You will likely see multiple reviews comparing this to Die Hard, but Fantasy, and that’s entirely accurate. It’s so accurate in fact, that the author even has a little joke or two about the very obvious inspiration/similarity in his work. If you are very familiar with the first Die Hard movie, you will recognize a particular scene, as a straight homage/joke. This isn’t a criticism by the way, it’s just an obvious fact of the material, so obvious the author acknowledges it in the work itself, to those who spot it. I found it incredibly funny, because about 30 minutes before the callback scene happened, I said to myself “Wow, this is Die Hard, but in a Fantasy world” and then the scene happens and I was like “Oh! Ok yeah, so the author knows it too, cool then!” xD
So, the book, points of interest:
Pros:
1. It’s very funny, the various NPCs have a good sense of humor to them, especially several the protagonist encounters in the tower. The banter and quips they deliver were highly amusing, and I was audibly chuckling and laughing on several occasions.
2. The protagonist was not perfect, far from it. I’ve seen several reviews talking about how the protagonist is a jerk, and yes, he is to a degree. He’s an “average” gamer, whatever that might mean. Or to put it better, he’s a very typical archetype of the kind of person who regularly plays MMOs, to the point of being a detriment to their life. And those people DO exist, I’ve gamed with them in MMOs myself for decades. The ones who go into gaming to try and fill a void in their lives, and how it alters them when it stops working long term. This isn’t a problem with the character…well I mean, yes it IS a problem, but that’s the whole point of a character arc. He’s not a chiseled jaw hero, summoned by the heavens to save the day. He’s Random Schmuck 27, who logged in to just try and get some stuff done, but ended up in a situation beyond his control. His conflict on the emotional level is the key conflict for him, the leveling and getting upgrades stuff isn’t the main focus, which is GOOD. Too many LitRPG novels think just piling upgrade scene after upgrade scene into the story, will make up for not having any actual story. Like The Land. That book series is just nothing but upgrades and powerups, the protagonist doesn’t actually DO anything. But I digress. The upgrades and powerups are just the mechanic by which the protagonist of this book, deals with, and tries to overcome his emotional and internal problems. And it’s done very well. He makes dumb choices, he acts like a jerk to his allies, he’s sometimes greedy, because that’s what a character flaw is for. If it doesn’t impede and hinder the protagonist on their journey, then it’s not a flaw, and not worth having in the story. Zoran is VERY flawed, and he knows it, but knowing you have a problem, doesn’t solve the problem. It just means you sometimes know you are being a jerk, yet you do it anyway. His progression through the novel felt very real to me. He would make progress, then have a setback, usually of his own making. But where it leads to ultimately, is very satisfying.
3. Ok that was a long point, but an important one. Let’s see, what else did I like? Oh! The pacing was well done, as well as the way the world interacted with the game world. A lot of LitRPG novels sort of gloss over the real world impact of the game, and focus entirely on the game world. Which isn’t a bad thing really, it depends on how the story is structured. But when the author does try and bridge between the real/digital world, they can often drop the ball, and make things feel very…disconnected I guess. This doesn’t happen in this book. It doesn’t actually have much real world content, once the story gets going, but it’s still always there, and Zoran is aware of it, and it’s impact on what he is doing.
4. The gamer names that pop up from time to time were very funny, and were ironically appropriate given the context, as well as feeling like actual names a gamer would pick for themselves.
Cons:
1. …..I honestly can’t really think of much really. I mean I’m sitting here, trying to think of any details that genuinely frustrated me, and I’m drawing a blank. Oh, I guess the frequency that the “person gets interrupted while telling important information to the protagonist” trope gets used a bit too much for my liking? I just find that trope really annoying, and overused, but that’s a personal taste issue, and not really a major problem with the book.
So…yeah not really much to say by way of negative stuff, a solid book, a fun read. I’m looking forward to the next installment when it happens. If you like the LitRPG genre, and honestly, why would you be reading this review if you didn’t? This is a solid purchase.