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Chrysalis - A Fantasy LitRPG (Beast Realms Book 1) Kindle Edition

by R.P. Jones (Author), Portal Books (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 464 ratings
With regenerative abilities, a badass tail and the potential to evolve his body, how could Art resist choosing a lizard man as his avatar? All’s well until he accidentally joins forces with an acid-spitting, enemy-consuming shadow-bound grub, causing his light-bound guild members turn against him, and a deadly fire mage to wage a vendetta against him.

Venturing through enchanted forests, into mage enclaves atop ice-capped mountains, through thief-ridden sewers and into ancient temples, Art must defeat the Legendary Beasts and claim their gems of power before his enemies can stop him.

With the odds stacked against him, it’s time for Art to undergo some dangerous and unique training.

It’s time for him to evolve!
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  1. Book 1 of 3
    Beast Realms
  2. Print length
    610 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    August 10, 2020
  5. File size
    2.6 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

I hope you enjoy reading the first novel in the Beast Realms series: Chrysalis. I'm a real animal lover (I was the UK's first Pet Poet Laureate) and wanted to explore a world where extraordinary creatures could work alongside players. Combining this idea with the medieval European-style settings of games such as Skyrim, with swords and sorcery to boot, I hope I've created a believable and exciting world to explore.
For me, an interesting difference with this book is that the main character has a non-human body. This allows him to explore the abilities made possible by having a tail and claws, but also the struggles he might face because of it. His body also evolves as the book progresses, meaning he must make some important decisions which affect how he plays / considers his gaming experience and life. We all wish we could change something of ourselves,and that feeds into those concepts for me, too.
I also wanted to include some really cool and multi-dimensional female characters, and the main team member in this book, Nux, is vital to the story, as well as helping the MC to break out of his metaphoric shell. She kicks ass.
Finally, I think it's worth mentioning that I wanted to explore some interesting gaming mechanics, with the MC being able to switch forms and skills depending on his situation. Again, this has drawbacks for him at times, as well as some really cool benefits, and I hope it makes for an intriguing way to approach and solve problems.
Finally, thank you so much for buying and reading my book! The audio book should be available soon (I'm hoping by Nov 2020), with further titles in this series due in 2021. If you like how this book sounds, or have read it already, I'd appreciate it if you recommended it to others who might enjoy this kind of story.
Thank you!

About the Author

R.P. Jones is a writer, poet and editor based in Edinburgh, Scotland. He has published 7 books, Beast Realms: Chrysalis being his debut LitRPG. Jones is deputy editor of Scotland's only sci-fi magazine, he was the UK's first Pet Poet Laureate and he has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh. He enjoys gaming, karaoke and cocktails, and is a springer spaniel enthusiast.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08F3W7DF9
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Portal Books (August 10, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 10, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.6 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 610 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1913695034
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 464 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Portal Books

    Portal Books

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Portal Books is a trio of authors - Taran Matharu, Brook Aspden and Michael R. Miller.

    They are also a digital publishing house focusing on the LitRPG genre. Our mission is to bring you the best possible LitRPG novels, with professional editing, copywriting and cover design.

    We only work with authors who have a real passion for the genre and we think this shows in the novels we publish. We know that the heart of LitRPG is solid games mechanics and ensure every story is based on the kind of game system we ourselves would love to play.

    By signing up to our mailing list you'll gain access to our FREE story bundle with over 55,000 words of LitRPG content https://portal-books.com/sign-up

    You can find us at www.portal-books.com

    See more on the author's page
  2. R.P. Jones

    R.P. Jones

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    R.P. Jones is the author of the Beast Realms novel series (Portal Books) and six poetry collections. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, he has published writing in more than 150 books and magazines, and he was the UK's first Pet Poet Laureate. He has a PhD in Creative Writing from The University of Edinburgh, enjoys cocktails, karaoke and spending time with his springer spaniel, Pakkun.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
464 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoy the book's story with its twists and turns, and find it entertaining and genuinely hilarious. Moreover, the writing quality is well-received, and customers appreciate the cool avatar design. Additionally, the book receives positive feedback for its creativity, with one customer highlighting its unique class choices. However, the character development receives mixed reactions, with some enjoying it while others find the characters hard to relate to. The pacing is criticized for being slow, and while the idealism is appreciated, one customer notes it's surprisingly philosophical at times.

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17 customers mention "Story quality"17 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the overall story of the book, appreciating its twists and turns, with one customer highlighting its interesting level progression.

"...was the reason I picked up the book to begin with, and the premise did not disappoint me...." Read more

"The storyline is good, the characters are fun to follow...." Read more

"...The story moved along nicely and I really liked Nux. Level progression was interesting and seemed reasonably balanced...." Read more

"...I like the two MCs, they have a good dynamic. The book is also quite long. In a good way. I think it's around 600 normal pages. Recommend." Read more

13 customers mention "Enjoyment"13 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining and genuinely hilarious, with one customer noting it appeals to fans of the Fantasy and LitRPG genres.

"...The humor was top notch and genuinely hilarious. ("Nux would like to leave Venom. Reason: puns." 😂)..." Read more

"...Otherwise an enjoyable tale. The audio and Kindle have significant editing differences and should be looked at...." Read more

"...The beast aspect with companions is cool, and the story and class is good...." Read more

"Was a fun read. Some twists and turns and overall enjoyable. Will be reading the next books and glad I don’t have to wait." Read more

5 customers mention "Creativity"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the creativity of the book, with one customer particularly enjoying the variety of creatures and unique class choices.

"...I dig the variety and uniqueness for sure, it requires some planning and tactics over rushing in balls out swinging. But that does happen too!..." Read more

"...I also enjoyed all the creative creatures and the fact that art chose a lizard man . Highly recommend this book." Read more

"Love the originality. Can't wait to see where it goes. Looking forward to more of these guys only sad thing is only one pet." Read more

"A creative and entertaining story yet pretty predictable sadly hope the next is more enthralling with twists and such good day" Read more

5 customers mention "Writing quality"4 positive1 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book, with one describing it as a literary masterpiece and another noting its lovely descriptions.

"...The descriptions were lovely and damn it I just want to play this game!!! Highly recommend this book for fans or newcomers to the genre!..." Read more

"...The writing is also clever and surprisingly philosophical at times...." Read more

"Chrysalis - A Fantasy LitRPG by R.P Jones is a literary masterpiece of its own caliber...." Read more

"...There is no explanations of background in the game they are playing. "Oh Professor says it's great, maybe I can find bugs & get extra credit!"..." Read more

4 customers mention "Idealism"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's idealism, with one noting its surprising philosophical elements and another mentioning its hints of lore.

"...Hints of lore without bogging down the narrative with exposition...." Read more

"...The writing is also clever and surprisingly philosophical at times...." Read more

"I did not care too much for this book. Some of the ideas were interesting and the plot was fine...." Read more

"...The premise seemed interesting but the characters were hard to relate to and the story didn't really pique my interest" Read more

3 customers mention "Art style"3 positive0 negative

Customers like the art style of the book, with one mentioning the great cover art and another noting the lizard man character design.

"...I also enjoyed all the creative creatures and the fact that art chose a lizard man . Highly recommend this book." Read more

"Aside from picking a cool avatar, the MC is boring and childish. Almost nothing of the smart entomology student survives the game world transition...." Read more

"The main character is a total wimp/lame duck. He has a sweet avatar but doesn't want to use it in a fight?..." Read more

15 customers mention "Character development"10 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the character development in the book, with some appreciating the well-defined AI characters and cool unique abilities, while others find them hard to relate to.

"...The Lacerta species had plenty of cool and useful traits that Art used throughout the book, and even his tail was practical as both a weapon and a..." Read more

"...Also, the character voices are pretty bad. It was kind of tolerable but it wasn't great...." Read more

"...The game system and ai characters seem very well defined for not being either controlled by a hyper powerful ai or being real, which feels like it’s..." Read more

"...That being said I liked the main characters choice. The story moved along nicely and I really liked Nux...." Read more

15 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive12 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book slow and boring.

"the story started off a little slow, but quickly picked up pace...." Read more

"...players that leveling is hard and slow, they also seem to level shockingly fast, but get almost no loot in the process...." Read more

"...be a legitimate game a person would play, although the story glossed over in-game playtime vs bodily functions...." Read more

"...The pet and race system is quite robust providing an endless degree of variability between characters - not to mention even by the end, there are so..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • paige
    5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT BOOK!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    What an awesome LitRPG! There was so much to like about it that I'm not sure where to begin, but let's start with the fact that the main character plays as a LIZARD MAN! That was the reason I picked up the book to begin with, and the premise did not disappoint me. The Lacerta species had plenty of cool and useful traits that Art used throughout the book, and even his tail was practical as both a weapon and a balance aid.

    Which brings me to the next point, which is that Art is just a great protagonist all around. He's an average and relatable university student with some life struggles but a kind soul nonetheless, and I appreciated how his scientific interests carried over into the game. Especially his love for bugs. On that note, props to the author for making me—someone who does not enjoy bugs at all—fall in love with a gross little grub creature and a giant spider. Nails is such an awesome animal companion, and hers and Shadow Weaver's cheerful little behaviors and interactions were so fun.

    The character's classes were really cool, I found Art's class progression and skills intriguing and well suited to both him and the story. And although Nux (also an awesome character) was a Thief, a pretty basic character archetype, I thought she had some cool unique abilities that mixed things up a bit as well. I found it really easy to cheer for Team Venom and was excited to see what new skills they'd get every time they leveled up!

    A few other things I liked:

    >The humor was top notch and genuinely hilarious. ("Nux would like to leave Venom. Reason: puns." 😂)

    >I appreciated that the out-of-game world was relevant to the story, but that we spent most of the page time inside the game world.

    >The world felt inclusive (some other LitRPG's seem to bring in the toxicity that is sometimes found in gamer culture, but I enjoyed that this book lacked that entirely.)

    >Hints of lore without bogging down the narrative with exposition. I liked the historical relationship between the Lacerta and the Lupus, for example, it added dimension to the world.

    >Despite the fun and fairly lighthearted nature of the story, there was a good level of emotional depth.

    >The descriptions were lovely and damn it I just want to play this game!!!

    Highly recommend this book for fans or newcomers to the genre! I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next installment of Beast Realms.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Decent book, lack of real conflict though
    Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    The storyline is good, the characters are fun to follow.
    The one issue I have is there isn’t any twist, no “this is a real word we’re unwittingly invading” or “we’re trapped in here”. While not necessary it means there are no real stakes at all, the main enemy (whose reasonings are toyed at, but never explicitly stated) is just another person playing a game, even if they beat him he can just come back, if they can’t beat him then they can just keep playing, turn the game off and go do something else, or start a new character if they want, etc.

    The game system and ai characters seem very well defined for not being either controlled by a hyper powerful ai or being real, which feels like it’s teased now and then, but it’s never stated, unless they mention it for a split second at the start and I missed it. Having played games this is something I’d want in a game, but realistically I understand that it’s difficult to make nps react to everything a player does, much less on the large scale of “actually in the game as an avatar”.

    Spoiler for the ending, but after refusing the King’s reward they get captured and have their magical artifacts removed, which felt like it deflated the whole story. And, if this is really just a game and not an alternate world, seems like a really garbage game design.

    All in all, I enjoyed the book, but these issues nagged me the whole time
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Charles Ross
    5.0 out of 5 stars Slow start, but good story and characters
    Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    the story started off a little slow, but quickly picked up pace. I liked the concept of the paired beasts, but thought the need to choose one when you were too low level to even make it a short distance outside the safe zone made me feel like it greatly limited the available beasts for the characters to choose from. That being said I liked the main characters choice. The story moved along nicely and I really liked Nux. Level progression was interesting and seemed reasonably balanced. Looking forward to installment two.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Matthew Kelley
    3.0 out of 5 stars Occupational Arrogance
    Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    There were areas where the main characters seemed especially dumb or arrogant, specifically Art. Otherwise an enjoyable tale. The audio and Kindle have significant editing differences and should be looked at. The Kindle which I assume is older had some of my preferences but the additional detail in the audio is appreciated.
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  • Jennifer C.
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Different Kind of Video Game
    Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A video game in which the players can choose to be one of any number of a humanoid version of an animal species, including the special abilities they have. Art chooses to be a Lacerta, a lizard man complete with a tail - which he finds comes in handy in battle - and self-regeneration. So begins his adventure. It's not long before he forms a partnership with a beast companion who is seen by most in the universe as being a shadow beast, and thus should be put down. Of course, Art is not most people. Choosing to keep his shadow beast quickly earns Art enemies, not least of which is an incredibly powerful fire mage. As if that isn't enough, Art also becomes involved in political intrigue with game-wide implications.

    If you enjoy books with characters who go into video games, then you'll probably like this one as well. I know I did. I read this book and the sequel in two days. Book 3 is working it's way up my much-too-long TBR list.
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  • Rieryn
    5.0 out of 5 stars Totally loved this story and it’s characters, what a twist of an ending
    Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I’ve always loved monster race main characters or characters in general as I’m human everyday. Art as Artheim has a rough start but as all MCs, he finds his way to a cool incredibly flexible oddity of classes, the Gray Knight, a balanced class that can manifest differently in each Gray Knight. I dig the variety and uniqueness for sure, it requires some planning and tactics over rushing in balls out swinging. But that does happen too!
    There is definitely progress in personal character growth within both MCs as we watch them and their Beasts evolve as they gain power and face new threats. I’m looking forward to the next book after the cliff hanging ending. 😉
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • JMcL
    5.0 out of 5 stars Gotta get me a Beast!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Wow! This was such a fun read - and some much needed escapism during these crazy times!

    I've read quite a few LitRPG novels over the last few months and what attracted me to this one was definitely the amazing world that the author has created. Through the main character's eyes, you really feel like you've been transported to this fantastical land where beasts and nature have taken over - and given those eyes belong to a 6ft lizard with some really cool powers, it's even more fun! I really loved the bond that the main character develops with his Beast (Nails) as well as some of the other really cool Beasts the duo meet along the way (such as Shadow Weaver, a giant spider with some lethal web shooting abilities).

    I also really liked the character of Nux. I feel like you don't see enough strong female characters in these type of novels and often when you do, they tend to be quite stereotypical or just act as a love interest for the main character. This is definitely not the case for Nux who has some serious bad-ass abilities and smarts, as well managing to keep the main character in check when his pun-ing gets out of control. Warning - there are a lot of puns in this novel!

    At over 600 pages, it's quite a long read but I never felt the story lagged. As someone who finds the gaming parts of LitRPG novels much more interesting than the scenes set in the real world, I was really pleased to see that we jump into the game almost immediately with only a sprinkling of scenes later on where the main character returns to real world. Well, I guess he has to sleep sometime!

    All and all, I really enjoyed this novel and would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a little escapism and some truly epic battles. It also ends on a bit of cliff-hanger and while we only get to see a small part of Beast Realms in the first novel with most of the main characters we're introduced to competing to complete the same task, I'm hoping we'll get to see some other parts of the world - and some new Beasts - in the rest of the trilogy. In the meantime, can someone please turn this into an actual game so I can play it and get my own Nails!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Scott Harris
    3.0 out of 5 stars Review
    Reviewed in Australia on May 1, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Average
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  • Avid Reader
    2.0 out of 5 stars Its a hard story to follow
    Reviewed in Australia on September 7, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Im not even sure how to write this review, the story is all over the place. I had a hard time finishing the book, it seems at times what the writer just throws random things in to spice things up but then does not know what to do with them and they just get solved with a click of the fingers.
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  • S. Reid
    4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Enjoyed this with a few niggles as i would of liked a little mix between real life and in game but the overall writing was good and the characters worked well.
    Would like to see the next book to see where it all develops
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 11, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Where to start. First off, a great read. Brilliant for those that enjoy seeing old literary or movies references. Also good for those who have a love for myths and mythical creatures. When I came across some of said references, I couldn't hold back a grin. The knowledge of the animals used throughout as whole, was well thought out. Thoroughly enjoyed reading Chrysalis. Would recommend it
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