The Dark Herbalist is complete

The Dark Herbalist, book 4: Finding a Body is released!

Book 1: Video Game Plotline Tester

Book 2: Stay on the Wing

Book 3: A Trap for the Potentate

Book 4: Finding a Body

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Hart am Wind von Michael Atamanov

Kräutersammler der Finsternis Buch 2
Hart am Wind
von Michael Atamanov

Vorbestellung: Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, Kobo

Veröffentlichung am 10. März 2019

1. Der Schluss einer langen Geschichte

„GIB ES ZU, AMRA. Die lange Suche ist umsonst gewesen. Es gibt keine Spur von ihnen!”, sagte die zarte Waldnymphe. In ihrem dünnen Kleid saß sie auf dem Stamm eines umgestürzten Baums und gähnte herzhaft, sodass ihre scharfen, raubtierhaften Zähne sichtbar wurden.

Meine Schwester hatte die ganze Nacht kein Auge zugetan und war offensichtlich völlig übermüdet. Und der Grund, warum sie in dieser Herrgottsfrühe wach war, waren nicht das Licht oder die Morgendämmerung, sondern ich. Valeria hatte ihre Missbilligung deutlich zum Ausdruck gebracht und sich für einige Zeit geweigert, ins Spiel zu kommen, doch die Gefahr, dass einige der vielen Mörder, die hinter mir her waren, beim Verfluchten Haus auftauchen könnten, war sehr real, darum hatte Val sich schließlich entschuldigt und eingewilligt, mit dem Rest unserer Gruppe weiterzuspielen.

The Dark Herbalist 4: Finding a Body

The Dark Herbalist IV
Finding a Body
by Michael Atamanov

Release - December 27, 2018

Pre-order here - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KKCLVCT

Second Thoughts

My game session abruptly ended with a message that my character had been suspended. The screen went black and I was unceremoniously ejected from Boundless Realm.

No real surprise though. It was an easily predictable and even inevitable consequence of breaking clear instructions from the President of the corporation and warning Taisha the NPC Thief to run away. But what would happen to me next? Lying in the darkness of the virtual reality capsule, I was counting the seconds before it would unlock and trying to anticipate the consequences of my disobedience. I had probably already been fired from the Boundless Realm Corporation and that, most likely, would not be the end of it. Nevertheless, I was deeply ambivalent to anything they might do to me. Reprimands, dressing down, firing or even a permanent ban from the game didn’t seem that bad. I had just learned I was dead!!! There was no other way to interpret the video of the funeral I'd just seen. So in comparison with my death in the real world, every other issue seemed utterly miniscule and didn't even merit attention.

New LitRPG - Level Up: The Knockout

Level Up: The Knockout
by Dan Sugralinov and Max Lagno

Release - January 9, 2019

Pre-order now - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JH4Y38Y

Quick nav:

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Chapter One. The Hallucination.

 

“I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee.”

Skyrim

EVEN THOUGH Mike Björnstad Hagen was partly of Scandinavian extraction, he resembled a Viking roughly the same way a Chihuahua resembles a Great Dane. He had a variety of nicknames such as “Crybaby Mikey,” “Little Mikey,” “Mikey the Wimp,” or even “Hey, you cocksucker!” No one has ever referred to him as “Mr. Hagen.”

The only time it almost happened was during a visit to a bank Mike had visited once in hope of getting a mortgage loan. “I'm so sorry, Mr. Hagen, but your loan request has not been approved,” said the man behind the counter without so much as trying to refrain from grinning smugly.

Mike would have smashed his face gladly if he only knew how to fight.

A home... A dream of a home of his own, one he could share with little Jessie, was all that had kept him going for three years. Then Jessica had deserted him for a trucker thug from Arizona — or was it Texas? At that point, it didn't really matter anymore.

El DIablo by G. Zotov

El Diablo
A supernatural thriller
by G. Zotov

pre-order - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HR174DN

Release - December 26, 2018

Prologue

Lima, capital of the Republic of Peru

October 14 1931

THE OLD TELEPHONE rattled, jumping up and down on the bedside table. Miguel groped for it, then swatted it like a fly with a blow of his hand.

Contrary to his expectations, the phone didn’t shut up. It continued to annoy him with its repeated buzzing which sounded like a snoring man having rust poured down his throat.

Miguel struggled to rub his eyes. What was going on, dammit? He reached out in the dark, feeling for the receiver, and brought it blindly to his ear. “Speaking.”

Level Up: Hero by Dan Sugralinov

Level Up, Book 2
Hero
by Dan Sugralinov

Release - December 10, 2018

Pre-order here - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H83GC29


Quick nav:

Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Prologue

“OKAY, I’LL PUT it in a different way. How did you kill them?”

“There was this little boy... he suffocated. It just happened! Then there was a girl... she just died too... bled to death...”

The sound of a gunshot almost deafens me. A bullet to the shoulder throws the corrupt government official onto his back. My ears ringing, I can barely hear Vicky cuss under her breath as she flings the gun aside,

“Bastard, bastard, bastard! How I hate them!”

“Holy crap, Vick, what have you just done!”

Gleb Grechkin, a prominent figure in the Town Hall’s Cultural Department, is squirming on the floor, apparently not in a hurry to croak. His wound isn’t life-threatening and his Vitality is still in the green as a Bleed debuff ticks away, stripping the pedophile of his Health.

The Bard from Barliona 2

The Bard from Barliona - 2
A Song of Shadow

release - November 19

pre-order here - Amazon

Chapter One

Re-entering Barliona turned out harder than I imagined. My fingers trembled as they reached for the capsule’s sensors. My memory unkindly replayed the terrible agony I’d experienced during the changing of my alignment. It wasn’t right. Who came up with the idea of torturing players like that? Or was this supposed to be a particular ‘penalty’ for switching to the dark side? A tacit punishment for choosing the faction of the gameworld’s villains? And if so, what would I face later?

As soon as I slid into the capsule, the first thing I did was carefully double-check the sensory filter settings. Everything was as before—a pain threshold of 10%. After a couple seconds’ hesitation, I turned this down to five percent. Realism is good and all, but I think I’ve had enough. More than enough.

History of the Galaxy - 3: Servobattalion

History of the Galaxy, Book 3
Servobattalion
by Andrei Livadny

Release - October 22

Pre-order - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GDVDWBC

Didn't read the series? Start with Book 1

Prologue

22 August 2627 Earth Years. 

Hammer's Line.

 

The sultry, overcast midday on Vesuvius was lit up by a multitude of eruptions.

The air was unbreathable, poisoned by the volcanic emissions, and the sky, like a gray sheet, hung low and reflected the crimson of the fiery chaos below.

The world laid out below the oppressive sky appeared unfit for human life but the war had changed many of the suitability criteria.

Vesuvius was not just colonized but densely populated with the industrial bases of the Terran Alliance located here, which repaired the technology damaged in the fighting. Through an anomaly in space, damaged spaceships were towed from sites of battle into orbit around the planet, and were then brought down to the surface using special technical carriers. There were also plenty of transports carrying broken servomachines, with some to be repaired and some intended for disassembly into spare parts.

Kräutersammler der Finsternis: Der Videospieltester (LitRPG)

Kräutersammler der Finsternis - 1

Der Videospieltester

Ein Roman von Michael Atamanov

The book is released 
Amazon

Der Videospieltester

„HABEN SIE schon einmal Reich ohne Grenzen gespielt?“, eröffnete der HR-Mitarbeiter mittleren Alters das Vorstellungsgespräch mit ausgerechnet der Frage, die ich am meisten gefürchtet hatte.

Laut Stellenanzeige musste ich unbedingt eine Anforderung erfüllen: Ich durfte das Spiel noch nie gespielt haben. Wenn ich die Frage mit „ja“ beantwortete, würde das Gespräch vermutlich so schnell beendet sein wie es begonnen hatte.

„Spielen Sie irgendwelche anderen bekannten Spiele, äh … Timothy?“, fragte er, nachdem er meinen Namen auf dem Bildschirm vor sich gelesen hatte. Er schien einen langen Tag hinter sich zu haben und war bestimmt müde.

„Ja, natürlich. Ich bin seit ungefähr sechs Jahren ein Gamer. Ich habe ziemlich lange Königreiche der Schwerter und Magie gespielt.“

„Gamer“, murmelte er geringschätzig und runzelte die Stirn. Der umgangssprachliche Ausdruck schien ihm nicht zu gefallen. „Und wie haben Sie sich im Spiel unserer Konkurrenz geschlagen? Haben Sie besondere Leistungen erbracht, Timothy?“

Reality Benders - 3: Game Changer by Michael Atamanov

Reality Benders, Book 3

Game Changer

by Michael Atamanov

Release Septmebr 24, 2018

Pre-order at: Amazon, iTunes, Google, Kobo

Free chapters from book 1 & book 2

Quick nav:

chapter 1

chapter 2

chapter 3

chapter 4

chapter 5

Introduction. Enemy Plans

Pa-lin-thu, capital of the First Directory

Palace of Coruler Thumor-Anhu La-Fin

Small Council Chamber

"Consequently, honorable Coruler Thumor-Anhu La-Fin, our strategists have also deemed that plan a flop. Our troops would get bogged down in the enemy defenses and be unable to achieve their objectives in anything resembling a reasonable timeframe. We would completely lose the element of surprise. Then, our enemy would reinforce, and it would all be over."

With a wave of his hand, the young Mage-Diviner Mac-Peu Un-Roi dismissed the hovering helper drone that had been giving him cues for his speech. He then gave a bow of respect to his leader and rejoined the dozens of other advisors, allowing the Coruler to see the map and think things over at his leisure. The great mage Thumor-Anhu La-Fin, one of humanity’s three Corulers, was feeling peevish today and, with each subsequent report, his face went gloomier and gloomier. But this time, he had no criticism. Despite Advisor Mac-Peu Un-Roi’s young age, he was considered one of the most talented soothsayers of modern times. He was so renowned for his deep multilayered analysis of the lines of fate that his predictions were simply taken at face value.

What games did the future Russian LitRPG authors play

What games did the future Russian LitRPG authors play?

Actually, LitRPG is a brilliant idea: it’s books striking back at computer games. Don’t forget that games have evolved from books and from the art of storytelling in general, so they’ve always tried to outdo the printed word by telling an exciting story that was also engaging and interactive. And now the tables have turned again. Now it’s books trying to outmatch video games, to the point of imitating system messages and using gamers slang.

Level Up gif-trailer

Level Up: Restart
by Dan Sugralinov

At thirty years old, Phil is an unemployed gamer who struggles to make ends meet. His only source of income is freelance writing (when he feels inspired enough to add another article to his less-than-popular blog). His wife has just walked out on him, leaving him without money, purpose, or food in the fridge.

On the day his wife dumps him, Phil receives a mysterious piece of wetware. A game interface seems to have been implanted in his brain which allows him to see the world through the eyes of an RPG player.

Now that Phil discovers his real-life stats, he can see they're far below average. With 4 pt. Agility, 6 pt. Strength and 3 pt. Stamina, his most advanced life skill is predictably gaming.

Luckily, real-life stats can be leveled up just like virtual ones. But will it help Phil get his wife back? Can he stop being such a couch potato? Would the new game help him become fitter? Or more successful? Can his gaming skills finally come in handy in real life?

Last but not least, can he find out who could have uploaded the mysterious game to his brain? And how is he supposed to deal with this unknown but apparently omnipotent force?

Amazon Kindle (+KU)

Amazon paperback

We'll let you know when audio book is available!

An NPC's Path: Kingdom of the Dead

An NPC's Path, Book 2
Kingdom of the Dead

by Pavel Kornev

Release - October 8, 2018

Pre-order: Amazon, iTunes, Google, Kobo

Check out the first book - The Dead Rogue

Chapter One

The Doldrums

THE TOWER OF DARKNESS was impressive. Overpowering, even.

No amount of advertising could impart the  sheer splendor and magnitude of that pitch-black obelisk which towered over the bay. In reality, it looked much more-

In reality?

I cussed and shuddered.

In reality! Dammit! I already considered the game a reality! Having said that... that’s how it was. I couldn’t press the logout button. I had no hope of ever waking up in my virtual reality capsule . My character’s dead body had already become part of the local scenery. It had ensnared me like the Devil’s own net and would keep me so until the day I was reborn. Reborn in the game, that is. Or until I was dead in real life. There was no other way. Sad, but that’s how it was.

As soon as I realized it, I felt free from the Tower’s suppressive illusion. I didn’t even feel like looking at it anymore. I even wanted to go below to my cabin. Still, I forced myself to stay on deck. Dammit! I’d been striving to get to the capital for too long to now hide away in a dark corner and miss all the interesting bits.

An NPC's Path GIF-trailer

An NPC's Path by Pavel Kornev
The Dead Rogue 

Virtual worlds are places of boundless freedom. Anyone can become an elven mage or an invisible rogue, join a clan and go on raids, fight, develop their characters and most importantly, escape from the daily grind.

However, a game is only a game if you can quit. This is something I learned the hard way. I just wanted to let off some steam in virtual reality and ended up getting murdered and imprisoned in the body of one of the undead—slow, clumsy and cursed to die at the hand of other players over and over again.

The only way out of this awful predicament was to find the legendary Scroll of Rebirth, but the helpless plague-ridden corpse would need to be turned into a real killing machine. If only people knew what it was like to level up a dead rogue...

Amazon Kindle (KU+)

Reality Benders - 2: External Threat by Michael Atamanov

Reality Benders, book II

External Threat

by Michael Atamanov

Release - July 23, 2018

Pre-order: Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, Google

Quick nav:

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8

Introduction. Through Enemy Eyes

With my greatest thanks to Guillem León for all his support and inspiration!

Michael Atamanov

Pa-lin-thu, capital of the First Directory

Palace of the Ruling Council

Small Council Chamber

IN AN AUSTERE BLACK ceremonial toga, free of regalia or adornments, Thumor-Anhu La-Fin strode majestically up an illuminated path to a podium. From the corner of his eye, the old man could see rows of cold gazes radiating in the gloomy silent room. The Mage leader didn’t even need his psionic abilities to sense the tension. He already knew how eagerly these lower-rank rulers would devour him if he slipped up or demonstrated so much as a hint of weakness or timidity. All these mages feared and respected only one thing: strength. So, as Coruler Thumor-Anhu La-Fin walked through the room, he couldn’t allow a single muscle on his proud, majestic face to twitch.

And it was hard to maintain that composure because high Mage had to leave his usual staff at the entrance to the palace. Though flawlessly polite and decorous, the guards at the front door were unflappable, insisting that he surrender his magical implement. They allowed him to take a similar-looking if powerless replacement, though. And now, as he walked, Thumor-Anhu La-Fin was putting a bit of weight on that toothless pretense, that mere cane. Being separated from his trusty wizarding utensil got under the old mage’s skin and added fuel to the fire of anxiety inside him. It now seemed he was standing on the very edge of catastrophe. After all, never before in his forty years of power had he been asked to surrender his prized piece of knotted wood just to attend a meeting. Sometimes, when council sessions went on too long, it’s powerful magic provided much-needed support to his achy bones, so it wasn’t purely a question of defense, either.

Reality Benders GIF trailer

Reality Benders by Michael Atamanov
Book 1: Countdown is released!

At long last, an extraterrestrial civilization reached out and made the First Contact. However, no one on Earth took their communique for the genuine article. In a similar vein, very few people appreciated just how little time our new suzerains had promised to keep our planet safe. Regardless, the end of their message showed humankind how to access a mysterious game. The objective of this game is unclear. No one can say where its servers are located, and its inner workings are beyond comprehension. But the game slowly gained momentum, pulling in more and more players. Soon enough, it became impossible to ignore the fact that things that happened in the game had a direct impact on our reality. And not only ours...

But as people figure out this mysterious game, the countdown timer ticks away. And no one can say exactly what will happen when Earth’s safety is no longer guaranteed.

Amazon Kindle (KU+)

Amazon paperback

Audio book - June 19, 2018 (Tantor Media)

Level Up: Restart by Dan Sugralinov

Level Up
Restart
by Dan Sugralinov

Release - July 10, 2018 

Pre-order here - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKRMLJB

Quick nav:

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three

Chapter One

 The Morning It All Started

Please, there's gotta be something else I can do. Like mow your lawn every week for two weeks? I can't do it next week.

Homer Simpson, The Simpsons

AT FIRST, the game had become my life. And later, life itself had become a game.

I’d failed at life. By my thirty-plus I had a wife, a string of one-off freelance gigs, a state-of-the-art computer, a level 110 rogue character in a popular RPG game and a beer gut.

I also wrote books. A book, rather. I hadn’t finished it yet.

Before, I used to feel flattered whenever someone called me a writer. But over the years, I’d finally forced myself to face the uncomfortable truth: I wasn’t a writer at all. The only reason they called me so was because I had no other social tag to describe me by.

So who was I, then? A failed albeit once-promising sales rep who’d been fired from a dozen workplaces? Big deal. These days, everyone and their dog called themselves online marketing gurus.

Me, I couldn’t sell anything. In order to promote a product, I had to believe in it. I just couldn’t do it knowing the customer had no more need for it than for a garbage can.

Reality Benders: Countdown

Reality Benders by Michael Atamanov

Book 1: Countdown

Release - April 23, 2018

Pre-order - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B6QHC44

Introduction. First Contact

How many ways have writers, astronomers, philosophers and military theorists imagined humanity's first contact with a celestial intelligence? Earth’s observatories receiving intelligible signals from deep space? What about the discovery of interstellar artifacts or even living aliens when excavating ancient burial mounds or pyramids? And the appearance of ominous extraterrestrial starships over our major cities? Heavenly bodies falling to Earth, UFO's crashing? Meeting brothers in intelligence on far-off planets? Invasion? War? The extinction of everything alive...?

But when it really happened, it looked like a stupid joke, hoax or intrusive advertisement, so humanity didn’t believe it was the real First Contact. One day, a popup window appeared on many popular websites, blocking off the whole screen. Despite every computer user’s habitual and instant reaction, it was impossible to close. It played a video showing a furry humanoid that was somehow distantly reminiscent of the abominable snowman, but with thick dark-red fur. The tall bipedal alien had piercing black eyes, a flat dark nose and a wide mouth. Its clothing was somewhere between a suit of armor and a helmetless spacesuit. The first thing it did was raise a clawed hand and give a friendly wave to its captive audience. With a very strong accent, the humanoid gave a speech adapted to the language of the receiving country: 

"People of Earth, by right of first discovery, the civilization of Shiharsa declares its authority and jurisdiction over your planet. We will provide one Tong of safety to your world, but the fate of humanity depends exclusively on what you do with that time. You have now made sufficient progress as a species, and may take part in the great game, the game that bends reality. So, come play and earn the right to take your place among the great spacefaring races!”

An NPC's Path: The Dead Rogue

An NPC's Path: The Dead Rogue
by Pavel Kornev

Release - May 30, 2018

Pre-order now - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B4Y1WJ9

Quick nav:

Chapter I (1 - 2)

Go to the library

            Virtual worlds are places of boundless freedom. Anyone can become an elven mage or an invisible rogue, join a clan and go on raids, fight, develop their characters and most importantly, escape from the daily grind.

            However, a game is only a game if you can quit. This is something I learned the hard way. I just wanted to let off some steam in virtual reality and ended up getting murdered and imprisoned in the body of one of the undead—slow, clumsy and cursed to die at the hand of other players over and over again.

            The only way out of this awful predicament was to find the legendary Scroll of Rebirth, but the helpless plague-ridden corpse would need to be turned into a real killing machine. If   only people knew what it was like to level up a dead rogue...

Chapter 1

A PLAGUE-RIDDEN CORPSE

1

The bracelet was covered with hypoallergenic plastic but the skin underneath still itched like hell. I pulled the tracking device away from my ankle as far as it would go so I could scratch it. The bracelet vibrated and buzzed in reply.

“Relax, Comrade Major,” I quickly said. “All quiet on the western front!”

The tracking device that traced offenders under house arrest was full of various electronic modules such as GPS, GLONASS, Wi-Fi, GSM and even an altimeter, so I was in no doubt that they would have added a simple microphone to it. It did not matter what the actual rank of the controller assigned to me was—a little sympathy goes a long way. At least it was someone to talk to...

It was already my second month of being under house arrest and I already managed to really start missing normal human contact. I wasn't even a hardened criminal or a sociopath—I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I got a job at the wrong place, to be more exact.

It had all started so well! My salary wasn't bad, there was a great package of perks and excellent career prospects, but it all went down the drain when the bank's senior management ended up behind bars accused of money laundering! I was never made part of the illegal scheme, but most of the payments had gone through my department, so the most that my defense attorney could do for me was a concession to get me placed under house arrest. At least it was better than jail.

Ah, here comes my attorney...

Way of the Shaman, Book VII: Clans War

The Way of the Shaman
Book 7: Clans War
by Vasily Mahanenko

Release - February 12, 2018

preorder now - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079N9DBB9 

Didn't read the series? Start with book 1: Survival Quest

Browse all our books in the library

Quick nav:

Chapter 1: Return to Barliona

Chapter 2: Unforseen Difficulties

Chapter 3: Erebus
Chapter 4: The Harbinger

Chapter One. Return to Barliona

“Welcome to Barliona. While the capsule configuration is in progress, please review the latest update notes…”

A soothing female voice began to list off the updated game mechanics and their particularities; however, I’d already examined these back in reality. Stacey had summarized the major changes to me: The level of the Emperor NPCs had been raised from 500 to 1000, which meant that even a dozen scrolls of Armageddon wouldn’t pose any danger to these characters. The levels of Advisers and Heralds had also been raised to 900 and 800 respectively. Meanwhile, the developers had played a mean trick on the players and removed the max stat cap entirely. Now, the most stubborn among us could increase their stats infinitely. At the same time, the stat points gained from every new level had been decreased. The gaming forums immediately burst into flames with the outrage of high-level players who had long ago reached their maximum stat points and therefore lost the bonuses from all the levels they had gained since. Still, the Corporation stayed firm and no one would be receiving any extra bonuses. The greatest concession here was that players were still permitted to allocate the unused stat points they had saved up, and at least now everyone knew what the deal was. We’d have to be happy with that at least.