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jmkemp's review
5.0
The author emailed to ask me to review this, unusually I bought the book rather than accepting a freebie. There were two reason for this, one was that the reviews were really good, and the other was that it was only 99p for the kindle version. I'm pleased to report that it lived up to the promise in the reviews.
Warlords of Llantatis
At first sight this looks like a fantasy, but it's definitely science fiction. Set a couple of decades in the future most of the action takes place in a virtual game world. There are very brief interludes of real world that contrast the player life with that of their characters.
The story is a combination of a detective mystery and also a heroic quest. Inside the game world a mysterious newbie has appeared, he doesn't have a name but he does have an awesomely powerful magic sword. There's also the appearance of a mysterious red moon that is on a collision course with the main game world. Outside the game we get flashes of the hero's players, and then the wider search for the player of the mysterious newbie. There's also a thread on how the game company is dealing with the threat to the game server.
Game worlds & realities
Both the game world and the near future world mesh really well. The game playing technology is completely believable, I've seen the conceptual work on it for real. The people use that in ways that are also completely believable, all the more so for the recent Pokemon Go craze. Game playing can be recognised as an addiction, and certainly there are people spending more time in the virtual world than in the real world. There are also gold farmers, professional players, and a familiar mix of deep roleplayers, munchkins, newbies and everything else you might find in a current online game.
Outside the game world there's a sense of a realistic slightly futuristic universe. Things have progressed a bit from now, noticeably so. However there still aren't hoverboards or flying cars. People in offices can still be awful about inconsequential things. North Korea is still the same. It's mundane rather than dystopian, which makes it more realistic for me. You can see why people retreat into the game world.
Comedy
There is a strong thread of the Warlords of Llantatis having a strong sense of humour (and Dominic Green is, I am sure, deliberately writing comedy references in for those that get them). The development team picked a contintent each and worked it up themself. Each of the game races develops from that. We have the carrot shaped Llareggubians who are muscle-bound warriors of little brain. Amazonions female warriors with dominant X chromosomes (nearly all played by men). Wizard Sparklebeard's enchanted fairy kingdom (which is a dictatorship out of a fair tale that punishes by turning people into talking woodland animals). There also dwarfs and elvenoids as well as a central human state.
There are loads of references that made me chuckle as I worked them out. These provided a sense of light relief from some of the more intense plot threads in the book.
Overall
Warlords of Llantatis is a big tome. It has multiple points of view (there are at least half a dozen main plot threads through the story, some of which split and merge at points). These all come to a joined up and satsifactory conclusion, and there's a sort of epilogue too. I really enjoyed Warlords of Llantatis, and I can see why Dominic Green has been Hugo nominated in the past, it's a shame that he hasn't yet won a Hugo, because this book is fantastic (in both senses).
Go buy it and read it!
Warlords of Llantatis
At first sight this looks like a fantasy, but it's definitely science fiction. Set a couple of decades in the future most of the action takes place in a virtual game world. There are very brief interludes of real world that contrast the player life with that of their characters.
The story is a combination of a detective mystery and also a heroic quest. Inside the game world a mysterious newbie has appeared, he doesn't have a name but he does have an awesomely powerful magic sword. There's also the appearance of a mysterious red moon that is on a collision course with the main game world. Outside the game we get flashes of the hero's players, and then the wider search for the player of the mysterious newbie. There's also a thread on how the game company is dealing with the threat to the game server.
Game worlds & realities
Both the game world and the near future world mesh really well. The game playing technology is completely believable, I've seen the conceptual work on it for real. The people use that in ways that are also completely believable, all the more so for the recent Pokemon Go craze. Game playing can be recognised as an addiction, and certainly there are people spending more time in the virtual world than in the real world. There are also gold farmers, professional players, and a familiar mix of deep roleplayers, munchkins, newbies and everything else you might find in a current online game.
Outside the game world there's a sense of a realistic slightly futuristic universe. Things have progressed a bit from now, noticeably so. However there still aren't hoverboards or flying cars. People in offices can still be awful about inconsequential things. North Korea is still the same. It's mundane rather than dystopian, which makes it more realistic for me. You can see why people retreat into the game world.
Comedy
There is a strong thread of the Warlords of Llantatis having a strong sense of humour (and Dominic Green is, I am sure, deliberately writing comedy references in for those that get them). The development team picked a contintent each and worked it up themself. Each of the game races develops from that. We have the carrot shaped Llareggubians who are muscle-bound warriors of little brain. Amazonions female warriors with dominant X chromosomes (nearly all played by men). Wizard Sparklebeard's enchanted fairy kingdom (which is a dictatorship out of a fair tale that punishes by turning people into talking woodland animals). There also dwarfs and elvenoids as well as a central human state.
There are loads of references that made me chuckle as I worked them out. These provided a sense of light relief from some of the more intense plot threads in the book.
Overall
Warlords of Llantatis is a big tome. It has multiple points of view (there are at least half a dozen main plot threads through the story, some of which split and merge at points). These all come to a joined up and satsifactory conclusion, and there's a sort of epilogue too. I really enjoyed Warlords of Llantatis, and I can see why Dominic Green has been Hugo nominated in the past, it's a shame that he hasn't yet won a Hugo, because this book is fantastic (in both senses).
Go buy it and read it!
bookishshani_k's review
4.0
I have always found various types of gaming fascinating. I’m about to show my age here, but when I was a kid Pac-Man was everything. You were not cool unless you spent a good chunk of your time striving to beat the whole game. As I got older of course the other game systems came out and each one provided us with a new perspective on gaming. As a teen I played a lot of the games like this one where you were on quests to defeat your enemies and some of them take over. I was so obsessed with one of them, that I started to dream about it! I’m sure if I still had it today in that format, I’d be playing it more than I read. Now that’s a lot!
That’s why I enjoyed Dominic's story so much. There were hints of the excitement I remember as a player just like Cyrus and Raj. They however take it to another level on their own. I found it exciting and humorous at times. They have been so wrapped up into their various characters and have played their roles even after the reality of the game being thrown into the has been pile so to speak. But what they didn’t expect was an epic adventure that could only happen for them.
They are faced with a question, do they help the Character With No Name to get free or do they leave and never look back? Of course their true gamer hearts can not stand the idea of walking away from the battle. Once inside the mission, they take on a roller coaster of a ride so quick, you’ll get dizzy reading it! It was better than I had expected. Sci-Fi and Fantasy are not genres I ready faithfully as I love to mix up what I read, but I enjoyed this.
Positives:
I so appreciate that way Dominic explained the history and the ways of the game. It made it a little easier to understand.
I loved the quickness of the thrill and how it was so creative.
Negatives:
There were slow times for sure. I did have to put it down a few times because of it.
The names were hard for me to “read” of some of the characters and places. But I’m not really familiar with any of it so that’s understandable.
Overall I believe it’s a well thought out and creative book. It honestly brings out the gamer in me from my younger days and the urge to throw down and beat some digitally created bad guys!
I give it a 4 out of 5 stars!
I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
That’s why I enjoyed Dominic's story so much. There were hints of the excitement I remember as a player just like Cyrus and Raj. They however take it to another level on their own. I found it exciting and humorous at times. They have been so wrapped up into their various characters and have played their roles even after the reality of the game being thrown into the has been pile so to speak. But what they didn’t expect was an epic adventure that could only happen for them.
They are faced with a question, do they help the Character With No Name to get free or do they leave and never look back? Of course their true gamer hearts can not stand the idea of walking away from the battle. Once inside the mission, they take on a roller coaster of a ride so quick, you’ll get dizzy reading it! It was better than I had expected. Sci-Fi and Fantasy are not genres I ready faithfully as I love to mix up what I read, but I enjoyed this.
Positives:
I so appreciate that way Dominic explained the history and the ways of the game. It made it a little easier to understand.
I loved the quickness of the thrill and how it was so creative.
Negatives:
There were slow times for sure. I did have to put it down a few times because of it.
The names were hard for me to “read” of some of the characters and places. But I’m not really familiar with any of it so that’s understandable.
Overall I believe it’s a well thought out and creative book. It honestly brings out the gamer in me from my younger days and the urge to throw down and beat some digitally created bad guys!
I give it a 4 out of 5 stars!
I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
jameskemp's review
5.0
The author emailed to ask me to review this, unusually I bought the book rather than accepting a freebie. There were two reason for this, one was that the reviews were really good, and the other was that it was only 99p for the kindle version. I'm pleased to report that it lived up to the promise in the reviews.
Warlords of Llantatis
At first sight this looks like a fantasy, but it's definitely science fiction. Set a couple of decades in the future most of the action takes place in a virtual game world. There are very brief interludes of real world that contrast the player life with that of their characters.
The story is a combination of a detective mystery and also a heroic quest. Inside the game world a mysterious newbie has appeared, he doesn't have a name but he does have an awesomely powerful magic sword. There's also the appearance of a mysterious red moon that is on a collision course with the main game world. Outside the game we get flashes of the hero's players, and then the wider search for the player of the mysterious newbie. There's also a thread on how the game company is dealing with the threat to the game server.
Game worlds & realities
Both the game world and the near future world mesh really well. The game playing technology is completely believable, I've seen the conceptual work on it for real. The people use that in ways that are also completely believable, all the more so for the recent Pokemon Go craze. Game playing can be recognised as an addiction, and certainly there are people spending more time in the virtual world than in the real world. There are also gold farmers, professional players, and a familiar mix of deep roleplayers, munchkins, newbies and everything else you might find in a current online game.
Outside the game world there's a sense of a realistic slightly futuristic universe. Things have progressed a bit from now, noticeably so. However there still aren't hoverboards or flying cars. People in offices can still be awful about inconsequential things. North Korea is still the same. It's mundane rather than dystopian, which makes it more realistic for me. You can see why people retreat into the game world.
Comedy
There is a strong thread of the Warlords of Llantatis having a strong sense of humour (and Dominic Green is, I am sure, deliberately writing comedy references in for those that get them). The development team picked a contintent each and worked it up themself. Each of the game races develops from that. We have the carrot shaped Llareggubians who are muscle-bound warriors of little brain. Amazonions female warriors with dominant X chromosomes (nearly all played by men). Wizard Sparklebeard's enchanted fairy kingdom (which is a dictatorship out of a fair tale that punishes by turning people into talking woodland animals). There also dwarfs and elvenoids as well as a central human state.
There are loads of references that made me chuckle as I worked them out. These provided a sense of light relief from some of the more intense plot threads in the book.
Overall
Warlords of Llantatis is a big tome. It has multiple points of view (there are at least half a dozen main plot threads through the story, some of which split and merge at points). These all come to a joined up and satsifactory conclusion, and there's a sort of epilogue too. I really enjoyed Warlords of Llantatis, and I can see why Dominic Green has been Hugo nominated in the past, it's a shame that he hasn't yet won a Hugo, because this book is fantastic (in both senses).
Go buy it and read it!
Warlords of Llantatis
At first sight this looks like a fantasy, but it's definitely science fiction. Set a couple of decades in the future most of the action takes place in a virtual game world. There are very brief interludes of real world that contrast the player life with that of their characters.
The story is a combination of a detective mystery and also a heroic quest. Inside the game world a mysterious newbie has appeared, he doesn't have a name but he does have an awesomely powerful magic sword. There's also the appearance of a mysterious red moon that is on a collision course with the main game world. Outside the game we get flashes of the hero's players, and then the wider search for the player of the mysterious newbie. There's also a thread on how the game company is dealing with the threat to the game server.
Game worlds & realities
Both the game world and the near future world mesh really well. The game playing technology is completely believable, I've seen the conceptual work on it for real. The people use that in ways that are also completely believable, all the more so for the recent Pokemon Go craze. Game playing can be recognised as an addiction, and certainly there are people spending more time in the virtual world than in the real world. There are also gold farmers, professional players, and a familiar mix of deep roleplayers, munchkins, newbies and everything else you might find in a current online game.
Outside the game world there's a sense of a realistic slightly futuristic universe. Things have progressed a bit from now, noticeably so. However there still aren't hoverboards or flying cars. People in offices can still be awful about inconsequential things. North Korea is still the same. It's mundane rather than dystopian, which makes it more realistic for me. You can see why people retreat into the game world.
Comedy
There is a strong thread of the Warlords of Llantatis having a strong sense of humour (and Dominic Green is, I am sure, deliberately writing comedy references in for those that get them). The development team picked a contintent each and worked it up themself. Each of the game races develops from that. We have the carrot shaped Llareggubians who are muscle-bound warriors of little brain. Amazonions female warriors with dominant X chromosomes (nearly all played by men). Wizard Sparklebeard's enchanted fairy kingdom (which is a dictatorship out of a fair tale that punishes by turning people into talking woodland animals). There also dwarfs and elvenoids as well as a central human state.
There are loads of references that made me chuckle as I worked them out. These provided a sense of light relief from some of the more intense plot threads in the book.
Overall
Warlords of Llantatis is a big tome. It has multiple points of view (there are at least half a dozen main plot threads through the story, some of which split and merge at points). These all come to a joined up and satsifactory conclusion, and there's a sort of epilogue too. I really enjoyed Warlords of Llantatis, and I can see why Dominic Green has been Hugo nominated in the past, it's a shame that he hasn't yet won a Hugo, because this book is fantastic (in both senses).
Go buy it and read it!
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