Limitless Lands: Book 1: The Commander's Tale (A LitRPG Adventure)

The litrpg genre, while dear to my heart is unfortunately riddled with badly witten low quality power fantasies. Most of them feel as if they are written reflecting the desires of the writer more than any audiance. Many also delve into awkward sexual fantasies of the writer that could not possibly exist in the real world. Every book written in the litrpg sub genre in some way empower their protaganist in such a way that they become impossible to be relatable. This book only broaches one of these trends. It uses the empowered protagonist trope in such a way as to make the character more enjoyable (you'll like him). It is the best of the litrpg genre creating amazing unique story, that in the future will define the baseline for it's subgenre. It is as a whole different level from it's competitors in the genre and I cannot encourage it enough. It is a dam good book and not only the best of it's genre but among my favorite new books of the last 3 years. I hope some day the author reads this just so he can fathom the amount of compliments I want to give this book. But If I must pick something to criticize it will be the world building, there is so much more he can do with the world building, expanding upon the ancient Roman empire. The period is rife with more than the unfortunately few cultures mirrored in the book. The book could also use more supporting characters and gate travel options. If you have read this far into the review understand these complaints are minor and do not take away from the book. I make them only so that the writer can turn these works into masterpieces that eventually become more than novels.

I tend to have a very negative reaction to the VRMMO LitRPG tales. I have a hard time picturing why anyone would want to spend their entire lives in VR, and the worlds tend to end up rather uneven quickly. The fact that there are a number of "adjustments" that have to be made to time passing and such to make the story timelines work always lends itself to tying the plot into knots i can't agree with. This story at least started with a believable reason for the main character to be in VR, with Colonel Raytak (retired) being near death due to old age and some completely impossible nanotech is being used to try to rebuild his time worn body. To protect his mind he is put into the VR game. At least this solves the "why is he always in VR" problem for me. And Colonel Raytak isn't a bad character. he has a purpose. he is rather intelligent. And despite his lack of history due to a memory block, he's relatable in a way. It makes for a character you want to support and root for. The rest of the story manages to come together thanks to the solid foundation and good character. Its not much more than an origin story as the depths of the world and the characters are avoided. But its not a bad tale. I was looking forward to book 2 before I even finished this book. I give it a solid 4 stars.

While the story is simple it picks you up and takes you on a very cool journey. I liked that the main character wasn't super dark and haunted by his past deeds. This may be because of his condition that you find him in when the story starts, but I hope the author doesn't change his current personality in future books. I liked a lot that while there were mean and selfish people in the story that they didn't dominate it and were just obstacles to be overcome. The RPG aspects of the story were well balanced in my opinion and that the main character doesn't seem to be overpowered. Overall, a great read and I am going to purchase book 2 after writing this review.

This book kept me hooked from the beginning! I’m excited for the next book, as the author has shown they can craft a well written story that is enjoyable to read. This book has some of my favorite litRPG elements. The main character is given a chance at a life in the game that would otherwise be impossible for them. The main character is strong, but not overpowered and doesn’t start out with improbable abilities compared to other players. The story progresses at a nice pace because of this balance.

BLUF: Great book with great MC and great progression / development. I have been reading a lot of LITRPG (scores of books) and I really hate stupid main characters that overcome impossible situations by accident. The characters in this series are believable in the game world that the author is building and the challenges are hard but overcome through hard work and good planning / preparation. I absolutely love the Character Class of the MC as a Commander which to me is a very novel idea. He doesn't have great skills and abilities himself but is given soldiers from the Kingdom to lead in fights. Usually you see fighters or mages fighting for themselves or with a group and I've never seen this type of character before. It was very engrossing reading about him equipping and leading NPC troops. I started this series after the 3rd book was out and plowed through all three of them as quickly as I could. I then proceeded to each following books as soon as they were available. I heartily recommend this series. Just try this first book and you will definitely want to read all 5.

The Commander's Tale is the first book in the Limitless Lands series by Dean Henegar. While I do miss the more common VRMMO tropes for player experiences in the narrative for this book, I still find following this recovering Army Colonel to be a fun ride. Lieutenant Raytak has grabbed hold of my attention and good will, and all I can hope for him is prosperous fun and recovery. That someday soon he will come to remember his sons name, and be able to meet his grandson. I think the potential boons of VR when combined with medicine are indelibly intriguing, and honestly hope for them to become a distant reality. This is my favorite trope: to utilize gameplay and pod-processing for the betterment of the human race. Healing those it's capable of, or even simply allowing those with limited comfort in life due to injuries to find an outlet that eases their pain and minds. This take on such a interesting trope; including more nominal classes in the mix such as Mayor, Scout Sergent, and Lieutenant has presented in such an enjoyable manner. I can't help but become invested in the outcome and progression of the plot, as well as the characters. Tack on some civilization development as well, and you find yourself with a satisfying amalgamation of potential. I am wonderfully excited to face the possibilities in this work. To discover where the limitations lay, as it were.

Great book and enjoyable read. Set in the future, a vr game is set to launch and included in it is an idea this could help patients as well. Premise is nice, company is shown to have a heart for once. I know they have a bottom line and expect to make gobs of money, but it is refreshing to see the vr company not as the bad guy. Story is well written w/ no spelling errors that jumped out at me. As this is a "haven't gamed in 50ish years" story, seeing the protagonist looking at things and wondering about them in game made sense. Love as well that the hero starts to cut unneeded stuff so we the reader just get the new updates by the end of the book. Cant wait for book 2!

LITRPG is my favorite genre. Limitless Lands is my favorite series in this genre. Raytak’s progression is fascinating and extremely entertaining. Introduction of the well defined and creative town-building aspect increased my enjoyment. No Mary Sue or OP characters here! Just a terrific MC who uses many years of real world experience to persevere. Have you found a series that makes you truly sad when it ends. This is one of those series. (I’m reading it because it’s just that good!)

Down to Earth and very human and humble characters. Enjoyed reading from the beginning to the last page and waiting impatiently for the next book in the series. To the author- Thank you for this amazing book!

Good RPG novella, with a couple of new twists: the player is a very old and nearly dead veteran, and the game is a way for him to restore his memories and intellectual abilities. Also, the player does not focus on individual combat, but on being a troop commander. It is well written and both player and NPC characters are likable.

A well written and engaging book , keeps you engrossed till the end. Egarly waiting for the next in series.....

This is the first LitRPG since Fayroll that I rate 5 stars. Its gripping, well written and very nicely plotted. Havent been able to put the book down. That rarely happens to me after thousands of books read . You like MMOs? Fantasy? Go for it. This LitRPG will not bore you with endless character stats or senseless system messages. Update: While this first book is a really nice book for the LitRPG area, the following books get worse quickly. Where I wasn't able to put this book down, I was barel< able to pick the following books up again and dragged/speedread myself through episodes 3-5. I like to have conclusion to series I read, but without Amazon unlimited I wouldnt have bought any of those.

I just finished the series and I can easily say that it now sits on my top 5 favourite series (of any genre). A wonderful story that is just the right blend of funny, emotional and action-filled. The main character is a 93 years old war veteran / gamer and I think this is the first book I've read in the GameLit/LitRpg genre where the MC actually felt like a real gamer, based on his skill choices and attempts to exploit game mechanics (and have fun, even when tempered by his military pragmatism).