Guild: A LitRPG Novella

Monsters, Maces and Magic, Book 3

By: Terry W. Ervin II

Narrated by: Jonathan Waters

Length: 2 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

You can’t hide in an RPG forever.

Eighteen years ago, Tom, a barber college student, got trapped in the Monsters, Maces and Magic game world as Josiah the thief.

The first two adventures saw all of Tom’s party members, also trapped within the game world, perish within the fetid depths of the Dark Heart Swamp. His subsequent stint adventuring with NPCs proved short lived. He preferred survival.

Over time, Tom became Josiah, adopting a life blending in with the game world’s NPCs. He gave up advancing as a thief, trained as a lay healer, and works as a barber, cutting hair, pulling teeth, lancing boils, and functioning as a low-level operative within the local thieves’ guild.

But life, even one lived as a faux NPC, can get interesting. Such happens when a young half-goblin thief named Gurk shows up in Josiah’s shop, looking for information. Little did the pair know that the unobtrusive barber shop would become a focal point in a brewing guild war.

©2018 Terry W. Ervin II (P)2018 Gryphonwood Press

A Great LitRPG Listen!

This was a fun book to listen to. Although I haven't listened to or read the first two books, I was able to enjoy this book. I do think having listened to or read the first two would have made this one even better, it can be listened to as a stand alone. I loved the characters, the world, storyline, and overall feel of the story. If you enjoy fantasy, LitRPG and/or D&D then you really should check out this book. The narration was superbly done. Jonathan Waters gave each character their own voice and emotions. He has a nice voice and read at a good pace. I feel Mr Waters really brought the story to life and truly enhanced the listening experience. I'll be recommending this book to my friends and looking into getting the first two books.

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Fantastic

This was a great Litrpg title. The author did a fantastic job bringing the characters and world to life. The Narrator was spot on when it came to each individual character and kept me involved the whole time. The biggest telling point is that I had to go back and pick up the first two books just to follow the whole story. I received a free copy of this audio in return for an unbiased review.

Fantastic addition to the series

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This is a great novella in the series. It doesn't follow the normal cast of characters we've grown used to in books 1 & 2, but a side character. That being said, I really quite liked the different perspective and how it tied into the main story. I thought it adds depth to the world building the author has done and am eager to see where things go from here. The narration was great and definitely kept me thoroughly entertained. It is only 4 hours, but well worth the listen, in my opinion.

An excellent short story for MM&M

I’m going to be honest. When I first saw the description for this book I was a touch disappointed, I didn’t see any mention of our party from the main series, and this looked to be an internalized battle between different guilds. I knew that with Ervin it would be good, I just wanted more of my good old adventuring party. So I started this with some trepidation.

Guild is a great gamelit short story that tells the tale of our adventuring party from the Mazes, Magic, and Monsters series from the perspective of another player who has been lost in the game for some time. The MC, is a thief who has gone semi-legit, working as a barber surgeon in that wonderful city of hills, but still keeps his toe in the seamier side of the underworld. Life as a non-adventurer hasn’t been bad, but it doesn’t seem to be as fulfilling as he’d of liked. Still, Josiah (the MC) has lived a life free of monsters and mayhem so he’s satisfied.
That is until the night everyone’s favorite half goblin strolls into his barber shop looking to get a haircut. Turns out Gurk is just in time to help Josiah battle against a rival guild that has targeted his establishment to serve as an example.
I have to say that I really liked this treatment of the group from another character’s perspective, and the question I kept waiting to be answered was whether or not he would cotton onto the realization that they were players trapped just he was. I won’t say if he does or not. What I did enjoy was getting the realization that Josiah had noticed Player Characters, i.e. characters that were actually operated from the other side of the veil so to speak. Players that manipulated their characters like puppets, and that one NPC was more than likely a former PC who had been abandoned by her player. That is just smart and creative gamelit hitting the pages. Seriously, some thought has gone into this book, and I ate it up. It helps that Josiah is fun and interesting, and that his takes on the “main” party are very observant and give the listener a very different spin on things in their world.
The story is pretty short, and basically just centers around Gurk having gone to see Josiah in the hopes of learning about his cursed dagger. All the action centers on what happens between the two of them, initial meeting down to the appraisal, and I have to say that I really loved this book. Normally, I get antsy when an author sort of abandons their main team in favor of a side quest, but this works in a lot of ways. First, because it includes the main party, secondly, because it is a short story and furthers the original story line.
Waters carries the story on able shoulders, and I have come to really appreciate his ability to tell a tale. He’s really made this his series, and I love his interpretation of Gurk. Oh, and I have to admit that he really played Josiah like a weary old player.
Kudos to Ervin for centering more on the half gobbling and not rotating between him and the gnome. Gurk is far more interesting, and is more fun to listen to and I think that he and Josiah mesh pretty well together.

Final score? This is a solid 8.1 stars. It adds to the main series, and fleshes out the game world in a wonderfully sublimated way that doesn’t smack you over the head. I really enjoyed this, I think you will to.

As seen on the Litrpg Audiobook Podcast!

Great Story!💜

What a fun and fantastic way to introduce a new character. I’m excited to see more of him.
The narration is wonderful. He does an amazing job on all the many unique characters.
This is book 3 in this series.
I recommend this book/series.

Sisters Spotlight 💜

A great little sidequest for our group.

The time spent in town was filled with action, and seems to set up events that will be taking place down the road.

The characters, writing, and narration remain strong throughout, and I look forward to what is to come.

good short listen

A good short book. Despite having not having read the previous books in this series I was easily able to follow along and enjoy the story, no doubt it would have been even better had I read the prior books. Realistic well fleshed out characters that you can relate to. The mc wasnt op, invincible and didnt fall into any of the common trope which was great.The author did a fantastic job bringing the characters and world to life. I wish it had been longer as it was deeply enjoyable. I look forward to reading more from this author. Good prose, good flow of the story, great world building with no info dumps.
Narrator was great. Good pacing, a good voice, good vocal range, clear and concise enunciation.

short story

very short story but good performance and give a good view from another character's point of view

A Fun Addition to the Series, wish it was Longer!

Guild is an enjoyable side-story set in the Monsters, Maces, and Magic world. The main protagonist this time is Tom / Josias, another player from the 'real world', who was transported into the fantasy realm almost twenty years earlier. Having lost his entire party not long after they'd arrived, he's given up on adventuring and runs a barbershop within Three Hills City, while also working as a low-level contact within the Thieves Guild. This novella does see our heroes from the previous works return, albeit this time as supporting characters. An interesting perspective from Josias comes from his assumption that, given how the members of the party talk, they are PCs or 'player characters', meaning someone in the real world is controlling them, like one would in a gaming session. This leads to the question of whether Josias is simply trapped within a game, or if it is alternate universe, like our main-story protagonists reckon.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novella, though like some readers, I really wish it had been longer. Josias, the former thief / retired adventurer, is a fascinating character, who I hope turns up again in future volumes. The ending did feel a bit abrupt, though it is a credit to the story that I did not wish for it to end. I view this as a bit of a 'world building' tale, used to add depth to side characters within the larger narrative, as well as the world they live in. Given Tom / Josias' perspective as someone who was transported from the real world (who has no idea if there may be others) and has lived within this realm for nearly two decades, we are left with a lot of open-ended questions that leave the reader longing to read more.

As expected, Jonathan Waters' narration fails to disappoint. It is for this reason that I am continuing with the audiobook versions of this series. I look forward to Book Four!

Different Point of View

This story takes place in the same world as the other MM&M stories but features a new character as the narrator/protagonist. Sure, our favorite goblin thief Kirby shows up, but this is not his story.

I found it a little disconcerting at first but the story is well written and Waters does a good job of voicing the new characters.

What this short story does do, however, is introduce the idea that maybe there isn't a way out of the game and maybe in-game death is permanent. It definitely made me think.

While I would rather have had a full length novel, this short story at least kept me interested in the world and gave me some insight that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise through Glen's eyes.

Give it a listen while waiting for book 4.

loved this one too

i enjoy the characters, the story is well written and rich of details. narration is faultless. love the series! narration was faultless

Great series

Love reading/listening to this author.
I really enjoyed this story, thankyou.
Narrator is great also.
Now reading next book.

Length

It is a very short compared to the previous books like betrayal so I finished it a lot quicker which I don’t like I prefer longer books and this one is kind of like a short story rather than a novel