I’ve read the Jenkins cycle books from this author and liked their quirky, unique story. I was looking forward to how the author would tackle LitRPG and I wasn’t disappointed. While I did get frustrated that he wanted to be nice to the enemies that immediately turned on him and battle, I think ultimately it was a little more believable and true to Ethan’s character. This guy is not a gamer by nature and to him, these are lucids exactly like him. And even though they both can respawn, it doesn’t mean it won’t hurt! He still has to adjust to life in the game, and his morality wouldn’t just evaporate overnight. Made Ethan a little more genuine to me, even with his flaws.
I think some people are going to be surprised by the ending, but knowing that there are two more books coming soon, I’m going to give Monk the benefit of the doubt that overall it’s part of the story arc and that there’s more in store. Fortunately book 2 comes out soon so I won’t be hanging for long!
All in all, I enjoyed it. I’ve seen other people found it slow in the beginning, but I zipped to 50% mark in one day and didn’t have any issues getting into the story. I’d recommend trying it out.