Underdog: The Wastes by Alexey Osadchuk

Underdog, Book 2
The Wastes
by Alexey Osadchuk

Release - December 23, 2019

Pre-order on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XGL6WCW

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Chapter 1

“WE GOTTA GET out of here,” I said after staring for a while at the broken shield. “It isn’t safe.”

Jay just nodded in silence. All this time she had been trying to keep no more than one step away from me, as if she was afraid I would just magically evaporate into thin air.

Taking a final look at the blaze, I breathed another heavy sigh. Black embers, smoking partially-collapsed hearths, ash mixed with mud... ugh, this was not at all how I imagined my return to the surface.

Gorgie ran back over to us, having been snooping around nearby.

“Old tracks. Female. Younglings,” he told me shortly.

“Curious...”

“Did he find something?” she asked with hope in her voice.

“Looks like it,” I answered. “Say, you know what’s over that way?”

Jay looked where I pointed.

“The Yellow Bog.”

“So it’s a swamp...”

“A gods-forsaken place,” Jay said with a shiver.

“Well, Gorgie says the women and children went that way a few days ago,” I told her quizzically.

Clan Dominance: The Sleepless Ones by Dem Michailov

Clan Dominance: The Sleepless Ones

by Dem Michailov

Release - March 5, 2020

Pre-order - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082J7P2X2

The series is a joint project of Magic Dome Books and 1C-Publishing

Chapter One

Anything to Stay! Your Gaming Session Has Been Terminated Unexpectedly.

The bright flash before my eyes made me squeeze my eyes shut. When I opened my eyelids again, I saw an iridescent vortex spinning slowly. I exhaled, frustrated, and shut my eyes again without waiting for another vertiginous moment of nausea. My bandwidth is way too low. The equipment is rather outdated, too. Hence the long few minutes of waiting for the server to identify me, check the medical sensor data, and apply the matrix.

I waited for another minute before opening my eyes; I was relieved to discover myself staring right at a nondescript gray brick wall. Finally.  I stretched, clenched and unclenched my fists a few times, and shook my head.

Project Stellar by Roman Prokofiev

Project Stellar by Roman Prokofiev

Book 1: The Incarnator

Release - March 9, 2020

Pre-order on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081FTHCRM

ACTIVATION No 30765

A powerful source of Azure radiation detected

Absorption initiated: 1/1000

Activation No 30765

Incarnation impossible

The host is infected. Regeneration impossible. The energy source is irreparably damaged.

Search for a new host initiated...

Light. That was the first thing I saw. A dull light seeping out of a crack which ran all across the wall, top to bottom. Where was I?

The room was weird. It resembled the inside of a giant egg, its black vaulted ceiling webbed with a complex light-blue pattern. Several tall objects sank deep into the floor below, giving the impression they were alive and rooted to the ground. They were veined with the same light-blue pattern which crept around their bases like shots of ivy.

As soon as I focused on one of the objects, a frame appeared in my field of vision, highlighting it. It was followed by a translucent message box:

Black Sarcophagus

A cryogenic capsule. Origin: an unknown xenotechnology.

Damaged

World of the Changed: No Mistakes by Vasily Mahanenko

World of the Changed
by Vasily Mahanenko
Book 1: No Mistakes

Release - January 6, 2020

Pre-order - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081CVZNL9

Chapter 1

Congratulations!

You discovered a dungeon during the prerelease!

Once the official game version is released, you’ll get a well-earned reward.

And you’ll get an even better reward if you beat the dungeon!

Yeah, bite me, sis! Like I was ever going to be getting you a new phone…you’ll be fine with your old one. Next time you’ll think twice before making a bet with your elders!

“Mark are you screwing around on your phone again? Doesn’t that ever get old? You should try something useful instead of turning your brain to mush,” Chris muttered angrily. Another time, hearing the boss say something like that might have gotten to me, but not right then. He wasn’t mad at me or my phone; it was the trip. The road we were on barely deserved the name. The pavement had ended a couple kilometers back, and it was like the car had suddenly stumbled onto the scene from an old war movie. Dirt, mud, potholes. I could practically hear the shells whistling overhead, the wounded groaning nearby. Sheisse, sheisse, nicht kapitulieren…

Dmitry Bilik - Interview

Dmitry Bilik is currently one of the most popular LitRPG authors in Russia. His Interworld Network  series (5 books) is an absolute bestseller. Amazingly written and fast paced Urban Fantasy/Real-LitRPG with multiple worlds, immersive adventures and well developed characters. 

(Interworld Network on Amazon)

How did the Time Master come about?

I’ve just been thinking about it recently. And I've come to the conclusion that the Time Master was born eight years ago when I didn’t have a story at all. I had this idea for a fantasy novel with a Gatekeeper as the main character. There’s this order of Gatekeepers who guard various important locations. I jotted the idea down and put it on the backburner. Many years and several other books later, I came up with an urban fantasy idea - because The Time Master is UF first and foremost - about a multitude of worlds inhabited by players. That’s when I remembered the Gatekeepers and decided to combine the two premises. It often happens to me that a certain idea is shelved only to be used at a later date when it turns up just at the right time. The Gatekeepers seemed to be tailor-made for my new concept and basically jump-started the whole thing. The whole book just basically wrote itself. Normally, I struggle with book openings trying to hook the reader. But I breezed through the first three chapters of The Time Master in a few days, and just kept on writing.

An Equation with One Unknown by Vasily Mahanenko

Invasion 2: An Equation with One Unknown

by Vasily Mahanenko

Release - February 10, 2020

Pre-order - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZQLPDLL

Introduction

To make a clan does not necessarily mean to make it successful. First you have to walk the hard path from the foundations of your castle to victory in interclan conflicts. Only then will you be recognized. Only then can you be listed among the location's top clans. Your adversaries, however, will not be sitting around twiddling their thumbs. No currently dominant clan needs yet another wannabe clan. Or its two founders. Which is why Kvalen and Eradani are being hunted down. Bugles sound as players sharpen swords and draw arrows. Bring on the show! Just one thing – have the contestants accounted for all the factors involved in such a dubious undertaking? For in this equation not all the variables are known.

Chapter 1

If you have a cool plan, but have not considered the risks, you may remove your pants with confidence and use your plan for its true purpose. Although even here there are options: wipe or insert. It's up to the individual. But one thing is for sure: the plan will not succeed. I'm telling you this in my capacity as a former project manager.

Disgardium: The Destroying Plague by Dan Sugralinov

Disgardium, Book 3

The Destroying Plague 

by Dan Sugralinov

Pre-order on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZPB3BV6

Release - January 9, 2020

Chapter 1. Breaking Out of the Sandbox

“I’m rooting for you, Alex,” Tissa said in parting. “We won’t be able to talk, what with me being in the sandbox…”

“I’ll let you know as soon as it’s done, as soon as we break through and I leave Dis.”

“I’ll be waiting. Look after yourself. Good luck!”

The girl blew me a kiss and her hologram disappeared.

My parents had flown off somewhere, and the catdog AT and I were left to fend for ourselves. The pet, however, was thinking only of itself at that moment; so carried away with cleaning himself that it was as if he really was a cat, not just imitating one.

The projection of the Solar System on the wall gently hummed away, and if one zoomed in to look closer, one could see a column of colonization shuttles flying to Mars. Months of travel separated them, but on the map the shuttles formed a dashed line. I’ll be there one day too.

Interview with Alexey Osadchuk

Alexey Osadchuk is an avid reader from an early age, devouring adventure novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jack London and Arthur Conan Doyle. In 2010 he wrote his first fantasy novel which was immediately accepted by one of Russia's leading publishing houses Alpha Book. He also used to be a passionate online gamer which prompted him to write the story of a man who joins an MMORPG game hoping to raise money for his daughter's heart surgery. In 2013, the first book of Mirror World was published by EKSMO, Russia's largest publishing house.

We talked with Alexey about his new LitRPG series Underdog!

First of all, I’d like to congratulate you on The Underdog which is a fantastic book all around. It’s probably our most successful 2019 release. It’s a great achievement, so my first questions are going to be about the book itself. Firstly, what gave you the idea of creating a character who is born “nulled”? You couldn’t have thought of a better plot device.

If you take a look at the Mirror World series, you’ll see that I have a soft spot for characters who have to start from scratch. Plus they tend to jump in at the deep end which is why it takes them some time to start leveling. I really don’t like OP characters who only take a few pages to embrace their awesomeness. I prefer my MCs to develop bit by bit. I hope that readers like it too. I kept asking myself what I could use to hook the reader with, and that’s how I came up with the idea of the “nulled” MC. And then I just kept upping the ante. Naturally, the hero receives some sorts of freebies on his way. But what’s truly important for me in the Underdog is that the hero has to keep going. Things have to keep happening to him. Having said that, some readers suggest the books should have more intrigue. I’m going to work on it in book three, so we’ll see how it’s going to turn out.

Dungeons of the Crooked mountains audiobook

Underdog: Dungeons of the Crooked Mountains
by Alexey Osadchuk
Audiobook is released

Amazon audio

Audible

Interview with Michael R. Miller

Michael R. Miller is the author of Battle Spire. An amazing crafting LitRPG novel (Amazon Top-100!) and the first one we translated in Russian. We talked to Michael about his book, possible sequels and his gaming preferences. 

Your book is amazingly detailed. Classes, races, skills and system popups – everything is very rich in detail. Why was that so important to you?

I wanted the game to feel fleshed out and as fully realized as possible. We only visit a couple of locations in the book so I felt it was vital to give that sense of a broader game world beyond the Imperial Spire. Also, should any non-litrpg readers pick the book up I wanted them to be as familiar with the classes as possible before combat began.

It was also just a lot of fun! Being able to world build more freely compared to a ‘real’ secondary world fantasy was refreshing. I do hope to return to this world to write sequels too so having more of the game built helps with that.

As for the system pop ups, recipes etc. I wanted to make what is happening clear to the reader. As the Scavenger class relies on crafting and items, it made sense to have those item descriptions be as in depth as possible.

Unterwerfung der Wirklichkeit: Spielwende von Michael Atamanov

Unterwerfung der Wirklichkeit, Buch 3
Spielwende von Michael Atamanov

Vorbestellung: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07YLXT3BV

Veröffentlichung am 10. Januar 2020

Prolog. Feindliche Pläne

Pa-lin-thu, Hauptstadt der Ersten Präfektur

Palast von Mitregent Thumor-Anhu La-Fin

Kleine Ratskammer

„DAHER, ehrenwerter Mitregent Thumor-Anhu La-Fin, hielten unsere Strategen auch diesen Plan für ungenügend. Unsere Truppen würden in den feindlichen Verteidigungsanlagen festgesetzt werden und nicht in der Lage sein, ihre Ziele innerhalb eines vernünftigen Zeitrahmens zu erreichen. Das Überraschungsmoment ginge uns gänzlich verloren. Dann müsste der Feind nur Verstärkung anfordern, und alles wäre vorbei.“

Knockout-2: Update by Max Lagno and Dan Sugralinov

Level Up: Knockout, book 2
Update
by Max Lagno and Dan Sugralinov

Pre-order - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YB42SKX

Release - December 9, 2019

Chapter 1

UFC

Solving big problems is easier than solving little problems.

Sergey Brin

            Mike Björnstad Hagen was standing before a mirror in one of the sports complex’s gyms. The crowd was roaring outside. The ring announcer was shouting something, and the music blared, interfered by advertising jingles.

            Mike touched his face with a hand covered in elastic bandages.

            “What could have happened?” he thought. “Was it me or was it not?”

            There were other fighters in the locker room, too—some of them applying bags of ice to injured knees; others taking selfies. There was even a video blogger scurrying around, followed by a cameraman. He would approach the athletes out of the blue—anyone who was free—and ask silly questions in a clownish manner. The nosy guy refrained from approaching Hagen, though—Luke Lucas, the producer, had warned him that if he’d bother anyone preparing for battle, he would lose his backstage pass for good.

Disgardium: Gefahrenklasse A von Dan Sugralinov

Disgardium, Buch 1

Gefahrenklasse A

von Dan Sugralinov

Vorbestellung: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07XP7K1Q6

Veröffentlichung am 3. Januar 2020

Kapitel 1: Sandbox

MEINE ELTERN SCHENKTEN mir zum Geburtstag einen Infinitum 8. Kein besonders teures Modell einer Immersionskapsel, aber die beste ihrer Klasse. Es war das Geschenk, dass ich mir zu meinem 14. Geburtstag am meisten gewünscht hatte, denn mit 14 Jahren durfte man endlich das coolste, beliebteste Spiel auf dem Planeten spielen: Disgardium.

Sobald die Geburtstagsfeier vorbei war und die Gäste gegangen waren, fragte mein Vater lächelnd: „Willst du sie nicht ausprobieren?”

Ich nickte. Natürlich, ich konnte es kaum erwarten! Eine Immersionskapsel war viel besser als irgendein dampfbetriebener VR-Helm und Sensorhandschuhe!

World 99: Blood of Fate by Dan Sugralinov

World 99: Blood of Fate by Dan Sugralinov is released!

Amazon Kindle (KU+)

Survival Quest: Das Geheimnis des dunklen Waldes: Roman

Survival Quest: Das Geheimnis des dunklen Waldes
von Vasily Mahanenko

Pre-order - https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07XDH1SBQ

Release - 27. Januar 2020

Kapitel 1: Der Imperator

„Mahan, erwarten uns noch weitere Überraschungen, oder können wir dich jetzt endlich befragen?”

Anastarias einfache Frage klang wie Donnerhall in der umgebenden Welt. Auf einmal waren alle die Aufmerksamkeit in Person. Die Welt explodierte … Die Spieler hatten nun einen Drachen mit eigenen Augen gesehen, sie hatten die Ankündigung gehört, dass sie auf der Seite von Kartoss spielen konnten, und alles in allem waren sie nach einem langen, harten Kampf völlig erschöpft. Jetzt versuchten sie, alle auf einmal das loszuwerden, was ihnen auf der Seele lag. Das gesamte Gebiet wurde erschüttert durch die verschiedensten Ausrufe, wie etwa: „Du liebe Güte! Ein Drache!”, „Es heißt doch immer, es gibt keine Drachen mehr – aber dieses kleine Würstchen weiß es besser!“, und „Wer zum Teufel ist denn das?“ Es herrschte ein solcher Tumult, ich konnte kaum denken, geschweige denn Anastaria eine Antwort geben.

Reality Benders: A Jump into the Unknown

Reality Beders:

A Jump into the Unknown

by Michael Atamanov

Pre-order - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XCG2R21

Release - October 23, 2019

Introduction, part one. Deposal Demand

Pa-lin-thu, capital of the First Directory

Palace of the Ruling Council

Small Council Chamber

"Princess, with all due respect, only members of the ruling Council and invited speakers are allowed inside the palace." Said the watchful head of the palace guard, standing in the path of Minn-O La-Fin's luxurious levitating throne. As he spoke, the gray-haired guardsman got down on one knee to express his immeasurable respect for the ruler of the First Directory and his liege lady while still upholding his duty and not allowing ancient law to be violated. The dozen armed soldiers guarding the entryway followed their commander's lead and also got down respectfully on one knee, all the while maintaining vigilance and keeping hold of their weapons.

L’Herboriste sombre de Michael Atamanov

L’Herboriste sombre

Testeur de trames

de Michael Atamanov

Release - 14 novembre 2019.

Pre-order -  https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07WNB3CYR

Testeur de trames

« AVEZ-VOUS DEJA JOUE à Boundless Realm ? » me questionna le recruteur d'âge mûr, entamant cet entretien par la question tant redoutée.

Dans l'offre d’emploi, l’une des conditions à remplir était sans équivoque : « Ne doit jamais avoir joué à ce jeu. » Si j'avais répondu « oui », il y avait fort à parier que cela aurait tué dans l’œuf cet entretien.

« Et avez-vous déjà joué à un autre jeu en ligne connu, hum… Timothy ? » demanda-t-il, découvrant enfin mon nom sur l’écran en face de lui. Sa longue journée touchait presque à sa fin. Il devait être fatigué.

« Oui bien sûr. Je suis un gamer depuis près de six ans, maintenant. J’ai pas mal bourlingué dans Kingdoms of Sword and Magic. »

Invasion: A Second Chance by Vasily Mahanenko is released!

Invasion: A Second Chance
A direct continuation of The Way of the Shaman series
by Vasily Mahanenko

Reality is cruel. The rising level of technological development has led to a rising level of unemployment. They're laying off everybody, from teachers to technical servicemen. What's the point of holding onto a person if they can be replaced by an advanced mechanism?

But what are the people to do? How are they to live? Where are they to get money from? There is only one answer – Barliona. The official government project is gathering steam, luring more and more people into its net. Who knows how people will behave when they lose everything?

Brody West is one such person. Unlike most, he doesn't lose heart. A professional project manager with thirty years in the business simply cannot do that. He has a goal, and a clear understanding of how to achieve it. Nobody can get in his way – not the new class, not the strange friend, and not the unexpected foes.

Amazon Kindle (KU+)

Die Zitadelle von Alexey Osadchuk

Spiegelwelt Buch #2

Die Zitadelle

von Alexey Osadchuk

Vorbestellung: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07VWPWLPN

Veröffentlichung am 30. Oktober 2019

Kapitel 1

„Also hast du dich entschieden?“ Überraschenderweise nahm Weigner die Nachricht von meinem Umzug recht gelassen hin. „Da hast du dir aber was ausgesucht, das sage ich dir.“

Ich zuckte mit den Schultern. „Mag sein. Du weißt genau, dass ich nicht anders kann.“

„Allerdings. Es klingt vielleicht widersprüchlich, aber das hier ist nicht einfach nur ein Spiel. Wir haben alle mit unseren eigenen Problemen zu kämpfen – und haben unsere eigenen Ziele.“

„Ich kann dir gar nicht sagen, wie ungern ich weggehe.“

Das war die Wahrheit. Ich hasste Veränderungen. Die letzten neun Tage hatte ich so etwas wie Großstadtleben genießen können. Ich hatte ein paar anständige Leute kennengelernt. Zugegebenermaßen hatte ich auch ein paar nutzbringende Beziehungen zu den NPCs der Stadt geknüpft. Aber wie Weigner richtig bemerkt hatte, war das hier nicht einfach nur ein Spiel. Es mochte so aussehen, als würde ich spielen, aber tatsächlich war das mein Leben, egal wie virtuell es war.

Königreich der Toten von Pavel Kornev

Der Weg eines NPCs Buch # 2

Königreich der Toten

von Pavel Kornev

Vorbestellung: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07VSPC27M

Veröffentlichung am 28. Oktober 2019

Kapitel Eins. Flaute

1

DER TURM DER Finsternis war beeindruckend. Geradezu überwältigend.

Die ungeheure Pracht und Größe des tiefschwarzen Obelisken, der die Bucht überragte, ließ sich auch mit den schillerndsten Worten nicht beschreiben. In Wirklichkeit sah er viel —

In Wirklichkeit?

Ich stieß einen Fluch aus und erschauderte.

In Wirklichkeit! Verdammt noch mal! Das Spiel war für mich schon Wirklichkeit geworden! Andererseits … in gewisser Weise traf das ja auch zu, oder?

Ich konnte mich nicht mehr ausloggen. Ich hatte keine Hoffnung mehr, jemals in meiner Virtual-Reality-Kapsel aufzuwachen. Der tote Körper meines Charakters gehörte mittlerweile fest zum Inventar des Spiels. Er hielt mich wie ein teuflisches Netz umschlungen und würde mich erst wieder loslassen, wenn ich wiedergeboren würde.

An NPC's Path: Deadman's Retinue by Pavel Kornev

An NPC's Path, Book 3
Deadman's Retinue
by Pavel Kornev

Release - October 21, 2019

Preorder on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VHJ52T6

Time left:

29 days 23:59:59...

WHAT’S A LEVEL-99 player capable of doing?

Well, practically everything. For example, he could use the Scroll of Rebirth.

Unfortunately, the player in question wasn’t me...

Barth Firefist

Paladin

Level 99

... but it was my sworn enemy.

Barth would have no trouble ripping all four of us to shreds, and the worst thing was, he knew it. Why wouldn’t he? Goar - who was the most advanced among us - was still a good 25% below him. And Neo was just a weak NPC not worth mentioning. So Barth wasn’t at all afraid of coming up against any decent resistance, apparently intending to trump everything with his first blow.

With a resounding whoosh, a swirling vortex of flame formed around him and shot up, licking the marble of the stairwell and spilling every which way as if it were alive, roaring and howling.