[Updated May 11, 2024] The Head Hoppers series, by MK Eidson and Emila H Thicke, is complete, with a revised second volume and updated covers for books one and two. All five books of this GameLit/LitRPG liminal isekai series are available for Kindle and in print (paperback and hardcover) on Amazon. Epub editions of all five books are available on various platforms, as well as through some library outlets.
The story of Head Hoppers follows numerous game avatars from the character creation phase through their progression to level thirty, the maximum level allowed in the game world of Khertaan. A couple hundred players enter a video game competition of an unusual nature. At stake: millions of dollars in prizes.
Except, there’s much more at stake than money.
Unknown to the players, the competition is a cover for a military training exercise. The Khertaan avatars are being trained to fight inter-dimensional aliens who have invaded several worlds, including Earth, many alternate Earths, and other home worlds of sentient beings. The invading aliens aren’t harmed by conventional weapons, and that’s where our heroes come in… it’s up to them to reach a level of expertise in their chosen classes to effectively fight the invaders and send them back to the hell from which they sprung.
The first two books introduce the bulk of the cast and demonstrate the laws of the multiverse. Book two is neither sequel nor prequel to volume one. In fact, many of the events of book two happen well before the events of book one, but both books end at about the same point in time, with little overlap of character casts between them. Either book one or book two can be read first without spoiling the story in either.
Book one introduces the concept of avatars activated by sleeping players and the ability of these avatars to head hop to other avatars to lend out their skills and traits. The head hopping concept gives the series its name and is essential to the series plot. Book two introduces the concepts of time-jumping and time-shifting, the latter of which involves moving between alternate universes. These concepts are also of paramount significance to the overall plot.
The relationships between avatars and players are described differently in book one than book two, but readers should not take this as a conflict between the books. Rather, these differences can be explained by a System update that occurs in book two, even though the story doesn’t go into the details. The astute reader might notice many possible conflicts throughout the series, but the most astute readers should be able to find ways to resolve all of them. While the story of Head Hoppers is intended as escapism, we at Eposic also hope readers will find it thought-provoking as well.
The story of book one is told from the dual perspectives of a player and her Khertaan avatar. Book two (as revised for the second edition) is told from the point of view of another avatar, with an epilogue told from the viewpoint of that avatar’s player. Starting with book three, the number of narrative points of view gradually increase, going from roughly half a dozen viewpoints in book three to over twenty in book five, giving the reader insight to the significant events occurring in multiple places simultaneously. And though the story characters may at times be in totally different universes, their plot lines all come together in the conclusion of book five.
The first edition of book two was light on GameLit/LitRPG elements, and we’ve improved that situation with the addition of eight chapters in the second edition. Telling the story from an avatar’s point of view in book two also helps in that regard.
Fans of metaphysical/visionary fiction and/or isekai fiction should feel right at home in this series. In fact, the series overall falls into the liminal isekai category, with travel back and forth between realities made possible via a liminal space—sometimes referred to as limbo—existing within the multiverse between universes. By the end of the series, a whole lot of reality hopping and time traveling happens as the good guys and gals try to stop the big baddie and his minions. Admittedly, it may all be too much for a casual reader to keep straight. But it’s exactly the kind of story the authors love to read and desired to tell.
Readers who have some knowledge of role-playing games and enjoy reading science fiction stories with large ensemble casts, male and female protagonists, intricate plot lines, time travel, and alternate realities, with a bit of fantasy and cyberpunk flavor thrown in, are more likely to appreciate these books. The series is aimed at an adult audience and contains material depicting violence, domination through mind control, bodies hosting multiple repressed souls, sexual situations, gender and sexuality identification issues, suicidal thoughts and actions, and other emotional or mental trauma, which may be triggering for some readers and difficult to comprehend for others. But above all, at its core, Head Hoppers is a story of love and sacrifice.
Find the first book, The Longest Survivor, on your platform of choice. Once you find the first volume on your favorite platform, links to the other books in the series should be easily found there as well, or follow the links from our home page. The books are also available through a variety of library outlets. If your library doesn’t have them, ask for them. If you still can’t find them or can’t afford what you do find, jump over to my (MK Eidson) author web site at mkeidson.com/contact and send me a message. If complications arise with that method of contact, you can try to send me a DM on X. Once I get your message, I’ll help you find a way to read the series.
Thanks for your interest in our Head Hoppers GameLit/LitRPG liminal isekai series and for reading this web page to the end. Cheers!