Watcher's Test: A LitRPG Saga

Life in Exile, Book 1

By: Sean Oswald

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

This isn't a game. This is his new life.

Dave has been wandering through life for a long time. His day job bores him and he never seems to be able to meet his family's expectations. The only escape he's ever had is his love of MMORPGs.

But when he becomes the subject of a test without even knowing it, he's portaled into a game-world called Eloria with no way out. It's a frequent daydream of his, however, in none of those dreams did his wife and daughter ever accompany him.

Now, Dave must balance protecting his family with exploring his dream...oh, and trying to stay alive. Monstrous beasts roam Elaria, worst of all, an undead army led by the vile Death Knight.

He'll have to adapt fast and learn to cooperate if he hopes to make a new home for his family. And just maybe, along the way, he'll find out why they're living a life in exile.

Experience the epic first installment of a litRPG saga perfect for fans of C. M. Carney, Blaise Corvin, and Charles Dean.

Narrated by Peter Berkrot (Alpha World, Earth Force).

©2020 Aethon Books (P)2020 Aethon Audio

wonderfull book

loved the story. it was a change to see a whole involved. I can't Waite to see where the story goes next.

A strong first book with a few mis-steps

I stuck all the way through this book and I'm glad I did.

It does a lot of things right, and has a few mis-steps, as I said above.

Mainly, the author seems so concerned about giving his females agency and power (which is great), that he felt he needed to hit his men with a competence nerf bat, out of the gate. You don't have to make men less to make women more. Women are already plenty awesome and women with powers are better still.

And yes, as some reviewers note, some scenes can seem a bit forced, though I think the pacing was just fine.

But I cared about these characters. They felt like people to me. For that I'll forgive a lot.

Add in some good mysteries, well done mechanics, and a fun world and I'm sold on this book and the rest of the series, when it comes.

5 stars for this one

easily one of the better books I've read. imperfect main characters, who do what they can to succeed. Just a good story.

I was eventually able to listen.

Great story. good flow. Great character development for Mira, Emily, and Dave as a family.

Great listen for us grown up gamers

Listen to a fair bit of litrpg, but this one resonates with me. So many parallels between MC and myself (40 something professional with a mmorpg habit, lol). The inclusion of family introduces interesting plotlines I haven't seen in other titles. Don't let the reviews complaining about religion dissuade you, it's a realistic portrayal and handled well, not preachy. Big fan and purchasing book 2 once I complete this review!

WOW. This book was surprisingly amazing.

I came into this book not knowing what to expect. It actually ended up being awesome. It’s a unique twist on portal fantasy litrpg’s. I really like the dynamics between the family members and the interactions and emotions feel realistic. I can’t wait for number 2.

LITPRG with family!

This is a great story, easy to follow along. All the characters where thought out and cant wait for part 2.

Starting to get it right.

The story progresses a littke slow but overall is done well. I like that the author didn't feel the need to read every stat change every thirty seconds like a few other book in this genre. Looking forward to the next book.

fun clean adventure with the added bonus of family

I do have to say I really enjoyed this book and am intrigued by the story. its a great LITRPG story and very enjoyable, especially if you have a family. Sean Oswald did a great job capturing the family drama of things inside this litrpg story. my biggest grip, so common to litrpgs now its beginning to become a troupe, is the gamer is the one who should have all the advantages, the biggest edge on everything, and yet is the person who gets the short end of the stick almost at every turn it seems.

each character in the family is great and has good character depth, but yet David Nelson just gets crapped on by the world all the time, which gets annoying by the end when he finally gets some things he deserved far earlier in the story. This would be my biggest gripe with the story, so overall yeah 4/5 stars because it was great and definitely family friendly.

I see some issues popping up for the next book in terms of character growth so I am interested to see how that pans out. overall the story is solid and a fairly crunch litrpg story to enjoy.

All Around Great

This is a great book in LitRPG genre. Nice aspect of seeing a family getting transported to new world after death. Nice to see the struggles and how father is fighting with himself since he was the gamer before death and.nowntaking back seat to his wife and oldest daughter as they are progressing faster than him.