Bookish Wednesday: Otherlife Awakenings by William D. Arand

Hey all this week for Bookish Wednesday I’m back with the third book in Runner’s adventures. It’s Otherlife Awakenings by William D. Arand!

Plot Synopsis: Runner and his team managed to bring peace to Tirtius, successfully log the crew out, and have begun settling in to make a home on the isle of Vix. North Wood fort itself. Fate isn’t going to let them go that easily though. She clearly hasn’t decided on what to do with him. Plots are in motion. Threats local, outside of the ship, divine, and abroad in game scheme to exterminate Runner and the threat he represents. The possibility of what he could become. To top it all off, the server is clearly ramping up towards a full awakening. What does one do with an entire world of “living” beings who are aware? It all comes to a head when an assassin attempts to take his life in his own home. Now comes the true test. What is he willing to wager to build the future he wants, both in game and out? Or rather, who?

Plot: The plot is awesome, with plenty of revelations all around about the world Runner has come to inhabit. It also deals with Runner’s severe depression after the events of the last book, which I won’t spoil. There’s more “idiot plans” and new additions to Runners group of close followers.

Characters: Of all the new characters I found Satomi to be the best, though that may be slightly affected by the soft spot I have for the name as that was one of my teacher’s names in my Japanese High School class. That said Runner still was great to live the world through, even if Scott and Linda weren’t as present in this book as I would have liked. The rest of the cast was great, but truly the female leads were awesome in this entry with plenty of screen time for Grace, Sparky, Minxie, Brighteyes, Angel, and Bell.

Overall: An excellent ending to the trilogy, but not the end of the series apparently. The series will continue in the future, hopefully by the end of the year.

Bookish Wednesday: Otherlife Nightmares by William D. Arand

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m covering the second entry in Runner’s quest. It’s Otherlife Nightmares, Book 02 of the Selfless Hero Trilogy, by William D. Arand.

Plot Synopsis: Runner and company have safely left the city ahead of the siege. Completing their class promotions with barely any time to spare. Unfortunately he hasn’t discovered the password he needs to begin the logoff process to save the four-hundred thousand or so crewmates left alive in this game where dying truly means death. The game continues to shift and change with each day and as a byproduct of Runner’s actions. Not only do the rules change, but those he’s with have changed. No longer simple programs they have reached actual sentience. Pressing himself ever onwards to learn more about the world he finds himself surprised at every turn.

Plot: The plot of this second book is much more fast paced, and action packed than the previous one. There are more “Idiot Plans” and more appearances of Scott and Linda. If you enjoy crazy stories, with at least a decent plot, Otherlife Nightmares will satisfy that need.

Characters: Like I said above, Scott and Linda do make more appearances, sadly still not enough screen time for my preferences. Runner and the rest of the cast all get some more character development and I really enjoy the additions to the cast we get to meet in this entry. I won’t spoil anything, but Brighteyes might just be my favorite of the newcomers, or maybe Bell.

Overall: If you enjoy LitRPGs, you’ll love Otherlife Nightmares with it’s continuation of Runner’s journey.

Bookish Wednesday: Otherlife Dreams by William D. Arand

Hey all I’m back with the first in a LitRPG series I ran across recently for this week’s Bookish Wednesday! It’s Otherlife Dreams, Book 01 of the Selfless Hero Trilogy, by William D. Arand!

Plot Synopsis:Runner has a problem. He and 499,000 men and women are trapped in a game. He also just happens to be the only person from IT who could log everyone out safely. And he doesn’t remember his password.

He, like everyone else in this nightmare, had their memories scrambled or lost in the process of being loaded into the game. A single garbled message is his only clue on how to save everyone.

The problem is that whoever loaded them into the game, loaded their minds completely. If they die, their brain gets wiped.

Now it’s time for Runner to flex his skills as a power gaming min-maxer and see what he can do. Because every time he levels, he might gain the memory of the password. Time to go Hardcore.

Plot: The plot of this first entry is pretty good, and frankly I really enjoyed the hell out of this book. It made me laugh and it doesn’t make me feel so bad for talking to myself occasionally. There are romance elements, though they are light in this entry of the series. Mostly this is about Runner adjusting to the world he finds himself in and him trying to adjust to his “Unique” circumstances. They make for absolute hilarity.

Characters: Runner is a hilarious person, who is very smart but can come up with some really idiot plans that would seem absolutely insane in reality. But as any gamer will tell you, using a glitch to gain advantages is a mark of a true professional. Scott and Linda were pretty funny as well, if sadly not in the spotlight very much.  Hannars, Lady Death, Kitten and Nadine were our female leads, and they were all very interesting, each has their own flaws, and strengths and are incredibly strong and capable women.

Overall: If you love gaming, and/or LitRPGs, you’ll love Otherlife Dreams, it takes the genre and makes it hilarious and heart pounding at the same time.

For those who like: MMOs, LitRPG, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Magic, Action, Adventure, Romance, Hilarity, Excellent Plot, Fantastic Cast of Characters.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, but how can you hate all that.