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Star Divers #1
Dungeons of Bane
Teenage Breq escapes the grim streets of a resource low, near-future world to take a job as a 'corpse diver' in a massive online SciFi game, Bane. Breq finds himself in a dangerous, life-threatening adventure within the game as he searches for the reason for the death of his best friend.
With landscapes and settings that evoke the SciFi classics, our hero must level up his character as fast as he can, so as to be able to take on and defeat a sinister, masked figure. Especially as the threat posed by the unknown character is not limited to events within the game.
LitRPG from Level Up
https://www.levelup.pub/
With landscapes and settings that evoke the SciFi classics, our hero must level up his character as fast as he can, so as to be able to take on and defeat a sinister, masked figure. Especially as the threat posed by the unknown character is not limited to events within the game.
LitRPG from Level Up
https://www.levelup.pub/
- GenresScience FictionAmazon
398 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 9, 2019
90 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 13, 2019
This is easily the best book I've read from Stephen. This reminds me of halo mixed with survival horror. Considering I'm a sucker for survival horror, I easily got into this book. The stats and game elements make the reader feel that they're in the game. I hate to spoil the story, so all I will say is that this is a must-read book if you like Scifi Gamelit. Well done!
I received an ARC copy of the book and this is my honest review of the book.
I received an ARC copy of the book and this is my honest review of the book.
August 20, 2019
Interesting premise, confusing execution and plot
Forgetting the fact that we are reading about a game that has permadeath with potentially similar real world impact, the story can be convoluted and confusing, with a few deus ex moments and a few "but wait" plot twists.
There are moments of entertainment brilliance sprinkled throughout the story, but between what I mentioned above, the "quick lore" moments breaking the flow and the fact that the story only really comes together in the last couple of chapters, it made for a bit of disjointed adventure.
I was really looking forward to the story and it has a great cover.
Forgetting the fact that we are reading about a game that has permadeath with potentially similar real world impact, the story can be convoluted and confusing, with a few deus ex moments and a few "but wait" plot twists.
There are moments of entertainment brilliance sprinkled throughout the story, but between what I mentioned above, the "quick lore" moments breaking the flow and the fact that the story only really comes together in the last couple of chapters, it made for a bit of disjointed adventure.
I was really looking forward to the story and it has a great cover.
September 29, 2020
Star Divers is a LitRPG, and follows a 16yr old orphan who was living on the streets in a dystopian future, his name is Breq. He is picked up one day by a guy called Damien, after a bit of an encounter in the street, and Damien tries to help him out, and as a result, gets him a gig as a ‘Corpse Diver’ in an online game called Bane. To play the game, you are hooked up and fully immersed in a sensory pod, initially developed for the Military, but now available to everyone.
Corpse Divers have a special role in the game, and one that not many like to play (there are several classes of character to choose from, and from these, multiple sub-classes you can branch off into as specialties, like in most RPG games)
Breq is a Scout, but his job is a Corpse Diver, and together as a team, they find players that have been killed in Dungeons or on Ship Hulks. Players killed can leave an ‘Echo’, which is a unique artefact that has been dropped by that Player upon their death. This ‘Echo’, is surrounded by things called ‘Hollows’, which are ghostlike things, or spirits of the dead players, and can kill you if the touch you. They guard the artefacts or Echo’s.
Companies hire Corpse Divers to retrieve these Artefacts as they are usually rare or unique objects of immense power in the game, weapons, armour, a rare gem – all that convey higher powers than normal or very rare and unique versions of a weapon that are incredibly powerful for game use and thus can have massive value.
Because so many people play Bane now, ‘Value’, carries a different meaning, in that it obviously has a high game value, but that value also translates to money in the real world as well, and that is where Corpse Divers make a name for themselves. However, when you die in the game, you are reduced back to a level 1, and you lose everything.
That is of course, until Breq’s friend dies in the game, and his party is also killed, not just in the game, but their real world bodies die to. This is supposed to be impossible (unless you already have a medical condition such as a heart condition etc).
Star Divers is kind of a multi-faceted story, in that we are following Breq’s life as a Corpse Diver, and through his main story, we are told these other stories of the life of a Corpse Diver and the game of Bane, the main story of the death of Damien, and the subsequent investigation into his death by a group of characters, as well as the sub-stories of several other characters as seen through Breq’s eyes.
These are the other major characters in the story, and include the members of Breq’s Corpse Diving Team, there is Damien’s girlfriend, and Breq’s friend Cass, another scout, she is the soul of the team, and seems to keep Breq grounded a lot. There is Nel, Breq’s A.I. robot assistant, who helps him on missions, but also pilot’s ships for him. Nel is brilliant, (I’m not really sure of gender, but ‘it’ seems more of a she than anything?), She has this habit of telling Breq the odds of things, but whereas with C3-PO it was kind of annoying, with Nel, it is rather amusing, as she does it at humorous times, and in funny ways. Nel is just hilarious, with one liners and comments that for the gang, are just totally inappropriate, but for the reader, leave you in stitches.
One of my favourite characters in the story is Lady Gray, the leader of Breq’s team, in fact, she owns multiple teams, and they work out of one of her starships. She is a super powerful character who runs one of the organisation’s in game (and a family name outside the game – rich and powerful in both worlds), and there are a couple of times she shows how powerful she is, and it is pretty awesome. But it is the times where she is being the trusted advisor that you really see the depth of the character writing, and just how exceptional the character writing really is in this book.
Each and every character has had so much thought, so much time and effort put into them, Landry has put so much creativity and depth into everyone of these characters, making them so individual, the time it must have taken is astounding.
And that goes for everything in this book. The world building is just inspired. It is extraordinary, everything, and I mean everything has had so much thought put into it, as I said, the characters, the massive item list, the 77 levels, all with their own history, there is a full-on set of clan’s with histories and rivalries in the game, classes of ships, from little 1-2 seaters all the way up to orbital battle stations that hold in the hundred of thousands. There are numerous races. It is just fantastic, totally compelling and captivating .My only complaint, and, I know that this has been fixed to some extent as there are more books coming, is that this book, could possibly have been spread out into 2 maybe 3 books, there is so much in it, but it is just so good, that it works as it is, it is probably me just being greedy and wanting more as I loved it so much.
As hinted at earlier, the story is mainly about Breq and his team (I won’t tell you who as this will give away some of the story), going to find out who killed Damien, and how Damien was able to be killed for real in game. It has all of the expected LitRPG stuff, there is the levelling up, and stats etc, but unlike a lot of them at the moment, it does not overwhelm the story, and you don’t spend half the book having to read stat cards, or discussing how the character is going to spend points. It is just straight forward and to the point. Again, Landry has spent a lot of time giving his ‘in-game’ engine a lot of thought so that the dynamics of it work well, and run well. The RPG element is such that I would love to play the game of Bane if it existed.
Overall, this is one of the best Sci-Fi LitRPG’s I have ever read. I have the Audiobook of it as well, and have re-listened to it a couple of times since, as I just loved it. If you want a good read (or listen), then you can’t go past Star Divers, it is just Brilliant.
Corpse Divers have a special role in the game, and one that not many like to play (there are several classes of character to choose from, and from these, multiple sub-classes you can branch off into as specialties, like in most RPG games)
Breq is a Scout, but his job is a Corpse Diver, and together as a team, they find players that have been killed in Dungeons or on Ship Hulks. Players killed can leave an ‘Echo’, which is a unique artefact that has been dropped by that Player upon their death. This ‘Echo’, is surrounded by things called ‘Hollows’, which are ghostlike things, or spirits of the dead players, and can kill you if the touch you. They guard the artefacts or Echo’s.
Companies hire Corpse Divers to retrieve these Artefacts as they are usually rare or unique objects of immense power in the game, weapons, armour, a rare gem – all that convey higher powers than normal or very rare and unique versions of a weapon that are incredibly powerful for game use and thus can have massive value.
Because so many people play Bane now, ‘Value’, carries a different meaning, in that it obviously has a high game value, but that value also translates to money in the real world as well, and that is where Corpse Divers make a name for themselves. However, when you die in the game, you are reduced back to a level 1, and you lose everything.
That is of course, until Breq’s friend dies in the game, and his party is also killed, not just in the game, but their real world bodies die to. This is supposed to be impossible (unless you already have a medical condition such as a heart condition etc).
Star Divers is kind of a multi-faceted story, in that we are following Breq’s life as a Corpse Diver, and through his main story, we are told these other stories of the life of a Corpse Diver and the game of Bane, the main story of the death of Damien, and the subsequent investigation into his death by a group of characters, as well as the sub-stories of several other characters as seen through Breq’s eyes.
These are the other major characters in the story, and include the members of Breq’s Corpse Diving Team, there is Damien’s girlfriend, and Breq’s friend Cass, another scout, she is the soul of the team, and seems to keep Breq grounded a lot. There is Nel, Breq’s A.I. robot assistant, who helps him on missions, but also pilot’s ships for him. Nel is brilliant, (I’m not really sure of gender, but ‘it’ seems more of a she than anything?), She has this habit of telling Breq the odds of things, but whereas with C3-PO it was kind of annoying, with Nel, it is rather amusing, as she does it at humorous times, and in funny ways. Nel is just hilarious, with one liners and comments that for the gang, are just totally inappropriate, but for the reader, leave you in stitches.
One of my favourite characters in the story is Lady Gray, the leader of Breq’s team, in fact, she owns multiple teams, and they work out of one of her starships. She is a super powerful character who runs one of the organisation’s in game (and a family name outside the game – rich and powerful in both worlds), and there are a couple of times she shows how powerful she is, and it is pretty awesome. But it is the times where she is being the trusted advisor that you really see the depth of the character writing, and just how exceptional the character writing really is in this book.
Each and every character has had so much thought, so much time and effort put into them, Landry has put so much creativity and depth into everyone of these characters, making them so individual, the time it must have taken is astounding.
And that goes for everything in this book. The world building is just inspired. It is extraordinary, everything, and I mean everything has had so much thought put into it, as I said, the characters, the massive item list, the 77 levels, all with their own history, there is a full-on set of clan’s with histories and rivalries in the game, classes of ships, from little 1-2 seaters all the way up to orbital battle stations that hold in the hundred of thousands. There are numerous races. It is just fantastic, totally compelling and captivating .My only complaint, and, I know that this has been fixed to some extent as there are more books coming, is that this book, could possibly have been spread out into 2 maybe 3 books, there is so much in it, but it is just so good, that it works as it is, it is probably me just being greedy and wanting more as I loved it so much.
As hinted at earlier, the story is mainly about Breq and his team (I won’t tell you who as this will give away some of the story), going to find out who killed Damien, and how Damien was able to be killed for real in game. It has all of the expected LitRPG stuff, there is the levelling up, and stats etc, but unlike a lot of them at the moment, it does not overwhelm the story, and you don’t spend half the book having to read stat cards, or discussing how the character is going to spend points. It is just straight forward and to the point. Again, Landry has spent a lot of time giving his ‘in-game’ engine a lot of thought so that the dynamics of it work well, and run well. The RPG element is such that I would love to play the game of Bane if it existed.
Overall, this is one of the best Sci-Fi LitRPG’s I have ever read. I have the Audiobook of it as well, and have re-listened to it a couple of times since, as I just loved it. If you want a good read (or listen), then you can’t go past Star Divers, it is just Brilliant.
May 1, 2021
This is a book that taught me a few things. It’s in a new genre that is a logical offshoot of sci-fi: LitRPG. These are stories about players who function as sentient characters within video game environments. Its invention should be noted as an interesting societal moment for all of us. It’s only natural that people who are directing a character’s actions within a video game would want to take things to the next logical step and actually place themselves in the head of the character they are controlling, and perceive themselves to exist within the game environment. Fiction, at the moment, is the only way this can fully happen, and so, just like that, society gets a new literary genre! One that was earned honestly.
Okay, so, here is the biggest thing this book taught me: even when the story features people donning the personas of characters in a video game, the story is still about the people donning the personas.
We are all familiar with the James Bond type idea, where Bond shows up at a cocktail party in a tuxedo, and everyone at the party is dressed to impress, and somewhere in the crowd is the villain, acting cool and civilized. Everyone is calm, but everyone is scheming. THAT’S how it is in this novel – only much more fun. Switch the fine clothes for fantasy personas – instead of a little black dress, you wear a dragon, instead of a tuxedo, you wear a tech-ninja persona, or an orc. Instead of a ballroom, you meet in castle ruins with electric lava and collapsing ramparts, but everyone behind each persona is human, and everyone is scheming. (That’s not fair. Everyone is NOT scheming in this novel, BUT everyone is acting with agency. Some act within teams, and some act individually. Even the NPCs (Non Player Characters) are more than they seem).
Lit RPG gives the author several tools that are unique to the genre. A character can be a basic person, but still deal with vampires, killer robots, ninjas, aliens or anything – since all they have to do is enter a manufactured environment that contains those things. And the brilliant part is – the reader already has knowledge of these fantastic elements. You don’t have to teach the audience everything. That’s useful and exciting.
Interestingly, Landry makes use of character stats across the book – rectangular boxes with texts that reveal facts about any particular character at any particular time. There is even one point where Landry has his main character, (named Breq), budget his upgrade into areas he thinks he’ll need on his next mission (something Like: I’ll take this 10 points and split it between weapons’ power and healing power). It’s a very interesting idea that you won’t find in most genres. (Landry wisely uses it in the middle of the book, where it is merely interesting. He doesn’t use it near the end, where it might feel like cheating). Personally, I got to the point where I started to skim the stat boxes. But I’m not a gamer. Imagine a reader so steeped in game knowledge that character stats were a drama-enhancement. (really? He’s facing a blaster demon, and he didn’t upgrade his shields? He’s going in with problem solving skills instead? Okay, let’s see how that works out…). I can’t say if Landry did this or not, because it would have gone over my head, but I can say that Landry has filled this book with a thousand cool things – something on every page. His team of characters move from mission challenge to mission challenge, and Landry fills these moments with great visual concepts. At one point, the team fights a T Rex, who, each time it takes a hit, reveals that it’s made out of hands -- something a game designer would rub their hands together gleefully over getting to work on. And that happens everywhere in the book – character design, costume design, world design, ship design, real world people living in a near future design – it’s constant, and very impressive. Landry’s use of the real world is also interesting. Breq is a 17 year old kid with no living family, but with a great talent for playing Video games. He gets swept up to play for the big-league gaming company, and it’s a bit like someone suddenly becoming a sports superstar, or an entertainment diva. Actually, it’s like someone becoming the prisoner of their managers (never evil in this book, it’s just that Breq is always “managed”). Landry does a good job with this too.
Breq is a nice, unassuming guy. The story is told from his point of view, and Landry’s prose is a perfect match for the character – it’s friendly, and unadorned. A very easy and pleasant read. The book is also loaded with fascinating concepts related to existence within video games and video game AI, any one of which Landry could investigate in a book of its own – characters decoying themselves as other characters; a game AI that is happily humming along, but is busy building its own language (that doesn’t include human concepts); an AI that can dump players out of a game; time dilation within game existence – losing months, while spending only minutes in game time; and one game-related concept I found particularly wild - that YOU as a flesh and blood person, and YOU as a video game character, could have different memories, some only present when you don the costume again. That is a WILD idea. There are so many equally interesting concepts in this book! There is also a wonderful little patch of easter eggs to Jeff VanderMeer’s work AND WHO KNOWS how many others. So yes, read this book. It’s a MUST if you’re a gamer, and an education if you’re not.
Okay, so, here is the biggest thing this book taught me: even when the story features people donning the personas of characters in a video game, the story is still about the people donning the personas.
We are all familiar with the James Bond type idea, where Bond shows up at a cocktail party in a tuxedo, and everyone at the party is dressed to impress, and somewhere in the crowd is the villain, acting cool and civilized. Everyone is calm, but everyone is scheming. THAT’S how it is in this novel – only much more fun. Switch the fine clothes for fantasy personas – instead of a little black dress, you wear a dragon, instead of a tuxedo, you wear a tech-ninja persona, or an orc. Instead of a ballroom, you meet in castle ruins with electric lava and collapsing ramparts, but everyone behind each persona is human, and everyone is scheming. (That’s not fair. Everyone is NOT scheming in this novel, BUT everyone is acting with agency. Some act within teams, and some act individually. Even the NPCs (Non Player Characters) are more than they seem).
Lit RPG gives the author several tools that are unique to the genre. A character can be a basic person, but still deal with vampires, killer robots, ninjas, aliens or anything – since all they have to do is enter a manufactured environment that contains those things. And the brilliant part is – the reader already has knowledge of these fantastic elements. You don’t have to teach the audience everything. That’s useful and exciting.
Interestingly, Landry makes use of character stats across the book – rectangular boxes with texts that reveal facts about any particular character at any particular time. There is even one point where Landry has his main character, (named Breq), budget his upgrade into areas he thinks he’ll need on his next mission (something Like: I’ll take this 10 points and split it between weapons’ power and healing power). It’s a very interesting idea that you won’t find in most genres. (Landry wisely uses it in the middle of the book, where it is merely interesting. He doesn’t use it near the end, where it might feel like cheating). Personally, I got to the point where I started to skim the stat boxes. But I’m not a gamer. Imagine a reader so steeped in game knowledge that character stats were a drama-enhancement. (really? He’s facing a blaster demon, and he didn’t upgrade his shields? He’s going in with problem solving skills instead? Okay, let’s see how that works out…). I can’t say if Landry did this or not, because it would have gone over my head, but I can say that Landry has filled this book with a thousand cool things – something on every page. His team of characters move from mission challenge to mission challenge, and Landry fills these moments with great visual concepts. At one point, the team fights a T Rex, who, each time it takes a hit, reveals that it’s made out of hands -- something a game designer would rub their hands together gleefully over getting to work on. And that happens everywhere in the book – character design, costume design, world design, ship design, real world people living in a near future design – it’s constant, and very impressive. Landry’s use of the real world is also interesting. Breq is a 17 year old kid with no living family, but with a great talent for playing Video games. He gets swept up to play for the big-league gaming company, and it’s a bit like someone suddenly becoming a sports superstar, or an entertainment diva. Actually, it’s like someone becoming the prisoner of their managers (never evil in this book, it’s just that Breq is always “managed”). Landry does a good job with this too.
Breq is a nice, unassuming guy. The story is told from his point of view, and Landry’s prose is a perfect match for the character – it’s friendly, and unadorned. A very easy and pleasant read. The book is also loaded with fascinating concepts related to existence within video games and video game AI, any one of which Landry could investigate in a book of its own – characters decoying themselves as other characters; a game AI that is happily humming along, but is busy building its own language (that doesn’t include human concepts); an AI that can dump players out of a game; time dilation within game existence – losing months, while spending only minutes in game time; and one game-related concept I found particularly wild - that YOU as a flesh and blood person, and YOU as a video game character, could have different memories, some only present when you don the costume again. That is a WILD idea. There are so many equally interesting concepts in this book! There is also a wonderful little patch of easter eggs to Jeff VanderMeer’s work AND WHO KNOWS how many others. So yes, read this book. It’s a MUST if you’re a gamer, and an education if you’re not.
Read
January 15, 2020Stephen Landry's Star Divers is an adventure that pulls you in. As you follow Breq and his friends on their journey you find that you yourself have dived into the game. Stephen's storytelling and world building makes you feel as though you are right there with Breq.
Out of all the characters Gorge is by far my favorite. Gorge is an half orc half cyborg black market shopkeeper in the city of the spire. Gorge is sarcastic at times but also is wise and kind. Gorge's story had me in tears.
Out of all the characters Gorge is by far my favorite. Gorge is an half orc half cyborg black market shopkeeper in the city of the spire. Gorge is sarcastic at times but also is wise and kind. Gorge's story had me in tears.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2021
Star Divers.... was interesting? Ya, let's go with interesting. It is my first foray into the science fiction side of LitRPG and GameLit. The story is about a specific player within the game named Breq who is an orphaned teenager in the real-world and survives by working as a corpse diver in the massive virtual reality sci-fi game. A corpse driver is a player who goes searching after the remains of fallen characters in search of possible rare items. Everything is going normally in this game world filled with flying space ships, star war scenes, robots, and unique characters until it is not anymore. Once Breq's best friend dies in real life once he has died in the game all bets are off and anything is possible.
The world is very interesting, and I love seeing some sci-fi LitRPG/GameLit since I have yet to see the sets in anything else than a fantasy world. The ideas of the game mechanics and the complex, multi-faceted game world is fascinating and interesting. The secrets, guilds, and rules of the world are complex and intriguing enough to fill up the book, and this is where I start to have issues with the book. The plot and the world became too complex that I felt we could have been assisted by having to discover things alongside the character, but Braq already knows everything after playing the game for many years. This leaves us in a situation where only the reader is in the dark and the larger amount of information being dropped on the player becomes overwhelming.
Outside of those issues of complexity, we have issues with the plot structure. The plot would create situations that were seemingly larger road obstacles that would disappear when convenient for the plot. That was the most frustrating thing about the book, without a doubt. Although, that is all I had problems with. The book is filled with interesting characters that are not one-sided digital rendering. They each have multi-layered motivations for being present in the game world and being a part of the story. This is what held me to the story and kept me going throughout the entire book. The humor was also on par and spaced out in a way that allowed it to be extremely tasteful.
Overall, even with all of those problems that I had I really enjoyed my time in this world and am looking forward to continuing to learn about the world and the characters as I will be picking up the second book.
The world is very interesting, and I love seeing some sci-fi LitRPG/GameLit since I have yet to see the sets in anything else than a fantasy world. The ideas of the game mechanics and the complex, multi-faceted game world is fascinating and interesting. The secrets, guilds, and rules of the world are complex and intriguing enough to fill up the book, and this is where I start to have issues with the book. The plot and the world became too complex that I felt we could have been assisted by having to discover things alongside the character, but Braq already knows everything after playing the game for many years. This leaves us in a situation where only the reader is in the dark and the larger amount of information being dropped on the player becomes overwhelming.
Outside of those issues of complexity, we have issues with the plot structure. The plot would create situations that were seemingly larger road obstacles that would disappear when convenient for the plot. That was the most frustrating thing about the book, without a doubt. Although, that is all I had problems with. The book is filled with interesting characters that are not one-sided digital rendering. They each have multi-layered motivations for being present in the game world and being a part of the story. This is what held me to the story and kept me going throughout the entire book. The humor was also on par and spaced out in a way that allowed it to be extremely tasteful.
Overall, even with all of those problems that I had I really enjoyed my time in this world and am looking forward to continuing to learn about the world and the characters as I will be picking up the second book.
July 27, 2023
I really liked the premise of the book and that the game had real world percussions plus a capitalistic real world market.
Space battles, technology so advanced it seems like magic, AIs who grow beyond programming, aliens around every corner. It reminded me a lot of the Star Wars universe.
The quick lore boxes were by far my favorite parts in the book and wish someone could develop an actual game based on this book series for us.
I didn’t care much for the ending nor a slower paced part in the book and don’t plan to read the next one.
I liked this better than other space LitRPGs but would have liked a more hard sci-fi take and more character development.
Space battles, technology so advanced it seems like magic, AIs who grow beyond programming, aliens around every corner. It reminded me a lot of the Star Wars universe.
The quick lore boxes were by far my favorite parts in the book and wish someone could develop an actual game based on this book series for us.
I didn’t care much for the ending nor a slower paced part in the book and don’t plan to read the next one.
I liked this better than other space LitRPGs but would have liked a more hard sci-fi take and more character development.
March 12, 2020
Adventures in space
I found this to be an interesting read. The level and the interaction with the real world is interesting. I will be continuing the adventures with the other corpse divers.
I found this to be an interesting read. The level and the interaction with the real world is interesting. I will be continuing the adventures with the other corpse divers.
September 7, 2020
Needs a solid editor!
Oh so many issues. The story is ok, but the misspelled words, wrong words, grammar and tense, and crazy story jumps (obvious missing pages) really hurt the enjoyment.
Oh so many issues. The story is ok, but the misspelled words, wrong words, grammar and tense, and crazy story jumps (obvious missing pages) really hurt the enjoyment.
October 23, 2020
Belter of a story
I thought this was a great read, diffrent even for LitRPG. I do t normally like teenage protagonists apart from SAO but this struck all the right cords and Breq was a great Mc
I thought this was a great read, diffrent even for LitRPG. I do t normally like teenage protagonists apart from SAO but this struck all the right cords and Breq was a great Mc
January 15, 2020
Stephen Landry's Star Divers is an adventure that pulls you in. As you follow Breq and his friends on their journey you find that you yourself have dived into the game. Stephen's storytelling and world building makes you feel as though you are right there with Breq.
Out of all the characters Gorge is by far my favorite. Gorge is an half orc half cyborg black market shopkeeper in the city of the spire. Gorge is sarcastic at times but also is wise and kind. Gorge's story had me in tears
Out of all the characters Gorge is by far my favorite. Gorge is an half orc half cyborg black market shopkeeper in the city of the spire. Gorge is sarcastic at times but also is wise and kind. Gorge's story had me in tears
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2019
Star Divers is author Stephen Landry's entry into the emerging LitRPG genre. Backed by Connor Kostick's (Epic) brand new imprint, Level Up Publishing, Landry is sure to cement himself at the forefront of the genre as it makes it's way into the mainstream.
Star Divers follows Breq, an orphaned teenager who has found his freedom working as a Corpse Diver in the virtual world of Bane. He dives into the world's many dungeons to retrieve dropped loot from fallen player-characters; some of which fetch a hefty price in the real world. Everything changes when he finds out his best friend Damien, who rescued him from the streets and got him this job in the first place, has been killed.
Breq quickly gets in over his head as he scours dungeon after dungeon looking for clues as to how a character death could have caused the death of the player in the real world. The secrets he uncovers will ultimately change the world of Bane forever.
From fighting near-invincible Guardians against all odds, to competing in deadly races on backwater planets, Breq finds his private quest for answers (and possibly revenge) spiraling out of control as his strings are being pulled by his enigmatic boss, Lady Gray. She quickly proves she's not afraid to cause mass player-character casualties in pursuit of her goals, but stays far away from the line of fire herself, despite being a virtually god-tier player.
From the opening chapter the action never slows down, and there's plenty of stats and lore sprinkled throughout to keep super-nerds (like me) happy without slowing the pace. At the center of all the action, the heart of the story beats strong with the relationships forged between the unique band of characters that join with Breq on his mission. Through it all, Landry expertly handles the ramifications of death, both for characters in the game and players in 'the real'.
For fans of sci-fi, this is an endlessly entertaining must-read journey through a rich and vibrant virtual reality world. For those new to LitRPG, Star Divers will make an excellent introduction to the game-inspired mechanics that define the genre.
I absolutely enjoyed every page of Star Divers, and I can't wait to read more stories from the world of Bane!
Star Divers follows Breq, an orphaned teenager who has found his freedom working as a Corpse Diver in the virtual world of Bane. He dives into the world's many dungeons to retrieve dropped loot from fallen player-characters; some of which fetch a hefty price in the real world. Everything changes when he finds out his best friend Damien, who rescued him from the streets and got him this job in the first place, has been killed.
Breq quickly gets in over his head as he scours dungeon after dungeon looking for clues as to how a character death could have caused the death of the player in the real world. The secrets he uncovers will ultimately change the world of Bane forever.
From fighting near-invincible Guardians against all odds, to competing in deadly races on backwater planets, Breq finds his private quest for answers (and possibly revenge) spiraling out of control as his strings are being pulled by his enigmatic boss, Lady Gray. She quickly proves she's not afraid to cause mass player-character casualties in pursuit of her goals, but stays far away from the line of fire herself, despite being a virtually god-tier player.
From the opening chapter the action never slows down, and there's plenty of stats and lore sprinkled throughout to keep super-nerds (like me) happy without slowing the pace. At the center of all the action, the heart of the story beats strong with the relationships forged between the unique band of characters that join with Breq on his mission. Through it all, Landry expertly handles the ramifications of death, both for characters in the game and players in 'the real'.
For fans of sci-fi, this is an endlessly entertaining must-read journey through a rich and vibrant virtual reality world. For those new to LitRPG, Star Divers will make an excellent introduction to the game-inspired mechanics that define the genre.
I absolutely enjoyed every page of Star Divers, and I can't wait to read more stories from the world of Bane!
January 2, 2020
....What?...I...I don't even know how to describe how this book falls apart.
I love litRPGs but this book falls short. There is a reason why litRPGs start with a new character because it helps that the reader is learning the game the same time as the MC but since the MC is an established character that is exchanged with constant and long Quick Lore spread though out the entire book.
I can't even say that I even understood what happened in this book
I love litRPGs but this book falls short. There is a reason why litRPGs start with a new character because it helps that the reader is learning the game the same time as the MC but since the MC is an established character that is exchanged with constant and long Quick Lore spread though out the entire book.
I can't even say that I even understood what happened in this book
December 31, 2019
Not bad, not great.
I was really excited going into this, as I haven’t seen many sci-fi litrpg books, the genre being almost exclusively fantasy. It has several good ideas and plays the tropes well, but several things kept me from finishing.
Odd editing mistakes, including the text changing colors in ways I doubt we’re intentional, formatting errors, and one typo I noticed.
None of that is a deal breaker for me, but seems odd. Unfortunately the story also seems disjointed in places, and the plot twist 2/3s of the way in finally made me roll my eyes and quit.
I’m sure some will enjoy, and I wanted to, but there were too many strikes against it.
I was really excited going into this, as I haven’t seen many sci-fi litrpg books, the genre being almost exclusively fantasy. It has several good ideas and plays the tropes well, but several things kept me from finishing.
Odd editing mistakes, including the text changing colors in ways I doubt we’re intentional, formatting errors, and one typo I noticed.
None of that is a deal breaker for me, but seems odd. Unfortunately the story also seems disjointed in places, and the plot twist 2/3s of the way in finally made me roll my eyes and quit.
I’m sure some will enjoy, and I wanted to, but there were too many strikes against it.
August 9, 2019
A non spoiler review.
I Received a advance review copy(ARC) of the book which I though was very good, fun and intense at parts, i feel you may end up getting some unfair comparisons to ready player one due to the similarity in premise even though its an entirely different scenarios and such and it took me a bit to get over the break ups in story with the quick lores and stats part but I also got over that rather quickly during reading it and it ultimately enhanced the experience, overall solid book with good story telling.
I Received a advance review copy(ARC) of the book which I though was very good, fun and intense at parts, i feel you may end up getting some unfair comparisons to ready player one due to the similarity in premise even though its an entirely different scenarios and such and it took me a bit to get over the break ups in story with the quick lores and stats part but I also got over that rather quickly during reading it and it ultimately enhanced the experience, overall solid book with good story telling.
Read
September 14, 2019This is a stunning book. Breq’s adventures, however fantastical, are at one and the same time convincing and believable. The ability to pull this sort of writing off is, in my opinion, at the core of great Sci-Fi writing. As a Sci-Fi writer myself, I am extremely impressed with Mr Ladry’s mastery of the art. The book is full of action, adventure and interesting characters that you believe in and care about!
It’s not a space opera, more a crazy Sci-Fi adventure. I loved it and will probably read it all again! Five stars from me!
Mark Angelo Lusardi
It’s not a space opera, more a crazy Sci-Fi adventure. I loved it and will probably read it all again! Five stars from me!
Mark Angelo Lusardi
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