Nightmare Keep

By: Phil Tucker

Narrated by: Vikas Adam

Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

I've managed to survive my first week in Euphoria Online. But I couldn't have done it without my new friends. Lotharia. Falkon. The Green Liver goblins.

But now Lotharia's gone missing. Swallowed by that nightmare keep. Lost to the darkness.

Everyone's telling me that going after her is madness. That I don't have a chance in hell.

But I'm not the kind of guy to turn my back on my friends.

Damn the odds.

I'm going to find her.

©2018 Phil Tucker (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Excellent!

Ahhhh man. This was a great addition to this series. In this one, Chris’ new friend Lotharia has disappeared into the titular Nightmare Keep after the events of the last novel, and Chris makes it his main goal to get her back.

Through goblins and undead, and more goblins and crazy exes, and… a group of high level mercenary players intent on finding the treasure of Nightmare Keep… and then some decidedly creepy stuff in the actual Keep itself…. he is dead set on getting her back.

This one, just like the first, was a really great listen. The plot flowed really well, and the book was never boring. Twists and turns made it really interesting, and I found myself getting all kinds of work done as I listened to this one in huge chunks during my work day. Parts of this one were legitimately feels inducing too, as we’re starting to find out just how crazy Euphoria can be.

Chris is a great character, and it’s really hard not to root for him. Falkon is another character that I’ve really identified with… the main reason being that in the last two or three MMO games that I played with any regularity, I played a male character (which was apparently *super* confusing. I mean for the amount of dudes who play female characters in MMO games… you’d think….? But, no. Super, super confusing, in my experience!) ^_^

There were a few parts here that got really deep as well, especially between Chris and his psycho ex girlfriend, and just how toxic that relationship was, and continues to be, really. Chris’ relationship with his friends, new allies, and possible allies whose true goals are sort of up in the air. Nightmare Keep is much, much more than it seems, and it was a truly exciting adventure trying to figure out what was going to happen next. This series is so well thought out and put together with really details about not only the stats and abilities that Chris gets, but also bits of Chris’s life outside of the game and a bit more of an in-depth look at the things that lead him to start playing the game in the first place. It really is engrossing in not only the gaming parts but the real life parts as well. Though it isn’t pointed out too often, I never forgot why Chris was doing what he was doing. There was always a little bit of real-life consequences added to the obvious in-game consequences in the back of my mind while I listened.

Once again, Vikas Adam nails the narration on this one, but at this point, there is never any question on that front, at least to me. He just has a pleasant sounding voice, and is one of those narrators that I can just… listen to for long periods. One would assume that most narrators would have this quality, but for me it’s really more rare than you’d think. He narrates a few other LitRPG books that I’ve been planning on listening to for a while, so I’m quite excited to explore this genre a little more with his help.

All told, this was another win from Phil Tucker. I think it’s pretty safe to say at this point that I’m never disappointed with anything he writes. His characters just grab my attention and hold on tight until the end, and like Asho and Acharsis grabbed hold and took me on grand adventures, Chris definitely has as well. I’m excited to see what is in store for him in the final book in this series. Onto book 3!

Wow another hit!

The second book hit it off from the jump and I’m so glad again that I bought the series and now on to the last book. Hope the hits keep coming!

just keeps getting better!

book 2 picked up where 1 left off and tackled an incredible amount of content. already onto book 3, bring on the crunch!

note: I finished this book in under 48 hours... so yeah

Non-stop Thrill Ride

Firstly, this is not one of those series where you can just grab the second book and pick up on things quickly. You certainly want to start with book 1, if you are new to the series. In this volume Phil Tucker gives us plenty of action from start to finish. The characters remain realistically complex with their own motivations. We follow as he continues to live through his time in Death March mode, always just one wrong step could mean game over. This was absolitely worth the credit to buy.

Narration by Vikas is very solid, as you might have guessed. He is able to do several characters, and this book throws a few curve balls at him. However, he handles it fantastically.

Great momentum and energy

I was surprised how quickly I finished Nightmare Keep, the second work in Phil Tucker’s Euphoria Onljne series. Vikas Adams continues his superb character voicing, pumping energy into this story that is still full of epic fight sequences and imaginative powers and spells, skills and abilities, and artifacts and equipment. Everything I want to relive from my gaming days!

pretty solid

entertaining fights and skills. again the main character has to have some sense of lusty descriptions about female characters which is annoying. I'll probably read the third. world is neat, writing just is a bit meh at times.

Magnifico!

Compared to the prior book this volume is great! More characters, more background, deeper plotline, more battles, and more equipment. From the end of the prior book Chris, Falcon, and Lotharia are contracted by the Dread Lord to enter the castle to find out what happened to Jeremy and reclaim his treasure. Unfortunately, the back-stabbing Dread Lord hired another team of high-level adventurers to do the same thing. In this case, the enemy of my enemy is not my friend. Brianna enters the game to lie, cheat, and seduce her way back into Chris’s good graces with a load of epic loot. The following battles in the castle from room to room are unique and exciting. Ultimately leading all our adventurers into a diabolical Escheresque maze. How Lotharia knew the answers to the riddles of the maze trap is not clear. Coincidentally, Lotharia herself could not explain it to Chris. Nothing has changed. To escape the maze Xylogo must be destroyed. Will the illusions stop Chris from completing his mission? One last barrier stands in his way…

The detail will catch you!

If you weren’t hooked after the first book this one will definitely clinch the deal. The twist and turns are spectacular. That’s the depth of detail and descriptions of his writing allow you to view every scene. You will enjoy.

The story was fun and worth the time!

The main character is a little hard to like do to always being stubborn and a little fake. If a normal person was in death mode they would not throw themselves into stupid situations for nonsense morales. I have been a bit upset with the main characters morals when it comes to killing to survive but overall was a fun book.

solid follow up

I feel this is a solid follow up to death march. I don't think it is as good, but still solid for what it is. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the conclusion!