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Character Development #1
Beginner's Luck
Miles Boone is finally an adult and able to roll up his permanent character. He will join the Game that the world has become. Most of the planet is now dominated by feral AIs and nano who behave as all the monsters of man’s imagination. Every adult left alive plays, striving to keep the the AI and nano from wiping us out completely. Success in the Game is survival itself. Success in the Game is success in life. If only the game wasn’t rigged against anyone who isn’t a member of the Party. A desperate bid to get the same chance at success in the game as Party members lands him at the mercy of his family’s enemies. Now his freedom and life rest on winning a bet. Lose and he will grind the rest of his life in the beginner’s area for the Eastman clan. He will need all the luck he can get. Too bad his enemies have broken his character and gotten rid of his luck stat. How do you play a game without any luck? Miles is going to have to outplay and outsmart his family’s enemies, corrupt GameMasters, the Party, and of course the game itself. Life is a game. His father always told him, win or lose, it’s how you play that matters. Now he is praying his father knew what he was talking about. Beginner’s Luck begins a LitRPG series. "A good read" - Ramon Meija, LItRPG Podcast
264 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 31, 2017
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335 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
June 19, 2019
Drags On
This book is in huge need of a good editor. Not everything needs an in depth description, especially not economic principles or chapters of yoga.
This book is in huge need of a good editor. Not everything needs an in depth description, especially not economic principles or chapters of yoga.
September 23, 2019
Absolutely disappointed. One thing I hate the most is when a MC has no brains. When a person’s way of thinking and acting is far beyond stupidity that even a legally diagnosed mentally handicapped individual will make a better and rational decisions than the MC. Sadly, that’s what we have here.
The whole reason for this idiot’s “suffering” is one stupid decision after another.
Spoilers below
If your best friend’s girlfriend hates you, if she’s the pinnacle of all your problems, then why pray tell, would you invite your best friend to go with you to do something his girl friend is 1000% against? Did you think she wouldn’t find out? Did you think, your best friend, who has yet to stop his girlfriend from belittling, berating you , would not tell her.
And why, would you not have asked your best friend where he found the illegal pod user?
And why, would your supposed “Best Friend” even go to his girlfriend for this information?
And why, agree to a deal so stupid.
Also, let’s face it. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but... he’s obviously not your best friend. He is so far beyond being your best friend that I worry the knife he has pressed against your back might be real and you’re just too stupid to notice.
This goes to the author.
Book one has this idiot having to accomplish 5 “quests”
Which he only completed one. (Book one=1 quest).
Does that mean you plan to drag this out into five books? Really? This book was filled with so much fluff, I nearly mistook it for my pillow.
The whole reason for this idiot’s “suffering” is one stupid decision after another.
Spoilers below
If your best friend’s girlfriend hates you, if she’s the pinnacle of all your problems, then why pray tell, would you invite your best friend to go with you to do something his girl friend is 1000% against? Did you think she wouldn’t find out? Did you think, your best friend, who has yet to stop his girlfriend from belittling, berating you , would not tell her.
And why, would you not have asked your best friend where he found the illegal pod user?
And why, would your supposed “Best Friend” even go to his girlfriend for this information?
And why, agree to a deal so stupid.
Also, let’s face it. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but... he’s obviously not your best friend. He is so far beyond being your best friend that I worry the knife he has pressed against your back might be real and you’re just too stupid to notice.
This goes to the author.
Book one has this idiot having to accomplish 5 “quests”
Which he only completed one. (Book one=1 quest).
Does that mean you plan to drag this out into five books? Really? This book was filled with so much fluff, I nearly mistook it for my pillow.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2019
I've read the first two books in the series which are all that is available at the time of my review.
The series is set in a dystopian future world where nanotechnology and artificial intelligence have been abused by mankind to a great extent. Such technologies should have ushered in a utopia, but instead have nearly destroyed the world which teeters on the brink of ruin. The Game that everyone plays in this world has real world ramifications as interactions with the Game world have effects on the nanotech and AIs that have run amok in the real world.
The RPG elements are good. There's definitely NOT the feeling that "It's just a game." that ruins so many LitRPG books for me. Failure in the game results in unpleasant immediate and long term consequences.
The protagonist has character development over the course of the books, not just in the RPG sense, but in the literary sense.
The series is set in a dystopian future world where nanotechnology and artificial intelligence have been abused by mankind to a great extent. Such technologies should have ushered in a utopia, but instead have nearly destroyed the world which teeters on the brink of ruin. The Game that everyone plays in this world has real world ramifications as interactions with the Game world have effects on the nanotech and AIs that have run amok in the real world.
The RPG elements are good. There's definitely NOT the feeling that "It's just a game." that ruins so many LitRPG books for me. Failure in the game results in unpleasant immediate and long term consequences.
The protagonist has character development over the course of the books, not just in the RPG sense, but in the literary sense.
February 5, 2019
Loved this
What a great read with a strong story line and good characters. The book is well written and appears to be edited professionally due to the lack of errors.
The MC is a solid guy and appears to know his limitations and is following a sensible path to progress and avoid the usual tropes.
There are plenty of other characters that add to the story and help create a believable world that pulls you in and leaves you wanting more.
Looking forward to plenty more in the series
What a great read with a strong story line and good characters. The book is well written and appears to be edited professionally due to the lack of errors.
The MC is a solid guy and appears to know his limitations and is following a sensible path to progress and avoid the usual tropes.
There are plenty of other characters that add to the story and help create a believable world that pulls you in and leaves you wanting more.
Looking forward to plenty more in the series
December 6, 2017
Genre Game Changer
This series beginning is every bit as epic as the classics. From Ready Player One to Ender’s Game to Kong’s Chaos Seeds... this book is a carefully crafted masterpiece of wit, nerve, plot, and poise. I literally cannot recommend it enough.
Worth every minute of your time...just start it on a Friday so you can get some sleep before Monday morning.
Way to take the genre up a notch! This is a shot of epic twists and turns you won’t regret.
This series beginning is every bit as epic as the classics. From Ready Player One to Ender’s Game to Kong’s Chaos Seeds... this book is a carefully crafted masterpiece of wit, nerve, plot, and poise. I literally cannot recommend it enough.
Worth every minute of your time...just start it on a Friday so you can get some sleep before Monday morning.
Way to take the genre up a notch! This is a shot of epic twists and turns you won’t regret.
January 11, 2019
This might top my list
What can I say about this book? The subtle nerd pop culture references abound but aren’t overbearing. The combat and system is interesting and strikes a chord with my love of 3.5. But it’s the philosophy that really does it for me. A boot to the face indeed.
What can I say about this book? The subtle nerd pop culture references abound but aren’t overbearing. The combat and system is interesting and strikes a chord with my love of 3.5. But it’s the philosophy that really does it for me. A boot to the face indeed.
January 20, 2019
Hidden Gem in LITRPG
Ok. I've been entertained by many wonderful stories in LITRPG ....some really well written.. some simplistic....while others, though still good stories... were lacking.
This book is a well written and deeply developed. A hidden Gem if your looking for a good read!
Ok. I've been entertained by many wonderful stories in LITRPG ....some really well written.. some simplistic....while others, though still good stories... were lacking.
This book is a well written and deeply developed. A hidden Gem if your looking for a good read!
November 19, 2019
A big reason why I gave up on this book:
In a long rant that seems to be from the author directed at the reader, we find out that the apocalypse was probably caused by either Muslims, atheists or socialism.
In a long rant that seems to be from the author directed at the reader, we find out that the apocalypse was probably caused by either Muslims, atheists or socialism.
March 29, 2019
Satisfied
Original and unique setting with a equally interesting MC. Can't wait to read the next book in the series! Keep it up!
Original and unique setting with a equally interesting MC. Can't wait to read the next book in the series! Keep it up!
November 6, 2017
I really liked this one, but it was a bit heavy on the politics. I've never read fiction to be educated or taught about politics, it's just not my thing. However, I love the whole beat me down and I'll figure out how to kick your butt anyway thing that's going on in this one. The main character just rocks, even without overpowering stats and equipment, he uses what he has and makes it through anyway, ruining established setups intended to milk the system all the way. Absolutely love it, and if you don't root for the under dog in this one, then I'd have to say your rootometer is broken.
A very well done piece, and I will be looking for the next one in 2018.
A very well done piece, and I will be looking for the next one in 2018.
April 5, 2019
Great concept. Hard to get through.
The good: interesting world with some good action. I appreciate the character development as well as how the main character manages tough situations.
The bad: the main character preaches at you for most of the book. It is hard to get through the passages at time. It is not quite as bad as Ayn Rand, but it does add much and affects the pacing.
I also feel like the world isn’t completely fleshed our as much as I think it should be. It feels like there are inconsistencies. Maybe that will come later. Though I am not sure I would grab the next book.
The good: interesting world with some good action. I appreciate the character development as well as how the main character manages tough situations.
The bad: the main character preaches at you for most of the book. It is hard to get through the passages at time. It is not quite as bad as Ayn Rand, but it does add much and affects the pacing.
I also feel like the world isn’t completely fleshed our as much as I think it should be. It feels like there are inconsistencies. Maybe that will come later. Though I am not sure I would grab the next book.
April 27, 2019
The fights were fantastic, but too much of this book bogged down with preachiness and unneeded terminology. Who really cares about japtem, or all the pranayama breaths. Describe the breath and move on. There were also several points that strained credibility. Would a prison pod that doesn't allow you to access the game, really still be connected to the same system as the game? And how could the council summon him and his father in a virtual interface if his father's house had no outside VR connection?
This book just swung far too much between enjoyable and frustrating too much.
This book just swung far too much between enjoyable and frustrating too much.
June 16, 2023
I had a really strong love/hate relationship with this book. This book is awesome in a ton of different ways, but the pace is far too slow. This is the first book that I’ve hit the fast-forward button on, and I did it multiple times, in multiple different locations.
That being said, the concept and plot of this book really hooked me. I enjoy these RPG lit books that still have a strong connection into the real world. Doing well in the “game” isn’t just part of having fun. There are real life successes and consequences to what happens. This is no exception. Miles Boone is in a precarious situation, if he wins in the game, he shows that the current societal structure is flawed. But lose, and he becomes just another victim to it.
***SPOILERS AHEAD**
The idea that the entirety of the game's future rests solely on the shoulders of a single individual is an overplayed troupe. Especially when that one single player is also the son, or grandson of some important figure that already fought against these previous evils. So, let’s not take this as some brand new masterpiece. However, the reason this troupe is used time and time again, is because it works… We want to see the underdog rise up. We want Link to return back to the realm and put Ganon in his place time and time again. That’s why we have so many of those games!
This concept works great here as well. Miles has the ear of his father, - Who I will call Master Boone, because I listened to this on Audible and can’t find how to spell his name. Master Boone was one of the original architects of the game, and strived to push the overbearing Eastman Clan away from power knowing that they were only looking to gain power and wealth by forcing people to stay in the beginner’s area known as the Cradle slaving away at menial tasks until they can earn enough favor to do “more important” work.
However, Miles having grown up with his father, is enthralled in the game, and wants to play in it to level up with his friend Jude for fun. It’s only when Maya Eastman interrupts his character rollup that he has problems. Maya catches Miles using a code for his character that only Eastman Clan members can roll up with. This causes the two to create a bet in the game that Miles has to escape the Cradle with zero luck within 1 year. If he does, he proves that the Eastman’s aren’t needed. If he doesn’t, he becomes indentured to Maya or her offspring for the rest of his life.
Plot
There’s a few items in the plot that I had some issues with.
The nanites or Gray Goo:
This is a part that I’m still confused on, there is a reason that only gaining power and wealth in the game is bad - besides simply driving this obvious “Capitalism is Bad” narrative. But, I don’t quite understand how it works. Apparently there was some moment in time where we let a bunch of nanites out into the world, and it is slowly destroying the world. We are recapturing “wild nanites” by playing the game, and giving the nanties something else to focus on… I think. But, we also use these nanites in our everyday lives for things like clothes, food, and currency. Meaning that some nanite is good, but some isn’t? Maybe I’m just dumb here. Please explain.
Consistency of Pace
The plot jumped from fast to slow, to barely crawling, back to fast again in moments, and I don’t mind a fast book, or a slow book. But I don’t like oddly paced books. For example, at one point Miles tries unsuccessfully to get out of Maya Eastman’s clutches, but gets sent to prison. There, they place prisoners in an “offline” version of the game - again, a little confused here. This allows Miles to learn how to play the game in “Hardcore Mode” and man… There’s an entire chapter to Yoga Poses. Which I get is important, but it’s Yoga, either I know about it, or I don’t care enough to know about it, and this book isn’t going to change my mind about it.
However, as soon as he learns Yoga and graduates to breathing, then actual magic, his time in prison is conveniently over and he can now play on “Hardcore Mode” which jumps us right back into the game and the quick paced moments.
Characters
If you’re going to call your series “Character Development” you should probably be good at writing about character development. And this doesn’t disappoint… Well, it disappoints a little. Jude doesn’t really grow at all in this book. Not like he has too as Jude is a secondary character, who also repeatedly stabs Miles in the back several times. But why are you trusting a character named Jude anyways?
Miles on the other hand does grow a lot. Not only does he level up in the game, but he starts to understand how important his little bet is. At the time he made it, he simply wanted to be allowed to play the game with the extra Eastman only gear. But, as more individuals take note of his bet and the more obstacles he faces he starts to realize how deep the corruption goes, and that maybe his old man isn’t just a crazy ol’ boomer.
Overall, I really liked this book. And I’ll give it 4-stars. The pacing is off, and there are some things that could be buttoned up and explained a bit better. But overall, the characters, the worlds, and the plot are solid.
That being said, the concept and plot of this book really hooked me. I enjoy these RPG lit books that still have a strong connection into the real world. Doing well in the “game” isn’t just part of having fun. There are real life successes and consequences to what happens. This is no exception. Miles Boone is in a precarious situation, if he wins in the game, he shows that the current societal structure is flawed. But lose, and he becomes just another victim to it.
***SPOILERS AHEAD**
The idea that the entirety of the game's future rests solely on the shoulders of a single individual is an overplayed troupe. Especially when that one single player is also the son, or grandson of some important figure that already fought against these previous evils. So, let’s not take this as some brand new masterpiece. However, the reason this troupe is used time and time again, is because it works… We want to see the underdog rise up. We want Link to return back to the realm and put Ganon in his place time and time again. That’s why we have so many of those games!
This concept works great here as well. Miles has the ear of his father, - Who I will call Master Boone, because I listened to this on Audible and can’t find how to spell his name. Master Boone was one of the original architects of the game, and strived to push the overbearing Eastman Clan away from power knowing that they were only looking to gain power and wealth by forcing people to stay in the beginner’s area known as the Cradle slaving away at menial tasks until they can earn enough favor to do “more important” work.
However, Miles having grown up with his father, is enthralled in the game, and wants to play in it to level up with his friend Jude for fun. It’s only when Maya Eastman interrupts his character rollup that he has problems. Maya catches Miles using a code for his character that only Eastman Clan members can roll up with. This causes the two to create a bet in the game that Miles has to escape the Cradle with zero luck within 1 year. If he does, he proves that the Eastman’s aren’t needed. If he doesn’t, he becomes indentured to Maya or her offspring for the rest of his life.
Plot
There’s a few items in the plot that I had some issues with.
The nanites or Gray Goo:
This is a part that I’m still confused on, there is a reason that only gaining power and wealth in the game is bad - besides simply driving this obvious “Capitalism is Bad” narrative. But, I don’t quite understand how it works. Apparently there was some moment in time where we let a bunch of nanites out into the world, and it is slowly destroying the world. We are recapturing “wild nanites” by playing the game, and giving the nanties something else to focus on… I think. But, we also use these nanites in our everyday lives for things like clothes, food, and currency. Meaning that some nanite is good, but some isn’t? Maybe I’m just dumb here. Please explain.
Consistency of Pace
The plot jumped from fast to slow, to barely crawling, back to fast again in moments, and I don’t mind a fast book, or a slow book. But I don’t like oddly paced books. For example, at one point Miles tries unsuccessfully to get out of Maya Eastman’s clutches, but gets sent to prison. There, they place prisoners in an “offline” version of the game - again, a little confused here. This allows Miles to learn how to play the game in “Hardcore Mode” and man… There’s an entire chapter to Yoga Poses. Which I get is important, but it’s Yoga, either I know about it, or I don’t care enough to know about it, and this book isn’t going to change my mind about it.
However, as soon as he learns Yoga and graduates to breathing, then actual magic, his time in prison is conveniently over and he can now play on “Hardcore Mode” which jumps us right back into the game and the quick paced moments.
Characters
If you’re going to call your series “Character Development” you should probably be good at writing about character development. And this doesn’t disappoint… Well, it disappoints a little. Jude doesn’t really grow at all in this book. Not like he has too as Jude is a secondary character, who also repeatedly stabs Miles in the back several times. But why are you trusting a character named Jude anyways?
Miles on the other hand does grow a lot. Not only does he level up in the game, but he starts to understand how important his little bet is. At the time he made it, he simply wanted to be allowed to play the game with the extra Eastman only gear. But, as more individuals take note of his bet and the more obstacles he faces he starts to realize how deep the corruption goes, and that maybe his old man isn’t just a crazy ol’ boomer.
Overall, I really liked this book. And I’ll give it 4-stars. The pacing is off, and there are some things that could be buttoned up and explained a bit better. But overall, the characters, the worlds, and the plot are solid.
July 24, 2020
3.75☆
October 1, 2019
Aaron Jay is a very cleaver author. I found myself saying that out loud more than once during this story. Partly it was his subtle and cleaver references to the genre (prison pod models being named Mahanenko's for example). More than that, though was his scarily plausible world design.
The world in Beginner's Luck is a post apocalyptic one in which a Gray Goo like event has occurred and humanity just barely managed to save a small region from the "Wild AI" by incorporating it into a game. The whole point of the game is to keep the AI thinking that the game is what's important and get it to follow the established rules. The variety of AI's that were incorporated into the Gray Goo are different monsters. The humans then play to attempt to tame the Nano and hopefully regain territory. We've already seen how AI now behaves, and how humans can screw with it. Be it Twitter AI or the youtube algorithm. But, humans following human nature, results in, over the years, people taking the easy road and taking the game less seriously, loosing the understanding of what the point of this is and playing the game as a game.
As a result, the world and characters are extremely compelling, the way Miles plays makes sense and even the way he accomplishes seemingly impossible things works logically. This one is a must read for LitRPG fans.
The world in Beginner's Luck is a post apocalyptic one in which a Gray Goo like event has occurred and humanity just barely managed to save a small region from the "Wild AI" by incorporating it into a game. The whole point of the game is to keep the AI thinking that the game is what's important and get it to follow the established rules. The variety of AI's that were incorporated into the Gray Goo are different monsters. The humans then play to attempt to tame the Nano and hopefully regain territory. We've already seen how AI now behaves, and how humans can screw with it. Be it Twitter AI or the youtube algorithm. But, humans following human nature, results in, over the years, people taking the easy road and taking the game less seriously, loosing the understanding of what the point of this is and playing the game as a game.
As a result, the world and characters are extremely compelling, the way Miles plays makes sense and even the way he accomplishes seemingly impossible things works logically. This one is a must read for LitRPG fans.
February 25, 2020
I listened to an audio book but that isn't currently listed on Goodreads.com so I'm placing my review here.
I barely got started with this book before I had to quit. It was just too stupid. The set up is the MC must accomplish something essentially impossible to accomplish in a vr game. Then the MC's luck stat is also set to zero making it absolutely impossible. Seriously, the author may as well have written that his MC has to win the 100 meter dash at the Olympics and then cut both of his legs off. What is worse the author sets this up by having the girlfriend of the MC's best friend catch him doing something illegal. Except the friend is there as well. So the girlfriend really has no leverage since she isn't going to send her boyfriend to jail. The author makes an unsubstantiated claim that she can arrange to just send the MC to jail and leave the boyfriend out of it, but even if that is the case the boyfriend would have to drop someone that evil. So the MC's weird motivation doesn't hold up under the briefest of scrutiny and so the MC going along with the set up just amounts to the MC being to stupid to live.
Bottom line: The opening was so terrible I couldn't continue.
I barely got started with this book before I had to quit. It was just too stupid. The set up is the MC must accomplish something essentially impossible to accomplish in a vr game. Then the MC's luck stat is also set to zero making it absolutely impossible. Seriously, the author may as well have written that his MC has to win the 100 meter dash at the Olympics and then cut both of his legs off. What is worse the author sets this up by having the girlfriend of the MC's best friend catch him doing something illegal. Except the friend is there as well. So the girlfriend really has no leverage since she isn't going to send her boyfriend to jail. The author makes an unsubstantiated claim that she can arrange to just send the MC to jail and leave the boyfriend out of it, but even if that is the case the boyfriend would have to drop someone that evil. So the MC's weird motivation doesn't hold up under the briefest of scrutiny and so the MC going along with the set up just amounts to the MC being to stupid to live.
Bottom line: The opening was so terrible I couldn't continue.
February 24, 2022
Once again, the world as we know has ended. An energy/force has come to the earth, and when it first came it had promise for a human golden age, however the human habit of needing to dominate others causes a global catastrophe.
In order to save humanity, the main characters father among others designed an interface to control this force by making it follow the rules of a game. A fantasy game, with monsters, crafting, classes, and of course more of the same human stupidity.
This is the story of the child of one of the primary early developers coming of age and joining the game. Refusing to follow the dictates of the "Party" he wants to play the game on his own terms.
This is where it takes a turn, when he goes to make his character he makes a bet (Which is enforced by the game) in which if he loses he will be her slave in the game (All his earnings go to her) and if she wins she pays him what the average player makes in a year.
However, as he initializes character creation she tells the game to strip him of his luck stats use entirely.
In order to save humanity, the main characters father among others designed an interface to control this force by making it follow the rules of a game. A fantasy game, with monsters, crafting, classes, and of course more of the same human stupidity.
This is the story of the child of one of the primary early developers coming of age and joining the game. Refusing to follow the dictates of the "Party" he wants to play the game on his own terms.
This is where it takes a turn, when he goes to make his character he makes a bet (Which is enforced by the game) in which if he loses he will be her slave in the game (All his earnings go to her) and if she wins she pays him what the average player makes in a year.
However, as he initializes character creation she tells the game to strip him of his luck stats use entirely.
March 18, 2019
A philosophy tirade
This wasn't the kind of luck book I was expecting. MC does not get any major benefits from luck, and at the same time his bad luck isn't necessarily bad. The book was engaging and rooting for the underdog and embracing "cheats" was a lot of fun. However, the negatives of the book were the frequent unneeded political criticisms, references, and one-sided philosophical arguments. You can set up a dystopia without immediately telling the reader everything wrong with it. The exposition overload of how philosophically bad their society is went on for too long and the reader doesn't get to explore that on their own, they're immediately told its bad because it's bad. What could have been an engaging dystopia novel became more like just watching a bully beat someone up.
This wasn't the kind of luck book I was expecting. MC does not get any major benefits from luck, and at the same time his bad luck isn't necessarily bad. The book was engaging and rooting for the underdog and embracing "cheats" was a lot of fun. However, the negatives of the book were the frequent unneeded political criticisms, references, and one-sided philosophical arguments. You can set up a dystopia without immediately telling the reader everything wrong with it. The exposition overload of how philosophically bad their society is went on for too long and the reader doesn't get to explore that on their own, they're immediately told its bad because it's bad. What could have been an engaging dystopia novel became more like just watching a bully beat someone up.
June 15, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. Too bad the author made a fictitious socialist party the bad guys. He should have made unregulated capitalism and corporate control of government the bad guys. Would have been much more appropriate for our times. Maybe the author doesn’t realize that many European countries have socialist democracies which merely means they spend their tax revenues on programs to help their people, such as nationalized health care and university education, rather than spending it on war and interventionism like the US does. Their people are happier, healthier, and better educated. But if you can ignore the right-wing politics as I was able to, you should find this a very enjoyable read. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
September 13, 2020
So, the world seems to have been overrun with grey goo - but maybe not all of it? And the game is how people fight the grey goo in the real world, but co-opting it into playing?
An enjoyable read, but there's a bunch in here that has explanations but not necessarily good ones. I look forward to the next book though, to see how Miles progresses and if a better explanation of the real world gets offered. (I'd be okay if there wasn't really an explanation, but this seems to be a near future, with the older generation being my age.... so either it went off the rails sometime in the historical past in their world or Miles, Jude, Maya, etc ought to remember what the world was like before as well.
An enjoyable read, but there's a bunch in here that has explanations but not necessarily good ones. I look forward to the next book though, to see how Miles progresses and if a better explanation of the real world gets offered. (I'd be okay if there wasn't really an explanation, but this seems to be a near future, with the older generation being my age.... so either it went off the rails sometime in the historical past in their world or Miles, Jude, Maya, etc ought to remember what the world was like before as well.
August 30, 2024
The book starts badly. There's a whole Ayn Rand-esque spiel early on about socialism being a repeated yet failed experiment and the political left dooming humanity with their ideals. It feels very unnatural and like the author is just speaking at you.
Once that is over the story gets going and is quite good. The protagonist is a bit of a dick but not so much you don't end up rooting for him. The LitRPG premise is pretty good as far as they normally go.
The protagonist spends a lot of the book alone so character interaction isn't abundant but what there is is done well. The plot is decent albeit a bit slow. I imagined this story would cover a longer time period than it did.
Narration was very good. I'll definitely listen to the sequel.
Once that is over the story gets going and is quite good. The protagonist is a bit of a dick but not so much you don't end up rooting for him. The LitRPG premise is pretty good as far as they normally go.
The protagonist spends a lot of the book alone so character interaction isn't abundant but what there is is done well. The plot is decent albeit a bit slow. I imagined this story would cover a longer time period than it did.
Narration was very good. I'll definitely listen to the sequel.
Read
August 25, 2019Interesting Premise
I love the backstory of a conservative society reaching singularity and then when the AI revolt they devolve into a fascist society ruled by an oligarchy. The parody of right wing talking points concerning communism and praising the Market had me chuckling to my self throughout the book. Truly a funny story with high stakes. I look forward to future books.
I only gave 3 stars because the mc doesn’t seem to grow stronger and instead relies heavily on chance and mechanics which makes the game kinda boring. Also the huge text walls of monologue should probably be broken up in the future or possibly turned into good dialogue.
I love the backstory of a conservative society reaching singularity and then when the AI revolt they devolve into a fascist society ruled by an oligarchy. The parody of right wing talking points concerning communism and praising the Market had me chuckling to my self throughout the book. Truly a funny story with high stakes. I look forward to future books.
I only gave 3 stars because the mc doesn’t seem to grow stronger and instead relies heavily on chance and mechanics which makes the game kinda boring. Also the huge text walls of monologue should probably be broken up in the future or possibly turned into good dialogue.
September 29, 2019
Great concept, I was getting tired of other litRPG book's where the main character going into VR and can't believe it, its like reality going on for chapters. I did enjoy the book but it dragged on and it has some issues. There was some strange anti socialism bits (I don't think the author understands the differences between communism, socialism, and democratic socialism). Luck is a bit over the top especially with the lampshading to explain away when he completes one of his tasks. He just happens to be in the right place at the right time with the right items, do to luck or other people's actions. The main character lacked a bit to much agency.
January 5, 2018
Pretty good but mean story
This is a twist on all the luck based LitRPG stories.
Our main character has to play the game without luck. Not low luck but no luck as they painfully make obvious. This system every skill is positive so he isn't unlucky. All that said he is under a huge disadvantage and must turn that into his advantage. Okay so far.
This has a very Europe or Russian feel. That is the world really is out to get you, but you can smile and spit in its face.
I look forward to the next book.
This is a twist on all the luck based LitRPG stories.
Our main character has to play the game without luck. Not low luck but no luck as they painfully make obvious. This system every skill is positive so he isn't unlucky. All that said he is under a huge disadvantage and must turn that into his advantage. Okay so far.
This has a very Europe or Russian feel. That is the world really is out to get you, but you can smile and spit in its face.
I look forward to the next book.
December 10, 2019
I had this on my to read shelf for about a year, and honestly the Blurb never hooked me. But I grabbed it for some reason and it was the exact opposite of what i thought i was getting. An excellent and realistic GameLit story. It had excellent world-building and believable drops and combat. It also had a few passages moralizing about natural law and disparaging communism, but since I happen to agree with the MC about natural law and communism it was fine. others with different political views may or may not like the MC's background. But i was pleasantly surprised! NICE BOOK!!
February 16, 2022
On the one hand, the writing was pretty darn good in this book. On the other, the author felt compelled to mix a great story with random long-winded diatribes about the dangers of socialism and communism. It wasn't a particularly interesting diatribe either, as if we all aren't aware of venezuela.
He really forced that worldview into the book. The entire premise is described (in great, boring detail) with lots of hand-wavey "they all forced communism on us and it resulted in the end of the world!"
He really forced that worldview into the book. The entire premise is described (in great, boring detail) with lots of hand-wavey "they all forced communism on us and it resulted in the end of the world!"
August 24, 2024
A good book with some deep messages
Another - quite interesting-approach of making in the matrix to achieve something in the real world.
The first 10 pages are a slog but then the story unravels.
I enjoyed the critics of our current Zeitgeist and the firm standpoint that the game is always rigged by the powerful, even though it gets rather ridiculous in this book..
I struggled with the extensive yoga scene but loved the wisdom at the end of it.
I don't understand why the protagonist would not increase his mining skill..
Another - quite interesting-approach of making in the matrix to achieve something in the real world.
The first 10 pages are a slog but then the story unravels.
I enjoyed the critics of our current Zeitgeist and the firm standpoint that the game is always rigged by the powerful, even though it gets rather ridiculous in this book..
I struggled with the extensive yoga scene but loved the wisdom at the end of it.
I don't understand why the protagonist would not increase his mining skill..
November 5, 2017
Slow and Preachy at First
While world building, it was slow. But once in the game and story it had a decent pace. I kind of enjoyed the delve into yoga. I did not understand why the MC kept losing his way after all the training he went through. I also thought he should have been a few levels ahead after killing a whole dungeon before the boss. I look forward to read the next installment.
While world building, it was slow. But once in the game and story it had a decent pace. I kind of enjoyed the delve into yoga. I did not understand why the MC kept losing his way after all the training he went through. I also thought he should have been a few levels ahead after killing a whole dungeon before the boss. I look forward to read the next installment.
November 18, 2017
A fun story, no "world first" or an OP char.
This was a fun story that has the strong ties a lit-rpg should have.
This had a good ballance of the game world and the irl.
No over sexualization. No over the top violence.
I would recommend this book to just about anyone.
The story had a few points where it was a bit preachy for me on its morals.
The details on each yoga pose was a bit over the top for me as well.
Both of the issues were minor and did not take away from the story.
This was a fun story that has the strong ties a lit-rpg should have.
This had a good ballance of the game world and the irl.
No over sexualization. No over the top violence.
I would recommend this book to just about anyone.
The story had a few points where it was a bit preachy for me on its morals.
The details on each yoga pose was a bit over the top for me as well.
Both of the issues were minor and did not take away from the story.
December 7, 2017
Great one!
Really enjoyed this book. If you dont know about LitRPG or GameLit or whatever then you really should start reading books and not reviews already! This book has a great game world and scary RL. The world IRL has been taken over by wild nano. The game is supposed to help, but is controlled by the elite. A simple bet could change everything. How can someone get by with NO luck? Great read check it out!
Really enjoyed this book. If you dont know about LitRPG or GameLit or whatever then you really should start reading books and not reviews already! This book has a great game world and scary RL. The world IRL has been taken over by wild nano. The game is supposed to help, but is controlled by the elite. A simple bet could change everything. How can someone get by with NO luck? Great read check it out!
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