by Matt Dinniman

A Science Fiction, 2020 by Ace, 450 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

• The scene with the first tutorial, while it takes an interesting approach to the info dump, was a bit much. Of course I say that as a person who rapidly advances through such scenes in a video game, preferring to just figure it out as I go.
• There are some gory fight scenes. If you know you aren’t a fan of gore or graphic fighting, try the graphic novels. We’ve heard they’re a bit better for that!
• If we’re supposed to keep track of Carl’s inventory items, I failed. Of course I say that as the type of game player who never knows what I even have in my own inventory when I play a game.

What I Did Like:

• I hate when popular series get passed my way and I can’t get into them and people say “oh wait for book 3” or whatever. This book is NOT that. The first chapter sets the hilarious tone, sets up the premise, and hooks you in. Read Chapter 1 – you’ll see!
• Dry, sarcastic humor. You’ll have a dark fight scene and then cap it off with a funny line. It’s great! I want a Goddamnit Donut shirt 😆 It breaks up the serious stuff with levity often and that’s what you need in a book to keep you reading, I think. It doesn’t ever let you forget it’s serious … just also lets people have funny lines that make you laugh.
• The depth of this one is obvious about half-way through the book. In a series like this, you want there to be larger things at stake that are going to carry the book beyond this one. It’s pretty clear that this has that! The stakes of this book are high for Carl but the indication is that there’s more going on than we realize for minor characters like Mordecai or Odette.

Who Should Read This One:

• Fans of dystopian who want grown adults to deal with the awful reality.
• Gamers or movie fans who like high action and intensity with sarcasm. This gives Ender’s Game, Ready Player One, and Labyrinth vibes early (in a good way).
• Fantasy fans, the world here is very well built and you’re only scratching the surface! Definitely well written for that crowd.
• Post apocalyptic fans. There’s a huge event literally in the first chapter. The rest of the book is what comes after. It’s perfect for fans of the genre.

My Rating: 5 Stars

• Fantasy, science fiction, deep themes, and a great intro into LitRPG. Honestly, I get the hype.