Outpost

By: Terry W Ervin II

Narrated by: Jonathan Waters

Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

Glenn, a college sophomore, has a Sociology 102 paper that requires spending time with an unfamiliar group or culture. Luckily, two hot girls from his class have the same idea: Attend the university’s game club to get reaction material for their papers.

A creepy game moderator shows up, ready to start a game of Monsters, Maces and Magic. Glenn doesn’t fret over the GM’s disturbing vibe, figuring it’ll lead to potential fodder for his paper.

Moments after rolling up his character and beginning the adventure, Glenn, his two classmates, and three other players are drawn into the game - literally. How and why they got trapped in the game, transformed into their RPG characters are important questions, sure. But simply surviving a world filled with horrific creatures, unknown magic, and perilous roads is first on the list. 

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

Critic Reviews

“Exciting and hilarious! It feels like a true game with friends.” (Dueling Ogres podcast)

Fun Gamelit world, lots of humor, good Characters

If you saw the first LIT Audiobook Podcast, then you know that one of my all time favorite books is The Sleeping Dragon, book one of the Guardians of the Flame series, and that I had also enjoyed Quag Keep as well. I think that those are some of the best books written in the LITRPG genre, or at a minimum Gamelit. I really respect and admire them for their innovative stories and creativity, as well as some amazing characters. I now add Outpost onto that list. There is just something that really appeals to me about RPGer’s getting sucked into the world that they play in. It is fun and fascinating, if done right, and Terry Ervin does it right.

We start out with three students who are looking to write a class paper joining a local gaming session with a three regular players, one of whom is a kid from Jr. High. The MC, is one of the students, a necessary perspective for the listener since the world is supposed to be all new and shiny to him. He ends up becoming a gnome healer. The other two students, both female, opt for a warrior monk and an elven mage. One of the best bits and running gags is how the kid, tricks the girl playing the elven mage into having a pornstar body with goddess looks. Her boobs are good for more than a few chuckles. Each of the characters are interesting, and if I had to speculate, not all of them are neutral or good. Methinks one of them picked a dark alignment without telling the others. For me, the characters sell the story. Each is distinct and has their own voice, but the real standouts are the gnome, the half goblin, and the Elf.

One of the things I enjoyed so much about the Guardians of the Flame series was that it was not afraid to kill off characters, and Ervin has no such qualms either. PC’s are vulnerable, and do die. So the remaining troupe has to figure how to get back home and possible resurrect a comrade on the way. The answer to both might surprise you at the end. The book isn’t all crunchy and full of stats and numbers, and that is fine here. It works the way it is setup and you won’t miss those aspects at all. The only complaint was the shifting from the character’s real life names to their gaming names. For example, the big boobed elf was named Stephanie, and in game she was known as Marigold. At any given time she could be referred to by either name, and so it went for all the characters. I followed along no problem, but I can see where some might find it confusing; they should have settled on one or the other, and not both.

Waters narration is really really fun, and he does the ladies voices about as easily as he does the men’s, which is impressive, I only know a handful of narrators who can pull that off as easily as he does. His reading is rock solid, the sound quality is fantastic, and he really infuses a ton of emotion into the story. I hadn’t heard him before, but I must admit I was impressed with him. Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. Getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.

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6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Fun Adventure Tale

Glen, Steffie and Kim attend a gaming night at the local college as part of their Sociology class in an attempt to study a group of people different from themselves. Little do they know, the shady looking DM for the M3 game they've joined has more power than they ever imagined and soon they find themselves and their other party members in another world and in their characters' bodies. They are soon attacked by Goblins and things only get worse from there.

I liked this book even though it's your standard "gamers get pulling into a game world" story. It's not really LitRPG as I understand it because no time is spent on reading stats. That really didn't bother me because I like a good story and I don't need to be constantly reminded of what their in-game stats are. I do agree, however, that at some point, they should have gained enough experience to level up.

I was expecting a cliffhanger since this is Book 1 and I wasn't surprised when I got one. I was pleasantly surprised, however, that the cliffhanger did not take the form that I had expected.

I enjoyed the narrator. Mr. Waters does a good job of keeping the voices unique and interesting. Only Derick's voice seemed forced to me but I suppose it was in keeping with his gruff demeanor.

I'll definitely keep a look out for more of this story.

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

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Good read

My first read from author Terry W. Ervin II. I was given an Audible copy of the third book in this series & wanted to read books 1 & 2 first so I went out & got them. Reminiscent of Joel Rosenberg’s Guardians of the Flame Series this was a well-written entertaining read, looks to be an enjoyable series. On to book 2. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Be careful what character you design

1st off. Don’t steal from some weird occult bookstore guy. You never know what will happen. 2nd when playing a roleplaying game be careful what character you design, you may end up as that character, especially if you are in a LITRPG novel. This is an entertaining and fast paced story that has some great humorous scenes and scenarios as well as some great old fashioned roleplaying elements that all combine to make yet another amazing and wonderful LITRPG book. If you haven’t got into this genre. Stop now. Buy one listen to it and repeat. You won’t be disappointed. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Not really LitRPG but a good fantasy story

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

This is almost LitRPG. I felt it was lacking the game mechanics I've enjoyed from others in this genre. It came across as more of a traditional fantasy story. That isn't a bad thing, mind you, just means it's not truly LitRPG. Trust me, there are a lot of people who that will bother, so I point it out. For me, I still really enjoyed the book and would be happy to continue the series. The narration is pretty good. All in all, if you like fantasy stories where a modern person is pulled into a fantasy world, this is a good book to pick up.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

When A Dungeon Master Takes a Creative Lit Course

This thoroughly entertaining sword and sorcery adventure takes a group of RPG gamers and throws them into an alternate universe where their adventure unfolds in live action (think Jumanji but in a quasi medieval setting). When one of the party is killed in a battle, the rest of the adventurers must undertake a quest (or two) to earn enough credit to have her resurrected.
I think every RPG player worth their salt has, at one time or another, wondered whether the could turn their latest campaign into a best selling novel, and this book, it appears the author decided to give it a shot.
The story is well written, the action is very fast paced and the adventurers go from one challenge to another, some of them funny and others deadly serious.
The audio version is well voiced, easy to listen to and follow.
All in all, this one was an enjoyable story.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Fun start to a new series.

Outpost is the first book in the Monsters, Maces, and Magic series, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd really call it more a traditional fantasy novel than a true LitRPG novel. Actually what it reminded me of most was the old Dungeons and Dragons cartoon show from the 80s, with real characters getting sucked into a fantasy world. Now I know you saying, wait isn't that what most LitRPGs are? Yes and no. The characters in the book do get transported into fantasy world full of magic and mythical creatures, most of them becoming said mythical creatures, but the traditional LitRPG trappings of hit points and the like are only lightly touched upon. Regardless, it's a fun story from start to finish. Good characters, engaging story, and I definitely look forward to seeing what comes next for our adventures.

This is the second or third book I've heard performed by Jonathan Waters and he does a really good job of bringing the characters and story to life.

I received a copy of this audio title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

D&D with Life or Death Consequences

A fun but serious life or death fantasy adventure as 6 unsuspecting high school and college students, who are mostly strangers to one another, are transported into the Dungeons and Dragons-esq world of Monsters, Maces and Magic(M3). Many of the elements of tabletop role-playing are well portrayed in the book. One thing I found this "Trapped in Another World" book did that was interesting compared to others in the genre is while in this other world their personalities seem to be modified somewhat by their characters race, stats and abilities. This is done by giving them instincts to do things they don't think they would normally do based on their characters role or giving them limitations based on stats. I found this particularly interesting because it shows they aren't just themselves in another world but pushes the role-playing aspect of M3. It also adds a source of conflict within the party and in themselves to the existing friction from being grouped with people they don't know but must rely on in frequent life or death situations. Another aspect that was portrayed well was how they were unfamiliar with the fantasy world, its rules and its level of technology compared to other "Trapped in Another World" series where characters come off as perfectly adapted to the world they find themselves in. With Jonathan Waters great performance this was a very enjoyable experience and I am interested in future books in this series.

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

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Adventurous

After getting used to the gaming aspect, this was a great listen. A group of friends transported into a game world trying to help one of them thru a bad situation. Unique characters and lots of adventure. Narrator voice was rich and smooth making this an enjoyable experience.
This audio was given to me at my request and I voluntarily gave this review.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Liked the book, hated the ending

I know one of the risks with the first book in a series is that you don't get a complete story. While this story had a slew of twists and turns and just one adventure after another, I still kinda wanted it to be complete. It was but it wasn't.

The cast of characters who found themselves in the virtual world of Monsters, Maces, and Magic were as disparate as they come. It made for some interesting interactions. Their quests were many, and their conflicts were aplenty. I wanted a better ending but things set up quite nicely for book two.

I very much liked the narrator. What a delivery!

I would have liked a better ending but I'm intrigued enough to want to listen to book two.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful