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It was supposed to be just another Sunday night fantasy role-playing session between friends...
But after years of playing, the game had become so real to David, Tyrone, Scott, and Melanie that all their creations now had existences of their own.
And when the four outside players decide to end their game, the characters inside the game world—warriors, scholars, and the few remaining wielders of magic—band together to keep their land from vanishing.
Now they must embark on a desperate quest for their own magic. Magic that can twist the Rules enough to save them all from the evil that the players created to destroy their entire realm.
Experience the start of a GameLit/LitRPG Saga from the International Bestseller Kevin J. Anderson, author of the Dune Prequels, Duke of Caladan, Numerous Star Wars novels and over 160 other books.
But after years of playing, the game had become so real to David, Tyrone, Scott, and Melanie that all their creations now had existences of their own.
And when the four outside players decide to end their game, the characters inside the game world—warriors, scholars, and the few remaining wielders of magic—band together to keep their land from vanishing.
Now they must embark on a desperate quest for their own magic. Magic that can twist the Rules enough to save them all from the evil that the players created to destroy their entire realm.
Experience the start of a GameLit/LitRPG Saga from the International Bestseller Kevin J. Anderson, author of the Dune Prequels, Duke of Caladan, Numerous Star Wars novels and over 160 other books.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 7, 1989
112 people are currently reading
282 people want to read
About the author
Kevin J. Anderson
1,033 books3,112 followersYes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
June 2, 2022
Dropped at chapter 7
The book starts on an interesting premise, but fails to turn it into a good story. At no point did either the in-game or IRL events feel even slightly engaging.
How exactly are you supposed to connect with characters that identify themselves as "not real"? How does that even make sense? This insistence in devaluing the weight of occurring events (not real) devalued the plot itself to something of no consequence.
While well written (good grammar and obvious literary polish) this book lacks the core of what makes good fantasy: an immersive, belieavable world. It would have done well as backstory for a DnD game maybe. But for a novel? Not good enough.
The book starts on an interesting premise, but fails to turn it into a good story. At no point did either the in-game or IRL events feel even slightly engaging.
How exactly are you supposed to connect with characters that identify themselves as "not real"? How does that even make sense? This insistence in devaluing the weight of occurring events (not real) devalued the plot itself to something of no consequence.
While well written (good grammar and obvious literary polish) this book lacks the core of what makes good fantasy: an immersive, belieavable world. It would have done well as backstory for a DnD game maybe. But for a novel? Not good enough.
September 17, 2021
Bleh
I expected much more. The story repeatedly disengages the reader, and any engagement is 1 dimensional. If food, it would be bad gas station food.
I expected much more. The story repeatedly disengages the reader, and any engagement is 1 dimensional. If food, it would be bad gas station food.
December 9, 2021
Rule 1: Always Have Fun
I do in fact play D&D so I greatly enjoyed and was interested with the notion of all four people being the "DMs" and the characters at the same time. I also want to know what David's deal is because he's being a jerk and I'm pretty sure that there is something going on there other than what he's told the others.
The books felt like somewhere between very classic fantasy of the 1980s and also very much a tabletop RPG. And, I cannot stress strongly enough, I absolutely love the notion of characters that know that they're characters in a game, that know what the external rules are for the players, and even know that they have to do the stupid thing because that is what you're supposed to do.
It was enjoyably well-written. I found myself snorting out loud several times. I'm not sure if it was the Kindle version I was reading or if it just was, but the POV shifts without warning or indication really bothered me and were frequent enough that I feel I have to dock a point from a book that is otherwise very good.
I will be reading probably both of the other two books in the series, definitely at least the next one because there are a couple of looming questions that I have.
All in all, would read again. But probably not right now.
I do in fact play D&D so I greatly enjoyed and was interested with the notion of all four people being the "DMs" and the characters at the same time. I also want to know what David's deal is because he's being a jerk and I'm pretty sure that there is something going on there other than what he's told the others.
The books felt like somewhere between very classic fantasy of the 1980s and also very much a tabletop RPG. And, I cannot stress strongly enough, I absolutely love the notion of characters that know that they're characters in a game, that know what the external rules are for the players, and even know that they have to do the stupid thing because that is what you're supposed to do.
It was enjoyably well-written. I found myself snorting out loud several times. I'm not sure if it was the Kindle version I was reading or if it just was, but the POV shifts without warning or indication really bothered me and were frequent enough that I feel I have to dock a point from a book that is otherwise very good.
I will be reading probably both of the other two books in the series, definitely at least the next one because there are a couple of looming questions that I have.
All in all, would read again. But probably not right now.
June 1, 2021
A very different gamelit. It's interesting seeing a true gameworld through the eyes of the characters that live or die at the whims of the dice and the players.
July 6, 2021
A quartet of teens argue over whether it's time to end their fantasy roleplaying campaign. What they don't know is that the gameworld they created is real, and the characters aren't going to go down without a fight. I wasn't onboard for most of this book, but some 11th hour dragon shenanigans led it to ending on a high note, and left me interested in finding out what happens next.
One of the kids fear that they're becoming overly obsessive about the game, and moves to end it; another (the sole female character of the four) would prefer to defend it, and the other two are pretty laisse faire either way. The story, however, is not really about the kids at all. They appear as frames for the beginning and end (and occasionally at the end of a major section), and the concept of their presence shapes much of the action and worldbuilding in the main story, but it's the inhabitants of the gameworld themselves that drive that story. I get why Anderson is going in that direction; the main narrative thrust is exploring how a world shaped by D&D style rules would resent the outsiders that govern their existence, while at the same time feel pressured to perform for them. I think a more interesting approach would involve them more directly; Kieron Gillen's Die, for example, pursues this to great effect.
Instead, we get a series of set pieces with the three main warriors. The set pieces feel a bit rote at times, which to be fair, is part of the plot, that with the earlier end of the big battle of good and evil, the gameworld has gotten a bit rote. But it doesn't make reading the book more attractive. This is very early in Anderson's writing career, and honestly, he's not that great with characters in general; he can handle character types well, and his plots can be a lot of fun, but the stories as a whole are often driven by pre-existing familiarity with the characters (as in his Star Wars stuff) or the fun of watching the plot pieces he's set up bash against each other. We spend most of the book with the warriors Delrael and Vailret, and the half-Sorcerer Bryl (these are some extremely D&D names) and other than Del being a bit studious and Vailret being resentful, they're not really that distinct. (There's a bit more promise in future volumes for the city of thinkers, but we'll see.)
The plot feels pretty rote: there's a fight with an ogre to kick things off, and subsequent encounters at an ice palace, a forest grove, and the aforementioned city of thinkers. Eventually, they get around to a bit of a dragon encounter, and this has just enough personality to push it into a level of greater fun. (It's got a definite Smaug/Hobbit kind of feel, but it works.) The result is basically that I liked the premise, but the book doesn't really live up to it. And I liked the last third while disliking the first two thirds--but that last third doesn't really live up to the premise either. There's just enough here that I'd try the next book in the trilogy, but I was hoping for something more.
One of the kids fear that they're becoming overly obsessive about the game, and moves to end it; another (the sole female character of the four) would prefer to defend it, and the other two are pretty laisse faire either way. The story, however, is not really about the kids at all. They appear as frames for the beginning and end (and occasionally at the end of a major section), and the concept of their presence shapes much of the action and worldbuilding in the main story, but it's the inhabitants of the gameworld themselves that drive that story. I get why Anderson is going in that direction; the main narrative thrust is exploring how a world shaped by D&D style rules would resent the outsiders that govern their existence, while at the same time feel pressured to perform for them. I think a more interesting approach would involve them more directly; Kieron Gillen's Die, for example, pursues this to great effect.
Instead, we get a series of set pieces with the three main warriors. The set pieces feel a bit rote at times, which to be fair, is part of the plot, that with the earlier end of the big battle of good and evil, the gameworld has gotten a bit rote. But it doesn't make reading the book more attractive. This is very early in Anderson's writing career, and honestly, he's not that great with characters in general; he can handle character types well, and his plots can be a lot of fun, but the stories as a whole are often driven by pre-existing familiarity with the characters (as in his Star Wars stuff) or the fun of watching the plot pieces he's set up bash against each other. We spend most of the book with the warriors Delrael and Vailret, and the half-Sorcerer Bryl (these are some extremely D&D names) and other than Del being a bit studious and Vailret being resentful, they're not really that distinct. (There's a bit more promise in future volumes for the city of thinkers, but we'll see.)
The plot feels pretty rote: there's a fight with an ogre to kick things off, and subsequent encounters at an ice palace, a forest grove, and the aforementioned city of thinkers. Eventually, they get around to a bit of a dragon encounter, and this has just enough personality to push it into a level of greater fun. (It's got a definite Smaug/Hobbit kind of feel, but it works.) The result is basically that I liked the premise, but the book doesn't really live up to it. And I liked the last third while disliking the first two thirds--but that last third doesn't really live up to the premise either. There's just enough here that I'd try the next book in the trilogy, but I was hoping for something more.
May 23, 2019
What happens to a game when the players decide to quit? If you're a gamer, if you own a collection of many-sided dice, that's a question that might eat at you a bit if you think about it. And if creation is a kind of magic, what happens when you spend a long time creating a world, characters, rules for it, etc?
In the "real" world, a gaming group has been playing for years, and some are getting bored. Melanie wants to keep going, David wants to quit, and the other two are fairly easily swayed.
In the game, the characters are well aware of what they are. The land is laid out in hexes, there are rules for how far you can go in a day, how many spells you can cast, quests, adventures, rewards... until the Outsiders start talking about quitting. As the gaming group splits on what to do next, strange creatures appear in the game. But the players are legends themselves now, and "Rulewoman" Melanie just might help her old friend save the day, if she can.
The changes work both ways, and, as the characters manage some victories, there are some changes in the "real" world. Is magic leaking out?
The concept is fascinating, especially for a gamer. There are only two reasons I'm not rating it higher: the characters are a bit flat, and the transition from section to section is a bit hard to follow at times.
Otherwise, an enjoyable tale from a master storyteller. Strongly recommended if you're a gamer, or if you're into LitRPG.
In the "real" world, a gaming group has been playing for years, and some are getting bored. Melanie wants to keep going, David wants to quit, and the other two are fairly easily swayed.
In the game, the characters are well aware of what they are. The land is laid out in hexes, there are rules for how far you can go in a day, how many spells you can cast, quests, adventures, rewards... until the Outsiders start talking about quitting. As the gaming group splits on what to do next, strange creatures appear in the game. But the players are legends themselves now, and "Rulewoman" Melanie just might help her old friend save the day, if she can.
The changes work both ways, and, as the characters manage some victories, there are some changes in the "real" world. Is magic leaking out?
The concept is fascinating, especially for a gamer. There are only two reasons I'm not rating it higher: the characters are a bit flat, and the transition from section to section is a bit hard to follow at times.
Otherwise, an enjoyable tale from a master storyteller. Strongly recommended if you're a gamer, or if you're into LitRPG.
May 26, 2024
Told from the perspective of characters on the game board.
Felt too complicated and the characters were detached from the plot.
Felt too complicated and the characters were detached from the plot.
November 29, 2015
Après avoir lu l'histoire de Marvel Comic je n'ai pu m'empêcher de lire des bandes dessinnées et de me procurer à nouveau des histoire dont j'avais envi de lire. Une fois mon "trip bédé" terminé rien de tel qu'un livre de Kevin J. Anderson pour me remettre dans l'ambiance des romans.
Gardant encore une fois une prose égale et non saccadé, Mr. Anderson sait comment m'accroché à une histoire. Étant déjà un fan des jeux de rôle type donjon et dragon depuis des années, ce livre m'a donc intéressé d'être lu dès ma découverte de celui-ci. Car, voyez-vous, l'histoire est celle de jeunes qui ont créer un monde et les règle du jeux de ce monde. Un jour l'un d'entre eux est tanné de jouer et décide de demander qu'on arrête de jouer, vu l'opposition de certain joueurs, il décide donc comme maître de jeu de créer une fin apocalyptique pour son monde afin qu'il ne reste rien pour jouer une game de plus. L'attrape c'est que les personnage du jeu ont une vie propre à eux dans le jeu et ils refusent d'accepter la fin de la partie.
Dans son ensemble un tel sujet devrait me faire beaucoup plus réagir, mais c'est dans l'exécution que ce livre perd beaucoup de points. Bien qu'on voit les joueurs au début du livre et de manière parcimonieuse par la suite, jamais on a l'impression que c'est un personnage jouer par un joueur qui est présent dans l'histoire, on croirait vraiment à une vie dans un autre monde. Bien que ce soit réaliste, je trouve que ça gâche le concept premier du livre et de son histoire.
Pour ceux qui ont déjà jouer, imaginez que ce soit les NPC qui gère la game et que les joueurs n'aient aucun impacte directe sur le jeu. Tout ceux qui ont vécu une telle aventure vous diront qu'elle s'est terminé plus tôt que tard. Dans ce roman, même si l'histoire se lit très bien, on ne voit que très peu l'influence des joueurs et on en revient à lire une histoire fantastique épique standard où le but est d'empêcher la fin du monde.
En fait j'ai été déçu du manque d'impacte de la part des joueur de ce jeux. Sinon à par de ça, l'histoire est vraiment très bonne et assez enlevante pour être lu par n'importe qui. Ma note reflète donc plus ma déception que mon appréciation générale. Un bon livre pour relaxer le soir avant de se coucher. J'ai quand même hate de lire la suite.
Gardant encore une fois une prose égale et non saccadé, Mr. Anderson sait comment m'accroché à une histoire. Étant déjà un fan des jeux de rôle type donjon et dragon depuis des années, ce livre m'a donc intéressé d'être lu dès ma découverte de celui-ci. Car, voyez-vous, l'histoire est celle de jeunes qui ont créer un monde et les règle du jeux de ce monde. Un jour l'un d'entre eux est tanné de jouer et décide de demander qu'on arrête de jouer, vu l'opposition de certain joueurs, il décide donc comme maître de jeu de créer une fin apocalyptique pour son monde afin qu'il ne reste rien pour jouer une game de plus. L'attrape c'est que les personnage du jeu ont une vie propre à eux dans le jeu et ils refusent d'accepter la fin de la partie.
Dans son ensemble un tel sujet devrait me faire beaucoup plus réagir, mais c'est dans l'exécution que ce livre perd beaucoup de points. Bien qu'on voit les joueurs au début du livre et de manière parcimonieuse par la suite, jamais on a l'impression que c'est un personnage jouer par un joueur qui est présent dans l'histoire, on croirait vraiment à une vie dans un autre monde. Bien que ce soit réaliste, je trouve que ça gâche le concept premier du livre et de son histoire.
Pour ceux qui ont déjà jouer, imaginez que ce soit les NPC qui gère la game et que les joueurs n'aient aucun impacte directe sur le jeu. Tout ceux qui ont vécu une telle aventure vous diront qu'elle s'est terminé plus tôt que tard. Dans ce roman, même si l'histoire se lit très bien, on ne voit que très peu l'influence des joueurs et on en revient à lire une histoire fantastique épique standard où le but est d'empêcher la fin du monde.
En fait j'ai été déçu du manque d'impacte de la part des joueur de ce jeux. Sinon à par de ça, l'histoire est vraiment très bonne et assez enlevante pour être lu par n'importe qui. Ma note reflète donc plus ma déception que mon appréciation générale. Un bon livre pour relaxer le soir avant de se coucher. J'ai quand même hate de lire la suite.
June 22, 2011
Gamearth was all right, but this is the second book in a row I've read by Anderson, that didn't grab me. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.
Some of it's my fault. I've never played an RPG. I may start one in a few months. Because of my lack of RPG experience, all the nuances and in-jokes, I won't get. If I had played one, I believe I would have had a greater appreciation for the story. I get some of the things like the Rules and the rolling of dice, but while I understand them, I don't have the experience to relate to things with my memories.
But the story's not all my fault. It's kind of slow especially in parts. There's this one part where the characters spend too much time in the forest. That really bogged down the book for me. Eventually, they got out of it, but I had already checked out.
I think the biggest fault was that there wasn't much time spent on the Outsiders. I was more interested in the people who created the world and played the world, but they were only in the book for maybe a max, five pages. I hope this gets explored more, but I wanted to know why one of the Players wanted to destroy the world. There was little motivation there.
I'll probably finish the trilogy. I really do like the premise and once things started rolling, the book did get better. I just hope more of the world's explored like the Players and the monster in the East.
Some of it's my fault. I've never played an RPG. I may start one in a few months. Because of my lack of RPG experience, all the nuances and in-jokes, I won't get. If I had played one, I believe I would have had a greater appreciation for the story. I get some of the things like the Rules and the rolling of dice, but while I understand them, I don't have the experience to relate to things with my memories.
But the story's not all my fault. It's kind of slow especially in parts. There's this one part where the characters spend too much time in the forest. That really bogged down the book for me. Eventually, they got out of it, but I had already checked out.
I think the biggest fault was that there wasn't much time spent on the Outsiders. I was more interested in the people who created the world and played the world, but they were only in the book for maybe a max, five pages. I hope this gets explored more, but I wanted to know why one of the Players wanted to destroy the world. There was little motivation there.
I'll probably finish the trilogy. I really do like the premise and once things started rolling, the book did get better. I just hope more of the world's explored like the Players and the monster in the East.
March 3, 2012
Just couldn't get into the story, such as it is. An attempted fantasy story based on the premise of a world inside a role playing game. The characters live their lives inside the game world in full knowledge of their world and the game rules that govern it. However it seems their existence is now under threat as the players start to lose interest.
There just wasn't enough to keep me going in this story. Everyone, both the players and the characters in the game, seemed self absorbed and depressive. Everyone seemed to have some issues they were dealing with. That might be ok if it had a clear purpose in the story but it didn't seem too (ok I didn't finish it do maybe I can't pass judgement). It just didn't have the feel of a Shannaea or Belgariad style fantasy with the unlikely heroes in a titanic battle to save the world. More like a meandering struggle against apathy and boredom.
If it was a single book I might have persisted but I just didn't feel I could wade through three books of this.
There just wasn't enough to keep me going in this story. Everyone, both the players and the characters in the game, seemed self absorbed and depressive. Everyone seemed to have some issues they were dealing with. That might be ok if it had a clear purpose in the story but it didn't seem too (ok I didn't finish it do maybe I can't pass judgement). It just didn't have the feel of a Shannaea or Belgariad style fantasy with the unlikely heroes in a titanic battle to save the world. More like a meandering struggle against apathy and boredom.
If it was a single book I might have persisted but I just didn't feel I could wade through three books of this.
February 28, 2021
As a former Dungeons & Dragons player, I enjoy a good D&D ripoff novel as well as the next barbarian...the key word here being "good." I'm afraid that Anderson's GameEarth doesn't really fall into that category. The novel contains two plots - the story of the four kids playing a game of which some have grown tired, and the story of the PCs and NPCs in the world generated by that game.
Anderson does generate an interesting effect, by having the characters in GameEarth acknowledge that their world has grown old, that all the evil monsters have been killed, all the great heroes left to regale their glory days amidst a sea of tavern ale, and that there's nothing much worth living for. I'm afraid, though, that this sort of attitude won't carry a tale past the first fifty pages, and it didn't. The most unbelievable thing about this novel is that he actually wrote a sequel... two of them...and they got published...and reprinted???
Anderson does generate an interesting effect, by having the characters in GameEarth acknowledge that their world has grown old, that all the evil monsters have been killed, all the great heroes left to regale their glory days amidst a sea of tavern ale, and that there's nothing much worth living for. I'm afraid, though, that this sort of attitude won't carry a tale past the first fifty pages, and it didn't. The most unbelievable thing about this novel is that he actually wrote a sequel... two of them...and they got published...and reprinted???
February 24, 2013
I got two chapters in and had to tap out. I like the concept that these characters play a tabletop roleplaying game and their player characters are living real lives within the game world. As an avid RPG player, it amuses me to think that my characters are living real lives within the game world we create on our tabletops. I also have loved movies like "Neverending Story" which take advantage of this similar concept. In this book however, Anderson writes in such a heavy handed way that it's hard to actually get into. The characters walk across "hex tiles" and at one point, one of the characters says "you carry him, you've got a better strength score than I do." I would rather a story where the characters in the game world don't know they are just in a game and discover that slowly throughout the book. Maybe the book gets better as you get into it, but I just couldn't get that far...
January 6, 2024
A world was created for the game, and Hexworld takes on a life of it’s own, with the players sending characters on perilous quests for their amusement. But when the players grow bored with game and one decided to end it, destroying the world, three characters vow to fight back and protect Hexworld from total destruction. Delreal, a strong warrior, Vailret, a near-sighted historian, and Bryl, a half-sorcerer set out on a quest to save Hexworld, and their stronghold after a band of marauding ogres take it over. To do so, they must travel long distances, meet interesting peoples of each hex they travel through, battle a cyclops, and outwit a dragon, all while staying within the rules of the game and their own personal limitations, making new and interesting friends along the way who join them in their quest.
February 27, 2018
I was hoping for more out of this book, being a Kevin J Anderson novel. The characters were a little stale, but I believe that can be accounted for the time frame for the book. (Anderson is a fan a time lapse) This is only one adventure for these characters. Two more books are yet to be read. I would hope by book two there is more character development. Felt like a standard Dungeons and Dragons Adventure. The varying environments made the adventure fun. What I liked most about the book was the premise. I've never seen any other author use an idea like this before. The Players play this game every Sunday for so long, the game became real for the characters.
June 16, 2022
Kevin J. Anderson is one of my all time favorite authors because of his Star Wars books, so I decided to look up some of his other works. As a fan of LitRPG I thought this would be especially interesting.
This is a soft LitRPG, to the point where I can't really remember any stats coming up, but the setup is very interesting. The way he's designed everything to work has me more interested in the meta plot of what's going on, how, and what it means over the main plot of saving the world.
The writing is good, the characters are likable and the world is interesting, I just want more of the hidden story over the main one.
This is a soft LitRPG, to the point where I can't really remember any stats coming up, but the setup is very interesting. The way he's designed everything to work has me more interested in the meta plot of what's going on, how, and what it means over the main plot of saving the world.
The writing is good, the characters are likable and the world is interesting, I just want more of the hidden story over the main one.
January 12, 2013
As someone who plays fantasy RPGs since he was a teenager, I found this book to be very entertaining, but not very satisfying. I suppose if I has actually read it when it was first published, I might have found it more interesting, but by then I was reading other things.
I like the idea of a game world that has come to life, but I think it would have been better if the players themselves had been transported to that world rather than have them exist side-by-side with the creatures that inhabit this world.
I like the idea of a game world that has come to life, but I think it would have been better if the players themselves had been transported to that world rather than have them exist side-by-side with the creatures that inhabit this world.
April 7, 2013
A RPGer and fantasy reader for 20+ years, I was made to love that book. Turned out that Gameaeth was a case of great idea/poor execution. The characters were flat, the way Gamearth people react to their universe feels unreal. I stopped the book before after reading a third of it. And believe me, I do NOT like to put a book to bed before finishing it.
May 12, 2013
Though the characters were fairly shallow and the plot predictable, there was something about the idea of the book that kept me reading it. I wouldn't say it stood out for anything in particular, yet there's clearly something there if even the idea of a game world played by kids can hold my interest, which means I'll be carrying on with the series.
February 6, 2017
I enjoyed the story overall, but thought the characters were poorly developed and the link to the outside was glossed over. Not sure I will bother to read the other books in the trilogy.
October 9, 2021
Re-released from the originally published 1989 book- Gamearth. It needs tighter editing- there were many place where quotation marks were wrong, names changed spelling, and abrupt scene changes that could have used new paragraphs. But it was an entertaining story. It is reminiscent of Scalzi's Redshirts.
May 22, 2010
The first in a series that starts out pretty promising. I warn you now, though, that the series ends with, no kidding, a punchline. A punchline that might have been find if this was a short story. But after 3 novels, I want resolution, not a punchline.
August 4, 2011
Actually, it wasn't ok. It was bad. The concept is overdone. The writing wasn't very impressive. It's just really bad fantasy.
And I'm annoyed that I can't find my copy of the second book. Because even though it's bad fantasy, I found it entertaining.
And I'm annoyed that I can't find my copy of the second book. Because even though it's bad fantasy, I found it entertaining.
July 12, 2012
This might have been the second fantasy I ever read, right after THE HOBBIT. The GAMEARTH series utterly enthralled me and I'm looking forward to re-reading them once I make a dent in my sizeable to-read backlog...
July 27, 2021
This book is told from the view of the characters that are played with a roll of the dice. it takes the reader through a couple of the plays and then on to the big adventure. Well written and brings back memories of playing myself.
May 31, 2022
The problem with Hexworld is that the focus is not on the player. We instead are sent on a bland mission to rescue someone from the dragon. If that's not a predictable advantage, I don't know what is. The only thing that kept me interested was the story of the players.
June 22, 2009
A group of friends play a D&D-type role-playing game. When one of them decides to destroy the imaginery world the characters must try to stop him.
August 5, 2015
As a gamer, I wanted to like this book.
Story started out really slow, but picked up in the last 10% of the book.
Not sure if I will read the other two books in the series.
Story started out really slow, but picked up in the last 10% of the book.
Not sure if I will read the other two books in the series.
December 30, 2015
A great series in the same genre as Libriomancer and books like that. I enjoyed the first book a lot, and plan to read the rest.
June 14, 2021
Kevin J. Anderson does not write bad fiction.
This is no exception. He is just good at telling stories. If you like LitRPG, you will love this. I'm ready to read the next one.
This is no exception. He is just good at telling stories. If you like LitRPG, you will love this. I'm ready to read the next one.
October 10, 2022
DNF.
I liked the concept but the characters and how it was written didn't appeal to me.
I liked the concept but the characters and how it was written didn't appeal to me.
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