Aced: The First Set

Aced, Book 1

De: Jonathan Smidt

Narrado por: Ryan H. Reid, Annie Ellicott, Jeff Hays

Like many teenagers, there's a lot about Daniel Meadows' life that's out of his control. For example, having to start in a new school district for his freshman year of high school thanks to his dad's new job. Inside the realm of his control, however, is the decision to try a brand-new sport purely to impress a girl.

But the day of tennis tryouts proves far more fateful than Dan ever could have imagined, when a failed attempt by Truck-kun and the powers that be to kill him and transport his consciousness to a fantasy realm leaves him on Earth with miraculous abilities instead.

Stuck on his boring home planet with magical powers to harness and learn, Dan finds himself in a unique situation. Will he use his powers for greatness? Will he abuse them? Or will he simply use them to become the greatest tennis player ever just to chase the girl of his dreams?

Who knows? After all, its freshman year and he's got a long way to go. This slice-of-life tennis LitRPG serves up progression, sports, and fun in one hilarious series.

©2024 Portal Books (P)2024 Soundbooth Theater

tennis videogame?

onlything i dislike is the 2nd isn't out yet. an amazing book and I want more

Litrpg Tennis

The best litrpg about a guy failing to get isekai’ed and playing tennis on Earth with superpowers I’ve ever read. Granted I’ve only read the one and if I read another and had a nickel for each I’d have 2 nickels, which isn’t a lot but it would be weird that it happened twice. The story and characters were interesting and I learned more about tennis than I ever wanted to without feeling like there were many info dumps.

Surprisingly Heartfelt and Delightfully Funny

I knew some of the author’s work, so I was excited to give this one a try. The concept at first gave me a mix of wary and intrigued feelings. But MAN did it deliver! I’m SO glad I gave it a try. Jeff Hays as the voice in the main character’s head is, of course, hilarious and spot on. The main narrator, Ryan H. Reid, gives a performance unlike I’ve heard from him before. He gives the MC such a relatable voice, which has to be hard as the kid is 14 and going through all the changes that life serves up (pun intended) during that time. The combo of the writing with Ryan’s narration even made me tear up at parts. Wonderful all around. Looking forward to the next one!

A cannonball of a novel

Aced is a grand slam of a debut novel that serves up a winning combination of humor, heart, and heroism. With a narrative that's both witty and wise, Jonathan masterfully volleys a story that's equal parts entertaining and inspiring. The characters are richly narrated and relatable, with Ryan, Jeff and Annie making it easy to become invested in their journeys. The writing is crisp and engaging, with a pace that's both swift and satisfying, like a well-placed ace. Whether you're a fan of coming-of-age stories, sports, or just great storytelling in general, Aced is a must-read. It's a faultless book that will leave you feeling uplifted and eager for the next installment.

Great story and new take on litrpg

I loved that it was different than the normal doomsday or fantasy litrpg stories. Had great character development. For me it was nostalgic and reminded me of when I played tennis as a kid

This is it!

This series is amazing! Have you ever wondered what it would be like to experience a story that takes place here and now yet still has lit RPG elements? Then this story is for you. This feels like the tennis version of Haikyuu or Kurokos’s Basketball.

This does take place in a high school setting with similar high school tropes though the focus is of course tennis. Keep in mind that they do go in the detail on various tennis techniques, as well as how the game played, which I very much appreciated since I’m not too familiar with the sport. The next chapter in the series can’t come quickly enough so I’ll be preordering as soon as it’s available.

I wasn’t a tennis fan….

But holy heck did Jonathan Smidt capture the essence of the sport and twisted it on its head with an flair so furious it made my head spin

sin is the best guide

the only reason I picked this up was because it was narrated by sbt. Sin made it amazing and the narration was top notch

Made me want to try and watch tennis

either the author loves Tennis or he is amazing at pretending to :)

the amount of research and knowledge is impressive, yet it never gets in the way of the story.
simply a spice to give detail and edge to the action.

other than a breath of tennis knowledge, there's also great writing, humour and a twist on the world to keep you interested...

as to the narration, this is a SBT standard, so better than 99% of productions out there.
and it is a production in the best way, you can tell a breath of people have put their time, love and energy into this book, from the voices to the editing

Promising Start, But Needs More Player Logic

Overall, Aced was a solid listen. The LitRPG elements are handled well, and I liked the school setting where Dan, the main character, has to navigate both freshman-year awkwardness and the sudden powers he gains after an Isekai-style accident. The premise—where a cosmic being accidentally grants Dan superhuman, game-like abilities without killing him—is clever and sets up some fun progression moments.

It reminded me a lot of Player Manager by Ted Steel, especially the mix of sports and system mechanics. Ironically, the best scene in Aced is when Dan can’t play tennis for a week and ends up playing soccer—like an absolute prodigy. It’s dynamic, exciting, and really shows how good this story could be. Unfortunately, that only makes the rest of the book’s focus on tennis feel a bit flat. Superpowers and tennis just don’t mix as naturally as soccer or combat might.

My bigger gripe is that Dan’s supposed to be a gamer, yet he never acts like one. The system literally tracks every skill he performs, but he never experiments or tries to game the mechanics. A real gamer would be out there testing limits—throwing footballs, lifting weights, trying everything to see what raises stats. Dan just… doesn’t. For someone handed a real-life RPG interface, he’s surprisingly uncurious.

Then there’s the tone: Dan spends a lot of time whining despite being given the world. And the cosmic power who caused all this? Honestly, a bit cringe. The forced humor and random “Happiness +2” pop-ins killed the pacing and undercut some otherwise solid moments.

Still, Aced is a promising start. The world-building works, the narration is great, and there’s potential here if the author tightens the logic and tones down the awkward humor. I’ll grab Book 2, but I’m hoping some of these issues get patched out—because the framework for a great series is absolutely here.