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The Beginning
- Dark Paladin Series, Book 1
- Narrated by: Kevin Kraft
- Series: Dark Paladin, Book 1
- Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure
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Publisher's Summary
Is it easy to survive in the game world? You could say yes, if you didn't know what the additional conditions were. They are unusual: it's the real world in which you have lived all your life. The enemy, craving to destroy you. Your own class who couldn't care less about you. Are you still sure that survival is easy? Then welcome to The Game! It will prove you wrong.
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What listeners say about The Beginning
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Performance
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- Jeff Northam
- 04-12-2017
Shaman Chronicals
I really liked the authors other work, and after the Shamon Chronicals was expecting more or less the same plot line with different characters.
So many authors find a formula that works for them and stick to it..
Gee this book surprised me, pleasantly.
I was so different to all the other works by the author.. And it was brilliant.
1 person found this helpful
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- John
- 17-05-2018
The Beginning
I loved this book from start to finish the Characters a awesome the narrator did a awesome job with the story hope there more books on Audible
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- Chris Vernon
- 06-04-2017
Some good parts, but mostly depressing unenjoyable
the first few hours of story plot is just painful and disinteresting. As a reader you are struggling to understand the motives or working of this world. Compared to the "Way of the Shaman" books, this serie is not nearly as well written to thought out... this version of the Beginning: Dark Paladin is a rough draft... I can not recommend this series as it is now
14 people found this helpful
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- Roy Scorup
- 24-07-2017
The only bad Mahanenko book
Unlike the author's other works, this book is exceedingly gritty, graphic, and dull. The narrator isn't nearly as good as his past works, and the mechanics of this LitRPG universe are fairly wonky and technical.
Warning for younger/impressionable readers:
The book contains some extremely graphic incidents of violence right from the beginning. Expect bloody description of people being blown to bits and tearing out someone's throat to drink their blood. Expect explicit sexual references, which are far stronger than the author's other books.
Most, but not all of the curse words have been edited out in translation.
If that wasn't bad enough, the plot really struggles at some moments and the book feels about 5 hours too long.
15 people found this helpful
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- Presley Marie Whitehead
- 14-04-2017
Great Premise, Terrible Execution
A very promising addition to the lit RPG genre with an interesting story line and premise, however it seems the author decided to publish the first draft of the book with no further editing or "clean up." Seriously, it was extremely difficult to listen to. Simplest way to put it...it was as though I wrote it and I'm not an author, which is very disappointing, frustrating and curious considering how entertaining the authors other works are. The book needs a rewrite all together. And the narrator did okay with what he had to work with; perhaps some problem lies in the translation from Russian to English who knows.
7 people found this helpful
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- Jonathan
- 26-07-2017
Stupid on every level
1) No consistence with characters' actions, history, or personality (seriously Judge??, for a life long gamer with no predilection to that profession, it seems so weird. What happened to wanting to earn money or travel to gain knowledge? He knows all the limitations and restrictions, including never being able to truly have friends since you will have to judge them too.)
2) there are holes in the game/story that can be confusing if you don't choose to ignore them.
3) can be slow at times. Just get through it. Often I would have to set the speed at 1.25.
4 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Amazon Customer
- 25-05-2017
Good but tiring.
This series shows some excellent promise, building a perfect grimdark setting where only enemies can be trusted, and only then to be your enemy.
This however leads to a tiring Rollercoaster ride of rampant protagonist success followed by betrayal, the reader feels the descent of the protagonist forcing them to actively listen to the whole book. Not a casual read.
For a nice counterbalance read, the path of the shaman by the same author.
1 person found this helpful
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- Zerq
- 23-04-2017
a bit grim and unnatural but otherwise good
i find the setting unnaturaly grim...
this author also kind of goes off on a female betrayer theme... well and betrayal all over...
still very good and looking forward to more
5 people found this helpful
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- Freel
- 02-04-2017
Solid LitRPG
Interesting story takes a different approach than the standard litrpg. Well worth the credit. Moves fast for a longer book.
3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 09-10-2017
plot holes... plot holes every where...
the world lacks in gaming-logic. too many plot f#ck ups calling it the game don't make it one...
2 people found this helpful
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- Jeremy
- 22-04-2017
Gets better
Not sure if its technical editing or just the reader but I found myself pulled out of the story many times by odd tempos "speaking to fast without pauses or long pauses that didn't make sense.
also it seemed like the voices would get mixed up. This improved later in the book and I'm looking forward to the next one.
2 people found this helpful
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- les
- 19-04-2017
Not for kids
Finally a book that's not all about feelings. The characters do what they have to.
2 people found this helpful
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- Mike
- 10-11-2018
Disappointing
After devouring the Way of The Shaman books, I was excited to start this. It is no where near the quality of Shaman. I think the translation is possibly to blame. It is clunky and doesn’t flow. I lost intersest quickly but battled through - wont be downloading future books in this series.
2 people found this helpful
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