Survival Quest

Way of the Shaman Series # 1

By: Vasily Mahanenko

Narrated by: Jonathan Yen

Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

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. The only rule that attempted to regulate the game demanded that no player be allowed to feel actual pain. But there's an exception to every rule. For a certain bunch of players, Barliona has become their personal hell. They are criminals sent to Barliona to serve their time. They aren't in it for the dragons' gold or the abundant loot. All they want is to survive the virtual inferno. They face the ultimate survival quest.

©2015 V. Mahanenko. English translation copyright 2015 by Natalia Nikitin (P)2016 Tantor

Excellent with just one regret...

Loved this book. Anyone who's played RPG will enjoy and relate to this story. While listening to Survival Quest I mentioned it to my son and bought the Kindle version for him. He devoured it. He started reading it at 10PM and finished the book at 5AM in one reading.

My only regret is that there are currently only two books in the series and the second one will go by way too fast. I thoroughly enjoy reading more installments in this story line.

Good listen

Very good listen reminds me of the play to love series just not permanent like in the other book and instead of someone dying someone's sent to jail.

great

wonderful books for the great storyline many plot twist and a hilarious backstory that sounds accurate

Fun and hard to put down

I never expected myself to enjoy a book so much where a large portion was about a man hitting a rock in a video game.

I had serious trouble putting this title down and more or less listened to it in one sitting besides falling asleep. The narrator does a great job and I enjoyed every moment.

I am writing this review after listening several books into the series and not a moment has disappointed me. My feelings on the 5th book were, lets say intense. I highly recommend giving this series a chance if your are interested at all in the litRPG genre.

Without A Doubt, My favorite Audible ever.

What made the experience of listening to Survival Quest the most enjoyable?

Just loved it.

What did you like best about this story?

The RPG stuff. The story was pretty cool. The characters were also pretty awesome - especially Cart and the Ogre governor and Rine (sp?).

What about Jonathan Yen’s performance did you like?

Most everything.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes but I didn't.

Any additional comments?

One problem that still bugs me. SPOILER: Early in the book and a couple of times later, it was made clear that one couldn't take other's stuff. It was even made a point that one couldn't just give an item to another. So how did Mahan pick up all the whole team's loot at the end of the dungeon after their noble sacrifices? This is a HUGE problem for me and the only reason the story is not a 5 STAR rating. If there's an explanation, I'd really appreciate hearing it.

If your a LITRPG junkie this is your methadone

Would you listen to Survival Quest again? Why?

As a big fan of litrpg this book falls somewhere in the middle range in terms of quality compared to whats out there. Its fairly well written and was entertaining to listen to. The author does "borrow" a few concepts from his contemporaries and I wish it felt more original but that won't stop me from reading all future books in the series. I'm a junkie and I need my fix. No this isn't the heroine that ready player one and the play to live series are, but it satiates the craving.

What did you like best about this story?

Most litrpg with the exception of ready player one use a plot device to force the protagonist to stay logged in, in this case the pro is a convict sentenced to serve his term inside an in game mine. Not terrible, not great, I prefer the plot devices others have used for this purpose.

Which scene was your favorite?

I really enjoyed the crafting sequences that took place in the protoganist mind, when I play mmorgs I enjoy crafting and this is one area where the author had a really original concept. Mental CAD design.

Any additional comments?

I suggest getting it, hang in for 30-45 minutes because its a slow roll at first but after that you won't be able to take your ear buds out.

A good entry into the genre

If you like the game based stories, then this will be a good listen that is hard to put down. One note though; skills and item stat list function somewhat wonky in an audiobook.

great book

just finished this book. will be continuing through the rest. I can't wait to see what goes on with mahan

One of the best books I’ve ever read.

Absolutely amazing book. Me and all my friends love it to death. Especially book 7.

Story takes some time to get going

The story takes about an hour or so to get the backstory out of the way. There’s some unfinished storyline there that I expect will be resolved in future books. The backstory was a bit annoying, but the story gets better once that is out of the way.