Genesis cover art

Genesis

Legends Online, Book 1

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Genesis

Written by: Jonathan Yanez, Ross Buzzell
Narrated by: Adam Gold
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Grab your sword and get ready to level up.

The only way out is through.

Unbeknownst to him, Ray is about to partake on an adventure filled with magical beasts, warring factions, and a leveling-up system out of this world. He'll encounter filthy bandits, musty crypts, and friendly werewolves. Oh, you heard us right.

If only he wasn't given negative charisma points around women, he might have a chance, but you can't win them all.

When the only way out of the game may be through, you fight like your life depends on it. Because it just may. Survival means victory, and defeat could mean the end—forever.

Note from the authors: This one's for the underdogs out there. For lovers of adventure, the dice rollers of chaos, and the unapologetic gamers. We can't promise it'll be safe, but we can promise you're in for one great journey.

©2020 Jonathan Yanez (P)2020 Podium Audio Action & Adventure Classics Fantasy Fiction Magic Paranormal Adventure LitRPG Biblical Theology
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It is hard to find a good literary RPG. This one is just Ok. It is a good storey concept. And I thought I had the twist guessed but was surprised at the end. And the reading made the best of the writing.

But it is painful to listen to. Descriptions are basic, and the action of book regularly defies the rules that are stated at least once every chapter. There is also WAAAY to many cultural references, in 10 years there will be a lot of younger readers who won’t get any of the references.

The most frustrating part is the constant stating of the character names. It felt like every third word was the main characters name.

But at least this isn’t a post apocalyptic, overly vulgar, or sexualized book. Which seems to be the bulk of the rest I found in the genre so far. I liked the book well enough but won’t be listening to the rest of the series for the above mentioned annoyances.

Fun concept but poorly written

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I really can't get beyond the 3rd person. it's brutal. voice acting is great though.

Story is good, the voice is great. 3rd person. Meh

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Ray (in-game name 'Illume') is a professional video game reviewer (with a "ViewTube" channel, no less) that gets to test a new VR game. An accident traps him in the game and his only hope to get back to our world is to "finish" it by killing 'The Dark Lord'.
Yes, you've heard it before. Unfortunately, Jonathan Yanez & Ross Buzzell pile on the disappointing stereotypes with a straight DnD world (complete with Dwarves, Humans, Elves, and Orcs as player/NPC options.. and challenges straight out of the 'Monster Manual') and a cookie-cutter magic/gameplay system.
On the other hand, the prose/vocabulary is serviceable, the combat choreography/description is creditable, and the metagame notifications are satisfyingly unobtrusive. The unchallenging book was great to have playing in the background while doing other things.

Also on the positive side, reader Adam Gold manages to make some of the more sophomoric text tolerable. His diction, timbre, cadence, tone, and voice-acting are impressive - and his dedication to delivering groanworthy dialogue with dramatic flare is genuinely incredible. If given the option of a text version (paper or eBook) of 'Genesis' or this interpretation, choose this one every time.

The heavily-integrated pop culture references sentence this book to about a fifteen year lifespan (In 2038, no-one under the age of 60 will have a clue who 'Bill Nye' is), but the humor works fairly well now. Given how derivative the story is otherwise, however, I rate Book One of the 'Legends Online' series a disappointing 5.5 stars out of 10 (I won't be investing the time on further episodes).
As a 'Plus' selection, the book was a reasonable distraction for a couple of quiet afternoons - but should Audible ask for a Credit, better options beckon.

[NOTE: "See?!? It's not my fault that I'm awkward around girls.. my charisma score drops within the aura of females" is probably the best example of incel-fantasy nonsense that I have ever heard😅]

Outstanding Narration. Unoriginal LitRPG

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The narrator does a good job with voices, but every non-dialogue line is pronounced in the exact same overly dramatic inflection. It almost made me stop listening to it, it bugged me so much.

The story is very much average. There are lots of minor plot holes and the characters act exactly like you'd expect in a video game... even the human. To be fair the world IS a video game and people can be dumb, but it made for a boring story.

Average pulpy fantasy.

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I just discovered a gem! The second coming of Nick Podehl! Other than that, the story is ok. It's good, but doesn't got anything unique in the current market. Hopefully the narrator will get some good contacts.

great narrator

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