Killing Time: An Epic LitRPG/GameLit Adventure: The Realms, Book 3

I think this novella was even better than his first outing, The Barrow King.I knew from the first book that I was going to really enjoy Lex, and boy was I right. Not only is he a fun character, but I was not expecting how deep and developed he turned out to be. This book takes on a cliche trope (stuck in a time loop) and executes it in a rather spectacular fashion. It is a fantastic roller coaster of awesome.Mr. Carney said that this originally started as a short story, and I really admire that he let it grow into whatever length it needed to be without feeling the need to pad it out and make it a full-length novel. The storytelling is tight and economical, and that same elegant restraint is on display throughout the whole story, including the cutting back of all the tables and charts and just letting the story flow. We got the game mechanics when it made sense, and then it stayed out of the way. Perfect.I was also not expecting all the fantastic snippets of world building. This isn't just a side story, guys, it's an integral part of the series. I would say how, but that goes into spoiler territory. I can say that we start to get glimpses of some of the unanswered questions from book one:How is a world constrained by game mechanics?Who and what is Lex, exactly? (He's special.)Questions don't get answered, but we do get to see a little more behind the curtain and now I'm convinced we're in for a great ride. It really feels like this whole thing was carefully planned before any typing cluttered a screen.And his gift with characters is on full display here with a wonderful stable of outrageous inn-mates.Looking forward to book 2.

This was a nice tie in to finally address the Lex absenteeism after they're split up 5 mins into Barrow King.Honestly a very smart way to succinctly catch him up time-wise to Gryph while also leveling him and genuinely developing character growth and letting us peer into a few new aspects of the Realms. Lex's highs and lows throughout his experience seemed real and the few shock twists thrown in as he would implement his plans were great.A few absolutely hilarious moments I appreciated, and I look forward to learning more about Vonn and think it will be really interesting to see the interactions of Lex and Gryph once they reunite now that Lex has grappled with his free will and bigger picture.My only real complaint on this one is honestly a superficial pet peeve with it's physical printing. Again there were a faw blatant typos here and there in the book, but also the book's spine indicates it is #3 in the series, as does the series goodreads page, google, etc. But the back cover identifies it as #2. Also once you've completed the book it indicates the first chapter of the next book in included (which the first book did as well), however it's not this chapter and instead the full novella "Dead Must Die" which is the next installment of the series. So yeah just a lot of unnecessary publishing issues that could have been avoided.However, as I said I really enjoyed this, flew through it as I have with all the Realms books thus far because they are very engrossing, and just had a good time with it. Really hoping Lex and Gryph team back up in book 4!

Story takes place after the end of Book 1. You will need to read Book 1 to get a sense of who are the characters and what this world is about. The book could be said to be a side-quest type of book in the growing series of books in this Realm story line. And, it kind of starts out that way. However, after reading through this book and having read the later books in the series, this is anything but a side-quest, though it does take part WHILE the incidents are taking place in Book 2 called, The Lost City. Think of Book 2 and 3 occurring simultaneously together.Story follows Lex, the "SIRI" of the Book 1's main character, Gryph. He used to be a virtual assistant that was tied to Gryph by his sister. Think of Lex as SIRI but on massive amounts of steroids operating in a world that is based on being controlled by AI. Lex and Gryph get separated at the end of Book 1 and so Book 3 follows Lex as he tries to get back to Gryph. The story is a sci-fi as well as litRPG as well as an adventure book. Like Groundhog day meets Skyrim.Carney once again weaves a tight world and story that is both believable and fantastic. The characters have... "character" and you get to know them as Lex does. You'll laugh at Lex interactions and sarcastic witty remarks with each of the town's characters, especially with one character Lex meets up later in the story line.Another great story from Carney. As of this review, book 5 is being written. I for one can't wait for each new story.

Absolutely hysterical and fits with the theme of the series perfectly! Can’t put these books down!I highly recommend these if you’re a fantasy gamer…Or not!

Decent book, not as good as the previous 2 books. This book revolves around Lex’s story while he got separated from Gryph

If you Love snarky sarcasm you will fully enjoy this book. Although the first 2 also have snarky comments and sarcasm, this one was a hoot! This book focuses completely on Lex and I laughed and giggled through the entire book; which took me only a couple hours to read! I have become quite the connoisseur of sarcasm since I married into an abundant gene pool of sarcastic males. It only took me 30+ years of marriage to learn how to be so snarky right back and then I brought 2 more of my own sarcastic geniuses into the world who perfected their talents by the tender age of 9! It was why I was sad to see Wick die in book 2 cuz I loved his snarky attitude! (Now if you haven't read book 2 yet, sorry for the spoiler, but you were cheating anyway if you were reading book 3's review) I absolutely LOVED this book, WHAT FUN!!!! I suggest you dive in and enjoy this one from cover to cover, of course that's meant for the sarcasm lover but anyone who has read the first 2 books should enjoy it too!

Feels like a filler book but was enjoyable.

Book 3 is great and washes away the grief of book 2. Don’t get me wrong. I’m enjoying the series and book 3 just hit the turbo

I was a bit hesitant about purchasing this book as side quests are normally terrible but this book is defiantly the exception!It follows the story of lexi, the ai in gryphs head at the start of the first book. This side story follows what happens to lexi when the two separate once being transported into the realms.The storyline is simple and easy reading but so much fun! It’s a great short read between book 1 and book 3. I think it’s a shame that the two main characters are apart but I can’t wait for them to adventure together.Normal typos you’d exsoect, doesn’t spoil the story in any way.

Lex is a AI. On entering an online game he is separated from his human owner/companion. He is different from most AI's because he has a personality and as such a certain level of free will. He uses cleverness to level up and face the challenges of the Realms. A bit more character sheets and mechanics in this one. I'll be interested to see how Lex and Gryph work as a team in the next book.

I like it. Very short, just think of it as a side story to the main series. Ten out of five.

Lex, the grumpy sidekick comes alive (literally) in this instalment. Nicely paved with satisfying progression. The plot thickens for future books, and I'm going to read book 4 right now!