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Brittany Parker is a Police Officer for a precinct that has adopted CyberBolt's implant technology to enhance abilities, which also grants her a unique gaming experience. But after getting wrapped up in matters of National Security, she is ordered to undergo a dangerous procedure rumored to cause memory loss and dementia. After the excruciatingly painful experience, she awakens inside the Augmented Reality MMORPG game CONQUEST to face a terrifying threat unlike anything she has ever encountered before.
A rapture-like apocalyptic event transports players through a portal to an alien planet inhabited by the Leviathan, a loathsome creature whose insatiable hunger until now has been fed by that world's few remaining souls. The terrain of CONQUEST is the same, however the game parameters have changed drastically.
Now in a First-Person-Shooter (FPS) setting, Brittany comes head to head with many foes in battles of wits and survival with her limited ammunition. Little does she know however, that the more she levels up in the game, the more she carries out the sinister work of the Leviathan.
Will Brittany see the error of her ways before she pays the ultimate price?
A rapture-like apocalyptic event transports players through a portal to an alien planet inhabited by the Leviathan, a loathsome creature whose insatiable hunger until now has been fed by that world's few remaining souls. The terrain of CONQUEST is the same, however the game parameters have changed drastically.
Now in a First-Person-Shooter (FPS) setting, Brittany comes head to head with many foes in battles of wits and survival with her limited ammunition. Little does she know however, that the more she levels up in the game, the more she carries out the sinister work of the Leviathan.
Will Brittany see the error of her ways before she pays the ultimate price?
327 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 20, 2023
2 people are currently reading
2 people want to read
About the author
R.M. Mulder
20 books13 followersMost of his friends from High School still don't even know his first name. Known only as either "Mulder" or "Agent", there was an unforgettable moment when a girl he was dating expressed her confusion when a friend approached him and called him "Richard". The ongoing joke was "Hey Mulder, where's Scully?" Ironically he later married a redhead...
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 30, 2023
I was given a copy to review via ZooLoo’s Book Tours as part of their book tour. My reviews are always honest and all opinions are my own. #Deception #RMMulder #ZooLooBookTour #BookTourReview #BookTour #BookReview
The second book in the Conquest Saga continues the brilliant story and introduces Brittany Parker who is a Police Officer for a precinct that has adopted CyberBolt’s implant technology that not only gives enhanced abilities but a unique gaming experience in Conquest. Now I do have to say I did not really like Brittany has a character but I felt this was actually a good thing. While I didn’t gel with her I still wanted to learn about it and much as real life off the page you aren’t going to like everyone you meet. While I didn’t like her character she was still a great protagonist for the second instalment.
After getting herself wrapped up in matters of National Security she is ordered to undergo a dangerous procedure rumoured to cause memory loss and dementia. After the painfil experience she awakens inside the Augmented Reality Game Conquest. While the terrain of Conquest remains the same the game has changed drastically and not just because of the rapture-like apocalyptic event that transports players through a portal to an alien planet where a loathsome creature known as the Leviathan preys on the remaining souls to feed it’s insatiable hunger.
Now a First-Person-Shooter setting and more sci-fi than fantasy Brittany comes face to face with many foes in a battle of survival with limited ammunition. But has she beings to level up she is unaware that she is helping carry out the will of the Leviathan and will she learn the error of her ways before it’s too late?
For the second instalment we get a more sci-fi based story with elements of the DOOM games and other First-Person-Shooters. I have to say initially I was not sure I would like this one as much as the first but after the first couple of chapters I was hooked again and could hardly put it down. If you are a gamer and reader then it is hard not to enjoy this series particularly with the level of research and thought gone into the setting.
It really does read partly like a game and then partly like a dystopian novel. The genres are melded again perfectly by Mulder who keeps us guessing. Once again I enjoy how we learn with the characters rather than knowing beforehand what is happening. Another brilliant addition to the collection and I cannot wait for the third book.
The second book in the Conquest Saga continues the brilliant story and introduces Brittany Parker who is a Police Officer for a precinct that has adopted CyberBolt’s implant technology that not only gives enhanced abilities but a unique gaming experience in Conquest. Now I do have to say I did not really like Brittany has a character but I felt this was actually a good thing. While I didn’t gel with her I still wanted to learn about it and much as real life off the page you aren’t going to like everyone you meet. While I didn’t like her character she was still a great protagonist for the second instalment.
After getting herself wrapped up in matters of National Security she is ordered to undergo a dangerous procedure rumoured to cause memory loss and dementia. After the painfil experience she awakens inside the Augmented Reality Game Conquest. While the terrain of Conquest remains the same the game has changed drastically and not just because of the rapture-like apocalyptic event that transports players through a portal to an alien planet where a loathsome creature known as the Leviathan preys on the remaining souls to feed it’s insatiable hunger.
Now a First-Person-Shooter setting and more sci-fi than fantasy Brittany comes face to face with many foes in a battle of survival with limited ammunition. But has she beings to level up she is unaware that she is helping carry out the will of the Leviathan and will she learn the error of her ways before it’s too late?
For the second instalment we get a more sci-fi based story with elements of the DOOM games and other First-Person-Shooters. I have to say initially I was not sure I would like this one as much as the first but after the first couple of chapters I was hooked again and could hardly put it down. If you are a gamer and reader then it is hard not to enjoy this series particularly with the level of research and thought gone into the setting.
It really does read partly like a game and then partly like a dystopian novel. The genres are melded again perfectly by Mulder who keeps us guessing. Once again I enjoy how we learn with the characters rather than knowing beforehand what is happening. Another brilliant addition to the collection and I cannot wait for the third book.
April 13, 2023
At the end of Conquest Ascension, things took a dramatic twist in the life of Allan Young, not only did he find out his true self, but in the events of the last book, he lost his fiancée (I think she might be that, it's a bit complicated). Anyways things went pear shaped and we know that she was disappeared by that bloke Timur. In the midst of all the madness and mayhem of the last book we were introduced to Brittany Parks in a blink and you will miss it kind of scene. She was police woman in the first book who questioned Allan about the disappearance of his not fiancée.
As it happens, Brittany is also a player of the game Conquest, and as the book is written through Brittany's POV we get to see more of the game and also as it metamorphoses from an mmorpg to a mixture of mmorpg and first person shooter.
Not only do we get to see some of the events that happened in the first book. These events are expanded upon and fleshed out and the questions that I had from the first book were answered in this instalment. As the story moves past the first act things take a different turn in the second act as the game and the story take a different direction. We learn more of Leviathan and we get to see more of 'the dark side'.
So, I read these pretty much back to back and was quite immersed in this world and there weren't any gaps in my knowledge.
In Deception, I liked how certain events in the last book were revisited and we got to see them from a different perspective which added nuance to some of the things that happened in the first book and gave that that little bit more depth.
Additionally, it was good to see a new set of characters in the book. I particularly liked Brittany Parker's character in this one. Her character arc was the one that I was most invested in. At some points, I did think that some of the side characters could have done with a bit more fleshing out, but I am not sure if that this is something that is indicative of this sub genre and you eventually get used to it. Especially as I generally read large character driven fantasy.
There is a good mix of action and plot that drives the story along and keeps it engaging, and with Brittany's point of view you get to see other aspects of the world as a whole.
As it happens, Brittany is also a player of the game Conquest, and as the book is written through Brittany's POV we get to see more of the game and also as it metamorphoses from an mmorpg to a mixture of mmorpg and first person shooter.
Not only do we get to see some of the events that happened in the first book. These events are expanded upon and fleshed out and the questions that I had from the first book were answered in this instalment. As the story moves past the first act things take a different turn in the second act as the game and the story take a different direction. We learn more of Leviathan and we get to see more of 'the dark side'.
So, I read these pretty much back to back and was quite immersed in this world and there weren't any gaps in my knowledge.
In Deception, I liked how certain events in the last book were revisited and we got to see them from a different perspective which added nuance to some of the things that happened in the first book and gave that that little bit more depth.
Additionally, it was good to see a new set of characters in the book. I particularly liked Brittany Parker's character in this one. Her character arc was the one that I was most invested in. At some points, I did think that some of the side characters could have done with a bit more fleshing out, but I am not sure if that this is something that is indicative of this sub genre and you eventually get used to it. Especially as I generally read large character driven fantasy.
There is a good mix of action and plot that drives the story along and keeps it engaging, and with Brittany's point of view you get to see other aspects of the world as a whole.
April 20, 2023
After finishing Ascension (Book one) I moved straight into this book which I think was a really good idea as book one was still very fresh in my mind so I knew how this world worked.
Brittany gets herself in a spot of trouble when she begins investigating something she shouldn't and somehow ends up stuck in conquest which has randomly turned into a first person shooter game. As Brittany begins her investigation it clicked why we are following Brittany in this book because at the beginning I wasn’t sure why she was important to this story line.
I’ve never been a huge fan of first person shooter games but I still enjoyed Conquest as a setting and the new characters and monsters that we meet throughout this story. We spend a hell of a lot of time in this game because there has been a rapture-like event where all of the players in the game have been transported to the alien planet this game is based on.
I found it quite funny that no matter how weird the game became, most people still believed they were in the game even though things were happening that shouldn't be.
I had a lot of fun with this one and am looking forward to reading the rest in this series.
Brittany gets herself in a spot of trouble when she begins investigating something she shouldn't and somehow ends up stuck in conquest which has randomly turned into a first person shooter game. As Brittany begins her investigation it clicked why we are following Brittany in this book because at the beginning I wasn’t sure why she was important to this story line.
I’ve never been a huge fan of first person shooter games but I still enjoyed Conquest as a setting and the new characters and monsters that we meet throughout this story. We spend a hell of a lot of time in this game because there has been a rapture-like event where all of the players in the game have been transported to the alien planet this game is based on.
I found it quite funny that no matter how weird the game became, most people still believed they were in the game even though things were happening that shouldn't be.
I had a lot of fun with this one and am looking forward to reading the rest in this series.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews