The Artificer: A LitRPG Adventure

The Imperial Initiative, Book 1

By: S. R. Witt, James Hunter

Narrated by: Matthew Broadhead

Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

A tech genius. A corrupt politician. The world hangs in the balance.

October, 2042: In two weeks, the world will die, murdered by a nine-mile-wide, extinction-level asteroid.

And Robert Osmark - billionaire and savvy tech genius - couldn't be readier for the fiery apocalypse.

Unlike the shortsighted masses, he’s been diligently preparing for this day from the moment the asteroid first appeared. Through his relentless efforts, digital salvation now awaits anyone bold enough to take the leap and permanently transition into the brand-new, ultra-immersive, fantasy-based VRMMORPG, Viridian Gate Online. And Robert Osmark will lead this new world he has created.

But even with every advantage skewed in his favor, Osmark faces powerful opposition. A rogue faction of global elites led by US Senator Sizemore isn’t content to merely survive the apocalypse. They have their sights set much higher, and are recruiting dangerous allies, undercutting Robert's efforts at every turn, and hiring VGO’s most deadly assassins to get what they want.

To win, Osmark will need to viciously crush all opposition before his plans turn to ash.

©2017 James A. Hunter and Shadow Alley Press Inc. (P)2018 James A. Hunter and Shadow Alley Press Inc.

I hate giving 4 stars!

A bigger fan of VGO you will not find! which is probably why I couldn't get on board with his interpretation of Robert Osmark. Armen Taylor set the tone and Mr. Broadhead went a different direction. Ended up reading most of it on Kindle. Still a great book, and good performance! Just for me it's like changing actors on a show... took me out of it a bit.

Good story - poor narrator

I've listened to most of the other books in the series, so I was disappointed with the narration of this one. The rhythm and inflection are awkward, and a few words are consistently mispronounced, such as "across" and "stamina." I would have returned the book except that I didn't use a credit to buy it. I enjoyed the actual story, but it was a genuine chore to get through the book.

Great story, very mediocre/strange narrator

The narrator was tolerable, but I'm confused why he's even in the business. He mispronounced so many common words like stamina, proficiency, and on and on. He often swapped the vowels E and ih like in Still and Steel. Like, fine if English isn't your first language or something, or you're dyslexic, but at least the editors should catch the errors?

Story was a great continuation.

great beginning to a great beginning

this book is another view from the same series. I loved the other books, and this book brings and "enemy" into the heroes light. definatly read this book. cant wait for book 2

LOVE THIS BOOK.

great way to get a better understanding of the imperials and the Empire. if you enjoy The Viridian Gate series then this book is a must. the narrator mispronounced quite a few words, the main being Stamina, he says s
tanima about 50 times.

Fantastic Book!!!!

Can’t wait for the next one! One of my new favorite LitRPG! Main character is a true star

I think this is my favorite book in the series.

It ties everything together. Connecting or revealing all the loose threads that the main series doesn't show you.
I hope they write more in this sub-series at least as good as this one.

Great story of VGO's villain's rise to power

If you enjoyed the VGO series, this is a great addition, giving a look at the "villain" Robert Osmark's side of the story.

New narrator and continue series please

I was excited to find a book in VGO series in Osmark's point of view. I'm not a big fan of the narrator but the story was very interesting. I'd love if this becomes a side series. I still haven't picked up Firebrand or Illusionist. Jack's sidekick, Abby, isn't really interesting enough to get her own books. Robert should have at least 3 novels, in my opinion.

worst narration imaginable

Story was great, but the narrator takes away so much it was almost unbearable. He wasn't monotone, but he uses the exact same inflection with every single freaking sentence! A slight rise in his voice at the end of every single sentence, followed by the exact same fall in his tone with the last syllable. UGH, come on! Get someone who knows how to tell a story, not just a moron to read words on a page! I have so much more to say about how awful the narrator was, but I'm getting angrier just thinking about it.