Clearing

Legendary Farmer #1

by Elizabeth Oswald

In the VRMMORPG, Veritas Online, things are getting a little stale. Since the game launched, only one world- wide event has occurred, and that was a year ago.. The players are still having fun, but everyone agrees it’s about time for something big to happen. Everybody tends to forget that big things grow from small things, and little things are always changing in Veritas.

The human country of Quarternell is at peace for the first time in... ever. Aspen, a former war hero, feels like he’s earned a quiet life together with his animal companions. They’re tired of fighting, and other people in general. They plan to live peacefully, far away from the city. As soon as Aspen figures out this farming thing out, he’s never going to go anywhere again. Unfortunately for Aspen, his country and his goddess aren’t quite done with him yet.

Rouge the Rogue is a casual gamer in Veritas Online. She’s just a kid, and her focus is supposed to be on school and hanging out with friends. Emphasis on ‘supposed to’. She’s already pretty good at the school thing, and she doesn’t actually have that many friends. What she really loves is exploring all the cool ways the developers of Veritas found to make their game unique and realistic. Then she’s offered a very special quest, and an opportunity to go beyond the average player. She’s never been that much of a rule follower anyway....

Genres: Fantasy

441 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 4, 2022

About the author

Elizabeth is a misplaced Seattleite living in the US Midwest along with her husband, daughter, two dogs, a cockatiel who firmly believes that birbs rule the world, and a quail who just wants a larger serving of salad. She loves to read, write, and write to readers, so drop a message! The best place to pick up my older books is my shop on Patreon 🥰


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Reviews

[Debra Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is so interesting!

I'm quite enjoying this story! I haven't checked yet, but hope there is a book two. I really like the characters and would definitely recommend.

[Jan Gable · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read

I never know what to say other than I really enjoyed reading the book. Great characters and a story with enough action to keep you entertained and pull you through the book. Exciting new premise I’ve never seen in a LitRPG Farmer book. Thank you for taking the time to put your imagination on to paper and taking the effort to publish.

[Paul Hefka · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great start.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was fun and entertaining. The story and characters were interesting and engaging. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. This book is definitely worth reading.

[Tgoebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

More please

I really liked the way the author wrote the story. Engaging, believable, and alive characters. I was completely involved and the end came far too quickly. I look forward to more. The only thing that I would change is that I would make the stats tables larger so that they're easier to read.... and that's so minor. Please author, more soon!

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Definitely Goats Stars

Clearing is the first book in the Legendary Farmer series by Elizabeth Oswald.

Ugh! I didn't even realize I was at the end of the book, until it finished. This world Oswald has built is intriguing. I want to learn so much more about Veritas Online. Especially given all of the suspicious comments and inferences made during the internship. There is so much more to what Bridgett is creating. This virtual world and its Natives offer more than it seems the player base is aware. I wonder what the goal of this chain quest is?

Aspen may have traveled all this way to die, but he's somehow lucked into an interesting menagerie of unique characters. Magical goats, imperious ducks, fruit bats.... I'm excited to see where the next book will lead. For this gathering of extraordinary possibilities only makes me wish to know more. Especially about what Gina has in store for her Champion.

I liked that they transitioned between Aspen and Rouge/Zoey. However, I don't think they individually contained enough progression, which is something I appreciate in alternating narratives. Hopefully, the next book explores further into both worlds mysteries and we can encounter even more entertaining surprises.

[Jay Sprenkle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I met the author at a convention and purchased her book. I enjoyed the story and, with reservations, I recommend it.

Here are my nit picks:
* Text was hard to read. My vision is poor and a heavier weight font would have helped immensely.
* Took off a star because this is NOT a complete novel. It just stops. It needs a beginning. middle, and end.
* Story moves very slowly and doesn't convey any urgency. The main character's dislike of panty hose probably won't advance the plot, and shows up so late in the story it doesn't add anything to define her character.

Pluses:
* Inventive ideas
* Good understanding of computer game mechanics.
* Good characters with unique voices

[Frank Burgos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow now that's a story.

I like it. I want more. I want to know where everything is going. Only thing I can complain about is that abrupt ending. Don't do that it's annoying.

[Roberto Flores · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried. I made it three fifths through and just could not go on.

This is just so boring. It gets halfway in before you start seeing any storyline. The farmer aspect is barely touched on. The farmer MC has zero personality. The sections with Rogue are monotonous. The story twist is dragged out and the explanation is just ludicrous. Having a slow reveal only works if you have entertaining bits to keep up interest.

[Taryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting start to a potentially great series

Players and Npcs, we spend time with both in this quiet fantasy adventure story. Too much action for a slice of life, but not enough for an actual adventure… yet.

I’m liking it so far and looking forward to the next book which will hopefully explain some of the many secret things from book 1.

[Johnie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read

I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who like LitRPG and progression type of books with action.

[Ribbon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Better than the cover art, less farming than the series name.

Zoey plays the MMO for story and roleplaying with NPCs and gets a unique quest as the only person who qualifies. She has a very healthy relationship with her professor dad, who also plays and tries to support her in her low-reward questing.

Aspen has some mysterious past stuff going on, where his levels got dropped to that of a baby and his animal buddies have to keep him alive. Animal buddies include goat dad Khal, spider mom Sumi, and little sister Silus. That's not their family structure but it's their roles in the group. The names Sumi and Silus are way too close visually, making it hard to remember which is which.

We see a good chunk of Zoey's real world life, not just time spent in a pod.