This book hits you on so many various levels it is hard to tell you what it is all about. On the surface, it is a standard LITRPG/Portal/Dungeon book, which as you can see hits three sub-genres right out of the gate. The MC is an average dude who is subjugated by his boss, and works in misery; his only break comes from playing an MMORPG with his co-workers once the shift ends. The joy of joy, his boss horns in on the action an manages to make his life miserable AFTER work by screwing up their gameplay and then blaming others. The MC, Edward, is then put in a tough position by his boss, and opts to punch the guy out and quit. Immediately thereafter, he is contacted by an entity, not of his world, that offers him a chance to become a dungeon lord (actually replacing the one his team had killed the night before). It turns out the game world Edward has been playing in is real, and the evil there wants to overtake it. To do so, they need agents, such as Dungeon Lords to do their dirty work. Edward accepts the deal but swears that he will not do evil’s bidding, and will be his own person regardless of what happens.
Things pick up the minute he arrives, and Edward struggles not only to survive but to save some others with whom he finds himself with when he arrives, they are the agents of the now deceased Dungeon Lord that his team killed. Once he gets things straightened out he sets off to establish his own Dungeon. The Story is comical, filled with action, and at times quite horrifying. I’ll get to the horrifying part in a bit. Edward is a very likable character, he is an upright guy that refuses to bend over and do what he’s expected to do (hence the punching of his boss, will evil never learn?). The underlings all have great personalities and could steal the show if Edward let them, but his presence manages to dominate the page or the spoken images of the narrators. Some of the best things about the whole concept is the part where Edward realizes that he lives in a “real” video game and that he complains when he doesn’t get enough XP for killing a tough MOB.
While the story fluctuates between action, comedy, and drama there comes a point when horror is suddenly introduced, and damn if it doesn’t work. The impact of the nightmarish creature is greatly amplified by the narration provided by Soundbooth Theater. Jeff Hays blasts his way through this tale and elevates the story to great heights, but the real scene stealer is Annie Ellicott, who plays the monster so well, and so full of emotion that she manages to make it heartbreaking and terrifying all at the same time, and that is not easy to do. She simultaneously elicits both horror and sympathy for the monster, and for a newcomer to the narration business I have to step back in awe. She was amazing.
Overall, this is a fantastic first book in what promises to be a long line of novels. The writing is top notch, the plot is perfection, the pace is pulsing, and the narration makes this more of an adventure than you would expect. The sound quality is perfect, with a nary hitch in the giddy-up, and the storytelling, as I said, is unbelievable. Personally, I really look forward to more from this writer, this series, and the narrators. They are all top quality. You will undoubtedly enjoy this novel, and I see it as a five star across the board piece of fiction that you rarely find.
Audiobook was provided for review by the author/narrator/publisher.
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