In terms of worldbuilding, the author did an amazing job creating an interesting lore and from that an overall plot that made sense to the world. The rules set forth are followed by the characters and the plot adheres to this internal consistency.
In terms of the writing itself, there’s room for improvement. For example, if there is exposition it always comes through dialogue or we’re being told about it directly. The characters do come across as rather one-note and if it wasn’t for Joel doing accents I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. If it wasn’t for the protagonist constantly reminding us “Bob the sorcerer” or “Hank the vampire” then I would have trouble keeping track of their species, too. Then there’s an issue with set up and pay off. One plot twist has a bit of expectation behind it and is done fairly well. The other, major plot twist that actually changes the course of the story comes from absolutely nowhere. This revelation, again through dialogue, sadly makes it seem like it was forced upon the character for plot reasons instead of organically. Last note, the amount of characters who just *love* the protagonist despite having relatively little/no time with him makes the story veer dangerously close to a Marty Stu. The piece as a whole isn’t bad, just needs more polish.
I do have to say that Joel’s voice does the lion’s share of work, and I’d probably make the joke if his back hurt from carrying this book. His accents for the minor characters and the sheer amount of energy he puts into the protagonist made this book.
Now, despite all of these criticisms I really do think it’s worth a listen. I think there’s a lot of potential in it. I’m totally going to listen to the next book, and I look forward to seeing the author grow and improve, and I hope they write many, many more stories.