The Kartoss Gambit

Way of the Shaman, Book 2

By: Vasily Mahanenko

Narrated by: Jonathan Yen

A product of the latest technologies, Barliona is a virtual world brimming with fun and entertainment. The government has become the guarantor for the in-game currency, allowing its free circulation. As a result the population floods Barliona in pursuit of easy money.

It doesn't take long for the game developers to discover a source of free labor: real-world prison convicts. While their bodies are locked in special auto-maintenance virtual capsules, the prisoners' minds are released into Barliona's virtual mines.

Dmitry Mahan has been through it all. Sentenced to eight years' hard labor, he now struggles with an unpopular class - the Shaman - and an equally unpopular profession of a Jeweler. His fight for survival becomes anything but virtual.

©2015 V. Mahanenko. English translation copyright 2015 by Natalia Nikitin (P)2016 Tantor

Don't Hesitate To Buy!

This series so far has kept me seriously entertained. If you love rpg games, & lots of twist's in the plot then there is no greater treat then "Way Of The Shaman". The Main characters growth is fascinating to witness as the story is told. If you like The "Play to live" series or even the "Phantom Server Trilogy" then this would be right up your alley. The Narration is so in sync with the characters. Jonathan Yen really breaths life into this fantasy World. Looking forward to the next book in this series.

The Narrator sets the Tone

I had read the first book, “Survivor Quest,” in the “Way of the Shaman,” series but decided to listen to the second book “The Karloss Gambit, on Audible; reading the first book without the influence of a narrator made the story seem somewhat more intense. I realize this is a LITRPG genre series and therefore probably should be a little lighthearted; and its not that the narrator, Johnathan Yen, did a bad job, in fact he was very credible giving each character their own voice. It’s just, in my opinion his tone made the story seem more juvenile and not the intense adventure I had read in the first book.
Having said all of that I like the series so far, although it is not complete and I don’t see Audible or Amazon offering the third book yet. The same thing happened in the “Play to Live Series,” by D Rus; another LITRPG series that I like and Audible listeners are left hanging waiting on the completion.
I’m giving the story four stars only because the ending seemed rushed and it is not complete. The narrator four stars even though I thought a more intense reading would have given this story a completely different experience he did a credible job. Overall four stars

Great 2nd Book

What a great story. The first and second books are wonderful! Do yourself a favor and get both .

Productivity Stat went down today

This book was amazing, I listened to it mostly in one go, I wasn't very productive today either. My only thoughts on finishing the book is to get More of this series, which seems to be waiting for translation from the original Russian. If you enjoyed the first book, you will enjoy this book.

The narrator is another thing that makes this audiobook, the narrator elevates the book from the spoken word, and you get a sense of a story playing out in your head.

All in all this is an excellent book, and LitRPG seems to have a champion of the genre.

Story got even better!

Really enjoyed this second book! Mahan finally gets out of the mines but finds himself in a backwater town of Beatwick where there are no quests. However, he soon finds that there is still a lot to do in this seemingly uneventful town. Mahan becomes a very popular guy, but not necessarily in a good way.

I found it hard to pull myself away from listening when I had too. The story has you at the edge of your seat wondering what's going to happen next. Some favored parts are Mahan meeting the blacksmith in Beatwick for the first time, learning to use spirits like a true Shaman, meeting his true totem, drunk old ladies with repeatable quests, crafting cursed items, spying on a guild verses guild chess match, and Mahan inadvertently leading a multi-guild raid.

Jonathan Yen is still not the voice I would have chosen for this book. His voice is growing on me as Mahan's voice, but Yen's female voices all sound the same and for some reason some males are made to sound like cartoon characters; Goofy comes to mind. I would like to mention, however, that the translation is amazing.

I can't wait for the 3rd audiobook but I'm afraid of the wait for any after it as I hear the translations are taking a very long time.

More more more!!!

I want more! I've already read the third book and have listened to the first and second books twice so it is sufficient to say simply I want more!

Amazing

LOVED IT, can't wait for the next one!!!
I wasn't sure if this was a series I would enjoy but it gets even better the second time through. I missed key points the first time and got even more detail and clarity the second time through.

5/5 overall enjoying more and more of this series

another spectacular story, I agree with a couple of reviews where the voice of the narrator has weak female voices.


*spoilers*
The story kept me engaged from start to finish, but I wished the last chapter was split into separate chapters. More details could have been provided during the church scene. The mystery of this figure was announced near the end of the 2nd last chapter and was kept hidden. I didn't understand who the master was until later on as the author begins to lay out the plot.

more contracts and business negotiation than you'd

its a great book but like a third of it is contracts, subtle legalese fencing and how much of a percentage each person gets depending on a or b and getting around NDAs. I actually probably skipped like an hour or so of quibbling over loot allocation. the worst part of building and dungeoning

as good as book 1

Another enjoyable book in this series. Mr Yen continues to do a great job. I enjoyed how the main charcaters grows.