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Control dinosaurs. Tame women. Rule the world. Victor Shelby and his tribe of beautiful alien women have built a fortress to keep themselves safe, but when they encounter another tribe of survivors, Victor must leverage his dinosaur-taming abilities to negotiate either peace or violence. And violence is what Dinosaurland is all about.
Diving into a revolutionary new video game, Marcus and his friends escape a stagnant society, entering into a world that defies their wildest imaginations. But from the moment that he logs in, Marcus finds himself separated from his friends and thrown into a remote village under attack by a horde of goblins. Forced into battle, Marcus rallies the beleaguered villagers and, with their help, manages to drive off the invading creatures. With the village in ruins and their supplies spoiled, the villagers turn to Marcus for help in rebuilding the village.
All John wanted to do was get away for his life in Kluane National Park for a weekend. Hike, camp, and chill. Instead, the world comes to an end in a series of blue boxes, animals start evolving, and monsters start spawning. Now, he has to survive the apocalypse, get back to civilization, and not lose his mind. Life in the North is book one of the System Apocalypse, a litRPG apocalypse series that combines modern day life, science fiction, and fantasy elements along with game mechanics.
In his junior year at college, the only things on Sean's mind are doing his homework and getting out of college to get a real job. A gamer and a bit of a nerd, Sean's philosophy in life has been to keep his head down and get his work done. But when a failed kidnapping attempt leaves him with a gaping hole in his memory, his oldest friend dead, and his mother missing, Sean suddenly finds his whole world turned upside down as he's thrust into the hidden world of magic and the supernatural.
Launch day. That was what they called it. The day when over four million people vanished in an instant from the island of Manhattan. The day earthquakes ravaged the east coast. The day a 101-kilometer tall tower rose from the wreckage of the now empty city. The day every screen, newspaper, and smart phone displayed a single message from an unknown source: The Great Emperor has issued his challenge.
Seth Kinnaman's dream has always been to become the best fighter the world has ever seen. After spending his entire life training, he's finally ready to test his skills in the biggest tournament on Earth, where hundreds of the fiercest competitors vie for the supreme title. In the semifinals, Seth is getting the upper hand when his opponent uses an illegal blow to take him out. Upon waking up from a coma, Seth finds out he's lost his sight. He's become blind, and he's completely devastated. All his dreams are now shattered, and he soon falls into depression.
Control dinosaurs. Tame women. Rule the world. Victor Shelby and his tribe of beautiful alien women have built a fortress to keep themselves safe, but when they encounter another tribe of survivors, Victor must leverage his dinosaur-taming abilities to negotiate either peace or violence. And violence is what Dinosaurland is all about.
Diving into a revolutionary new video game, Marcus and his friends escape a stagnant society, entering into a world that defies their wildest imaginations. But from the moment that he logs in, Marcus finds himself separated from his friends and thrown into a remote village under attack by a horde of goblins. Forced into battle, Marcus rallies the beleaguered villagers and, with their help, manages to drive off the invading creatures. With the village in ruins and their supplies spoiled, the villagers turn to Marcus for help in rebuilding the village.
All John wanted to do was get away for his life in Kluane National Park for a weekend. Hike, camp, and chill. Instead, the world comes to an end in a series of blue boxes, animals start evolving, and monsters start spawning. Now, he has to survive the apocalypse, get back to civilization, and not lose his mind. Life in the North is book one of the System Apocalypse, a litRPG apocalypse series that combines modern day life, science fiction, and fantasy elements along with game mechanics.
In his junior year at college, the only things on Sean's mind are doing his homework and getting out of college to get a real job. A gamer and a bit of a nerd, Sean's philosophy in life has been to keep his head down and get his work done. But when a failed kidnapping attempt leaves him with a gaping hole in his memory, his oldest friend dead, and his mother missing, Sean suddenly finds his whole world turned upside down as he's thrust into the hidden world of magic and the supernatural.
Launch day. That was what they called it. The day when over four million people vanished in an instant from the island of Manhattan. The day earthquakes ravaged the east coast. The day a 101-kilometer tall tower rose from the wreckage of the now empty city. The day every screen, newspaper, and smart phone displayed a single message from an unknown source: The Great Emperor has issued his challenge.
Seth Kinnaman's dream has always been to become the best fighter the world has ever seen. After spending his entire life training, he's finally ready to test his skills in the biggest tournament on Earth, where hundreds of the fiercest competitors vie for the supreme title. In the semifinals, Seth is getting the upper hand when his opponent uses an illegal blow to take him out. Upon waking up from a coma, Seth finds out he's lost his sight. He's become blind, and he's completely devastated. All his dreams are now shattered, and he soon falls into depression.
When Marine Corps pilot Jacob Merely crashes during a routine mission off the coast of Cyprus, he was sure it was game over. After surviving the crash and pulling himself onto the sandy shores of a long-abandoned island, however, Jacob unwittingly stumbles headfirst into the ancient ruins of a dead city. Unfortunately, he also stumbles into an age-old battle between good and evil - and he is now its newest recruit. The island once belonged to the Amazons, but Jacob’s arrival has awakened the old gods and disturbed the seal holding the ravaging darkness at bay.
The year is 2245, and the world has undergone explosive growth in multiple industries. The age of Virtual Reality came long ago, opening up new fields for people to enjoy and seek employment. There were even those that chose to sacrifice their physical bodies, becoming digital existences that lived within Internet communities. But with the age of VR, everyone still dreamed of that next step, the next level of adventure.
Terrance Denby takes an unusual route to work one day and finds himself in an enchanted forest where winged fairies give him a sword and tell him, “Your journey is about to begin. Learn to use this sword or perish.” Terrance doesn’t have time to go on a magical quest: he’s late for his job as a computer programmer. But when he gets to work, he suddenly notices things he hadn’t seen before. Like the fact that his boss is a demon with scaly skin, horns, and bloodstained fangs.
An extinction-level asteroid, 213 Astraea, is cannonballing toward Earth. Collision, imminent. An international team of scientists is working around the clock to avert the cataclysm - few are optimistic. World governments are preparing for impact with deep earth bio-dome bunkers, but only a select few lottery winners will be saved. Jack Mitchel, a 32-year-old EMT living in a tiny studio apartment on the west coast, isn't one of those winners.
Would you be prepared to work for free? How would you like to bust your hump for a large corporation 60-plus hours a week without a wage or a single day off for the vague promise of some mysterious perks in the distant future? You'd refuse point blank, wouldn't you? But what if the job in question was playing a state-of-the-art fantasy MMORPG game? And what if this was the only thing you're really good at? Especially considering that your in-game partner is someone really special to you - and this person already lives a virtual life?
Arthur Curie never expected to wind up in Hell. At least, not because he found an ancient sword in a pawnshop. To make matters worse, Hell isn't as he thought. It's a desolate wasteland under siege by an all-consuming void known as the Darkness.
Alvin woke in a room that was not his, to discover that he had died and his brain had been bargained off cheaply to pay off someone else’s debt. It did not sit well with him. It didn’t surprise him that even in death, people were still using him for their own purposes. He had never exactly been a good guy, but everyone had their breaking point, and he had found his. The bastards in charge had uploaded his mind into a virtual death game. The whole world could now pay to see him play it and probably die. Regardless, he was not about to wait for death to come for him.
Barliona: a virtual world jam-packed with monsters, battles - and, predictably, players. Millions of them come to Barliona, looking forward to the things they can't get in real life: elves and magic, dragons and princesses, and unforgettable combat. The game has become so popular that players now choose to spend months online without returning home. In Barliona, anything goes: You can assault fellow players, level up, become a mythical hero, a wizard, or a legendary thief.
Anthony Tinoco is just an average guy looking forward to his first day at college. Unfortunately, he gets lost on the huge campus, and when he follows a hot girl to what he thinks may be his first class, he's accidentally introduced to a new world full of action and adventure. A world that exists in parallel with our own, the System. Now, Anthony is getting new skills for doing every day tasks, gaining levels from fighting monsters, and experiencing adventures he never thought possible.
Leo "The Lion" Lennox is the 10-year world champion of Astafar Unlimited, the best virtual-reality game of all time. However, Leo has become bored with his success, and wonders where his next challenge will lie. Then he meets the mysterious Zarra, and she tempts the champ to try her cutting edge game. Leo soon discovers a virtual world that is beyond fantastic. Can he resist the lure of this amazing game and the beautiful woman that has asked him to quest on her behalf?
Victor Shelby ends each day wondering when his life is going to get better. His parents are dead, he struggles to pay rent, and his boss at the animal control shelter has him cleaning cages instead of working in the field. His dream of helping animals seems destined to end in a mop bucket. Then, Victor is abducted by aliens and deposited on a prehistoric world filled with hungry dinosaurs and beautiful alien women. He doesn’t know why he is here or what his purpose is, but he finds himself fighting for survival.
Tad Lonnerman is having a crappy day stuck in crappy traffic late to a crappy meeting. On the bright side, his game development career is the only non-crappy thing he has going for him, so life isn't all bad. At least until he dies. Now Tad finds himself uploaded to a beta test of Haven, an unannounced hyper-immersive MMO where the dead have a second chance at life. It's not virtual reality, it's digital reality. A true afterlife online. Except Haven isn't exactly blissful paradise.
A fast-paced and gripping near-future science fiction debut about the gritty world of competitive gaming….
Every week Kali Ling fights to the death on national TV.
She's died hundreds of times. And it never gets easier....
The RAGE tournaments - the Virtual Gaming League's elite competition where the best gamers in the world compete in a no-holds-barred fight to the digital death. Every bloody kill is broadcast to millions. Every player is a modern gladiator - leading a life of ultimate fame, responsible only for entertaining the masses.
And though their weapons and armor are digital, the pain is real.
Chosen to be the first female captain in RAGE tournament history, Kali Ling is at the top of the world - until one of her teammates overdoses. Now she must confront the truth about the tournament. Because it is much more than a game - and even in the real world, not everything is as it seems.
The VGL hides dark secrets. And the only way to change the rules is to fight from the inside....
Arena by Holly Jennings is the first book in a series called Arena. Kali Ling is a professional gamer in the Virtual Gaming League in 2054, akin to a professional sports league in 2017. As a part of an elite team fighting in the famous RAGE tournaments with realistic fighting that ends in real pain perception in the virtual world, the pressure is high. Not only do the gamers need to remain in top physical shape as their own physique is translated to their game personas, their fame requires them to constantly be on view for the paparazzi, including photo shoots and constant appearance at clubs. Kali is the first female captain of a team and she must manage her team, traumatic changes in the team’s lineup, difficult team members, and also learn to manage the rising tensions in her life before she completely breaks down.
What an unexpectedly amazing story. I am not a gamer or a sports-lover, but the Jennings has really combined the two and the pressure of fame into a really unique world that may not be too far in the future. This is a novel that is filled with real-life problems of varying degree: loss, drug addiction, pressures of fame, lack of diversity, and more. While all of the characters are not fleshed out to a degree that I would prefer, it can be forgiven in this first novel because of the sharpness of the world that Jennings has created. There is the gaming league that manages the tournaments and they are focused on ratings and money coming in. Similarly, the team owners are also focused on the money that the team can make through sponsorships, leaving the players on their own. At its core, this is a story about fighting against the status quo when it’s clear that the status quo is not good for people, in this case, the gamers, and this plays out in some really powerful moments. I also loved the diversity of the characters. Kali Ling is half Chinese and is the first female captain of a team. Hopefully, in the next novels, the other characters get their backstories fleshed out a bit more. The gaming aspect was more limited than what I was expecting, but it doesn't feel forced, which is good.
The narration was Erin Spencer was really well done. She really captured the characters, especially Kali. Unfortunately, the production quality was not ideal. There are a few skips and really fast speed through for less than a second. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes a story about fighting against the power and trying to change the world. Also, if you like games or sports, this should be a comfortable territory.
Audiobook was provided for review by the author.
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful
this book was essentially a harlequin romance novel with some gaming sprinkled on top, which is fine if that's what you like, but it's not what I was looking for.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
It's a refreshing take on a classic over-corporatized, virtual reality future and a compelling read about self discovery in a world of competitive virtual reality gaming. Tackling corruption, philosophy, teamwork, over commercialization, and duality of a real world/game world interface, the question isn't really will they win the championship, but what will they learn about themselves while they compete?
It isn't standard hyper violent, noir mystery, dark future. It's just a pro athlete being her best in a sport anyone familiar with Playstations, Xboxes, and MMOs can understand.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I really wanted to like this. Being a gamer I thought this would be right up my alley. It started off that way but quickly turned into a young adult love story fill with teen angst and confusion. I don't mind love stories in books but the author seemed to have diverged from it being a book about a futuristic eSports team to a very detailed, gushy love story in the previous setting. It was too much for me, I did a lot of eye-rolling.
Also, the author doesn't seem, at least to me, to be a gaming enthusiast at all. They make game references as if they were taken off of the early history of video games wiki page. Sure, you'll get classic mentions like Mario, Zelda, Street Fighter but then no references to anything in between those classics and this future where eSports have taken over. What about all of the current eSport games or basically anything else modern, which would in fact be classics by the time this book takes place. I think this issue really hit home when the author finally mentioned something somewhat modern when she said (paraphrasing) "people were dressed up as Halo soldiers". Really? Can you at least look online to get their correct name, "Spartans"?
If some of the over-the-top romance could be cut out I think there is a very solid book here despite my issues with lack of solid gaming knowledge.
TL;DR: Was looking for something along the lines of Ready Player One, instead got Divergent in a video game setting written by someone who clearly is not up to date on gaming.
P.S. The writing was fine and the narrator was very good.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
the story was absolutely amazing and I really liked the video game aspect to it... the characters were really relatable and fun.