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Review
The Gilraen and the Prophecy trilogy is an illustration of imagination gone wild!

The story reads beat-by-beat like a classic RPG with a chosen hero or heroine (Gilraen) on a long, arduous quest to defeat an evil lord (Beckworth) and his chief minions/corruptors (Adjudicars) while recruiting multiple different types of beings to her cause. It’s a formula as old as the fantasy genre itself that works, and Dr. Joanne Reid executes. It does have a sorta Ultima-esque feel to it, fitting for a Gamelit series. There is a sense of adventure throughout these books, especially as Gilraen travels from place-to-place meeting new people. The world-building definitely stands out and will get its own section at the end of this review. The thought and effort put into this series is almost without compare.
The Gilraen and the Prophecy series is incredibly imaginative. The world-building is top-notch. The author is a truly brilliant person (a doctor) in real life. It’s incredible how she’s able to capture almost a childlike wonder within these pages!
These books just got better and better. What’s more? There are four more books in this series that actually look even better than the first three! We’re excited for you to check out this series!
Review of “Gilraen and the Prophecy” trilogy by Dr. Joanne Reid – Outstanding Creator Awards (Excerpted)

Product Description
Tony Richardson, a world champion video gamer, volunteers to beta test a ‘new, fully immersive experience.’ Instead, he finds he has been transported to an alien world. He is in the court of Prince William. And, he is in the body of a beautiful Elf who is the image of the Prince’s martyred wife. What Tony doesn’t know is that he is a pawn in game for control of Jaralii.

But, a pawn may become a queen.

And a Queen can play her own game.

If you’re looking for GameLit in which the hero of an epic fantasy bravely faces doom in a medieval world filled with Elves and Dwarves, Sorcerers and monsters set amidst a great civil war and wrapped in a romance of forbidden love, this is the book for you.

Reviews

A thorough and honest review of “I Came: Gilraen and the Prophecy”
Reviewed in the United States  on December 14, 2021
This is definitely a more than decent book. I would give it about a 4.5 stars out of 5. It’s competently and passionately written. It has an interesting and very meta concept. A few things do hold this book back. There are some small and reoccurring errors such as missing punctuations, missing spaces (particularly between single quotation marks), or inconsistencies in things like capitalization (“My Prince” or “my Prince”/”My Lady” or “my Lady”) that another editor could’ve caught. There are also a lot of ellipses (…) used in place of commas, colons, semi-colons, and dashes. The ellipses are supposed to represent a dramatic pause or a character thinking, but sometimes they’re used in very straight-forward or not-so-dramatic situations akin to “I went to the armory … and there were weapons there” (exaggerating there a bit, but you get the point). There are also times when Tony is supposed to be thinking in the body of Gilraen that are represented in italics; however, there are other times when Tony is thinking but there are no italics.

There are also something like 40 characters with names in this book. I wrote them all down. Most of these characters are basically NPCs in a video game: people who wander the palace grounds or town doing the same mundane tasks and popping back in every now and then to send the player on a fetch quest. I guess that’s fitting with the subject matter (being in a video game). There are some charming and interesting groups of characters such as the women from the palace who tend to and befriend Gilraen and the trio of cats. You never want anything bad to happen to those people. William stands out to me because he’s just such a good guy. He’s such a good guy that it’s kinda hard to believe that he’s a ‘real’ guy. He’s almost too good to believe. I almost expect for him to have a Rochester-like dark secret, and maybe he will in books 2 and 3, but I don’t know yet. I don’t buy him yet.

One person I’m dying to know more about is Anthony himself. We don’t really get much from him yet. He’s like a blank slate. We find out he’s old, fat, and a successful gamer. This story leaves a lot of room for discussions of gender since he’s a man in a woman’s virtual body. Perhaps it’ll be explored in greater detail later, but we’ve gotten breadcrumbs so far.

The world does, ultimately, feel lived in. There’s a good deal of worldbuilding in this including the special customs different characters and/or their races and/or their clans have, unique foods and drinks, and even unique domesticated or farm animals. Also, each location in the story has its own look and feel to it that’s distinct from the others and we can tell where it is in relation to the other places we’ve read about. I have serious Ultima VII, VIII, IX vibes from some parts of this. For example, there’s a continuing idea that Tony’s world (Earth) is “next” once the Jeralii lands are conquered similar to how the Guardian in those games would continually threaten the Avatar. There are also some nice touches such as the navigators using the orbital bodies to judge distance and direction. There are many races and clans in this universe including Krell, Trolls, Goblins, Dwarves, multiple kinds of Elves, Humans, Gaunts, Adjudicars, Orcs. There’s a lot of political intrigue including divergent motives and agendas to go around.

There are also some beautiful and even visceral descriptions in this, many involving similes.

I look forward to reading more of this series. I recommend it to everyone into Gamelit and Fantasy!
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John Spender
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Entertaining book!
Reviewed in the United States  on June 1, 2022
This fantasy book is really entertaining, and it makes you keep reading it over and over.

It’s about a computer gamer that becomes his own avatar in reality, a beautiful elf named Gilraen Gulamae.

She has strong skills in mental abilities, archery and battle strategy. I wish this book could be turned into movie!

The correlation between real life and the virtual world was fun. I highly recommend this book for everyone who loves fantasy stories.
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footloosemary
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
More than a game?
Reviewed in the United States  on July 17, 2020
I’m not normally a fan of game lit, but I got so involved in the story it was easy to forget the main character was really a fat old man invested in a nubile young beauty’s body that also happened to have magical powers. The characters are unusual, some very attractive but others grossly off putting, no matter which side they are playing on. Meanwhile, a mysterious off world group works to gain an unknown outcome. As the stakes go up, suspicion rises that this is more than just a game. But who is pulling the strings? And why?
The author skillfully drew me into her world, leaving me eager to pursue the next installment.
6 people found this helpful
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M. Reyes
4.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
An awesome story
Reviewed in the United States  on January 15, 2020
I must admit that I found the cover of the book kind of strange, but considering that I don’t really read many books or watch many movies that have this medieval feel to it, I disregarded the thought because I thought the premise of the story was interesting. I’m so glad I did too. The story was entertaining. It was as if I were watching it on the big screen. The only thing that bothered me as I read on was the wording and phrasing. It was awkward at some points, and it distracted me from the story.
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Corina Douglas
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
High fantasy with a gaming slant
Reviewed in the United States  on January 14, 2020
Wow! This story packed a punch I was not expecting! It was cleverly set up at the start and then bam – you are involved in a real life gaming simulation. The author is accredited with the wealth of detail provided in this high fantasy story. You’ll come across every race imagined whilst you race to defend a kingdom!
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RQK
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
A fun read.
Reviewed in the United States  on January 19, 2020
I am usually not into fantasy stories, but put the story in the context of a VR game and that sparks my interest. Couple this intriguing story with very well detailed (but not overblown) descriptions of scenes, characters, their thoughts and actions and you get an adventure that comes to life before your eyes. Even minor ideas and concepts that may just be skimmed over in other books are covered here in a way that complements the reading experience and shows you the depths to which the author has gone to create this very complete and believable world … and all of that makes it a fun read.
6 people found this helpful
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DebbieT
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
Great fantasy story!
Reviewed in the United States  on January 21, 2020
I loved this fantasy/gamers story! The main character is smart, sophisticated, Elf lady with expansive powers that make her skilled in mental abilities, archery, and battle strategy. The depth of detail help to make this fantasy land very real- with customs, tribal politics, food, and attire all carefully thought out. I would recommend it to anyone who likes game fiction like, “Ready Player One” or fantasy stories like, “Lord of the Rings.”
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Something new and didn’t disappoint
Reviewed in the United States  on January 13, 2020
I started reading this and got sucked in. The game playing world is new to me but so real from the book. Reminded me of Ready Player One where reality and game playing became one. I wanted to try something new and this did not disappoint.

A breathless jaunt through a fantastic world.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom  on January 19, 2020
The book opens with a prophecy. Anyone who has read and enjoyed Eddings or Wylie’s Servants of Ark will know the tingle of the spine a good prophecy to set up the story sends running. I couldn’t wait to see how the prophecy played out, was interpreted and fulfilled! Using…See more
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V-Attard
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
An absolute delight
Reviewed in Germany  on April 22, 2020
The book is an unbelievable experience. I wish it is turned into a movie. It is the perfect blend for the present and did place me right at the setting of the book. I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel. Clever writing and admirable style of timing. I j