When it was past 2am and I was still listening to this audible book because I simply MUST hear what’s going to happen next and how it’s going to end, I know I’ve managed to find a winner. It’s pretty rare to find a litrpg that hits all the right cylinders for me (good hero, great story, interesting characters, good style and pacing, decent humor, good world building, good action, etc). I was totally engaged with this book the whole way through. The character skills are not too complicated and deep and hence don’t require minutes by the author to tell to the listener the stats and skills. I like a good balance and this is just right in that regard. Soundbooth also does an excellent job with the voices and effects (never overdoing the effects).
My only gripes are that the book ends without a major milestone discussed throughout the book being hit, and there are some elements of the combat system that are non consistent (such as why the skills learned in the arena don’t translate to actual skills in his list of skills). But those are very minor things compared with the story as a whole so can’t really take away a star for that.
Overall this is near perfect litrpg in my view, and if you are a fan of litrpgs you really should grab this one. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in the series!