Top Hat Express

A LitRPG Adventure (Vaudevillain, Book 1)

By: Alex Wolf

Narrated by: Austin Rising

Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Immortality is on the line. So are his foes! Choo-choo, heroes.

Dylan is an average nerdy worker. By day, he works for an architecture firm. When his shift ends, he consumes all manner of superhero fiction—comics, books, or games. When an up-and-coming gaming company, Vert, announces a new superhero game—a game that promises infinite choice—Dylan is immediately ready to dive in. He has the perfect role in mind for himself: the egotistical supervillain from cartoons.

Vert is more ambitious than anyone knew. As launch day for their new MMO World of Supers looms, they announce that if players do something really over-the-top, they can become a permanent raid boss inside the game. Now Dylan’s antics will be pitted against streamers bent on immortalizing themselves in the gaming world.

When everyone else takes the game seriously, it’s only the casuals who have fun.

©2022 Alex Wolf (P)2022 Mountaindale Press

villainous fun

this book is full of villainous hilarity. well written and hit all the right tropes for this genre ......amazing

Better then I hoped.

A great story with wonderfully laid back protagonist. lots of classic gamer stereotypes but not overdone.

No stakes until late in the novel

A good listen to while driving or doing chores. No s3x, no real violence. If not for all the swearing it would be a good book to listen to around the kids, but even then it’s only one character who curses and he’s an antagonist. I don’t really like books set in video games but of the many I’ve been cajoled into listening to this is in the top five. I mean it references meet the robinsons AND mars needs moms and that so niche it’s impossible not respect it a little.

Need more

I like the characters a lot, they’re personalities were vastly different and they’re chemistry worked well. The place of the story was really good, didn’t feel like it was rushed or slow. There wasn’t a lot of character moments but what we got was excellent for it being a first book. The progression felt manageable and not ridiculous. Only problems was the story was short and riptides surfer personality was a little too much but that didn’t deter me from the overall story. Overall really enjoyed it and highly recommend.

refreshing

I slept on this series for a while. I wish I had picked it up sooner. the take on the classic villan trope is done really well and I thoroughly enjoyed the first book. time for the second

very funny

This book is hilarious. I've said it before and I'll say it again, LitRPG has some funny books. Wolf really got into the silly with this but was also able to stay balanced enough to engage a full grown adult (mostly) woman with a master's in writing. Just pick it up, Austin Rising's narration is smooth and his voice blends well with Wolf's writing style!

Smooth pleasant fun for 14 1/2 hrs.

Wonderful narration, strong character development with no stats and his team npc lackeys elevate this book up 2 levels! Just make sure you have the whole day free cause your not gonna want to stop listening.

major city of heroes vibes

Great book centered around a slice of life for gamers in a hero setting. Good interactons and wacky old school vibes from the villainous DR. SLO. This is one bad guy that makes sure all bombs have a suspenseful TICK.

A Villain to Love

Enjoyable story that developed nicely and had a good mixture of humor and intrigue. Very good performance that made the characters come to life.

Great lunacy

I think this story does a great job of playing with super heroes and villians in a light hearted way, it’s fun, and it pays homage to classic comics and modern ones.