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World-Tree Trilogy #1
World-Tree Online
When an update traps millions of players in the most advanced VR game ever made, one man discovers an exploit that might just take him to the top of the World-Tree.
In 2056, the world’s most powerful AI System, ARKUS, comes online. Created to extend human lifespans, it quickly designs new kinds of nanomachine therapies, in addition to making world-changing discoveries in health science. It also develops an advanced VR headset that uses consumable nanomachines to allow users to experience time faster in virtual worlds.
Two years later, ARKUS releases World-Tree Online. The game’s time-dilation makes it so that one hour of playtime feels like one month to those in-game, allowing humans to live extended, virtual lives that feel real.
However, shortly after an old gamer named Vincent joins World-Tree Online, an update begins that stretches the time-dilation to one year for every five seconds. Players are unable to exit the game during the update—with an estimated wait time of three hundred sixty years.
While trapped in the game, Vincent discovers an exploit in the physics that might take him higher up the World-Tree than he ever expected. Unfortunately, he crosses paths with the last moderator in the game, a young man named Lucas that uses his mod abilities to torture and subjugate other players.
Lucas is willing to abuse his power to conquer the World-Tree, but Vincent’s exploit might just be the key to stopping him.
In 2056, the world’s most powerful AI System, ARKUS, comes online. Created to extend human lifespans, it quickly designs new kinds of nanomachine therapies, in addition to making world-changing discoveries in health science. It also develops an advanced VR headset that uses consumable nanomachines to allow users to experience time faster in virtual worlds.
Two years later, ARKUS releases World-Tree Online. The game’s time-dilation makes it so that one hour of playtime feels like one month to those in-game, allowing humans to live extended, virtual lives that feel real.
However, shortly after an old gamer named Vincent joins World-Tree Online, an update begins that stretches the time-dilation to one year for every five seconds. Players are unable to exit the game during the update—with an estimated wait time of three hundred sixty years.
While trapped in the game, Vincent discovers an exploit in the physics that might take him higher up the World-Tree than he ever expected. Unfortunately, he crosses paths with the last moderator in the game, a young man named Lucas that uses his mod abilities to torture and subjugate other players.
Lucas is willing to abuse his power to conquer the World-Tree, but Vincent’s exploit might just be the key to stopping him.
495 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 11, 2018
1088 people are currently reading
963 people want to read
About the author
E.A. Hooper
12 books123 followersEA Hooper is a lifelong storyteller. As a child he made stories with action figures or legos that would go for months on end. In elementary school he made comics during classes. Then in middle school he started writing stories in notebooks for his friends to read, beginning his pursuit of becoming a writer. Eventually he went to Austin Peay State University and earned a Bachelors Degree in English in 2013. He now lives with his wife and their cats.
You can follow him on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/authoreahooper
Or twitter: https://twitter.com/Writer_EAHooper
Or check his website: https://eahooper.com
You can follow him on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/authoreahooper
Or twitter: https://twitter.com/Writer_EAHooper
Or check his website: https://eahooper.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
July 9, 2019
Mini-Review:
4.5 Stars for Great Audio Production
3 Stars for Handful of Fun Ideas
1.5 Star for Clunky Story Progression & Poor Execution of Ideas
I really wanted to like the story but I felt so removed from the story that I had to force myself to pay attention. Intro was a nice hook but the rest of the book failed to hold up to the promise.
4.5 Stars for Great Audio Production
3 Stars for Handful of Fun Ideas
1.5 Star for Clunky Story Progression & Poor Execution of Ideas
I really wanted to like the story but I felt so removed from the story that I had to force myself to pay attention. Intro was a nice hook but the rest of the book failed to hold up to the promise.
May 4, 2019
Not for adults
It seemed to me that it was written by a teenager. Some of it may have been the narrators that since I listened to it more than I read. Especially Xan's narration. That was horrible with the constant sniveling and whinnyness. It almost drove me to stop reading at 35%. The social interactions are what really made it seem childish. Also with the time dilation (which I'm a big fan of as a concept) you're saying that they've been there 70 years, but the characters dont grow or change at all? Let me spend 15 years developing a spell.. what nothing else happens? No other part of their life evolves?
It seemed to me that it was written by a teenager. Some of it may have been the narrators that since I listened to it more than I read. Especially Xan's narration. That was horrible with the constant sniveling and whinnyness. It almost drove me to stop reading at 35%. The social interactions are what really made it seem childish. Also with the time dilation (which I'm a big fan of as a concept) you're saying that they've been there 70 years, but the characters dont grow or change at all? Let me spend 15 years developing a spell.. what nothing else happens? No other part of their life evolves?
June 17, 2019
Brief preface; This review comes on the coattails of the dozens and dozens of litRPGs I've digested from the great popular ones to the not so great unpopular ones, so you have to understand I have quite the tolerance for overused tropes and even find them enjoyable, like soap operas for some people
Pretty good writing, little or no glaring grammatical oversights, and most importantly a fun and entertaining story. I enjoyed it, but I gotta outline why this book fell a bit flat:
**MINOR SPOILERS OF THE FIRST COUPLE CHAPTERS AHEAD**
A)
-1 star for lack of originality. "World tree" may be the most overused nonsense trope in litRPG/gamelit. At least come up with a different name for it, for christ's sake there are 20 different variations on "Players of a new MMO are stuck for various reasons in some version Yggdrasil or the World Tree where the pain is suddenly real and different levels of the world tree contains different monsters". For lack of a better way to phrase it, it simply feels like a lazy, hollow setting. It lacks substance. Why is there the world tree? What does it look like? What is the world really about? It's almost like someone saying here's a delicious bucket of fried chicken, and then when you look in the bucket and it's just a bucket full of dry grilled chicken breast. No herbs and spices. If you're going to reuse a tired trope, there needs to be substance and maybe a spin.
Having said that, this version of the "reason" why players can't leave the game is mildly intriguing and one of the few things that kept me plodding along with the overall charming story.
B)
-1 star for TIME SKIPS. Before you say "Yeah well the timeframe of the game is so vast that it wouldn't make sense to cover every single boring monster grind.", hear me out.
The first time skips hits when our main character Vincent has barely put a few hours into the game. We're just getting into the meat and potatoes of the down-and-dirty game mechanics. We got a couple skill points under our belt AAAAAAAAAAAND TIME SKIP 15 YEARS LATER. We didn't get to feel the growing pains with the player. The PRIME TIME for character development, while both the reader and the character are finally shedding their first layers of naivete, we just.... skip all of that nonsense. Disappointed. Such a good setup. Could have gone into lore, could have covered the nuances of the game interface. Anything really, even if they were brief overviews of various achievments the player earned, or the monsters killed, or the stats earned. Instead, it simply skips 15 YEARS of time. That's only the first of a few such time skips, however I would call it the most disappointing and egregiously lazy mistake made in this story.
I could and would go on about this, but I fear I'm already rambling and this book doesn't deserve harsh criticism. It's a good book; like most enjoyable litRPGs, it's easy to digest and filled with fun and adventure, loot and spells, and in the end that's what I came for.
I can only imagine most of these 5 star reviews are from people new to the genre. And for what it's worth, this is not a bad series to begin your delve into litRPG. However, if you're like me and can overlook just about everything for an entertaining story then I say take the dive. You'll probably enjoy it. For those of you new to the genre, I suggest checking out series like The Way of the Shaman, The Land, Eden's Gate, Viridian Gate Online or any other number of similar titles to get a feel of how other authors embrace these tropes.
Pretty good writing, little or no glaring grammatical oversights, and most importantly a fun and entertaining story. I enjoyed it, but I gotta outline why this book fell a bit flat:
**MINOR SPOILERS OF THE FIRST COUPLE CHAPTERS AHEAD**
A)
-1 star for lack of originality. "World tree" may be the most overused nonsense trope in litRPG/gamelit. At least come up with a different name for it, for christ's sake there are 20 different variations on "Players of a new MMO are stuck for various reasons in some version Yggdrasil or the World Tree where the pain is suddenly real and different levels of the world tree contains different monsters". For lack of a better way to phrase it, it simply feels like a lazy, hollow setting. It lacks substance. Why is there the world tree? What does it look like? What is the world really about? It's almost like someone saying here's a delicious bucket of fried chicken, and then when you look in the bucket and it's just a bucket full of dry grilled chicken breast. No herbs and spices. If you're going to reuse a tired trope, there needs to be substance and maybe a spin.
Having said that, this version of the "reason" why players can't leave the game is mildly intriguing and one of the few things that kept me plodding along with the overall charming story.
B)
-1 star for TIME SKIPS. Before you say "Yeah well the timeframe of the game is so vast that it wouldn't make sense to cover every single boring monster grind.", hear me out.
The first time skips hits when our main character Vincent has barely put a few hours into the game. We're just getting into the meat and potatoes of the down-and-dirty game mechanics. We got a couple skill points under our belt AAAAAAAAAAAND TIME SKIP 15 YEARS LATER. We didn't get to feel the growing pains with the player. The PRIME TIME for character development, while both the reader and the character are finally shedding their first layers of naivete, we just.... skip all of that nonsense. Disappointed. Such a good setup. Could have gone into lore, could have covered the nuances of the game interface. Anything really, even if they were brief overviews of various achievments the player earned, or the monsters killed, or the stats earned. Instead, it simply skips 15 YEARS of time. That's only the first of a few such time skips, however I would call it the most disappointing and egregiously lazy mistake made in this story.
I could and would go on about this, but I fear I'm already rambling and this book doesn't deserve harsh criticism. It's a good book; like most enjoyable litRPGs, it's easy to digest and filled with fun and adventure, loot and spells, and in the end that's what I came for.
I can only imagine most of these 5 star reviews are from people new to the genre. And for what it's worth, this is not a bad series to begin your delve into litRPG. However, if you're like me and can overlook just about everything for an entertaining story then I say take the dive. You'll probably enjoy it. For those of you new to the genre, I suggest checking out series like The Way of the Shaman, The Land, Eden's Gate, Viridian Gate Online or any other number of similar titles to get a feel of how other authors embrace these tropes.
May 26, 2019
I really, REALLY enjoyed this book! In fact, I finished World-Tree Online in just two days, and am currently writing this review on zero sleep due to my 10 hour read-a-thon last night. This past year I have been really into this new LitRPG/Gamer genre of books. Lately, however, it has become hard to find a book I like. This genre has become oversaturated with books that follow very similar plot lines and ideas. So much so that I cannot even remember which book was which when thinking back on them. World-Tree Online, however, was a breath of fresh air. It was different from any other I have read, had tons of unique ideas, and was altogether a fascinating read. I loved the main character and his group of friends. Jim, the main character's "real life" best friend, who only seemed to care about alcohol, parties, and women, annoyed me a bit at first, but grew on me as the book progressed. Besides, Jim's way of life would probably not be an unpopular one if this sort of game ever truly existed. Strangely, my favorite character in this book was Lucas, the 'bad guy.' In fact, he might be one of my favorite antagonists ever. He was a terrible person and I hated him, yet I found myself looking ahead in the book to see how much longer I had until I got to read from his perspective again. As a School Psychologist, I tend to "diagnose" the characters and really enjoy when authors give me a look into the mind of the antagonist. Lucas, his behaviors, and decisions were horrible yet believable, and I could see someone with his personality (and very obvious personality disorder traits) acting the way he did under similar conditions. Finally, the ending was fantastic. Even though it is book 1 of a trilogy, it was finished in such a way that it would have been great on it's own. The ending was VERY satisfying - and the epilogue had me smiling the whole way through. So... if you are looking for a fun LitRPG book that is unique, engaging, and exciting, you should definitely give this one a try. It is a gem for this genre and I cannot wait to start book 2!
** Also, I have to recommend listening to this book on Audible. I bought both the e-book and Audible version of this book (something I will do for books I am really into so I don't have to stop every time I need to use my hands or eyes for something else). The audible reading of this book is AMAZING. There are sound effects and multiple readers of different genders. The voices and sounds really add to the story and I would even recommend listening to it over reading it, which is a very rare recommendation for me!
** Also, I have to recommend listening to this book on Audible. I bought both the e-book and Audible version of this book (something I will do for books I am really into so I don't have to stop every time I need to use my hands or eyes for something else). The audible reading of this book is AMAZING. There are sound effects and multiple readers of different genders. The voices and sounds really add to the story and I would even recommend listening to it over reading it, which is a very rare recommendation for me!
January 10, 2020
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. For whatever reason, the brief description didn't really make me want to read it. Maybe because the whole trope of a character having an OP ability early on and then they end up god-moding through the game just irks me. And the description even says right off the bat that the MC develops an exploit that lets him have an advantage. Despite that hesitancy, I went for it since it has so many reviews and over a 4 star rating and I'm glad I did.
The characters are fairly generic, but the overall world was very fleshed out and you could tell that the author had a very specific setting in mind. There are a lot of mechanics at play in this book that make it stand out from the average litrpg/gamelit offerings.
On the flip side, I also really disliked some of the unique things. It was a huge turnoff for me how everyone just wanted to suicide at the first hint of incoming pain. Honestly, it was too melodramatic and it made it really hard to root for the characters when it seemed they were just being a bunch of babies and were unwilling to struggle. If you know that you won't actually die, then pain doesn't really matter that much outside of an ongoing torture scenario...and honestly that's more about the psychological aspect more than anything. Luckily, by about 2/3 the way through the book, people were a bit more willing to actually get injured and keep fighting.
The author also seems to have an extreme fetish for drinking mana potions. Seriously, I get it. They run low on mana and they drink a potion. I don't need you to explicitly tell me every time because it ends up with 50% of each fight description just talking about chugging ethers. Just mention it a few times periodically so we know that it happens and let it be. Also how many times can a person smirk or wipe their sweaty brow. Please include a bit more variety in future endeavors.
Those gripes aside, the story was still very good and once it was on the home stretch, I didn't want to put the book down. I don't think I can say I enjoyed the story that much to be honest, but I do think that anyone who reads a lot of gamelit/litrpg should read this just for the unique mechanics and world. This book does a good job of giving the genre a bit of much needed variety, so for that reason alone I would recommend it.
Despite the issues I had with it, it was still a very solid read...and if the things I mentioned don't bother you, then you will probably consider this book a 5 star entry and for good reason.
The characters are fairly generic, but the overall world was very fleshed out and you could tell that the author had a very specific setting in mind. There are a lot of mechanics at play in this book that make it stand out from the average litrpg/gamelit offerings.
On the flip side, I also really disliked some of the unique things. It was a huge turnoff for me how everyone just wanted to suicide at the first hint of incoming pain. Honestly, it was too melodramatic and it made it really hard to root for the characters when it seemed they were just being a bunch of babies and were unwilling to struggle. If you know that you won't actually die, then pain doesn't really matter that much outside of an ongoing torture scenario...and honestly that's more about the psychological aspect more than anything. Luckily, by about 2/3 the way through the book, people were a bit more willing to actually get injured and keep fighting.
The author also seems to have an extreme fetish for drinking mana potions. Seriously, I get it. They run low on mana and they drink a potion. I don't need you to explicitly tell me every time because it ends up with 50% of each fight description just talking about chugging ethers. Just mention it a few times periodically so we know that it happens and let it be. Also how many times can a person smirk or wipe their sweaty brow. Please include a bit more variety in future endeavors.
Those gripes aside, the story was still very good and once it was on the home stretch, I didn't want to put the book down. I don't think I can say I enjoyed the story that much to be honest, but I do think that anyone who reads a lot of gamelit/litrpg should read this just for the unique mechanics and world. This book does a good job of giving the genre a bit of much needed variety, so for that reason alone I would recommend it.
Despite the issues I had with it, it was still a very solid read...and if the things I mentioned don't bother you, then you will probably consider this book a 5 star entry and for good reason.
May 16, 2019
Lemme put it this way, the description clearly shows the author took a few good (and standard ideas) and mashed it into one.
Time dilation for extending life?
Random stuck in game?
Game becomes reality with pain sensitivity?
Incorporating many games into one game?
Tossing in a 'tower' to climb idea?
Crazy (and possibly evil) AI?
Random evil antagonist cause you need one?
If you want to write a good book with these tropes, you need to answer why and try to put some sense to it.
Frankly, there are so many ideas here that can be a book in itself and would be interesting too. You really don't need to mash it together in a description and then focus on a bit of each while using a standard plot.
Time dilation for extending life?
Random stuck in game?
Game becomes reality with pain sensitivity?
Incorporating many games into one game?
Tossing in a 'tower' to climb idea?
Crazy (and possibly evil) AI?
Random evil antagonist cause you need one?
If you want to write a good book with these tropes, you need to answer why and try to put some sense to it.
Frankly, there are so many ideas here that can be a book in itself and would be interesting too. You really don't need to mash it together in a description and then focus on a bit of each while using a standard plot.
May 17, 2019
I was pleasantly surprised at everything this book had to offer. The older main character and his patience, the combat, everything worked in its favor. There are a few time jumps, but they don't really detract from anything.
July 12, 2019
I liked the writing style, but I have a major complaint - the time dilation. Okay, not a new concept, and it's a good way to allow players to play for long periods of time in a believable way...but this one was completely overblown with a dilation of 1 hour IRL = 1 month in game. That's before the twist. And what do people do with this? They party and play a game. This is a world-changing concept, that would spread over all areas of business, life and everything, that was barely acknowledged in the book in terms of actual world consequences, and it broke the immersion for me. To make things worse, it takes months or years to levell up, or gain/create skills. Considering the attention span of most people, I'm surprised anyone even bothered. This particular aspect just doesn't work. Especially when you imagine (minor spoiler ahead) grinding skills for 40 years non-stop. If humans were capable of such long-term planning, our society would look very differently. This way, it was just unrealistic, which made me a bit angry at the author, as the rest of the book was quite good otherwise.
May 2, 2019
Surprisingly decent.
The concepts aren’t super new or original to the genre. But the author reuses them well and the book lacks most of the painful common annoyances many experience with RPG based literature.
Surprising lack of romance. The female characters are strong. Felt like the book was the right length, not like the author was aiming for a word count. Lots of closure. Slightly non traditional main character.
Still uncovers an over powered ability that solves a ridiculous amount of challenges, but I think that might be unavoidable to an extent. And he did have to work for it I suppose.
Honestly I feel Like I just read a really good and complete sword art online fan fiction. And I’m okay with it.
Nothing inspiring but it was a page turner and that’s all I wanted from it. I’ll pick up the sequels.
The concepts aren’t super new or original to the genre. But the author reuses them well and the book lacks most of the painful common annoyances many experience with RPG based literature.
Surprising lack of romance. The female characters are strong. Felt like the book was the right length, not like the author was aiming for a word count. Lots of closure. Slightly non traditional main character.
Still uncovers an over powered ability that solves a ridiculous amount of challenges, but I think that might be unavoidable to an extent. And he did have to work for it I suppose.
Honestly I feel Like I just read a really good and complete sword art online fan fiction. And I’m okay with it.
Nothing inspiring but it was a page turner and that’s all I wanted from it. I’ll pick up the sequels.
June 6, 2024
Important Note - this review is based on the audiobook, which was so well done that it played a LARGE role in my enjoyment of this book. The sound effects, voice effects, multiple voice actors, ugh, it was *perfect*.
I really enjoyed the whole storyline and plot, even though Lucas can eat a bag of rocks. It also raises soon-to-be prevalent questions on legalities of real-world punishments for behaviors done in an AI/AR world. Lucas, you are the smallest man who ever lived.
HUGE shoutout to my friend Kari for recommending this book to me! Can't wait to discuss next time we get together.
I really enjoyed the whole storyline and plot, even though Lucas can eat a bag of rocks. It also raises soon-to-be prevalent questions on legalities of real-world punishments for behaviors done in an AI/AR world. Lucas, you are the smallest man who ever lived.
HUGE shoutout to my friend Kari for recommending this book to me! Can't wait to discuss next time we get together.
October 4, 2018
This was a very interesting book. The AI in the game decides that it wants to stretch the time out. It turns 30 minutes into over 300 years, and there's a douche mod (surprise surprise) that lets his power go to his head. In the end that the mod enslaves something like close to 5 million players in various ways. The protagonist is a 70+ year old that is an "old school" gamer and has the motto of harder is better (that's what she said). So when this all kicks off and the 300 jail sentence starts, he becomes dedicated to playing the game in ways that no other player has yet and also because of his old school style of play he's able to think of ways to do things that most people wouldn't have tried thus making him the "man" that's able to possibly beat the mod. Overall, this was an awesome story. The main character is pretty damn good, but I loved Xan the most. She was awesome. Watching her break out of her shell was prob the most fun I had while reading this book. This is a fun read, and should be closer to the top of your TBR pile if you have one.
July 23, 2018
Really cool concept
Super cool concept, but that magic system... It seems like instead of swords and spell slinging, everyone points their fingers and says bang.
I think this works well as a stand alone novel, where it wraps up the major plot points.
No glaring Grammer issues so that is always a huge plus, and editing seemed to do really well. Warning that there is some time skips but there are only 2 or 3, and you just skip them grinding skills, no real big deal. The skips were easy to look past once i turned a few pages and got caught back up.
Super cool concept, but that magic system... It seems like instead of swords and spell slinging, everyone points their fingers and says bang.
I think this works well as a stand alone novel, where it wraps up the major plot points.
No glaring Grammer issues so that is always a huge plus, and editing seemed to do really well. Warning that there is some time skips but there are only 2 or 3, and you just skip them grinding skills, no real big deal. The skips were easy to look past once i turned a few pages and got caught back up.
June 2, 2023
Lucas is so funny 😭😭😭 He's every stereotype of an incel reddit user (literally a mod on a power trip!!) put together and then he's just so whiny and mean and manipulative it's fucking great. He's trying to be The Ultimate Evil but every thought he has is like the most stereotyped evil thought and every scene with him is so entertaining. He even calls himself god 😭 He's so good!!
Vincent is less funny and more one dimensional. I like when someone he's journeying with makes a joke and he immediately shuts them down by being the morality police. It's great. He's every woke scold twitter user, and he's also 70. Does it matter that he's 70 since he spends most of the book as a 20yo? Who's to say. And they keep saying he's an 'old style' gamer but never actually explain what that means.
I think the first time skip was a huge mistake. The first few years after the beginning of the update are the most crucial--give us the angst of everyone dealing with being trapped for 360 years, give us the people trying to break out, give us people trying to deal with it and failing, etc--and skipping over that feels so lazy. Or the second time skip, it seems like the author just wanted everyone to be best bros (the characters keep referencing stuff they did during the time skip or say 'everything we've been through', but like...me, as the reader, doesn't know about that! instead of putting that history as exposition, why not just write it?) and didn't want to do the actual work of relationship building. Which is fine, just annoying to read.
It REALLY bothered me that Vince's friend Jim explains game mechanics to him instead of the actual game doing it. It made no sense! Such a little thing but I got so annoyed over it that I almost DNF'd.
The characters explaining every single thing was kind of annoying. Like I felt like every so often a character would break the 4th wall to monologue some plot relevant info and then go back to whatever they were doing.
And why was Valerie so normal after being held captive for so long?
I honestly don't even know if this book was good or not! The plot felt very predictable and the characters (besides Lucas) didn't really feel like they had personalities. Most character development was exposition or off screen. And they did the boring ass 'we can't be as bad as the villain' trope which is so BORING. And Vincent's 'the world will know what you've done' speech like PLEASE 😭😭 so unserious! The worst dictator in all of human history because he went on a power trip inside a video game 😭😭😭😭 but then everyone who worked for him is excused because it's just a game? So which is it? Is he the worst dictator or just a guy in a video game?
But I read the whole thing in like a day. So I think 3/5. Especially since I don't really have any desire to continue on with the series after this one. The whole time I was wondering what reddit mod made the author so mad they wrote a whole book about their power trip
god never mind the epilogue is so bad 😭 Lucas being a weak basement dweller who lives with his parents and who gets arrested for internet crimes like BRO what a stupid ending. 2/5
Vincent is less funny and more one dimensional. I like when someone he's journeying with makes a joke and he immediately shuts them down by being the morality police. It's great. He's every woke scold twitter user, and he's also 70. Does it matter that he's 70 since he spends most of the book as a 20yo? Who's to say. And they keep saying he's an 'old style' gamer but never actually explain what that means.
I think the first time skip was a huge mistake. The first few years after the beginning of the update are the most crucial--give us the angst of everyone dealing with being trapped for 360 years, give us the people trying to break out, give us people trying to deal with it and failing, etc--and skipping over that feels so lazy. Or the second time skip, it seems like the author just wanted everyone to be best bros (the characters keep referencing stuff they did during the time skip or say 'everything we've been through', but like...me, as the reader, doesn't know about that! instead of putting that history as exposition, why not just write it?) and didn't want to do the actual work of relationship building. Which is fine, just annoying to read.
It REALLY bothered me that Vince's friend Jim explains game mechanics to him instead of the actual game doing it. It made no sense! Such a little thing but I got so annoyed over it that I almost DNF'd.
The characters explaining every single thing was kind of annoying. Like I felt like every so often a character would break the 4th wall to monologue some plot relevant info and then go back to whatever they were doing.
And why was Valerie so normal after being held captive for so long?
I honestly don't even know if this book was good or not! The plot felt very predictable and the characters (besides Lucas) didn't really feel like they had personalities. Most character development was exposition or off screen. And they did the boring ass 'we can't be as bad as the villain' trope which is so BORING. And Vincent's 'the world will know what you've done' speech like PLEASE 😭😭 so unserious! The worst dictator in all of human history because he went on a power trip inside a video game 😭😭😭😭 but then everyone who worked for him is excused because it's just a game? So which is it? Is he the worst dictator or just a guy in a video game?
But I read the whole thing in like a day. So I think 3/5. Especially since I don't really have any desire to continue on with the series after this one. The whole time I was wondering what reddit mod made the author so mad they wrote a whole book about their power trip
god never mind the epilogue is so bad 😭 Lucas being a weak basement dweller who lives with his parents and who gets arrested for internet crimes like BRO what a stupid ending. 2/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2022
Surprisingly organized and well-written. Because it is a VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multi-Player Role Playing Game), World Tree Online by ARKUS, author creates a premise of time dilation (where players don't eat, don't need bathrooms, don't sleep and just "play-on"). So "players" do not disconnect from game and virtually become "eternal".
Something I especially liked, because author has created a lot of characters (players in this game), each time they talk, places name before they talk. Almost all fantasy novel series, if have a large retinue or group of characters, it becomes hard to figure out who is speaking what...the negative of creating so many characters is that the author sometimes uses their name, sometimes their last name, sometimes their nicknames. So in another completely different way, is able to confuse his readers.
Artificial Intelligence in this VRMMORPG has somehow lost their way. The moderators are the bullies and there seems to be no company or employees that try to balance this online game/ alternate reality group of worlds (multi-universe).
Because time is no longer an issue, maybe author takes a little bit too much time for everything? Just to get familiarized with playing the game, Vincent takes 15 years. I think it is positive that main characters, Vincent and Jim are senior citizens (inclusive to use seniors in novels), and it proves wise to use older main characters because of their positive ethical values, patience, perseverance, appropriateness, etc.
I find it hard to believe in some of the reviews here, that this story is directed to young people. Because if that were true then why use much older main characters? Where is the immaturity? Where is the sex, drugs and immediate necessity that youth is accustomed to?
Author seems to enjoy the antagonists and the "evil characters" of this fantasy novel series a little bit too much? Lucas, for example is a sadist, megalomaniac that tortures, banns, kills, and imprisons his "enemies and failed conquests" for decades... similarly to the way that URSS, Cuba, Communist China, etc. have incarcerated political prisoners for most of their lives. Totalitarian regimes on Earth have killed more than 200 million people and tortured, enslaved billions. This zeal, that the author shows for the cruelty of dictators is terrible and unjustifiable.
For 70+ years author and Lucas, tortured and enslaved world within this World Tree Online game and the best chastisement the author came up with was freeing from the game? What about all of the torturers? Good Game? Author needs to be tortured for 35+ years just to learn what the Cubans, Russians, Eastern Europeans, Chinese, Cambodians, Africans have suffered in real life.
Games are supposed to be fun, supposed to be consensual, supposed to protect and safe-guard everyone...but where is the punishment for the author for creating a hell-like game like this one? Where is the jail time for ARKUS and the rest to the torturers?
Something I especially liked, because author has created a lot of characters (players in this game), each time they talk, places name before they talk. Almost all fantasy novel series, if have a large retinue or group of characters, it becomes hard to figure out who is speaking what...the negative of creating so many characters is that the author sometimes uses their name, sometimes their last name, sometimes their nicknames. So in another completely different way, is able to confuse his readers.
Artificial Intelligence in this VRMMORPG has somehow lost their way. The moderators are the bullies and there seems to be no company or employees that try to balance this online game/ alternate reality group of worlds (multi-universe).
Because time is no longer an issue, maybe author takes a little bit too much time for everything? Just to get familiarized with playing the game, Vincent takes 15 years. I think it is positive that main characters, Vincent and Jim are senior citizens (inclusive to use seniors in novels), and it proves wise to use older main characters because of their positive ethical values, patience, perseverance, appropriateness, etc.
I find it hard to believe in some of the reviews here, that this story is directed to young people. Because if that were true then why use much older main characters? Where is the immaturity? Where is the sex, drugs and immediate necessity that youth is accustomed to?
Author seems to enjoy the antagonists and the "evil characters" of this fantasy novel series a little bit too much? Lucas, for example is a sadist, megalomaniac that tortures, banns, kills, and imprisons his "enemies and failed conquests" for decades... similarly to the way that URSS, Cuba, Communist China, etc. have incarcerated political prisoners for most of their lives. Totalitarian regimes on Earth have killed more than 200 million people and tortured, enslaved billions. This zeal, that the author shows for the cruelty of dictators is terrible and unjustifiable.
For 70+ years author and Lucas, tortured and enslaved world within this World Tree Online game and the best chastisement the author came up with was freeing from the game? What about all of the torturers? Good Game? Author needs to be tortured for 35+ years just to learn what the Cubans, Russians, Eastern Europeans, Chinese, Cambodians, Africans have suffered in real life.
Games are supposed to be fun, supposed to be consensual, supposed to protect and safe-guard everyone...but where is the punishment for the author for creating a hell-like game like this one? Where is the jail time for ARKUS and the rest to the torturers?
June 16, 2021
The litRPG mechanics seem good. The dialogue is awful though, the characters always explain way too much about what they're thinking and the choices they're making, which is a complaint I don't think I've ever had before. Other than that, the writing is alright so it hurts to give this a poor review and a toss onto the DNF pile. Unfortunately though, I couldn't get into the book at all because it seems to skip past ALL of the good parts! For instance, by chapter 6 or so, it's year 15 in the story. I guess that alone isn't necessarily an issue but chapter 1 is day 1, year 1, then around chapter 5 or so is basically the end of week 1, year 1. At this point, a lot has happened, things are getting interesting, and it seems like there will definitely be some defining moments ahead. Then, all of a sudden, the next chapter is year 15 and you've missed ALL of the main character's development. It basically skips over all of the good litRPG character building bits and some character introduction/development along with it.
That's the point we meet the rest of the team. Awesome! They seem like good characters, they're all quirky in their own way and they get along well (again, the dialogue is a bit rough but whatever). After that, they have one genuine adventure as a way to test the team out before they set out on their grand mission. It goes well despite some bumps and bruises and overall they seem like a good fit and there's a lot to look forward to. Then all of a sudden it's year 35! Now the characters all know each other really well (which makes sense, given they've been working together for 20yrs) and you've missed all of it. That alone made me feel extremely alienated which instantly made reading it awkward and more of a chore than anything else. Also a bit frustrating, (presumably just because of the dialogue issues) all of the characters are somehow still stiff and awkward with each other despite being together every day for 20yrs.
As such, I just couldn't get into it. Maybe if I'd kept reading, the second half of the book would've made up for it but it didn't seem worth it since most of the meaningful development/exhibition was basically skipped over at every available opportunity.
That's the point we meet the rest of the team. Awesome! They seem like good characters, they're all quirky in their own way and they get along well (again, the dialogue is a bit rough but whatever). After that, they have one genuine adventure as a way to test the team out before they set out on their grand mission. It goes well despite some bumps and bruises and overall they seem like a good fit and there's a lot to look forward to. Then all of a sudden it's year 35! Now the characters all know each other really well (which makes sense, given they've been working together for 20yrs) and you've missed all of it. That alone made me feel extremely alienated which instantly made reading it awkward and more of a chore than anything else. Also a bit frustrating, (presumably just because of the dialogue issues) all of the characters are somehow still stiff and awkward with each other despite being together every day for 20yrs.
As such, I just couldn't get into it. Maybe if I'd kept reading, the second half of the book would've made up for it but it didn't seem worth it since most of the meaningful development/exhibition was basically skipped over at every available opportunity.
September 3, 2021
It is an alright book, but these time-skips really ruined my connection to the characters. It basically took away the most interesting part of LitRPG stories for me - the beginning of the exploration of the world.
Also, 15 years and nothing changed besides that the protagonist learned a new skill...
People grinding attributed points for decades...
Idk, but that made the game somewhat unrealistic for me, to the point I couldn't enjoy the story anymore.
Who would ever waste years and even decades grinding some monsters, doing the same thing over and over again, to gain in-game attribute points.
Also, in all that time, seemingly nothing new happened. 70 years passed and there isn't any change in character for the main cast. Personalities and so on mostly remained the same. I think it was pointed out that this is because the time dilation stops the brain/mind from developing, but some individuals quite obviously did change in character. The antagonist, for example. He became more ruthless, etc. Others showed some change as well, but not really much. Not because of the game, but more so because I think the author didn't polish them well enough.
To sum it up, like the antagonist pointed out, most people behave like NPCs.
And when the antagonist was finally beaten... former enemies walked away like: "GG, nice game."
Nobody really seemed to care much about the injustice that happened. People forgot about it in a minute.
Idk, but that behavior is extremely unnatural for humans.
Some were put into prison just because (the antagonist was an insecure brat), and during the final fight, some were skewered by spears, had their limbs cut off, and whatnot, painful stuff, but after everything was over... everyone just forgot about it, no hard feelings.
If they had lost, the antagonist would have put them into prison for a hundred years, and his allies wouldn't have minded it at all. The antagonist even talked about breaking people with torture and so on.
But still... none of the enemy party received any punishment.
Idk, there was a lot of stuff that didn't make much sense to me. It wasn't a bad book, but it had some really weird, annoying, and frustrating elements that unfortunately pushed my rating down.
Also, 15 years and nothing changed besides that the protagonist learned a new skill...
People grinding attributed points for decades...
Idk, but that made the game somewhat unrealistic for me, to the point I couldn't enjoy the story anymore.
Who would ever waste years and even decades grinding some monsters, doing the same thing over and over again, to gain in-game attribute points.
Also, in all that time, seemingly nothing new happened. 70 years passed and there isn't any change in character for the main cast. Personalities and so on mostly remained the same. I think it was pointed out that this is because the time dilation stops the brain/mind from developing, but some individuals quite obviously did change in character. The antagonist, for example. He became more ruthless, etc. Others showed some change as well, but not really much. Not because of the game, but more so because I think the author didn't polish them well enough.
To sum it up, like the antagonist pointed out, most people behave like NPCs.
And when the antagonist was finally beaten... former enemies walked away like: "GG, nice game."
Nobody really seemed to care much about the injustice that happened. People forgot about it in a minute.
Idk, but that behavior is extremely unnatural for humans.
Some were put into prison just because (the antagonist was an insecure brat), and during the final fight, some were skewered by spears, had their limbs cut off, and whatnot, painful stuff, but after everything was over... everyone just forgot about it, no hard feelings.
If they had lost, the antagonist would have put them into prison for a hundred years, and his allies wouldn't have minded it at all. The antagonist even talked about breaking people with torture and so on.
But still... none of the enemy party received any punishment.
Idk, there was a lot of stuff that didn't make much sense to me. It wasn't a bad book, but it had some really weird, annoying, and frustrating elements that unfortunately pushed my rating down.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2023
On the surface World-Tree Online offers many familiar litrpg tropes; but underneath it all a fairly enjoyable and comfortable first trilogy entry awaits any willing to give it a try.
WTO sounds like many other novels in the litrpg circle; stuck in a VR MMO, time dilation, etc. Vince and his friends become trapped in a video game where pain is real. They won't return to the real world for centuries where only 30 minutes will have passed. The characters are overall decently fleshed for a litrpg book (of which the genre isn't widely known for nuanced characters). The supporting cast includes; Jim, an IRL friend of Vince's who likes to party, Quinn is your sterotypical strong warrior, Xan is a shy cleric. Despite the generic characterizations they are easily loveable if you have gamed in real life before.
The titular world tree grabs the reader's attention and its various worlds, each being unique, never felt exhausting. There's interesting world bosses, fun 'levels', and the game mechanics are pretty well thought it included the exploits which we see Vince primarily utilize. The villain of the story, a power hungry moderator named Lucas, has superficial motivations but is also shockingly realistic. I've moderated 100,000+ member forums before and have known more than a few mods like Lucas. The one thing polarizes readers is the time skips. You'll likely either not mind them or hate it (as some other reviewers have voiced in their reviews).
If you are doing the audiobook the three narrators are terrific. In closing; while World-Tree Online doesn't break many trappings of the litrpg genre it does utilize them well.
WTO sounds like many other novels in the litrpg circle; stuck in a VR MMO, time dilation, etc. Vince and his friends become trapped in a video game where pain is real. They won't return to the real world for centuries where only 30 minutes will have passed. The characters are overall decently fleshed for a litrpg book (of which the genre isn't widely known for nuanced characters). The supporting cast includes; Jim, an IRL friend of Vince's who likes to party, Quinn is your sterotypical strong warrior, Xan is a shy cleric. Despite the generic characterizations they are easily loveable if you have gamed in real life before.
The titular world tree grabs the reader's attention and its various worlds, each being unique, never felt exhausting. There's interesting world bosses, fun 'levels', and the game mechanics are pretty well thought it included the exploits which we see Vince primarily utilize. The villain of the story, a power hungry moderator named Lucas, has superficial motivations but is also shockingly realistic. I've moderated 100,000+ member forums before and have known more than a few mods like Lucas. The one thing polarizes readers is the time skips. You'll likely either not mind them or hate it (as some other reviewers have voiced in their reviews).
If you are doing the audiobook the three narrators are terrific. In closing; while World-Tree Online doesn't break many trappings of the litrpg genre it does utilize them well.
May 8, 2019
Interesting setup and a good sense of stories.
Most litrpg books attempt to rehash variations of the same tired formula, trying to find motivation for their main character to play "seriously" the game. But Hooper finds a new and interesting premise. The "Game" features the usual tropes of ultra-advanced AI, total immersion with brain nanites, and game acceleration... and pushes them to the limit.
Nobody is worried when they get a notification about an update to the game that will last half an hour. The only problem with that update is that it runs the game world at 1 year per 5 second... which makes it impossible to resynchronise with your normal brain function, preventing logout, and disables completely the pain reduction.
So you have the setup: millions of players are stuck in the game until the patch ends... in about 360 subjective years. Immortals facing centuries of game-like life. The question is: who is going to abuse this situation. Because of course, someone is going to abuse it. Our hero - and his various sidekicks - set up to teach the would-be tyrant that even a game moderator can't get away with everything when said moderator can't log out as well.
The plot could flow a bit better, but it flows well enough to keep you entertained. Some of the characters (notably the main villain) could have been more nuanced and developed. But the conclusion is extremely well done.
Most litrpg books attempt to rehash variations of the same tired formula, trying to find motivation for their main character to play "seriously" the game. But Hooper finds a new and interesting premise. The "Game" features the usual tropes of ultra-advanced AI, total immersion with brain nanites, and game acceleration... and pushes them to the limit.
Nobody is worried when they get a notification about an update to the game that will last half an hour. The only problem with that update is that it runs the game world at 1 year per 5 second... which makes it impossible to resynchronise with your normal brain function, preventing logout, and disables completely the pain reduction.
So you have the setup: millions of players are stuck in the game until the patch ends... in about 360 subjective years. Immortals facing centuries of game-like life. The question is: who is going to abuse this situation. Because of course, someone is going to abuse it. Our hero - and his various sidekicks - set up to teach the would-be tyrant that even a game moderator can't get away with everything when said moderator can't log out as well.
The plot could flow a bit better, but it flows well enough to keep you entertained. Some of the characters (notably the main villain) could have been more nuanced and developed. But the conclusion is extremely well done.
December 24, 2023
"World-Tree Online," the first book in E.A. Hooper's World-Tree Trilogy, takes place in the year 2056 when the world's most powerful AI system, ARKUS, is brought online. The story revolves around a highly advanced virtual reality game that traps millions of players following an update. Among them, one player discovers an exploit that could lead him to the top of the World-Tree, the central element of the game. This discovery sets off a series of events that blend the boundaries between the virtual and real worlds, challenging the players' perceptions of both.
Listening to "World-Tree Online" on Audible was an enthralling experience. The concept of using AI-induced time-dilation to extend human lives is both captivating and thought-provoking, suggesting possibilities that feel increasingly plausible in today's technological landscape. The story and character development are impressive, making the book engaging throughout. The narration by Justin Thomas James, Jeff Hays, and Laurie Catherine Winkel was excellent, enhancing the enjoyment of the story. The ending, featuring Lucas getting arrested for crimes against humanity, was unexpected and humorously executed, leaving a lasting impression. I really enjoyed every minute of the adventure and am looking forward to continuing the series.
Listening to "World-Tree Online" on Audible was an enthralling experience. The concept of using AI-induced time-dilation to extend human lives is both captivating and thought-provoking, suggesting possibilities that feel increasingly plausible in today's technological landscape. The story and character development are impressive, making the book engaging throughout. The narration by Justin Thomas James, Jeff Hays, and Laurie Catherine Winkel was excellent, enhancing the enjoyment of the story. The ending, featuring Lucas getting arrested for crimes against humanity, was unexpected and humorously executed, leaving a lasting impression. I really enjoyed every minute of the adventure and am looking forward to continuing the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2019
I think I will have to stop cutting the LitRPG genre the slack I've been giving it since I got introduced to it a few years back and judge them on the same level as any other book. However, World-Tree Online is among the better ones I've 'consumed' in this genre. As can be seen above, I gave it four stars. The story itself would have gotten it either a strong three star rating or a weak four star. However, the outstanding job by the Narrators (yes, plural) at Soundbooth Theatre ( Justin Thomas James, Jeff Hays and Laurie Catherine Winkel) elevated the rating to solid four stars.
Like any other hard core LitRPG, you get smothered with stats, and that's what grinds my gears with every single of those books. Some authors are good at incorporating them into the prose while others (this book included) serve them to you like a friggin' character sheet at your regular Friday night game session. I know many fans of the genre want it that way but I'm not one of them. A skilled author can deliver the stats discretely so to speak without the story suffering too much.
Anyway, I liked this book quite a bit. It's well written and edited and the delivery of the audiobook version is outstanding.
Like any other hard core LitRPG, you get smothered with stats, and that's what grinds my gears with every single of those books. Some authors are good at incorporating them into the prose while others (this book included) serve them to you like a friggin' character sheet at your regular Friday night game session. I know many fans of the genre want it that way but I'm not one of them. A skilled author can deliver the stats discretely so to speak without the story suffering too much.
Anyway, I liked this book quite a bit. It's well written and edited and the delivery of the audiobook version is outstanding.
November 2, 2019
Very poorly written, I'm not sure why it has such good reviews. The characters are 2-dimensional, Vincent has 1 defining trait, Monika or something. The rest.. I can't remember their names. The events leading to time skip on eramor felt unrealistic.. and yet.. I want to read more. I had fun reading this and I think I'll do it again.
One thing that stands out to me is just how amazing the time dilation is, and how incredibly useful it would be if you could log off. Imagine you're in class, you're falling asleep and you nod off for a split second.. you just spent 6 weeks in another universe, partying and fighting monsters.
Or imagine you're in your death bed at the age of 120 (people live longer because of nanobots) you've got 5 minutes to live, at most. Just kidding! At 5 seconds per year in game, you could live for another 60 years in those 5 minutes.
Moving on to the hard-scifi side of things, what if all of humanity moved on to exist inside the game? Absolutely nothing would matter because it would take 17,000 years for every 24 hours in the real world. Global warming? Who cares, maybe 50 million generations down the line an a.i child decides to leave the simulation and look around? And it sees... Who knows? Endless possibilities.
One thing that stands out to me is just how amazing the time dilation is, and how incredibly useful it would be if you could log off. Imagine you're in class, you're falling asleep and you nod off for a split second.. you just spent 6 weeks in another universe, partying and fighting monsters.
Or imagine you're in your death bed at the age of 120 (people live longer because of nanobots) you've got 5 minutes to live, at most. Just kidding! At 5 seconds per year in game, you could live for another 60 years in those 5 minutes.
Moving on to the hard-scifi side of things, what if all of humanity moved on to exist inside the game? Absolutely nothing would matter because it would take 17,000 years for every 24 hours in the real world. Global warming? Who cares, maybe 50 million generations down the line an a.i child decides to leave the simulation and look around? And it sees... Who knows? Endless possibilities.
January 15, 2020
I listened to the audiobook, loved it. The voice actors did a really great job! The characters are all pretty relatable and Alexandria's character development was amazing, going from a shy timid girl to a fierce battle mage. Vincent exploiting the game to create his own unique spell was really clever, and let's not forget the sheer power of Quinn's unmatched hand to hand combat. Jim joining in was great... (but I wasn't the biggest fan of him mostly because the constant talk of booze and sex) The only confusing part was the time dilation and the huge year gaps throughout the book, but the quality of the writing made up for that. The villian, Lucas, was the kind of guy that I think everyone knows, being the only moderator left with the ability to ban players, he abused his power to the max, trying to become a god, all in the name of "protecting" the other players. Even taking him so far as to imprison the only other mod left, girl he had been trying to date for years, who, upon seeing his descent into madness, tried to stop him and pleaded with him to be kind. (so hes basically an incel)
The ending was extremely satisfying and although I'm not sure how the series will continue I'm excited to listen to the next book.
The ending was extremely satisfying and although I'm not sure how the series will continue I'm excited to listen to the next book.
July 24, 2025
I really wanted to like this one.
I've been searching for a VRMMO story that can replace the hole that finishing The Ripple System left in my life.
This one is not it, unfortunately.
It started off strong with the audiobook cast + production (with the possible exception of the way that Xan is read, though I think the way she's written is as much at fault there).
Unfortunately it suffers from several issues. There are frequent time skips, which are immediately followed by heavy handed ("As you know...") exposition, frequently as awkward dialogue, about what happened during the skip. The magic abilities are super same-y.. everyone starts off with the same gun ability and many subsequent spells are just.. better guns? Any deviation from this is either fire/ice blasts or some flavor of game breaking super-magic. There's very little in the way of interesting game mechanics. The fact that the characters are explicitly unable to grow and develop unsurprising results in.. very little character development (not to mention weird interactions between characters of vastly different ages, though thankfully this is largely glossed over).
Open to suggestions for a better VRMMO!
I've been searching for a VRMMO story that can replace the hole that finishing The Ripple System left in my life.
This one is not it, unfortunately.
It started off strong with the audiobook cast + production (with the possible exception of the way that Xan is read, though I think the way she's written is as much at fault there).
Unfortunately it suffers from several issues. There are frequent time skips, which are immediately followed by heavy handed ("As you know...") exposition, frequently as awkward dialogue, about what happened during the skip. The magic abilities are super same-y.. everyone starts off with the same gun ability and many subsequent spells are just.. better guns? Any deviation from this is either fire/ice blasts or some flavor of game breaking super-magic. There's very little in the way of interesting game mechanics. The fact that the characters are explicitly unable to grow and develop unsurprising results in.. very little character development (not to mention weird interactions between characters of vastly different ages, though thankfully this is largely glossed over).
Open to suggestions for a better VRMMO!
May 24, 2019
Enjoyable, With Hiccups
The World Tree is an amazing universe. It’s well thought out, well constructed, and a joy to discover. The time dilation is equally intriguing, providing a reasonably believable way to trap millions in the game (which, thank goodness, does not feel like a game). The main characters are also fun, albeit with not a lot of depth or growth.
It is the villain that I did not enjoy. He is not unrealistic: an egotistical sociopath. There are some unfortunate people in our world like that. But, at least for me, it was frankly unpleasant (and frequently downright annoying) to read his chapters. I ended up skimming chunks, particularly when we were experiencing his thoughts. It always boiled down to “why don’t they love me? I’ll torture them more and then they will love me! I know better than everyone!”
Yuck.
However. The World Tree is such a great reality that I will definitely continue to the next book. I want to know what else lies in it’s leaves and branches.
The World Tree is an amazing universe. It’s well thought out, well constructed, and a joy to discover. The time dilation is equally intriguing, providing a reasonably believable way to trap millions in the game (which, thank goodness, does not feel like a game). The main characters are also fun, albeit with not a lot of depth or growth.
It is the villain that I did not enjoy. He is not unrealistic: an egotistical sociopath. There are some unfortunate people in our world like that. But, at least for me, it was frankly unpleasant (and frequently downright annoying) to read his chapters. I ended up skimming chunks, particularly when we were experiencing his thoughts. It always boiled down to “why don’t they love me? I’ll torture them more and then they will love me! I know better than everyone!”
Yuck.
However. The World Tree is such a great reality that I will definitely continue to the next book. I want to know what else lies in it’s leaves and branches.
August 9, 2020
I enjoyed this LitRPG/Gamer based story. I loved that the main character was elderly, it was a nice break from the traditional gamer characters, and that there were also strong female characters and no romance. I especially liked Xan, it was great watching her gain confidence, break out of her shell and develop into one of the strongest characters. There was lots of adventure, struggles, battles, and friendships made in this story. The plot wasn’t new. The players get stuck in a virtual world (the World Tree), the different levels of the tree contain different monsters and they have to figure out how to escape. The world was well fleshed out, the characters likable and I enjoyed the game mechanics, which were somewhat different to others I’ve read in this genre. There are a few time slips in the story but I didn’t find that they detracted from the flow or the enjoyment of the story. This is a fun, entertaining book and I will look forward to the next in the series.
January 9, 2023
Previous review: This is what LitRPG should be. At first I was a little upset at the first time jump as I wanted to see a bit more of Vincent getting used to the world and being stuck, but it was a smart choice. Also there was a realistic mix of male and female characters which many LitRPG books don't include. Mix in the most vile villain, great characters, an interesting world and a plot that didn't drag on and on for ages and you have a winner for me.
Addition: I still wanted to see more of the beginning but I'm happy this book wasn't afraid to tike jump instead of showing all the grind that others do. The mix of male and female characters should be the norm in this genre but still sadly is not. As not as thrilled by the plot and characters this time around as they were pretty one dimensional but overall a good example of the genre. Could uave used more of the interesting world but that's part of the series.
Addition: I still wanted to see more of the beginning but I'm happy this book wasn't afraid to tike jump instead of showing all the grind that others do. The mix of male and female characters should be the norm in this genre but still sadly is not. As not as thrilled by the plot and characters this time around as they were pretty one dimensional but overall a good example of the genre. Could uave used more of the interesting world but that's part of the series.
May 19, 2024
2.5 I bought this as a daily deal on Audible because of its high ratings. The audio production is very good - and the format is perfect for Gamer Lit. It's a genre I have little experience with but could easily follow the lingo and literary conventions.
The book has some interesting ideas, but it is still a "stuck in a video game and trying to save the world" scenario that was predictable and kind of clunky. I found the characters likeable enough, but one dimensional and mostly coming across as stereotypes. The writing sounds immature to me. I'm also wondering who all of these RPG players are who like to play brainless bimbos and/or prostitutes in a game where you could be using magic, having adventures, and finding treasure. Yuck.
I would have liked the author to explore the ways in which our online personas differ from our IRL selves. I think there's a lot of interesting work to be done in this vein that could fit really well in the Gamer Lit world.
The book has some interesting ideas, but it is still a "stuck in a video game and trying to save the world" scenario that was predictable and kind of clunky. I found the characters likeable enough, but one dimensional and mostly coming across as stereotypes. The writing sounds immature to me. I'm also wondering who all of these RPG players are who like to play brainless bimbos and/or prostitutes in a game where you could be using magic, having adventures, and finding treasure. Yuck.
I would have liked the author to explore the ways in which our online personas differ from our IRL selves. I think there's a lot of interesting work to be done in this vein that could fit really well in the Gamer Lit world.
November 9, 2019
Fun, good execution.
The ‘everyone gets trapped in a VR game’ is well trodden idea, but Hooper makes it shine. Game mechanics are well thought out, without interminable jargon that makes you feel like you’re reading raid chat (even when you technically are). I also appreciate the balance of hand holding it gives to people who haven’t played MMORPGs. World Tree Online explains itself well enough without patronizing the main audience who are well aware of how game attributes and party systems work, which have ruined some other promising looking books of this genre for me.
The plot is straight forward, but not dull, and the antagonist is creepily all too real, being a “that guy” on a power trip.
Highly recommended for any fans of the genre, or someone who wants to break into it.
The ‘everyone gets trapped in a VR game’ is well trodden idea, but Hooper makes it shine. Game mechanics are well thought out, without interminable jargon that makes you feel like you’re reading raid chat (even when you technically are). I also appreciate the balance of hand holding it gives to people who haven’t played MMORPGs. World Tree Online explains itself well enough without patronizing the main audience who are well aware of how game attributes and party systems work, which have ruined some other promising looking books of this genre for me.
The plot is straight forward, but not dull, and the antagonist is creepily all too real, being a “that guy” on a power trip.
Highly recommended for any fans of the genre, or someone who wants to break into it.
September 12, 2018
Surprising good story
I've read a lot of LitRPG and this is one of the first that makes sense and has a good story.
Due to a new patch several people are trapped in a video game where time dilation is increased. Subjectively they will be trapped for hundreds of years while only a half hour passes in real time.
The mmorpg is the first of its kind in realism. Which has a neat setting.
It has many worlds and branches.
The bad guy here is a moderator who abuses his power. This dude is a real nut job megalomaniac. It's refreshing to see a villain in this genre that is a human.
That's all in the first few chapters.
The story from there is entertaining. There are some huge jumps in time where all the boarding stuff occurs off screen so to say.
I've read a lot of LitRPG and this is one of the first that makes sense and has a good story.
Due to a new patch several people are trapped in a video game where time dilation is increased. Subjectively they will be trapped for hundreds of years while only a half hour passes in real time.
The mmorpg is the first of its kind in realism. Which has a neat setting.
It has many worlds and branches.
The bad guy here is a moderator who abuses his power. This dude is a real nut job megalomaniac. It's refreshing to see a villain in this genre that is a human.
That's all in the first few chapters.
The story from there is entertaining. There are some huge jumps in time where all the boarding stuff occurs off screen so to say.
August 1, 2019
I rather liked this. The main character is an elderly man who is looking for a distraction from the anniversary of his wife's death, but he gets more than he bargained for when an update traps all logged in players in the game for a period that they will experience as hundreds of years. As he makes friends and takes on challenges within the game, he also finds himself facing off against a petty tyrant with terrible power.
This was fun and while not the best-written thing I've ever read, it was solid enough. The huge time jumps were a little jarring but also probably necessary considering the scale Hooper set up in the first place, and I appreciate that the main character was clever, not improbably brilliant but only when the plot demands him to have a godlike 'gotcha' moment.
This was fun and while not the best-written thing I've ever read, it was solid enough. The huge time jumps were a little jarring but also probably necessary considering the scale Hooper set up in the first place, and I appreciate that the main character was clever, not improbably brilliant but only when the plot demands him to have a godlike 'gotcha' moment.
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