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Peaks of Power: Beginnings  By  cover art

Peaks of Power: Beginnings

By: Paul Campbell Jr.
Narrated by: Christian J. Gilliland
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Publisher's summary

There’s always somewhere to go, someone to defeat! At least that’s what Ryan believed until he ran out of challenges, adventures, and stories. Bored with his life as a casual player, he slipped easily into the lifestyle of a professional gamer.

After reaching the pinnacle of success, an email arrived from the mysterious Beta Academy. With his best friend and self-proclaimed bodyguard, Dimitri, he decides to take a chance and accept the strange offer contained within. Overconfident in his skills, Ryan thinks he’ll defeat this game as easily as every other, but that confidence is shaken and shattered within the first 15 minutes. This wasn’t a standard game with haptic chairs or gloves; this was the real thing.

Ryan and Dimitri must learn the heights of the Peaks of Power...and what it will take to achieve their summit.

This is a re-release of Peaks of Power with improved editing, new cover art, and even more snarky dialogue!

©2019 Paul Campbell, Jr. (P)2019 Paul Campbell, Jr.

What listeners say about Peaks of Power: Beginnings

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Listener received this title free

Excited for the next part of the story!

I very much enjoyed this book. At the beginning of the book the MC is very arrogant, short tempered, and easy to dislike. As this book is the first in a series the title peaks of power: BEGININGS is extremely topical! As the MC is broken through trial, he is rebuilt with the help of his companions. The character development in this story is exquisite. I strongly recommend you give this book a chance, it can be difficult to root for the MC at the beginning but hang in there it is well well worth it.

I was given a free code in return for a fair and honest review.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic coming-of-age LitRPG

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this LitRPG. Ryan starts off as a bit of a pretentious jerk, but over the course of the story he evolves into an interesting and empathetic character. The mechanics of the game world are well written, which is imporant in this genre.

The narration was top notch as well. I had read the eBook version of this, but Christian Gilliland brings the characters and story to life.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
Listener received this title free

A POWER HOUSE

So I got this book and had no expectations other than what I could glean from the cover. Looks like a coupla guys are in it up to their necks. They are Ryan and Dmitri, and they agree to something and get more than they expected, finding themselves fighting for their lives.

One of my favorite things about the book, and there are several things that I liked about it is that the MC, Ryan, is not all that great a person. In fact he is a jerk. I don’t know if I would classify him as a D-bag or not, but he is not the most likeable dude you’ll ever read about. Why do I like this? Why after I complain that the MC in say, God of Gnomes isn’t very likeable and that it detracted from the story? A coupla reasons. 1) Not every one is likeable, sometimes good guys aren’t all that nice. 2) While we are supposed to get character growth Ryan pretty much stays the same. Well, people really don’t change, do they? We get life lessons but rarely shift our personalities because of them. 3) The personality works here. The story can handle a not so nice good guy. 4) There is evidence of growth and change in the MC by the end of the book. He just happens to remain a jerk. Plus, I just like A-hole characters and I think that noble people or goody two-shoes are a little boring.

The book is very well written and is packed to the rim with action. The fight scenes are incredibly done and there are times this has a wuxia feel to it as much as it does a litrpg. The story flows and takes you along with it like a momma lion carrying her cub you don’t know where you’re going, but you know it will be a safe place. I really think Mr. Campbell did an excellent job. I never lost interest and really anticipate book 2. That is all I really need to know about a book. I had fun and want more.

The narration is pretty good. I think Gilliland fits the genre well and elevates the story. I mean you get Ryan’s attitude come through, and can even see why Dmitri hangs out with him even though he is an insufferable cuss. Gilliland has done mostly fantasy novels, written and narrated one of his own books, and has another Litrpg novel on the shelf, so the guy pretty much fits here like a glove. Keep an eye out for this dude.

Final score 8 stars. I most certainly want to see what comes next and figure out if Ryan remains a first class jerkwad or if he loosens up a little. This series has a lot of potential. Give it a look.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Odd structure, enjoyable progression + characters

This book spends a signifffficant amount of time on training montages. I was surprised to find myself most of the way through the book with no little real action to show for the time invested. I enjoy a good power-up sequence and some quality world-and-magic-system building...but even so, this seemed a bit much. Overall, the main character's best friend is much more appealing than the main character. It's a growth-type story where they build the MC as an unlikable person and you get invested in watching them become less...douchey, for lack of a better word. The book did alright at this, but at times the mental and emotional progression of the MC felt way too sudden and explosive. That ignores how explosive his game progression is, though we're told there's a reason behind this. It's definitely verging on OP protagonist (which is trope I actually enjoy).

Overall, I liked most aspects of the game world and progression, and the cast of characters was unique enough. I'm interested in reading a second book and hope to get more of the world and more action in it. The world was also a bit murkily defined, as the characters hop from one location to the next, so I'm hoping a next book will having a feeling of scope to it. The narrator definitely put effort into his reading, displaying emotion and differing voices by character, but I didn't like his voice for the protagonist rasped on my nerves and it never grew on me.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Excellent

Excellent story that was well written with great character development. The MC character development was definitely necessary. The audio was exciting and the narration was top notch. Would definitely check out the next book in this series.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great story doesn't get repetitive

Some lit rpg can be repetitive especially with every level up, but this one doesn't. It's a great story that spends the majority of the time in the "game" and it's very enjoyable.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great intro to the game world.

This book is great. It's fun in the way you get to see the mc grow. It doesn't just flash forward like most would with a "he slew 50 rats and gained 50 levels. They aren't completely op and there is effort needed to gain the power. The novel is very descriptive which helps with imagining this new world.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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there is something wrong with the audio

that audio skips like it's in fast forward that need to be fixed other then that it a good book

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1 person found this helpful

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Great story

This was a great story, as the characters grow they pull you into the story & you like them more & more. The quality of the story & narration makes this an interesting & easy to listen to book. I recieved this book free of charge for an honest review, & I will be looking for more stories from this author.

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Hope this is not the last we hear of them

It would be nice to live in a world that would be able to do this. It just seems so real.The characters really ring home and are so believable. I can just picture Ryan in my head with the way he acts and takes no heat from no one. And Dimitri with his calming effect on Ryan, they are the perfect match.

It is a tale of growing up in a comical way and really enjoyed it.

"This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

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