LitRPG Audiobook Podcast 066 - Koala Online, Pickle Pie, Hunters Dream Online, Viridian Gate Online 7
LitRPG Audiobook Podcast 066 - Koala Online, Pickle Pie, Hunters Dream Online, Viridian Gate Online 7
“Hello everyone. Welcome to the LitRPG Audiobook Podcast. I’m Ray. I’ll be reviewing some recent and classic LitRPG Audiobooks for you. I’ll begin with: ”
Koala Online (01:39)
Score: 7.7 out of 10
Pickle Pie - A Cyberpink Story (06:31)
Score: 4 out of 10
Hunters Dream Online: Ascension (15:48)
Score: 8.4 out of 10
Viridian Gate Online: Darkling Siege (22:14)
The Viridian Gate Archives Book 7
Score: 8.5 out of 10
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Koala Online
By: Max Geek, Marcus Sloss
Narrated by: Zane VanWicklyn
Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
This is one I finished a while back and just kept pushing to the back burner for various reasons. It’s exactly the kind of book I like. It’s light, punchy, and has some slick references snuck in for observant readers/listeners. It has a nice short run time of under six hours, and that is a bonus, since I think the story works best in the short format. Going longer and adding more would have weakened it, so keeping it short was the smart move.
The story is fun and well-paced and it is damned original. I guarantee you won’t have read anything like this before. It does center on a koala who is not from the wilds, and is shunned by those who are. My only issue with the book is that it takes some time to get into the Lit aspects.
Now here is my Simon Cowell aspect coming to the fore. Zane VanWicklyn does a good job narrating the story, and his voice and style fit the characters and tale pretty well, but I can’t say he is flawless or completely smooth. He took some time getting used to, but he does fit the insane story to a tee to such a point I don’t believe a more adult voice could have pulled this off as well as he does.
Final Score 7.7 it aint deep and dark, but it is light and fluffy enough to carry me through a rough day, so if you need a quick dip into silliness then this will work well for you.
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Pickle Pie
A Cyberpink Story
By: George Saoulidis
Narrated by: Luke Rounda
Series: Cyberpink, Book 1
Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
OK, I’m going to discuss this book solely because there are points that it is listed as being LITRPG. Let me start by saying that it is not. I have read several of George’s books, and enjoyed several. For example I really like his You Have too Many Friends tale, and he did a story called The Halloween Raid: A GameLit Short Story that I enjoyed. I think that story sold well enough that he took a Pickle here and rebrandished it as being LIT. PP is many things, but Lit it is not. That has not stopped him from marketing it as such.
If I’m honest, the story is pretty decent and deals with a futuristic society that has a rollerball/roller derby feel to it that is fought with cybernetically enhanced humans who are treated as property. I have seen this book listed as Litrpg in about 4 spots, and believe it was even listed as such on audible before. It’s not. It’s not even close. I have wanted to talk about this for some time, and for some reason am just getting around to it now. I hate talking bad about people, but here’s the facts. This comes off like someone trying to sell a bicycle as a motorcycle. Shape and form is there, but there is no comparison between the two. I think Halloween Raid did well enough that he figured just the genre switch alone would sell it. Maybe it did, but it shouldn’t have.
I’m not even going to talk about the narration. There’s no point. The book is a cash grab or a deliberate attempt to confuse people into getting it by calling it something its not.
Final score: 4 stars. It is not Litrpg and is a mediocre cyberpunk story at best.
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Hunters Dream Online: Ascension
Hunters Dream Online, Book 1
By: J.R. Davis
Narrated by: Steve Campbell
Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
Whoa. Talk about a dream team. We have the amazing Jamie Davis of the Accidental series combined with the velvety vocal stylings of Steve Campbell. What is there not to like about this book? Honestly? I looked and couldn’t find anything.
The story is basically what feels like a weekend get together with some old friends that you haven’t seen in a while. You get to just chill and relax and enjoy yourself without all the work of building a relationship. The book is humorous, punny, well written and paced, has interesting characters. The book is not crunch heavy, but you still feel all the gaming stuff. The MC, Robin, opts to be a necromancer and that class interpretation by Davis is a blast. The whole team dynamic works even though they really don’t know much about each other. The real issue here is the griefers who do their best to make everyone’s lives miserable. Personally, I think this is and amazing start to a great new series.
Steve Campbell busts his butt to bring us an intensely humorous and exciting tale with easily recognized vocal characters. I really feel like I never do Campbell the justice he deserves. First, he’s one hell of a guy and is big part of our community, and secondly he really has a knack for narrating that I think about one in a thousand narrators actually have. The guy is a boss level narrator.
Give this book a shot. Final score 8.4 stars. It might be over 7 hours long but it feels a lot faster.
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Viridian Gate Online: Darkling Siege
The Viridian Gate Archives, Book 7
By: James Hunter
Narrated by: Armen Taylor
Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins
We have finally hit the penultimate chapter in the VGO saga and things are really looking , er, grim for Jack and company. The book opens and closes on very different notes and illustrates just how quickly life and circumstances change.
There are a few revelations finally made as Grim Jack tries to save his relationship with Abby. It seems that every time he thinks about mending the growing rift between them the more stuff happens that keeps them apart. Meanwhile outside of the Soap Opera, things a looking bad for the Crimson Alliance. They have to figure out how to break into an unsiegeable city and drive Thanatos to his last place of refuge.
The story is unrelenting and the only break the heroes get is when they decide to go build some houses for fun, well so refugees have homes too, I suppose but otherwise the team go forward at breakneck speed, and it seems Jack is getting whittled down piece by piece by the responsibility he carries.
We are definitely coming to the end of the series, and the tensions are mounting exponentially. Honestly, I don’t think everyone makes it out alive. We’ll have to see.
Armen continues crafting a vocally visual world that is scary impressive. From Hunters fingertips to Taylor’s lips this story is told like a Grecian myth around a campfire. Taylor’s style is gripping and brings life to every character he plays.
Final score 8.5 stars. I don’t know where its heading, but the finale is going to be killer.
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Thanks oh so very much for watching everyone, I do appreciate you taking the time to watch or listen to the show. If you want to support us, you can like the LitRPG Podcast facebook page or the YouTube Page, or just share and like the video. I’m going to ask for more suggestions for the ‘Is it LIT’ segment, I’ve got a good one for next time, but will always need ideas. Please leave comments or suggestions in the comments below, and feel free to tell me whatever you like. I enjoy the feedback.
For LitRPG Audiobook Podcast, I’m Ray. Keep listening!!!
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