The Stillwater Project by Craig Askham

SPFBO7

Bounty hunter on medieval planet required. Popular quest, sells fast, book early to avoid disappointment. No experience necessary. That was basically how the ad enticed Troy Cooper into signing up for The Stillwater Project, Earth’s finest – and only – purveyor of portal vacations. In his head, of course, nothing could possibly go wrong; he played Fantasy VR games all the time, so the real thing was surely just a natural progression of that. A chance to level-up, even. A long weekend away, on a medieval planet, kicking butt and drinking ale. No big deal. And besides, portal tourism was an actual thing these days – with billboards and everything – so it had to be safe, right? Well, as it turns out, not so much. Because one of the things Troy didn’t really consider was the fact that portal quests are absolutely not the same as playing online games. Not by a long shot, in fact. No second chances, no respawning at the start of a level, and definitely no Invincibility spells to conveniently get his backside out of trouble at the last possible second. Just a very real chance of death. Permanent death. Oh, and a couple of the other things he didn’t consider? Firstly, his online avatar might have ninja-skills, but his real-life body is just a little too out-of-shape to be a bounty hunter. And secondly, ale doesn’t really taste that great. So, join Troy and his gaming friends as they step through the portal for their first – and possibly last – adventure on magical Vangura, where everything that happens along the way may – or may not – be part of the quest they paid for. And remember, when it comes to being a bounty hunter on a medieval planet, it doesn’t really matter what the billboards say… …there’s no such thing as no experience necessary! The Stillwater Project is a standalone story set in the world of the Portal Hunter Chronicles, an original new series that’s perfect for fans of Westworld, Game of Thrones and Stargate.

Adult • Fantasy/Portal • Fantasy/LitRPG