EverRealm: A LitRPG Novel

Level Dead ,Book 1

By: Jake Bible

Narrated by: Jeff Hays

Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

From Bram Stoker nominated author Jake Bible, comes an exciting new LitRPG adventure series!

In the 23rd century, the world is at an end, and a group of gaming and programming friends decide that their only way to survive is to discard their bodies, and send their minds into the quantum matrix of a virtual gaming world. They have created the Domains, and there they plan to reside forever.

Except, the nightmares of reality have followed them into their new quantum dimension, and those nightmares threaten to destroy it all!

Now it is up to one of them to help navigate the quantum platform known as EverRealm, a fantasy MMORPG of epic proportions, in order to complete a quest he neither wants to complete nor knows how. With the help of his friends, and a lot of luck, he will have to face trials and tribulations like he's never faced as a player! Because now it is no longer a matter of Game Over, but of life or death!

Can he survive it all and come out a winner? The only way he'll know is if he plays the game to the bitter end!

©2017 Jake Bible (P)2017 Jake Bible

Zombie appocolypse genre, meet the LitRPG genre.

Wow. Just wow, this is a fun, confusing, strange book. Its kind of like when you were a kid playing with different figures in a sand box just slapping cowboys and transformers together and having a blast. To be honest I was expecting a LitRPG book with zombies in it, but what I got was a zombie book with LitRPG stuffed inside of it and for the most part it works surprisingly well. Most of the characters have their own things going on and get fleshed out enough to get a feel for them. For its part the world our protagonist gets in is interesting if a bit cliché. All in all it has a lot of potential as a series. I'm looking forward to seeing if a book 2 is going to come out anytime soon.

very good series start

it's a great series beginning book though the slightly faster pace and overstepping of things like emotions may turn some away. personally I loved it though :)

Now I've Heard Everything

Any additional comments?

I think Jake Bible has taken a shot at about every genre. This time it is role playing lit and zombies. It actually holds together pretty well and is entertaining with a bit of strained credulity. Talking dogs and intelligent zombies keep things moving along with a bit of romance as well. The book is well narrated by Jeff Hays.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

My first journey into LitRPG...quite enjoyable!

In the near future the world is in deep trouble. The undead infest the planet and nowhere is safe anymore. A group of gaming and programming friends find a way programmatically to immerse themselves in the gaming domains. They must forego their human bodies and will reappear in the game to live out their lives as characters within the game. They decide that the possibility of death must be an option to keep things real, so if they die in the game…that’s game over. They thought they would avoid the undead apocalypse on earth, but instead the dead manage to enter the game also. There is plenty of action much like an undead apocalypse novel. I found it quite enjoyable and decided I would look into more of these LitRPG category novels. I recommend this novel if you are a fan of the undead apocalypse. This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Phenomenal!!!

Absolutely hilarious fresh take on litrpg a bit light on loot and stats but well worth anyone's time hope to see more soon.

A fresh take on the LitRPG genre

*This book was given to me by the author at my request, and I provided this voluntary, unbiased review.*

4.9/5

Yet another unique style of story in the LitRPG genre. Just a tad different in that it's not stat based, but still falls well within the LitRPG stylings. I fully enjoyed the ride of this story, and I was rooting for them the whole time - especially the quirky MC. The stakes are more real in this adventure than in some of the other LitRPG stories i've read, so I think that is what sets this one apart from some of the others and what makes it so fun and nerve-racking to read! The narration was also good as well. I definitely recommend this book!

EverRealm

Which character – as performed by Jeff Hays – was your favorite?

Loved Kip

Any additional comments?

This was an okay story with a unique take on the zombie apocalypse. I didn't really like the main character. Jeremy was just straight creepy. I generally like Jeff's performance and this one is no exception. I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom for my unbiased review.

Ehh

So I don’t really think it’s an over all great book. It’s an ehhh 7 hours long and they don’t get into the game until 2.5 hours in. No game mechanics discussed (other than you can’t talk bad about the game) and only mildly described. In general I don’t really think I’d call it a litrpg it’s closer to a character going to another plane kinda thing.

I’d give it between a 2.5-3 stars over all but if you like the zombie kinda thing... you might push it up a bit more. To me it almost feels like a ohh litrpg is new and people are buying everything put out so I’m going to try to get into that market.

After getting into it I don’t even feel the author is a gamer of any sort. Not even a pen and paper gamer. Gamers like stats... the book gives no stats and the main character after getting one damage notification removes that completely as well. The closest it comes to talking about stats is % str is at 45% it took a bit for me to understand it’s like health if he gets tied his stamina goes down % but you never hear raw numbers just the %. If he plays games it might be old shooters or some other game with no stats at all listed.

Very entertaining, Great voices and energy !!!

What made the experience of listening to EverRealm: A LitRPG Novel the most enjoyable?

The worst was the language, too much cursing and free sex. The best was the variety of personalities and character that the narrator brings to the table.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Steve, the main character. He was relate-able until the crazy sex stuff.

Which scene was your favorite?

When the trolls came and Steve and his girlfriend new they were going to get killed. Their reaction was priceless. any more would be a plot buster.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

not necessary but could.

Any additional comments?

It makes me want to get more of the books this narrator does. He is good.

If you like zombie books

This was a tough book to review as I have liked the previous works produced by Jake Bible.  As one of the main characters says early on in the book, “It’s complicated…”  Mr. Bible’s writing style is often unique and each of his stories brings action, adventure, and excitement.  However, that was not the case with his recent releases into the Literary Role Playing Game (LitRPG) genre with “EverRealm”.  Even with a weak story, the audiobook edition is expertly narrated by Jeff Hays.  It is the first book in what is to become the “Level Dead” series.  Bible blends the lines with this book and it appears I’m not the only one confused as to the category the book belongs.  It is part virtual game, part zombie apocalypse, along with a blending of Family Guy and South Park.  Vulgar language flows freely and at times may even make a trucker or sailor blush; no offence to those two professions.  There are few RPG element, too much slap-stick, and more undead than you can shake a stick at.  For me, it is too much over the top humor and not enough focus on the core genre mechanics; something most who enjoy the LitRPG genre are looking for.  It is difficult for me to recommend this book unless you are looking for more of a humorous zombie (or undead) survival story wrapped in a fantasy veneer.

Because the story revolves mostly around the undead, it has a bit darker than many of the other LitRPG books I have listened too.  It is amazing the number of undead who appear to love their technology in this book.  Not only do we have zombies, but the book includes trolls, orcs, dragons, and automatons; or robots.  In this rather unique world of the undead taking over and people becoming fodder, our party of survivors set out to live in a new virtual world that does not have any undead.  But wait, an event occurs releasing a hoard of zombies into this previously pristine fantasy world, and our party is now forced to fight to survive.  I enjoyed a few of the humorous parts the author included such as Hollow the undead pet Schnauzer, Bubby the mythical aunt, along with the family of trolls.  There is also a fair amount of banter between characters of the party.  The author adds a decent amount of interesting and unique magical items found by the characters on their journeys. Who does not like a dragon with a slogan such as “fire fixes everything”, or a ranger character who doesn’t know how to track, forage, or understand the importance of a forest.  However, the use of modern vulgar language and how much it gushed from all the characters ruined the fantasy world feel for me.   The book included aspects of romance, but even this was minimized to the act of sex and did not really develop into what I would consider a deep loving relationship.

The book is exceptionally narrated by Jeff Hays and even though the material was lacking, the narration was top notch.  For those accustom to his work, Jeff narrates the many different characters, including female ones, with ease.  He gives the characters life by breathing in to them unique personalities making each easily distinguishable while listening.  Jeff’s works always go above and beyond by including special sound effects for a few of the characters.  I did not observe any issues with the quality of the audio itself.  A professional narration even when the book’s story is a bit weaker than I would have liked it to be.

For parents and younger audiences, be aware this book contains heavy use of crude and vulgar language.  It also contains topics involving sex along with multiple uses of sexual innuendos and crass humor.  If you are not a fan of Family Guy type humor, I recommend you keep your distance from this book.

In summary, the book’s concept, setup and overall premise had such potential I was looking forward to listening to it.  However, the light-hearted or comedic parts seemed to clog the stage where it should have been the story, the game, and the characters getting all the attention.  It is not a bad book, but if you go into it thinking you are getting a great LitRPG, you may be disappointed; as I was.  If you like zombie books containing a pile of vulgar words and crass humor, this may be the book for you.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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