Viridian Gate Online: The Jade Lord

The Viridian Gate Archives, Book 3

By: James A. Hunter

Narrated by: Armen Taylor

It's been a busy month for thirty-two-year-old Jack Mitchel.

Three weeks ago, he died.

Two weeks ago, he founded the first Faction in the ultra-immersive, fantasy-based VRMMORPG, Viridian Gate Online.

A week and a half ago the world ended, destroyed by a cataclysmic asteroid.

Seven days ago, he conquered the Imperial city of Rowanheath, bringing all of Eldgard to the brink of war.

Though Jack's Faction, the Crimson Alliance, has a tenuous truce with tech genius and Imperial lord, Robert Osmark, Jack knows it can't last. Osmark is devious and power hungry, and it's only a matter of time before he sends his forces to wipe Jack and his underdog crew off the map for good.

If Jack hopes to survive another month inside of VGO, he must find a way to beat Osmark and his army of bloodthirsty thugs, and a new quest—the Path of the Jade Lord—may be just the ticket. But this quest will be far harder than anything Jack's faced before, pushing him to his mental, physical, and moral limits. And if Jack isn't careful, his quest to defeat Osmark and the Empire may end up turning him into the despot he's been fighting against.

©2017 James A. Hunter and Shadow Alley Press, Inc. (P)2017 J.A. Hunter and Shadow Alley Press

Huge plot holes and lazy story development

Great narration – poor story.

The premise is good, but the writing is way too formulaic. Plot holes – ugh, plot holes and lazy writing for days!

So the main character is supposed to be an experienced gamer, but is constantly making mistakes that would make even a casual gamer cringe.

He is presented as this genius smart guy, and all of his friends and associates are impressed with his ideas, strategy, and wit. He makes ridiculous far fetched plans and decisions that always work out, but when faced with simple problems with glaring answers are presented to him, he ALWAYS (as in every single time) makes the obviously bad choice and has to be bailed out by his friends or “barely scrape through.”

Let's talk about his outlook/attitude: he flips between arrogantly cocky, a beacon of virtue, even keeled, constantly second guessing himself, and full of self doubt. Instead of choosing a character mentality (smart guy, cocksure asshole, Mr. Virtue, emo kid, etc.) the author tried to do it all, and it leaves you with a bi-polar, sometimes schizophrenic who is frequently high on coffee and sugar. Be ready for some whiplash.

Is there a serious/semi-serious fight happening? Things start off well – take a turn for the worst – and right at that point where things are going to go terribly wrong or maybe somehow work out – this is when the main character decides to ponder the meaning of life – or the price of beans – or what his favorite color is or should be (you know – to build suspense) – then he makes the right choice and hooray it somehow works out. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

It is very frustrating because the premise is great, and the overarching story isn't bad either. It is the details that ruin this series.

Does it get better later on in the series?

No.

It doesn't.

The author uses the same old formulas and patterns over and over. Which is a shame because with just a little bit of rewriting this could be one of the best series in the genera. It really had that much potential, but I'm 5 books in and it is just the same pattern repeating endlessly.

Better and Better

Viridian Gate Online: The Jade Lord
By J.A. Hunter
361 pages

This is a LitRPG book set in a medieval world after a cataclysmic event obliterates most living things on earth.

This is the third book of the series, and it keeps the action going. The main character, Jack, decides he will try to make this new world a better place for everyone. The creator of the game world has crowned himself emperor over all, and that is not OK with Jack. He decides to go on a mega-quest where failure is not an option. It will be the most challenging thing he has done yet. The quest tests his limits and really delves into the core of his beliefs for what is right and wrong. There is tons of action and suspense throughout this book, and series so far. A fun read. I really like how the author describes things in detail. It adds depth to the situation he describes that makes the reader really get into the scene.

gamers delight

If you're not a gamer, then the regular gaming announcements might become a little unnerving for their repetition... But if you're a gamer, it just makes you feel more like you're in the game... Totally enjoying this series. Good move on audible for making first because now I'm going to buy the rest 😁 generally fantastic performance by the narrator

Another outstanding installment!

Wow, just wow! What will GrimJack and crew do next? This is a fantastic series and I can't wait to start the next one. Five stars all around. I highly recommend it to anyone!

Each one getting better

Enjoyed this book even more than 1st two books.
Characters more filled out. Characters existence within the VGO discussed for first time.
Looking forward tobnext book.