Edge of Reality

Phantom Server Trilogy, Book 1

By: Andrei Livadny

Narrated by: Todd McLaren

He is a cyber dweller. A gamer who's grown up in the web of virtual illusion woven from hundreds of phantom worlds. His biggest dream is to dump the real world for good.

His desperate hunger for new experiences forces him to take a risk and become one of the first proud owners of a neuronet implant. The new gadget becomes part of him, but soon it's not enough. If only he could finally burn all his bridges and make a step beyond the real world....

He soon gets this opportunity. A new universe, overflowing with mystery and unimaginable, mind-blowing authenticity, opens up before him.

This is Phantom Server. The game of the future where your pursuit of an adrenaline rush soon turns into a battle for survival. But the most terrifying mystery lies ahead, when you gradually start to realize that this is a road of no return. Your every decision may become your last. Your every step leads you further along the abyss between life and death.

©2015 Andrei Livadny. English translation copyright 2015 by Irene Woodhead and Neil P. Mayhew (P)2016 Tantor

good read

love the symmetry of the story. really worth the time, suggest looking into this one

Solid

One of the early translated Russian LitRPG titles. It's a bit like a machine itself. I didn't connect with the story on an emotional level but it was mentally engaging. Solid like a well maintained machine. I enjoyed listening to it again for my 3rd time.

Good story, story progression.

fast, enjoyable, entertaining. I like that the author understands games and gaming. Good listen. Shew

Just awesome

really enjoyed it, can't wait for the next one. Author did a great job of pulling you in.

I did not think this book would be so good.

Was great from start to finish. downloading the next one now! It's a different kind of story but I loved it.

wonderful surprise. . like it..

Very well written and great story .. enjoyed it very much. character was real and faced lots of challenges. . was cool to watch him grow

Fantastic, great translation and voiceover

This book does nearly everything right, avoids the traps that many of these Russian "VR MMORPG" dramas fall into, is beautifully written, excellently voiced, and excellently translated. There was precisely ONE moment in the whole book where the translation made my eyes cross (frequently, I find myself wishing the translator would find a thesaurus in other books. Not so, here).
Ordered the sequel by the time I was three quarters through.

ear capturing

for a MMORPG future book could not stop listening to this. it was well written action-packed. I just hope I don't have to wait too long for multiple books to come out.

Cool world

I really enjoyed the word, chars, and the quick progression. It didn’t seem rushed for a shorter book and was just fun to listen to over all.

Great idea with illogical and mediocre plot

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The setup and theme of gaming integration perspective had been interesting and has potential for many stories.
The main plot is the most distracting part of the book and broke the immersive theme completely. The plot made no sense and developed the story in a bubble not thinking of the implications of the technology and what would accompany the tech, resulting in a plot that had not been thoroughly thought out, going in a direction my mind would not follow.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator handled male voices relatively well with good range but female voices were flat and indistinguishable.