Into the Real

TransDimensional Hunter, Book 1

By: John Ringo, Lydia Sherrer

Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen

Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author John Ringo and USA Today best-selling author Lydia Sherrer join forces on a new SF novel of alien invasion. Ender's Game meets Mean Girls meets Pokemon Go.

Lynn Raven may be the boss master of WarMonger 2050 with her online persona of "Larry the Snake", but when the CEO of Tsunami Entertainment personally asks her, as a favor, to beta test a new augmented-reality game, she has to face her greatest fear: going outside and dealing with, ugh, people.

As she becomes more immersed in the game, the stakes rise and so do the obstacles. Strife between teammates, a ruthless rival team, and these strange glitches that make it seem like the game algorithm (or maybe “game AI”?) has it in for her. Now she has to face a new fear: Is she willing to step into the real to win the future she’s always wanted?

What do you do when a game and real life merge?

About Into the Real:

"The futuristic world of the gamers and the game itself will interest sf readers.... YA: Teens will relate to Lynn, the main character, and if they are gamers, they will enjoy her gamer and VR adventures." (Booklist)

©2022 John Ringo & Lydia Sherrer (P)2022 Audible, Inc.

Very nice ride

Grabbed you quick and held on tight. Very enjoyed the book. I've loved John Ringo Books for many years, and this was a nice side step to something new, but still felt the same. Great job by Lydia and John to draw much of the RPG and MMORPG world into a next logical step. AR and VR are still just starting to be a good thing, and I look forward to 'parts' of the book to come real. Lets leave the monsters out of it :)

To drive the TDMs before you...

Fantastic story and Fantastic reader! I am eagerly waiting for the next installment! An almost plausible alternate future where the gamers take the lead...

Adapt and overcome to 10th level!

Outstanding! That pretty much sums up this story. I loved the the way team building was shown. Can’t wait for the next installment!

what an awesome ride.

This is the kind of book of action and intensity I expect from John Ringo. I am new to Lydia Sherrer's books but I am loving this series. my teenage daughter is eager for me to buy her the paperback so that she can get the full story instead of the little she has heard of my audiobook. Sarah did a get job telling the story and adding her voice was great. Waiting on pins a needles for book 2 on.

Loved it!

The story, the narration, the pace... can't wait for the next one to come out!!!

Awesome gaming book

The story is going to resonate with both gamers and military sci-fi fans. the narration is a masterclass in tweeking each voice ro make them readily identifiable.

Good start to a new series

So far so good. Interesting mix between the current lit rpg trend and more traditional sci fi.

Two Ratings For This One

Okay, so how I'm going to rate this depends on how familiar you are with the LitRPG genre. If you got here because you're a fan of John Ringo and Baen (or Lydia, who's awesome, too) but haven't read any GameLit, then it's going to be fun and original. The plot is closer to YA than anything I've seen from someone like "John Ringo, NOOO!" but it's still worth getting into. The world is complex and interesting with fun characters.

On the other hand, if you've read your share of GameLit, you're not going to be in for any surprises. The tropes are heavily telegraphed, which makes sense for TradPub where people aren't used to them. And if you're a gamer, you're going to recognize some issues here and there. So probably a 3/5 to people who regularly read things like Awaken Online.

But I'll go with the score that more reflects the target demographic. And the narration was excellent.

A fresh modern look at gaming

If you've experienced Ender's Game, Ready Player One, and Snowcrash and want a modern twist from a normal woman's viewpoint then definitely give this series a try. I'm eagerly waiting for the audiobook version of Book 2.

Amazing, Can't wait for more Ringo!

So happy to see Ringo write in one of my favorite genre, and he did an amazing job. You really get to see some good character development beyond the typical "levels" or "stats" where a lot of other series fall short. Narration is great as well. If this is your first book by Ringo, definitely check out his other series; they are half the reason I picked up this book with zero hesitation.
Can't wait for book 2!