those that were aimed more at children hooked him in, but not well enough for him to remember their names at this point in his life. Their draw led him to books aimed more for the adult reader and so he found himself, at around age eight, starting in on the Steven R Donaldson 'Thomas Covenant' series and the Hobbit, followed shortly thereafter by The Lord of the Rings books.
His reading tastes have never looked back, although they have broadened to include science fiction and the occasional non-fiction book.
He lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with his wife, two daughters, three cats, and a variable number of chickens.
His reading tastes have never looked back, although they have broadened to include science fiction and the occasional non-fiction book.
He lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains with his wife, two daughters, three cats, and a variable number of chickens.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews
December 24, 2019
Beta wish fulfillment
For the genre I would like to give this 5 stars. I mean it actually basically looks like a book and we all know 5 stars means (decent product)
I lost my temper at 58% it was already a slog to get there. It would be interesting if this was the first book of this type of read. Decent if I had only read dozens. However I'm a serial bibliophile who discovered this genre over a decade ago.
1) Our protagonist is completely normal. Normals great I love normal but normally doesn't make your an entrepreneur. He's the only person in the world to cook meat? This trend continues...
2) Upon entering a game world he's the only farmer to go explore or try to play the game
3) It's some of life there's not overall plot. Except there is? It just doesn't matter. While our protagonist is one shotting bunnies and getting paid $2000 to make level 1 yeah... That right. Seeing the wish fulfillment? The antagonist is already running for his life and the whole mess is getting fixed by someone else
4) He's a nice guy... Look we all read these looking for something light and fun. New ideas and adventure. It just doesn't add anything. The moral of the book is. His life sucked so he ran away and lived in a game and the entire universe conspired to make that work for him. He never had any problems. He's a landowner (given to him for free) who got a pretty girl (who threw herself at him because he's the only nice guy in the world)
Wish fulfillment is popular. Just look at HP if you like HP and games and want to read something around that level to is your book.
If you would prefer a little realism to your daydreams don't waste your time
For the genre I would like to give this 5 stars. I mean it actually basically looks like a book and we all know 5 stars means (decent product)
I lost my temper at 58% it was already a slog to get there. It would be interesting if this was the first book of this type of read. Decent if I had only read dozens. However I'm a serial bibliophile who discovered this genre over a decade ago.
1) Our protagonist is completely normal. Normals great I love normal but normally doesn't make your an entrepreneur. He's the only person in the world to cook meat? This trend continues...
2) Upon entering a game world he's the only farmer to go explore or try to play the game
3) It's some of life there's not overall plot. Except there is? It just doesn't matter. While our protagonist is one shotting bunnies and getting paid $2000 to make level 1 yeah... That right. Seeing the wish fulfillment? The antagonist is already running for his life and the whole mess is getting fixed by someone else
4) He's a nice guy... Look we all read these looking for something light and fun. New ideas and adventure. It just doesn't add anything. The moral of the book is. His life sucked so he ran away and lived in a game and the entire universe conspired to make that work for him. He never had any problems. He's a landowner (given to him for free) who got a pretty girl (who threw herself at him because he's the only nice guy in the world)
Wish fulfillment is popular. Just look at HP if you like HP and games and want to read something around that level to is your book.
If you would prefer a little realism to your daydreams don't waste your time
May 28, 2024
I really liked a recent story by the author that should shape into a series. So I wanted more while waiting for the next and tried this. It was okay. Eddie plods along a bit and the pace is slow. It's a bit slice-of-light so I tolerated that slowness.
The worldbuilding was interesting with a future semi-dystopia pushing the protagonist into a full-immersion VR system with a long-term in-game commitment so I didn't have to worry about two divergent plotlines with real vs. game. This is good. And the game world had interesting quirks, including semi-autonomous AI playing in-game deities explicitly tasked with dynamic/reactive rules/world extensions.
The details of Eddie's exploration were just interesting enough to pull me all the way to the end. And yeah, that's a reluctant admission. This isn't an outstanding story. It has just enough action to break up the pastoral foundation and pull together a three-star rating.
A note about Steamy: Eddie finds a girl. It's a little sweet, a little awkward, and a lot, um, jejune. That word has been on the back of my mind for, like, a week and I can finally use it. Maybe it'll go away now. Anyway, they eventually "connect" and there is just barely enough there that I choose to call it steam. It's a close call, though, so it'd be at the very lowest possible setting.
The worldbuilding was interesting with a future semi-dystopia pushing the protagonist into a full-immersion VR system with a long-term in-game commitment so I didn't have to worry about two divergent plotlines with real vs. game. This is good. And the game world had interesting quirks, including semi-autonomous AI playing in-game deities explicitly tasked with dynamic/reactive rules/world extensions.
The details of Eddie's exploration were just interesting enough to pull me all the way to the end. And yeah, that's a reluctant admission. This isn't an outstanding story. It has just enough action to break up the pastoral foundation and pull together a three-star rating.
A note about Steamy: Eddie finds a girl. It's a little sweet, a little awkward, and a lot, um, jejune. That word has been on the back of my mind for, like, a week and I can finally use it. Maybe it'll go away now. Anyway, they eventually "connect" and there is just barely enough there that I choose to call it steam. It's a close call, though, so it'd be at the very lowest possible setting.
January 31, 2020
Unironically childlike
This is a charmingly simplistic LitRPG novel, almost like it was written by a kid. Unfortunately, that charm quickly wears off and is replaced by incredulity and disappointment. Also, it’s actually written by a grown man.
First off, the main character is incredibly dim and naive. Ed is living on the edge of homelessness and his brilliant solution is to pin all his hopes on a super shady help wanted ad. The type that has you go to the docks and live in a warehouse. Yeah, totally not a murder shack situation. Any halfway intelligent person would run the other way.
Of course, Ed immediately cancels his lease and signs up. And not just to get his feet wet. No, this is for months of continuous immersion in a game Ed has no idea how to play and hasn’t done any research on. Oh, and it pays a whole $20 a day. Best part is no one in his life even knows he took the job. This is basically a textbook scenario of how people get kidnapped for the illegal sex and labor trade.
Assuming the main character isn’t actually hallucinating while having his organs harvested, lets examine his game experience. Ed is enthusiastic and tries his best to make the best of a bad situation, I’ll give him that. I actually enjoyed reading about his honest work and attempts to level up. Sure, he gets lucky (quite literally) and several advantages are basically thrown at him. Also, the game world is highly artificial and the LitRPG mechanics are simplistic (but not just window dressing). At any rate, the early story reminded me of playing D&D as a kid. Back when the world was a simpler place, finding a few gold pieces was a major reward, and imaginary monsters were scarier than real ones.
Unfortunately, that glimpse of innocence is replaced by exasperation when Ed starts interacting with the bigger gaming world. Not to spoil the fun, but there is no way this guy is the brightest bulb in the entire area he is playing in. And yet he somehow transforms from earnest idiot to savvy business entrepreneur in a few chapters by doing things smarter, veteran players should definitely have figured out already. Borrowing from a few film analogies, it’s as believable as Joe Dirt turning into the Wolf of Wall Street.
And the alternate story line in the “real” world is equally implausible. This is portrayed through the lens of an overworked and under appreciated employee dealing with a one-dimensionally bad boss. You would think that a global mega phenomenon like Light Online would have more safeguards in place to protect their code and safety of their clients. At the very least, they should have more than a couple of employees in their catastrophic code response department. It’s pure filler and we hardly need to be reminded Ed is an idiot trapped in a game.
This review may seem a bit harsh, but I’m tired of all the hyper inflated ratings on Amazon and Goodreads. Light Online has over 4 out of 5 stars on both sites, which is exactly why I picked it up. In the book’s defense, the writing is actually very decent with few grammar issues. It’s the lack of logic behind the story, the world building, and the characters that’s the problem. Again, I have to say it’s very childlike.
Any ways, it’s too late for me but I hope my honest review serves as a warning to others looking for something good to read. Cheers.
This is a charmingly simplistic LitRPG novel, almost like it was written by a kid. Unfortunately, that charm quickly wears off and is replaced by incredulity and disappointment. Also, it’s actually written by a grown man.
First off, the main character is incredibly dim and naive. Ed is living on the edge of homelessness and his brilliant solution is to pin all his hopes on a super shady help wanted ad. The type that has you go to the docks and live in a warehouse. Yeah, totally not a murder shack situation. Any halfway intelligent person would run the other way.
Of course, Ed immediately cancels his lease and signs up. And not just to get his feet wet. No, this is for months of continuous immersion in a game Ed has no idea how to play and hasn’t done any research on. Oh, and it pays a whole $20 a day. Best part is no one in his life even knows he took the job. This is basically a textbook scenario of how people get kidnapped for the illegal sex and labor trade.
Assuming the main character isn’t actually hallucinating while having his organs harvested, lets examine his game experience. Ed is enthusiastic and tries his best to make the best of a bad situation, I’ll give him that. I actually enjoyed reading about his honest work and attempts to level up. Sure, he gets lucky (quite literally) and several advantages are basically thrown at him. Also, the game world is highly artificial and the LitRPG mechanics are simplistic (but not just window dressing). At any rate, the early story reminded me of playing D&D as a kid. Back when the world was a simpler place, finding a few gold pieces was a major reward, and imaginary monsters were scarier than real ones.
Unfortunately, that glimpse of innocence is replaced by exasperation when Ed starts interacting with the bigger gaming world. Not to spoil the fun, but there is no way this guy is the brightest bulb in the entire area he is playing in. And yet he somehow transforms from earnest idiot to savvy business entrepreneur in a few chapters by doing things smarter, veteran players should definitely have figured out already. Borrowing from a few film analogies, it’s as believable as Joe Dirt turning into the Wolf of Wall Street.
And the alternate story line in the “real” world is equally implausible. This is portrayed through the lens of an overworked and under appreciated employee dealing with a one-dimensionally bad boss. You would think that a global mega phenomenon like Light Online would have more safeguards in place to protect their code and safety of their clients. At the very least, they should have more than a couple of employees in their catastrophic code response department. It’s pure filler and we hardly need to be reminded Ed is an idiot trapped in a game.
This review may seem a bit harsh, but I’m tired of all the hyper inflated ratings on Amazon and Goodreads. Light Online has over 4 out of 5 stars on both sites, which is exactly why I picked it up. In the book’s defense, the writing is actually very decent with few grammar issues. It’s the lack of logic behind the story, the world building, and the characters that’s the problem. Again, I have to say it’s very childlike.
Any ways, it’s too late for me but I hope my honest review serves as a warning to others looking for something good to read. Cheers.
November 5, 2019
Fun settlement/crafting read
This book came out of nowhere. Truly entertaining and with a novel idea, it's definitely a series I will keep an eye on in the future.
This book came out of nowhere. Truly entertaining and with a novel idea, it's definitely a series I will keep an eye on in the future.
April 11, 2020
I don't know what is scarier a book that is blatant and unrepentant with its misogyny or a book like this which tries its best to pretend like it is not misogynistic but still is.
There is so many problems with how women are portrayed in this book and after finishing it I realized how meta a scene in the book is. There is a scene in the book where there were horrible guys in the area who was extremely misogynistic and when they left the other men compared themselves to those guys but "Better than those two doesn't even mean a civil human being so it's a really low bar"
Before a woman is lvl 7 in the game she is captured by goblins then she is tortured (and it is hinted at raped) for 3 hours before she is killed....Why?....Honestly. Why? I had problems with how the women in this book was portrayed before but this completely broke the book for me. Disregard the fact that this is one of the two defining characteristics of this character (the other characteristic is that Eddie's friend is interested in her)-Do you understand how much trouble this company should be in legally?! This means that the developers coded that torture (and possibly RAPE) is possible in this game and not only that but NPCs are able to torture (and possibly RAPE) PLAYER characters!!!! WHY?! PVP isn't even available till lvl 20 but the possibility of getting tortured (and possibly RAPED) is! WHY?! Can you even imagine how much money she would have gotten from this company if she sued! And the worst part is that is that the book also follows a developer and he complains about bugs and typos that he has to fix but it isn't even mentioned in a passing conversation that there was a huge bug that allowed torture (and possibly RAPE)!
Also it is absolutely insane for the company to go from pods only allowing for 1 month immersion to forcing people to stay in the pods for an entire year without coming out and if they do they lose the contracts.
The women in this book do not act like actual well rounded people.
Even the MC love interest is a bland cardboard of a girlfriend. She instantly sticks herself to the MC's side without any real goals or aspirations of her own. Also the scene where she reveals that she was in an accident and currently could not use her legs was really bad. Her saying that people ran away from her after finding out she was cripple in the real world was gag worth.
Also little gripes I had is developers using historical gods instead of creating their own and the attempt at a snarky AI.
There is so many problems with how women are portrayed in this book and after finishing it I realized how meta a scene in the book is. There is a scene in the book where there were horrible guys in the area who was extremely misogynistic and when they left the other men compared themselves to those guys but "Better than those two doesn't even mean a civil human being so it's a really low bar"
Before a woman is lvl 7 in the game she is captured by goblins then she is tortured (and it is hinted at raped) for 3 hours before she is killed....Why?....Honestly. Why? I had problems with how the women in this book was portrayed before but this completely broke the book for me. Disregard the fact that this is one of the two defining characteristics of this character (the other characteristic is that Eddie's friend is interested in her)-Do you understand how much trouble this company should be in legally?! This means that the developers coded that torture (and possibly RAPE) is possible in this game and not only that but NPCs are able to torture (and possibly RAPE) PLAYER characters!!!! WHY?! PVP isn't even available till lvl 20 but the possibility of getting tortured (and possibly RAPED) is! WHY?! Can you even imagine how much money she would have gotten from this company if she sued! And the worst part is that is that the book also follows a developer and he complains about bugs and typos that he has to fix but it isn't even mentioned in a passing conversation that there was a huge bug that allowed torture (and possibly RAPE)!
Also it is absolutely insane for the company to go from pods only allowing for 1 month immersion to forcing people to stay in the pods for an entire year without coming out and if they do they lose the contracts.
The women in this book do not act like actual well rounded people.
Even the MC love interest is a bland cardboard of a girlfriend. She instantly sticks herself to the MC's side without any real goals or aspirations of her own. Also the scene where she reveals that she was in an accident and currently could not use her legs was really bad. Her saying that people ran away from her after finding out she was cripple in the real world was gag worth.
Also little gripes I had is developers using historical gods instead of creating their own and the attempt at a snarky AI.
April 16, 2020
Unfortunate female writing
The women in the book are relegated to prizes for the Male characters and damsels to save. Otherwise standard litrpg, well I guess that fits the standard doesn't it
The women in the book are relegated to prizes for the Male characters and damsels to save. Otherwise standard litrpg, well I guess that fits the standard doesn't it
October 22, 2019
I found Light Online to be worthy of a full read, yay settlement building, but not without a strong wish for some plot diversity and emotional complexity. While the unimaginative and wooden characters had some realistic dialogue, I couldn't help but become bored by the end due to little if any variation in the actions and the characters themselves. To the author: thanks for putting some settlement building out there, I appreciate that.
April 29, 2022
Average litRPG brought down by dismissive treatment of female characters. One small (2 page) scene goes full creepozoid when the protagonist browbeats a woman into talking about her rape trauma then mansplains how she can feel better simply by finding her attackers and beating them up. I frequently ignore the "girlfriend as wish fulfillment" tropes in this genre with no more than an eye-roll, but this book has a handful of pages that are just icky.
May 23, 2020
I forgot this book and started on another one, so I haven't listened to the last 20-30min yet. But then again I don't really want to go back to it so I'm tagging it DNF for now.
The top two things I didn't like about the story:
The first is about how the story is structured. For some reason, most of the tensions (like conflicts or problems) tend to be resolved "of-screen" before the MC is even aware of them. He never has to struggle or worry if he'll succeed or not. He just lays out his plans and goes for it while real intense stuff is going on around him.
The second big issue I had was harder to pin-point and I'm not that up-to-date on memes, but it made me think of a "Nice guy". The MC genuinely seems like a nice guy, no capitalization required, so there was never a need to shape the story around him like a "Nice Guy"-fantasy. For example, making men that aren't either his friends or allies be completely evil. The MC seemed like a good guy without any of that absurd contrast. It was also unnecessary to throw in a couple of damsels in distress so that the hero could shake his fist at the sky and proclaim that he'd never do such things.
Again, it's hard for me to articulate exactly what rubbed me the wrong way, but whatever you call it was enough to ruin the fun I was having at the start of the book.
The top two things I didn't like about the story:
The first is about how the story is structured. For some reason, most of the tensions (like conflicts or problems) tend to be resolved "of-screen" before the MC is even aware of them. He never has to struggle or worry if he'll succeed or not. He just lays out his plans and goes for it while real intense stuff is going on around him.
The second big issue I had was harder to pin-point and I'm not that up-to-date on memes, but it made me think of a "Nice guy". The MC genuinely seems like a nice guy, no capitalization required, so there was never a need to shape the story around him like a "Nice Guy"-fantasy. For example, making men that aren't either his friends or allies be completely evil. The MC seemed like a good guy without any of that absurd contrast. It was also unnecessary to throw in a couple of damsels in distress so that the hero could shake his fist at the sky and proclaim that he'd never do such things.
Again, it's hard for me to articulate exactly what rubbed me the wrong way, but whatever you call it was enough to ruin the fun I was having at the start of the book.
Read
March 9, 2021This book is bad, and it should feel bad.
February 2, 2021
Notes:
Easy going, slice of life in VR game. Needs a bit more editing & tighten up plot points. Good narration but not an exciting story line.
Easy going, slice of life in VR game. Needs a bit more editing & tighten up plot points. Good narration but not an exciting story line.
July 29, 2020
If you like LitRPGs, crafting, base-building, slice-of-life, and you also have some free time to waste away without thinking too much, this might be the book for you. Otherwise, keep away.
The main character is not the most dynamic or well fleshed out I've read about, but he is likable enough. There is no over-arching plot to the story, the main character finds himself in a tight spot and makes the best out of it. There are lots of crafting, base-building, and even a bit of good old adventuring as he goes about making his life better. This story could have been a nice and slow slice-of-life to idle away some free time, but it is not. My pain point, and why I dropped this story is not the main character or his actions, but everything else.
The author makes it so the whole world caters to the MC in a way that resembles how a Nice Guy would think he should be treated, the crepy kind of Nice Guy. It begins in small ways but goes to a crescendo in a way that made me simply drop it by the 60% mark.
Anyone who is not the MC is made to be as idiotic as is acceptable to make him look his best. Can't have his friends be too dumb, as he would look bad himself, but they can never make better decisions than him. People more removed from him? They are falling over themselves to make him look as smart as possible. Given the chance to ask for anything from the game company? Ask for in-game booze is the right answer. Latter when granted the opportunity to receive some good money to play in a $25K pod that they would otherwise have no chance to play in? Tell those asking to shove it obviously. All the while the MC is asked the same questions and makes sensible choices, not ground-breaking ones, but ends up looking the genius next to the competition.
There is not enough conflict and the MC does not have some cute lady friend fawning over him? Insert a couple of 2D very bad guys to harass a damsel in distress and her friend, and in comes the knight in shining armor to save them, getting his deserved arm candy for himself and his buddy.
I could go on and on but if this was not enough to keep you away, then go ahead and give it a read.
The main character is not the most dynamic or well fleshed out I've read about, but he is likable enough. There is no over-arching plot to the story, the main character finds himself in a tight spot and makes the best out of it. There are lots of crafting, base-building, and even a bit of good old adventuring as he goes about making his life better. This story could have been a nice and slow slice-of-life to idle away some free time, but it is not. My pain point, and why I dropped this story is not the main character or his actions, but everything else.
The author makes it so the whole world caters to the MC in a way that resembles how a Nice Guy would think he should be treated, the crepy kind of Nice Guy. It begins in small ways but goes to a crescendo in a way that made me simply drop it by the 60% mark.
Anyone who is not the MC is made to be as idiotic as is acceptable to make him look his best. Can't have his friends be too dumb, as he would look bad himself, but they can never make better decisions than him. People more removed from him? They are falling over themselves to make him look as smart as possible. Given the chance to ask for anything from the game company? Ask for in-game booze is the right answer. Latter when granted the opportunity to receive some good money to play in a $25K pod that they would otherwise have no chance to play in? Tell those asking to shove it obviously. All the while the MC is asked the same questions and makes sensible choices, not ground-breaking ones, but ends up looking the genius next to the competition.
There is not enough conflict and the MC does not have some cute lady friend fawning over him? Insert a couple of 2D very bad guys to harass a damsel in distress and her friend, and in comes the knight in shining armor to save them, getting his deserved arm candy for himself and his buddy.
I could go on and on but if this was not enough to keep you away, then go ahead and give it a read.
May 2, 2020
Fun, Easy Read
A great GameLit combo between action, building, intrigue, drama, and some humor. Definitely a good read, well written and edited. A nice plot pulls you in, too. Recommended!
A great GameLit combo between action, building, intrigue, drama, and some humor. Definitely a good read, well written and edited. A nice plot pulls you in, too. Recommended!
March 15, 2020
There are a lot of pretty terrible logical inconsistencies that significantly strained my suspension of disbelief. For example...
The "farmers" initially start working for $20.00/day. Though we don't have a clear idea of what the economy looks like, that seems faintly ridiculous, but it didn't really bother me till later when this same group gets offered a job for $1000/week and they almost all unanimously turn down the offer. What? I'm just imagining a group of people anywhere who are desperate enough to sign a 3 month contract to work for $20/day turning down a job that pays 7x that.... I don't think such a group exists.
A lot of points in the book follow this trend of just not being fully thought out.
Additionally, the book is slow. Really slow. It takes 20 chapters for the characters to get to level 2. Many of the plot points have the bad habit of failing to progress. To use my previous illustration as an example.
Ch 17 - Guy decides to offer the "farmers" a job
Ch 18 - Meeting on offering them a job
Ch 19 - Guy is still thinking about how he is going to offer them a job
Ch 20 - Guy muses about how he is going to offer them a job
Ch 21 - Guy continues to muse about how he is going to offer them a job
Ch 22 - Guy is about to offer them a job
Why does it take 6 chapters for this one plot point to happen? It's a good development in the story, but there were 277 pages on my kindle between the beginning of ch 17 and the beginning of ch 22. I counted...
Every little thing takes this long to accomplish in the book.
The only saving grace is that the premise is fun, really fun! I want to read this kind of story. It needs some serious revision to make it a tighter story with a little more logical consistency and I think it'd be great.
The "farmers" initially start working for $20.00/day. Though we don't have a clear idea of what the economy looks like, that seems faintly ridiculous, but it didn't really bother me till later when this same group gets offered a job for $1000/week and they almost all unanimously turn down the offer. What? I'm just imagining a group of people anywhere who are desperate enough to sign a 3 month contract to work for $20/day turning down a job that pays 7x that.... I don't think such a group exists.
A lot of points in the book follow this trend of just not being fully thought out.
Additionally, the book is slow. Really slow. It takes 20 chapters for the characters to get to level 2. Many of the plot points have the bad habit of failing to progress. To use my previous illustration as an example.
Ch 17 - Guy decides to offer the "farmers" a job
Ch 18 - Meeting on offering them a job
Ch 19 - Guy is still thinking about how he is going to offer them a job
Ch 20 - Guy muses about how he is going to offer them a job
Ch 21 - Guy continues to muse about how he is going to offer them a job
Ch 22 - Guy is about to offer them a job
Why does it take 6 chapters for this one plot point to happen? It's a good development in the story, but there were 277 pages on my kindle between the beginning of ch 17 and the beginning of ch 22. I counted...
Every little thing takes this long to accomplish in the book.
The only saving grace is that the premise is fun, really fun! I want to read this kind of story. It needs some serious revision to make it a tighter story with a little more logical consistency and I think it'd be great.
April 18, 2020
I thought he was a farmer?... But throughout the book he never actually farms at all, but rather keeps plays guard dog to the plot of land.
A lot of wish-fulfillment there, for a game that had been around for a while.
And what a lucky MC...
Yeah, dropped half-way.
A lot of wish-fulfillment there, for a game that had been around for a while.
And what a lucky MC...
Yeah, dropped half-way.
November 8, 2019
Realistic world and characters
I enjoyed reading this story and am ready for the next one already! The pace was comfortable, not frantic, yet a lot was accomplished. I liked how the main character (Eddie), once be really gets going, paces out what he does each day and mixes in adventuring, building (buildings and the start of a hamlet), working on his entrepreneurial business stand and spending time with friends.
He has a rare (unique?) pet, at least I haven’t heard of anyone having one before, who is friendly, smart, capable, and who pops in and out so is not an overwhelming presence.
There are several warnings that the mobs might raid and the main character has concerns that others will figure out what he is doing and take over before he can finish his quests. Then, in the real world, we learn something at the end which makes you wonder what impact it might have on Eddie and his friends.. I expect the next book will have some interesting challenges in store for him.
I enjoyed reading this story and am ready for the next one already! The pace was comfortable, not frantic, yet a lot was accomplished. I liked how the main character (Eddie), once be really gets going, paces out what he does each day and mixes in adventuring, building (buildings and the start of a hamlet), working on his entrepreneurial business stand and spending time with friends.
He has a rare (unique?) pet, at least I haven’t heard of anyone having one before, who is friendly, smart, capable, and who pops in and out so is not an overwhelming presence.
There are several warnings that the mobs might raid and the main character has concerns that others will figure out what he is doing and take over before he can finish his quests. Then, in the real world, we learn something at the end which makes you wonder what impact it might have on Eddie and his friends.. I expect the next book will have some interesting challenges in store for him.
April 6, 2020
excellent
I've read a fair few lit-rpg series and this is a pleasant change,it's not constant fighting,dungeons and impossible quests,Eddie the main character actually is trying to create something,he's got an idea and it's great watching him trying to achieve his goals,don't get me wrong there is fighting,dungeons and quests but they are interspersed around the growth of Eddie's dream.I've read all three books published do far and the quality continues and the story gets better and better.
I've read a fair few lit-rpg series and this is a pleasant change,it's not constant fighting,dungeons and impossible quests,Eddie the main character actually is trying to create something,he's got an idea and it's great watching him trying to achieve his goals,don't get me wrong there is fighting,dungeons and quests but they are interspersed around the growth of Eddie's dream.I've read all three books published do far and the quality continues and the story gets better and better.
January 7, 2020
9/10 very good start and I love the city builder books. The pacing for this is pretty slow, but for once that really works out. The gaming world itself isn’t as flushed out as I’d want it to be but the MC and his friends all have actual character and backstory. This also does not seem like the typical LitRPG book where everything always seems to be in the MCs favor and “coincidences” that seem to give MC some major boost. Looking forward to the next book
February 2, 2020
Enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. Great example of well done but anti-climactic (no traditional fighting hero's journey) GameLit. Read a lot like a Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley GameLit book. So think GameLit Farming-Sim, with light fighting elements. Trust me, more exciting than it sounds. Already starting the next book.
March 5, 2024
This book didn't offer anything particularly exceptional, but it also didn't have any glaring annoyances.
It lacked standout moments and didn't delve deeply into either the town building or the adventures.
Initially, there was a slight intrigue, but it failed to sustain interest as the story progressed.
Overall, it felt like a very mediocre read.
It lacked standout moments and didn't delve deeply into either the town building or the adventures.
Initially, there was a slight intrigue, but it failed to sustain interest as the story progressed.
Overall, it felt like a very mediocre read.
October 16, 2019
That's legit
Bonafide what a good book I really like this book I like the character development I would also play a Smith and the dwarf so you know there's that I think you should read this book I wish I could read the next five books in the series thanks Tom.
Bonafide what a good book I really like this book I like the character development I would also play a Smith and the dwarf so you know there's that I think you should read this book I wish I could read the next five books in the series thanks Tom.
January 31, 2020
Good Read.
A LitRPG story. Hired to be a Farmer in the game to test a hack in the pod’s software. The situations change and opportunities open. There is crafting and town building with some fighting here and there.
A LitRPG story. Hired to be a Farmer in the game to test a hack in the pod’s software. The situations change and opportunities open. There is crafting and town building with some fighting here and there.
May 12, 2021
It's just so very bland and boring. And apparently kind of mysoginistic for what was started to be a lighthearted novel.
April 28, 2024
Why did you read this book?
I wanted to read a laid-back LitRpg fantasy and a friend suggested this story.
What format did you read this book in?
Listened to the audiobook on Audible.
Is this an educational book or a book for entertainment?
I read this book for pure entertainment purposes.
What genres do you think this book belongs to?
Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Romance
What was your favorite part of the book?
My favorite part is when the main character bonded with his special pet.
Who would you suggest this book to?
Anyone who wants to read a feel-good slice-of-life in a fantasy setting.
What is your general opinion/ rating of this book?
I liked this story. It was a unique take on a LitRPG book. As a base-building fan, I had a ton of fun reading about how the main character built up his skills as a farmer. Although I don’t think it was a good idea for him to join a shady company, it seems to all work out in the end. I like how the main character starts a farm and helps others out. This story has a mixture of Sci-fi and Fantasy elements because the magical world is a VR game. This book isn’t going to be for everyone. Overall, I liked it because of this chill-sort-of-way of storytelling.
Any trigger warnings?
Racial and Religious: Racial Profiling, Prejudice
Mental Health: PTSD, Emotional Abuse, Panic Attacks, Non-consent behavior
Disabilities: Ableism, Ableist language
Sexual Content: Sexual Predator, Dubious Consent
Violence and Death: Animal Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Described Blood
Other: Slut Shaming, Drugging Someone Against Their Will, Miscarriage, Body Shaming, Female Oppression, Forced Marriage, Fat Phobia, Underage Drinking, Kidnapping, Hostage Situation, Adultery, , Bullying, Profanity
I wanted to read a laid-back LitRpg fantasy and a friend suggested this story.
What format did you read this book in?
Listened to the audiobook on Audible.
Is this an educational book or a book for entertainment?
I read this book for pure entertainment purposes.
What genres do you think this book belongs to?
Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Romance
What was your favorite part of the book?
My favorite part is when the main character bonded with his special pet.
Who would you suggest this book to?
Anyone who wants to read a feel-good slice-of-life in a fantasy setting.
What is your general opinion/ rating of this book?
I liked this story. It was a unique take on a LitRPG book. As a base-building fan, I had a ton of fun reading about how the main character built up his skills as a farmer. Although I don’t think it was a good idea for him to join a shady company, it seems to all work out in the end. I like how the main character starts a farm and helps others out. This story has a mixture of Sci-fi and Fantasy elements because the magical world is a VR game. This book isn’t going to be for everyone. Overall, I liked it because of this chill-sort-of-way of storytelling.
Any trigger warnings?
Racial and Religious: Racial Profiling, Prejudice
Mental Health: PTSD, Emotional Abuse, Panic Attacks, Non-consent behavior
Disabilities: Ableism, Ableist language
Sexual Content: Sexual Predator, Dubious Consent
Violence and Death: Animal Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Described Blood
Other: Slut Shaming, Drugging Someone Against Their Will, Miscarriage, Body Shaming, Female Oppression, Forced Marriage, Fat Phobia, Underage Drinking, Kidnapping, Hostage Situation, Adultery, , Bullying, Profanity
June 16, 2020
Against my better judgement I'm going to give this literal farming simulator a try.
I truly wished authors stopped writing novels which are essentially a "let's play" of their fictional character. I would rather the transported from our world to another without gamepods or VR sets. I hope this doesn't suck too much.
Yes! We must have stats, you can't go through life without knowing your exact heartbeat and breaths. We must constantly be checking out our "stats".
This book would have been better if it was written as a living, breathing virtual world. The actions you take don't amount to much in the end with virtual reality. When you leave that world you are still a weak frail human. Unless you are going to go for the philosophical angle that says the protagonist "grew" as a person from the experiences.
I'm not sure if I will continue this series. I like what happened, but it being a virtual game world is a no no for me.
I've finished the book and I don't think I will read the sequel. I only had a few more pages to read and found myself putting off the book and doing other things.
2/5 Stars
I truly wished authors stopped writing novels which are essentially a "let's play" of their fictional character. I would rather the transported from our world to another without gamepods or VR sets. I hope this doesn't suck too much.
Yes! We must have stats, you can't go through life without knowing your exact heartbeat and breaths. We must constantly be checking out our "stats".
This book would have been better if it was written as a living, breathing virtual world. The actions you take don't amount to much in the end with virtual reality. When you leave that world you are still a weak frail human. Unless you are going to go for the philosophical angle that says the protagonist "grew" as a person from the experiences.
I'm not sure if I will continue this series. I like what happened, but it being a virtual game world is a no no for me.
I've finished the book and I don't think I will read the sequel. I only had a few more pages to read and found myself putting off the book and doing other things.
2/5 Stars
February 24, 2021
A great take on LitTPG
First things first that I like about this book...
The MC is not Uber powerful and does not know everything, he’s just an average joe trying to play a game and make money. Very relatable for anyone who isn’t a hardcore gamer.
The author isn’t your typical “nice guy” trying to play out his fantasies in his writing. No need for every girl the MC meets to have her breasts described over a paragraph, honestly they are another person and not a sex symbol.
Things I don’t like as much...
It’s a little slow, it’s engaging I just don’t get the need to read the next two chapters before I go to sleep.
It’s a good read, not great but a solid good. It’s very inline with a casual gamer something about the MC having skills/powers nobody else has some how is a turn off unless it’s a fleshed out reason. The book doesn’t make me feel like I’m reading a penthouse forum at parts either, I don’t need to know the intricacies of every females nipples the MC meets I prefer the way this author just fades to black if you will.
First things first that I like about this book...
The MC is not Uber powerful and does not know everything, he’s just an average joe trying to play a game and make money. Very relatable for anyone who isn’t a hardcore gamer.
The author isn’t your typical “nice guy” trying to play out his fantasies in his writing. No need for every girl the MC meets to have her breasts described over a paragraph, honestly they are another person and not a sex symbol.
Things I don’t like as much...
It’s a little slow, it’s engaging I just don’t get the need to read the next two chapters before I go to sleep.
It’s a good read, not great but a solid good. It’s very inline with a casual gamer something about the MC having skills/powers nobody else has some how is a turn off unless it’s a fleshed out reason. The book doesn’t make me feel like I’m reading a penthouse forum at parts either, I don’t need to know the intricacies of every females nipples the MC meets I prefer the way this author just fades to black if you will.
August 28, 2021
I like the idea and the plot of the book, I just would have liked a bit more competent MC. This doesn't mean he doesn't get things done, it's just that he kind of lucks out into most things and doesn't think too much about them. I would have prefered a little more planning outside of his business ideas.
Some of the reviews bitch about how the author handles the female characters, but there's nothing special about them. In fact, they're kind of annoying. They're only pissy that he dared make something bad happen to a woman since some people can't stand that. In fact, I'd say that men are portrayed worse but I know that it's a trope in these kinds of books that some random gamers act like douchebags for no conceivable reason.
If you like LitRPGs with crafting then you'll find this one enjoyable.
Some of the reviews bitch about how the author handles the female characters, but there's nothing special about them. In fact, they're kind of annoying. They're only pissy that he dared make something bad happen to a woman since some people can't stand that. In fact, I'd say that men are portrayed worse but I know that it's a trope in these kinds of books that some random gamers act like douchebags for no conceivable reason.
If you like LitRPGs with crafting then you'll find this one enjoyable.
October 23, 2025
This book was chill and very easy to read and would have been a great book to read for starting litrpg genre but halfway through when the women show up it started going downfall. Both of them had zero personalities and main character eddie and his friend start acting like they are the only good guys around. The way Eddie seemed to have a problem with sex work in game and I felt his thoughts were also problematic, I enjoy my books without bigoted and non-childish characters.
You can probably enjoy this book if you can ignore all the things around women and all the glaring plotholes like the company who made the game ignored all the real problems.Lastly I gave two stars because the writing style is easy to read and there is not much misspelling or missuse of words.
You can probably enjoy this book if you can ignore all the things around women and all the glaring plotholes like the company who made the game ignored all the real problems.Lastly I gave two stars because the writing style is easy to read and there is not much misspelling or missuse of words.
May 7, 2020
VR pod MMO
complaints: slow begining- didnt get interesting till ch 10. I few loose ends- what happened to the 3rd cousin?, did our 2 main ch ever read the last message from the dev? and will they tell the dev about the goblin torture? ...(future book Q)We know why because of the epilogue so how will that effect our characters in the future... does make me want to keep reading that and the character development in the book once you get past the 1st 3 days in the game I found it hard to put down. I recommend reading for anyone who ever wished they could be in the game not just using a monitor, keyboard and mouse.
complaints: slow begining- didnt get interesting till ch 10. I few loose ends- what happened to the 3rd cousin?, did our 2 main ch ever read the last message from the dev? and will they tell the dev about the goblin torture? ...(future book Q)We know why because of the epilogue so how will that effect our characters in the future... does make me want to keep reading that and the character development in the book once you get past the 1st 3 days in the game I found it hard to put down. I recommend reading for anyone who ever wished they could be in the game not just using a monitor, keyboard and mouse.
August 2, 2020
3.5 Stars
This is a short book that doesn't drift far from standard LitRPG fare, although it focuses on town building more than adventuring. Eddie Hunter is the protagonist. A down-to-earth young man that wants to earn money in-game.
This feels like a Russian translation, but I may be wrong. Would a grown man constantly refer to rabbits as Bunnys? The book strikes a few off-key notes in the beginning, like when Eddie comforts a girl he meets, not because she's distraught but because he wants to sleep with her. Things even out by the end leaving me well pleased.
I plan to read the next book. Let's hope the story makes it over the book-two hump.
This is a short book that doesn't drift far from standard LitRPG fare, although it focuses on town building more than adventuring. Eddie Hunter is the protagonist. A down-to-earth young man that wants to earn money in-game.
This feels like a Russian translation, but I may be wrong. Would a grown man constantly refer to rabbits as Bunnys? The book strikes a few off-key notes in the beginning, like when Eddie comforts a girl he meets, not because she's distraught but because he wants to sleep with her. Things even out by the end leaving me well pleased.
I plan to read the next book. Let's hope the story makes it over the book-two hump.
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