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Changing World #1
Changing World: Origin
Librarian note: An older edition for this ASIN can be found here: 29-Sep-2018.
He’s entered the ultimate VRMMO. But will a glitch prevent him from leaving with his sanity?
Unable to see color, smell, or taste, Dave longs for a more vibrant life. So when he learns of a Japanese company seeking beta testers in a unique full-immersion game, he jumps at the chance to escape his bland monochromatic world. But when a code-error causes him to skip the tutorial, he’s thrown into play with no skills—racing to restore his health points.
With only weeks remaining before he loses access to the project and the vivid senses he’s finally gained, Dave teams up with a young archer and a clever shapeshifter. Desperate to extend his playtime, the trio quests for a magical stone. But while battling madness in a bizarre fairy forest where killer spirits want his head, he must fight for his very identity.
Can Dave expand his gameworld abilities and defy the gods themselves?
Changing World: Origin is the first book in the thrilling Changing World LitRPG fantasy series. If you like well-developed worlds, heroes leveling up, and realities blending with magic, then you’ll love Sergei Katz’s amazing universe.
He’s entered the ultimate VRMMO. But will a glitch prevent him from leaving with his sanity?
Unable to see color, smell, or taste, Dave longs for a more vibrant life. So when he learns of a Japanese company seeking beta testers in a unique full-immersion game, he jumps at the chance to escape his bland monochromatic world. But when a code-error causes him to skip the tutorial, he’s thrown into play with no skills—racing to restore his health points.
With only weeks remaining before he loses access to the project and the vivid senses he’s finally gained, Dave teams up with a young archer and a clever shapeshifter. Desperate to extend his playtime, the trio quests for a magical stone. But while battling madness in a bizarre fairy forest where killer spirits want his head, he must fight for his very identity.
Can Dave expand his gameworld abilities and defy the gods themselves?
Changing World: Origin is the first book in the thrilling Changing World LitRPG fantasy series. If you like well-developed worlds, heroes leveling up, and realities blending with magic, then you’ll love Sergei Katz’s amazing universe.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 29, 2018
152 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 6, 2021
Book one
This is just bad. I suffered through 45% of bad editing, lack of important information, childish writing, and the author changing his mind about the rules of his world.
I can NOT recommend this book!
.5/10 Can't even give it a n entire star.
This is just bad. I suffered through 45% of bad editing, lack of important information, childish writing, and the author changing his mind about the rules of his world.
I can NOT recommend this book!
.5/10 Can't even give it a n entire star.
January 6, 2020
Great idea! Great story and well thought out world! The only thing missing is the character empathy. I felt A little detached from the characters but overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to a friend.
March 4, 2019
Dave is a stock analyst with a disability. When he's offered the chance to beta test a newly developed full-immersion virtual reality game, he's all in. But a few early mistakes puts him at a disadvantage starting out, and it will take luck and cleverness to ensure his character isn't eliminated early on.
I probably should've stopped reading when the first chapter was pumping the main character up as a super-awesome stock analyst with an unbelievable ability to make money. It would have been a more engaging story if it had focused more on his disability and how going into the game world changed that.
It was also a very odd choice for a disability--the inability to see colors doesn't seem to be as compelling a reason to abandon your everyday life for three years as perhaps some others might have been. And Dave doesn't seem like much of a gamer otherwise. His main draw for playing is supposed to be getting around this disability.
And that all ignores the fact that after the very beginning, his life and personality outside the game has no relevance.
The actual game begins the litRPG aspect. Unfortunately, the story has a tendancy to play up whatever the main character is finding or doing as awesome, without giving a good sense of the strengths or weaknesses of others. This makes the story as a whole less interesting because the stakes are either not there or poorly defined.
The fights, for example, tend to describe what's going on by what's happening with HP bars, rather than focusing on specific skills or strategies by both sides (and when it does try to show what both sides are doing, it tends to give a tiny bit of detail and then go back to talking about HP bars). So the fights are no fun to read because of their vagueness and lack of detail in the important parts, and excessive detail on the unimportant parts.
Both of his pets bother me. The bird in no way acts like a bird, which could be partially explained by this being a game, except nothing really indicates this is pet behavior specifically.
Overall, this has the bones of an interesting story, but the execution falls flat in a number of areas. I rate this book Neutral.
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
I probably should've stopped reading when the first chapter was pumping the main character up as a super-awesome stock analyst with an unbelievable ability to make money. It would have been a more engaging story if it had focused more on his disability and how going into the game world changed that.
It was also a very odd choice for a disability--the inability to see colors doesn't seem to be as compelling a reason to abandon your everyday life for three years as perhaps some others might have been. And Dave doesn't seem like much of a gamer otherwise. His main draw for playing is supposed to be getting around this disability.
And that all ignores the fact that after the very beginning, his life and personality outside the game has no relevance.
The actual game begins the litRPG aspect. Unfortunately, the story has a tendancy to play up whatever the main character is finding or doing as awesome, without giving a good sense of the strengths or weaknesses of others. This makes the story as a whole less interesting because the stakes are either not there or poorly defined.
The fights, for example, tend to describe what's going on by what's happening with HP bars, rather than focusing on specific skills or strategies by both sides (and when it does try to show what both sides are doing, it tends to give a tiny bit of detail and then go back to talking about HP bars). So the fights are no fun to read because of their vagueness and lack of detail in the important parts, and excessive detail on the unimportant parts.
Both of his pets bother me. The bird in no way acts like a bird, which could be partially explained by this being a game, except nothing really indicates this is pet behavior specifically.
Overall, this has the bones of an interesting story, but the execution falls flat in a number of areas. I rate this book Neutral.
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
April 29, 2020
First of a series, this novel is about Dave, a well-known computer analyst. A disability has left him unable to smell, taste or see color. When a Japanese company needs beta testers for a new virtual reality full immersion game, Dave jumps at the chance.
The only catch is that he has to remain in the game for at least one year (in real life). If his character dies in the game, rebirth is not possible. A computer glitch puts him right in the game, without any tutorials.
While enjoying his new senses, Dave teams up with a small woodland creature who can turn into almost anything (and who really likes his liquor), a young boy named Alex (who is on a quest of his own) and a hawk who he calls Copper Wing. They battle lots of monsters, and engage in several smaller quests, while Dave's in-game numbers, in categories like Intuition and Herbalist, keep going up and up. Can Dave extend his time in the game while in a fairy forest full of killer spirits?
This is a really good fantasy novel, intended for lovers of games like Dungeons & Dragons. Non-gamers may have a hard time with the constant listing of abilities like Craftsman, Scout, Attentiveness and Intellect. Get past it, and this is a very worthy start to a series.
The only catch is that he has to remain in the game for at least one year (in real life). If his character dies in the game, rebirth is not possible. A computer glitch puts him right in the game, without any tutorials.
While enjoying his new senses, Dave teams up with a small woodland creature who can turn into almost anything (and who really likes his liquor), a young boy named Alex (who is on a quest of his own) and a hawk who he calls Copper Wing. They battle lots of monsters, and engage in several smaller quests, while Dave's in-game numbers, in categories like Intuition and Herbalist, keep going up and up. Can Dave extend his time in the game while in a fairy forest full of killer spirits?
This is a really good fantasy novel, intended for lovers of games like Dungeons & Dragons. Non-gamers may have a hard time with the constant listing of abilities like Craftsman, Scout, Attentiveness and Intellect. Get past it, and this is a very worthy start to a series.
March 18, 2021
My one issue with this book was that Alder’s stats were really hard to follow when he reviewed his progress. It would be helpful if he had a basic summary stat sheet that we could easily see, then he could delve further into specific items as he leveled up. I’m not sure if it’s just because I got an ARC copy, but (especially when reviewing his stats) it appeared that there were a lot of punctuation errors that caused this already confusing presentation to become even worse.
Luckily, Alder didn’t really pull up his stats all that often in this book, so it was merely an annoyance, and not a deal breaker. It was interesting that Alder, despite having an initial handicap, progressed so far in this book. I do wonder, we were told that he couldn’t use his Analyze ability because he didn’t obtain his Vorto, but after he got it, did the Analyze ability activate without him realizing it? Is it still locked? Is he developing the ability in some kind of stealth mode?
So much happened in this book, that I am curious about reading further in the story. And the cliffhanger at the end was rather delightful.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
Luckily, Alder didn’t really pull up his stats all that often in this book, so it was merely an annoyance, and not a deal breaker. It was interesting that Alder, despite having an initial handicap, progressed so far in this book. I do wonder, we were told that he couldn’t use his Analyze ability because he didn’t obtain his Vorto, but after he got it, did the Analyze ability activate without him realizing it? Is it still locked? Is he developing the ability in some kind of stealth mode?
So much happened in this book, that I am curious about reading further in the story. And the cliffhanger at the end was rather delightful.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
March 13, 2021
Found several grammatical errors within the first quarter of the book that I read. I ignored those assuming the book had been poorly translated and edited.
The idea people would voluntarily spend three years in a game seemed ludicrous but I ignored that.
The story started out well but fell into the usual trope of something unusual happens to the main character which puts them outside the usual progression of the game. Then the character randomly wanders around and is “pulled” to do things, such as touch the moon flower and build a perfect shrine, and no matter what they do it always works out to their benefit.
The character is supposedly in danger because they stepped out of the meadow but the only place this is evident is in the ant nest, and even there the character completes a team mission on his own easily.
The last straw for me was when he was given a bag of infinite holding and taught a overpowered useless spell taking one of 3 slots by a fairy that should’ve known better.
The idea people would voluntarily spend three years in a game seemed ludicrous but I ignored that.
The story started out well but fell into the usual trope of something unusual happens to the main character which puts them outside the usual progression of the game. Then the character randomly wanders around and is “pulled” to do things, such as touch the moon flower and build a perfect shrine, and no matter what they do it always works out to their benefit.
The character is supposedly in danger because they stepped out of the meadow but the only place this is evident is in the ant nest, and even there the character completes a team mission on his own easily.
The last straw for me was when he was given a bag of infinite holding and taught a overpowered useless spell taking one of 3 slots by a fairy that should’ve known better.
March 10, 2021
Great story, amazing potential, it's not quite realized
I was slightly disappointed in this one. The foundations for an amazing tale are there. It has all the elements needed. I am not sure if the writer is an English speaker natively, or if he is just really inexperienced. The style of writing in the book is very elementary, it's basic to the point of distraction.The story is great and parts can grab hold of you but the jarring and stuttering feel of the writing can just as easily spit you out. I am hoping as he or his translator gains experience he will realize that potential. I look forward to the next, because I feel this author is a huge brilliant diamond that has yet to be cleaned, cut, and polished. I gave it a 5 because such creativity is rare. it should be encouraged. Technical skills can be trained. If he does he could easily become synonymous with the great names.
I was slightly disappointed in this one. The foundations for an amazing tale are there. It has all the elements needed. I am not sure if the writer is an English speaker natively, or if he is just really inexperienced. The style of writing in the book is very elementary, it's basic to the point of distraction.The story is great and parts can grab hold of you but the jarring and stuttering feel of the writing can just as easily spit you out. I am hoping as he or his translator gains experience he will realize that potential. I look forward to the next, because I feel this author is a huge brilliant diamond that has yet to be cleaned, cut, and polished. I gave it a 5 because such creativity is rare. it should be encouraged. Technical skills can be trained. If he does he could easily become synonymous with the great names.
March 24, 2021
Note: I read this book promoted as Changing World: Origin. This is the first LitRPG book I have read. The premise was very intriguing. I really liked the story, but some editing and polishing could make this a good five-star story. I enjoy gaming including RPGs, so the gameplay aspect worked well for me. I as a reader, along with the main character/player was annoyed at the secrecy and lack of explanation for the abilities, stats, skills, uses, etc. But it made it feel like you were really starting a character from scratch. I would be interested in continuing the story, it ended on a cliffhanger! I received an arc copy of this book and am leaving my review voluntarily.
March 13, 2019
This is a rather unique take on the LitRPG genre. The story is entertaining, if not completely original, but it is interesting, and it puts a new spin on some of the gaming mechanics we've seen in a lot of stories. I liked it well enough to go on and read the next one, but it may not appeal to some, since there seems to be no hard and fast rules as to how things work, and that may irritate some.
April 7, 2019
Great storytelling
I liked this for the story. The interesting characters met, pets, totems, patrons, mobs, plants, weird roll your own spells were some of the cool features of this book. The story of a strange guy striving to be able to stay in the game was great. For me the numbers and skill/stat descriptions got in the way a bit. Even with some detractors, this one still gets a 5 from me.
I liked this for the story. The interesting characters met, pets, totems, patrons, mobs, plants, weird roll your own spells were some of the cool features of this book. The story of a strange guy striving to be able to stay in the game was great. For me the numbers and skill/stat descriptions got in the way a bit. Even with some detractors, this one still gets a 5 from me.
April 17, 2019
A new world to enter!
From the moment I started to read this book, I was trapped. I loved the idea of 'game-play for real' and watching a player character actually living in the game world.
I was hooked into a world I could believe in with characters I could care about.
Once started I had to finish. Now I have to start the next one.
I think Sergei Katz should be congratulated on writing an interesting, thrilling and engrossing book.
From the moment I started to read this book, I was trapped. I loved the idea of 'game-play for real' and watching a player character actually living in the game world.
I was hooked into a world I could believe in with characters I could care about.
Once started I had to finish. Now I have to start the next one.
I think Sergei Katz should be congratulated on writing an interesting, thrilling and engrossing book.
October 13, 2018
Very good
Try the book. The beginning is a bit confusing, as you can't separate the different speakers, but once you get into the game it's all good. Should be listing it with the rpg books even though it follows a slightly different format, emphasizing improving skills and abilities instead of the standard min/max builds. I definitely recommend.
Try the book. The beginning is a bit confusing, as you can't separate the different speakers, but once you get into the game it's all good. Should be listing it with the rpg books even though it follows a slightly different format, emphasizing improving skills and abilities instead of the standard min/max builds. I definitely recommend.
November 5, 2018
Different and Enjoyable
This book followed a different path of injured/disabled person goes online. Enjoyed the references to Russian history and folktales. It brought a mythological aspect to the tale. More of a light litrpg in that there are no charts and leveling is outlined in a unique manner. Minor editing errors. Look forward to next instalment.
This book followed a different path of injured/disabled person goes online. Enjoyed the references to Russian history and folktales. It brought a mythological aspect to the tale. More of a light litrpg in that there are no charts and leveling is outlined in a unique manner. Minor editing errors. Look forward to next instalment.
February 10, 2021
I enjoyed it. At times some of the game decisions are just . . . odd. The mc really seems to become more real in the game world. Makes me wonder which world is real or maybe just a tapped into different world. This story left me with many questions about where the next book will take us. I really want the next book.
April 25, 2024
I enjoyed this book. It was a great listen. I enjoyed this feeling of a Lit-RPG, where anything is possible and thinking outside of the box is rewarded. I definitely need to take a look at the next one. I was quite excited to get through it. The characters were pretty decent and the conflicts were intense and fun at the same time. It felt like a DnD campaign we would have run haha.
March 6, 2019
Kept my interest to the end and then big let down - to be continued..... I lose total interest in any book that is not available in it's entirety. Thumbs down.
Partial books are worthless and I wasted my time not knowing this from the start. Thumbs down on this partial.
Partial books are worthless and I wasted my time not knowing this from the start. Thumbs down on this partial.
June 20, 2019
Enjoyable story
Become an observer in a the newly created world as you follow the adventures of our hero. Due to a mistake during character generation, our hero faces many unexpected challenges and battles along his path to finding his place in the new world!
Become an observer in a the newly created world as you follow the adventures of our hero. Due to a mistake during character generation, our hero faces many unexpected challenges and battles along his path to finding his place in the new world!
January 6, 2021
Fantastic Story
Despite the lost in translation and cultural faux faults, I really enjoyed reading this book. This story of a guy who is color blind and have no taste buds going into a game world and getting these senses for the first time was absolutely awesome.
Despite the lost in translation and cultural faux faults, I really enjoyed reading this book. This story of a guy who is color blind and have no taste buds going into a game world and getting these senses for the first time was absolutely awesome.
October 7, 2018
Oh, I'm so angry!
The ending of this beginning is what has me upset. Thank you Sergei Katz for this exciting series. A new fan!
The ending of this beginning is what has me upset. Thank you Sergei Katz for this exciting series. A new fan!
November 14, 2018
Very Interesting!
Enjoyable to read plenty of excitement and action and the plot interesting this author did a great job this time
Enjoyable to read plenty of excitement and action and the plot interesting this author did a great job this time
June 23, 2019
Unusual in a good way
Very different for me. Helped me understand the fascination with games. I want the next book on kindle now! When will it be available?
Very different for me. Helped me understand the fascination with games. I want the next book on kindle now! When will it be available?
April 10, 2020
Great book
Excellent read from beginning to end, can’t wait to read the next one. Better than the other litrpgs that I’ve read so gar
Excellent read from beginning to end, can’t wait to read the next one. Better than the other litrpgs that I’ve read so gar
December 18, 2020
Very entertaining read
I enjoyed reading this book very much and would recommend it highly to anyone that like litRPG type of books..
I enjoyed reading this book very much and would recommend it highly to anyone that like litRPG type of books..
March 5, 2021
When is a game not a game
Very good. Can't wait for the next book. Love the way of leveling and secrets. The Patrons are of special note.
Very good. Can't wait for the next book. Love the way of leveling and secrets. The Patrons are of special note.
August 3, 2021
The level of exposition and the bad dialogs are just too much...
February 7, 2022
Interesting
It's an interesting story. Not grand but not bad either. It's worthy of a read. It's unique and tells a story...Not just explanations of mechanics. I will read book 2.
It's an interesting story. Not grand but not bad either. It's worthy of a read. It's unique and tells a story...Not just explanations of mechanics. I will read book 2.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews