Chris Pavesic continues the amazing story of Cami Malifux with Book 2 of the Revelation Chronicles.
About the Book:
In Starter Zone, Cami kept herself and her younger sister Alby alive in a post-apocalyptic world, facing starvation, violence, and death on a daily basis. Caught by the military and forcefully inscribed, Cami manages to scam the system and they enter the Realms, a Virtual Reality world, as privileged Players rather than slaves. They experience a world of safety, plenty, and magical adventure. Indeed, magic, combat, gear scores, quests, and dungeons are all puzzles to be solved as Cami continues her epic quest to navigate the Realms and build a better life for her family. But an intrusion from her old life threatens everything she has gained and imperils the entire virtual world.
LitRPG YA Fantasy
170 pagesFollow the Book Tour:
https://saphsbooks.blogspot.com/2018/09/tour-schedule-travelers-zone-revelation.html
I was born into a world where silicone still ruled. Where the products of the earth outshone those of the sea. Integrated circuits ran all electronic equipment and scientists strove to make the conducting lines smaller and smaller. Silicon Valley tried, and failed, to make chips fast enough to upload human consciousness.
The Revelation came a few years later from the hydrologists. They designed a system that did not use silicone, but instead worked with water molecules. The hydrologists managed to imprint the consciousness of a human mind on a single drop of water.
The water was to be kept in self-contained, sealed aquariums—pure, undiluted, eternal—where virtual realities were constructed to meet every need and desire. All of human knowledge encoded and stored in literal pools of data and integrated with the drops of human consciousness. It was, the hydrologists claimed, utopia achieved.
The obscenely rich were the hydrologist’s first clients, many taken near the end of their lives. The procedure did not always work, but there were enough successes to spur people’s interest. People suffering from terminal illnesses volunteered to be inscribed, and the hydrologists worked and refined their process. Private companies formed and competition forced price wars. Hundreds of customers grew to thousands, and then to millions. There were landmark court cases arguing whether or not health insurance should cover the cost of the inscription–whether or not this was a medical procedure designed to save lives or a form of physician assisted suicide. The law struggled to decide if life ended when the body was drained to a dry, leathery husk, or if life continued inside those glowing, sealed aquariums.
I was thirteen when the governments seized control of the laboratories, first in the Eastern European countries. Then the labs of Europe and the Middle East were swallowed up. Terrorist attacks soon followed and destroyed most of the civilized world over the next three years. The United States, Canada, and Greece, those bastions of democracy, did not fall until the very end. Of course, by then no one cared whether or not the government or the private companies ran the uploading programs. Many of the aquariums ruptured in the strife and the droplets, imbued with human consciousness, re-entered the water cycle of the planet.
The destruction of the aquariums led to a moment of serendipity. Once the hydrologists learned that the human minds survived outside of the aquariums, they designed a world-wide system of interlocking realms to host the inscribed human minds. Right now the realms exist in Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in the Earth’s seabed hydrosphere, but the hydrologists have plans to expand their reach into the rest of the world. Soon, the only life left on the planet will exist in the virtual world.
Time to play the game.
“Happy birthday!” I exclaim. The waitress, a non-player character, or NPC, named Nellie, places the cake directly in front of my sister. It is a work-of-art, decorated with enough frosting shaped into vines, leaves, and flowers to fill a cottage garden.
“Here you go ladies.”
“Grrarrg?” L.G., our hodag companion, growls playfully.
“Ladies and gentleman,” Nellie corrects herself.
“Wow!” Alby grins at us. “The frosting-flowers are pretty. And so many colors. Is it chocolate cake?”
“Of course,” Nellie replies, as if any other kind would be unthinkable. “With vanilla frosting.”
“Frosting,” L.G. says in his gravelly voice. He smiles and his fangs glow in the candlelight. “Hodags like vanilla frosting.”
“Frosting is the best part of the cake,” I agree. I reach over and rub the fur behind L.G.’s horns. It’s his favorite place to be scratched. He twitches his tail in appreciation.
“Time to sing.” Nellie joins in our rather out-of-tune rendition of the birthday song. Alby applauds our efforts and then leans forward to blow out the candles.
“Remember to make a wish,” I urge.
“Wish,” L.G. echoes.
Nellie turns the gaslights back on. It’s early in the morning and the restaurant is empty except for the four of us. The sun hasn’t even popped over the horizon. “Are you sure that’s all you want to eat? I can whip up some eggs and bacon right quick. And a chef’s salad for Mr. L.G.”
“No thank you.” One of the best parts of living in the realms is the food, and we do have a fondness for Nellie’s cooking. Most days we have at least one meal here.
But it really doesn’t matter what we eat if we are not looking for specific magical buffs, like increased health or stamina. As players we can get nutrition from any type of food. We don’t have to worry about eating a balanced diet. Or gaining weight for that matter.
So eating birthday cake for breakfast is entirely appropriate. Heck, eating birthday cake for every meal over the next ten years would be okay. But I wouldn’t want to limit myself. One of the hydrologists must have been a gourmet chef in the real world because every dish we’ve tried here tastes fantastic. It’s like an explosion of flavor whenever I put food into my mouth.
Watch the Book Trailer:
play that kind of computer game, but the story was as addicting as I imagine a
real MMORPG to be. Each level up, each new character, each new threat drew me
in. I wish I could read the next book already!” –Kata, NetGalley Reviewer
run into is a lot of them are boring and follow the same storyline. This one is
so different it’s amazing. I cannot recommend this enough. It’s sci-fi, it’s
dystopian, and it fresh. A definite must read that I plan on reading
again!” –Liliyana S., NetGalley Reviewer
models for young girls. This story is
filled with suspense and adventure with a taste of the gaming world. It is the first LITRPG book that I have read
and I really enjoyed it.” –Teresa O, Educator
development of the characters was phenomenal. This book is very well paced, and
easy to follow. Seeing the story play out for the characters, along with the
lessons you gain from reading this book, makes it one of my new favorites. For,
this book is more than just another dystopia novel. It’s basis is on family
love, and what you’d do to keep them safe. It’s a young adult novel, yet is
appropriate for anyone above the age of 10. I would highly suggest reading this
book ASAP. You won’t regret it!”–Almaz D, Reviewer
loves Kona coffee, fairy tales, and all types of speculative fiction. Between
writing projects, Chris can most often be found reading, gaming, gardening,
working on an endless list of DIY household projects, or hanging out with
friends.
Enter the Giveaway:
Leigh Goff 
September 12, 2018 at 10:28 am
CONGRATULATIONS, CHRIS!
September 12, 2018 at 5:23 pm
Thanks Sloane!
September 12, 2018 at 5:23 pm
Thanks Leigh!