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Level Dead #1

EverRealm

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From Bram Stoker Nominated Author Jake Bible comes an exciting new LitRPG adventure series!

In the 23rd century, the world is at an end, and a group of gaming and programming friends decide that their only way to survive is to discard their bodies and send their minds into the quantum matrix of a virtual gaming world. They have created the Domains and there they plan to reside forever.

Except, the nightmares of reality have followed them into their new quantum dimension and those nightmares threaten to destroy it all!

Now it is up to one of them to help navigate the quantum platform known as EverRealm, a fantasy MMORPG of epic proportions, in order to complete a quest he neither wants to complete nor knows how. With the help of his friends, and a lot of luck, he will have to face trials and tribulations like he's never faced as a player! Because now it is no longer a matter of Game Over, but of life or death!

Can he survive it all and come out a winner? The only way he'll know is if he plays the game to the bitter end!

250 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 29, 2017

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About the author

Jake Bible

117 books344 followers
Jake Bible, Bram Stoker Award nominated-novelist, short story writer, independent screenwriter, podcaster, and inventor of the Drabble Novel, has entertained thousands with his horror, sci/fi, thriller, and adventure tales. He reaches audiences of all ages with his uncanny ability to write a wide range of characters and genres.

Jake is the author of the bestselling Z-Burbia series set in Asheville, NC, the bestselling Salvage Merc One, the Apex Trilogy (DEAD MECH, The Americans, Metal and Ash) and the Mega series for Severed Press, as well as the YA zombie novel, Little Dead Man, the Bram Stoker Award nominated Teen horror novel, Intentional Haunting, the ScareScapes series, and the Reign of Four series for Permuted Press.

Find Jake at jakebible.com. Join him on Twitter @jakebible and find him on Facebook.

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5 stars
40 (23%)
4 stars
45 (26%)
3 stars
59 (35%)
2 stars
11 (6%)
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13 (7%)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Sheridan Lee.
101 reviews8 followers
April 6, 2017
This is going to be another fantastic series! Next book, please.

Who knew reading about playing a video game would be so fun? The possibilities are endless! The story is smooth and transitions nicely. It could have been confusing, but Bible explained things perfectly, without boring us or leaving us scratching our heads. The characters are distinct and easy to relate with. More please!
Profile Image for AudioBookReviewer.
949 reviews162 followers
September 14, 2017
My original EverRealm audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

This was a tough book to review as I have liked the previous works produced by Jake Bible.  As one of the main characters says early on in the book, “It’s complicated…”  Mr. Bible’s writing style is often unique and each of his stories brings action, adventure, and excitement.  However, that was not the case with his recent releases into the Literary Role Playing Game (LitRPG) genre with “EverRealm”.  Even with a weak story, the audiobook edition is expertly narrated by Jeff Hays.  It is the first book in what is to become the “Level Dead” series.  Bible blends the lines with this book and it appears I’m not the only one confused as to the category the book belongs.  It is part virtual game, part zombie apocalypse, along with a blending of Family Guy and South Park.  Vulgar language flows freely and at times may even make a trucker or sailor blush; no offence to those two professions.  There are few RPG element, too much slap-stick, and more undead than you can shake a stick at.  For me, it is too much over the top humor and not enough focus on the core genre mechanics; something most who enjoy the LitRPG genre are looking for.  It is difficult for me to recommend this book unless you are looking for more of a humorous zombie (or undead) survival story wrapped in a fantasy veneer.

Because the story revolves mostly around the undead, it has a bit darker than many of the other LitRPG books I have listened too.  It is amazing the number of undead who appear to love their technology in this book.  Not only do we have zombies, but the book includes trolls, orcs, dragons, and automatons; or robots.  In this rather unique world of the undead taking over and people becoming fodder, our party of survivors set out to live in a new virtual world that does not have any undead.  But wait, an event occurs releasing a hoard of zombies into this previously pristine fantasy world, and our party is now forced to fight to survive.  I enjoyed a few of the humorous parts the author included such as Hollow the undead pet Schnauzer, Bubby the mythical aunt, along with the family of trolls.  There is also a fair amount of banter between characters of the party.  The author adds a decent amount of interesting and unique magical items found by the characters on their journeys. Who does not like a dragon with a slogan such as “fire fixes everything”, or a ranger character who doesn’t know how to track, forage, or understand the importance of a forest.  However, the use of modern vulgar language and how much it gushed from all the characters ruined the fantasy world feel for me.   The book included aspects of romance, but even this was minimized to the act of sex and did not really develop into what I would consider a deep loving relationship.

The book is exceptionally narrated by Jeff Hays and even though the material was lacking, the narration was top notch.  For those accustom to his work, Jeff narrates the many different characters, including female ones, with ease.  He gives the characters life by breathing in to them unique personalities making each easily distinguishable while listening.  Jeff’s works always go above and beyond by including special sound effects for a few of the characters.  I did not observe any issues with the quality of the audio itself.  A professional narration even when the book’s story is a bit weaker than I would have liked it to be.

For parents and younger audiences, be aware this book contains heavy use of crude and vulgar language.  It also contains topics involving sex along with multiple uses of sexual innuendos and crass humor.  If you are not a fan of Family Guy type humor, I recommend you keep your distance from this book.

In summary, the book’s concept, setup and overall premise had such potential I was looking forward to listening to it.  However, the light-hearted or comedic parts seemed to clog the stage where it should have been the story, the game, and the characters getting all the attention.  It is not a bad book, but if you go into it thinking you are getting a great LitRPG, you may be disappointed; as I was.  If you like zombie books containing a pile of vulgar words and crass humor, this may be the book for you.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.
Profile Image for PJ Lea.
1,064 reviews
April 6, 2017
"It’s funny how life’s little coincidences get warped and messed up into a hellish nightmare that makes you want to piss your breeches as you run blindly through an unfamiliar forest while trying to escape an undead river troll hell bent on killing and eating you."
At the end of the world a good way of escaping might be to load your consciousness into a game world, if only the outside world would stay there.
The parameters of the game have been changed by the admin which certainly explains a lot of things that otherwise wouldn't make sense in an mmorpg and it adds to the excitement as the characters engage with their new reality, also having it set it the future means that gaming could be altered in any way the author wants.
I read and hugely enjoyed this book for exactly what it is, an escape from our reality, a fun story with liberties taken of the genre to give it a twist. I could picture the action easily, all the fighting and bloodshed, there were plenty of humorous moments to lighten the mood and stopped the book from becoming too dark, the personal relationships were intriguing and had me wanting to know more about them all.
Since I couldn't put it down because I became engrossed in the story, the ending segues into the next book without a massive cliffhanger, and I found the characters engaging and likeable, I have to give it 5 stars.

Profile Image for Johnny.
1,627 reviews44 followers
April 9, 2017
Very soft litrpg

Only found a couple of mistakes, so this was very well written. No loot is gathered from defeated enemies and the only stats shown are the mc's. I have to call this the softest litrpg I've run into.
I can still recommend it as a fun read though.
Profile Image for Josh.
32 reviews2 followers
April 5, 2017
Outstanding

I loved this book and cant wait for more. The main character is relatable and funny. The story move quickly and flows nicely. Buy this book now
Profile Image for Dan.
Author 9 books2 followers
March 9, 2018
This is the first LitRPG offering I have experienced. I like the genre and the idea of combining that with urban fantasy, post apocalypse, zombies. I like the different worlds and sequels that were set up by this first book and I like that each of them presents new challenges and landscapes.

The story fell apart in two areas for me. It is an ensemble book and in that type of book I have to care about the cast. I never grew to care about this team. Whether they won or lost didn't really matter. I cared more about the world of Everrealm than I did about the people trying to save it. When bad things happened to them, they weren't impactful moments that made me reflect or regret, they were just a plot point.

The second area that was problematic for me was the narration. This could be a regional thing for me or just a personal preference but I found the voices that were chosen seemed designed to be irritating. The main character spends most of the book doggedly committed to being angry and that got to be a bit much to listen to. There is a balance between being true to the story and giving it a voice that can impact that experience negatively and I think in this case, it went a little sideways.

I think I might appreciate the next book a bit more as there was some character growth that I feel might show a different type of scenario that will be more conducive to the main POV.
Profile Image for Stephanie .
337 reviews5 followers
August 25, 2017
This is where I wish there were half ratings... This was probably actually a 3.5 star book for me, but I rounded up because it was enjoyable. I will also preface my review by saying that I have never read anything in the LitRPG category, so I did not know what to expect. Someone who is familiar with this type of book or role playing games would probably like this even more than I did. What I do know is the zombie genre, and this gave a very new twist to that. I find it pretty rare to stumble upon new ideas, so that gives this book an instant boost.

The narration of this audiobook was mostly great. There was one character's voice that grated on me, but he was also a grating character, so maybe that was the point. I do think this story lends itself to an audiobook better than a print book. Parts of the book seemed like back and forth chatter that would happen in an online game through headsets. Like I said previously, I don't personally game, but it seems to fit with what I have observed in others who do. If you can suspend your belief just a little bit more than with a standard zombie story, this book will likely be entertaining.

I received a free copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review.
Profile Image for RJ.
2,030 reviews10 followers
August 17, 2017
In the near future the world is in deep trouble. The undead infest the planet and nowhere is safe anymore. A group of gaming and programming friends find a way programmatically to immerse themselves in the gaming domains. They must forego their human bodies and will reappear in the game to live out their lives as characters within the game. They decide that the possibility of death must be an option to keep things real, so if they die in the game…that’s game over. They thought they would avoid the undead apocalypse on earth, but instead the dead manage to enter the game also. There is plenty of action much like an undead apocalypse novel. I found it quite enjoyable and decided I would look into more of these LitRPG category novels. I recommend this novel if you are a fan of the undead apocalypse. This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.
Profile Image for Chris Evans.
878 reviews40 followers
January 8, 2018
This is a Zombie Novel inside a LitRPG inside a Zombie Novel... and it kind of works. A group of young adults attempt to escape the zombie Apocalypse by fleeing into a Virtual Quantum world, only to mess up and bring zombies along. It's pretty good, though the LitRPG aspect of it is by far the weakest.

Over all I give the story about a 3.5/5, rounded up because of the hints that maybe the virtual world isn't so virtual. I'm not sure if future books will end up covering that the zombie apocalypse ended up coming from these quantum worlds, or there are worlds beyond the ones created and things can bass between, or something about a conspiracy by humans in the real world. It's got me interested enough to continue at least.
Profile Image for N.V. Cefalo.
157 reviews4 followers
July 17, 2020
*This book was given to me by the author at my request, and I provided this voluntary, unbiased review.*

4.9/5

Yet another unique style of story in the LitRPG genre. Just a tad different in that it's not stat based, but still falls well within the LitRPG stylings. I fully enjoyed the ride of this story, and I was rooting for them the whole time - especially the quirky MC. The stakes are more real in this adventure than in some of the other LitRPG stories i've read, so I think that is what sets this one apart from some of the others and what makes it so fun and nerve-racking to read! The narration was also good as well. I definitely recommend this book!
Profile Image for Trevor.
1,064 reviews2 followers
February 6, 2022
The world is over run with the undead, so a small group of survivors spread far and wide build an online environment, so they can live a better life. All is set, but the undead break through and the safe haven is soon overrun and the virtual life proves to be just as deadly. Good book, with interesting leading character, will be interesting to see the series continue.
15 reviews
July 12, 2017
I hate these kinda books but

I hate these kinda books but this was really good and now I want to read the sequels to find out wth is going on.
Profile Image for Brad Theado.
1,710 reviews3 followers
November 20, 2017
I don't know why I couldn't get into this book. It's cReative and well edited. Just couldn't stick with it and quit 30% of the way in.
Profile Image for Karsyn .
2,330 reviews39 followers
January 10, 2018
Meh. Was ok. Probably should rate a 2, but feeling generous. Story was ok, just couldn't get into the characters at all. Wasn't awful, just wasn't great. Probably won't read more.
Profile Image for Josh Hill.
3 reviews1 follower
August 23, 2019
Pure Geek Fun

Wonderful characters. Full of laugh out loud humor and super geek references. Can't wait until the next book! Thank you Jake 😁
Profile Image for Melissa Hayden.
836 reviews118 followers
January 14, 2018
Another cool creation for the LitRPG world in books. I really like that they are leaving the "real" world behind for virtual ones, and the reason behind it all. This gives the reason behind coming to the gaming worlds solidity in my mind. We get the explanations of how it's done, but it's not over science-y to lose us. It's just what it is.

I'm really enjoying the LitRPG books I've been getting lately. Jeff's voice acting is fun and fits the worlds and characters so well. And the stories are alive and feel more than just a "gaming" atmosphere. Well done with this one Jake!

****FULL REVIEW****
*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

The human world has ended. Humans and animals are now the undead and own the world. Steve is one of nine who have created virtual worlds that join at the place they call Center. They plan to live in their own Domains for eternity, as long as the main power keeps going. But, when they arrive at the Center there are two of the nine missing. Trying to help his friend, then warn others, Henry brings the nightmare of the real world to them when he thought he could filter the infection out while transitioning to where they were to be safe. Now they need to find the infected that's loose in their worlds...somewhere...

When I go into an audiobook knowing Jeff's the narrator, I have high expectations. I look for different voices and personalities to come to life. And I get them. I love listening to Jeff voice all the characters differently. It's entertaining for me in listening along with makes it easy to differentiate everyone. When a voice actor puts this much effort into a piece, it shows and makes the book along with his work shine. Sometimes the small things make the book all the better, like overlaying several voices at one time when all speak. Jeff does that, and it's totally cool. He really makes me feel as though it's a show and live.

Let me talk about the world creation. I wasn't sure how it was all going to relate at the beginning. Jake gives us the ground work as to why and how this is done, though it's quick to not slow the pacing of the story. I followed it all easily and found it interesting to see it come together when I get into the Center with Steve and others. And what we learn through the book in how the worlds are connected.

Undead, gaming worlds of different structure... action has to happen! Cool combo!

Steve's relationships with each of the characters grows more as they fight together to save the worlds they've created for themselves. And we get to know his friends as we go. I like the humor Steve's written with. And felt bad for him because when he tried to make a joke or state anything he was wrong in his doing in EverRealm it Always seeming to cause problems.

Speaking of problems... wow, do things really get messed up here in EverRealm. With the undead and with what Steve and friends do. It's crazy! But it all works together and somehow works out in the end. For me, the story felt smooth in flow with these problems. It all fit the world, characters, and situations.

Another cool creation for the LitRPG world in books. I really like that they are leaving the "real" world behind for virtual ones, and the reason behind it all. This gives the solid reason for coming to the gaming worlds in my mind. We get the explanations of how it's done, but it's not over science-y to lose us. It's just what it is.

I will say this is a game RPG setting, but I don't feel like I'm in a "game". The RPG setting is actually to be their homes. That makes the world real and important to them. What they do here has an impact and they try to live knowing that. Also, we aren't always grasping for our tool bar to see supplies and stats. Steve does do it, but it's not a constant thing.

I'm really enjoying the LitRPG books I've been getting lately. Jeff's voice acting is fun and fits the worlds and characters so well. And the stories are alive and feel more than just a "gaming" atmosphere. Well done with this one Jake!
Profile Image for Deirdre Toby.
63 reviews
April 8, 2017
The Zombie apocalypse infects a new genre

I became a fan of Jake Bible thru his zompoc books and have enjoyed several of his sci-fi stories as well, so I grabbed this new book to check out.
I was drawn into the story immediately and found the fantasy land of the game world intriguing. The overall story has a bit of a YA feel to it, and I enjoyed the mash up of genres.... kind of a zombie apocalypse meets fantasy kind of thing.
While it might not become one of my top favorite Jake Bible worlds, it's fun and enjoyable and I will continue with the story if another book comes out.
132 reviews2 followers
Read
November 9, 2017
You, the author, are telling us, the audience, that when people create a virtual domain with the ability to alter the domain to however they like, they cannot pull out omnipotent fail safe abilities. Please keep in mind that this domain will be their second life forever. Their escape from a post apocalyptic world. Yeah, create a world with no backup.

You are also telling us that "dying" in such a virtual world is "bad" because of what?!

You are also also telling us that MC needs to be fully soaked in some blue gel and "drown" to connect to the server. But zombies only need to be splashed with a drop to connect.

Fine, I give you that. If you able to materialize a full riot gear, baseball bat, axe, army knives and whatnot, why the f*** not a machine gun? A brick wall? A f***ing giant robot? Anything useful?!?!?!?!

The author is literally using a broken piece of plank smacking the story along.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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