Viridian Gate Online: Cataclysm cover art

Viridian Gate Online: Cataclysm

The Viridian Gate Archives, Book 1

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Viridian Gate Online: Cataclysm

By: James A. Hunter
Narrated by: Armen Taylor
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About this listen

Life's a game. At least it is for everyone stranded in Viridian Gate Online, the only RPG where you can swap the apocalypse for an avatar and a fist full of magic . . .

Jack Mitchell knows he won't survive the impact of the massive asteroid hurtling towards Earth. He's not one of the handful of lucky lottery winners scheduled for rescue. But he did luck into a NexGenVR capsule, which means Jack can risk a one-way trip to the world of Viridan Gate Online (V.G.O.), an ultra-immersive fantasy role-playing game. Taking that leap of faith, though, means permanently trapping his mind in the game and killing his body in the process.

Worse, one in six die during the transition, and even if Jack beats the odds, he'll still have to navigate a world filled with vicious monsters, domineering AIs, and cutthroat players. And when Jack stumbles upon a secret conspiracy to sell off virtual real estate to the ultrawealthy—transforming V.G.O. into a new feudal dark age—the deadly creatures inhabiting Viridian Gate's expansive dungeons will be the least of his concerns.

If Jack can't game the system, he's going to be trading in a quick death for a long, brutal one. Oh well, at least he gets a dragon . . .

©2016 James A. Hunter and Shadow Alley Press, Inc. (P)2017 J.A. Hunter and Shadow Alley Press Action & Adventure Dark Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Game
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Good premise, good story, unfortunately being written in 1st person and all the gamer talk, just makes it hard to listen to. Storey feels like it will be good despite that!

good once you get used to it

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Good story line, very inline with most stories of this genre. A good read. Not too original, but that is hard when writing these stories. A little short.

As advertised but a little short.

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I expected this to be a clone of SAO or Overlord, but I quickly came to realise that the story is good enough to stand apart from the other western Isekai clones here on Audible.

Its not like it's a masterpiece when compared to its Japanese inspirations, but it's a decent attempt at recapturing the VRMMO Isekai magic.

I'd still suggest people check it out though. If you love this, you'll enjoy SAO or Overlord.

A surprisingly good Sword Art Online Clone.

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I wasn’t sure when I started but given a couple of chapters and I’m hooked will definitely be listening to the next few books

Good LITRPG

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Firstly, read or listen to this book and decide for yourself. It is worth that much.

I'm currently listening to the third installment, and it's taken this long to try and get a clear understanding about how I feel about VGO.
The potential for this storyline is huge, and we don't spend 5 minutes every chapter listening to leveling updates. I appreciate this. However the author never reaches my expectation of progress. Which is to say, the author never really engages Me.
We learn about the protagonist and we're able to connect with him for the most part, but I find all other characters are lacking for not being fleshed out. Admittedly this may happen in later volumes, but personally I want to connect to at least a few other characters from early on.
The first book moves quickly and covers ground well, though it is terribly short. The second book plods along.
The whole time I have had to consider whether I like it enough to commit further time and money to, and the third book hasn't improved my position.

Other books and authors have me waiting excitedly for the next story...but VGO is lacking this energy. I spend my time on it because it is there and the books I'm jonesing for aren't released yet.
As such I also acknowledge that I'm still trying as I am a completionist. I've already invested time and that gives the whole experience value. But I'm unsure if I want to give it anymore time.
Overall I can't buy into the dialogue as real, nor how little the end of the world impacts people.
Additionally, each book is far too short. As an audiobook they're 8-10 hours long, yet they have potential subject matter to reach 15 hours, if written well.

The last issue I want to touch on is the Narrator. Armen Taylor has a good voice, however his accents are terrible.
When we have the privilege of listening to Luke Daniels, Tavia Gilbert, Elizabeth Evans or Mr Nick Podehl, it is reasonable to have a high expectation of the delivery. The narrator impacts the story so much, and is a large component of my opinion here.

This is a story worth the attempt, and the hope you will enjoy it. Give it a go.
I would never consider it a Must-Read, or in my top 50 Litrpg list...but you might.

Overall it's an ok book...its just not my jam.

It has potential, but doesn't quite reach it...

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I like how the book is written it is good sad how the world is ending and all. And once the earth is okay again you can’t go back as your body is gone

Good start to a what will be a great series of books

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everything was outstanding, the characters, the story and definitely the narrator, great voices and emotion

outstanding

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I am not a gamer so find some of the gamer talk a bit much that said the story is good and the narrator excellent.

Not bad

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After listening to a string of less-than-satisfactory LitRPGs, along comes this gem. Narrator was great, with varied voices. Storyline was intelligent. No grammatical errors, and the author knows how to carry a story - the tension he builds before the fight scenes is incredible! I can 100% recommend this book to anyone interested in gameLIT (it's particularly great for audio listeners, as while there's stats and levels and all the usual stuff, the story DOESN'T get bogged down with tables).

What a pleasant surprise!

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Wasn't expecting much with this one, but it far exceeded my expectations. The main character is interesting and the love interest is genuinely a good character, something I find generally lacking in litRPG.
The story is good at explaining the main character phenomenon, it genuinely feels that everything that happens to the protagonist happens for a reason and not because they're the main character.
Currently on book three and it's only gotten better!

A great story! (No spoiler review)

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