The Clan

By: D. Rus

Narrated by: Michael Goldstrom

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's Summary

Once a seasoned gamer, Max has cheated fate, swapping his dying body for an immortal avatar in the world of sword and sorcery MMORPGs. He joins the ranks of a new race of people: perma players, forever stuck in the virtual castles and cities of AlterWorld. Now they have to obey the ever-changing rules of their new home while learning to live together in peace, love, and justice.

But freedom and immortality are a poisoned chalice. Some of Max's new friends crave power; others become traitors and spies. Soon the first screams of pain fill the virtual world as its freshly minted slavedrivers and torturers indulge in the absence of law and order. Their crimes provide a constant flow of gold back to their real-world controllers: the power-happy governments plotting to take over AlterWorld's magic technologies and limitless resources. What would you do? Would you step aside and watch the magical world turn into the Earth's dark twin? Or are you strong enough to step in the virtual sharks' way?

©2014 D. Rus (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Not really a series, just one huge book broken up.

this is the second book without it's own distinct plot. there are plot points for the "series" but no individual plot or each book. a promising series, ruined by marketing. if the five decent - sized "parts" in the series had been combined into two or three complete, and long, books THEN it would have been my new favorite series. as it is, I'm bailing at two "books".

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Just as Good as Book 1!

This story just keeps getting better and better! As with the first book, I finished this one in one sitting and immediately purchased book three. It's rare to find a series that holds my attention and delivers such a compelling story. Highly Recommended!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Really enjoyed the story I had to stop

I really enjoy the story idea. I think it is a fresh and it brings me back to when I played MMORPGs. I would recommended the books. The narrator does a good job. Not great, but good.

This is going to sound ridiculous, but I had to stop because I couldn't stand the main character saying "my inner greedy pig". Every time I heard it I would get a little more frustrated with the book. I think I was only two hours in on this book and had counted him saying it over 10 times. The last straw was when he said it 4 times in the span of 10 minutes.

Decent story idea, good narrator and okay writing.

10 of 13 people found this review helpful

Solid LitRPG Spoiled by Sexism

Max is back, and he's more powerful than ever. After The Dark One's intervention in the last book, Max is offered an opportunity to grasp more power. A lot of opportunities, in fact. Max is juggling quests, and his allies and clan only seem to be piling more on his plate.

This second book in the series deals more with the political and financial struggles Max faces. There's a lot going on, and Max races from crisis to crisis at a frantic pace. The glimpses we get of the action outside Alterworld were really interesting. The book definitely kept my attention and I had a hard time putting it down on my first read-through. The narration was excellent as well.

I love the LitRPG genre, and this series was my first introduction to it. I bought the first three Play to Live books in 2015, but I didn't purchase the rest of the series. Even though I loved the plot, as a female reader and gamer, the sexism was difficult to read. One example was when Max hired an all female mercenary group to help him level up. He was a lowly level 52 to the women's 140 plus levels, they'd probably played the game for years and could wipe him out in moments. After playing with them for a few days and witnessing their skill, does he respect them? No, of course not. His only thought is that they could use a 'strong male hand'. Ugh. And Taali, who arguably has a much more interesting storyline than Max's, is relegated to warm his bed and be crowned homecoming queen. Double ugh.

I would give this book 5 stars and highly recommend it if it wasn't for the sexism. There is a lot of great LitRPG out there now, so I won't be finishing the series.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great story ruined by "Having said that..."

The author wrote "Having said that" so many times, it was seriously like listening to a broken record. I started to cringe and get anxious knowing it was going to happen again any second. I'm kind of curious to know what happens in book three, but can't handle another audiobook full of "Having said that..."

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Intriguing premise, good narration, but lacking

I'm disappointed because I was very intrigued by the premise. There are just too many plot holes and inconsistencies. After the first book I figured I would give the second book a chance but the issues did not get better. Both books together do not quite make a complete story. The cliffhangers at the end of each book feel a little like extortion. Rather than feeling like volumes of a large saga, each book feels more like a chapter that was fleshed out into a short book much the way a student will take one page and stretch it into three for a term paper. Then finally something important happens and the book is over without resolution. I am simply not willing to continue buying more books hoping the story will get better.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Too much happening

I don't want to give the book a bad review, I just think this book spends too much time adding too many challenges to the main character which takes away from the story. This is why I don't watch shows like intervention. I definitely like the idea behind the story and these last two books have motivated me to play WOW more. lol. Finally made my first level 100 shaman. :) ... It has pointed out several interesting things to look out for if going 'Perma' is ever an option. However, I think this is the last book in this series for me.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great book, but then the half-assed romance.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

If i made a checklist for this book on how it delivers on execution, you'd see a page almost entirely made up of check marks. The only two checks that really get overlooked here are conflict and romance, but these two elements are critical and their lack is a devastating blow to what could have been a fantastic book. Because i understand that some people COULD slug past these soul-draining moments and go on to call this book acceptable, I've rated it a 2/5, however I personally find this book on my short list of worst books i've ever completed.

So, similar to book #1, there is utterly no conflict. Sure swords clash, but the main character is never truly in peril. There is no sustained threat or real consequences he may face. Other people are in peril, but the moment the MC shows up, they're fine so you don't even get the indirectly vicarious suspense of worry that MC might have to struggle to save everyone.

And here's the real condemner - the romance is a half-baked self insertion story (haha) that serves only to stroke the MC's ego by putting his GF in positions where she jealously bickers with other hot girls over who gets to jump MC's bone. Ultimately, the heroine (tally?) wins and gets to have sex constantly. Yay! This isnt graphically depicted sex, nor is it plot relevant, and it also serves absolutely no purpose in building the characters or relationships, instead its more like a wink wink nudge nudge. High five me bro, I just sexed the females! Whats the point? By the end, Tally still doesnt have a personality or purpose other than as a conduit for sexual greatness so why would you detract from all the cool world-building and deific wonder to fall back on cheap allusions to MC's irrelevant sex life.
So, this really seems like something minor, that could easily be overlooked. That's why I made it to book 2, and I'm here to warn you: dont trivialize this.
To validate my point, I'd like to call the book itself to testimony -
MC is pretty much the saint of a semi-evil god thats been relegated to the sidelines.
The god asks his two companions if they want to follow him.
Companion 1 (male) is all like, hell ya! You saved me when good gods didnt, so I'm with you!
MC's girlfriend says, I hear serving you will make me better at sex. If so i'm in.

^True story. 'nuff said. Even if 90% of a book is good, if the other 10% is wretched, pointless, and toxic enough the book will suck.

9 of 13 people found this review helpful

Continues and improves the first book

I absolutely loved the first book in this story, in part because it let me relive some of my MMORPG gaming days. This book continued the story and moved it forward well. it continued to tackle some tough issues while at the same time developing the main characters.
The only problem that I have is that this book move away from some of the things that I loves so much about the first book: the detailed description of the perks and the normal experience of players in games like the one described. The reason it does this is because the main character continues to get more and more important in the world and gets swept up in some big plot points and moves away form the smaller points somewhat.
This is actually probably a good things since it moves the action along, but I missed it a little bit. Still 5 stars though. It was awesome.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

very mediocre

the book tends to have its most dramatic plot devices at the end of the story. The translation of the book produces quirky expressions. other reviewers are correct, there is very minimal plot and drama. The main character just does his thing as he gets and loses opportunities.

I'm curious about the next book, but I rather not spend a credit on that curiosity. I rather spend that credit on better works.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

A bit Childish

childish and sexist.

the protagonist is never in danger, and for some reason he is heralded as the hero despite never proving himself. there is no depth or struggle. there is no self interest from the other parties, they only with to serve Max and shower him with gifts.

the love interest is only there to serve the protagonist and his sexual desires.

tl:Dr it reads like the fantasies of a young schoolboy, he wants magic and fame and girls fauning over him.