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Saga Online #2
Hellbound
Damien’s new streaming career is in tatters.
With his playstyle now known to all and Aetherius’ older brother Magnitude gaining a stranglehold on high level content, Damien struggles to maintain his relevance in the ever-changing world of Saga Online.
In order to regain his notoriety and fight back against Magnitude’s growing power, Damien must undertake a quest that is far beyond his level. If he succeeds, his occultist character will be changed forever.
Meanwhile Lillian has a mission of her own: to find a legendary sword that has the potential to finally bring Magnitude down.
One thing’s for sure, it’s gonna be hell.
With his playstyle now known to all and Aetherius’ older brother Magnitude gaining a stranglehold on high level content, Damien struggles to maintain his relevance in the ever-changing world of Saga Online.
In order to regain his notoriety and fight back against Magnitude’s growing power, Damien must undertake a quest that is far beyond his level. If he succeeds, his occultist character will be changed forever.
Meanwhile Lillian has a mission of her own: to find a legendary sword that has the potential to finally bring Magnitude down.
One thing’s for sure, it’s gonna be hell.
694 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 10, 2021
232 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Oliver Mayes
3 books171 followersHaving studied (a word used here in its loosest possible sense) Chinese in Edinburgh University for four years, Oliver Mayes has spent the last seven years living in cities across China, working (also a loose definition) a variety of different vocations. He eventually found his calling in the education sector, where he has employed his debatable talent with varying success for five years.
In literature, his strongest influences are Terry Pratchett, Issac Assimov and Douglas Adams, although there’s a special place in his heart for Steven King’s ‘The Dark Tower’ series. His gaming experience is diverse: he has vague, terrifying memories of playing platformers on the Sega, which gave way to the glory days of Pokemon Blue (where the Pocket Monsters all looked weird), Final Fantasy 9 (apparently the easiest but he loved the characters and their stories) and Command and Conquer: Tiberium Sun (along with the other thousand or so Command and Conquer titles).
He strongly believes that every game has some element of problem solving which can provide value in the real world when viewed from the correct angle, but his favorites have always been RPGs, Strategy and Turn-Based Strategy games, which he enjoys to this day.
His greatest gaming success was creating a Skyrim character named ‘Tony Stark’, levelling his Enchanting and Armorsmithing skills to 100 and creating innumerable sets of heavy armor that reduced the mana cost of his destruction spells to zero. He proceeded to destroy anything and everything that looked at him funny by spamming Impact buffed Fireballs until the game glitched out and gave up on him at approximately level 65. This is an example of the ‘direct approach’ to problem solving.
In literature, his strongest influences are Terry Pratchett, Issac Assimov and Douglas Adams, although there’s a special place in his heart for Steven King’s ‘The Dark Tower’ series. His gaming experience is diverse: he has vague, terrifying memories of playing platformers on the Sega, which gave way to the glory days of Pokemon Blue (where the Pocket Monsters all looked weird), Final Fantasy 9 (apparently the easiest but he loved the characters and their stories) and Command and Conquer: Tiberium Sun (along with the other thousand or so Command and Conquer titles).
He strongly believes that every game has some element of problem solving which can provide value in the real world when viewed from the correct angle, but his favorites have always been RPGs, Strategy and Turn-Based Strategy games, which he enjoys to this day.
His greatest gaming success was creating a Skyrim character named ‘Tony Stark’, levelling his Enchanting and Armorsmithing skills to 100 and creating innumerable sets of heavy armor that reduced the mana cost of his destruction spells to zero. He proceeded to destroy anything and everything that looked at him funny by spamming Impact buffed Fireballs until the game glitched out and gave up on him at approximately level 65. This is an example of the ‘direct approach’ to problem solving.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
April 28, 2021
this book kinda struggles for a reason to exist.
the first book was entertaining because the protagonist has so much to lose and seeing him being crushed under that responsibility and rallying through was inspiring and seeing people helping him was heartwarming.
this book did not have that but it was carried by some decent action the whale not emotionally thrilling as the last book was at least entertaining to read. Until like half why through the book that fell away to be replaced by a character drama that saw everyone get bonked with the dushbag stick witch was just all kinds of annoying but it also met with a F**KING redemption for the villain from the last book who has done some S**T that is unforgivable,
but it's all swept under the carpet with the excuse that his evil brother told him to do it but that's ignoring that the guy basically left the protagonist's mother to DIE.
The protagonist doesn't have enough charisma to hold up the series and the situation he is placed in doesn't have enough stacks to keep me hooked. overall if it was me then I would focus on the outer ring more because an aria full of magical secrets and horrible dangers seems interesting and fun to explore.
the first book was entertaining because the protagonist has so much to lose and seeing him being crushed under that responsibility and rallying through was inspiring and seeing people helping him was heartwarming.
this book did not have that but it was carried by some decent action the whale not emotionally thrilling as the last book was at least entertaining to read. Until like half why through the book that fell away to be replaced by a character drama that saw everyone get bonked with the dushbag stick witch was just all kinds of annoying but it also met with a F**KING redemption for the villain from the last book who has done some S**T that is unforgivable,
but it's all swept under the carpet with the excuse that his evil brother told him to do it but that's ignoring that the guy basically left the protagonist's mother to DIE.
The protagonist doesn't have enough charisma to hold up the series and the situation he is placed in doesn't have enough stacks to keep me hooked. overall if it was me then I would focus on the outer ring more because an aria full of magical secrets and horrible dangers seems interesting and fun to explore.
July 23, 2021
It started off as a good continuation to the first one, which I enjoyed. However, it then split between the main MC from the first one and the girl who helped him, and unfortunately I just didn't like the character. She was stuck up and pretentious, which was most likely intentional given what she's been through, but I just couldn't get past it. With plenty of other litrpg stories to listen to, I unfortunately just couldn't get into it. Shame.
February 15, 2021
And done.
Overall, the story is unbelievable and quite boring. The side characters are flat while the main character is very unlikable. The whole thing has a complex, convoluted plotline that makes no sense from the point of view of the gaming company. This is a large reach for an epic series that fails drastically.
Overall, the story is unbelievable and quite boring. The side characters are flat while the main character is very unlikable. The whole thing has a complex, convoluted plotline that makes no sense from the point of view of the gaming company. This is a large reach for an epic series that fails drastically.
March 13, 2021
A very good followup
Super entertaining followup. The story continues in a way that really pushes the main arc forward, while also giving us a glimpse into the story behind the story.
Looking forward to see where it goes and where Neigel will end up.
Super entertaining followup. The story continues in a way that really pushes the main arc forward, while also giving us a glimpse into the story behind the story.
Looking forward to see where it goes and where Neigel will end up.
March 3, 2021
Awesome sequel!
Great story about the epic fight at the end was truly something else. I could actually hear the MC music playing in the background 😄
Great story about the epic fight at the end was truly something else. I could actually hear the MC music playing in the background 😄
December 20, 2021
After the MC promised to give his most valuable item to his biggest enemy to please a woman who was treating him terribly I stopped reading.
I don't really care what some simp does.
I have zero respect for the MC now.
I don't really care what some simp does.
I have zero respect for the MC now.
March 8, 2021
Alert
First, my review: “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Second, I am not a bot...at least I don’t think I am. Yes this is copy pasta (just learned that term, so fun!) simply because I feel like any book I read deserves acknowledgement but at the same time my feelings on reviews conflict with the normal review process.
I enjoyed this book, so my goal is to promote it and help the author. If you are a potential reader, just stop reading now and take the above as all you need to know. I am not going to share my reasoning, thoughts on the book, or any opinions that would influence your decision to read it. It is my opinion that Art needs to be experienced at an individual level. You are the only one that can determine what you like and don’t like. Don’t let others make that decision for you. You should definitely read the book and completely ignore all of the reviews. Or not if you don’t think this book is for you. That choice is all yours and the beauty of art appreciation. You are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.
If you are a member of the IAK Guild (thanks, Jason) or part of the review police, feel free to criticize me and challenge my philosophy on reviewing art. I think we all love a good debate. The forums are open and I welcome your comments. I was wrong in my previous request to get you to stop. Your blatant disregard for that request has led to some fun discussions. Growth is important for us all.
Cheers
First, my review: “This was a fun book. I am glad that I read it. You should try it too.”
Second, I am not a bot...at least I don’t think I am. Yes this is copy pasta (just learned that term, so fun!) simply because I feel like any book I read deserves acknowledgement but at the same time my feelings on reviews conflict with the normal review process.
I enjoyed this book, so my goal is to promote it and help the author. If you are a potential reader, just stop reading now and take the above as all you need to know. I am not going to share my reasoning, thoughts on the book, or any opinions that would influence your decision to read it. It is my opinion that Art needs to be experienced at an individual level. You are the only one that can determine what you like and don’t like. Don’t let others make that decision for you. You should definitely read the book and completely ignore all of the reviews. Or not if you don’t think this book is for you. That choice is all yours and the beauty of art appreciation. You are a much better judge of what you will like than anyone here.
If you are a member of the IAK Guild (thanks, Jason) or part of the review police, feel free to criticize me and challenge my philosophy on reviewing art. I think we all love a good debate. The forums are open and I welcome your comments. I was wrong in my previous request to get you to stop. Your blatant disregard for that request has led to some fun discussions. Growth is important for us all.
Cheers
March 25, 2021
In short, not as good as the first book. The occultist progression was pretty fun, the build up to the final battle kept me reading and his fans were interesting/funny. But the book spent a lot of time dealing with excruciating minutiae from the last book as two of the side characters spent their entire quest time nitpicking small details from their breakup in the last book. Like seriously a ton of them re-hashing what went down, and never even like... why their relationship was even worth it. He was there for her through some panic attacks? Wow okay he did the bare minimum as a partner!
I enjoyed the humour but this book has the usual problem with Litrpg humour- aka they come up with one good joke and overuse it. One example is that they had to pass one of the challenges by having a clean browser history, so some of them had to clear theirs for.. reasons. I actually laughed out loud when I realized the tie-in with what happened to them if they couldn't pass the challenge. Then the author just kept piling on. "Haha, that means they look at naughty stuff." "Haha, they're perverts." "Haha, you couldn't pass the challenge because you're a pervert!" "Lol, we group with perverts." Ok - ok- I get the picture. There was other stuff that kept getting repeated that wasn't even that funny in the first place, which made for some cringeworthy bits.
I also think the emotional stakes weren't as high. I really didn't care about his streaming career and them getting revenge on Andrew's brother compared to him saving his mom in the last book.
I enjoyed the humour but this book has the usual problem with Litrpg humour- aka they come up with one good joke and overuse it. One example is that they had to pass one of the challenges by having a clean browser history, so some of them had to clear theirs for.. reasons. I actually laughed out loud when I realized the tie-in with what happened to them if they couldn't pass the challenge. Then the author just kept piling on. "Haha, that means they look at naughty stuff." "Haha, they're perverts." "Haha, you couldn't pass the challenge because you're a pervert!" "Lol, we group with perverts." Ok - ok- I get the picture. There was other stuff that kept getting repeated that wasn't even that funny in the first place, which made for some cringeworthy bits.
I also think the emotional stakes weren't as high. I really didn't care about his streaming career and them getting revenge on Andrew's brother compared to him saving his mom in the last book.
March 9, 2021
A strong narrative that had me hooked from the first chapter
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I finished it in almost one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. There was more content to this one because it jumped back and forth between Lillian's and Damien's POV and I appreciate that. Both of their adventures had their own flavors and felt very unique.
This book had me laughing so hard at various points. Far more than the first one. The hilarious references to memes and nerdy content had me rolling as my nerd heart sang with joy. Everything from Monty Python references to Leeroy Jenkins and beyond.
An author needs to hook me quickly if they want to have a strong chance at keeping me going. If the beginning doesn't pull me in, then I find it incredibly difficult to hold on until it does pick up. This book had zero problems in that regard. The pacing was nice throughout, though a couple of the jumps between the POVs were a little frustrating. It wasn't too bad though.
I look forward to the next one ^_^
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I finished it in almost one sitting because I just couldn't put it down. There was more content to this one because it jumped back and forth between Lillian's and Damien's POV and I appreciate that. Both of their adventures had their own flavors and felt very unique.
This book had me laughing so hard at various points. Far more than the first one. The hilarious references to memes and nerdy content had me rolling as my nerd heart sang with joy. Everything from Monty Python references to Leeroy Jenkins and beyond.
An author needs to hook me quickly if they want to have a strong chance at keeping me going. If the beginning doesn't pull me in, then I find it incredibly difficult to hold on until it does pick up. This book had zero problems in that regard. The pacing was nice throughout, though a couple of the jumps between the POVs were a little frustrating. It wasn't too bad though.
I look forward to the next one ^_^
March 12, 2022
Good 2nd Entry To The Series
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The mc, Damien, is not perfect by any means, but has a knack of being able to overcome things by persistence and an ability to think outside of the box. Lillian who plays a prominent role in this book is beyond annoying in my opinion. It is maybe the mark of a good author that I feel so strongly about a character. It seems like she is supposed to come across as strong, smart, and borderline amazing. Instead, I find her as self-centered, condescending, and a terrible leader. As to the story itself, it has great progression and there is some serious power leveling for some of the characters. Finally, the book wraps up the story nice without any unnecessary cliffhanger, but gives a nice lead in to the next book. I am definitely getting the next one in this series and highly recommend this book to anyone who was a fan of the first book. I can only hope that our mc has to deal with less Lillian in the next book or that she somehow magically becomes a better person. (Neither of which seems likely).
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The mc, Damien, is not perfect by any means, but has a knack of being able to overcome things by persistence and an ability to think outside of the box. Lillian who plays a prominent role in this book is beyond annoying in my opinion. It is maybe the mark of a good author that I feel so strongly about a character. It seems like she is supposed to come across as strong, smart, and borderline amazing. Instead, I find her as self-centered, condescending, and a terrible leader. As to the story itself, it has great progression and there is some serious power leveling for some of the characters. Finally, the book wraps up the story nice without any unnecessary cliffhanger, but gives a nice lead in to the next book. I am definitely getting the next one in this series and highly recommend this book to anyone who was a fan of the first book. I can only hope that our mc has to deal with less Lillian in the next book or that she somehow magically becomes a better person. (Neither of which seems likely).
May 14, 2021
Insights and Concepts
The second book was well worth the wait. For an author where English is not their native tongue, I can only say that it was well written and whoever helps to translate does a wonderful job. The insights and depth of human interpersonal relationships makes the characters believable and important particularly since this is based in a fantasy setting and what made me enjoy this author and his books so far.
My only small criticism is the audible narrator chosen to represent the characters. His narration style is bland, almost monotone, and some of the game reference jokes fall flat due to the narrator either not understanding the inside joke or just being plain lazy I can't guess which.
A definite recommended read.
The second book was well worth the wait. For an author where English is not their native tongue, I can only say that it was well written and whoever helps to translate does a wonderful job. The insights and depth of human interpersonal relationships makes the characters believable and important particularly since this is based in a fantasy setting and what made me enjoy this author and his books so far.
My only small criticism is the audible narrator chosen to represent the characters. His narration style is bland, almost monotone, and some of the game reference jokes fall flat due to the narrator either not understanding the inside joke or just being plain lazy I can't guess which.
A definite recommended read.
July 26, 2021
Overall enjoyable, but with a few caveats. The flaws in the main characters get a lot of attention. Much of the story is about how these characters have to work around their own flaws. But sadly, they never really seem to learn or grow. The game design for the game world part of the story is horrible - something I doubt most people would actually desire to play. The game developers are so hands off, they just allow the players to completely abuse the system and take complete control over the social aspects of the game. Any real world games would be seeing so many bans in those situations. And the 24 hour death penalty only makes sense for an author. But as a reader, it looks completely ridiculous. Things like that make it difficult to maintain the suspension of disbelief.
February 13, 2021
Book two
Mistakes: I found a few. The one that bothered me the most was, That's why he was tipped for the job. It should be tapped not tipped.
Plot: Not as good as the first book. The game company has zero concern for the players. Which honestly I found to be farfetched. There would be so many regulations and oversight in regards to players privacy that the a.i. Wouldn't be allowed to act as it did. The fact that the MC does nothing about it also bothered me.
Some of the boss to books and games felt forced into the flow of the story.
Characters: Didn't enjoy them like I did in book one.
7/10
Mistakes: I found a few. The one that bothered me the most was, That's why he was tipped for the job. It should be tapped not tipped.
Plot: Not as good as the first book. The game company has zero concern for the players. Which honestly I found to be farfetched. There would be so many regulations and oversight in regards to players privacy that the a.i. Wouldn't be allowed to act as it did. The fact that the MC does nothing about it also bothered me.
Some of the boss to books and games felt forced into the flow of the story.
Characters: Didn't enjoy them like I did in book one.
7/10
February 16, 2021
This is a very solid followup to Mayes' 2019 book Occultist. Hellbound is nearly 50% longer but doesn't have quite the verve of the first book. It starts a little slow while it addresses issues from the first book but within 50 pages the plot takes off. One of the interesting aspects is the often petty and immature behavior of the characters. So often in GameLit the characters are mature and stable--but that's not a true reflection of what I've experienced while gaming. Mayes creates an amusing and sometimes frustrating rendition of the complicated relationships between players both ingame and in real life. I really enjoyed Hellbound and hope that the next book develops a little faster.
August 1, 2022
Interestingly, this story was more mature than the first, while the characters were actually a lot less mature in some crucial ways (and in ways which were character-appropriate and reasonable, if sometimes frustrating). Daemon is age-appropriately short-sighted and self-centered. Lily is arrogant and has a problematic temper. It's actually her boyfriend, Andrew, who came across as an egotistical dick in the last book, who has a lot of character growth early on and plays a willingly supportive role in this book, which was really cool to see. Lily and Daemon each get stage time on their parallel but completely separate quests.
February 11, 2021
Not as funny as book 1
I will mainly be talking about the beginning of the book here. Noigel felt underused. In book 1 Noigel was this source of knowledge and humor but now he has no humor that I’ve seen. Plus the book relied a bit too much on Imp puns. Other than that it’s a good book.
While it was an interesting read, to me it just had a slow start. Keep reading because it gets better.
I will mainly be talking about the beginning of the book here. Noigel felt underused. In book 1 Noigel was this source of knowledge and humor but now he has no humor that I’ve seen. Plus the book relied a bit too much on Imp puns. Other than that it’s a good book.
While it was an interesting read, to me it just had a slow start. Keep reading because it gets better.
February 23, 2021
Couldn't stop reading
Couldn't put it down, this series is brilliant. I've fallen into the trap of reading too fast and now the long wait begins for the next lol.
I did have some problems with Lillian, still can't work out that character's view on how friendships actually work, but my goodness, the twists! So. Many. Brilliant. Plot twists!
Cant wait to see what happens next.
Couldn't put it down, this series is brilliant. I've fallen into the trap of reading too fast and now the long wait begins for the next lol.
I did have some problems with Lillian, still can't work out that character's view on how friendships actually work, but my goodness, the twists! So. Many. Brilliant. Plot twists!
Cant wait to see what happens next.
February 19, 2021
Satisfying in the same way as the first. Funnier
Took about 8-10% of the book for me to get into it, but then you do and it's as good a ride as before. Nicely plausible/sensible real world characters behind the game avatars. Hilarious nicely built in fan service to lots of nerd stuff: DBZ, Mortal Kombat etc. Fun read!
Took about 8-10% of the book for me to get into it, but then you do and it's as good a ride as before. Nicely plausible/sensible real world characters behind the game avatars. Hilarious nicely built in fan service to lots of nerd stuff: DBZ, Mortal Kombat etc. Fun read!
March 14, 2021
For a sequel to a book that was fine to standalone, I’m glad that this book was written. I felt like the major story elements all wrapped up in the previous book which is what made it so good. What we do get from this book is further character development and deeper game world exploration with a new unfolding plot. All of this makes for an entertaining read.
July 11, 2021
A good sequel
Follows on nicely from the first book, it seemed to take me a lot longer to read than I would have expected. There was a lot of mid book slowdown and lead up that paid off in the end but there were times I felt like starting another book and coming back to this one later.
Overall in glad I finished it and I'm actually looking forward to the next.
Follows on nicely from the first book, it seemed to take me a lot longer to read than I would have expected. There was a lot of mid book slowdown and lead up that paid off in the end but there were times I felt like starting another book and coming back to this one later.
Overall in glad I finished it and I'm actually looking forward to the next.
May 16, 2024
Really enjoyed both books for the world and general concept of the world and the magic behind the MC. I feel like the second book lost some of that vision from the original book by going really in depth for the relationship between two side characters and the reception arc that followed. That being said I would be up to read the next books in the series when published.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2021
Spectacular followup for the Occultist
After Damien blows away the streaming competition, it's time to up the stakes. New challenges arise, and with the greater challenges, come greater rewards, and greater headaches.
Epic new skills, and a surprise trainer.
After Damien blows away the streaming competition, it's time to up the stakes. New challenges arise, and with the greater challenges, come greater rewards, and greater headaches.
Epic new skills, and a surprise trainer.
April 25, 2021
The author dropped the ball with this one.
There was waay too much personal drama, and the rest of the plot seemed all over the place.
The whole "streamer"-aspect of the story brings nothing except annoyance.
There was waay too much personal drama, and the rest of the plot seemed all over the place.
The whole "streamer"-aspect of the story brings nothing except annoyance.
May 1, 2021
Even better than first
Great development of characters and really like the way the booked carried on from the first one. Ending was a little too cliff hanger for me but still great read.
Great development of characters and really like the way the booked carried on from the first one. Ending was a little too cliff hanger for me but still great read.
June 9, 2021
Wasn't there a song about this? "Hellbound and down, loaded up and truckin'" Only the last 30% was really any good...the MC and friends defeat their current opponents, but the new (more powerful) enemies show up in the epilogue...
April 17, 2022
A solid second book in the series. The gaming elements are well written and engaging. At times I found the female character exasperating, as her character would often blame other characters for her own flaws. I guess we write from experience ;)
February 12, 2021
A solid continuation
This was another great book by an amazing author. Another book I couldn’t put down until it was over.I look forward to see what’s in store for our hero’s.
This was another great book by an amazing author. Another book I couldn’t put down until it was over.I look forward to see what’s in store for our hero’s.
February 16, 2021
An excellent addition!
Loved it! Very excited to see where the story goes next. I have no doubt, this one was well worth the wait.
Loved it! Very excited to see where the story goes next. I have no doubt, this one was well worth the wait.
Read
February 21, 2021Great book
Stellar work once again from Oliver Mayes! Lots of action and adventure, demons and leveling, intrigue and twists. Looking forward to the next one!
Stellar work once again from Oliver Mayes! Lots of action and adventure, demons and leveling, intrigue and twists. Looking forward to the next one!
February 22, 2021
Great follow up
Almost as good as the first but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. It’s rare to get such well written and edited books in this genre. I eagerly await the next
Almost as good as the first but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. It’s rare to get such well written and edited books in this genre. I eagerly await the next
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews