Cover Image: The Genesis Game

The Genesis Game

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Member Reviews

I didn't find the overall story of "The Genesis Game" to be that great. It fell a bit flat character wise and was a bit too predictable for my taste. The changing perspectives was a bit confusing and probably comes across better in the physical book. The narrator was great though.

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Great audio and voice of this book . I enjoyed the story. It kept my engaged and wanting to keep going. Great fit for all fantasy lovers.

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Couldn't get into the story due to poor narration. It was radio puke voice 2.0 and it was so very distracting. If I see this book on Kindle Unlimited I'll give it a look, but I can't listen to it.

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This audio book was performed by Kurt Bonham, who did a good job with the differing voices of the characters in the book. The audio quality, however, was abysmal. It was pixelated and advanced reading speeds did not provide compensation for increased pitch. Boo Random House Audio. Audio performance was therefore a mixed bag. Bonham gets a
4-star review, Random House gets a 1-star. On to the book...

O’Kelley wore a book that provides D&D players and fans (especially of the computerized versions) a vehicle to experience a game module. Everyone else will be disappointed. If you are not a D&D player or fan, ESPECIALLY if you don’t even know what D&D is, read something else. You can thank me later.

This was not a good story. I really only got to know the protagonist and I didn’t like him. The other characters only served to expose or contrast the weaknesses and character flaws of our antihero. They seemed to serve no other purpose.

The pacing seemed right, balancing dialogue, action, and retrospection. Unfortunately it also sets up what could be a full 20-volume set if the overall story progresses at the pace of this book. I imagine few people will care enough to keep the story alive long enough for it to reach a conclusion.

I came close to putting it down. The only reason I stuck it out was because I was working on a project at home and it was easier to just let it keep playing than to turn it off.

2 stars is the best I could give this book, even if it had better audio quality; I don’t see how it could have had worse.

This book was a NetGalley gift from the publisher. The opinions shared in this review are my own and I have received no compensation in exchange for offering them.

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*Review will be posted 9*11*20 on my blog and Goodreads*

Hello Fellow Listeners,

While I am not much of an audiobook listener, I do partake especially when I take baths or relaxing or when an Audiobook is just too good to pass up. The Genesis Game ticked all the boxes of a great audiobook, the Narrator did different voices, great audio cues (music) throughout the book that built ambiance, and it felt like a professional production not just a person reading a book.


The main character, Seraph, was unique and interesting. He was a bit edgy but it fit with the whole anti-hero theme. It was a very nice change of pace, with Seraph evolving as the story progresses but at the core still remaining himself. O'Kelley's world was pretty unique and flushed out for the amount of time that the audiobook was. As a whole, I was surprised with how everything came together and worked. I do wish it was longer, and it did make me happy to learn that there was a sequel in which I will definitely listen to and read.

Overall, A great series that I cannot wait to continue.

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I will tell you when I first begin this book, I was less than impressed, the world building was subpar, the character being established was almost non-existent. I found that the whole thing begin almost like I was reading it backwards.

I figured that if I just read a little while longer then it would start to make sense. I am glad I did that because of the fact that this book was a surprise. I am actually surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book. The premise while not a new one with the whole "ready player one" vibe which it gave off and the whole "Ender's Game" thing. You can feel the drive it has from D&D and there are hints of it through the whole thing. I thought it was going to be a Diablo rip off just based upon the cover art.

This is a pleasant surprise and I will say that this book wasn't bad at all. The only few things I would like to say to the Author is this. In the beginning and through most of the book there is very little descriptions of how the dungeons looks or how it feels, or even how the whole thing came about, this is later explained, but world building I find is always best to start off with. There are points where you rely too heavy upon the readers imagination.

Then in the second chapter when speaking with the "boss" he says "there are no second chances and then in the third chapter the same person says "there are no third chances" this is something either yourself or your editor should have caught, but it did slip through.

All in all I am impressed with the book and really do enjoy the concept, i do hope the second and third one begin to expand upon this information as well. I do hope that the 'dungeon' begins to expand a little more and it was a pleasure to read your book Mr. O'Kelley.

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I'm a big fan of RPG games like D&D or Pathfinder. And activities like Escape Rooms and MagiQuest are sometimes pricey, but a lot of fun. Just imagine what it would be like if you entered a game....a Dungeon game in a mall....only to discover the game was real. And....you can't leave until someone finishes the game. Then imagine that you finished the game once....only to find out you made a mistake. The game was never about winning....it was about saving humanity. Now you have one more chance. That's it....one second chance to make better choices and save humanity.

Black Seraph. One of the fallen is sent back. Way, way back to the beginning. He is once again a 12-year old boy, and he has to complete the dungeon all over again. With his dad and a group of other humans, who all believe he is a kid.

What will happen inside the World Dungeon?

I had a great time listening to the audio book version of this story. It took me a bit to warm up to the main character, but once the story hit high gear and I understood the premise better, I was totally sucked into the plot. I wanted to know what happens to this group of people stuck in a dungeon world!

The audio is just a tad over 7 hours. Easy listening length. I listened over a weekend while doing laundry and household chores. Curt Bonnem gives a good performance and there are some nice sound effects. He reads at a nice speed and has a pleasant, easily understandable voice -- which is very important for me because I have hearing loss.

The story is engaging and develops at a nice pace. I liked the characters although it took me awhile to warm up to Seraph.

I can't wait to read the next part of this story!

**I voluntarily listened to a review copy of this audio book from Spectrum Audio. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

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The Genesis Game by Andrew O’Kelley
Narrated by Curt Bonnem

Audiobook
Publisher: Spectrum Audio

Sci Fi & Fantasy, RPG

Seraph was at the end of his life when he is reborn again. In the new life as a teenager, he and his father begin to play a role-playing game called the Dungeon. In this world, there are obstacles they must go through and ordeals they must survive. The players, with the exception of Seraph fear they will die before they finish the game.

This was an unusual story. The characters are mildly developed but I was not sure if it was the character in the story or the character in the game. The story moves through the different phases of the game as the characters advance until the end. I though the end was a bit abrupt and wonder what will happen next or if there will be a next.

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A interesting spin on RGPlit . If you could go back to the beginning and keep all your knowledge could you change things? Can Seraph learn from his mistakes of the of the past or is he doomed to repeat them? That is the question Seraph must answer to save all of humanity but he must find the humanity in himself first!

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The Genesis Game by Andrew O'Kelley, a very good beginning and really pulled me in, I had trouble finishing it because of the app but I really enjoyed it.

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I volunteered to listen, to this book through netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. The Narrator for this book is book is good. It was my first time listening to this narrator and I can't wait to listen to more. This was a good book to listen to. This book is in bookstores now for $17.99 USD, yall should go and buy this audiobook and listen to it, it is good.

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I received this as an Advanced Reading Copy audio book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Never before has a book taken me through such a rollercoaster of interest. At first I found the narrator and the audio effects to be too cheesy. Then I started to like the story and the narrator. But each time I started to really get into the story, something would happen to make me loose interest.

I almost DNFd this a few times, though I am glad I saw it through to the end just so I can give a review saying that i finished it.

The story moves way too fast. So fast that I don't care about any of the characters. If Seraph died I would not have cared. If Seraph's dad died, I wouldn't have cared. The characters were bland and boring.

Seraph is supposed to come across as some dark and broody bad ass but he's just an a-hole. We meet his father but we get so little of their relationship that I think the Lindbergh baby would have been closer to his father than Seraph and his dad.

As a LitRPG book, it was woefully lacking. Other books like The Chaos Seeds series or The Rogue Dungeon series are better examples. At times it felt like Andrew O'Kelley forgot what his genre was and that maybe, just maybe, the rules should be explained just a little.

Despite all the negatives i still kind of enjoyed it, but not nearly enough to finish the series unless I can get it through Net Galley.

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The beginning was a big confusing because it changed perspectives/time, but once I figured that out it was great! The main character, Seraph, has respawned into a 15 year old boy's, wheelchair needing body, named Luka. He changes what he remembers to have happened by saving his father from being killed by a monster by asking him to go the mall. The "dungeon" is a forever role-playing game, where if you die in the game, supposedly you die in real life. This game has just opened in the mall and Luka convinces his father they should go play together. Luka/Seraph remembers important game information from his previous experiences, but is reluctant to impart this knowledge on his fellow players. After some game play, and drama, they finally make it through orientation.

As a gamer, I enjoyed the book. It was easy to relate to the characters and all the fear, angst, and trepidation they experienced while encountering events with which they were unfamiliar. They audiobook provided distinct differences in voices and made me feel like I was there, experiencing all the characters were experiencing. I definitely recommend it to fifth grade students and up. The only thing I didn't care for was the abrupt ending - "Welcome to New Town!"

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Story is a typical apocalyptic LitRPG, reborn overpowered MC gets a second chance. And yet the MC makes no sense? He was given a second chance to fix his mistake yet acts just as if not more ruthless than before. I suppose the author may be going for an antihero story, but it comes across as the MC not progressing at all. I was just left confused.

My biggest issue, and what really lost the story stars is the repetition. Like a student trying to pad a school essay by saying the same thing multiple times without adding anything, sentences repeat. It also reads like a thesaurus was used a bit too frequently.

Overall it has some potential but reads like a beta copy, not a finished product.

The narrator did a good job, and earned back a star.

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Received from Net Gallery just partial pc it and it just is not my type of book but the narration was really good,gave to say that!!

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