Steam Whistle Alley Audiobook By Joshua Mason cover art

Steam Whistle Alley

An Adventure in Augmented Reality

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Steam Whistle Alley

By: Joshua Mason
Narrated by: Sena Bryer
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Buy for $22.02

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An exciting new entry into the emerging GameLit genre, Joshua Mason's Steam Whistle Alley is a thrilling tale that explores what is possible in augmented reality.

Everyone on the street that day saw a lunatic wearing strange brass goggles, swinging an invisible sword on the sidewalks of downtown Seattle. But Jacob recognizes what the man is really doing - playing a game in augmented reality. When the game’s creator offers him his own goggles, Jacob enters a city he thinks he knows. But towering monuments of Victorian architecture have replaced the skyscrapers. Airships float between the buildings. Fearsome enemies, from steam-powered rabbits to clockwork werewolves, lurk in every shadow.

But with the game comes a quest, and to the victors go the deed to Steam Whistle Alley, the social and financial heart of the game. Jacob, his biosynthetic monkey, Banjo, and the rest of the team must face off against foes who want the alley for themselves.

Some of his adversaries aren’t playing games. They don’t want the alley. They want the company, and the death they bring is not the kind from which Jacob can respawn.

©2018 Joshua Mason Diles (P)2018 Joshua Mason Diles Science Fiction Adventure Steampunk Fiction Game
Creative Storyline • Interesting Characters • Excellent Pacing • Vivid Descriptions • Steampunk Elements

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It was not great but I did stick it out to the end. I appreciate that they use a different medium but they kind of told the same old tired story. Creator dying trying to find a gamer to take over a partial Creator Phil spurned and does illegal stuff to try to win the game. meh...

um..not great

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I really liked the premise. I’m not a steam punk fan in general but I’m not against it, and I love that this had something different going on than all the other LITRPGS out there.

1) the narration has a weird echo when the character is inner monologuing. So if your head phones are of similar quality to mine you only pick up about 3/4 of what’s said. Which is annoying but not detrimental. But it gets more and more annoying as the book progresses.

2) Every twist and plot point was telegraphed so far in advance that I pretty well had the ending of the book figures out about 2 hours into the story. I was even able to predict what classes and such his party were going to end up being well before any character other than the main character was introduced. His ”surprise partner” I had figured out within 2 minutes of it being mentioned that he was going to be forced to partner with someone.

The author tried to have twists. But he beat you over the head with all the details to know how the twist was going to come out. A good twist is the sixth sense most people don't see it coming, and even those that do second guess themselves.

I don't want to give spoilers to anyone just in case. But the premise was great 10/10, 3/10 on character development, 4/10 on execution.

Review

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I have never really been one to get overly excited about steampunk, but I love LitRPG/Gamelit books so I thought I would give it a try.

Story: As I listened to this one there were hints of Ready Player One, which I absolutely loved. Some of the references were good and the MC’s (Jacob) lines often reminded me of the MC from RP1.

I loved how the game mechanics were explained by the very helpful monkey with a monocle - Banjo. It was done in a way that could explain game mechanics without getting too caught up in the minutiae. It would probably be more LitRPG lite, but honestly it worked.

The author does a nice job throughout the story of explaining the surroundings and how The Seattle area has been turned into a Steampunk paradise. I also really liked the interactions once the group started working together and how those characters were all developed, even his budding love interest.

The antagonist/mobs left me wanting a little more, but I expect that to get better in book 2.

Narrator: This is the first book I have listened to narrated by Sena Bryer and I have to say I am thoroughly impressed. She did a great job voicing not only the MC but also the side characters as well. The inflection was great throughout the book, with none of those awkward pauses or missed cues. I will definitely look for more books done by Sena after this and hope she does book 2 when it comes out as I will definitely be picking it up!

My first foray into Steampunk

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I throughly enjoyed this book and greatly look forward to the sequel! The narration was excellent and the change in voice was spot on for the characters. It's always fun to have a book from the Pacific Northwest and this one doesn't let you down. The main character is nerdy, lovable, and intelligent and ready to take on the challenges that have come to call. Let's level up, Joshy! *DING!*

Fantastic read!

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I tried really hard to listen to this whole book. Honest, I did. The problem for me personally was the narration. He was a good reader, but I just couldn't handle the voices and use of software to change it.

Again, the premise of the book was good and the story was good.

Book is okay, but narration is grinding

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