Survival Quest

Way of the Shaman Series # 1

By: Vasily Mahanenko

Narrated by: Jonathan Yen

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.

©2015 V. Mahanenko. English translation copyright 2015 by Natalia Nikitin (P)2016 Tantor

Excellent with just one regret...

Loved this book. Anyone who's played RPG will enjoy and relate to this story. While listening to Survival Quest I mentioned it to my son and bought the Kindle version for him. He devoured it. He started reading it at 10PM and finished the book at 5AM in one reading.

My only regret is that there are currently only two books in the series and the second one will go by way too fast. I thoroughly enjoy reading more installments in this story line.

Good listen

Very good listen reminds me of the play to love series just not permanent like in the other book and instead of someone dying someone's sent to jail.

great

wonderful books for the great storyline many plot twist and a hilarious backstory that sounds accurate

Fun and hard to put down

I never expected myself to enjoy a book so much where a large portion was about a man hitting a rock in a video game.

I had serious trouble putting this title down and more or less listened to it in one sitting besides falling asleep. The narrator does a great job and I enjoyed every moment.

I am writing this review after listening several books into the series and not a moment has disappointed me. My feelings on the 5th book were, lets say intense. I highly recommend giving this series a chance if your are interested at all in the litRPG genre.

Without A Doubt, My favorite Audible ever.

What made the experience of listening to Survival Quest the most enjoyable?

Just loved it.

What did you like best about this story?

The RPG stuff. The story was pretty cool. The characters were also pretty awesome - especially Cart and the Ogre governor and Rine (sp?).

What about Jonathan Yen’s performance did you like?

Most everything.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes but I didn't.

Any additional comments?

One problem that still bugs me. SPOILER: Early in the book and a couple of times later, it was made clear that one couldn't take other's stuff. It was even made a point that one couldn't just give an item to another. So how did Mahan pick up all the whole team's loot at the end of the dungeon after their noble sacrifices? This is a HUGE problem for me and the only reason the story is not a 5 STAR rating. If there's an explanation, I'd really appreciate hearing it.