The difference between a hero and a tyrant is charisma. 

Fresh off their defeat of the lich’s army, Gary and his friends find themselves preparing for an even larger threat. While unlocking elder magic gave them the juice they needed to turn aside one foe, it unstoppered the bottle holding back an ancient evil. 

Gary knows what’s coming because he wrote it. Now, with political responsibilities crushing him from one side and a demonic army looming on the other, Gary must balance the necessity of victory with the means to achieve it. 

After all, what good is saving a kingdom only to become the villain?

Hero Time

Hero Time, narrated by Mikael Naramore

If Gary had known he'd get trapped in an RPG with his real-life stats, he’d have tried harder in gym class.

Gary Burns just wanted to create the greatest RPG campaign of his gaming career. But a freak magical accident sucks him into the very world he created—as himself.

Surrounded by heroes who look and sound like his friends, Gary is forced to play out the story he wrote. Worthless in a fight, Gary must prove himself valuable even if it means feeding the team insider knowledge.

Because he needs to keep his friends close—and himself alive—until he can solve the puzzle he never designed: how to get everyone back home.

Homebrew

Homebrew, narrated by Mikael Naramore

Games were made to be broken. 

Gary Burns has been kidnapped, thrown in a dungeon, and tortured for information. Worst of all, he’s been separated from his friends, so no one even knows where to look for him. 

Cut off from his support network, Gary uses the only tools at his disposal: a silver tongue and an insider’s knowledge of the game world that’s second to none. 

With a makeshift party of former foes, Gary must not only escape his captor but plan for payback. Because nothing passes the time in a dank, lightless prison cell like plotting revenge. 

And when your adversary is a centuries-old lich with the might of an army at his disposal, death is a starting point, not a victory.

House Rules

House Rules, narrated by Mikael Naramore

Gary Burns thought he’d created a masterpiece. Instead, he’d created a prison for his friends—and himself.

Gary Burns just wanted to create the greatest RPG campaign of his gaming career. But a freak magical accident sucks him into the very world he created—as himself.

Surrounded by heroes who look and sound like his friends, Gary is forced to play out the story he wrote. Worthless in a fight, Gary must prove himself valuable even if it means feeding the team insider knowledge.

Because he needs to keep his friends close—and himself alive—until he can solve the puzzle he never designed: how to get everyone back home.

Metagamer Chronicles Complete Collection

Metagamer Chronicles Complete Collection, narrated by Mikael Naramore

100 tons of walking steel. One human heart. 

Sgt. Reggie King wakes up from a battlefield injury to find himself physically intact. But the hospital staff insist he’s not fit to return to duty. As part of his psychological recovery, they introduce him to a game. 

Armored Souls is a tank game on steroids. Giant, walking mechs called juggernauts engage in interplanetary wars as noble houses and mercenary factions wage endless battles for supremacy. For the pilots of these juggernauts, the rewards are glory, cash, and XP. 

As a tanker in real life, Reggie has a leg up on tactics and leadership, but he’s got a lot to learn in the game world. Saddled with trigger-happy commanding officers, slacker teammates, and bafflingly incompetent NPC underlings, Reggie will have to struggle to make headway. 

Meanwhile, a sinister player decides to make Reggie’s life hell after their two factions clash. Reggie is forced to find a solution to his griefer problems while battling the real life demons that chased him into the game in the first place. 

…And they won’t let him quit.

Dead Mech Walking

Dead Mech Walking, narrated by Mikael Naramore

It’s time for our sergeant to become a general. 

Reggie King lives his life in the Armored Souls universe. But there’s more to the game than taking missions as they come. Even turning a secret asteroid base into a kickass man cave only holds appeal for so long. There comes a time when a platoon of mercenaries either needs to join up with a major faction....

Or create one. 

With the founding of Wounded Legion, Reggie takes on responsibility for building and recruiting an elite fighting force capable of conquering planets. But while crummy little independent worlds and uninhabited rocks are easy to capture, the real prizes involve fighting other factions to secure. In the process, Reggie makes enemies, including one troll who refuses to win gracefully. Rather than rough up Wounded Legion and move on, Liberty Clan decides they want to wipe Reggie and his friends off the galactic map. 

It’s all by the book. The game rules allow it. To avoid extermination, Reggie has to find a way to combat a foe 10 times as powerful as his own. A diplomat might broker a deal. An assassin might go straight for the enemy leader. But Reggie’s a soldier, and he’s going to fight this war the way he knows best.

Wounded Legion

Wounded Legion, narrated by Mikael Naramore

A dying game. A tournament for the ages. One last chance for glory. 

After a glorious run as the world’s first full-immersion VR mega-game, Armored Souls is on its last legs. Competitors are on the rise, and the company’s own projects are surpassing it. In a last-ditch effort to inject new life into the game, Valhalla West announces a tournament with such an awesome prize that no player can resist. 

Reggie has led Wounded Legion to the top ranks of the factions on the Armored Souls servers, but the game has gotten easy for him. Too easy. When Valhalla West announces their tournament plans, Reggie springs into action to prepare for it. His motives are twofold. First, it’s the most excitement he’s felt in years. 

But more importantly, Armored Souls is Reggie’s entire world. He’s willing to fight to keep it going as long as he can.

Ghost Platoon

Ghost Platoon, narrated by Mikael Naramore

100 tons of walking steel. One human heart. 

Sgt. Reggie King wakes up from a battlefield injury to find himself physically intact. But the hospital staff insist he’s not fit to return to duty. As part of his psychological recovery, they introduce him to a game. 

Armored Souls is a tank game on steroids. Giant walking mechs called juggernauts engage in interplanetary wars as noble houses and mercenary factions wage endless battles for supremacy. For the pilots of these juggernauts, the rewards are glory, cash, and XP. 

What follows is an epic struggle against the forces arrayed against him, from rival gamers to entire factions looking, to crush Reggie underfoot. To survive will take all his military leadership, perseverance, and maybe a little help from some new friends. 

The Armored Souls series is perfect for listeners looking for a combination of The Matrix and Battletech. If you enjoy giant robots blasting at each other and swinging 20-ton swords, you’ll love these books. 

Log out of your life and into Armored Souls.

Armored Souls The Complete Collection

Armored Souls Complete Collection, narrated by Mikael Naramore

Xavier P. Hunter was born at the dawn of the video game age. He grew up with a game controller in his hand, moving from Atari joystick through PS4 controller the way a hermit crab outgrows its shell. His little league was RBI Baseball, his first date was Princess Zelda, and his first unpaid internship was leading raids in World of Warcraft. He lives in a world of pixels and frame rates, coming out infrequently to eat and that sort of thing.
Most of his writing is done while patches download or when servers are down for maintenance.

Like most superheroes, he operates in meat space under an assumed name.

Xavier P. Hunter

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