A really enjoyable separate storyline in the Awaken Online universe. The protagonist is a fully realized character with a completely different demographic than the characters in the main AO thread. Nonetheless, he shares some of the same insecurities and foibles that we’ve seen in the other thread. I really enjoyed the disturbing new venue and there are players of intrigue and mystery to keep the reader engaged throughout the story up to and including the epilogue. I look forward to book two in this series.
The narration was okay. The narrator has a finite bag of tricks with characters in this book sounding just the same as different characters in the original thread. Female voices in particular require extra effort to maintain the suspension of disbelief. that being said the book is entirely listenable and the voices that are present are not a distraction from the storyline itself. Call that a backhanded compliment if you will.
My only real negative about the book itself is the unrealistic leveling of a new student at Hogwar, er, this school, vs the faculty. At one moment the faculty displays phenomenal powers and in the next moment they’re challenged by the powers developed by novice-level characters over the span of a few weeks.