Banned (Book 2): A LitRPG Adventure Series

Banned #2

by Michael Atamanov

The adventures of Dog of the Forgotten Pack continue! Hardcore mode, the future with all its ups and downs, and the struggle to survive in both the real and virtual worlds all await him.

With no roof over his head while being hunted by the police, a ruthless corporation, and hitmen, our hero must hide and fight for his life. Every chance he gets, he dives into the virtual world as Dog of the Forgotten Pack, seeking to inch closer to his dream: the tantalizing yet distant treasures of Shadow Kane the Assassin. Though permanently banned by the administration of Shattered Empire Online, Shadow Kane had once managed to shake up the entire virtual world.

New friends and old, love and betrayal, a no-holds-barred battle for the Beastmen throne, and a truly unforgiving game mode lie ahead. Read on—you won't be disappointed!

489 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 17, 2025

About the author

Michael Atamanov was born in 1975 in Grozny, Chechnia. He excelled at school, winning numerous national science and writing competitions. Having graduated with honors, he entered Moscow University to study material engineering. Soon, however, he had no home to return to: their house was destroyed during the first Chechen campaign. Michael's family fled the war, taking shelter with some relatives in Stavropol Territory in the South of Russia.

Having graduated from the University, Michael was forced to accept whatever work was available. He moonlighted in chemical labs, loaded trucks, translated technical articles, worked as a software installer as well as scene shifter for local artists and events. At the same time he never stopped writing, even when squatting in some seedy Moscow hostels. Writing became an urgent need for Michael, driving him to submit articles to science publications, news fillers for a variety of web sites and a plethora of technical and copywriting gigs.

Then one day unexpectedly for himself he started writing fairy tales and science fiction novels. For several years, his audience consisted of only one person: Michael's elder son. Then, at the end of 2014 he decided to upload one of his manuscripts to a free online writers resource. Readers liked it and demanded a sequel. Michael uploaded another book, and yet another, his audience growing as did his list. It was his readers who helped Michael hone his writing style. He finally had the breakthrough he deserved when the Moscow-based EKSMO - the biggest publishing house in Europe - offered him a contract for his first and consequent books.

Reviews

[Travis]

I received a review copy of this book.
Ok, not the best second book in a series I ever read, but it does advance the story considerably. The main character grows significantly, and those around him are carried along, even including some new friends. I'll read the next book when it comes out, but for what it's worth, this series isn't grabbing me like some of the other series by this author have done.

[Monty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too nonsensical a plot/story with odd characterisation and errors. It gets worse than in book one where these were already issues, ones that I forgave to an extent, then, but sadly it becomes an issue of accumulation.

The VRMMORPG aspects of the story seem exceedingly underdeveloped. Its as if game development has been stuck in the 2000s - 2020s all while the tech has moved on but nothing is there bridging it, like for example in-game adaptive AI for story. This is obviously so to lend the author otherwise totally illogical plot progression paths. So a major asspull excuse.

[Dominic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

[Jim Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continues to be unique

This is not a stand alone book. Read book one first. The game and leveling framework still works. Still a cliffhanger at the end. No epilogue.

[Murphies_law · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, while i rather enjoyed the first book i got really tired of the plot.