Old dogs can learn new tricks. If you’re tired of whiny teenage protagonists, try these mature heroes. It isn’t always pretty, but it’s more than age before beauty It’s real experience with war, with crafting – and above all winning.
They may be old, but they can still kick ass.
Limitless Lands by Dean Henegar
From Amazon,
Colonel James Raytak is about to die. The 93-year-old combat veteran is living his last days in a nursing home and his only hope for survival is an experimental medpod controlled by an artificial intelligence. The artificial intelligence will also control the soon to be released game Limitless Lands. Without its creator’s knowledge, the artificial intelligence decides that the best course of treatment is to import Colonel Raytak’s consciousness directly into the game. Colonel Raytak must dust off his military training and lead his virtual troops in a fight to repair his broken body and mind while exploring the Limitless Lands.
The fifth and final book of this series was published on July 5, 2020.
Kindle Unlimited, 4.6 Stars, 246 pages
Audible, 4.6 Stars, 10 hours and 16 minutes
GoodReads, 4.32 Stars
Mythian: Chronicles of Ethan by John L. Monk
From Amazon,
Retirement means immortality. Immortality means adventure. Life begins at seventy.
Running on the world’s fastest quantum computer is a very special game: one where retirees leave their flesh-and-blood lives in search of endless adventure. Weapons, spells, gold, experience points… These are the marks by which life is now measured.
Ethan Crane wants none of it. In fact, he never wanted to retire at all, let alone play a game for all eternity. But now he’s on a mission to find his wife—a wife he just discovered is still alive and inside the game.
Nothing will stop him from reaching her. Not even himself.
The third and final book of this series was published on December 20, 2019.
Kindle Unlimited, 4.2 Stars, 240 pages
Audible, 4.3 Stars, 5 hours and 35 minutes
GoodReads, 3.84 Stars
A Snake’s Life by Kenneth Arant
From Amazon,
The afterlife isn’t always what you think…
A loving father of three children, Albert lived a life of few regrets. He served his country far from home. He outlived his soulmate. He died alone.However, his assumptions about a peaceful eternity, reunited with his wife, are thrown out the window when a meddling god digs his fingers into Albert’s afterlife.
The positive? He will have a chance to see his wife again.
The negative? He has to survive the dangers of the legendary World Tree for the next three hundred years. He’s been reincarnated into a world full of magical evolutions, monstrous deer, sassy ten-year-old elves, and untold hidden dangers. It won’t be easy, but if life has taught Albert anything it’s this: If something is worth having, it’s worth fighting for. And he intends to fight.
Book 4 of this series was published on January 18, 2022.
From Amazon,
Kindle Unlimited, 4.5 Stars, 286 Pages
Audible, 4.7 Stars, 8 hours and 9 minutes
GoodReads, 4.15 Stars
An Old Man’s Journey by Gregory Allanther
From Amazon:
At the end of his life, Charles was left with one question: What was it all for?
After his tour of duty and an unremarkable post-Army business career, Charles spent his twilight years watching old movies and waiting for his grandkids to call. He’d lived a good life, been a decent man, but now that his wife was gone he was… Lonely.
Until his old friend Bert introduced him to Crossroads, the new VR sensation. In this virtual world he can move without pain, explore new lands, and most importantly – see his family again. For as long as he can hold their interest, in this fast-paced modern world of instant gratification and VR thrills.
The solution: Build a place his family wants to visit. Armed only with a magic stick with game-breaking powers that should be nerfed, Charles sets out on a journey to find a place to call his own. Along the way, he will be mistaken for an NPC quest giver, become the antagonist in epic questlines, and attempt to teach the next generation proper behavior – even if he has to beat it into them.
This is the story of one man’s search for belonging in his second virtual life. A search for a place to belong, and what it takes to get there. It’s also a hilarious romp through online fantasy cliches that will appeal to fans of Ready Player One, The Wandering Inn, and slice-of-life comedies.
Because at the end of a man’s life: What’s more important than family?
Kindle Unllmited, 4.4 Stars, 407 pages
Audible, 4.5 Stars, 10 hours and 43 minutes
GoodReads, 4.16
True Smithing by Jared Mandani
From Amazon:
Angus Bjornson only ever wanted to do one thing: to continue crafting exquisite weapons and pieces of armor for his loyal customers. Unfortunately, after one accident too many that leaves the old blacksmith completely disabled, it would seem he has no other choice but to hang up his hammer.
However, that would be underestimating the stubbornness of the self-made man. Fearing he’s not going to stop until he ends up dead in his forge, Angus’ children offer him a virtual rig that connects to Imperium Games’ many universes.
After choosing a fantasy-based world called Alterwelt, Angus—now known as Hephaestus—quickly learns that he can make use of his lifetime of experience by disabling the Auto function and playing on Manual. His skills allow him to create unique items that beat everything sold on the market. But Hephaestus has a long way to go before he can afford his own in-game forge. Moreover, he only ever learned to work with steel while here he has access to metals as strange and exotic as azuraneum, veridium, orichalcum…
Still, that might be the least of his problems. After he’s made a few sales and starts to get some recognition, Hephaestus realizes that there’s a reason the market is oversaturated with crappy items. As it turns out, a greedy guild enforces a monopoly on the crafting and they’re ready to do anything to keep anyone—lest of all a lone blacksmith—from digging into their profits…
Book 2 of the series was published on September 16, 2020.
Kindle Unlimited, 4.4 Stars, 276 pages
Audible, 4.5 Stars, 8 hours and 52 minutes
GoodReads, 4.06
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