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Monsters, Maces and Magic #2
Betrayal
Glenn, a college sophomore, hasn’t gotten used to being a gnome healer, trapped in a world that functions under the rules of Monsters, Maces and Magic. Of course, acclimating isn’t the plan. He, along with the other players drawn into the RPG world in the form of their characters, want to escape and return home. Stephi, Kirby, Ron, Derek and Glenn survived their first adventure into the Dark Heart Swamp, and are approached to once again enter the dismal marshland. An elf maiden, daughter of a baronet, has been taken captive by a band of goblins, and gold is offered for her rescue. Gold is needed, not only if the party hopes to escape the game world, but to live and survive its perils. Glenn and his party take the mission, even though they weren’t the first choice. Beyond that, the foul swamp and its evil denizen may not be the greatest danger. A seer warns that their greatest threat lies in betrayal. Praise for Monsters, Maces, and Magic "Exciting and hilarious! It feels like a true game with friends." Dueling Ogres Podcast
324 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 4, 2018
50 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 26, 2019
My second read from author Terry W. Ervin II. I was given an Audible copy of the third book in this series & wanted to read books 1 & 2 first so I went out & got them. Reminiscent of Joel Rosenberg’s Guardians of the Flame Series this was a well-written entertaining read, looks to be an enjoyable series. On to book 3. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).
November 27, 2020
I found this second volume in the Monsters, Maces, and Magic series more enjoyable than the first. This is due to not needing to establish the background or ‘game mechanics’ and simply gets on with the story. Even if one had not read the first book, ‘Outpost’, it is still an easy tale to quickly immerse oneself in.
Betrayal picks right up where Outpost left off, and we find our intrepid adventurers seeking coin to purchase a ‘wish’ spell that can (hopefully) transport them home. Only Kirby, the half-goblin thief, who was a junior high student in the real world and therefore significantly younger than the rest of the party, has stated that he intends to stay. Glenn, the college sophomore, has become slightly more accustomed to being a gnome healer, albeit still very self-conscious about his severe physical limitations. Stephi, the extremely tall and disproportionately buxom elf magic user, deals with the occasional issues brought on by her ridiculously unrealistic appearance, though these are less frequent and not hammered home quite so much as in the first story. One thing I liked about this second volume is the remaining characters, Derek the human fighter and Ron the quarter-elf fighter-druid, are given far more development. Indeed, everyone gets a lot more character depth and personality. Ron becomes far more than the ‘vanilla’ leader of the group. And while Derek is still insufferable much of the time, he occasionally shows traces of decency and becomes more sympathetic. Stephi has also developed far beyond being elven eye candy with an ‘epic chest’. And even though we see everything from Glenn’s perspective, I feel Kirby grows the most, character-wise. As one of the most experienced players of the game in the real world, his knowledge is relied upon heavily. A lot of his growth comes from his still operating on a young teenage mind that has yet to reach full maturity, while dealing with the immense responsibility heaped upon him. He is also the most morally flexible of the story, willing to commit otherwise distasteful acts in order to protect his friends. His race and appearance also continue to cause him grief, very similar to racism seen in the real world.
Their quest in this story involves saving an elf maiden, who’s been kidnapped by goblins, and is betrothed to the human son of a prominent silver smith. At first glance, it seems straight out of a Dungeons and Dragons module or typical video game RPG, which is not a bad thing. That said, the story become far less straightforward, with a handful of plot twists keeping the tale an interesting page-turner. I also enjoyed seeing the return of the goblin animal handler they hired in the previous volume. Certain side characters are also given plenty of story, notably Terry, the woodsman, and Jerome, the annoying yet likable man-at-arms, who the party rescues during their search for the elf maiden. Since they are, in essence, in a living game world, the value of NPC’s (non-player character) lives becomes an interesting moral issue for the party. Are they ‘real’ people, or simply props for player interaction, and do their lives actually matter? This is a dilemma which I hope will get more attention in future volumes. Game mechanics still come into play, probably more so than in Outpost, though I find it adds to the story and the self-awareness of the characters. Also, I do not find it irritating at all that the author alternates between using their actual names in narration, versus character names when they’re speaking. It is an interesting dynamic, as they all intend to call each other by their real names, but are unable to do so in this world.
Like before, I went with the audiobook version, having become a fan of Jonathan Waters’ style of narration and story-telling. He continues to do what he does best, showing a wide array of voice talents across races, genders, and ages of personas within the story. His vocal abilities mesh well with this series, and I look forward to Volume Three!
Betrayal picks right up where Outpost left off, and we find our intrepid adventurers seeking coin to purchase a ‘wish’ spell that can (hopefully) transport them home. Only Kirby, the half-goblin thief, who was a junior high student in the real world and therefore significantly younger than the rest of the party, has stated that he intends to stay. Glenn, the college sophomore, has become slightly more accustomed to being a gnome healer, albeit still very self-conscious about his severe physical limitations. Stephi, the extremely tall and disproportionately buxom elf magic user, deals with the occasional issues brought on by her ridiculously unrealistic appearance, though these are less frequent and not hammered home quite so much as in the first story. One thing I liked about this second volume is the remaining characters, Derek the human fighter and Ron the quarter-elf fighter-druid, are given far more development. Indeed, everyone gets a lot more character depth and personality. Ron becomes far more than the ‘vanilla’ leader of the group. And while Derek is still insufferable much of the time, he occasionally shows traces of decency and becomes more sympathetic. Stephi has also developed far beyond being elven eye candy with an ‘epic chest’. And even though we see everything from Glenn’s perspective, I feel Kirby grows the most, character-wise. As one of the most experienced players of the game in the real world, his knowledge is relied upon heavily. A lot of his growth comes from his still operating on a young teenage mind that has yet to reach full maturity, while dealing with the immense responsibility heaped upon him. He is also the most morally flexible of the story, willing to commit otherwise distasteful acts in order to protect his friends. His race and appearance also continue to cause him grief, very similar to racism seen in the real world.
Their quest in this story involves saving an elf maiden, who’s been kidnapped by goblins, and is betrothed to the human son of a prominent silver smith. At first glance, it seems straight out of a Dungeons and Dragons module or typical video game RPG, which is not a bad thing. That said, the story become far less straightforward, with a handful of plot twists keeping the tale an interesting page-turner. I also enjoyed seeing the return of the goblin animal handler they hired in the previous volume. Certain side characters are also given plenty of story, notably Terry, the woodsman, and Jerome, the annoying yet likable man-at-arms, who the party rescues during their search for the elf maiden. Since they are, in essence, in a living game world, the value of NPC’s (non-player character) lives becomes an interesting moral issue for the party. Are they ‘real’ people, or simply props for player interaction, and do their lives actually matter? This is a dilemma which I hope will get more attention in future volumes. Game mechanics still come into play, probably more so than in Outpost, though I find it adds to the story and the self-awareness of the characters. Also, I do not find it irritating at all that the author alternates between using their actual names in narration, versus character names when they’re speaking. It is an interesting dynamic, as they all intend to call each other by their real names, but are unable to do so in this world.
Like before, I went with the audiobook version, having become a fan of Jonathan Waters’ style of narration and story-telling. He continues to do what he does best, showing a wide array of voice talents across races, genders, and ages of personas within the story. His vocal abilities mesh well with this series, and I look forward to Volume Three!
October 5, 2022
I found this second installment in the Monsters, Maces and Magic series to be both better and worse than the first book. The title, Betrayal, relates to a prophecy or prediction given to the group warning about betrayal. To be honest, there was so much else going on that I almost missed it.
The characters seem to be more complete and fleshed out in this book but one of them is still a pr*ck.
I'm not happy with the magic user gaining/channeling the abilities of the warrior monk that is stuck in some item she has. I would've preferred the delineation between classes remained. Also, the anatomy of the magic user (big boobs) seems to be mentioned a lot more than in the first book. Its almost a running gag now.
Also, they are progressing really slowly and have barely reached second level in this book. Either the progression isn't going to go far, or this is going to be a very long series...
Overall, an enjoyable read and I will be continuing the series.
I received a free copy of this book and chose to write a review.
The characters seem to be more complete and fleshed out in this book but one of them is still a pr*ck.
I'm not happy with the magic user gaining/channeling the abilities of the warrior monk that is stuck in some item she has. I would've preferred the delineation between classes remained. Also, the anatomy of the magic user (big boobs) seems to be mentioned a lot more than in the first book. Its almost a running gag now.
Also, they are progressing really slowly and have barely reached second level in this book. Either the progression isn't going to go far, or this is going to be a very long series...
Overall, an enjoyable read and I will be continuing the series.
I received a free copy of this book and chose to write a review.
January 12, 2021
Slightly repetitive but engaging for +18 readers
Narrator: smooth voice, good intonations, fun sound effects, great differentiations.
Language: moderate but no f-bombs
Violence: typical RPG violence and gore
Sexual content: sexual references/innuendos
Parents: sexuality is pretty blatant and I can’t in good conscience recommend this for under 18 years.
Story: entertaining but a bit slow and repetitive. Lots of references to one of the characters resembling a porn star, repeatedly reuses certain phrases of information that has been disclosed (ex: character X had sort of cheated by selecting a certain animal as a language they understand). Several segments are used in this fashion to the point of annoyance. The story itself is entertaining, if you haven’t read the first book I think you won’t be worse for wear in all honesty.
—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Narrator: smooth voice, good intonations, fun sound effects, great differentiations.
Language: moderate but no f-bombs
Violence: typical RPG violence and gore
Sexual content: sexual references/innuendos
Parents: sexuality is pretty blatant and I can’t in good conscience recommend this for under 18 years.
Story: entertaining but a bit slow and repetitive. Lots of references to one of the characters resembling a porn star, repeatedly reuses certain phrases of information that has been disclosed (ex: character X had sort of cheated by selecting a certain animal as a language they understand). Several segments are used in this fashion to the point of annoyance. The story itself is entertaining, if you haven’t read the first book I think you won’t be worse for wear in all honesty.
—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
July 12, 2021
Great series.
I’m really enjoying this series. This storyline was very good. IMO I feel like the description of Stephi and her enhancements are a bit overdone, but otherwise a good story. The characters are cleverly written and a lot of fun. They are all so different and on this magical yet dangerous journey and sometimes not getting along, just like a real family lol. I understand that they have original names as well as player names but sometimes it’s hard for me to keep track of who’s who when they use both names so often, it’s like 10 main characters instead of 5. I say pick a name and stick with it lol, so people like me can keep up.
The narration is wonderful. Jonathan Waters is extremely talented and does a great job with all the different characters and bringing this story to life.
This is book 2 in this series and continues into the next book. I recommend this book/series.
Sisters Spotlight 💜
I’m really enjoying this series. This storyline was very good. IMO I feel like the description of Stephi and her enhancements are a bit overdone, but otherwise a good story. The characters are cleverly written and a lot of fun. They are all so different and on this magical yet dangerous journey and sometimes not getting along, just like a real family lol. I understand that they have original names as well as player names but sometimes it’s hard for me to keep track of who’s who when they use both names so often, it’s like 10 main characters instead of 5. I say pick a name and stick with it lol, so people like me can keep up.
The narration is wonderful. Jonathan Waters is extremely talented and does a great job with all the different characters and bringing this story to life.
This is book 2 in this series and continues into the next book. I recommend this book/series.
Sisters Spotlight 💜
July 27, 2021
BETRAYAL BY TERRY W ERVIN II is the second in the MONSTERS, MACES AND MAGIC series. As our friends continue their quest to leave the game they are hired by a silversmith to locate his daughter in law to be . To do that its back to the swamp!!
BETRAYAL continues the series started in the first book with hardly a skip in storyline. Jonathan Waters continues to do an excellent job with narration doing voices of not only men but women. The action level continues as we join the journey of the group back in the swamp and battling all the goblins,zombies and general badass characters.
I recieved this audiobook free in exchange for an honest review.
BETRAYAL continues the series started in the first book with hardly a skip in storyline. Jonathan Waters continues to do an excellent job with narration doing voices of not only men but women. The action level continues as we join the journey of the group back in the swamp and battling all the goblins,zombies and general badass characters.
I recieved this audiobook free in exchange for an honest review.
October 7, 2020
I enjoyed this 2nd story more then the original 1st story in this Series and I am looking forward to the next. The group of main characters are people who were sucked into a RPG at the college they attend. They believe that the Gamemaster is the one who got them sucked in, but do not really know how or why.
May 30, 2022
Really the same review as #1 even down to the comment on the ending,
Enjoying the series and look forward to #3
Enjoying the series and look forward to #3
July 14, 2023
The tale weaves onwards
Another masterful romp through the MMM locations. Plenty of action and humour. Some positive interactions and fights with a myriad of people and creatures alike
Another masterful romp through the MMM locations. Plenty of action and humour. Some positive interactions and fights with a myriad of people and creatures alike
February 2, 2021
Good continuation of the groups adventures. Great fun and more.
September 18, 2022
Purchase 2nd in series from Amazon on September 18, 2022. good D&D STORY.
October 7, 2020
I couldn't finish it. 2 books in and they're still level 1(Rank 1). And I'm really tired of hearing about humongous boobs. Especially when the said female character is such a bitter personality. Actually, I couldn't relate to any of the characters.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews