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Aether Gate Online #1
The Slayer
Raise your blade. Take up the mantle of Slayer.Adam’s life was anything but easy. With people at both school and home eager to make his life a living hell, the only place that he felt like himself was in the virtual world. At least there he had some control.When the newest VRMMORPG title gets announced, Adam and his best friend Max are more than ready to dive in. Launch day arrives quickly, and Adam is plunged into a world that’s more immersive than anything he’s experienced before. Although the game offers a bevy of character choices, Adam quickly chooses the title of Slayer, a class that specializes in taking down stronger, more difficult opponents. Adam begins his adventure, but it's not long before he realizes that there’s much more at stake when taking a life in this new game. The pain is very real and death… is permanent.Now, trapped in a virtual world, Adam must take the mantle of Zander Darkblade and brave the dangers of the Aether Gate. It is a world of mighty creatures and fallen gods. A world where powerful familiars bond with their masters, granting them extraordinary powers that they wield with uncanny force…. and as Adam and the others will soon discover, it is a world of secrets that have laid hidden for far too long...Welcome to Aether Gate Online.#1 Bestseller in Teen and Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy! #1 Bestseller in Teen and Young Adult Action/ Adventure! Start the bestselling litRPG series today!
315 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 17, 2018
318 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 17, 2019
Book one
Mistakes: I found the story to be well edited.
Plot: my question is is this a trapped inside the game story or a transplanted in another world story?
The killing of enemies double the MC's level was a big turn off for me. Also the getting of uber equipment right out of the gate, and the bonding of new familiars just as they are needed. I'm very disappointed in this book.
Characters: I stopped caring because the story itself was so sloppy and just a guide in how to have everything handed to you.
4/10
Mistakes: I found the story to be well edited.
Plot: my question is is this a trapped inside the game story or a transplanted in another world story?
The killing of enemies double the MC's level was a big turn off for me. Also the getting of uber equipment right out of the gate, and the bonding of new familiars just as they are needed. I'm very disappointed in this book.
Characters: I stopped caring because the story itself was so sloppy and just a guide in how to have everything handed to you.
4/10
September 5, 2018
First, I just can’t stand the narrator’s “normal” accent, hearing it is annoying (personal taste I guess) and hearing it throughout the whole book made everything sound worse.
Second. I just can’t identify with the MC. First there’s the thing with the bully. I mean, come the fk on, someone has been bullying you for YEARS and you agree to take him with you? Are you serious?! I would have had 1 of 2 reactions: PK on the spot (remember, this is before he knows death is permanent), or dump him to flounder in his own (even after knowing death is permanent). I would certainly NOT take him with me.
And then there’s forgetting his RL name... after HOW long he was in the game? Forgetting his name, are you serious?
Also, when he is told “you only get one life”, why the hell does he immediately jump to the conclusion that death in game means death IRL? Why not assume that only your character has perma-death?
Backtracking a bit, he got bored of that other MMO they were playing in the beginning, and this new one was supposed to be WAY better. In what way? I mean, come on, at least tell me, while he is in game, why is this game better than the ones before it. Does it have better graphics? AI npcs with more realistic responses? Better classes? Better quests? ANYTHING?!
Second. I just can’t identify with the MC. First there’s the thing with the bully. I mean, come the fk on, someone has been bullying you for YEARS and you agree to take him with you? Are you serious?! I would have had 1 of 2 reactions: PK on the spot (remember, this is before he knows death is permanent), or dump him to flounder in his own (even after knowing death is permanent). I would certainly NOT take him with me.
And then there’s forgetting his RL name... after HOW long he was in the game? Forgetting his name, are you serious?
Also, when he is told “you only get one life”, why the hell does he immediately jump to the conclusion that death in game means death IRL? Why not assume that only your character has perma-death?
Backtracking a bit, he got bored of that other MMO they were playing in the beginning, and this new one was supposed to be WAY better. In what way? I mean, come on, at least tell me, while he is in game, why is this game better than the ones before it. Does it have better graphics? AI npcs with more realistic responses? Better classes? Better quests? ANYTHING?!
July 11, 2018
Really Good
I appreciate this story because it's written like a true virtual RPG story with character build up and fighting and leveling up not boring but we exciting but a shocking ending??
I appreciate this story because it's written like a true virtual RPG story with character build up and fighting and leveling up not boring but we exciting but a shocking ending??
August 11, 2018
It was really good.
It followed an old but good litRPG arc of being stuck in the game. However their bodies in the real world still remained alive. I really liked the world building, especially the familiar aspect it has a sort of 'pokemony' aspect to it, but with an aspect of maturity that fits the narative.
Overall, this was one of the more enjoyable ones in the genre and I am really excited for Aether Gate Online Book 2, alas at the time of this review the book is only a month old so i dont know when book 2 will be a reality.
If you like litRPG, then please go read this book, it will not dissapoint, even if you don't actually game, like me, you will enjoy the story.
It followed an old but good litRPG arc of being stuck in the game. However their bodies in the real world still remained alive. I really liked the world building, especially the familiar aspect it has a sort of 'pokemony' aspect to it, but with an aspect of maturity that fits the narative.
Overall, this was one of the more enjoyable ones in the genre and I am really excited for Aether Gate Online Book 2, alas at the time of this review the book is only a month old so i dont know when book 2 will be a reality.
If you like litRPG, then please go read this book, it will not dissapoint, even if you don't actually game, like me, you will enjoy the story.
July 15, 2018
Good story line waiting for more
This story did have a lot of typos and grammar errors but was quite entertaining leaving you wanting more can’t wait for the next book
This story did have a lot of typos and grammar errors but was quite entertaining leaving you wanting more can’t wait for the next book
June 26, 2018
Good Read.
A LitRPG story where the characters are stuck in on a game world. I like the story, but the game mechanics do not always add up. Also with leveling up, we are not informed on how the points are spent and the character sheet is only shone once from what I can recall.
A LitRPG story where the characters are stuck in on a game world. I like the story, but the game mechanics do not always add up. Also with leveling up, we are not informed on how the points are spent and the character sheet is only shone once from what I can recall.
August 7, 2018
Painfully amateur to me I think.
Definitely needs a good Beta-Editor and definitely more proofreading before it should have been published. It's definitely readable however I think it's pretty much a self-indulgent book and not in a good way. Maybe it's an author self-insert I don't know but it kind of feels like one.
Plot Stuff Spoilers:
So yeah. I couldn't quite finish reading this no matter how much I liked it mostly because I couldn't like the MC as the story progressed. Also the feeling of self-indulgent fiction overwhelmed me and I had to put it down. Sorry.
p.s. I loooooove the cover art though. It is legit gorgeous!
Definitely needs a good Beta-Editor and definitely more proofreading before it should have been published. It's definitely readable however I think it's pretty much a self-indulgent book and not in a good way. Maybe it's an author self-insert I don't know but it kind of feels like one.
Plot Stuff Spoilers:
So yeah. I couldn't quite finish reading this no matter how much I liked it mostly because I couldn't like the MC as the story progressed. Also the feeling of self-indulgent fiction overwhelmed me and I had to put it down. Sorry.
p.s. I loooooove the cover art though. It is legit gorgeous!
September 13, 2018
This follows a coming of age template found in many heroric fantasy type novels. The LITRPG aspects aren't enough to really set it apart except provide a convenient way for the characters to grow strong or skilled. The main character is a typical gamer type, but he doesn't really show exceptionalism with anything at all.
Despite his declarations that he is a good gamer, there isn't anything that does particularly well in comparison to other players and in fact he is careless and indecisive falling in multiple traps or ambushes along the way that that he survives really through luck and circumstances that somehow make his stats even stronger.
He is also pretty amoral despite the novels attempt to make him heroic by contrasting him to other players, but it isn't all that convincing seeing that the other players are mostly psychos aka rapist, slavers, etc etc. His first instinct seems to mind his business which is understandable, but is pushed into heroic action by his love interest with cringe worthy descriptions of teenage hormones at work. Maybe I am being too hard on him, he is just an adolescent, but it is inherently frustrating to read a heroic fantasy when your main character doesn't have any heroic traits.
I wouldn't mind this so much, you don't have to like the main characters in novels for it to be a good book, but nothing else elevates the novel. The pseudo medieval settings of swords and monsters is very immersive and the plot kind of meanders along.
Despite his declarations that he is a good gamer, there isn't anything that does particularly well in comparison to other players and in fact he is careless and indecisive falling in multiple traps or ambushes along the way that that he survives really through luck and circumstances that somehow make his stats even stronger.
He is also pretty amoral despite the novels attempt to make him heroic by contrasting him to other players, but it isn't all that convincing seeing that the other players are mostly psychos aka rapist, slavers, etc etc. His first instinct seems to mind his business which is understandable, but is pushed into heroic action by his love interest with cringe worthy descriptions of teenage hormones at work. Maybe I am being too hard on him, he is just an adolescent, but it is inherently frustrating to read a heroic fantasy when your main character doesn't have any heroic traits.
I wouldn't mind this so much, you don't have to like the main characters in novels for it to be a good book, but nothing else elevates the novel. The pseudo medieval settings of swords and monsters is very immersive and the plot kind of meanders along.
September 6, 2018
Way too fast, basic and Overpowered. the main character seems to get everything he needs instantly. Need a spell to win that fight? oh right i got one a few levels ago (never mentioned prior) and here it is to do exactly what i need it to do. i won again. Thats basically it. within a week of logging in he is fighting off elite boss monsters etc. with no real trouble. I find it totally unbelievable..even in a game setting.
January 2, 2022
Great for YA, mildly entertaining for adults
This is not the best of LitRPG novels I've listened to, but it's okay nonetheless. I liked the main premise, i.e. the way people got stuck in the game. I also liked the fact that although the MC starts out as a somewhat insecure game character, he grows into it and develops into kind of an action hero - although at heart he's still a teenager or adolescent, with the insecurities that come with that. I also like the game world, and the way it works, the familiars and their bonding to characters, and the Guilds.
What didn't keep my interest were the somewhat superficially developed characters and the interactions between them. For instance, if more time had been spent on who they were as a real person and why certain relationships in their real lives mattered, I would have been able to empathize more with their longing to go home. In that sense there were some inconsistencies in the plot that bothered me. Maybe it was sloppy writing, maybe the author didn't want too many pages in his book, who knows.
Then again, maybe it was because this is probably a YA title that I found it lacking. The thing is, Audible most of the time does not mention this in its genre categories, so I usually only find out through actually listening to a novel. Which is why I'm mentioning it in my review title, to help others along.
However, the ending had some fine nuggets that made me want to listen to part 2 anyway!
Narration was fine, I enjoyed listening to J. Scott Bennett and would listen to other books read by him. He has variety in his character voices and even adds emotion.
So depending on your age and interests, this could be a fun and thrilling game adventure for you. However, if you are a seasoned reader/listener of 40+, I wouldn't spend a full credit but wait for a Daily Deal or a review copy.
- I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. I was not required to write a positive review and this reflects my honest opinion of the work.
This is not the best of LitRPG novels I've listened to, but it's okay nonetheless. I liked the main premise, i.e. the way people got stuck in the game. I also liked the fact that although the MC starts out as a somewhat insecure game character, he grows into it and develops into kind of an action hero - although at heart he's still a teenager or adolescent, with the insecurities that come with that. I also like the game world, and the way it works, the familiars and their bonding to characters, and the Guilds.
What didn't keep my interest were the somewhat superficially developed characters and the interactions between them. For instance, if more time had been spent on who they were as a real person and why certain relationships in their real lives mattered, I would have been able to empathize more with their longing to go home. In that sense there were some inconsistencies in the plot that bothered me. Maybe it was sloppy writing, maybe the author didn't want too many pages in his book, who knows.
Then again, maybe it was because this is probably a YA title that I found it lacking. The thing is, Audible most of the time does not mention this in its genre categories, so I usually only find out through actually listening to a novel. Which is why I'm mentioning it in my review title, to help others along.
However, the ending had some fine nuggets that made me want to listen to part 2 anyway!
Narration was fine, I enjoyed listening to J. Scott Bennett and would listen to other books read by him. He has variety in his character voices and even adds emotion.
So depending on your age and interests, this could be a fun and thrilling game adventure for you. However, if you are a seasoned reader/listener of 40+, I wouldn't spend a full credit but wait for a Daily Deal or a review copy.
- I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. I was not required to write a positive review and this reflects my honest opinion of the work.
July 15, 2018
This book was frustrating as hell. Mostly because it was such an excellent story, plagued by so many horrible grammar errors. Errors simple proof reading probably would have caught. I nearly gave this book only 2 stars, because the truly horrendous amount of errors was just agrivating as all hell.
It's a great story, the characters are pretty well defined, and although there's quite a bit of situational events to advance the story, generally, it's all handled in such a way that it doesn't feel contrived, and that's hard to do well. On the other hand, the mere fact that the last quarter of the book feels like a third grader wrote it (what with all the grammitical errors) really detracts from the overall enjoyment of the story. It looks like this guy was rushing to meet some self imposed deadline, and just didn't bother to proof the last part of the book in any way, and that brings the whole thing tumbling down. It's hard to enjoy a story when practically every paragraph has glaring errors in it, especially during what is supposed to be the climactic and triumphant scenes. Here's some free advice for all authors.
Get proofreaders (more than one preferably, but at least one), so that your book doesn't turn out sounding like a grade schooler wrote it. It's easy to do, and it improves the final work by leaps and bounds.
It's always extremely disappointing to see what could be an excellent work reduced to mediocraty due to por grammar and bad editing. Get a proofreader, your readers will thank you.
It's a great story, the characters are pretty well defined, and although there's quite a bit of situational events to advance the story, generally, it's all handled in such a way that it doesn't feel contrived, and that's hard to do well. On the other hand, the mere fact that the last quarter of the book feels like a third grader wrote it (what with all the grammitical errors) really detracts from the overall enjoyment of the story. It looks like this guy was rushing to meet some self imposed deadline, and just didn't bother to proof the last part of the book in any way, and that brings the whole thing tumbling down. It's hard to enjoy a story when practically every paragraph has glaring errors in it, especially during what is supposed to be the climactic and triumphant scenes. Here's some free advice for all authors.
Get proofreaders (more than one preferably, but at least one), so that your book doesn't turn out sounding like a grade schooler wrote it. It's easy to do, and it improves the final work by leaps and bounds.
It's always extremely disappointing to see what could be an excellent work reduced to mediocraty due to por grammar and bad editing. Get a proofreader, your readers will thank you.
January 30, 2019
I enjoyed the book overall. It has a few flaws that I spotted, the odd missing word to complete a sentence on rare occasion but that did not distract from the overall story.
Definitely litrpg without being overly complex about it. You have your standard attributes, and then skills (spells and ability) but no rolls tohit and such. Many of the keywords were in bold, like when talking about a skill name, or a guild, or stat blocks. This is useful in highlighting the importance of what was in bold and actually helped with memory retention of the important things. One downside is that towards the end of the book, some powers were just named, but no information was given as to what the power did at the time of its introduction. The effect of the power/ability was explained the first time it was used though. He also glosses over level ups more towards the end than he did in the beginning of the book. Small things like where he put stat points or skill points. I would like to see that expanded upon a bit more in future books.
I gave it four stars because I feel it is a book I will reread again at a future date.
Definitely litrpg without being overly complex about it. You have your standard attributes, and then skills (spells and ability) but no rolls tohit and such. Many of the keywords were in bold, like when talking about a skill name, or a guild, or stat blocks. This is useful in highlighting the importance of what was in bold and actually helped with memory retention of the important things. One downside is that towards the end of the book, some powers were just named, but no information was given as to what the power did at the time of its introduction. The effect of the power/ability was explained the first time it was used though. He also glosses over level ups more towards the end than he did in the beginning of the book. Small things like where he put stat points or skill points. I would like to see that expanded upon a bit more in future books.
I gave it four stars because I feel it is a book I will reread again at a future date.
September 12, 2018
Welcome to the opener of a new LitRPG series. This one is a much more “friendly” or “tamer” version of the LitRPGs that have been coming out of late. A usual plot line will be found; a gamer wanting a better life inside a VRMMORPG. Although this one does have some issues with game mechanics; such as skills and spells crossing character classes, levels did not seem to scale up, and attribute stats which seem to be MIA. Of interest: a warrior executed a shield bash without equipping a shield, all characters had access to a familiar, Other than that it maintains a decent story and characters to go with it. I enjoyed the story although Darren needs to ruminate over MMORPGs. Three.point.five. This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.
October 27, 2018
I enjoyed the interesting twist in this virtual RPG story. The characters are stuck in the game but their bodies in the real world still remained alive; it truly becomes a game of life and death. I liked the world building, the plot, fights, skills, attributes and the leveling up of the characters, but I did think that giving more background in the real world to Adam would have added depth to his character and increased his ties to life outside the game. The narrator fit the story well, bringing the characters and action to life and moving the story along at just the right pace. This is an enjoyable story with a good ending, I am looking forward to the next in the series.
October 11, 2019
First off wow I'm in no way new to Litrpgs and this one some how snuck past me and man was I missing out. This was an absolutely fantastic read, to me it had the feeling of a more realistic of Sword Art Online. The author took the light-handed rout as far as stats go they are in there but it just enough to show progression but not enough to be overbearing or repetitive. The story is amazingly well-thought-out without the feeling of the story dragging the pacing is fantastic the character progression stat-wise and personality-wise was also very good.
September 6, 2019
Not my thing. start is a sad story about a kid with an alcoholic father, a death mother, and a Vrgaming pasion, then the last tech game comes out and it goes permanent SAO on everyone and MC takes upon himself, for whatever reason, that he must be the one to kill the "admin" to free everyone and himself.
Honestly the only good thing that is written here is that slice of romance. It aun't insta love and it just happens naturally, with no over the top romantic written.
Honestly the only good thing that is written here is that slice of romance. It aun't insta love and it just happens naturally, with no over the top romantic written.
December 12, 2018
Well crafted tale
A well crafted story set in a GameLit system. Back story is still developing, hints of what's to come are interesting. The writing is solid and no real editing errors. Worth a read!
A well crafted story set in a GameLit system. Back story is still developing, hints of what's to come are interesting. The writing is solid and no real editing errors. Worth a read!
January 18, 2021
Is it just a game?
MC starts up new VR based game with his best bud, but this one's different. Gathers comrades and progresses. Targets a villain in an impossible quest. Will they prevail? Is this really just a game? Read and find out.
MC starts up new VR based game with his best bud, but this one's different. Gathers comrades and progresses. Targets a villain in an impossible quest. Will they prevail? Is this really just a game? Read and find out.
September 8, 2018
Having a game enthusiast who I watched and read games with this book brought back some really fun memories. It also had and interesting plot with twist and turns.
January 6, 2019
Great book
A fun read from Darren Hultberg. Lots of action, an interesting system, and a little dash of mystery. Looking forward to the next one.
A fun read from Darren Hultberg. Lots of action, an interesting system, and a little dash of mystery. Looking forward to the next one.
April 17, 2019
Started didn't finish. Too similar to too many books already read.
February 16, 2020
Great! I loved this book and was excited to start the second one. I received a free code for the audiobook and can't wait to continue the series.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews