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The Last Warrior of Unigaea #1
The Last Warrior of Unigaea
A Player Killer with nothing left to lose, Oric Rune wants nothing more than to avenge the villagers of Ducat, who were butchered before his very eyes by the Drachma Killers.
But with the people of the Rune Lands encroaching on the southern cities of Unigaea, and something brewing in the sky that could prove fatal to the entire online world, Oric must make the choice between personal vengeance and becoming the hero he is destined to be.
Joining him on his epic journey are a giant Tagvornin wolf, a mute Solar Mage, and a cunning illusionist named Sam Raid.
Do not miss this the start of this powerful LitRPG fantasy trilogy by the author of Fantasy Online and The Feedback Loop series!
But with the people of the Rune Lands encroaching on the southern cities of Unigaea, and something brewing in the sky that could prove fatal to the entire online world, Oric must make the choice between personal vengeance and becoming the hero he is destined to be.
Joining him on his epic journey are a giant Tagvornin wolf, a mute Solar Mage, and a cunning illusionist named Sam Raid.
Do not miss this the start of this powerful LitRPG fantasy trilogy by the author of Fantasy Online and The Feedback Loop series!
354 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 26, 2017
227 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
Harmon Cooper
143 books367 followersHarmon Cooper is the author of over sixty fantasy works. His bestselling series include Pilgrim, War Priest, Cowboy Necromancer, and Tokens and Towers.
His series, The Feedback Loop, is one of the earlier GameLit works first published in 2015. An earphone award winner for the series Death's Mantle, Harmon won the LitRPG/GameLit Audiobook of the Year award for Sacred Cat Island, narrated by Legends and Lattes author Travis Baldree.
Harmon write progression fantasy, cultivation fantasy, and LitRPG/GameLit.
His series, The Feedback Loop, is one of the earlier GameLit works first published in 2015. An earphone award winner for the series Death's Mantle, Harmon won the LitRPG/GameLit Audiobook of the Year award for Sacred Cat Island, narrated by Legends and Lattes author Travis Baldree.
Harmon write progression fantasy, cultivation fantasy, and LitRPG/GameLit.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 6, 2018
Instead of my usual philosophical rants, let's try something new. How about I actually say what the book is all about?
*audible collective gasp*
Yes, I fully intend to write a normal review this time! But don't get used to it. To minimize the time it takes me to write it (and bring the total to under 20 minutes) I'll just write things as they occur to me 😅
I'll fix any obvious typing mistakes but don't count on proof-reading. If something doesn't make sense - keep reading. Perhaps there's a key to your confusion somewhere below. Brace yourselves! 😄
And, speaking of Audible (Did you notice the cleverly-hidden pun above? I'm totally nailing this review!), the level of enjoyment I got out of this book was pleasantly unexpected. I suppose it's been a while since I listened to any of the Soundbooth Theater-produced audiobooks, otherwise, I'd realize it's a norm now.
These guys can make a theater in your mind! Something like GraphicAudio productions - although they now have "A movie in your mind" tagline. Odd, I could have sworn it was "A theater in your mind" I heard in the DemonWars Saga a couple of years back. Perhaps they found out that people nowadays have no idea what a theater is and have adapted. I attribute this to bad parenting 😣
Right, the book!
Well, the book is, as you can probably tell by the 5-star rating, awesome! Why? I'll tell you in a moment.
This is a story of a boy and his dog 😍
If the boy is a Conan-like warrior who likes killing other warriors. And some other, not-so-much-a-warrior-but-not-quite-a-civilian-either, people. Civilians, too. And their cattle. Okay, maybe not the cattle. Totally bonkers and hell-bent on getting his revenge. But with a really nice personality. You'd like him. His dog also isn't really a dog but a wolf. This is further made clear by his name - Wolf. To his defense, our hero had a low Mind score when he named him. Be nice. But it's a good pet and looks like a dog - hence "the story about the boy and his dog" is a fitting title. They're a heart-warming couple. When they're not killing other people. En masse.
In case you've read a similar story about a boy and his dog before because, let's face it, this is quite a common plot, let me tell you the boy's name - Oric! Ha! How many Orics do you know? Aside from Oric-1, I'd put good money on "none!" See? Unique! 😎
I don't feel like I'm giving this introduction proper justice, so let me steal a part of the book's synopsis:
"A Player Killer with nothing left to lose, Oric Rune wants nothing more than to avenge the villagers of Ducat, who were butchered before his very eyes by the Drachma Killers.
But with the people of the Rune Lands encroaching on the southern cities of Unigaea, and something brewing in the sky that could prove fatal to the entire online world, Oric must make the choice between personal vengeance and becoming the hero he is destined to be."
And there you have it. Not exactly word-by-word, but pretty much just as I said it 😏
"The book!" right? Well, apparently no. I seem to be unable to talk about the story or anything that really matters for that.. well, matter, I'll keep talking about other random things that cross my mind. Like, for example, the party!
No, not that kind of party.
Every self-respecting LitRPG novel needs more than one character. Cooper, additionally, made up the majority of character classes. The combat system doesn't follow any of the known FRP systems I'm aware of, either, and the rules of it were generally learned through empirical means. You hit the rock, the message says "Minus 0 HP," you realize banging your sword against the rocks may not be the best course of action. Some people may need an additional hit or two to get convinced, but yes, as simple as that. Fighting scenes were made much more fluid this way.
Surprising thing is that there weren't any sex scenes. Coming from an author of Cherry Blossom Girls I did expect a hot shower scene or two. Well, a hot-pond-in-the-woods scene or two. Nope. PG13. Unexpected, but I liked in the long run. It brings out the eyes in characters 😂
Ah, the party, yes! I should probably be a mage of some sort. I'm old and the mind wanders easily. I still need to assume any level of command over magic though but I surely can crash trains of thoughts like an Archmage!
The party is made of 4 characters. Oric the muscle man, Wolf the wolf, Deathdale the hot Solar mage and Sam the hot Hourglass mage. See why I was surprised with a PG13 rating? Yeah, Cooper really did bring out the eyes in these characters 😁
Story (Hey! We got to the story! Rejoice!) was another bright point. Surely not perfect, but our hero's decisions were pretty damn close to how I'd call them. Also, no (too) random events unfolded which broke the story or tainted it irreparably by obviously steering it any particular way. Seemed plausible and that's what I like it.
This is surely not a "Children, let's analyze for 45 minutes what undercover motive our main protagonist might have had" classic which will be taught in schools and analyzed to death. It's simple, fun and effective LitRPG novel - Open-world and, despite having the main goal, prone to multiple tangents and sub-quests.
In the opening chapter, "Cliffhanger," we meet Oric. Part-time herbalist, full-time Player Killer, currently hunting something in an online world. We quickly find out it's the players he's hunting but not really why. Still, being a Player Killer character class it's pretty much his only job.
In an online game, it's common to see messages like "Critical hit!" or "Instakill!" during the battle scenes. Jeff Hays brought this to perfection using a dedicated announcer voice for these situations. When character stats or item properties are being read, the voice and speed are kept the same throughout the book. These parts are like read by a dispassionate drone with no inflection. Very fitting, and a clear break from what's been happening up to that point.
I haven't actually read-read the book since I've been exclusively listening for over two years now, but I feel like this wouldn't ever be an issue for real readers. However, for listeners, it can be a big deal if not done properly. Just think about the worst LitRPG book you've read so far and imagine the exact opposite. Yes, that good!
Additionally, another thing the readers don't have access to is Annie's angelic voice. It's generally unfair to compare narrators but let's say that Annie easily makes my Top5 female voice actors list 😍
The Jeff of Hays shines a standard color of epic (Is it purple?) and nothing else needs to be said here. If you've ever heard any book he narrated, you'll know what I mean. If you haven't, you're doing the life wrong.
Seriously, fix this...
An added bonus at the end of the book was a short story "Chance encounters." We already had glimpses into how Oric and Wolf met and this story adds a bit more background to it. And this is, in general, what I like about the book. It doesn't exactly draw everything for you and always leaves bits here and there for your imagination to fill in as you see fit. That also allows for these short stories to come out of nowhere and make everything even better.
Great success!
Overall, if you're still with me, great experience!
5 stars - It was amazing / I love it.
Now, onwards to part two! Hope it continues the strong upwards trend as I really like the characters and the world Cooper built for us.
If he screwed this up down the line, I'm going to find him 🤣
Review time: 23 minutes! I'm a mean review machine, though I should probably work on the quality 😎
The Last Warrior of Unigaea (The Last Warrior of Unigaea #1)
by Harmon Cooper (Author), Jeff Hayes (Narrator), Annie Ellicott (Narrator)
*audible collective gasp*
Yes, I fully intend to write a normal review this time! But don't get used to it. To minimize the time it takes me to write it (and bring the total to under 20 minutes) I'll just write things as they occur to me 😅
I'll fix any obvious typing mistakes but don't count on proof-reading. If something doesn't make sense - keep reading. Perhaps there's a key to your confusion somewhere below. Brace yourselves! 😄
And, speaking of Audible (Did you notice the cleverly-hidden pun above? I'm totally nailing this review!), the level of enjoyment I got out of this book was pleasantly unexpected. I suppose it's been a while since I listened to any of the Soundbooth Theater-produced audiobooks, otherwise, I'd realize it's a norm now.
These guys can make a theater in your mind! Something like GraphicAudio productions - although they now have "A movie in your mind" tagline. Odd, I could have sworn it was "A theater in your mind" I heard in the DemonWars Saga a couple of years back. Perhaps they found out that people nowadays have no idea what a theater is and have adapted. I attribute this to bad parenting 😣
Right, the book!
Well, the book is, as you can probably tell by the 5-star rating, awesome! Why? I'll tell you in a moment.
This is a story of a boy and his dog 😍
If the boy is a Conan-like warrior who likes killing other warriors. And some other, not-so-much-a-warrior-but-not-quite-a-civilian-either, people. Civilians, too. And their cattle. Okay, maybe not the cattle. Totally bonkers and hell-bent on getting his revenge. But with a really nice personality. You'd like him. His dog also isn't really a dog but a wolf. This is further made clear by his name - Wolf. To his defense, our hero had a low Mind score when he named him. Be nice. But it's a good pet and looks like a dog - hence "the story about the boy and his dog" is a fitting title. They're a heart-warming couple. When they're not killing other people. En masse.
In case you've read a similar story about a boy and his dog before because, let's face it, this is quite a common plot, let me tell you the boy's name - Oric! Ha! How many Orics do you know? Aside from Oric-1, I'd put good money on "none!" See? Unique! 😎
I don't feel like I'm giving this introduction proper justice, so let me steal a part of the book's synopsis:
"A Player Killer with nothing left to lose, Oric Rune wants nothing more than to avenge the villagers of Ducat, who were butchered before his very eyes by the Drachma Killers.
But with the people of the Rune Lands encroaching on the southern cities of Unigaea, and something brewing in the sky that could prove fatal to the entire online world, Oric must make the choice between personal vengeance and becoming the hero he is destined to be."
And there you have it. Not exactly word-by-word, but pretty much just as I said it 😏
"The book!" right? Well, apparently no. I seem to be unable to talk about the story or anything that really matters for that.. well, matter, I'll keep talking about other random things that cross my mind. Like, for example, the party!
No, not that kind of party.
Every self-respecting LitRPG novel needs more than one character. Cooper, additionally, made up the majority of character classes. The combat system doesn't follow any of the known FRP systems I'm aware of, either, and the rules of it were generally learned through empirical means. You hit the rock, the message says "Minus 0 HP," you realize banging your sword against the rocks may not be the best course of action. Some people may need an additional hit or two to get convinced, but yes, as simple as that. Fighting scenes were made much more fluid this way.
Surprising thing is that there weren't any sex scenes. Coming from an author of Cherry Blossom Girls I did expect a hot shower scene or two. Well, a hot-pond-in-the-woods scene or two. Nope. PG13. Unexpected, but I liked in the long run. It brings out the eyes in characters 😂
Ah, the party, yes! I should probably be a mage of some sort. I'm old and the mind wanders easily. I still need to assume any level of command over magic though but I surely can crash trains of thoughts like an Archmage!
The party is made of 4 characters. Oric the muscle man, Wolf the wolf, Deathdale the hot Solar mage and Sam the hot Hourglass mage. See why I was surprised with a PG13 rating? Yeah, Cooper really did bring out the eyes in these characters 😁
Story (Hey! We got to the story! Rejoice!) was another bright point. Surely not perfect, but our hero's decisions were pretty damn close to how I'd call them. Also, no (too) random events unfolded which broke the story or tainted it irreparably by obviously steering it any particular way. Seemed plausible and that's what I like it.
This is surely not a "Children, let's analyze for 45 minutes what undercover motive our main protagonist might have had" classic which will be taught in schools and analyzed to death. It's simple, fun and effective LitRPG novel - Open-world and, despite having the main goal, prone to multiple tangents and sub-quests.
In the opening chapter, "Cliffhanger," we meet Oric. Part-time herbalist, full-time Player Killer, currently hunting something in an online world. We quickly find out it's the players he's hunting but not really why. Still, being a Player Killer character class it's pretty much his only job.
In an online game, it's common to see messages like "Critical hit!" or "Instakill!" during the battle scenes. Jeff Hays brought this to perfection using a dedicated announcer voice for these situations. When character stats or item properties are being read, the voice and speed are kept the same throughout the book. These parts are like read by a dispassionate drone with no inflection. Very fitting, and a clear break from what's been happening up to that point.
I haven't actually read-read the book since I've been exclusively listening for over two years now, but I feel like this wouldn't ever be an issue for real readers. However, for listeners, it can be a big deal if not done properly. Just think about the worst LitRPG book you've read so far and imagine the exact opposite. Yes, that good!
Additionally, another thing the readers don't have access to is Annie's angelic voice. It's generally unfair to compare narrators but let's say that Annie easily makes my Top5 female voice actors list 😍
The Jeff of Hays shines a standard color of epic (Is it purple?) and nothing else needs to be said here. If you've ever heard any book he narrated, you'll know what I mean. If you haven't, you're doing the life wrong.
Seriously, fix this...
An added bonus at the end of the book was a short story "Chance encounters." We already had glimpses into how Oric and Wolf met and this story adds a bit more background to it. And this is, in general, what I like about the book. It doesn't exactly draw everything for you and always leaves bits here and there for your imagination to fill in as you see fit. That also allows for these short stories to come out of nowhere and make everything even better.
Great success!
Overall, if you're still with me, great experience!
5 stars - It was amazing / I love it.
Now, onwards to part two! Hope it continues the strong upwards trend as I really like the characters and the world Cooper built for us.
If he screwed this up down the line, I'm going to find him 🤣
Review time: 23 minutes! I'm a mean review machine, though I should probably work on the quality 😎
The Last Warrior of Unigaea (The Last Warrior of Unigaea #1)
by Harmon Cooper (Author), Jeff Hayes (Narrator), Annie Ellicott (Narrator)
Verdict Awesome and amazing!
Runtime 05:58
Overall
Performance
Story
September 11, 2017
The Last Warrior of Unigaea Written by Harmon Cooper is a new book in the LitPRG genre. If you do not know what this is, let me explain. LitRPG is a fairly new genre that mainly consists of story and characters based in either a Virtual reality world, MMO game (Massively Multiplayer Game Online Game - Like World of Warcraft), or other similar RPG (Role Playing Game).
The story follows Oric Rune as he lives in the world of Unigaea as a special class of character called a "Player Killer". This class is universally hated and untrusted by other players and NPC's (Think computer controlled characters) alike. Oric chooses this profession in order to be able to seek revenge on other "Player Killer" characters who had previously wronged him in the game. While he is on his quest he discovers another threat that is threatening his new world of Unigaea and must make a decision to ignore this threat or to put off his mission of revenge and face this new threat for the sake of the virtual world that he loves.
Harmon Cooper drops us into the world of Unigaea without any explanation of how this world works. We do learn a few things such as in Unigaea when you die, your character is DEAD and you must start completely over as a new character. We also learn that Oric in real life has opted to be "Perma logged" into this game. How or why is never explained. To me, these things are both a blessing and a curse. Other books in this genre that I have read have the tendency to explain these things as if they were explaining to someone who has no idea how video games or RPGs work at all and tend to go a little TOO into the details to the point that it is too much. Pretty much these days most people get the concept of Virtual Reality, Video Games and such. If not, then this genre is probably not for you.
On the other hand, it would be nice to have some more information than is provided in this book. I get the feeling that this book is in the same universe as other books by Harmon Cooper such as Fantasy Online and if I had read those books then I would have a better understanding.
Overall, I was still able to enjoy the story. The pace was a bit slow at first (never too slow though), and picked up nicely by the end. I found myself not wanting to put the story down and finding excuses to find time to jump back in!
The narration by Jeff Hays and Annie Ellicott was done very well! I enjoyed how the game voices had effects on them and how the character of Sam Raid was performed by Annie Ellicott. The dual roles really lent a great contrast to the experience!
** I received this book free of charge from the author / narrator / publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. **
The story follows Oric Rune as he lives in the world of Unigaea as a special class of character called a "Player Killer". This class is universally hated and untrusted by other players and NPC's (Think computer controlled characters) alike. Oric chooses this profession in order to be able to seek revenge on other "Player Killer" characters who had previously wronged him in the game. While he is on his quest he discovers another threat that is threatening his new world of Unigaea and must make a decision to ignore this threat or to put off his mission of revenge and face this new threat for the sake of the virtual world that he loves.
Harmon Cooper drops us into the world of Unigaea without any explanation of how this world works. We do learn a few things such as in Unigaea when you die, your character is DEAD and you must start completely over as a new character. We also learn that Oric in real life has opted to be "Perma logged" into this game. How or why is never explained. To me, these things are both a blessing and a curse. Other books in this genre that I have read have the tendency to explain these things as if they were explaining to someone who has no idea how video games or RPGs work at all and tend to go a little TOO into the details to the point that it is too much. Pretty much these days most people get the concept of Virtual Reality, Video Games and such. If not, then this genre is probably not for you.
On the other hand, it would be nice to have some more information than is provided in this book. I get the feeling that this book is in the same universe as other books by Harmon Cooper such as Fantasy Online and if I had read those books then I would have a better understanding.
Overall, I was still able to enjoy the story. The pace was a bit slow at first (never too slow though), and picked up nicely by the end. I found myself not wanting to put the story down and finding excuses to find time to jump back in!
The narration by Jeff Hays and Annie Ellicott was done very well! I enjoyed how the game voices had effects on them and how the character of Sam Raid was performed by Annie Ellicott. The dual roles really lent a great contrast to the experience!
** I received this book free of charge from the author / narrator / publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. **
May 27, 2018
This was an enjoyable enough book that had some fairly exceptional world-building, but was pretty light on the actual game mechanics. I'm usually the guy who will say that a lot of litrpg out there are going overboard with the tables and showing unnecessary stats too often, but here I was a bit disappointed by the lack of game mechanics.
The combat seemed very hand-wavy to me with no real justifications given for how things played out. There were some -96 shown here and there, but they meant nothing since you never saw how many hit points the opponents had to put it in context. Then it just seemed like everything constantly popped like a water balloon with all the Instakills happening.
The other huge, for me, drawback was that this story was written in present tense. I would say that the book remained enjoyable despite this fact rather than gaining anything because of it. No, present tense does nothing to add to the sense of urgency or uncertainty of the moment. We already know that the main character isn't going to die and you could say that is the only thing you know when something is being told in past tense. All other characters are just as capable of dying regardless. I eventually got used to it, but the tense really prevented my immersion for the first 20% of so of the book.
The character of Deathdale also seemed kind of wonky to me. Very unbalanced and more there as a plot device than anything. Maybe she develops more in the next book in a way that makes her seem a bit more human, but I still struggle with the absence of any structured mechanics in the game world.
I really liked the setting and the concept behind the rebirth of new characters for those who die. There was a lot of really good thought behind the world...possibly because of how many of this author's books seem tied together in a shared universe. I didn't particularly enjoy this book though, so if I come back for the sequel, it will probably be some time in the future. I don't feel any urgency to find out what happens next unfortunately.
The combat seemed very hand-wavy to me with no real justifications given for how things played out. There were some -96 shown here and there, but they meant nothing since you never saw how many hit points the opponents had to put it in context. Then it just seemed like everything constantly popped like a water balloon with all the Instakills happening.
The other huge, for me, drawback was that this story was written in present tense. I would say that the book remained enjoyable despite this fact rather than gaining anything because of it. No, present tense does nothing to add to the sense of urgency or uncertainty of the moment. We already know that the main character isn't going to die and you could say that is the only thing you know when something is being told in past tense. All other characters are just as capable of dying regardless. I eventually got used to it, but the tense really prevented my immersion for the first 20% of so of the book.
The character of Deathdale also seemed kind of wonky to me. Very unbalanced and more there as a plot device than anything. Maybe she develops more in the next book in a way that makes her seem a bit more human, but I still struggle with the absence of any structured mechanics in the game world.
I really liked the setting and the concept behind the rebirth of new characters for those who die. There was a lot of really good thought behind the world...possibly because of how many of this author's books seem tied together in a shared universe. I didn't particularly enjoy this book though, so if I come back for the sequel, it will probably be some time in the future. I don't feel any urgency to find out what happens next unfortunately.
August 25, 2017
I really enjoyed this LitRPG novel. It's set in the same world as Harmon Cooper's other works, so if you've read them you know what to expect. It's also a standalone book one of a trilogy, so if you haven't read his other books you won't be lost. This book takes place entirely in the virtual world - the characters never log out an interact in the "real" world. I found myself wishing for technological advances, such as the ability to pull up character stats at any time - maybe someday an interactive kindle format will allow for an immersive environment like that.
Oric Rune is an unkliely hero. His character is rather low level, but he has played before as other classes and he's definitely not the noob (new player) his stats imply. In this latest incarnation, he is bent on revenge against a PK (player killer) guild who destroyed the city he spent his previous life building. In order to accomplish this, he is now playing as a player killer, which causes tension whenever he interacts with others. They fear and distrust him. Merchants overcharge him. He undertakes quests as a mercenary, but soon discovers that something sinister is going on, and it threatens to destroy the game. Of course, "the game" is his home - he's perma-logged in, which means he never visits the "real" world anymore. Can he be a hero to a world that believes him a villain?
This book is filled with action - lots of battles, lots of interesting characters to interact with. I especially love his pet wolf, who faithfully follows along on all his adventures. He also meets a powerful but mysterious solar mage, who might be a friend or an enemy, we're not sure yet. I can't wait to find out what happens in the rest of this exciting story.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this novel.
Oric Rune is an unkliely hero. His character is rather low level, but he has played before as other classes and he's definitely not the noob (new player) his stats imply. In this latest incarnation, he is bent on revenge against a PK (player killer) guild who destroyed the city he spent his previous life building. In order to accomplish this, he is now playing as a player killer, which causes tension whenever he interacts with others. They fear and distrust him. Merchants overcharge him. He undertakes quests as a mercenary, but soon discovers that something sinister is going on, and it threatens to destroy the game. Of course, "the game" is his home - he's perma-logged in, which means he never visits the "real" world anymore. Can he be a hero to a world that believes him a villain?
This book is filled with action - lots of battles, lots of interesting characters to interact with. I especially love his pet wolf, who faithfully follows along on all his adventures. He also meets a powerful but mysterious solar mage, who might be a friend or an enemy, we're not sure yet. I can't wait to find out what happens in the rest of this exciting story.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this novel.
September 16, 2017
Good start to series. Another very entertaining, engaging and enjoyable story set in the Proxima world. This story was creative, fun and full of sarcastic humor as well as fast-paced with plenty of action. On top of that it has an unusual and very interesting cast of characters.
I'm not a gamer and never have been. I can't tell you the first thing about RPG/VR games, but the way that Harmon Cooper writes his stories though it doesn't make a difference. Even though this is a complex, unique and weird RPG/VR world it's easy to follow, flows smoothly and everything makes sense.
Even though this story is set in the same Proxima world as his other books it's a new series. You don't need to have read the other series to enjoy this book.
The narration is fantastic. Jeff Hays as usual does an awesome job. He is one of the best narrators out there. You know you are going to enjoy any book he narrates even if you don't like the story. It's hard to believe that he is just one person doing all these parts at times. He has a voice that pulls you into the story brings it to life. Clearly spoken with a nice smooth pace. His character voices and accents are great. Every character has a different voice and distinct personality. Very enjoyable.
Annie Ellicott was a pleasant surprise. You get so into the story you forget there is another narrator. So it comes as a bit of a shock when she joins in. She has a great voice. Clearly spoken with a nice even pace. Her tone and inflection were great. She sounds like she will be a fantastic narrator. Looking forward to hearing her more in the future.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily provided this review.
I'm not a gamer and never have been. I can't tell you the first thing about RPG/VR games, but the way that Harmon Cooper writes his stories though it doesn't make a difference. Even though this is a complex, unique and weird RPG/VR world it's easy to follow, flows smoothly and everything makes sense.
Even though this story is set in the same Proxima world as his other books it's a new series. You don't need to have read the other series to enjoy this book.
The narration is fantastic. Jeff Hays as usual does an awesome job. He is one of the best narrators out there. You know you are going to enjoy any book he narrates even if you don't like the story. It's hard to believe that he is just one person doing all these parts at times. He has a voice that pulls you into the story brings it to life. Clearly spoken with a nice smooth pace. His character voices and accents are great. Every character has a different voice and distinct personality. Very enjoyable.
Annie Ellicott was a pleasant surprise. You get so into the story you forget there is another narrator. So it comes as a bit of a shock when she joins in. She has a great voice. Clearly spoken with a nice even pace. Her tone and inflection were great. She sounds like she will be a fantastic narrator. Looking forward to hearing her more in the future.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily provided this review.
August 26, 2017
( Format : Audiobook )
"Anyone can climb in a video game."
The dream team of author, Harmon Cooper and multi voiced narrator Jeff Hays, come together again with the first of a new series set in the Proxima Galaxy.
Eric's body might be held in suspension somewhere in Chicago, but in the world of Unigaea, his incarnation as Oric Rune lives as a killer player, despised and feared by others as he and his only companion, a pony-sized Tagvornin wolf, seek vengeance and destruction on the Drachma killers who destroyed the village he had created and loved during a previous lifetime there.
Written in the first person , the reader follows Oric as his personal quest proceeds, alongside him as he fights and kills, remembers and plans, and often struggles simply to stay alive. Because Unigaea is an unforgiving world where to die means to return to the very beginning with nothing more than memories that can be brought back.
Jeff Hays is, as always, wonderful as Oric, his versatile voice expressively conveying the player's thoughts, words and deeds. From exhausted to elated, and everything in between. Plus Jeff is also almost everyone else, each character, be they male or female, dwarf or Governor, given their own distinctive and very appropriate voice. His ability to consistently and flawlessly switch between so many would be awe inspiring were it not for the reader's immersion in the story preventing such speculation. And there are no production problems to jar the listener from total absorption.
The one exception to Mr.Hays' cast of, if not millions then, at least, dozens is the entry of Annie Ellicott as the fun loving, thrill seeking, militia leading player, Sam Raid, towards the end of the book. Her beautifully cadenced voice is warm, filled with laughter and captures the essence of her flirty somewhat crazy character well. A really nice addition to the already excellent narration.
I am not, and have never been, an on-line games player but I do so enjoy the LitRPG genre when it is well written. So much is possible in these real feeling but make believe worlds. And so much can also go wrong where the code is king! After a slightly (though action fi!led) slow start, in this, The Last Warrior of Unigaea, Harmon Cooper again shows his mastery as story teller of imagination and wit. A terrific book, in every aspect.
Highly recommended..
"Anyone can climb in a video game."
The dream team of author, Harmon Cooper and multi voiced narrator Jeff Hays, come together again with the first of a new series set in the Proxima Galaxy.
Eric's body might be held in suspension somewhere in Chicago, but in the world of Unigaea, his incarnation as Oric Rune lives as a killer player, despised and feared by others as he and his only companion, a pony-sized Tagvornin wolf, seek vengeance and destruction on the Drachma killers who destroyed the village he had created and loved during a previous lifetime there.
Written in the first person , the reader follows Oric as his personal quest proceeds, alongside him as he fights and kills, remembers and plans, and often struggles simply to stay alive. Because Unigaea is an unforgiving world where to die means to return to the very beginning with nothing more than memories that can be brought back.
Jeff Hays is, as always, wonderful as Oric, his versatile voice expressively conveying the player's thoughts, words and deeds. From exhausted to elated, and everything in between. Plus Jeff is also almost everyone else, each character, be they male or female, dwarf or Governor, given their own distinctive and very appropriate voice. His ability to consistently and flawlessly switch between so many would be awe inspiring were it not for the reader's immersion in the story preventing such speculation. And there are no production problems to jar the listener from total absorption.
The one exception to Mr.Hays' cast of, if not millions then, at least, dozens is the entry of Annie Ellicott as the fun loving, thrill seeking, militia leading player, Sam Raid, towards the end of the book. Her beautifully cadenced voice is warm, filled with laughter and captures the essence of her flirty somewhat crazy character well. A really nice addition to the already excellent narration.
I am not, and have never been, an on-line games player but I do so enjoy the LitRPG genre when it is well written. So much is possible in these real feeling but make believe worlds. And so much can also go wrong where the code is king! After a slightly (though action fi!led) slow start, in this, The Last Warrior of Unigaea, Harmon Cooper again shows his mastery as story teller of imagination and wit. A terrific book, in every aspect.
Highly recommended..
September 18, 2017
The Last Warrior of Unigaea is a very unique story format. It is told from a gamer assuming an avatar of A Player Killer, named Oric Rune. In this reincarnation, Oric wants revenge against the Drachma Killers who destroyed the village Ducat, which he created in his previous avatar's life.
In this avator's life as a Player Killer, Oric befriended a giant black wolf, which he called Wolf. Together, they traveled on odd jobs/quests to build up his avator for the confrontation against Drachma Killers until he realized that there are more at stakes than his thirst for vengeance.
I love how descriptive the character, Oric gives in describing the world of Unigaea. Not only does this story is from Oric's point of view, it also integrates the gaming motion of stating whenever a quest is involved or when Oric kills a characters with "Insta-Kill". This is so much like a video game.
I, for one, do play video games from time to time just because I love the storyline and want to know what happens next. I do strongly recommends video gamers to read this book. It is too bad that the closest to playing video only reach third dimension. Imagine what fun if it reaches fifth dimension.
The narrators Jeff Hays and Annie Ellicott does an excellent job in performing the story. I especially love the narrator, Jeff Hays' voice and reaction to Oric. He made the character alive in the video game world of Unigaea. I would love to hear him in other audiobooks.
I was given this audiobook by the author. I have volunteered to write an unbiased review for this book. I was not compensated or influenced in any way for writing this review. (I also personally owned a copy of the book which I purchase myself.)
In this avator's life as a Player Killer, Oric befriended a giant black wolf, which he called Wolf. Together, they traveled on odd jobs/quests to build up his avator for the confrontation against Drachma Killers until he realized that there are more at stakes than his thirst for vengeance.
I love how descriptive the character, Oric gives in describing the world of Unigaea. Not only does this story is from Oric's point of view, it also integrates the gaming motion of stating whenever a quest is involved or when Oric kills a characters with "Insta-Kill". This is so much like a video game.
I, for one, do play video games from time to time just because I love the storyline and want to know what happens next. I do strongly recommends video gamers to read this book. It is too bad that the closest to playing video only reach third dimension. Imagine what fun if it reaches fifth dimension.
The narrators Jeff Hays and Annie Ellicott does an excellent job in performing the story. I especially love the narrator, Jeff Hays' voice and reaction to Oric. He made the character alive in the video game world of Unigaea. I would love to hear him in other audiobooks.
I was given this audiobook by the author. I have volunteered to write an unbiased review for this book. I was not compensated or influenced in any way for writing this review. (I also personally owned a copy of the book which I purchase myself.)
August 16, 2017
The Last Warrior of Unigaea is the latest installment in the realm of Cooper’s Proxima Universe. This is, assumed, a launch of another series with references to other works in the author's digital realm. It does make reference to the historic Dream Team found within the Feedback Loop series (eight books in total), with the key takeaway as ‘historic’ or ‘legend’. In the not-so-distant future, Oric is hell-bent on revenge and chose to respawn as a Player-Killer in order to go after a clan that ruined his previous utopia. You’ll get bits of that backstory.
The main characters, aside from Oric, are Wolf, Deathdale, and Sam. All the characters hold interest and most certanily have a back story not yet unearthed. I'm sure their entwined adventures will deliver lots of action and loads of experience points.
There is plenty of action to keep things chugging along at a quick pace. Don't make fun of the Splintered Sword!
If you are new to the author, this is probably the most mainstream story he has put out. I enjoyed the story and it is a very fast read. This said, I missed the off-the-wall strangeness, trippy pollutes-inspired scenes, and the rough, gritty edges of prior work.
ARC provided by author.
The main characters, aside from Oric, are Wolf, Deathdale, and Sam. All the characters hold interest and most certanily have a back story not yet unearthed. I'm sure their entwined adventures will deliver lots of action and loads of experience points.
There is plenty of action to keep things chugging along at a quick pace. Don't make fun of the Splintered Sword!
If you are new to the author, this is probably the most mainstream story he has put out. I enjoyed the story and it is a very fast read. This said, I missed the off-the-wall strangeness, trippy pollutes-inspired scenes, and the rough, gritty edges of prior work.
ARC provided by author.
October 24, 2017
Great Story-Unexpected Direction
I don’t know what I was really expecting. But when I read “Player Killer” I was thinking that Oric was going to be some “petty” guy offended by the world. His character developed faster than the usual “heart of steel” characters associated with this type of “person”. I thought there would be little “development moments” here and there until something major changed his “mind” in the last couple chapters leading into the next 1-2 books. It was more gradual allowing you to see the development.
As you go along and Oric’s reasons for his new “career choice” are brought to the front. I like how the flashbacks are done. They pull you more into his thought process and reasoning. Oric ,(at least in my head), is like a much milder “punisher”.
The world is a bit smaller than a lot of other LitRPGs I’ve read. The more I thought about it though it started making more sense. A world where you have a “permadeath” wouldn’t work as much of a challenge if it was bigger. It would be too easy to hide and survive if the world was the size of earth with only 10 million,(guesstimation),or so people. I am truly enjoying all the different stories in the “Proxima Galaxy” universe.
I don’t know what I was really expecting. But when I read “Player Killer” I was thinking that Oric was going to be some “petty” guy offended by the world. His character developed faster than the usual “heart of steel” characters associated with this type of “person”. I thought there would be little “development moments” here and there until something major changed his “mind” in the last couple chapters leading into the next 1-2 books. It was more gradual allowing you to see the development.
As you go along and Oric’s reasons for his new “career choice” are brought to the front. I like how the flashbacks are done. They pull you more into his thought process and reasoning. Oric ,(at least in my head), is like a much milder “punisher”.
The world is a bit smaller than a lot of other LitRPGs I’ve read. The more I thought about it though it started making more sense. A world where you have a “permadeath” wouldn’t work as much of a challenge if it was bigger. It would be too easy to hide and survive if the world was the size of earth with only 10 million,(guesstimation),or so people. I am truly enjoying all the different stories in the “Proxima Galaxy” universe.
August 12, 2017
Another excellent LitRPG adventure from the pen of Harmon Cooper.
I am always in awe of authors who can switch from writing a fight scene one moment, humour the next, and then come out with a set of words relating to their story, but also so true to now:
'Unlike the real world, one can live any number of experiences here, regardless of any social class, country, or religious underpinnings that may restrict them up there.
Gaming is the new liberty.'
That brought shivers down my spine! Fantastic.
I really enjoyed this tale of Oric Rune, looking for vengeance, but gaining friends and enemies on the way (whether he wanted to or not!). Cooper's trademark action-packed and riveting storytelling is full of surprises, laughs and fun. You won't be disappointed.
I loved this and can't wait for the next books. I was given an ARC of this book which I voluntarily read and honestly reviewed.
I am always in awe of authors who can switch from writing a fight scene one moment, humour the next, and then come out with a set of words relating to their story, but also so true to now:
'Unlike the real world, one can live any number of experiences here, regardless of any social class, country, or religious underpinnings that may restrict them up there.
Gaming is the new liberty.'
That brought shivers down my spine! Fantastic.
I really enjoyed this tale of Oric Rune, looking for vengeance, but gaining friends and enemies on the way (whether he wanted to or not!). Cooper's trademark action-packed and riveting storytelling is full of surprises, laughs and fun. You won't be disappointed.
I loved this and can't wait for the next books. I was given an ARC of this book which I voluntarily read and honestly reviewed.
October 16, 2017
Excellent new chapter
Unlike the action packed adventures Harmon usually does this is a more personal close up rebiew of a player who after losing his town to player killers decides to seek revenge by becoming a player killer and going adter them. His character shunned by the rest of the world in general gives us a lighter side with his companion a massive Wolf adaptly named Wolf (what better name is their). His personal quest for revenge and his levelling give us some great one on one interactions and background to his personality making this a great read. Although not as action packed as a lot if Harmons work it's easy to feel for Oric and to quickly feel for his quest and its motivations.
This is the first book but i feel invested in our hero so im looking forward to his book 2 due out soon.
Unlike the action packed adventures Harmon usually does this is a more personal close up rebiew of a player who after losing his town to player killers decides to seek revenge by becoming a player killer and going adter them. His character shunned by the rest of the world in general gives us a lighter side with his companion a massive Wolf adaptly named Wolf (what better name is their). His personal quest for revenge and his levelling give us some great one on one interactions and background to his personality making this a great read. Although not as action packed as a lot if Harmons work it's easy to feel for Oric and to quickly feel for his quest and its motivations.
This is the first book but i feel invested in our hero so im looking forward to his book 2 due out soon.
October 16, 2017
Unlike the action packed adventures Harmon usually does this is a more personal close up review of a player who after losing his town to player killers decides to seek revenge by becoming a player killer and going after them. His character shunned by the rest of the world in general gives us a lighter side with his companion a massive Wolf adaptly named Wolf (what better name is their). His personal quest for revenge and his levelling give us some great one on one interactions and background to his personality making this a great read. Although not as action packed as a lot of Harmons work it's easy to feel for Oric and to quickly feel for his quest and its motivations.
This is the first book but i feel invested in our hero so im looking forward to his book 2 due out soon.
The audio version does great with the usual skills of top narrator Jeff Hays as main narrator with our female lead played by Annie Ellicott adding a bit extra to it with her talents, this helps pick up the book from very good to great.
May 20, 2020
This suffers compared to Dungeon Lord since in DL the world is real with game-like aspects, whereas this is a game straight out just in the advanced/fucked up future. So there's no stakes. Oh no, he is hurt. Respawns. The world will end. It's a game. If the people he wants to off were in the 60's he has a long series to go with only going up 1 level from 7 to 8 in a book... Erik gets the Solar Mage to join up with him and Sam to boot out the bad guys and they will be off to stop the virus from deleting the world. Because I guess in the future fixing that is way harder for some reason.
But if you ignore that it's OK.
But if you ignore that it's OK.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2019
Mini-Review:
4 Stars for Narration by Jeff Hays & Annie Elliott
4 Stars Side Characters
3 Stars Series Setup
2 Stars Main Character & Backstory
If you play RPGs, you learn to "go with game plotlines" regardless of logic, sense, etc. The game world for Unigaea has promise but the main character makes little sense within the guidelines made by the author. The most interesting events are when Oric meets two side characters and interactions with Wolf. Overall, a simple LitRPG that fails to stand out.
I am going to try out the second book. Maybe the series will grow to meet the potenital.
4 Stars for Narration by Jeff Hays & Annie Elliott
4 Stars Side Characters
3 Stars Series Setup
2 Stars Main Character & Backstory
If you play RPGs, you learn to "go with game plotlines" regardless of logic, sense, etc. The game world for Unigaea has promise but the main character makes little sense within the guidelines made by the author. The most interesting events are when Oric meets two side characters and interactions with Wolf. Overall, a simple LitRPG that fails to stand out.
I am going to try out the second book. Maybe the series will grow to meet the potenital.
October 12, 2017
Good Read.
A LitRPG story. Has a interesting game mechanic of one life to live. I liked the story which had a resolution. The two background plots were touched on, but were left for future books. I did not like the full character sheet to show small changes. They could have summarized the changes and showed the full character sheet at the end of the chapter
A LitRPG story. Has a interesting game mechanic of one life to live. I liked the story which had a resolution. The two background plots were touched on, but were left for future books. I did not like the full character sheet to show small changes. They could have summarized the changes and showed the full character sheet at the end of the chapter
August 26, 2017
Good story
The MC needs a little fleshing out which started towards the end of of the story. I'm looking forward to seeing how he grows in future books
The MC needs a little fleshing out which started towards the end of of the story. I'm looking forward to seeing how he grows in future books
September 10, 2017
I really enjoyed this novel. Looking forward to reading more of the series. The narration makes the online world seem very fun and interesting.
January 31, 2018
Great Fun
The main character, Oric Rune is solid, someone to build off of, an everyman’s hero. His sidekick, Wolf is a Scene stealer. Quite enjoyable.
The main character, Oric Rune is solid, someone to build off of, an everyman’s hero. His sidekick, Wolf is a Scene stealer. Quite enjoyable.
March 2, 2018
Good storyline
Grabbed me from the opening chapter. You don't find many stories in litrpg that have a pk as the lead character and this is funny and well written.
Grabbed me from the opening chapter. You don't find many stories in litrpg that have a pk as the lead character and this is funny and well written.
October 2, 2018
Entertaining!
This is a good entertaining story plus series the plot for revenge is good except the main characters is weak and gets his body beat up a lot
This is a good entertaining story plus series the plot for revenge is good except the main characters is weak and gets his body beat up a lot
October 12, 2018
It's alright.
March 23, 2022
It was okay. Not what I was expecting. It was readable.
November 21, 2017
Well, after reading The Feedback Loop, I had actually considered returning this book and it's sequel without reading them at all, but I decided that would be silly, I mean, what if I missed a really good story?
Well, I am happy to say, that was a very good decision on my part.
Not only did I like this story, I even enjoyed it's sequel, of which I will write in a few minutes.
The story wasn't a unique one, but it was handled well enough that it was a nice read, and had some nice world building, and didn't just assume the reader knew anything about it from having read other books that take place in this universe. Maybe not everything was explained to my satisfaction, but I tend to like things tied up nicely and presented in nice packages (even if those packages don't complete the story), and this one left a lot of hanging threads, even the point at which it ended irritated me to no end, and while I despise stories that can't stand alone even when they are part of a larger whole, having this one end as abruptly as it did didn't bother me as much as it might otherwise have, because I already had the second book in hand, and was able to continue on from there without a major stop in the storyline, and that my friends is the only reason I'm being polite in this review.
Where it ended was just bad planning (or piss poor planning depending on how you look at it). I have no problem with stopping a story on a cliff hangar, trying to get folks to read the next volume in the story arc, but the book really should be able to stand alone, and this book can't do that. To me, that smacks of poor planning and worse execution. Look, I get it, the author wants you to read the next book in the series, after all, that's why the book was written in the first place, but at least try to make it end in something resembling a reasonable facsimile of a proper ending. Having it end wanting more is great, having it end where the user is forced to read more just to finish the main idea in the preceeding paragraph is just plain sloppy, and I give no points for style in that case. (which by the way, this author did again in the second book).
So, to cut out the rant, If you like LitRPG, you'll probably like this story, if you enjoy world building and character development, then you can read this book with limited expectations of fulfillment, and be fairly satisfied by the completion, (ending not withstanding).
If you want an action packed hero overcomes all type of story, you will get some of that here too, but what you won't get is a sense of completion and a satisfying job well done type of feeling after you've read the last page.
Is the story worth reading?
Sure it is, it's a good one, but it has it's flaws, and some of them are big enough to mar the enjoyment of the story, that's all I'm saying.
Well, I am happy to say, that was a very good decision on my part.
Not only did I like this story, I even enjoyed it's sequel, of which I will write in a few minutes.
The story wasn't a unique one, but it was handled well enough that it was a nice read, and had some nice world building, and didn't just assume the reader knew anything about it from having read other books that take place in this universe. Maybe not everything was explained to my satisfaction, but I tend to like things tied up nicely and presented in nice packages (even if those packages don't complete the story), and this one left a lot of hanging threads, even the point at which it ended irritated me to no end, and while I despise stories that can't stand alone even when they are part of a larger whole, having this one end as abruptly as it did didn't bother me as much as it might otherwise have, because I already had the second book in hand, and was able to continue on from there without a major stop in the storyline, and that my friends is the only reason I'm being polite in this review.
Where it ended was just bad planning (or piss poor planning depending on how you look at it). I have no problem with stopping a story on a cliff hangar, trying to get folks to read the next volume in the story arc, but the book really should be able to stand alone, and this book can't do that. To me, that smacks of poor planning and worse execution. Look, I get it, the author wants you to read the next book in the series, after all, that's why the book was written in the first place, but at least try to make it end in something resembling a reasonable facsimile of a proper ending. Having it end wanting more is great, having it end where the user is forced to read more just to finish the main idea in the preceeding paragraph is just plain sloppy, and I give no points for style in that case. (which by the way, this author did again in the second book).
So, to cut out the rant, If you like LitRPG, you'll probably like this story, if you enjoy world building and character development, then you can read this book with limited expectations of fulfillment, and be fairly satisfied by the completion, (ending not withstanding).
If you want an action packed hero overcomes all type of story, you will get some of that here too, but what you won't get is a sense of completion and a satisfying job well done type of feeling after you've read the last page.
Is the story worth reading?
Sure it is, it's a good one, but it has it's flaws, and some of them are big enough to mar the enjoyment of the story, that's all I'm saying.
February 17, 2018
This is in all sense of the word a litRPG, but it's more a less a novel that has RPG elements than it is a litRPG. With that out of the way, the book is a very straight forward one. The MC got hosed hard core, so he decided to go the crazy route and do what he had to do to power level to get revenge on the people who pretty much crushed his dreams. As he goes about his way he starts to meet people that start to throw a wrench into the system by showing him a possibly different way to live and it's starting to make some changes. Overall a pretty solid book. And I just picked up the second one.
Read
August 2, 2018I found this book fairly interesting. The premise is different. I was not expecting this book to have references to the Feedback Loop series. I have only read the first book in that series. This book makes me want to finish that other series.
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