Neverfall: Mark of the Hero

A Gamelit Lit RPG Series, Book 1

By: C. Wintertide

Narrated by: Tim McKiernan

Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

Four friends go on a quest to save players trapped in Neverfall Online, a virtual reality MMORPG, in this multi-book adventure saga.

Luke Stevens’ three best friends are leaving their hometown for college, but he must stay home to care for his mother, who is dying of cancer.

He has accepted his fate, but just as in the video games they love, Luke and his friends are given a real-life quest that changes their lives forever. Dr. Armitage, a secretive man linked with an immersive fantasy role-playing technology, has tracked Luke down to give him a dangerous mission: to rescue the several-hundred beta testers who cannot log out of the cyber world.

Luke’s companions won’t let him go alone. All four students are assured that they will be transported into the game at the highest level so they can easily defeat the Dark Lord and reset the world of Neverfall.

But when they enter the game, Luke and his friends all begin at Level one: defenseless, poor, and powerless. The party must level up as though their lives depend on it, for it’s not just a game.  

Luke, Cassie, Mac, and Christopher must stay alive because though the world is virtual, the deaths are very real…

About the author

C. Wintertide has logged thousands of hours playing not only video game RPGs such as Skyrim and The Witcher, but also DM-ing Dungeons & Dragons. The only thing comparable to the amount of game-hours is the amount of time writing multi-book series with huge worlds, swords, and sorcery, though not under this pen name.  

Neverfall: Mark of the Hero is the first book of many in this video game adventure series. 

©2018 Catherine N. Tetzlaff (P)2018 Catherine N. Tetzlaff

Super Slow and to serious for this genre.

Most people like this genre for fun it brings. this is not a fun book. Extremely dramatic, really slow, and only a little litrpg. Almost 3 hours into the book before they get to the game.

why does a MMO need a save?

Story was interesting throughout so I wasn't bored and was able to finish the story.

Really, the only problem I had was when they brought up the save feature. The first time, I ignored it as I do most minor mistakes. The second and third time, I realized that they are in a MMO and a MMO would not need a save feature.

You could play it off as saving the brain state to restore but still seems weird as the device should not actually be writing to the brain. Or what I should say is that it should not need full access to the brain. Experiments were able to feed sounds, movements, and images to people or really just the impressions of them. It is understandable that the creators would want full control but it seems unnecessary and dangerous.

The author only needed to have the logout function disabled. There are likely other technical aspects of the devices. If we look at Old Man's War, then it does seem that the author either wanted to be different or wanted another take on a tried and true design.

It is a lot to write about for a minor gripe but every time it was brought up, it annoyed me more and more.

this is a good book, but..

the storyline is good but there are some big issues. it really seems like the author is trying to create suspenseful battles but really, its just tedious and often repetative, how many times can someones healthbar be decreased by just a sliver, and does luke need to reitterate the thought process behind every statement three times, restate every conflict three times per battle? i often find myself wanting to scream "get on with it already" or "FFS get to the friggin point!"
the story deals with a pacifist player, which is cool, but why the need to justify it ad nauseum.
so often the character is one step, or breath, or inch away from somenhorrible consequence and that danger comes closer, then closer, then closer still. excuse me but thats rediculous, an inch is an inch, a second away from drowning doesnt allow for minutes of trying to slash at the tentacles holding your legs then when those tentacles bind your arms as well, how the heck do you explain long moments more of fumbling through a pack in search of a healing potion?
so the two main issues with this story are pace, TEDIUM, and believability. i will not be listening to any more.

Skip to hour 3.5

This book starts way too slow with too much real world descriptions before the real book begins with Luke and his friends going into the world to try and rescue Luke’s father. But if you skip to the 3.5 hour mark you quickly learn the names of his friends and that he’s leaving his mother who has terminal cancer behind. The book is actually well written once you skip to the “beginning”. I will definitely try the next book and eagerly watch the character development as it is a fun listen.

good

Wintertide is a lifelong gamer and storyteller who has spent many hours playing sword and sorcery RPGs like The Witcher, Persona 5, Final Fantasy, Dragon Age, and also old-school D&D, from which came a lot of the inspiration for the adventuring party of Neverfall.

I tried

takes so long to get into the game like 4 hrs off the book then they get in the game and they pussy foot around everything just slow story and to much time with scrub mobs he should have not problem with given his a veteran gamer as they point out so often

Finally a really good Lit RPG

I've "read" many of the Lit RPG audiobooks, and some have great stories, but more immature writing styles. This one's author knows how to tell a story. The voice actor did a great job, which really helped heighten the excitement or dread of the scene.

I can recommend this for anyone who wants a good Lit RPG, or anyone who is a D&D'er, or who plays MMOs. It's very entertaining and I immediate went to Audible to buy volume II when I finished this one.

Absolutely incredible

I absolutely loved this. I used to read fantasy novels all the time but haven't had time as of late but these books have been a godsend. Thank you. Cant wait to get the rest of the series.