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Late Night at Lund's
A dental hygienist walks into a bar.....
Dental hygienist Isa Chamberlin thought the biggest challenge in her life was getting over a messy breakup, but when she pops into a new neighborhood bar, she finds herself in a different world, one filled with wizards, spells, and monsters. Join Isa as she explores unfamiliar surroundings, uncovers new skills, and learns to level. Magic and monsters, allies and enemies, romance and danger, all of it just on the other side of a simple door.
"Wear these bracers with pride.” the half-orc slid first one bracer and then the other over Isa’s forearms. “Fight with your heart,” he said as he pulled the laces tight. “And come back with a story to tell. That is what an adventurer does.” .......
This novel is part of the growing fantasy sub-genre called LitRPG. Think of it as a novelized role-playing game. The characters have stats and abilities and gear, just like video game characters, and their successes and failures were largely determined by the roll of the dice - the 20-sided variety. If you like games, fantasy, and funny adventure stories, you'll feel right at home at Lund's Tavern.
Dental hygienist Isa Chamberlin thought the biggest challenge in her life was getting over a messy breakup, but when she pops into a new neighborhood bar, she finds herself in a different world, one filled with wizards, spells, and monsters. Join Isa as she explores unfamiliar surroundings, uncovers new skills, and learns to level. Magic and monsters, allies and enemies, romance and danger, all of it just on the other side of a simple door.
"Wear these bracers with pride.” the half-orc slid first one bracer and then the other over Isa’s forearms. “Fight with your heart,” he said as he pulled the laces tight. “And come back with a story to tell. That is what an adventurer does.” .......
This novel is part of the growing fantasy sub-genre called LitRPG. Think of it as a novelized role-playing game. The characters have stats and abilities and gear, just like video game characters, and their successes and failures were largely determined by the roll of the dice - the 20-sided variety. If you like games, fantasy, and funny adventure stories, you'll feel right at home at Lund's Tavern.
515 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 5, 2018
27 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Beth Lyons
10 books8 followersI grew up in a family of readers. Sunday was the best day of the week because we went to the library. My parents would head upstairs to the main library, and I'd head downstairs to lose myself in the children's library. The day I got to join them in the main library was a great day.
I got a love of science fiction from my father and a love of mysteries from my mother. I read widely -- fiction, nonfiction, history, poetry, philosophy... Reading is one of the joys of my life.
I've lived on both coasts and in Europe. I've been a printer, baker, teacher, editor, bike mechanic, and bookseller, but "writer" is the best job in the world.
I live and work in Portland, Oregon with my wife. I enjoy writing science fiction and fantasy. I'm particularly interested in the intersections of humans and other animals. I am proud to say that my veganism influences my writing.
I got a love of science fiction from my father and a love of mysteries from my mother. I read widely -- fiction, nonfiction, history, poetry, philosophy... Reading is one of the joys of my life.
I've lived on both coasts and in Europe. I've been a printer, baker, teacher, editor, bike mechanic, and bookseller, but "writer" is the best job in the world.
I live and work in Portland, Oregon with my wife. I enjoy writing science fiction and fantasy. I'm particularly interested in the intersections of humans and other animals. I am proud to say that my veganism influences my writing.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 31, 2018
Ever wonder what it would be like to wake up in a game of dungeons and dragons? This fantasy read is just that.
Isa, a dental hygienist from our modern day world, steps into a bar and wakes up in some Middle Earth-type world filled with wizards, rogues, bards, thieves, orcs, dwarves, and the like. Her mission is to figure out how to get back to her own world but in the meantime must acclimate to the new one to survive.
The books contains a decent amount of action and many situations are close calls but the tone of the read is also on the lighter side. The crux of it is more based around Isa's personal growth and the friendships she acquires as she meets new characters and goes on side quests. There are a couple of mysteries in the story and there's a f/f subplot but it's not a romance. More a friends with benefits thing.
The title says "LitRPG" which is a new and interesting premise. I'm assuming this means that the book was written based on the role of dice to determine the paths of the story? If this is the case, it shows in the story. There are some paths that seem to fizzle out and I was left with some unanswered questions. It's not what I'd consider a tight story. That said, I was also entertained and I liked Isa and her friends.
I enjoyed the read for its uniqueness and characters. It's also currently available on kindle unlimited.
3.6 - 3.75 stars
Isa, a dental hygienist from our modern day world, steps into a bar and wakes up in some Middle Earth-type world filled with wizards, rogues, bards, thieves, orcs, dwarves, and the like. Her mission is to figure out how to get back to her own world but in the meantime must acclimate to the new one to survive.
The books contains a decent amount of action and many situations are close calls but the tone of the read is also on the lighter side. The crux of it is more based around Isa's personal growth and the friendships she acquires as she meets new characters and goes on side quests. There are a couple of mysteries in the story and there's a f/f subplot but it's not a romance. More a friends with benefits thing.
The title says "LitRPG" which is a new and interesting premise. I'm assuming this means that the book was written based on the role of dice to determine the paths of the story? If this is the case, it shows in the story. There are some paths that seem to fizzle out and I was left with some unanswered questions. It's not what I'd consider a tight story. That said, I was also entertained and I liked Isa and her friends.
I enjoyed the read for its uniqueness and characters. It's also currently available on kindle unlimited.
3.6 - 3.75 stars
July 11, 2019
This was a fun read. I wish there was more to the ending though... kinda like a peek at Isa's life after her adventure. Like she made bank, found love with Alice and told her ex to suck it! Heheh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 3, 2019
A fun meandering tale of a misplaced dental hygienist. Even though the story is focused on Isa's struggle to get back to 'the real world' it feels more like a slice of life story rather than a tight narrative. While I personally prefer a story with a more focused plot, the detours to see some of the different denizens of bywater serve to flesh out the world.
My biggest gripe is the character's odd sense of embracing the violent nature of the world around her, and only mild remorse after killing several people. Granted, many situations are her defending herself, but I found it disturbing to see her proactively stalking and killing a few people. I wonder if the author was making a silent commentary about 'murder hobos' at one point as the protagonist kills all the bad guys in a house, then proceeds to eat their food, drink their beer, and sleep in their beds; all while the house is still stained with the bandit's fresh blood and gore.
Also, I found Isa to be rather a prickly person, to the point where I was questioning why there were so many people willing to help her despite her poor disposition. Lund, Joth, Merry, all give Isa much and she continues to be highly distrustful of them, which caused me, the reader, to be suspicious of everyone. I kept waiting for a betrayal that never transpired, making Isa seem a touch paranoid in retrospect.
On the other side of the coin, the setting is well realized; replete with deities, geography, culture, food, and all manner of world-building. I'm a sucker for how food culture is portrayed in fantasy, and I thought the dwarven cuisine was pretty interesting.
Finally, I'd like to say how nice it was to read a story with a female protagonist that had her own agency throughout the story. The litrpg genre doesn't feature many diverse voices and I'm glad to read something from a different perspective.
My biggest gripe is the character's odd sense of embracing the violent nature of the world around her, and only mild remorse after killing several people. Granted, many situations are her defending herself, but I found it disturbing to see her proactively stalking and killing a few people. I wonder if the author was making a silent commentary about 'murder hobos' at one point as the protagonist kills all the bad guys in a house, then proceeds to eat their food, drink their beer, and sleep in their beds; all while the house is still stained with the bandit's fresh blood and gore.
Also, I found Isa to be rather a prickly person, to the point where I was questioning why there were so many people willing to help her despite her poor disposition. Lund, Joth, Merry, all give Isa much and she continues to be highly distrustful of them, which caused me, the reader, to be suspicious of everyone. I kept waiting for a betrayal that never transpired, making Isa seem a touch paranoid in retrospect.
On the other side of the coin, the setting is well realized; replete with deities, geography, culture, food, and all manner of world-building. I'm a sucker for how food culture is portrayed in fantasy, and I thought the dwarven cuisine was pretty interesting.
Finally, I'd like to say how nice it was to read a story with a female protagonist that had her own agency throughout the story. The litrpg genre doesn't feature many diverse voices and I'm glad to read something from a different perspective.
December 20, 2018
Book one
Mistakes: I found only one and it was just a wrong tense.
Plot: I found the story to be a little longer than needed. This is due to many different reasons. I did like that the author wrote the story around actual dice rolls for actions.
Characters: the author tried to make a few sinister seeming folks who turned out to be nice. I found this undesirable as it didn't really matter. I did like the MC.
7.5/10
Mistakes: I found only one and it was just a wrong tense.
Plot: I found the story to be a little longer than needed. This is due to many different reasons. I did like that the author wrote the story around actual dice rolls for actions.
Characters: the author tried to make a few sinister seeming folks who turned out to be nice. I found this undesirable as it didn't really matter. I did like the MC.
7.5/10
June 27, 2019
This was a pretty good book, it's a bit like the gamearth series books, only these characters aren't (generally) working together to build the world. For those who really like the stats things, this book has some of that, but not a whole lot, so those who don't like it won't be bothered, as it's usually posted at the end of a chapter to show progress. A pretty good read overall though, and now I'm curious if there are anymore in this universe, I'll need to do some digging I guess.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews