Stolen Lives

Underhill Chronicles, Book 1

By: Keith Ahrens

Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto

Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Trapped in another world. All stats against them. It’s fight or die.

When Caleb reported for his normal shift, he never expected to go from the front seat of his ambulance to a bloody battlefield in a medieval Fey Realm. Kidnapped and beaten unconscious, he wakes up with a concussion and a fresh tattoo. While this might not be totally unusual for him, having the tattoo project the image of his stats and equipment like an old school tabletop RPG kind of is.

He finds himself thrown into a cell with three strangers who’ve also been abducted. Even worse, they’re all from different time periods, and due to the disjointed flow of time between the real world and this realm, hardly able to understand each other. They’ll have to learn to work together.

Months of training will lead to a yearly battle they were kidnapped to fight in. It’s law.But Caleb has other plans. Outnumbered and under-armed, but lured in by freedom, he can either stay and fight in the games, or try to lead the escape to the only gate back to their world. Either way, it’s live or die.

Don’t miss this epic new LitRPG/GameLit Saga, perfect for fans of Spartacus, Eric Ugland, and Aleron Kong.

©2020 Aethon Books (P)2020 Podium Audio

the book I've been wanting to see

the artwork gives a good glimpse to the dark war story that is being told. and the narrator has a great grim and gritty voice. the story is what I've been wanting to see in a gamelit book. I mean, I don't even have words to express how much I liked it. I'll not spoil anything but this had the feeling of watching spartacus being taught how to fight and then making escape plans and executing plans but with gamelit in the mix. this is also more old school D&D elements as compared to some books with different gaming mechanics. it's not all action but building of camaraderie between slaves of war. the gritty elements of this book really have you rooting for these guys. I feel like I could say a lot more about what I like about this book but I may spoil it. looking forward to the next one!

Good story and writing but didn’t progress well

Good story! But while it was filled with a lot of action and drama, the book was just too slow to progress. Nothing major caught my interest besides the ending and everything before that seemed to be a bit repetitive. The characters were decent but I was not at all empathetic with them. The author seemed to try to force the relationships between character way too fast for how little happened. It seemed like the main character would have a comrade in arms every time he met someone nice enough to fit. Anyways with all this it seems like the author is just trying his best to set up his world and characters with this book and it definitely has potential even if this book wasn’t the best.

Awesome

Just finished listening to this book on Audible. My typical reading material consists of comic books, Star Wars novels, zombie books and parts catalogs for work but a friend recommended Stolen Lives all I have to say is AWESOME! I haven’t played D&D in over 25yrs but immediately felt very nostalgic and completely at home in this brutally violent setting. The characters are all super relatable and really make you want to root for the good ones while wishing horrific endings on the evil. Lol. I’m excitedly looking forward to the 2nd book and hope to read more by this author.

Very Excellent

I really enjoyed this story, and can't wait for more in the series. This is a portal fantasy with gamelit aspects. Strong characters and plot. OK narration

Wow, Caleb never imagined this day...

Wow, Caleb our main protagonist is kidnapped and dragged to Underhill where he finds himself hurt, trapped and enslaved in an old-school like D&D game... where the only sure thing, is death!
It's a fight or "perma-die" situation, and the action is turned all the way up to 11, complete with brain matter spewing out the back of an unfortunate head or two!!! Caleb, has just one thing on his mind: to change the odds, and turn the tables on the Fae and escape! Something he can't do without the help of his pack mates!
And, yes! I loved it! I guess I saw to many Samurai movies in my formative years! LOL
The narrator Angelo De Loreto did his job admirably, and I was so wrapped up in the story I lost track of him as "the narrator". Ya gotta be doing real good to accomplish that! 😆
If I had any complaint, it would be about the abrupt ending (Not that it wasn't good, mind you)... I guess I'm just the type of reader that perfers the book to close with more of a denouement!

Pretty good book

Hope there's a second book. The first one just ends so abruptly.
Need book two.

A good start

I enjoyed this book, but it had some serious and noticeable issues. take the last part of the book, why not jump into the portal rather than away from it tell me that. The spell was ready so jump in and you are fine. The wolf didn't have to die. The other issue is the village why abandon those people, more hands make light work is a saying for a reason. The more fighters the easier they can win.
I also don't get why the MC refused to kill the guy in the initial battle then getting stabbed and having to end up killing the guy still. He just wasted the limited healing and weakened the part. The other issue is the woman who jumped into the cart car with them, but wasn't a part of the team. The minute she refuses to help why not kill her because it ended up that she tortured one their own people because of it.
I know I pointed out some issues but I liked it so let's see what happens next. It better gets better or it's the axe.

Why the LITRPG elements?

They add nothing and distract from the much more interesting story. They are just there in the beginning and then only occasionally. It felt more as if they were there for the health bar system for the admittedly well done main character and his well done portrayal of an EMT/medic. It just sort of felt like the author felt he needed to add the latest hot thing to add to the book, which is a shame because for me atleast its lack of actual need to be in the story detracted.

I want more!!!!

Average guy kidnapped by the Fairy folk to be used a chess piece. Escape is the plan, allies are found, but that is only the beginning. I can wait till the next one in the series comes out!

Captivating Kickoff for Man vs Fae with GameLit

Mr. Ahrens spins a masterful and captivating first entry to his Underhill Chronicles with Stolen Lives. A lot of fantasy books, including GameLit/LitRPG series, explore the Human Realm vs. Fae Realm idea, but few do so as seamlessly as the Underhill Chronicles. The GameLit elements are explained as a part of the magic the Fae use to track and control human slaves that they abduct to serve as pawns in their internal conflicts, and are kept light enough not to interrupt the flow of the story but detailed enough to be useful in explaining growth in abilities in short time periods or unusual circumstances.

The characters are all well developed and understandable given their backgrounds, including the fact that they come from abductions across a span of decades. The use of the differing flow of time in the Fae realms is used to good effect in that regard, to provide a reasonable way for the diverse backgrounds to be sensibly available and for there not to be an outcry in the "normal" world at many people going missing simultaneously.

The combat scenes and injuries are described in a level of detail that really brings them to life without being gratuitously gorey. Instead, they add to the depth of the story by showing how injuries impact the flow of battle for the individual and for those fighting in the same battle, whether friend or foe. The ability of magic to fix the wounds reduces the long-term impact of those serious injuries which do not result in death, but the limits to how much magic can be used in a given timeframe mean that wounds may still have mid-to-long term consequences.

Stolen Lives deals with the newest arrival as an abducted slave combatant, Caleb, in the hold of one particular Elf lording and the events that follow. Caleb's background as a New York City EMT provides a great reason for his being somewhat combat-capable, but not a true warrior, and his medical training and inclinations are so different from the typical background of those the Fae abduct as to make his personality and skills a disruptive event. The fallout of Caleb's skills and actions combined with other plots and problems already in existence in the land makes for a fun story and end with resolving one small challenge for the survivors, but leave many questions and problems still to be overcome in the rest of the series.

Highly Recommended! I am looking quite forward to more in this series.

Disclaimer: I was given this a free review copy audiobook and have voluntarily left this review.