Viridian Gate Online: Firebrand

The Firebrand Series, Book 1

By: James A. Hunter, J.D. Astra

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

New worlds get new kings, and that's exactly what Abby thinks she's found in her boss's hacked code.

With a cataclysmic asteroid careening toward Earth, the VRMMORPG project Viridian Gate Online has become more than just a game, and Abby thinks her boss, Robert Osmark, wants to be more than just its founding father.

Now, Abby holds a hacked key to the kingdom that could earn her a punishment worse than death. To uncover the secret that drug lords and corrupt politicians paid millions for, Abby must dive into the game she helped create and team up with one of its AI creations. It's a race against the clock as she tries to discover what's hidden in the secret code before Osmark can crown himself ruler over all that remains of humanity.

From James A. Hunter—author of Viridian Gate Online, Rogue Dungeon, War God's Mantle, and the Yancy Lazarus series—and debut author J. D. Astra, comes an epic new entry into the expanded universe of Viridian Gate Online that you won't want to miss!

©2019 James A. Hunter and Shadow Alley Press, Inc. (P)2019 Tantor Media

Another great series…

Viridian gate online is an amazing world that has a lot to offer not only readers but the characters in the story themselves. I love almost everything about this series except for this main character, Abby is like the female version of Luke Skywalker and the doom looping she does drives me absolutely batty, I have found myself fast forwarding through this in order to hope the story is moving on and not moving backwards. This is the one time I think that the author is trying to feel the readers head with the conflict at the main character is possibly going through… But the author has to realize that the readers are smart and can follow this without having to have their hands held, the entire time, thru every mental conflict that Abby has, throughout this entire book!

awesome

loved this story. i finished the original VGO following jack and i was missing the world. i didn't love abby as much during this book but it all felt very accurate and was super interesting to see the other half of the story.

Just over used trope of AI vs Travelers

The MC's incessant reminders that her NPC companion and any native beings were nothing but AI or coding was almost unbeatable. Every time there was a crisis of faith...she reminded you that "they are only code". This made the events seem less plausible IMO as the premise of the entire story was the conversion of the Human Race into this virtual world.

Amazing narration

This was a great story. The MC was vulnerable and well-written. The story was engaging. Just now realizing this is an extremely fleshed out world with lots of series tk explore. Excited about that.

Emily Woo Zeller has just jumped into my top 5 favorite narrators with this one. Can't wait to hear more from her!

An excellent start on a virtual D&D world!

I like the details that we discover about Abby and how she thought she was one type of person but turned out to be another type altogether. I also enjoyed the personal secrets that NPCs like Otto or the waitresses at the inn keep to themselves. Finally I really like the cliffhangers we have at the end!

solid litRPG

the antagonist protagonist relationship is rushed, but the author was able to make the female perspective relatable to me(a male) without being overly emotional or screaming I'm a minority. the rpg elements are solid, def worth the listen.

Fun story

Great narration by Emily Woo Zeller. Really fun story main is a tad whiny and repetitive rehashing possible regrets and risk to friends but still great story looking forward to the next one in the series

wow

love the concept and story but I'll tell you the protagonist is like an annoying 14yr old windy baby acting tough. super glad when she developed out of that. smh. good story though.

Interesting twist on original story

I like the Abby character and was hoping she would be fleshed out a bit more and she was. After that it was very much like listening to C3PO tell his side of the Battle of Endor.

Her story starts close to the protagonist “Jack” and I’m hoping that the second book isn’t just a continuation of the original series book 2 which would be, disappointing.

Good story

I enjoyed the story. It was interesting seeing another story in the Viridan Gate Online world.