Den of Thieves

Pantheon Online, Book 1

By: S.A. Klopfenstein

Narrated by: Christian J. Gilliland

A world of villains is no place for a hero.

Imprisoned for a crime he barely remembers, Gunnar is forced to labor in an underground prison camp. But if he works hard, he earns time in a beta test for the first fully immersive online RPG.

Pantheon Online is beyond anything Gunnar has ever experienced, but the game is inextricably linked to his reality as a prisoner. He may not be the best or the brightest criminal, but if he fails to perform...things are not going to go well for him.

Gunnar must quickly learn to navigate a cutthroat city of thieves and assassins, garner the favor of a goddess, earn his way into a guild, and try not to be the brunt of all the AI's deprecating jokes.

But there's more going on, and the further Gunnar progresses, the more he realizes that he is in for the ride of his life.

Or is it...for his life?

©2022 S.A. Klopfenstein (P)2022 Podium Audio

Exactly what I wanted

This book is to me right in line with what LitRPG should be. It wasn't overly complicated, it didn't oversell itself, but it was full of little reminders that the author planned out a narrative intentionally, with lots of twists at just the right moment, and story beats that circled back around to give a deeply satisfying experience.

As far as the narration goes, it was well done with good variety to the characters. I did have one complaint, but it was more specific to me. I don't have a lot of spare time in the day so I'll often listen to audiobooks in the shower on a bluetooth speaker. It's not a great speaker, but I generally don't have issues with its clarity while showering. In this case however, I found that the narrator's voice often tended deeper than most, which did at times harm the clarity in this particular situation.

Of course, with half decent earbuds or headphones this was not an issue. I only mentioned it because it's not something I've run into until now.

Anyway, this story was very enjoyable, and I'm excited for the next.

This was really good

I really enjoyed this it wasn't cookie cutter it wasn't predictable and was a fun read. I also find both the real world action and the game world intriguing and I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Pleasantly Surprised

I bought this one because I was in between series and was very happy with the choice.

Good story without burying you in stats.

The story can be a little predictable at times, but the twists are good. I really enjoyed the story and purchased the second book immediately after finishing the first. My only dismay is that I'll finish the book and have to wait until the next release.

Enjoy the matchup between assassin's Creed and the matrix

intriguing story line and good caricature depth. the idea and execution are great and really pull you in