Path of Darkness: BlackFlame Online Universe

Glory of Formation Emperor Series, Book 1

By: A. P. Gore, Patricia Jones

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

Jon's days are numbered. The mine will consume his life any day. Will this offer to farm inside a game be any better? He wants nothing but to farm in the real world, and he's given that chance in a VRMMORPG. With a new lease on life, he accepts it.

But when he's robbed of his only tool to farm sufficient quota, he has no other option but to enter the deadliest forest of the region and die at the hands of a druid to obtain a skill that will help him reach his goals.

However, death awaits at every step in the forest, and he can't die more than thrice. What will Jon do?

©2019 A. P. Gore and Patricia Jones (P)2020 Tantor

Good, but...

The MC is kinda stupid. I realize in the storyline he's pretty old and don't really know about the game, but that doesn't excuse his stupidity.

People try to give him advice but he, somehow, does not listen. Even near the ending, someone tells him there will be consequences and yet, he blithely goes ahead. He's, like, the embodiment of 'eff around and find out!'.

So yea, I love base building, but I really don't know about this. I may continue to read, if only to see if the MC gets any smarter.

annoying mc

the story and narration are pretty good...but the MC, who is supposed to be a mature grown man with many years of life experience including being married, acts like an unsocialized misogynistic homophobic 14 yr old boy. The side characters all seem pretty one dimensional.
i would love to know the rest of the story, but the MC takes any joy from the book away.

Better than expected

"Path of Darkness" audiobook proved to be a captivating surprise, far exceeding my initial expectations. A.P. Gore skillfully crafts a dark and immersive narrative that delves deep into the human psyche, exploring themes of survival, redemption, and the struggle between good and evil. What sets this audiobook apart is its richly drawn characters and intricate plot, which keep listeners guessing at every turn. The journey through the darkness is both chilling and thought-provoking, leaving a lasting impact long after the final chapter. The narrator's performance adds another layer of depth to the story, effectively conveying the tension and emotion inherent in Gore's writing. "Path of Darkness" is a gripping audiobook that deftly explores the depths of the human experience, making it a must-listen for fans of dark fiction.

Good plot, dumb character

While I enjoyed the overall story (conflict, pacing, etc), the John was just so dumb, he practically sucked the enjoyment out of everything. Worse than being merely unintelligent, he is actually a fool and that made it impossible to root for him in any real capacity. He continually failed to pay attention to obviously important information, even when it was offered to him. He didn’t seem to remember or take clear advice/warnings seriously. He demonstrated an inability to make even the simplest of deductions or act accordingly on known threats. And he consistently failed to consider the consequences of his actions. It was very frustrating and incredibly irritating.

I can’t understand why he would purposefully be written this way. Perhaps it’s supposed to be comical? But imho making your character a fool ruins the story. In addition to being frustrating for the audience, dumb characters lack agency. It feels like the story is simply happening to them, not because of them, so that even their gains and successes feel arbitrary and undeserved. This makes it hard to like them or get invested in their success. This book had potential. It would’ve been a lot more enjoyable if we had a main character with some basic intelligence, some noticeable virtue, or at least something that displays real character. Sad, because I wanted to care about him. But I just couldn’t.

Acceptable

Okay the main character is really clueless when it comes to video game. Even though he states that he has played before. There are areas in the book where I wanted to screen at the author for making him stupid. Then there are time, I think yes that is what a man would do and then complain about the consequences. I would have given the story 4 stars, but there are instances that were difficult to follow. I am not sure about the next book in the series. I will have to think long and hard about if I want to spend the credit or cash.

Solid LitRPG

I liked the premise of there being a kind of penal colony of real life prisoner being forced to be virtual farmers in game, it added a unique twist and character dynamics that I have not seen before in the litrpg genre. The MC is a novice gamer so you are seeing things through his eyes and sharing in the experience of him learning the game world. All in all the protagonist is likeble and the world is your standard MMORPG Swords and Sorcery fantasy game world.

I enjoyed alot, however I can't say I am hooked 50-50 on whether I move onto next book.

Gets interesting towards the end.

Interesting start to the book being dropped right into it, but the story really picks up towards the end. Ill check out the next book see if its worth it.

MC too stupid to live

He was in jail but trusted first scammer he met. And the system told him he keep doing stupid shit but gives him skills for it. Should ultra banned him right away instead.

charter is super op

I really like this book looking forward to the next one. I hope some more crazy stuff happens. I like the class as well

The narrator is the main good thing about this book

The grammar in the book is terrible, and the senten I'm not even sure how th