Book 1, AlterWorld: Play to Live

Without giving too much away this book grabs you and sucks you into alterworld the stories setting. The hero is not up like so many litrpg books and you are in for a treat in terms of the described game mechanics if only they made mmorpgs with game mechanics as interesting as the one used for this book i wouldn't stop playing them and move to another after reaching max or near max level after a month.

These books are well written, and fun to read. Except for the rampant misogyny, mild homophobia, and total bagging on those not Russian. I understand stand that a lot of this is due to cultural upbringing, but it still makes the books cringe worthy to read in some parts.

I’m a hardcore gamer and really connected with the main character as I have played many a rpg and mmorpg. I would love to see this kind of Immersive gaming in my lifetime probably never will. As far as the book goes I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading / listening to the rest of the series.

This was my first experience of RPG literature and I was very pleasantly surprised about the author's style, entertainment value and (normally my pet peeve) grammar. I wasn't sure what this was all about, but thoroughly enjoyed the story and could really relate, especially since I am an avid gamer (WOW) myself. The idea of delving into the game forever has crossed my mind, too :-)

Max has inoperable brain cancer. After determining that cryogenic freezing is beyond his budget, he permanently enters the game of AlterWorld. An unexpected outcome of the realistic fantasy immersion games is that players can join the game permanently. Their physical bodies may die but their personalities live on in the digitized world. There is no plot. Perhaps a gamer would appreciate it. Boring, but I liked the characters enough to finish it. I won't read books 2 and 3.

(without spoilers)
The book started out well enough, with an illogical premise sure, but many LitRPG novels do start that way. The writing and pace picked up through out the middle of the book and the read was somewhat enjoyable.

It all started to fall apart for me with the complete lack of internal logic displayed by the characters within the novel. Basic ideas, problems that any gamer can and has solved in any mmorpg that has ever been played are strikingly lacking from the 'experienced' players in this game and it is left to our main character to solve everything.

Even if you ignore the lack of internal logic (and boy did I try), the ending of this novel is just a shocking, horrible mess. I will not be reading any further novels in this series. I will echo another reviewers sentiment in that I am also surprised at all of the positive reviews of this work.

A different take on LitRPG stories I have been reading. Being stuck permanently in the game. Being digital with out a body to go back to. Being a RPG player, I enjoyed the book and will be getting the 2nd book to continue the story.

This was a fantastic read and my favorite book thus far this year! If you love video games it is a must read. Good concept, outstanding characters, excellent plot. I’m going to buy the second one right now.

Book was not easy to get into. Initial chapters were quite draggy. By the middle the writing improved, character took on relativity and the ending was good. Lack of romatic writing about characters girlfriend mad one wonder why the author even bothered to include one.

I'm enjoying LitRPG stuff lately as a nostalgic trip to my youth when D&D and the Gor series were all we fantasy buffs had for daily digestion. This book was well written and enjoyable. I'm expecting good things in the future from this author

I really, really enjoyed this book, but...there's a 'but'. Things worked out way too easily for the main character, which sucks the tension out of the plot. It frustrated me a lot, but I'll still read the rest of the series because I love this world.

Loved this books. Love the class selection as well as the pets and party leveling. Castles are cool as are the different factions. Really like bug and taili. Really looking forward next parts in the series.

Well crafted story, I found it easy to be immersed in the fast moving plot. Max is a genuine hero confronted by many complex challenges. D. Rus artfully develops the characters and story in unexpected and thrilling ways. Finished this book, longing for MORE. Fortunately, there are six in the series so lots of good reading to look forward to. Kudos also to Rus for keeping this "safe" for a younger audience....mature themes are handled with subtlety and graceful innuendo. Would rate this 6 stars if it were possible.

Having read the Koren novel Legendary Moonlight Sculptor, and as I am a fan of the series I actually found this book a very enjoyable read. Both of the same virtual reality theme, it's was never a dull moment. I'm definitely going to get the other books in this series! Highly Recommended!!

Fun read for the MMO playing gamer. Author explores what would happened if you truly become apart of a game, while having fun having his character achieve all those ridiculously lucky things we gamers wish would happen to us.

Overall a great read. Very few grammatical errors, or tough sections to due to its being translated. I recommend this book for anyone who loves to game and wants to take a ride on one of the luckiest gamers ever.

The beginning is a bit dull but gets more interesting once the character becomes more immersed in the game world and the action starts. Felt a bit like reading about somebody going on about a character in a game I don't play, at first. However I persisted and became more engaged with the story and the events surrounding the main characters. I'll be getting the second book so I'm not left wondering what happens next. I'd give it 3 and a half stars if I could.

Action adventure story in virtual reality, an arena totally unfamiliar to me. I found it a fun read, if a bit unbelievable that a neophyte could progress so rapidly in such rarified skills. Thumbs up, entertaining and different.

Wow!! Read all three in the series over 2 days. Just awesome!! Look forward to reading the rest of the series.
Books are smart, funny, and completely engrossing. Not a MMORPH player (I'm an old AD&D player) so the
glossary was helpful/informative. Thank for the great read!

The characters are constantly learning something new and developing. The story is interesting and kept me coming back to the book rather than watching TV or playing video games. All in all a great read

Extremely misogynistic; even still I can never seem to make it through books written from the male perspective, yet I blew through this series in a day.

Be prepaired for some WTF moments, but overall a very good series in the vein of SAO.

Was sceptical at first, bit off kilter for me until I got more used to the slight cultural differences from the authors perspective, but then found myself fully engaged and having a heck of a ride! Going straight to book 2!

Really impressed with the story line. Started reading and it just pulled me in. I play MMORPG's myself and I could totally see myself playing the game that the author has created. Gonna have to get me book too real quick.

A good read, an interesting start for this series, it shows a lot of potential about the world built. The story escalates quickly but it's not uncomfortable. The characters are well built, some times the interactions are a bit dull( relationships progress too fast to be believable). The system is solid.. All in all it's worth reading, it's one of the best series of this genre you can find here, not in the lvl of LMS but not too far of it.

Fun and engaging story, makes you want to keep reading till the late hours of the morning when you should be sleeping (or gaming). If you enjoy RPG's, Fantasy, and some SciFi thrown in you will enjoy these books!

Finished the first three books in less than two days just could not put them down. Very enjoyable read, can't wait for books 4 and 5 to be translated. If it takes too long I might just have learn Russian and buy the originals.

This book was everything I wanted from a litRPG. It is very akin to Sword Art Online with the inability of certain people to log out, as well as the main character acquiring different abilities that are as yet unknown. However, the inclusion of political and social dynamics in the real world caused by the virtual reality outbreak, as well as the connection between the two, makes you think and offers a great alternating dynamic in the story.

Not bad at all picked this up after watching Sword Art Online. The story is nice escape reminds me of playing EverQuest back in the day. Guy is going to die finds way to escape death by going into a mmorpg game. Where he learns it is not just a game, and theirs more to this the killing monsters for phat loot.