| Title | : | Dominion of Blades (Dominion of Blades, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 430 |
| Publication | : | First published April 1, 2017 |
Jonah wakes to find himself in-game, level one, with no memory of how he arrived and no way to eject. With only two companions, trapped in a world that once hosted millions, Jonah must battle his way across a treacherous landscape, fighting virtual monsters, all-too-real pain, and a very human enemy in a desperate bid to survive.
Dominion of Blades (Dominion of Blades, #1) Reviews
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So....why do I rate this book many others are raving about only 2? Because I just can't really like it.
I go 2 instead of one because the story does hold interest at least at times. I suppose I was looking for a lighter read than this. The book is at it's base very heavy with the angst and the personal/interpersonal "struggles" (I suppose that would be the best word) of the protagonist and to a lesser extent the other participants in the "story".
So I like the set up a bit and the "in story" part of the book. However it just leans on my "woe is me" button a bit too much for my taste.
Aside from this there are issues with grammar...I mean (poor usage that) doesn't anyone care that proper use of language is how we communicate. Then atop that I have the audio version and while the reader does a pretty good job (in general) there are egregious mispronunciations....
Well, anyway....long story short (if it's not too late) while I sort of liked the game framing and the plot, over all the book lost my interest.
To each their own I suppose. -
I don't normally leave reviews as I am just so bad at giving them and have low standard. This leads me to liking almost every book I read.
With that said, This is a breath of fresh air for this genra. It takes what we want to see in a LitRPG (leveling, gear, NPC, VR) and builds a true world around it. Most LitRPG books have very little world or charactor building in them, focusing too much on the RPG systems.
I think that even if you have not read a LitRPG bok before or are just looking for a good fanstay book, then you can really enjoy this book.
*Book was read via audiobook format -
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If you can easily read, understand, relate to and sympathize with the previous text, then this book is for you.
The book is exactly what I was looking for. I love gaming, but I don't have time to do it anymore. I love SciFi but I cannot spare the time starting the book that will be boring or not worth reading. I need the books that give me the feeling "I will just read one more chapter and then go to sleep".
It was a fantastic voyage and then some! If I could, I would have read it in one go. Three days was not fast enough, but it was worth it even if I am lacking on some sleep now. Even better, it is not the end. The book tells the story, completes the chapter, but it also opens a new one. I am now eagerly waiting for the next one in the series.
Highly recommended for people with the above mentioned character requirements. Level of nerdiness in some of those areas will certainly help the increased enjoyment :-)
Praise to the author and full 5 stars from me! -
2.5 stars - eh, it was ok. Found and read after binging (and enjoying) books 1-5 of the author’s Dungeon Crawler Carl books; this book (written before that series) seems like a starter version of the Carl books - very similar but not as thoughtful or polished (or good).
Edit: thought this was a (completed) two-book series but some googling indicates the second doesn’t complete the series, and seems like the author has put this one to this side to focus on his Dungeon Crawler Carl books. -
I am writing up a full review now for my blog
https://thebloggoblin.com/ but I want to say this was the best LitRPG I have listened too in a while. It was longer then the average at over 12 hours and I listened to the AB in one sitting. True, I was coughing and feeling too sick to really do anything else but still -
Overall, I would say this is a good book and worth reading. I had a number of hangups, but many I think boil down to personal preferences rather than legitimate problems.
So starting off, I can say that I tend to prefer litrpg books that spend plenty of time in the early game so to speak. I want to explore the game mechanics and be well-informed on how things work. Many people have described the level of detail as sufficient to roll their own character in the world if they chose. I personally don't fantasize that, but that is the level of information I am looking for early on. I don't need to know all sorts of end-game mechanics, but for sure I want a pretty solid grasp on what stats mean, how the mechanics work, and so on.
I also enjoy the early struggle as a character tries to grind and improve, gains experience in tactics that usually involve the mechanics of the game, and slowly develop in power while also developing as a character. It's a bit of a pet peeve when I see the trope of the overpowered ability early on. Sometimes it's just straight broken like in this particular book where a person has master-level abilities from the get go without working for them, or other times it's the ol' Cursed with Awesome trope of something that seems bad early on but is secretly the game-breaking ability that lets the character win life down the road.
This book really ran contrary to those two preferences of mine, so that proved a pretty solid obstacle to my early enjoyment. Luckily, the world was obviously well-imagined and kept me interested as the characters moved from one locale to the next.
I'm also not a fan of when an author hides information from the reader and makes it obvious that they are doing so. The example is toward the end of the book where the character just says, "I have a plan" and then tells it to the other characters while leaving the reader in the dark. To me personally, that is lazy writing, but maybe that doesn't bother other people.
For people who don't mind the things I mentioned earlier, they will probably just straight up love the book. -
The LitRPG genre has had a tendency towards rather puerile or angsty hormonal content.
Pluaristic relationships with vapid poorly structured supportive characters, Might makes right, and a focus on serialized obvious goals.
I'm happy to say this doesn't.
In fact the protagonists make efforts to avoid the tendencies of NPC driving plots. Where as most LitRPG feature man vs enviroment in the concept of the gamespace, monsters or BBEGs.
The book features a more nuanced approach to such, and a wonderful surprise around the main protagonist that sets its apart from most of the genre I've read to date.
I did wish the supportive characters were not as flat and were more developed, but all in all it was redemptive for the genre's focus on virility and overt sexual prowess as a core component of most protagonists. -
Great representation / Great LitRPG
Dominion of Blades is an amazing story that has interesting and engaging characters- as well as LBGTQ representation. This is important, as there are a lot of transgender gamers out there - and the ability to be who you want to be in a virtual world is a reality often ignored by his genre.
Additionally, the story takes place in a high stakes environment where there are really costs to losing, giving the story a great deal of importance throughout. -
A great litrpg
One best new litrpgs out this year. Loved can't beat the banter and unique characters in this book. Love story too. -
Wow
What a great new twist in the LitRPG genre. Absolutely loved this book and can't wait for the next one! -
An impressive addition..
The writing was on point. The character building was on point. The storyline was a fantastically refreshing new take on the genre. Very enjoyable read. -
Really enjoying!
Great start to what I hope is a long series. Interesting concept that I'm looking forward to reading more of. -
Loved this book, the pace was fast and the characters likeable. Plenty of LoL moments.
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Mini-Review:
The most interesting thing about this story is what's not happening in the game world, but you only get slivers of information on that. Decent mix of game play, some story, small leaps of plot progression and character establishment. While I like clever characters, I am not a fan of the transparent reasoning to bestow epic skills and weapons.
I like that the characters are a little bit like what you would get in the real world. Like Poppy being a grown man stuck in a girl child character and stomping around as a barbarian. Totally fun. The thing that is not realistic is how each of them are outliers of the general public. Where is the average Joe/Jane? Not in this group. -
This was a great read. Fast paced and exciting but not overwhelming with the world building. I’ve found that I like to read GameLit/LitRPG the most at night before bed. It’s fun to slip into another world for awhile. Jonah, Gretchen, Popper and Alice make a great team.
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It was like living out a D&D game - so much fun!
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There's a lot to like about this book. Although it starts off a bit wonky, as soon as we're firmly set in the game world the story explodes into an exciting tale of adventure. There's unique weapons, creatures, and fighting styles with enough similarity to real world MMOs to keep everything simultaneously new and familiar.
Then around the 60% mark the tale takes a turn for the strange when we find out that the protagonist is actually transgender, or digitally transsexual and everything seems to stop to explore these identity issues. At times, I felt like I was reading two different novels.
Separately, I could have enjoyed either one of them, but together, and with these themes popping up so late in the book and taking a seat front and center they felt like they didn't belong under the same cover as all the monster fighting, world saving, and skill advancing.
If this was going to be a central theme, it should have come up in the first few pages, more importantly, it should have been directly related to the plot. As it's written however all of the identity issues could have been removed, and we'd still come away with basically the same story. It's just a strange segue that puts the rest of the tale on hold until it's done being explored. Interesting, yes, but it makes me wonder "Why are we being told about all this?" -
Though I immensely enjoyed the concept and overall story layout of this book it was definitely a new take and I enjoyed it, I did have a few points of aggravation with the added "I guess best way to say it" is political and gender additives. So first I want to make this very clear I have no problem with political or gender statements in books I try and stay as neutral as I can, therefore, it's not a problem for me however in this book I felt it was a little unnecessary and therefore a point of frustration due to the simple fact if there's not a point then I'm not one to want it shoved down my throat if that makes any sense. That being said potentially it will become more of a valid point in the next book but as of now it just feels unnecessary. For those that are sensitive to those kind of topics you may not want to read this book or listen as the case may be.
On to the meat of the story it started off with a lot of intrigue and overall mystery though I'm not sure if I'd want to play Dominion of blades in real life some parts of it are cool as hell other parts like the leveling would be a no-go for me LOL the thing that stands out about this book to me is the creative way the author move the story along it was a very good job I'm looking forward to reading the next one. -
Delivers on every level... get it? ...level? ...sorry
Dominion of Blades has a great sense of humor with just enough danger to balance it off. I laughed out loud plenty of times, especially during the bits about avoiding quests. But the author also creates a decent sense of peril, which can be hard in a story where the characters can simply respawn if killed.
The story is a little slow to start, but once it does it grabs on and doesn't let go. It builds on details throughout, and it's full of well implemented twists to keep you guessing, which makes the ending very satisfying.
The characters are very well written and unique, which can be rare in the LitRPG genre and helps build a solid emotional connection with each of them. If you've read some of the other reviews for it, you probably already know that it explores some controversial topics, which can bother some readers. But it works for the story and makes it feel more personal. It's also good to see the genre get a much needed dose of diversity.
Overall I can't wait for the next one, cause I got a credit with it's name on it. We need more LitRPG like this! -
Dominion of Blades, by Matt Dinniman, is my first LitRPG novel. I confess, it was jarring for me at first as I had no idea what a LitRPG novel was. But by the third chapter, I figured it out. And I thought it was such a cool idea. You are basically reading a book from the POV of a character in a role playing game. In this case the game called Dominion of Blades. Reminded me a wee bit of The Matrix, albeit totally different. So the game was shut down due to people actually dying in real life. But poor Jonah, he wakes and finds himself back in it. And no way to log out. His companions suggest they are in prison. And it’s a punishment. That’s of no matter however, the game continues, and they must soldier on through the different levels. I don’t know if LitRPG is my genre, but I really liked this one. Dinniman’s characters are fun, and if you’ve ever played an RPG, you will recognize a lot of stuff. (Level up, level up, level up). All in all, I quite enjoyed this and could easily recommend it to anyone that likes a good story and if you are already a LitRPG fan, I expect this one is a must read.
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Excellent book. The premise is good and compelling, the game mechanics are good, and the characters are great. It's a nice, fresh take on the set up. The book it's self largely revolves around a mystery so no much can be said about it without spoilers.
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4 / 5
Dominion of Blades, by Matt Dinniman, is novel apparently belonging to a fantasy/SF subgenre called LitRPG. Now, I had never before heard or read anything LitRPG so I came into this with low expectations, not knowing what to expect. The idea behind LitRPG is that the novel is somehow connected to a RPG game being played by the characters. The writer admits that it is a game, the reader accepts it and there's 4th-wall breaking in the sense that there are game rules governing the story and the actions of the characters.
If Dominion of Blades (DoB from now on) is a typical example of LitRPG then I think I have another favorite subgenre. In DoB, there's a perfect mix of action, story, characterization, humor and plot-twists to make reading this a thoroughly entertaining experience! Dinniman's writing is simple but effective; this is not supposed to be a literary monumental masterwork after all. But it works perfectly for what it wants to be: descriptions are concise, to the point and never overly verbose, dialogue is very fluid and feels natural, and the pacing is just right, kinda like an experienced jog - rarely sprinting or walking.
If I have to find something to complain about, I would say that I felt the two ship segments felt a bit too much. I find anything ship-related in my fantasy reads quite boring so it's a personal taste thing but I still think that having those parts on ground would give greater opportunities for action, plot points and character interaction.
Also, I think the antagonist was weak and badly thought. At the end, I'm not really sure about the whats and whys of his actions.
In conclusion, I can easily recommend this book, especially to fantasy fans who have dabbled in MMORPGs in the past. It is a true page-turner that is great fun and easily read. It is also a great introduction to the LitRPG subgenre, which I definitely intend to explore much more now.
4 / 5 -
3.5 stars
Dinniman has a fantastic writing style that he clearly begins to master here, but it is clear to me that this was a stepping stone to his current masterwork Dungeon Crawler Carl. Dinniman really crafts an excellent story and dynamic here, and there is a lot to like about this book between its well crafted twists and characters and a dash of flair and uniqueness. Unfortunately, even as the world is enjoyable and the story is engaging, there are a few notable areas of improvement that hold this back.
There are really two main shortfalls that bring this down a peg:
First, the main character is hard to like. I applaud Dinniman for building unique, interesting characters here, but unfortunately the character was not totally likable. The audiobook narrator was pretty good, but not exceptional.
Secondly, the RPG setting was very interesting, but not very thoroughly executed. There were too many moments where power levels were ambiguous and seemed to fit the needs of the story. Part of the fun of a LitRPG is having a seemingly solid set of rules and finding cool exploits, which Dinniman does very well at points (the NPC angle is very cool), but later begins to fall out of focus (what level was the bad guy, what was the interplay between certain special abilities, etc).
All told there was a lot of great features and plot developments to latch on to (won’t spoil them here), but this feels like a good author still finding his way. If you are into LitRPG’s and want to try out Matt Dinniman, do yourself a favor and check out Dungeon Crawler Carl first.
