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It's been 10 years since Beatrice Taylor discovered the Quest Board and her life changed forever.
The rules of the Board are simple:
Complete a Quest, get a token.
The harder the Quest, the more tokens you earn.
Get enough tokens, and you level up.
Except the Quest Board isn't in a video game. It's real.
Beatrice has worked her way up from the bottom, grinding out Quest after Quest, and racking up tokens and experience along the way. With a new baby and a marriage teetering on the brink of collapse, she'll need an apprentice who's worth their weight in gold if she ever hopes to take on the Guild and live to tell about it.
But after a string of failures, is Beatrice's new trainee finally the one she's been looking for?
Guild of Tokens: Trainee is the prequel to Guild of Tokens: Initiate and is available for free here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/985eiue689
The rules of the Board are simple:
Complete a Quest, get a token.
The harder the Quest, the more tokens you earn.
Get enough tokens, and you level up.
Except the Quest Board isn't in a video game. It's real.
Beatrice has worked her way up from the bottom, grinding out Quest after Quest, and racking up tokens and experience along the way. With a new baby and a marriage teetering on the brink of collapse, she'll need an apprentice who's worth their weight in gold if she ever hopes to take on the Guild and live to tell about it.
But after a string of failures, is Beatrice's new trainee finally the one she's been looking for?
Guild of Tokens: Trainee is the prequel to Guild of Tokens: Initiate and is available for free here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/985eiue689
24 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2021
5 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Jon Auerbach
13 books45 followersJon Auerbach's love of fantasy began at the tender age of six, when his parents bought him the classic 1977 animated version of The Hobbit.
Jon hopes to pass on his stories to the next generation, including his kids, who have their own copy of The Hobbit that they lovingly call "the Bilbo book."
Sign up for Jon's newsletter at www.jonauerbach.com/newsletter to get two free short stories!
Jon hopes to pass on his stories to the next generation, including his kids, who have their own copy of The Hobbit that they lovingly call "the Bilbo book."
Sign up for Jon's newsletter at www.jonauerbach.com/newsletter to get two free short stories!
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 18, 2020
Short-story length.
While juggling a marriage with a cheating husband, a new baby, life in a big city, her job of supplying alchemically created drugs to the local college, and running the quest board, Beatrice is also training a new assistant to help with the questing (and the pushing of drugs to the campus). And good assistants are so hard to find.
I loved the idea of a place where questing was real in a modern city setting. There’s so much that can be done with that idea and so much adventure to be hand and interesting places to find as quests are done. The problem is that I was looking forward to that adventure and fun quests and daring from participants as they accepted adventurous challenges. Instead, the story mainly focuses on Beatrice’s failing marriage and her cheating husband and trying to balance the portion of her life meeting up with her assistant with her home life. I usually read books as escapism and pick me up and for the romance if I can get it, I don’t really appreciate reading about failing marriages and cheating husbands. The quests themselves weren’t that interesting either. The only ones mentioned were item retrieval from various addresses or stores (apparently the items are used in alchemical recipes). The characters were nicely done and felt fully rounded with flaws and personalities and the setting felt like New York City come to life and reminded me more than a little of Law & Order or Castle, but without the mystery.
While juggling a marriage with a cheating husband, a new baby, life in a big city, her job of supplying alchemically created drugs to the local college, and running the quest board, Beatrice is also training a new assistant to help with the questing (and the pushing of drugs to the campus). And good assistants are so hard to find.
I loved the idea of a place where questing was real in a modern city setting. There’s so much that can be done with that idea and so much adventure to be hand and interesting places to find as quests are done. The problem is that I was looking forward to that adventure and fun quests and daring from participants as they accepted adventurous challenges. Instead, the story mainly focuses on Beatrice’s failing marriage and her cheating husband and trying to balance the portion of her life meeting up with her assistant with her home life. I usually read books as escapism and pick me up and for the romance if I can get it, I don’t really appreciate reading about failing marriages and cheating husbands. The quests themselves weren’t that interesting either. The only ones mentioned were item retrieval from various addresses or stores (apparently the items are used in alchemical recipes). The characters were nicely done and felt fully rounded with flaws and personalities and the setting felt like New York City come to life and reminded me more than a little of Law & Order or Castle, but without the mystery.
May 25, 2018
Beartrice has a double life: on one hand she's the wife of a disinterested businessman and mother to their baby boy. On the other, she's a Quester, and a ruthless one at that. Do Quests. Earn tokens. Level up. It's like an MMO but in held secretly in real life, with all the strangeness and magical implications that come with it. She's looking for a "partner" (though not an equal one) to go on raids with - multiplayer party quests, if you like. It's harder than you might think. She also needs help. There's a book, some ink, and a shadowy body called the Guild lurking in the wings...
The best thing about this prequel is that it's very well written. Pacing, circular plotting, characters, everything. The little details of Beatrice's banal life were perfect, and the slow drip of events revealing her true nature make her a strong character in such a short space of time.
The part that niggled me is that it is sprinkled with references that make no sense out of context - a diary? Alchemical ink? Wait, pigeons being used for... what? The world-building drops you right in at the deep end. I get the idea that this will all make sense after having read book 1 rather than before. It's a well-crafted supplemental story, just perhaps a little too mysterious for me at this stage when I don't know how this shadowy MMO world works.
Regardless, it's an intriguing idea and one which should get more in-depth treatment in a full length story. This prequel goes to show the writer's skill at introducing complex ideas in a short space of time and how fluid their writing is. Definitely one to watch.
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The best thing about this prequel is that it's very well written. Pacing, circular plotting, characters, everything. The little details of Beatrice's banal life were perfect, and the slow drip of events revealing her true nature make her a strong character in such a short space of time.
The part that niggled me is that it is sprinkled with references that make no sense out of context - a diary? Alchemical ink? Wait, pigeons being used for... what? The world-building drops you right in at the deep end. I get the idea that this will all make sense after having read book 1 rather than before. It's a well-crafted supplemental story, just perhaps a little too mysterious for me at this stage when I don't know how this shadowy MMO world works.
Regardless, it's an intriguing idea and one which should get more in-depth treatment in a full length story. This prequel goes to show the writer's skill at introducing complex ideas in a short space of time and how fluid their writing is. Definitely one to watch.
-Free from the author's newsletter-
May 23, 2018
An interesting world
This little teaser certainly whets the appetite for the main book. Though I can't help but wonder what the Guild is, and why they would be out to stop a Questor from completing a Raid...
I was a little curious as to why the alchemy information was presented here, since that is obviously something that the novel's protagonist will come to learn about once she starts Questing. If it's an early reveal in the novel itself I would understand though, guess we will have to wait and see.
The alchemist here certainly shows that the world Jen will be entering is full of lots of hidden dangers, and the fate of a certain side character warns us of the dangers to come.
Can't wait to see where the story goes from here.
This little teaser certainly whets the appetite for the main book. Though I can't help but wonder what the Guild is, and why they would be out to stop a Questor from completing a Raid...
I was a little curious as to why the alchemy information was presented here, since that is obviously something that the novel's protagonist will come to learn about once she starts Questing. If it's an early reveal in the novel itself I would understand though, guess we will have to wait and see.
The alchemist here certainly shows that the world Jen will be entering is full of lots of hidden dangers, and the fate of a certain side character warns us of the dangers to come.
Can't wait to see where the story goes from here.
April 13, 2019
Guild of Tokens: Trainee Does exactly what a teaser should do - it entices the reader to go on to the main series. I don’t want to spoil anything, so let’s just say that it’s interesting watching Beatrice “evolve” over this course of this short story. I expect that she’ll be a major character in the series to come. If the character development put into her here is any sign the. I also expect that the series is gonna be pretty darn special. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend.
August 6, 2018
I received this mini-novella as a freebie for signing up to Jon Auerbach's newsletter.
Even though some typo's were overlooked before publishing this little teaser, it is clear to me that Auerbach knows how to write. He certainly knows how to make you curious about the next installment. I will be looking out for 'Novice' in September...
Another 3.5 stars... tipping over to 4 stars because of a hidden message promising something that would force me to tick the 'spoiler alert' box if I revealed it here.
Even though some typo's were overlooked before publishing this little teaser, it is clear to me that Auerbach knows how to write. He certainly knows how to make you curious about the next installment. I will be looking out for 'Novice' in September...
Another 3.5 stars... tipping over to 4 stars because of a hidden message promising something that would force me to tick the 'spoiler alert' box if I revealed it here.
August 27, 2019
I throughly enjoyed this urban fantasy short story. It is a bit like litRPG but this game is not virtual reality. Instead, it is actual reality and it can be deadly! I am excited about reading more of this series. I highly recommend Guild of Tokens Trainee and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this ebook from the author and this is my honest and freely given opinion.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this ebook from the author and this is my honest and freely given opinion.
June 5, 2018
Just finished reading this book having loved the first one,I was not disappointed it's even better than the first.The story expands well with several subplots which I'm sure will open as the series progresses.A very entertaining read.
Note I received this book as an ARC from the Author.
Note I received this book as an ARC from the Author.
February 3, 2019
Intriguing concept, but very difficult to like the main character and I found myself constantly waiting for an explanation of this Quest game that never came. (Mind you, I read this in almost one sitting so it must be doing something right)
May 24, 2018
Great novella
Intriguing, well-written and funny, a great read. I can't wait for the next chapter of the Guild. Auerbach is the real deal.
Intriguing, well-written and funny, a great read. I can't wait for the next chapter of the Guild. Auerbach is the real deal.
April 20, 2019
Beatrice is the heart of this story- obsessed with Questing boards, but gets others (trainees) to do the leg work. Not happy with her life and flawed but that what makes it an interesting read, is how far her 'trainees' will go to accomplish the tasks- no matter what it costs. Recommended.
November 3, 2020
Interesting idea, but I was confused. I wish the rules of the world were explained better, but I’m assuming it’s explained much better in the first book. I didn’t like how there were frequent mentions of drugs, and I was really confused why the trainee girl ended up dead from carrying the ink. Was the ink deadly?
Read
May 3, 2022IF YOU LIKE A kinda GAME BASED , THRILLER FANTASY TYPE OF READING THEN THIS WILL DEFINETLY PULL YOUR STRINGS .
This is Not A Game .
I actually really loved this read .
Follow Beatrice and her trainee on a few quests and a raid in this world of magic , death , betrayal , with a few bad turns in the story especially in her marriage . when it comes to Trainees will beatrice ever find the right trainee because she seems to have to keep on looking for just the right one , but seems to be the same way with her marriage , not the best relationship either with her husband having a few side dishes of his own , if you know what i mean ..
Also a buff that helps you do what you need to do that beatrice makes in secret , but so much more in such a short book ,. your see when you read this book , only a short read but well worth the effort .
4*/5*
This is Not A Game .
I actually really loved this read .
Follow Beatrice and her trainee on a few quests and a raid in this world of magic , death , betrayal , with a few bad turns in the story especially in her marriage . when it comes to Trainees will beatrice ever find the right trainee because she seems to have to keep on looking for just the right one , but seems to be the same way with her marriage , not the best relationship either with her husband having a few side dishes of his own , if you know what i mean ..
Also a buff that helps you do what you need to do that beatrice makes in secret , but so much more in such a short book ,. your see when you read this book , only a short read but well worth the effort .
4*/5*
May 10, 2019
Beatrice is a mother to a young son but also part of a failing marriage. Apart from this she is a hard line quester and has trainees who carry out her quests for tokens. However the whole concept of gaining tokens and carrying out quests which seem pretty pointless at best is really not well explained at all, so much so that at the end of the book i was still in the dark as to what was going on. Maybe this was just a short teaser to whet readers appetites and I will read the first full book hopefully things will be explained in full in book 1 Initiate, else I doubt I will go on reading this series!
December 29, 2025
The writing is good but the main character was hard to like, a villain-like by the end. It also felt start in the middle of the story (the quest sprung out from the get go without any explanation.)
There was one sentence about the quest and the world that give us clues that i could guess where is this probably going. Maybe.
There was one sentence about the quest and the world that give us clues that i could guess where is this probably going. Maybe.
Read
July 21, 2021This is a prequel to Guild of Tokens: Initiate and you can get it for free by signing up for my newsletter here: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/985eiue689.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews