
Steam Whistle Alley
An Adventure in Augmented Reality
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Narrado por:
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Sena Bryer
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De:
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Joshua Mason
An exciting new entry into the emerging GameLit genre, Joshua Mason's Steam Whistle Alley is a thrilling tale that explores what is possible in augmented reality.
Everyone on the street that day saw a lunatic wearing strange brass goggles, swinging an invisible sword on the sidewalks of downtown Seattle. But Jacob recognizes what the man is really doing - playing a game in augmented reality. When the game’s creator offers him his own goggles, Jacob enters a city he thinks he knows. But towering monuments of Victorian architecture have replaced the skyscrapers. Airships float between the buildings. Fearsome enemies, from steam-powered rabbits to clockwork werewolves, lurk in every shadow.
But with the game comes a quest, and to the victors go the deed to Steam Whistle Alley, the social and financial heart of the game. Jacob, his biosynthetic monkey, Banjo, and the rest of the team must face off against foes who want the alley for themselves.
Some of his adversaries aren’t playing games. They don’t want the alley. They want the company, and the death they bring is not the kind from which Jacob can respawn.
©2018 Joshua Mason Diles (P)2018 Joshua Mason DilesListeners also enjoyed...




















um..not great
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1) the narration has a weird echo when the character is inner monologuing. So if your head phones are of similar quality to mine you only pick up about 3/4 of what’s said. Which is annoying but not detrimental. But it gets more and more annoying as the book progresses.
2) Every twist and plot point was telegraphed so far in advance that I pretty well had the ending of the book figures out about 2 hours into the story. I was even able to predict what classes and such his party were going to end up being well before any character other than the main character was introduced. His ”surprise partner” I had figured out within 2 minutes of it being mentioned that he was going to be forced to partner with someone.
The author tried to have twists. But he beat you over the head with all the details to know how the twist was going to come out. A good twist is the sixth sense most people don't see it coming, and even those that do second guess themselves.
I don't want to give spoilers to anyone just in case. But the premise was great 10/10, 3/10 on character development, 4/10 on execution.
Review
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Story: As I listened to this one there were hints of Ready Player One, which I absolutely loved. Some of the references were good and the MC’s (Jacob) lines often reminded me of the MC from RP1.
I loved how the game mechanics were explained by the very helpful monkey with a monocle - Banjo. It was done in a way that could explain game mechanics without getting too caught up in the minutiae. It would probably be more LitRPG lite, but honestly it worked.
The author does a nice job throughout the story of explaining the surroundings and how The Seattle area has been turned into a Steampunk paradise. I also really liked the interactions once the group started working together and how those characters were all developed, even his budding love interest.
The antagonist/mobs left me wanting a little more, but I expect that to get better in book 2.
Narrator: This is the first book I have listened to narrated by Sena Bryer and I have to say I am thoroughly impressed. She did a great job voicing not only the MC but also the side characters as well. The inflection was great throughout the book, with none of those awkward pauses or missed cues. I will definitely look for more books done by Sena after this and hope she does book 2 when it comes out as I will definitely be picking it up!
My first foray into Steampunk
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Fantastic read!
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Again, the premise of the book was good and the story was good.
Book is okay, but narration is grinding
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My favorite book of the year!
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Our intrepid hero, Jakey, gets partnered with the gal of his dreams, and makes a new friend or two along the way. This was one of the things that I didn’t like about the game play. The game creators chose your partner for you. I don’t care what algorithm you use, I don’t want my gaming partner chosen by Tinder. Technically, I hate joining teams, and often played my games alone, which is really hard in an MMORPG. Getting to 60 in WOW by myself sucked, and I wished that they made gameplay work so that you could play in a group or individually. Here, you aren’t given a choice. They pick a partner for you and you have to play together. One thing that actually bothered me was, again, how long it actually took to get into game. I understand set up, and the importance of building a the world, but I really believe that you should get your listeners/readers into the game as soon as possible. We were a good while into the book before we actually got into Steam Whistle Alley.
Truth be told, Sena See-na) Bryer’s narration really had to grow on me. It was really annoying at first, and I don’t know why. It was like there was a nasally tone to everything, very hard for me to describe. Bryer did pretty well, the narration itself was pretty clean and easy to understand. Different voices were used to varying effect, and the pacing was excellent, but it took me almost 2/3rds of the book before I could listen and not be driven crazy by whatever her voice was doing to my ears. After that point I was fine, but it really took me some time to settle in on her voice and I could just listen. Like I say, she did great, but I had some issue with her voice for some reason. Had nothing to do with her style or ability, it just wasn’t musical to my ears, but upon acclimation I didn’t notice it anymore.
So here’s the rundown, Jacob gets a chance to Alpha test a new game that takes place in Augmented reality, that is it takes place in the actual world, which means it required you to get off your fat butt and actually walk, explore, and fight outside. Considering I’m a misanthropic hermit who hates to leave the house I can already see that I’d be playing another game, but other people might actually like sunshine on their faces while they play. Once he’s is in game he learns that there are a couple of villainy type who are looking to take control of the game, and it comes down to Jake and his team to put the kibosh on them and their plans. One of my favorite aspects of the story is that there was no power leveling, no cheats, no backdoors, just straight up gameplay, grinding, and honest leveling. The only real issue I had was the way the story ended. It is a cliffhanger, and I don’t mind those, however the way it ended had some actual implications that weren’t all that great. I can’t give them away, but it bothered me a little. Either way, the book was fun, and I actually liked Banjo, even though I’d never trust him, and he was most importantly, not annoying. So, cool characters, sidekicks, and concept.
Final score a solid 8 stars. I actually forgave the issues I had with the narration since I could find no flaws, other than one part that was repeated, and that came when they were watching gears within gears. I look forward to the next book.
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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More like a cat call whistle than a steam one!
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Unlike with the VR versions of LitRPG, for an ARG, the outside IS the inside. It meant the stories blended quite well and it set my imagination going about the possible complications before the complications were presented.
It's a standard hero's story here, along with an awkward love story the likes of which you may have seen elsewhere. Both the hero's story and the love story are done well and without major blemishes or believability issues. What sets it apart more than anything is the humor and the respect for gaming conventions. I laughed quite a few times during the reading and the humor came from more than one character and from many directions. There's an interesting blend of Steampunk in the game world and futurism in the background real world and they play together well.
It's surprisingly well-narrated and the various voices all sound like different characters. Banjo's "Joysie" accent is unexpected, but it soon become "his" voice.
If you think you've seen everything that can be done in the genre, I urge you to give this one a shot. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
What a refreshing take on the LitRPG genre!
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Really enjoyed this
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I found the characters interesting and likeable, the story fairly easy to follow, and the descriptions vivid without being overburdened with unnecessary detail.
No spoilers, but the story isn't wrapped up in a tidy bow at the end... But I enjoyed it enough that I really REALLY hope for a second book with these characters.
The narrator seemed to really capture the spirit and character of the main character.
Great for the right audience.
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