I have been aware of the GameLit genre for a while, but DESERT RUNNER was my gateway book to read/listen to. I hear the genre can be hit or miss, but this particular title was very entertaining. While little more than a fetch quest, it was a solid story and acted as a good introduction into the world and the characters. I immediately jumped into the second book upon finishing (which wasn’t hard as the first several books in the series are relatively short).
One pitfall I have heard about GameLit books is that they sometimes get bogged down with lists and lists of character stats and inventories. This is especially problematic in an audio version since the reader can’t just skim past and is forced to listen to every detail. This is not a problem with DESERT RUNNER. The mention of stats is rather infrequent. When they are included, it is limited to only one or two stats and they are presented in a manner similar to the ship’s computer on STAR TREK reading off diagnostics. It doesn’t interrupt the flow in the least.
Disclaimer: I received a free promotional code for this title from the author or distributor. However, no review was required in exchange for the code and receipt of the code did not affect the contents of my review (except for the inclusion of this disclaimer, of course ? ).