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Shade's First Rule: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure
- Divine Apostasy, Book 1
- Narrated by: Travis Baldree
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
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very addictive (In a good way)
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Publisher's Summary
A new LitRPG world has arrived!
It's Ruwen’s Ascension Day, and he finally dies for the first time. His newly revived body can learn spells and abilities for the class given him by the Goddess Uru, and dying is no longer permanent.
Ruwen’s high intelligence makes becoming a Mage inevitable. With his new powers, he will locate his parents and clear their family name. But nothing goes as Ruwen imagined, and when a rival God tries to kill Ruwen shortly after his disastrous Ascension, his focus turns from his future to just surviving.
His choices place him in the middle of an ancient war, and he must overcome the limitations of his unexpected class to reach level five. Only then will he have the tools needed to survive. But dying now comes with a terrible penalty, and failing Uru might not only cost him his life and loved ones but his entire world.
It turns out dying on your Ascension Day is the easy part.
*****
Hey, LitRPG readers! I've created an FAQ for Shade's First Rule to answer some of the common questions and to help you decide if this book is for you. It can be found at: afkauthor.com/faq.
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What listeners say about Shade's First Rule: A Fantasy LitRPG Adventure
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 2021-06-09
Great first exposure to LitRPG
This was an excellent first experience for me into the LitRPG world of fantasy! Shades first rule was suggested to me from my brother as I really enjoy progression fantasy. I’m now hooked on this series and am just about to start book two. Thanks for producing this great work! Hope there is more too come!
1 person found this helpful
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- Christian
- 2023-05-14
I thought the MC was supposed to be smart?
The world is somewhat interesting and so are most characters other than the MC.
However the MC is incompetent, whiny, and childish.
His big redeeming feature is his vaunted intelligence and knowledge; which the author fails to demonstrate meaningfully.
Instead the main character is consistently clueless about common knowledge topics, and lacks the ability to infer or deduce anything from his surroundings. The reader always understands the context of situations well before the character does, which leaves them with 5-10 minutes of painful, childish dialogue where the MC is awkwardly brought up to speed on the obvious situation with painfully frank dialogue where even the other characters rightfully wonder why he's considered intelligent.
it is not enjoyable to listen to, as the vast majority of the writing time is spent on explaining simple concepts to a frankly stupid main character.
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- Kindle Customer
- 2021-05-27
MC
MC is unbearably dumb, his every mistake was obvious and completely unoriginal. Plot was boring and the MC never grows as a character.
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- Anonymous User
- 2020-11-01
This book is amazing
This book is a great mix between LitRPG systems and cultivation.
Travis baldree is amazing as always
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- Anonymous User
- 2020-10-21
pretty decent
it did take me a couple times to get through but it was worth the patience, good story development. Just wish the main had a little more guts
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- Eric Beauregard
- 2020-05-31
Very entertaining
Awesome story about a clueless guy who everybody wants to kill and a very old sentient dungeon with a weird sense of humour.
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- Jiles stockdale
- 2020-05-07
Slow but not bad just not for me
I couldn't get in to it. My main problem was I didn't like the mc very much and story was okay and narrator was good but mc really made hard to like it
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- Blake M
- 2020-05-23
Great Narrator, Far More YA than Expected
Waaaaaaay more YA than expected. The character has the social IQ of a turtle, and literally "blushes so hot people can feel it". I've genuinely never disliked a character so quickly in the 1k+ books I've read.
I do think this is a target audience issue, and that the biggest issue here is how many of my pet peeves it ticks. I'm clearly not the target demographic, and that's OK.
I'd personally guess that folks closer to the age of the MC (16) are going to enjoy it far more than someone my age or older (early 30's).
72 people found this helpful
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- Steelgator
- 2020-05-26
MC is a total idiot.
I don't understand why the author felt the need to make the MC such an idiot . Good plot but I was actually hoping the idiot would just die already.
42 people found this helpful
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- Jason
- 2020-05-12
Great Book, Great Narrator!
Ruwen, can't wait to be a mage. He's perfect for it! The arcane knowledge, the cool spells, it's everything he wants, but something goes really wrong. He doesn't get the class he wants and now there are people trying to kill him!
Shade's First Rule is so much fun, has snappy dialog, and the world is filled with an incredible sense of wonder.
If you are like me and tired of overpowered MC's who solely invest in "Luck", or some single attribute to overbalance the world, then this book is for you. If you are tired of harem's, or super mature rated themes in your LitRPG, then this is for you! If you want a main character who's invested in the world he lives in, and doesn't drop 80's references every three pages, then this is for you! Also, there's very little bad language in it, so if you are looking for something to suggest to a younger cousin who's interested in DND or roleplaying games, then you've just found that book!
So what are you waiting for? Start enjoying it now! I'll be waiting for book 3... :)
25 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 2020-05-15
A favorite of mine
This series is definitely a favorite of mine. Great system and world creation just detailed enough not bogging you don't in numbers. The MC is a bit younger and is purposely given a personality that is believable and leaves room for him to grow. His progression of power is balanced with him having weaknesses and real challenges in the story. My favorite part is the comedy its just right and keeps the books from getting too dark or serious. If you like LITPG this is a must.
17 people found this helpful
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- Michael Messenger
- 2020-05-01
One of my favorite LitRPGs!
This series is absolutely amazing. I wasn't sure because of the choices that were made in the first couple of chapters, but I decided to stick to the story, and I was pleasantly surprised. As such, it has become one of my favorite litRPGs. If you want intrigue, grinding, interesting RPG elements, unique abilities, and awesome fight scenes, this is the book series for you.
Travis Baldree is a wonderful narrator, has an excellent range, and really brings this story to life.
100% recommend
16 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-06-09
great book
I really liked this book. it was kind of relaxing honestly. there are a lot of YA elements but that makes the tone a little lighter. if you need a break from the heavier aspects of more "adult" books this is a terrific option. the YA elemwnts don't distract from a would story with good charecters and enjoyable humor. as always Travis did a smashing job narrating he is one of my faveriot narrators and one of the best out there.
13 people found this helpful
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- BeauFLA
- 2020-05-04
Not for me - maybe others will like it.
So, this book just isn't for me. I found it pretty boring. The writing wasn't bad, just slow. A bit too YA for me.
11 people found this helpful
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- Krop Circle LLC
- 2020-05-12
Very niiiice
we are Krop loved it. However, the innocence in da boy is sometimes nerve wracking,but we understand why. Maybe when he gets laid it will have him get more understanding the human as struggle.
Know Circle LLC
8 people found this helpful
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- Christopher
- 2020-07-01
Good story, one major flaw.
I find myself in the unique position of having to go back to amend my initial review of an audiobook. In interest of preserving my initial impressions I am leaving the first review unedited (with one small exception for clarification) below the amendment.
I have just finished listening to the second installment and in light of the continued events and plot I feel the need to tone down the vehemence with which I described the MC in my initial review. Which is not to say that it was unwarranted, but in retrospect I feel the need to reinforce my recommendation that this story is worth the credit. In book two the author’s case of IMMCS is significantly toned down.
I get the sense that the author’s intent was to show the character’s naïveté in the first book and then to portray his growth through the second. I still feel that the MC’s idiocy was egregiously heavy-handed in the first book. That said, after listening to the second book I am twice as engrossed in the story as I was after experiencing the first. So far this has turned out to be a very promising story, and I can’t wait for the third audiobook to be released.
And as always Travis Baldtree does a fantastic job.
Below is the review I wrote immediately after completing the first audiobook:
This is a somewhat unique and interesting story... so I’ll start by saying that I generally recommend it before I go into the inevitable rant that is coming... Shades First Rule has a solid plot, good world building, and solid character development.
Unfortunately, this author clearly suffers from an illness which is sadly very common to authors in the gamelit genre. It’s a mysterious disease known as:
IMMCS or Inexplicably Moronic Main Character Syndrome.
This disease is diagnosable when a gamelit author insists on allowing the reader to know as much information as the MC and then proceeds to have that main character be totally incapable of drawing basic logical conclusions based on the information they have. This creates tension as the reader is sitting there waiting for the MC to figure out something extremely obvious, but instead the MC just does stupid things and fails completely at making appropriate choices or the most mundane of conclusions in spite of having every bit of necessary information.
There is really no logical explanation for why an author would think any person of average intelligence would want to listen to a story about someone who is too stupid to live, (edit: with the exception of the rare “zaney” comedy that actually succeeds in making this trope amusing) hence it must be some kind of impairment the author is suffering from.
Even more dismaying, A. F. Kay clearly has the more invasive and serious strain of IMMCS. This is where the reader is repeatedly told how intelligent, experienced, or clever the MC is, and in the same paragraph the MC’s statements and actions indicate that they must surely starve to death because anyone this idiotic would be unable to figure out how to use a spoon, let alone be capable of both procuring sustenance while also having the wherewithal to consume it when they feel hungry.
So you ask, if this is the case, why am I still giving this audiobook a (qualified) buy-it recommendation? Well fortunately, though the MC is a total and complete nitwit 2/3s of the time, (and at points I was sorely tempted to return this book), there is just enough promise that the MC might gain some wisdom as the story progresses that the many good aspects of the story were able to strike a precarious balance... Which is saying something as normally I don’t hesitate to immediately return books by authors suffering from IMMCS.
I do feel sorry for their plight, but I also have no intention of enabling their disease.
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- Tarquil
- 2020-05-10
Good Good!
Just keep it coming. =^_^= On thing I hope for and that is that the MC will grow more matured and secure in him self and his ability's in the next book.
6 people found this helpful