Hi, readers!
Tonight, we met for our midway discussion of The Graveyard Book. It has been probably our lightest read yet, which I think has been refreshing for some of us. Short and sweet, this book was a first in terms of forays into Gaiman’s works for a couple of us, while many of you returned happily to his writing. I know that I speak for more than just myself when I say I have discovered an author from whom I want to read more.
Important Info for Future Meetings
Since we have a few holidays upcoming, and given how short this book is, we will be meeting next Saturday (October 24) instead of our usual two weeks later. After this, our two week schedule will continue, with our first November meeting occurring on November 7th. This allows everyone to have Halloween and Thanksgiving weekends free.
I have posted our November poll below. We are doing LitRPG for November and Sci-Fi for December. Please submit any ideas you may have for the latter and submit your vote for next month!
Since we have more options than usual, you are able to vote for more than one book.
As always, below are the summaries and page counts of each book. Below them will be the poll. The books range in audio book length from 11.5 to 13.5 hours.
The Survival Quest (Way of the Shaman #1) by Vasily Mahanenko
Barliona: a virtual world jam-packed with monsters, battles-and, predictably, players. Millions of them come to Barliona, looking forward to the things they can’t get in real life: elves and magic, dragons and princesses, and unforgettable combat. The game has become so popular that players now choose to spend months online without returning home. In Barliona, anything goes: You can assault fellow players, level up, become a mythical hero, a wizard, or a legendary thief. The only rule that attempted to regulate the game demanded that no player be allowed to feel actual pain. But there’s an exception to every rule. For a certain bunch of players, Barliona has become their personal hell. They are criminals sent to Barliona to serve their time. They aren’t in it for the dragons’ gold or the abundant loot. All they want is to survive the virtual inferno. They face the ultimate survival quest.
Opening Moves (The Gam3 #1) by Cosimo Yap
The Earth is changing. The alien invasion brought social upheaval, advanced technology, and an armada of peacekeeping robots. But Alan, a college student pursuing a now-useless degree, cares little about all of this. He has only one thing on his mind: the Game.
A fully immersive virtual reality, the Game appears to be a major part of the invading civilization. Alan can’t wait to play, recklessly diving into the digital universe. Soon though, Alan realizes the Game is anything but simple, and the stakes are higher than he ever imagined.
Ritualist (The Completionist Chronicles #1) by Dakota Krout
A game that puts all others to shame. Magic that has been banned from the world. A man willing to learn no matter the cost.
The decision to start a new life is never an easy one, but for Joe the transition was far from figurative. Becoming a permanent addition to a game world, it doesn’t take long to learn that people with his abilities are actively hunted. In fact, if the wrong people gained knowledge of what he was capable of, assassins would appear in droves.
In his pursuit of power, Joe fights alongside his team, completes quests, and delves into the mysteries of his class, which he quickly discovers can only be practiced in secret. Ultimately, his goal is to complete every mission, master every ability, and learn all of the world’s secrets.
All he has to do is survive long enough to make that happen.
AlterWorld (Play to Live #1) by D. Rus
A new pandemic – the perma effect – has taken over Earth of the near future. Whenever you play your favorite online game, beware: your mind might merge with the virtual world and dump its comatose host. Woe be to those stuck forever in Tetris! And still they’re the lucky ones compared to those burning alive eternally within the scorched hulls of tank simulators.
But some unfortunates – the handicapped and the terminally ill, shell-shocked army vets, wronged crime victims and other society misfits – choose to flee real life willingly, escaping to the limitless world of online sword and sorcery MMORPGs.
Once a seasoned gamer and now a terminal cancer patient, Max grasps at this final chance to preserve his life and identity. So he goes for it – goes for the promise of immortality shared with a few trusty friends and the woman he loves. Together they roam the roads of AlterWorld and sample its agony and ecstasy born of absolute freedom.
Welcome to Ludus (Delvers LLC #1) byBlaise Corvin
Henry and Jason led normal lives in Seattle before they were abducted to another world. Their kidnapper, the vain, self-styled god Dolos refuses to send them back unless they can accomplish an impossible task. Oddly, Dolos doesn’t seem to care if they succeed or not.
Luckily, Henry and Jason studied Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) on Earth. Unfortunately, a Japanese American EMT and a geeky IT programmer don’t have many other useful skills on a sword and sorcery world like Ludus.
Stranded in the middle of nowhere on an alien world, the friends have no real direction and only a few possessions including magic-granting orbs from an apathetic god. Undaunted, the two begin their insane adventure to return home, but basic survival and eventually paying rent will have to take priority.
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