Encounters

New Lands Online, Book 1

By: Harry Thunder

Narrated by: Gabriel Michael

Jack was enjoying life as a broke snowboarding instructor in Lake Tahoe until an accident happened.

Due to a hospital mix up, his life takes a novel turn, and he ends up inside New Lands Online...as its first ever digital human. He never signed up to be the main character in an ultra-realistic virtual-reality game where bodily functions are as real as can be and he has to learn new skills to survive.

But from the arena where he has to fight to survive, to the Three Rivers, a small village where he experiences multiple adventures, to Boon Peak, where he gets a taste of his old life, Jack encounters entertaining action. The progression from newbie to druid with magic powers is a thrill ride filled with friendship, humor, magic and more.

Will Jack level up, or will the game world get the best of him for the 978th time?

Encounters is a LitRPG/Gamelit adventure.

©2020 Harry Thunder and JG Publishing LLC (P)2020 Podium Audio

good story

I liked the story though it had a look of stat reviewing. also there where several spots where the wrong voice was used .

All over the place

This story is a bit of a mess. At times it reads like two different books with two different protagonists smashed together. Plot threads are introduced and shunted immediately when the next one comes along.


The protagonist is fighting smartly one second, then stopping in the middle to gloat, or literally turn his back on an enemy to watch an egg hatch...

He's sick after killing one group of murderers, is fine with killing another group.

Every time he glances at his stats, we get a 5 minute monotonous run-down of the entire sheet. Every bit of skill xp is painstakingly read out to the reader.

I'll not be continuing with this series. It just annoyed me way too much to read. The best thing it had going for it - owning an inn in a podunk village with the hopes of growing said village - is tossed aside at the end, along with my interest.

Not completely terrible + questionable narrator

Someone please teach the narrator how to look up unfamiliar common words for the proper pronunciation. That whole rowing and poop part was entitled unnecessary.

Story is mediocre, performer is fantastic.

The narrator is fantastic, but the story is only so-so. A *lot* is left unresolved.