4X Four Hex: A LitRPG Strategy Series

Avila Online, Book 1

De: Ember Lane

Narrado por: Jack Voraces

One man dominates Avila
Another must take him down or die.

Bilda FOH Smartown has the biggest civilization in Avila. He brings in billions in ad revenue. Everything is branded. For instance, you can partake of a foamy ale in the Troll and Tourniquet pub - sponsored by Texatron Auto-air, the cheapest deals on the best air cars - or pull the lever at the High Summer Hangings - courtesy of Blue Bird Neon. Perhaps you’d like to sponsor a battle and ride with the fiercest centaurs, or hire a bard and seduce a princess. Everything and anything has a price tag in Bilda’s empire. Revenue is king, and coincidently, so is Bilda.

So when Bilda demands his agents take a cut in their percentage, it’s not well received. Especially since they made him what he is.

A bet is made.

A plan is hatched.

Now one man is tasked with building a civilization from nothing, one that must rival Bilda’s, or he’ll be thrown back to the slums he came from, where he’s not particularly welcome, to put it mildly.

Oh, and he’s got six months to do it!

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen when LitRPG and Trading Places meet, then you’re a little odd, but the answer is 4X Four Hex.

Mild cursing - No frolicking - but…

Turn based fighting!

Yes, you heard it right. 4X Four Hex brings turn based fighting to your listening device. Experience the true horror of what it’s like to stand there and wait for your opponent’s strike!

©2020 Ian Thompson (P)2020 Ian Thompson

top quality litrpg

I love strategy, and building type litrpgs and so far Ember Lane has produced some of my very favorites.

This has been a fun book, Jack Voraces narrates with a fervor, he's very good at expressing a characters excitement and trepidation. He could use a slightly broader range to his feminine cast.

This story was fun, it's a bit of a different take on the genre where the main character essentially becomes an extreme reality tv star. So the character is actively trying to be entertaining for the audience, it's a nice meta story that allows the character to essentially talk to the listener directly. It was a fun quirk and I've seen far worse excuses for exposition.

I received a free copy of this book for review purposes at my request, my review is voluntary and unbiased.

Fantastic!

Great story and narration!

Stuck between s rock and a hard place, our MC must topple an empire in a game he has never played (a very well established one, at that) to have a chance at getting a life back. Game on!

Jack kills the narration! Great job!

I loved the premise, and thoroughly enjoyed the book.

I cant wait to find out what happens next!

Good Story, not for me.

The Story of this book was really interesting, that said I can not understate how much I hate the stupid turn based gimmick of this book. First if I was playing full immersive vr identical to real life with turn based pvp I would quit, Second it makes the dex stat useless, Third it actually disadvantages a group but the book trys to make it seem like it helps them, and etc. I mean, I wanted to like this book, but I can't even finish it (was about half through) the whole turn based combat just felt really dumb and like a way to differentiate this from other litrpg s, it's sad because the story was good and there aren't many civ building litrpg that go beyond a town or city and this one seemed like it might.

Enjoyed it

Plot: Mix Trading Places movie with Strategy city building and RPG gaming. I like many LitRPG and this is an interesting take. I enjoyed the town building and most of plot but the combat system was interesting at first but got tiring quickly. I liked the book and like Jack Voraces as a narrator. I would give this book a thumbs up if your looking for a different take on LitRPG.

Good as always but a bit sadistic?

The only issue i had with the book was how the author luxuriates in the beatings. its like he was worried you wouldn't believe how awful the world is.

Luckily there are only like two scenes like that and the rest is as good as the other two books but from a completely dofferent angle.

So I enjoyed this book.

First off I like the aspect of this book it's fun altogether unique litrpg without being Super super stat heavy. Second, the character cast is absolutely fantastic every character that was written-in added just a little something to the book to make it perfect all the way around. The MC was well-written while not being super overpowered but not abundantly week either was a huge Plus for me. Overall I greatly enjoyed the book however I will say this to me the change in POV and the rushed feeling towards the end end was a little bit of a let down. I wish the second book contains the shift in POV being that it was in this book it made the book have a sort of weird transition and definitely gave the book the Rushed feeling all that being said I will still be looking to check out the next book. special note if you've never read a book that Jack Voraces has narrated you're missing out the man is an absolute genius when it comes to doing different characters he truly give them a different personality from one to the other absolutely fantastic job.

Balance town building and turn based fighting

This is a throwback to board games with a lot of little nods To such mode offers as pirate Abba and turtle me with references to their books such as the wandering in If you new to this genre Or have read a lot this will keep you interests it it's a great start to a series that has great potential can't wait for the next one to come out hopefully that will be soon on audible just be aware there is some lag time and the fighting is turn base which can be problematic in trying to convey it its proper context that this is a good read That if you just sitting around the patio just wanna listen to something that's has some good Amount of Town building and fighting

Wow! The combat mechanics and hex system is so cool

Okay, I really love LITRPG. There are so many forms, tower, dungeon, etc. this hex system one is a great adaptation and is so well done. The building, the battle mechanics, just amazing how well it’s done. And I have to say the pvp and how combat freezes since it’s turn based is just gut wrenching in regards to the anticipation. This was really well done and one of the few that one of my teen kids asked, hey dad which one is this so I can download it and listen to the whole thing (they are forced to listen to books while I drive). Well written well narrated and the mechanics of the games are so well integrated. Can’t wait to get the rest of em. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher

A Fantastic take on the 4x LITPRG

I really liked this book, the story was interesting without being overly convoluted, it progressed well and had a good resolution.
The narration was fantastic and all the characters were interesting.
Overall, I'm excited for the next book.

Fun writing and ambitious project.

First, I really appreciate how Ember Lane is willing to step outside the most common formulas for LitRPG and keep things fresh. This story could have easily been quite dark, but he employs several strategies that don't push it all the way to a comedy but keep the story from taking itself too seriously. Our MC (primary MC?) fits the loveable idiot mold, but not completely so. He is a bit slow to catch on at times, but at least he does catch on. Here we get just a bite of what will clearly be a very large overall story. World building is very well done, giving listeners a good feel for the world both in and out of the game. Major characters are also well developed, to the point where we get a very clear and sometimes frightful image of characters (here's looking at you Mrs. Mort). Turn-based combat was also a very ambitious undertaking and clearly conveys the frustration when characters are in the middle of it. This story is certainly worth the listen or read.

The narration is where I had some mixed feelings. On one hand, it was done with plenty of energy, treated as a performance, and had enough range to know who was talking. A couple of the narrator's voice choices made me cringe. I don't mean that he couldn't do the voices well, but some felt dramatically at odds with my personal image of the character. (i.e. a young attractive female character sounding more like an excessively intoxicated leprechaun with a long white beard down to his ankles.) Overall though, it is evident the narrator is very skilled and worked hard to make this an engaging listen.

I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.