Viridian Gate Online: Sharper's Coin

The Illusionist, Book 4

By: D.J. Bodden, James Hunter

Narrated by: Daniel Thomas May

Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Love can make a man do terrible things.

Somewhere within the Library, a clock is winding down. With Wendy safe, Alan needs to focus on paying his debt to the Plague Doctors of Wyrdtide by the end of the month. But a slip of the tongue doubles the amount, turning a hard task into an impossible one.

His only option is to ask the master of assassins for work. But murder for money isn't the only thing Alan needs to worry about. The gods are upset with him, his old colleagues want him dead, and the Circle of Brewers is hiding more than the secrets of Alchemy.

And there's something else, something deadlier, and it's reaching through time to seize everything Alan loves in its fist. Try as he might, it may have been too late from the start.

From James A. Hunter—author of the Viridian Gate Online, Rogue Dungeon, Bibliomancer, and the Shadowcroft Academy for Dungeons series—and D.J. Bodden, author of The Starborn Heir, comes an epic new entry into the Expanded Universe of Viridian Gate Online that you won't want to pause!

©2022 Shadow Alley Press Inc (P)2022 Shadow Alley Press Inc

Good as the other books

Ngl I thought we weren’t getting a 4th book but I’m glad I was wrong. The story is as great as the others and you won’t be disappointed although, withought spoiling anything, I will say something happens in the book that’s mind blowing but was kind of badly executed or rather revealed at the wrong time. Other than that it’s a good listen all n all and worth the credit.

Fantastic spinoff

Vgo in its whole is an amazing series and this spin off in my opinion was the best giving us a look before the main series happens and how this all started voice acting was good as well Narrator did a hell of a job 100% already/do reccomend

Viridian Gate Online

I really enjoy James A. Hunter’s expert storytelling skills they shine as he weaves together a thrilling narrative filled with action, suspense, and mystery. The well-developed characters, led by the flawed yet compelling protagonist Jack Kross, draw you into their world, while the vivid world-building brings the in-game settings to life. The audiobook’s pacing, strategic battles, and clever plot twists keep you hooked from start to finish. Whether you’re a gaming enthusiast or simply enjoy a gripping tale, Sharpers Coin audiobook delivers an unforgettable adventure that will leave you eagerly awaiting the next installment.

amazing

I was surprised to see where this series was going and now I can't wait to read more.

hopefully not the end

I listened to the viridian gate archives first and then picked this up. so there are some moments where info from that book comes into play and some stuff from this book plays into that series. I definitely recommend going through both series and hell even osmarks single one off book.

Another great addition

I really love Alan’s story in the VGO universe so it was fun to finally get another entry in the series. The characters are cool and fun while the story was entertaining and kept me listening straight until I finished. The narration was really well done.

An entertaining entry in the Illusionist Series

I think I've listened to all of the VGO books released at this point, and of all of them I've enjoyed the Illusionist series books the most. This book continues that trend. Humorous and seemingly a bit more mature than the rest of the canon, Alan's adventures continue to provide a new spin on the franchise.

Alan Campbell continues his adventures in VGO, unknowingly setting into motions events which will reverberate throughout the VGO franchise. Driven by the debts that he incurred at the end of the last entry in the series, Alan scrambles for any job that will pay and finds that assassination might just pay the bills.

It's not an unalloyed success though. I've read complaints of fiction set in video games can suffer from low stakes. I don't always agree with that viewpoint, but Sharper's coin compounds the problem exponentially. In trying to set up a future conflict (somewhat necessary, since the central conflict of the VGO series up to this point has been resolved in the main series of books), it is revealed that the entire Illusionist Series up to this point has been Alan running through a simulation of events from a point in the future. This deals a fatal blow to any narrative tension that the book was building, and is dealt with extremely inconsistently - sometimes view point character Alan is seemingly aware of the simulation, and sometimes not. Worse, that awareness affects the simulation in ways that don't quite follow. As an example, Alan in the simulation makes a choice that slightly differs from what is later established to be the "real" timeline. Later, the fact that he's in a simulation causes him to act in a way that he can't have acted in reality, tipping off a simulated character as to the nature of their reality, which leads to that initial choice having fatal consequences in the simulation. Alan then resets, negating the first choice and marveling at its impact. But the choice had no impact, it was simulated Alan's involuntary deviation (acting in ways he can't have the first time around) that threw things off. But Alan himself is seemingly unaware of this, despite being in a position where he really should know better.

Long story short, it's an interesting scenario and entertainingly told, but it's not being handled terribly deftly. With that said, I enjoyed my time with the book and look forward to the next entry. While Alan's eventual fate may be seemingly sealed (barring some narrative tap dancing about the nature of the simulation), the how of it has yet to be revealed, and there's a plethora of side characters to be invested in. If you've enjoyed the VGO series in general, or the Illusionist books so far, it's certainly worth a listen.

I love this storyline.

Honestly, I think Allen’s story is more interesting than the original story line. I hope they keep going with this.

Anything VGO is amazing

If you live LITRPG or fantasy of any type than all the VGO tales are a must for you. I’ve listened to or read almost all of them and not one has disappointed. The universe is so well developed and the characters are amazing. Truly amazing. And the audio? Out of this world and a great way to pass the time listening.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

More story than development..

I was excited to get another Illusionist book in the series, but it seems there was NO development of abilities at all.. Most of these talents/skills seem to be Level 1, but he has the power to “trick/fool” or affect players/monsters that are much higher in level and ability than he is. Honestly, very disappointed.. However, the ONLY thing that saved it was the narrator.