Download PDF Shyft Book 1 Defender of Gallowind A LitRPG Adventure edition by J Donald M Kraus Humor Entertainment eBooks

Product details File Size 2932 KB Print Length 303 pages Simultaneous Device Usage Unlimited Publisher Muonic Press Inc (March 29, 2019) Publication Date March 29, 2019 Sold by  Digital Services LLC Language English ASIN B07PMFXR4P

Shyft Book 1 Defender of Gallowind A LitRPG Adventure edition by J Donald M Kraus Humor Entertainment eBooks Reviews

• I purchased this book two days ago and saw no warning this book was for teen or pre-teens. After reading the whole book I have to assume it was not aimed at adults.
  
  Here is information about this book from the author and I quote, “The original version of this book was, unfortunately, riddled with bugs in the stat sheets that we've since squashed in this, v2.0.”
  
  If the book was actually re-edited then the author or his friends need to take another look at not only misplaced stats but the impossible game mechanics portrayed in this book.
  
  As an example when the MC gets to approximately level three he says he has 15 stat points to assign. Which he does. When he hits level four the system shows that he receives 5 stat points to assign. The MC is happy because he now has 20 points to assign. He already assigned the previous points long ago. So where did the additional 15 points come from?
  
  But! When he goes to assign his points the book tells us he only has 5 points to assign. Obviously this book needs to be looked at again.
  
  There are other glaring impossibilities. For instance. The MC, who is using an axe as his main weapon, swings at an opponent and the opponent dodges causing the MC to miss.
  They system gives the MC a 2 minute de-buff on his two most important statistics. Also his using a special vision to examine an enemy leaves him with so little mana he cannot use any other abilities like swinging his axe extra hard.
  
  Essentially the MC is out of the fight and has to let his companions fight off the mobs because he is out of mana and has de-buffs.
  
  Add to that that his mana can take hours and hours if not all day to regen. Game mechanics like these are ridiculous. With these kinds of game mechanics the MC would be killed constantly.
  
  True, at the end of the book the author ignores his own game mechanics and allows the MC to do a lot more fighting without using all his mana but this is essentially at the end of the book. Obviously the author realized there was no way for the big fight at the end to go in the MCs favor unless he ignored his own set of rules.
  
  The first place the MC (main character) who is alone at this time, becomes conscious is a land in an open space where he has only 3 health points and miraculously is able to kill two imps a level higher than he is with a pointy stick he found on the ground.
  
  Right after he is rescued by a wood nymph and is take to a land comprised of fluffy, floppy eared bunnies. He frolics with them learning how to run or jump. Oh, he also learns to eat nuts and berries.
  
  The time he spends there is reminiscent of the beginning of Peter Rabbit and his three sisters Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-Tail.
  
  Don’t you just love running and jumping with fluffy woodland creatures?
  
  The author opens his story with a very unlikely scenario but in fantasy books it is important to suspend a certain amount of belief and credulity.
  
  However I’m not sure the accepted convenience of suspending belief covers the scenario the author presents the reader with.
  
  The MC and three friends do some breaking and entering into a secret lab where the computers house a highly secret beta game being developed by a shady company and a power hungry world government.
  
  One of the four friends hooks the other three up to state of the art never seen before powerful VR equipment and inserts them into pods.
  At that point things go wrong for the four thieves. Armed company security storms in and seeing four people illegally tampering with top secret computers and equipment, probably stealing highly secret material, they naturally try to stop them from proceeding.
  
  The one friend who is not yet hooked up runs toward them waving his arms and shouting trying to stop them from shutting down the computers. Gunfire ensues and a bullet hits something vital the three already hooked up have their minds inserted into the game.
  
  From this point the game devolves. The MC is a clumsy talentless fighter. He closes his eyes when an enemy gets too close and might hit him with a weapon.
  
  Until the end of the book the MC contributes almost nothing to the fights encountered from then on. He may get one hit in or at the most two but essentially he stands back at lets the group that has assembled do all the work and save his punk ass.
  
  There are so many mistakes, misplaced stats and impossible game mechanics reading the book is more like work than fun.
  
  I suppose .99 cents isn’t too much but you have to ask yourself if you want to pay for the privilege of doing a lot of mental work deciphering this book and ignoring the hot mess the author made of it.
• First off, let me make note I'm aware there was an earlier copy of this book that had doubled stat tables, and some other issues. I didn't experience those, so my review will exclude that point (the story is correctly uploaded at this time).
  
  I'll break down my review in points
  
  1) It's a good story with an interesting protagonist.
  
  I enjoyed the character learning about the world, although it took me a little bit to get into the mechanics of the world.
  
  2) The mechanics of the world are interesting... even if they didn't quite make sense to me at first.
  
  I struggled to catch onto how the main character was "leveling" or gaining abilities. To explain - he both gains levels, but also learns skills which grant experience. There isn't a clear indication if he is limited (in any capacity) to learn skills outside of his "class" - which is another point I'll make separately.
  
  Class - this story doesn't directly explain the way classes are "chosen". You don't receive them until level 5? Or you have to pick them before level 5? I'm not sure which it is - there are instances where both appear to be true.
  
  3) It was worth picking up for the pricepoint, and to experience what I found to be an interesting world.
  
  I know my earlier points sort of sound overly critical, but I enjoyed this story. It drew me in. The story is well constructed and plot flows well. It does suffer from a few editing mistakes (even after the re-upload), but overall it is a good read. Those editing mistakes, for reference, were a character getting a level wrong compared to the stat box that listed the level of the monster. Not a huge deal.
  
  4) I plan on trying out book 2. It isn't out yet, but I'll read it. And that's a good point to this story.
  
  I'd say that GameLit / LitRPG readers would enjoy this story, and maybe give it a chance they wouldn't have after the failed first launch. When book 2 comes out, we can get a better idea for how well the story will continue.