Michael Atamanov has 17 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 5 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.8★ across 132 ratings. The most-rated is Video Game Plotline Tester.
Video Game Plotline Tester
Summary
Would you be prepared to work for free? How would you like to bust your hump for a large corporation 60-plus hours a week without a wage or a single day off for the vague promise of some mysterious perks in the distant future? You'd refuse point blank, wouldn't you? But what if the job in question was playing a state-of-the-art fantasy MMORPG game? And what if this was the only thing you're really good at? Especially considering that your in-game partner is someone really special to you - and this person already lives a virtual life? Knowing all this, would you consider the mysterious future bonus worth your while?
©2017 M. Atamanov; English translation copyright 2017 by Andrew Schmitt (P)2017 Tantor
Stay on the Wing
Summary
When Timothy finally found work as a tester for a popular online MMORPG, his lifelong dream was fulfilled. And now, he earns money (and pretty good money, at that) just for doing what he loves - playing a beautiful and realistic computer game. But he isn't some typical run-of-the-mill player, like the millions of others. Timothy is truly capable and talented, and stands out from the crowd. In fact, the faceless masses consider him far too lucky and successful. Many players dislike him for his achievements and hunt him down ruthlessly just because they feel envious or because he looks different. So, what is he to do now that the whole world is against him and his only allies are his beloved sister and a few trusted friends? Make peace? Sink down to their level? Or just fly ever higher on the wings of success? It's all up to Timothy!
©2017 M. Atamanov; English translation copyright 2017 by Andrew Schmitt (P)2017 Tantor
Finding a Body
Summary
What is it like for a small flap-eared goblin herbalist to play the role of the Dark Sovereign, the main antagonist for Boundless Realm's hundreds of millions of players? What is it like to find one's self the standard bearer for an army of man-eating giants, cyclops, skeletons, ghosts, and other hellspawn, who don't give a damn about their modest little ruler? Our hero didn't desire such an unenviable fate, but there is no way back now. He'll just have to tighten the straps and play the ghastly overlord to the innumerable hordes that now threaten all Boundless Realm. But the longer our hero plays, the better he understands that this world is much more complicated than it seems at first glance and he is just a pawn in someone else's game. And lots of things depend on whether he can figure all of it out in the short time he has left, including his own life.
©2018 M. Atamanov; English translation copyright 2018 by Andrew Schmitt (P)2019 Tantor
A Trap for the Potentate
Summary
The great hunt is over. In the end, Timothy managed to keep his invaluable prize. A victory? Perhaps. But glory and adrenaline are very powerful narcotics, and tolerance builds quickly. Once deprived of them, life immediately becomes gray and bleak. What's more, his beautiful lover is beginning to transparently hint that she could find herself a more interesting beau. What is a talented player to do in this case? The solution suggests itself: rush headlong into the most dangerous adventures, taking risks and walking the blade of a knife. Timothy must do everything in his power to survive in places where making a clean escape is entirely impossible, delighting the viewers with his utterly unique playing style and proving decisively to his lady that his previous success was no mere coincidence. Will it be hard? Very! But old reliable friends are still by his side, and that means victory is possible.
©2018 M. Atamanov; English translation copyright 2018 by Andrew Schmitt (P)2018 Tantor
Game Changer
Summary
A war has broken out in the galaxy! The great spacefaring races are all entangled in the fight, and even at the very edge of the known universe, humanity can hear the echoes of its distant bloody battles. Our suzerains and defenders, the Geckho, are also caught up in this all-encompassing conflict. Is that a good thing for humanity or not? The answer is up for debate. On the one hand, the Geckho will no longer take the trouble to defend a planet inhabited by people, which is worrying. But on the other, might humanity have the chance to make a name for itself and take a more active role in interstellar politics? Gnat is with the Shiamiru crew on the front lines. He's just changed class to Listener, and his friends find themselves right in the thick of this grand interstellar war....
©2018 Michael Atamanov; English translation copyright 2018 by Andrew Schmitt (P)2018 Tantor
Countdown
Summary
At long last, an extraterrestrial civilization reached out and made the First Contact. However, no one on Earth took their communique for the genuine article. In a similar vein, very few people appreciated just how little time our new suzerains had promised to keep our planet safe. Regardless, the end of their message showed humankind how to access a mysterious game. The objective of this game is unclear. No one can say where its servers are located, and its inner workings are beyond comprehension. But the game slowly gained momentum, pulling in more and more players. Soon enough, it became impossible to ignore the fact that things that happened in the game had a direct impact on our reality. And not only ours.... But as people figure out this mysterious game, the countdown timer ticks away. And no one can say exactly what will happen when Earth's safety is no longer guaranteed.
©2018 Michael Atamanov; English translation copyright 2018 by Andrew Schmitt (P)2018 Tantor
A Jump into the Unknown
Summary
We put an end to the war with the Dark Faction, but still humanity's problems are far from over. More than half of the game's promised tong of safety has elapsed, and yet humankind is no closer to forming a unified front. We've just begun building one of the 12 planetary shield generators necessary to give Earth complete protection, but we don't have enough construction materials, players, or time. Should we ask the parallel magocratic world for help? After all, an invasion from outer space would hurt them just as bad. The mages, though, have plenty of problems of their own. What options does Gnat even have here? All he can truly count on are his own strength and his personal Relict faction. Should we put all our eggs in one basket and look for help in deep space? Might technology from ancient, long-vanished races allow humanity to grow strong enough to turn back the onslaught before it's too late?
©2019 Michael Atamanov; English translation copyright 2019 by Andrew Schmitt (P)2020 Tantor
External Threat
Summary
The countdown timer continues to tick, but Earth is still not ready to repel an invasion from space. Gnat is on his voyage with the Shiamiru, all the while trying to find backup for humanity among the great spacefaring races. After all, based on what he's already seen, he knows not to count on the good sense of his own kind. Even facing an external threat, the people of our Earth cannot see past their internal squabbles and come together to fight as one. Gnat does not expect gratitude from his leaders for taking such matters into his own hands, but when have laws and rules ever stopped our intrepid hero before?
©2018 Michael Atamanov; English translation copyright 2018 by Andrew Schmitt (P)2018 Tantor
Web of Worlds
Summary
Ceasefires have one big downside: They eventually come to an end. And when they do, once again game nodes are set ablaze, and platoons of Dark Faction soldiers threaten our customary world with destruction. The enemy has grown stronger and more numerous. To make matters worse, they also got their hands on even deadlier weaponry. They have learned painful lessons from previous encounters and adjusted their tactics accordingly. What's more, the vast hordes of enemies are led by the greatest strategist of modern times, and his mage advisors can see all possible futures so they always know just what to do. How can our world possibly stand up against such an enemy? Our only hope is the bravery and tenacity of our best fighters, those who'd rather die than surrender. Well, that and a starship captained by one lone mage.
©2019 Michael Atamanov; English translation copyright 2019 by Andrew Schmitt (P)2019 Tantor
Beyond Death
Summary
Playing by the book? That's not how we do it! In his attempt to delay his appearance in Emperor's court, Crown Prince Georg triggers an alien invasion of his own star system. The whole of the Empire watches the live broadcast with bated breath as his fleet battles the awesome invaders. The Iseyeks - gigantic sentient praying mantises - are suitably impressed too, so they promptly remind the Crown Prince of his allied duties. The Sector Eight Fleet hurries to the Swarm's aid...but sadly disregards the insects' hive mentality.
©2016 Michael Atamanov; English translation copyright 2016 by Andrew Schmitt (P)2016 Tantor
New Contract
Summary
The enemy's at the gate, the situation getting worse by the second, and Ruslan's employer hasn't done a good job (to put it mildly) of securing his successes. Now the star system Unatari is under threat from the Aliens. It's high time Ruslan came back in order to rescue everything he holds dear from imminent destruction and save Perimeter Defense - the game that has become his life.
©2016 Michael Atamanov; English translation copyright 2016 by Andrew Schmitt (P)2016 Tantor
Sector Eight
Summary
A strange body that refuses to obey you; a weird game you can't quit until your contract expires; a world teeming with powerful and very real enemies. The game in which your reputation and faction relationship are the only things that matter. These are the conditions of the agreement Ruslan signs without reading. The only thing he remembers is that he's been contracted to command a space fleet in a brand-new game he knows nothing about. Objective: to survive for six months. After having made some inevitable newbie mistakes, Ruslan has to rethink his strategy, dropping traditional gaming conventions. But what will it cost him? What new trials and tribulations await him that even the game designers have failed to anticipate?
©2015 Michael Atamanov (P)2016 Tantor
A Game with No Rules
Summary
The Empire is splitting at the seams. The Great Houses refuse to obey the Throne World and have begun to conduct increasingly independent politics. Sensing the weakness of the central government, even the most loyal star systems of the Imperial Core are refusing to take orders from above. Is this just a string of coincidences, or a coordinated campaign? Can a disjointed humanity rally around a strong leader to deflect an alien invasion? Who of the many figures in intergalactic politics can rise to this challenge? And is there a basis to the creeping rumors that some influential aristocrats have joined forces with the enemy and allied with the aliens?
©2017 Michael Atamanov; English translation copyright 2017 by Andrew Schmitt (P)2017 Tantor
Aces High
Summary
To be on a starship that's just sustained serious damage in a space battle and lost its thrusters and to find yourself in a totally different galaxy....You might think that would be cause for panic or, at the very least, despondency, right? Not at all! Gnat maintains optimism, gradually gets his space frigate back in working order, and even finds upsides to what happened. On top of that, there's never a dull moment - both in the virtual game and the real world. Gnat finds himself at the very epicenter of the great spacefaring races' interests, though he does not understand why they're paying him such close attention. And add to that the fact that humanity's Geckho suzerains are also in a tight spot and demanding all their vassals institute a military draft then send their assembled forces out to fight a distant space war. Will Gnat be able to play his part in this complicated diplomatic party with the future of the entire human race at stake? Find out in book six of Reality Benders!
©2020 Michael Atamanov (P)2021 Tantor
A Cat and His Human
Summary
When our protagonist, Andrei, discovers that his girlfriend has cheated on him, he finds himself with an unexpected choice to make: a quick death or a new life in another world he knows absolutely nothing about. Andrei chooses life and sets off alongside his pet, a ginger cat with a limp, for a primeval world fraught with danger. The trouble is...who is whose pet becomes entirely unclear; the man's consciousness is split between both creatures, and the little cat gets a far greater share of intelligence and wit than his hulking master. What do you do as a weak little kitty? Abandon the clumsy human who always seems to get into trouble and go in search of a new master? Or protect your human body in the hope of one day returning to it?
©2020 Michael Atamanov (P)2020 Tantor
Service of the Pharaoh
Summary
The adventures of Sergeant and his cat continue! The human Beast Catcher has been forcibly separated from his furry girlfriend Shelly, but our hero's character level is too low to follow her into the wider world or take proper vengeance. All he can do now is gain strength, level up his character and skills, and add to his ever growing list of enemies to one day be punished...or leave that to his ginger kitten Whiskers, fast becoming an expert in curse magic. In the meantime, a terrible storm is brewing in the sandbox for beginner players. The humans and the sherkhs are on the brink of war for domination of this land fenced off from the rest of the world. The sherkhs are choosing a general for their army, and one of the candidates is an old acquaintance of our hero. The main task for Sergeant and his cat now is to avoid falling into the grip of a bloody conflict.
©2020 Michael Atamanov; English translation copyright 2020 by Alix Merlin Williamson (P)2021 Tantor
The Murder of Kelsey Berreth
Summary
Love and Murder A successful young mother, Kelsey Berreth, vanishes on Thanksgiving Day in 2018. Kelsey, a pilot so good she taught the military how to fly, goes shopping at a Safeway store, and simply disappears. Her fiance, Patrick Frazee, says he doesn't have a clue. In fact, he says they broke up just a few days before. He's as mystified as everyone else. But Kelsey's mother, Cheryl, is afraid she knows what happened to her daughter. A task force of FBI and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents believe they also know what happened to Kelsey. They have cell phone records and more, including surveillance video and DNA. But they have run into a roadblock. The agents have to get someone close to the killer to flip and turn state's evidence. Are they going to have to do a deal with the devil to find justice for Kelsey Berreth? Contains mature themes.
©2020 Lyons Circle Pubilshing Inc. (P)2021 Tantor