The world went through a nuclear war and life was never the same again. Life did not end though. Massive housing units, nicknamed The Boxes, were created for the people that could not afford to move to an unaffected area. With so much of the world like this, most people retreat to virtual reality. Pangea Online has emerged as the dominant online game service, so much so that game currency is accepted as real world transactions. Esil is an orphan who recently aged out of the orphanage and works as a miner in the virtual mine. This is the only world most people in The Boxes have access to. This looks like what his life until he finds a treasure chest while mining that changes his life forever.
Pangea Online has my favorite VRMMO set up. Instead of being one game, it’s a set up of hundreds of game worlds that are connected together. Sports, shooters, fantasy, sci fi, racing, you name it! The characters are well done. There is a minor focus on poverty, but this is completely understandable as that is how the main character grew up. The trilogy is complete, but I would love to see a spin off to revisit Pangea Online. The narrator is fantastic!
Content warning: None.