Tower of Somnus Omnibus, Books 1-3

De: Cale Plamann

Narrado por: Andrea Parsneau

First contact gone wrong. Humanity judged and found wanting. Unlimited power up for grab.

The Galactic Consensus arrived on ships as large as skyscrapers, crafted from glittering alloys that no human scientist could even begin to understand. They followed the trail of century old television transmissions to welcome us into the galactic community… only to recoil in horror at what they found.

They concluded that humans were unfit to be trusted with the advanced technologies that member-states of the Consensus freely traded with each other, installing a relay to warn other ships that we were under embargo, but more importantly, allowing humans entrance into the Tower of Somnus, a multiplayer game of sorts that could be played in one’s sleep. The hope was that humanity would learn proper behavior from playing the game with our more civilized neighbors.

Katherine ‘Kat’ Debs, a hereditary employee of one of the megacorporations that ruled the world, eked out a meager existence in a massive arcology of glittering glass and chrome. She dreamt of one day earning enough money to buy her freedom, and was more than willing to break a law here or there in the process. When she is offered an opportunity to enter the Tower of Somnus free of corporate control, she jumps at the chance. After all, the 'game' was more than just a status symbol, players retained the fantastic powers they earned in the game in the waking world as well.

A perfect opportunity to take control of her destiny, or die trying.

©2022 Cale Plamann (P)2022 Cale Plamann

A refreshing take on the "dream video game"

This was a great listening experience; I enjoyed the story very much. I'm usually very critical of the stories I enjoy (the more I like it, the higher my expectations), but I only noticed a couple of minor points in this one -- mostly about subject/object pronoun use (think "I" vs. "me"). I guess I was also a little concerned about how readily the main character could "eliminate hostiles," and at least one case where she did so unnecessarily (though she seemed to realize it afterwards).
While I say this as a man, I found the narrator's male voices to be more varied and convincing than many of her female voices. It was kind of impressive, honestly.
Also, I would caution against listening to all 3 books in rapid succession. By the time I was wrapping up the third volume in this set, it was starting to affect my thinking. My daughter asked me, "If you have to split an apple between yourself and two friends, but can only make one cut, how would you do it?" I thought about it for a minute, but the only response I could think of was, "Line them up, one in front of the other. Stab through the first, into the second. Walk away and eat the apple."

magical cyberpunk!!

I really don't want to spoil this absolutely great series it's just that good.
for you like cyberpunk and perhaps magic? why not both in a litrpg style? well that's only the start of the good things to come yet, with great world build and dynamic characters everywhere both to be liked or not aswell as great story progress that will leave you wanting for more.
the voice actor did a great job aswell lots of depth and excitement. do you read combat parts of a book faster because it's more exciting? this great voice actor does and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time!
so in short you need to check this great series out

all in one

I'm really starting to like this author. his books are fun and peppy. the third book in this series doesn't actually start until chapter 28 or thirty. I had to reread them because I missed some good scenes.

TLDR: they are fun.

I love Andrea...

This series is really good, short books but a lot of great content. the author skips time when necessary and gives the meat of the story great attention. Andrea Parsneau is one of the best narrators you could ask for, I would ask her to marry me and read me stories every night as we fall asleep if it was possible.

good, not great

The world building is really cool, the cyberpunk future reality that manages to be more interesting than the fantasy gaming and leveling portion, which just feels tacked on. not entirely, of course, there's some decent synergy, but it would've been nice if more plot or sub plot was done in the tower rather than it just feeling like where she can chill with aliens and gain levels/powers.