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Sky Realms Online #1
Grayhold: Sky Realms Online Book One
Trapped in the game. Forced back to level 1. What's next, permadeath?
Sky Realms Online is the largest and most popular Virtual Reality MMORPG ever made. Set amongst the mystical, floating islands of Hankarth, it's played and enjoyed by millions every hour. Until something goes wrong.
Unable to log out, players find themselves reduced to level one, and in the starting zones. They receive a cryptic message from the developers stating that for unknown reasons, they are trapped in the game and may have to live out their lives within the virtual world.
Hall is one of the those trapped in the game. He’s been playing Sky Realms Online as a spear-wielding Skirmisher ever since the beta. And instead of panicking as many do, he decides to make the most of it; to play the game and live his new life, all while quietly hoping the developers will find a fix.
It doesn’t take Hall long to find out that, while some aspects of the game are the same, the difficulty level is beyond anything he's ever experienced.
Together, with a new party of trapped players and NPCs with canned answers, Hall will find out just how different Sky Realms Online has become, and how playing a game is different from living the game...
Experience the start of this unforgettable Fantasy LitRPG Adventure today! It's perfect for fans of J.A. Hunter, Dakota Krout and Edward Brody.
Also available on Audible, performed by Pavi Proczko, narrator of Eden's Gate and Continue Online.
Sky Realms Online is the largest and most popular Virtual Reality MMORPG ever made. Set amongst the mystical, floating islands of Hankarth, it's played and enjoyed by millions every hour. Until something goes wrong.
Unable to log out, players find themselves reduced to level one, and in the starting zones. They receive a cryptic message from the developers stating that for unknown reasons, they are trapped in the game and may have to live out their lives within the virtual world.
Hall is one of the those trapped in the game. He’s been playing Sky Realms Online as a spear-wielding Skirmisher ever since the beta. And instead of panicking as many do, he decides to make the most of it; to play the game and live his new life, all while quietly hoping the developers will find a fix.
It doesn’t take Hall long to find out that, while some aspects of the game are the same, the difficulty level is beyond anything he's ever experienced.
Together, with a new party of trapped players and NPCs with canned answers, Hall will find out just how different Sky Realms Online has become, and how playing a game is different from living the game...
Experience the start of this unforgettable Fantasy LitRPG Adventure today! It's perfect for fans of J.A. Hunter, Dakota Krout and Edward Brody.
Also available on Audible, performed by Pavi Proczko, narrator of Eden's Gate and Continue Online.
444 pages, Paperback
First published July 30, 2019
704 people are currently reading
405 people want to read
About the author
Troy Osgood
48 books104 followersBorn and raised in the granite state of New Hampshire, Troy is a lifelong and avid reader of comic books and novels (mostly in the fantasy, sci-fi and adventure/thriller genres). The ongoing serial storytelling methods of comic books and television has always fascinated him and provided inspiration for his writing. He’s always had a love of creating and world building and dreams of someday seeing his creations expressed across all media: books, comic books, movies, TV and even toys.
When not writing, Troy can be found outside hiking, kayaking or out back at the bonfire with beer in hand. Don’t expect to bother him during football season, especially when the Patriots are playing.
When not writing, Troy can be found outside hiking, kayaking or out back at the bonfire with beer in hand. Don’t expect to bother him during football season, especially when the Patriots are playing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
August 12, 2019
Mini-Review:
LitRPG - Overall 2.7 Stars
3 Stars for Narration
4 Stars for Concepts/Ideas
2.5 Stars for Writing
2.5 Stars for Overall Story & Plot Progression
The story has a lot of potential to be good but falls short of the mark. The ideas are good but the writing was a jarring mix of well developed & written passages and poorly constructed & phrased segments.
LitRPG - Overall 2.7 Stars
3 Stars for Narration
4 Stars for Concepts/Ideas
2.5 Stars for Writing
2.5 Stars for Overall Story & Plot Progression
The story has a lot of potential to be good but falls short of the mark. The ideas are good but the writing was a jarring mix of well developed & written passages and poorly constructed & phrased segments.
August 29, 2019
Alert
I hate trying to write reviews because there are really only pass/fail results for me. Did I make it all the way through? Yes? 5 stars. No? There would be nothing here to read. In all fairness, if an author holds my attention from page one to the end, they’ve done their job. Anything less than 5 stars is petty criticism from someone incapable of even doing the job let alone doing a better one.
So in respect for the author and their work, I am going to start pasting this along with a generic review I found somewhere. “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Cheers
I hate trying to write reviews because there are really only pass/fail results for me. Did I make it all the way through? Yes? 5 stars. No? There would be nothing here to read. In all fairness, if an author holds my attention from page one to the end, they’ve done their job. Anything less than 5 stars is petty criticism from someone incapable of even doing the job let alone doing a better one.
So in respect for the author and their work, I am going to start pasting this along with a generic review I found somewhere. “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Cheers
March 20, 2023
This is one of those books that is so good that it actually makes you pick up an entire new genre, even if you weren’t sure about it. I have not read very many LitRPG books, and the few I have read have not endeared me to the whole concept as such. I have played a lot of RPG games over the years, and I enjoy Fantasy books, but for some reason, the combination of RPG and Fantasy has just not worked for me? That is, until I read this book!
I just couldn’t put it down, and I have not gone through a book so fast in a long time. Nor have I ever been so disappointed to reach the end of a book ever. Where are the sequels??
So the basic story is probably not that different to a lot of other stories out there, a guy playing a computer game, in this case an immersive VR rig, happens to be hooked up when there is an incident, and he (and lots of others), are imported permanently into a game, in this case, a Fantasy saga called Sky Realms Online (hey, does that title sound familiar?)
It is what Osgood does with the story that made it so good.
The story is told from mainly the point of view of Hall, a 30yr old guy, recently separated, and a bit lost with life when the incident happened. He is not a full on gamer as such, but loves the immersive qualities of the game, likes to get involved in the interactive aspects of the game, and has a small group he plays with.
It is this love of the game that probably makes ‘Hall’ (his gamer tag), more easily adaptable to the game.
When he comes to in the game, they find it is actually a couple of years on, and those trapped in the game have all been stripped of everything they had, and returned to Level 1. They game is theirs, no one is allowed to play anymore, meaning no one else can enter. Hall also is amazed at the quality of the game. This includes the fact that the NPCs are now more real, and he quickly befriends one after an incident, and they start travelling together, questing. Another member of the group is another Player who has been trapped, Hall works out he is actually just a 14yr old kid, which was not actually allowed, everyone was meant to be over 18, so Hall feels protective of him.
Hall quickly becomes the leader of a small group of Players, as his personality attracts others, and they travel about together. As I said, this was so well written, with a really strong element of RPG, covering Hall’s stats, upgrading, the weapons he found, how the game engine of Sky Realms worked, his skills and skill upgrades.
For someone who ‘mis-spent’ their youth playing a lot of RPG games, I found the way this book was written to be really well done for the LitRPG style, it was not overbearing with stats, but it was enough to keep you interested, and let you understand the Character.
One of the really exceptional aspects of this story were the combat scenes. Obviously in a story like this there are going to be battles, and you want these to be described well, not just the actual combat elements, but the stats surrounding the combat as well for a LitRPG. The Author did a brilliant job of describing the combat, you felt like you were really watching the battle take place, like you were there, and both during and after, you got a detailed stat analysis of the fight, for both the players and foes alike, which was really well done.
This isn’t all about combat and stats though, there was a really strong storyline, as well as some exceptional Character development, and for me, someone who loves a good Character driven story, I think this is why this story is such a standout. Hall is engaging and a fascinating main character, you find yourself instantly liking him, and wanting to know more about his character and his story. The other interesting character is Lee, the NPC Druid, who becomes a major part of the story. As Hall points out, whilst she is just a part of the program, so are they after the incident, and Lee is a lot different to the NPCs they were used to, changing their fundamental belief system in relation to non-player characters within the game.
Overall, this is one of the best books I have read this year, it was creative, engaging, with exceptional character work, great world building (the back drop of the Sky Realms Universe is just magnificent), some great storylines, and a wonderful representation of a stat system covering the RPG aspect of the LitRPG style, creating a brilliant overall story.
For anyone who loves Fantasy, LitRPG, or just a wonderful Character driven story, this is well worth the read!!
I just couldn’t put it down, and I have not gone through a book so fast in a long time. Nor have I ever been so disappointed to reach the end of a book ever. Where are the sequels??
So the basic story is probably not that different to a lot of other stories out there, a guy playing a computer game, in this case an immersive VR rig, happens to be hooked up when there is an incident, and he (and lots of others), are imported permanently into a game, in this case, a Fantasy saga called Sky Realms Online (hey, does that title sound familiar?)
It is what Osgood does with the story that made it so good.
The story is told from mainly the point of view of Hall, a 30yr old guy, recently separated, and a bit lost with life when the incident happened. He is not a full on gamer as such, but loves the immersive qualities of the game, likes to get involved in the interactive aspects of the game, and has a small group he plays with.
It is this love of the game that probably makes ‘Hall’ (his gamer tag), more easily adaptable to the game.
When he comes to in the game, they find it is actually a couple of years on, and those trapped in the game have all been stripped of everything they had, and returned to Level 1. They game is theirs, no one is allowed to play anymore, meaning no one else can enter. Hall also is amazed at the quality of the game. This includes the fact that the NPCs are now more real, and he quickly befriends one after an incident, and they start travelling together, questing. Another member of the group is another Player who has been trapped, Hall works out he is actually just a 14yr old kid, which was not actually allowed, everyone was meant to be over 18, so Hall feels protective of him.
Hall quickly becomes the leader of a small group of Players, as his personality attracts others, and they travel about together. As I said, this was so well written, with a really strong element of RPG, covering Hall’s stats, upgrading, the weapons he found, how the game engine of Sky Realms worked, his skills and skill upgrades.
For someone who ‘mis-spent’ their youth playing a lot of RPG games, I found the way this book was written to be really well done for the LitRPG style, it was not overbearing with stats, but it was enough to keep you interested, and let you understand the Character.
One of the really exceptional aspects of this story were the combat scenes. Obviously in a story like this there are going to be battles, and you want these to be described well, not just the actual combat elements, but the stats surrounding the combat as well for a LitRPG. The Author did a brilliant job of describing the combat, you felt like you were really watching the battle take place, like you were there, and both during and after, you got a detailed stat analysis of the fight, for both the players and foes alike, which was really well done.
This isn’t all about combat and stats though, there was a really strong storyline, as well as some exceptional Character development, and for me, someone who loves a good Character driven story, I think this is why this story is such a standout. Hall is engaging and a fascinating main character, you find yourself instantly liking him, and wanting to know more about his character and his story. The other interesting character is Lee, the NPC Druid, who becomes a major part of the story. As Hall points out, whilst she is just a part of the program, so are they after the incident, and Lee is a lot different to the NPCs they were used to, changing their fundamental belief system in relation to non-player characters within the game.
Overall, this is one of the best books I have read this year, it was creative, engaging, with exceptional character work, great world building (the back drop of the Sky Realms Universe is just magnificent), some great storylines, and a wonderful representation of a stat system covering the RPG aspect of the LitRPG style, creating a brilliant overall story.
For anyone who loves Fantasy, LitRPG, or just a wonderful Character driven story, this is well worth the read!!
March 28, 2020
Torn between Fantasy and LitRPG
Status: DNF @ 43%
The Good
○ Writing: It's not anything noteworthy but it doesn't take the focus away from the story either.
○ Characters: Although not many have been introduced, the one's introduced are deeper than what is normal for this genre.
The Bad
○ World Building: You can't setup your virtual world to trap players, be abnormally hard and earth shatteringly different and paint the whole situation as a normal "game reset". If Mr. Osgood didn't want to answer the questions like
then he shouldn't have brought them up in the first place! Just skip it.
○ Torn between to fictions: Mr. Osgood can't decided whether he wanted to write a fantasy novel or a LitRPG one and so he ping-pongs between them both. For instance he wants his NPCs to have emotions and live real lives, but at the same time he also wants them perform MMO functions such as giving quests and acting as vendors. So what does he do? Makes them NPCs (robotic) when the plot demands it and real characters at other times. This in effect makes them neither of the things he wants because they're too scripted to be actual characters and too human to be fun game elements.
Final Thoughts
This book had potential but lacked foresight. If this was either a game or a fantasy novel then it would have been better, but instead we have an alienating mash of the two.
Status: DNF @ 43%
The Good
○ Writing: It's not anything noteworthy but it doesn't take the focus away from the story either.
○ Characters: Although not many have been introduced, the one's introduced are deeper than what is normal for this genre.
The Bad
○ World Building: You can't setup your virtual world to trap players, be abnormally hard and earth shatteringly different and paint the whole situation as a normal "game reset". If Mr. Osgood didn't want to answer the questions like
"Why don't the admins speak to the players when they did so previously?"
"Why is a company that killed people still allowed to function?"
"What kind of technological advanced happened that suddenly allowed for the game to be reality?"
then he shouldn't have brought them up in the first place! Just skip it.
○ Torn between to fictions: Mr. Osgood can't decided whether he wanted to write a fantasy novel or a LitRPG one and so he ping-pongs between them both. For instance he wants his NPCs to have emotions and live real lives, but at the same time he also wants them perform MMO functions such as giving quests and acting as vendors. So what does he do? Makes them NPCs (robotic) when the plot demands it and real characters at other times. This in effect makes them neither of the things he wants because they're too scripted to be actual characters and too human to be fun game elements.
Final Thoughts
This book had potential but lacked foresight. If this was either a game or a fantasy novel then it would have been better, but instead we have an alienating mash of the two.
May 26, 2020
Sky Realms Online: Grayhold is an excellent book, a must-read for anyone interested in the LitRPG genre. It follows the story of Hall, a half elf skirmisher who somehow gets transported into the world of Sky Realms Online, an MMORPG he's been playing for some time. As he discovers this brave new world of living inside a video game, he levels up, befriends PCs and NPCs alike, and interacts with political factions, uncovering quests and treasure along the way.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this story and would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy or role-playing video games. Five stars.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this story and would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy or role-playing video games. Five stars.
January 9, 2021
What does one do when they are trapped in a virtual reality game world? Live life to the fullest!
Due to anomalous error, caused by a hack, a number of players of a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (A VRMMORPG) find themselves transformed into digital entities who now live in their game. Hall is one of these digital persons. This is the story of he and the companions he finds in his second life.
Due to anomalous error, caused by a hack, a number of players of a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (A VRMMORPG) find themselves transformed into digital entities who now live in their game. Hall is one of these digital persons. This is the story of he and the companions he finds in his second life.
September 19, 2019
I am very disappointed.
I've rarely seen so much undisguised info dump in a book of this genre. At times it felt like I was listening to a history book. There's so much telling, and so little showing of the game lore and mechanics that I simply disconnected.
I might pick this up later but for now, I'm moving on.
I've rarely seen so much undisguised info dump in a book of this genre. At times it felt like I was listening to a history book. There's so much telling, and so little showing of the game lore and mechanics that I simply disconnected.
I might pick this up later but for now, I'm moving on.
December 2, 2019
I can't finish it. Half way through the book and there is no character development or plot progression.
April 20, 2022
Grayhold by Troy Osgood: NA/Adult Adventure Fantasy LitRPG. Heroic. Action. Allies. Friendship. Shifting Third-person POV. Shifting Creatures. Wilderness. Unique Abilities.
This is the first LitRPG fantasy I've read and I really enjoyed it. It's unlike anything I've read before.
Sky Realms Online was a normal VR open-world game that Hall had played since the beta, but one night while battling a boss monster Hall and his companions experience a massive lag causing his team mates to disconnect, and his friend to die strangely. After finishing the boss, he returns to his spawn point and discovers that 2 years have passed. The massive lag he experienced was an attack on the servers of some kind and for the most of the millions who were on at time it disconnected them. However, for the rest, it either killed them or uploaded their consciousness into the game. Hall is one of those trapped survivors, and there's no guarantee of ever logging out. So trapped in an open world, back at level 1, there nothing to do but to see what's changed about the world and choose how he's going to play his new life.
Grayhold is slow-paced full of mystery, intrigue, and adventure. It has treasure hunts, monster fights, gaining allies, forming friendships, and a great plot full of discovery, uncertainty, rising stakes, and warm moments.
One thing different from a normal fantasy novel is that the world building is exactly that of a game where races, monsters and objects have different levels and difficulties and these things are known to the PC and NPCs. The characters also have this ability to bring up their pop-up menus and see quest prompts, and I really like how this was executed. It was fresh and in its own way acted like its own magic system. Although, I don't play a lot of games so a lot of the +2 damage, 2d6 and +1 vitality things were lost on me. I still enjoyed it though.
There only issue other than some occasionally verbosity, was the POV transitions. Grayhold is written from the third person and while following Hall 90% of the time, the POV shifts from Hall to other characters particularly during action scenes. Usually when there's a POV change there's a new paragraph and the POV character's name is said in the first sentence, and usually this works pretty well. However, with the novel being written in third person its easy to miss the transition. For instance, when it says Roxhard faced the monster, is that Hall describing Roxhard, or Roxhard describing Roxhard. It did disturb the flow of the story at times, cause I'd have to read back to find the transition and correct the voice I was reading it.
Overall, I enjoyed it and am interested in continuing the series. I'd recommend it to people who like Skyrim, fantasy adventure, treasure hunting, and action.
How much I liked it: 3.5-4 Stars
Ideas - World Building: 5 Stars
Ideas - Plot: 4.5 Stars
Emotional Ups and Downs: Medium
Try/fail cycles: Satisfying
Character Depth: 4 Stars
Character Interaction: Extensive
Animal Characterisation: Minimal
Execution: 4.9 Stars
This is the first LitRPG fantasy I've read and I really enjoyed it. It's unlike anything I've read before.
Sky Realms Online was a normal VR open-world game that Hall had played since the beta, but one night while battling a boss monster Hall and his companions experience a massive lag causing his team mates to disconnect, and his friend to die strangely. After finishing the boss, he returns to his spawn point and discovers that 2 years have passed. The massive lag he experienced was an attack on the servers of some kind and for the most of the millions who were on at time it disconnected them. However, for the rest, it either killed them or uploaded their consciousness into the game. Hall is one of those trapped survivors, and there's no guarantee of ever logging out. So trapped in an open world, back at level 1, there nothing to do but to see what's changed about the world and choose how he's going to play his new life.
Grayhold is slow-paced full of mystery, intrigue, and adventure. It has treasure hunts, monster fights, gaining allies, forming friendships, and a great plot full of discovery, uncertainty, rising stakes, and warm moments.
One thing different from a normal fantasy novel is that the world building is exactly that of a game where races, monsters and objects have different levels and difficulties and these things are known to the PC and NPCs. The characters also have this ability to bring up their pop-up menus and see quest prompts, and I really like how this was executed. It was fresh and in its own way acted like its own magic system. Although, I don't play a lot of games so a lot of the +2 damage, 2d6 and +1 vitality things were lost on me. I still enjoyed it though.
There only issue other than some occasionally verbosity, was the POV transitions. Grayhold is written from the third person and while following Hall 90% of the time, the POV shifts from Hall to other characters particularly during action scenes. Usually when there's a POV change there's a new paragraph and the POV character's name is said in the first sentence, and usually this works pretty well. However, with the novel being written in third person its easy to miss the transition. For instance, when it says Roxhard faced the monster, is that Hall describing Roxhard, or Roxhard describing Roxhard. It did disturb the flow of the story at times, cause I'd have to read back to find the transition and correct the voice I was reading it.
Overall, I enjoyed it and am interested in continuing the series. I'd recommend it to people who like Skyrim, fantasy adventure, treasure hunting, and action.
How much I liked it: 3.5-4 Stars
Ideas - World Building: 5 Stars
Ideas - Plot: 4.5 Stars
Emotional Ups and Downs: Medium
Try/fail cycles: Satisfying
Character Depth: 4 Stars
Character Interaction: Extensive
Animal Characterisation: Minimal
Execution: 4.9 Stars
August 27, 2022
Standard MC is trapped in the online adventure game, building to some suspense near the end so the sequel may be better. Purchased ($0.99; $1.05 with tax and slight discount) from Amazon on Oct. 29, 2019.
May 28, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in the series. Aside from characters I like, and an interesting reason for players to be in the game world, it brings in some interesting ethical ideas about the treatment of NPCs. I also love the animal companions, and the descriptions of the world.
May 25, 2024
This book is so D&D! It’s definitely a fun read if you love dungeons and dragons and gaming. For me it was a bit repetitive and I REALLY want to know more about why and how the characters got trapped in the game.
August 20, 2019
Great Start, Looking Forward to More
Sky Realms Online: Grayhold was a great start to the Sky Realms Online series. There were some minor things I didn't like and people who aren't fans of the LitRPG genre might not want to sit through, but at least one of the major annoyances looks like it will be remedied in book 2.
Sky Realms is a popular MMORPG game that is played by millions daily until unexpectedly, players become trapped in the game and have to start over at level 1. With no way out and no choice, but to live out his life through the game, Hall sets out to do just that, along with some other trapped players and some NPCs (Non-Playable Characters).
I enjoy the LitRPG genre of books and as someone who enjoys playing MMORPG games, this book sounded great to me. A lot of it is great also. Hall is a likeable-enough main character and the group that joins him along his adventure are likeable as well. I enjoyed learning more about the Sky Realms game world and think future books will be great for building-out this game story.
There are a couple of things I wasn't crazy about with this book, however. As with any first in a series, there's a breaking-in period where you are exposed to a lot of set-up. This book stays true to the MMORPG game formula of having quests and prompts, as well as leveling information every time a new skill or activity is gained or experienced. While you might think that's a good thing, it doesn't translate as well to a book. Early on in the book, especially, there's a lot of these messages as Hall is starting over at level 1, so almost everything he does triggers a quest or experience message. This gets old fast. Anyone who reads the LitRPG series is likely aware of how this leveling system works and doesn't need to experience it with every action. Yes, it's true to real-life gaming, but there's only so many times I can hear that Hall gained experience rank because he looked at tracks on the ground or picked a plant. We get it and shouldn't have to sit through all of the prompts.
The other major problems in this book revolve around characters. Hall is a likeable-enough character, and by that I mean he's a good character that treats players and NPC well, but he comes across as boring. While other players are freaking out about being trapped in a game, it's repeatedly mentioned (and again, should not be) that Hall doesn't have much going on outside of the game and usually only worries about things he can control (and this isn't one of them). Not only does it make it annoying to keep hearing his stance on life, but it also causes you to not identify with (or care about) Hall. We do get a brief mention of his parents and I do get that it's supposed to make us understand why he isn't freaking out about the situation, but really, almost no one would react this way.
By far, the biggest complaint I had about this book, though, is that it's lacking a major antagonist for much of the book. Most of the book is about the characters gaining experience and new items while figuring out what things are different in this new situation where they're trapped in the game. It tends to make the whole story feel a bit boring until near the end of the book where there's an actual boss fight. This will likely be the biggest deterrent for people trying to read this book. If I didn't love LitRPG books or MMORPG games, I'm not sure I would have finished this one.
[Minor spoiler]
However, I do want to stress that it looks like this complaint will be remedied in book 2. The ending sets us up nicely to have a major antagonist in the next book. Now that we got the world-building and leveling system explained in the first book, hopefully that will not be re-hashed in the next book as well.
I don't want to make it sound like i hated the book, because I definitely didn't. If you're a big fan of LitRPG or MMORPG games in general, you probably will enjoy this book as well. I think readers who aren't a big fan of these things, may struggle a bit with an otherwise, slow origin story and lack of a true antagonist for much of the book. I definitely think book 2 will improve these deficiencies, though, and would encourage you to keep an eye on this author as there's potential in this series.
For anyone who's interested, the Audible narration by Pavi Proczko was excellent. Pavi does a great job with the different character voices and distinguishing them from each other. I'd definitely recommend giving it a listen.
*I was given a copy of this book for free. This is my honest review of this book.
Sky Realms Online: Grayhold was a great start to the Sky Realms Online series. There were some minor things I didn't like and people who aren't fans of the LitRPG genre might not want to sit through, but at least one of the major annoyances looks like it will be remedied in book 2.
Sky Realms is a popular MMORPG game that is played by millions daily until unexpectedly, players become trapped in the game and have to start over at level 1. With no way out and no choice, but to live out his life through the game, Hall sets out to do just that, along with some other trapped players and some NPCs (Non-Playable Characters).
I enjoy the LitRPG genre of books and as someone who enjoys playing MMORPG games, this book sounded great to me. A lot of it is great also. Hall is a likeable-enough main character and the group that joins him along his adventure are likeable as well. I enjoyed learning more about the Sky Realms game world and think future books will be great for building-out this game story.
There are a couple of things I wasn't crazy about with this book, however. As with any first in a series, there's a breaking-in period where you are exposed to a lot of set-up. This book stays true to the MMORPG game formula of having quests and prompts, as well as leveling information every time a new skill or activity is gained or experienced. While you might think that's a good thing, it doesn't translate as well to a book. Early on in the book, especially, there's a lot of these messages as Hall is starting over at level 1, so almost everything he does triggers a quest or experience message. This gets old fast. Anyone who reads the LitRPG series is likely aware of how this leveling system works and doesn't need to experience it with every action. Yes, it's true to real-life gaming, but there's only so many times I can hear that Hall gained experience rank because he looked at tracks on the ground or picked a plant. We get it and shouldn't have to sit through all of the prompts.
The other major problems in this book revolve around characters. Hall is a likeable-enough character, and by that I mean he's a good character that treats players and NPC well, but he comes across as boring. While other players are freaking out about being trapped in a game, it's repeatedly mentioned (and again, should not be) that Hall doesn't have much going on outside of the game and usually only worries about things he can control (and this isn't one of them). Not only does it make it annoying to keep hearing his stance on life, but it also causes you to not identify with (or care about) Hall. We do get a brief mention of his parents and I do get that it's supposed to make us understand why he isn't freaking out about the situation, but really, almost no one would react this way.
By far, the biggest complaint I had about this book, though, is that it's lacking a major antagonist for much of the book. Most of the book is about the characters gaining experience and new items while figuring out what things are different in this new situation where they're trapped in the game. It tends to make the whole story feel a bit boring until near the end of the book where there's an actual boss fight. This will likely be the biggest deterrent for people trying to read this book. If I didn't love LitRPG books or MMORPG games, I'm not sure I would have finished this one.
[Minor spoiler]
However, I do want to stress that it looks like this complaint will be remedied in book 2. The ending sets us up nicely to have a major antagonist in the next book. Now that we got the world-building and leveling system explained in the first book, hopefully that will not be re-hashed in the next book as well.
I don't want to make it sound like i hated the book, because I definitely didn't. If you're a big fan of LitRPG or MMORPG games in general, you probably will enjoy this book as well. I think readers who aren't a big fan of these things, may struggle a bit with an otherwise, slow origin story and lack of a true antagonist for much of the book. I definitely think book 2 will improve these deficiencies, though, and would encourage you to keep an eye on this author as there's potential in this series.
For anyone who's interested, the Audible narration by Pavi Proczko was excellent. Pavi does a great job with the different character voices and distinguishing them from each other. I'd definitely recommend giving it a listen.
*I was given a copy of this book for free. This is my honest review of this book.
March 6, 2020
One day the players are informed that something happened during the game and they have died but right before they died the makers of the game were able to transfer their conscientious to a computer and until they can transfer their conscientious back to a body they will have to live in the computer game. Now they must figure out the basics, what can't you do now you use to do, what happens if you die in the game now, and who to trust.
I don't want to give to much a way about what happens and what they do, but trust me this is cool and probably something we have all thought about before, but now the pain is real. This audio is awesome full of action and adventure, with some really cool characters. I have to say if you get the audio narrated by Pavi Proczko you are in for something special, you will feel as though you are really there with our friends rooting them on and feeling their sadness. This is a good book whether you are out for adventure, or ready for that new role playing game.
I don't want to give to much a way about what happens and what they do, but trust me this is cool and probably something we have all thought about before, but now the pain is real. This audio is awesome full of action and adventure, with some really cool characters. I have to say if you get the audio narrated by Pavi Proczko you are in for something special, you will feel as though you are really there with our friends rooting them on and feeling their sadness. This is a good book whether you are out for adventure, or ready for that new role playing game.
January 16, 2020
Meh. As LitRPG worlds go, this one is about as basic as it gets. The classes aren't terribly unique or interesting, the magic system is standard, and the world is typical fantasy. It tries to do something a little different with the floating islands, but that's not unique and he doesn't do anything with it. He doesn't even do anything of note with Airships.
The world building is pretty bad too. No real explanation of what the VR tech their using is, or how a DDos attack would cause people to get stuck in the game. No explanation of why so much time passed. No explanation of why the game's setup ended up different, why they were reset, or why admin aren't there to talk to them. It doesn't even give a reason they should go do anything other than, this is your life now, go play.
All and all, it's just kind of lazy, and would probably have been better as either a non-"stuck in the game" litRPG, or a straight up fantasy novel.
The world building is pretty bad too. No real explanation of what the VR tech their using is, or how a DDos attack would cause people to get stuck in the game. No explanation of why so much time passed. No explanation of why the game's setup ended up different, why they were reset, or why admin aren't there to talk to them. It doesn't even give a reason they should go do anything other than, this is your life now, go play.
All and all, it's just kind of lazy, and would probably have been better as either a non-"stuck in the game" litRPG, or a straight up fantasy novel.
Read
October 3, 2024Good fantasy LitRPG. I like the main character Hall and the world that takes place in the game. What sets this apart from other fantasy LitRPGs is that this read more like a tabletop RPG like D&D or Pathfinder as compared to feeling more like World of Warcraft. I really appreciated that. The writing is well done and the magic and skill systems are interesting. Narration was great. Recommend if you like fantasy LitRPGs. Good start to the series. Looking forward to starting the next book in the series!
September 9, 2019
This was a good book with true LITRPG elements. It includes player stats, weapon stats, etc. Some books have a hard time reading them out, but this book did a good job with them. I enjoyed the story, but would have liked to find out what is actually going on with their bodies. Maybe the next book will go more into their circumstances. Narration was great, each character had their own voice and was easy to understand. I received this book for free for my honest review.
October 26, 2019
This really landed in the 3.5 range for me but I've rounded up because the story's bones were solid enough and the main characters were engaging.
The biggest issue for me with this book was the editing; particularly the parts that were repeated a few times throughout the book as if they were new information, which really broke me out of the reading fugue everytime.
Will be picking up book 2 to see where we end up though.
The biggest issue for me with this book was the editing; particularly the parts that were repeated a few times throughout the book as if they were new information, which really broke me out of the reading fugue everytime.
Will be picking up book 2 to see where we end up though.
November 4, 2019
This was my first book in the LitRPG genre and I struggled to finish it. In fact I skipped the last few chapters.
The constant levelling and fight scenes just got boring.
And theres no story, or rather the story gets bogged down with levelling.
Meh.
The constant levelling and fight scenes just got boring.
And theres no story, or rather the story gets bogged down with levelling.
Meh.
February 9, 2023
After recently discovering Pavi Proczko, it was a no brainer to jump on this book! I felt like this was more of a "G" rated litRPG, than I had suspected, well... I do tend to forget that fighting with swords, and battle axes maybe a bit much for some middle readers, so it might be leaning towards "PG" status... But that's not a bad thing it just surprised me!
All the players, who survived, find themselves trapped in this game, after the game crashes while playing. Stuck in limbo for 2 years, without any hope of succor.
Hall's been playing the game since beta testing, receives a final notice from the game Dev. That message pretty much said "Sorry you're stuck, and cesť la vie!" Instead of freaking out, Hall decides to just play the game, since the game is now his "reality"... Hall, finds himself demoted essentially, back to the entry level status of a new gamer! As Hall had always played as a spear-wielding Skirmisher, he decided that would be the right choice of character, and he knew the half-elf avatar the best. And Hall left the bad news behind. He accidently bumps into another player Roxhard, who's avatar is a tanky Dwarf... they team-up and go off a questing, but little do they know how much the game has changed in the 2 years it had been "off line". Hall and Roxhard never looked back once they got going! I immediately became sucked into the game and Hall's storied life.
All the players, who survived, find themselves trapped in this game, after the game crashes while playing. Stuck in limbo for 2 years, without any hope of succor.
Hall's been playing the game since beta testing, receives a final notice from the game Dev. That message pretty much said "Sorry you're stuck, and cesť la vie!" Instead of freaking out, Hall decides to just play the game, since the game is now his "reality"... Hall, finds himself demoted essentially, back to the entry level status of a new gamer! As Hall had always played as a spear-wielding Skirmisher, he decided that would be the right choice of character, and he knew the half-elf avatar the best. And Hall left the bad news behind. He accidently bumps into another player Roxhard, who's avatar is a tanky Dwarf... they team-up and go off a questing, but little do they know how much the game has changed in the 2 years it had been "off line". Hall and Roxhard never looked back once they got going! I immediately became sucked into the game and Hall's storied life.
July 21, 2020
Hall has been playing games for a long time. He has been playing the VR game, Sky Realms Online since the beta. During an attack with his group, he starts to see glitches. Some people freeze, some disappear and one friend dies but not in the normal way. Hall doesn’t have time to think, he needs to defeat this boss and figure out what the heck is going on. After the fight all goes dark.
Hall awakens later but things are not as they seem. They receive a message that there was an accident, many people died and some were trapped in game. The company is working on a way to return them to their bodies. Hall meets a few other players at the spawning point. There is a wide variety, some fine with it, others freaking out and a dwarf that is crying.
Hall decides to journey out and along the way he discovers that the NPCs are not just dumb, one or two type of answers and quest givers. In fact, some of the NPCs are smarter than Hall. Hall is level one and needs to work his way up but all his gear is gone and he isn’t sure if he dies, if he will respawn.
Hall awakens later but things are not as they seem. They receive a message that there was an accident, many people died and some were trapped in game. The company is working on a way to return them to their bodies. Hall meets a few other players at the spawning point. There is a wide variety, some fine with it, others freaking out and a dwarf that is crying.
Hall decides to journey out and along the way he discovers that the NPCs are not just dumb, one or two type of answers and quest givers. In fact, some of the NPCs are smarter than Hall. Hall is level one and needs to work his way up but all his gear is gone and he isn’t sure if he dies, if he will respawn.
June 5, 2022
WTF just happened.
Unusual storyline , long standing rpg suddenly crashes , there is only one brief notification telling players they are start at level.one and they're on their own , no explanation , no in-game wiki. no support and is respawning still possible or it death permanent. Hall the MC actually adapts better than most and decides that as he can't change anything he might as well enjoy playing , he notices several differences in-game , NPCs are hard to tell from players as their roles are far more detailed , quests are far rarer and towns etc are far larger, the "game" appears heightened , pain is more realistic , colours brighter , air fresher etc. Hall meets up with players Sabine a witch who is not resigned to the changes , Roxhard a tank who is far to young to be legally playing and is a lost soul and Leigh a druid and NPC , together they survive and thrive. Really enjoyed our "heroes" adapting to their new reality.
Unusual storyline , long standing rpg suddenly crashes , there is only one brief notification telling players they are start at level.one and they're on their own , no explanation , no in-game wiki. no support and is respawning still possible or it death permanent. Hall the MC actually adapts better than most and decides that as he can't change anything he might as well enjoy playing , he notices several differences in-game , NPCs are hard to tell from players as their roles are far more detailed , quests are far rarer and towns etc are far larger, the "game" appears heightened , pain is more realistic , colours brighter , air fresher etc. Hall meets up with players Sabine a witch who is not resigned to the changes , Roxhard a tank who is far to young to be legally playing and is a lost soul and Leigh a druid and NPC , together they survive and thrive. Really enjoyed our "heroes" adapting to their new reality.
December 31, 2020
Action packed adventure
This book is a thought-provoking story with a full group of wonderful characters. There are some interesting species. This is a LitRPG type book. I don't play any roll-playing games so I am not familiar with the rules. The author did a good job explaining things without putting me to sleep or over whelming me. He made role playing sound intriguing. Each individual has arc
The team consists of four people. There is Hall who is a half-human, half-elf with a dragonhawk named Pike for a familiar. Sabine is a human witch that has not found her familiar yet. Leigh is a Druid and has a cow familiar named Angus. Roxhard is a dwarf. They each bring special qualities to the team. Hall mentions often that a team normally has five people.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes LitRPG stories, a wide variety of species like Goblins, Witches, Druids, Dwarves, and Elves. I look forward to reading the next book.
This book is a thought-provoking story with a full group of wonderful characters. There are some interesting species. This is a LitRPG type book. I don't play any roll-playing games so I am not familiar with the rules. The author did a good job explaining things without putting me to sleep or over whelming me. He made role playing sound intriguing. Each individual has arc
The team consists of four people. There is Hall who is a half-human, half-elf with a dragonhawk named Pike for a familiar. Sabine is a human witch that has not found her familiar yet. Leigh is a Druid and has a cow familiar named Angus. Roxhard is a dwarf. They each bring special qualities to the team. Hall mentions often that a team normally has five people.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes LitRPG stories, a wide variety of species like Goblins, Witches, Druids, Dwarves, and Elves. I look forward to reading the next book.
December 21, 2024
This was one of the best LitRPG stories I've ever read and I've read quite a few this year and last.
The story itself was great and easy to follow, the world is detailed and described in a way that made me feel as if I was there with the characters.
I really liked the group of characters around the MC Hall. They felt real and were extremely well written, especially because Hall doesn't know a lot about them and neither do you as the reader. You get to know them over the course of the story, but there is still a lot to discover.
If you want to give LitRPG a try but don't know which book might be a good starting point, give this one a try. The gaming elements are described in a way that even someone who is not a gamer can grasp the concept easily.
I'm definitely going to continue with this series.
The story itself was great and easy to follow, the world is detailed and described in a way that made me feel as if I was there with the characters.
I really liked the group of characters around the MC Hall. They felt real and were extremely well written, especially because Hall doesn't know a lot about them and neither do you as the reader. You get to know them over the course of the story, but there is still a lot to discover.
If you want to give LitRPG a try but don't know which book might be a good starting point, give this one a try. The gaming elements are described in a way that even someone who is not a gamer can grasp the concept easily.
I'm definitely going to continue with this series.
Read
August 5, 2020A New Life
If I ever die in a video game, I'd something like this to be it. A life that I get to make and make my own.
Hall is the MC and wakes in a game inn with other players to find out that the VR game crashed and most people that were playing died in real life, but they too have died. They have now new lives as NPC's, but with their game knowledge. Turns out that Hall was a Beta tester and has wide knowledge of the game world, but as much as he knows, his new life has more he's not aware of.
After following the base quests, he goes into the new world alone. He finds other players and a NPC that makes his team...
This was another neat way to live in a game.
Read in 2 days
If I ever die in a video game, I'd something like this to be it. A life that I get to make and make my own.
Hall is the MC and wakes in a game inn with other players to find out that the VR game crashed and most people that were playing died in real life, but they too have died. They have now new lives as NPC's, but with their game knowledge. Turns out that Hall was a Beta tester and has wide knowledge of the game world, but as much as he knows, his new life has more he's not aware of.
After following the base quests, he goes into the new world alone. He finds other players and a NPC that makes his team...
This was another neat way to live in a game.
Read in 2 days
April 11, 2021
Impressive
If I had the ambition to Just " sit and write " THIS is what I would like to do ... Played online games since the opening of the net ( actually have been online since it become public ) ... Was there for the Bata of tb3 first " Hatred " game ... Played them all ..
(( miss the hell of them )) moved to World of Warcraft ... Ebony ... And Game of War ... Even sent a few serials to a magic the Gathering ... Love the Gaming ... To lazy for the writing ... LoL ... This is GREAT ... and ... An inspiration for me ... Fantastic Characters and Characterisation ... Very interesting plot and related conflicts ... Very few conflicts of conve.nience just to cover miss direction ... Very Impr
If I had the ambition to Just " sit and write " THIS is what I would like to do ... Played online games since the opening of the net ( actually have been online since it become public ) ... Was there for the Bata of tb3 first " Hatred " game ... Played them all ..
(( miss the hell of them )) moved to World of Warcraft ... Ebony ... And Game of War ... Even sent a few serials to a magic the Gathering ... Love the Gaming ... To lazy for the writing ... LoL ... This is GREAT ... and ... An inspiration for me ... Fantastic Characters and Characterisation ... Very interesting plot and related conflicts ... Very few conflicts of conve.nience just to cover miss direction ... Very Impr
October 6, 2023
Needs serious proofreading
This reads like a first draft that was just published without any further work done on it. Tons of spelling errors, grammar errors, words that either don't belong or are missing, and repetitive information that was just given a paragraph or two before. Also, as other reviewers have noted, there is way too much "this feature used to be X until the devs changed it". We don't need to know what the game was like several iterations before the players got trapped inside it. That has no bearing on the story at all and just bloats the word count.
I made it to 45% because the story was somewhat interesting, but all the above was just too much to keep going.
This reads like a first draft that was just published without any further work done on it. Tons of spelling errors, grammar errors, words that either don't belong or are missing, and repetitive information that was just given a paragraph or two before. Also, as other reviewers have noted, there is way too much "this feature used to be X until the devs changed it". We don't need to know what the game was like several iterations before the players got trapped inside it. That has no bearing on the story at all and just bloats the word count.
I made it to 45% because the story was somewhat interesting, but all the above was just too much to keep going.
January 1, 2024
IMO, it just lacked something - maybe it was the dialogue that didn't grab me or the two-year lag gap that caused several people to get immediately immersed into the game against their will (loved ones? friends? RL responsibilities? who are they?) and presumed dead - so even if people make it through/back and the glitch is fixed, what state are their bodies going to be in - would the game devs not try to immediately code in a lack of pain, or setting all creatures to non-hostile, or eternal respawns so no one's consciousness gets deleted when a few might break and attempt a self-offing?
Perhaps it's the wrong time to read this and later on, I might like it more? Right now, it's a hard pass. YMMV
Perhaps it's the wrong time to read this and later on, I might like it more? Right now, it's a hard pass. YMMV
January 4, 2024
Overall an enjoyable experience. The premise of the story is similar to some others I've read, but with a unique enough twist that it kept me chugging along, learning about the characters and the world they find themselves in after an event takes place that prohibits them from logging out. The island zones hold strong possiblility for future entries in the series and growth for our players, so I am looking forward to experiencing that as things unfold, and the LitRPG aspects with sheet stats, skill boosts and gear are not overbearing or too detailed so as to make the reader lose interest or feel lost. Definitely reccomend this read for anyone that enjoys the LitRPG genre, and now on to the next to see what it has in store.
December 18, 2020
The only interesting thing about this book is the neurodiverse lead (though I draw this from their behaviour and emotional interactions, where it is quite obvious, not from any author comment). It started off with an okay premise, but I quickly lost interest - I didn't care about the characters, and there was no dramatic tension, just "characters bonk X monster on the head, X monster bonks them back". No actual storyline is apparent, and there wasn't really any levelling (so no vicarious joy there). Raises a couple of questions but never answers them. Trashy reading at a level that is only just bearable.
The narration in the Audible version is solid.
The narration in the Audible version is solid.
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