I/O Volume 1: Reborn on the Shores of Awakening
A downloadable book
It is the Virtual 2040's. Our protagonist wakes up face-down in the sands of the Shores of Awakening - a starter area of their favorite VRMMO, Another World Online: Mundane Phantasy Historia - as avatar Deedee Yeowoo, a foxgirl healer. Something's wrong - she can't log out, and as part of the lategame raiding guild Dungeon-Crawling And Chill, shouldn't be at first level. Moreover, she's not alone - at least some of her friends in the guild, as well as the innocent newbie and streamer Ace Striker, are along for the ride.
How can they survive such an adventure friendly - which is to say, violent and monster-filled - world? Why are they here? And why does this avatar feel more comfortable to Deedee Yeowoo's player than her real life body ever did?
Volume 1 of a queer cyberpunk MMO isekai story about a gamer just realizing they're transgender.
This story will always be available for free on Scribblehub through this link, but consider buying the ebook if you enjoy the story or the quest on Sufficient Velocity and want to support my continued writings in this and other worlds.
Thanks to the generosity of my patrons on Patreon, I will occasionally have a limited number of free community copies of the ebook available as well.
As of March 1st, 10% of the gross sales of this book will go to the Transgender Law Center and their mission of legally protecting trans folks in America.
Purchase
In order to download this book you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $9 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Thanks To My Readers
Support this book at or above a special price point to receive something exclusive.
Community Copies
Community Copies are available for free to those who cannot afford the book but would like to have a copy. I'll put up a certain number, and some more have been made available thanks to generous donations from my patrons.
Going forward, for every five copies I sell or equivalent in tips, I will put up another community copy. I'll put them up once I run out of the current batch.
Download demo
Development log
- Thanks for supporting Isak!Aug 24, 2023
- Major Editing Pass; Live Readings on TwitchMar 07, 2023
- Community Copies now availableApr 22, 2022
- Tabletop I/O through OWTBApr 12, 2022
- Version 1.02 - new illustrations!Apr 06, 2022
- Donations to the Transgender Law CenterMar 02, 2022
- Version 1.01Feb 25, 2022
- Q&A on Scribblehub!Feb 17, 2022
Comments
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It's hard to know where to start with this book, so I'll lead in with a little bit of my own context: I don't read a lot of the isekai genre, nor do I really play MMOs except in passing! You might think this would hinder my enjoyment of a story that on the surface is all about those things, but you'd absolutely be wrong.
While I can tell even with my passing familiarity with the tropes of the trade that this story enthusiastically deals in playing with the expectations seasoned readers of portal fantasy might have about where it's going and what it's doing, that's far from the only draw it has. This is a story about videogames, yeah, but it's a story about people first, and Talia and her co-authors have crafted some fantastic folks for us to get to know. The dialog and character dynamics flow beautifully, with characters flipping between clever banter when they're on top of things to wonderfully, realistically awkward nerdy stumbling when they're not, and they always feel consistent with themselves all the same. You really get the sense of camaraderie between the main cast from the word go - not only that they like each other, but WHY they like each other, and that's no mean feat to establish so quickly.
I could easily keep going about this for ages, but to keep things at least sort of brief: S++ would highly recommend to longtime fans of the genre and newcomers alike, especially if they're in search of fresh, funny, and heartfelt takes on trans journeys of self discovery or queer romance.
I read a lot of portal fantasy - both traditionally published and self-published - and this is one of my favorite books in the genre, beating out even Seanan McGuire or Simon Archer. I've read over 180 books this year, and this is one of my top three books of 2022 - beating out even some of my favorite authors as Laurell K. Hamilton & Ursula Vernon for that spot.
This is a book that knows coming out narratives, cyberpunk stories, portal fantasies, & polyamorous romances, and uses that knowledge to build fresh, nuanced dynamics; clever allusions; and multilayered, smart worldbuilding that nothing else I've seen this year can equal.
Read it now. You're in for a treat.