My one-sentence review is that this book is worth it—the story is entertaining, the writing is intelligent, and, if you’re anything like me, it will leave you wanting more.
This was my introduction to both the Gamelit/LitRPG and harem genres. Though, to be honest, this first series in Arand’s Sovereignverse is relatively light on the ‘harem’ elements. Depending on who you talk to that is either a good or a bad thing, but what I care about most is the story. For haremlit fans, I’d encourage you to give this one a try because, unlike so many harem books out there, Arand doesn’t sacrifice a good story to deliver a power fantasy. For those who generally steer clear of harem stories, I’d encourage you to give it a shot for the same reason. I’ll delve a bit deeper into different elements of this book in my review, but this is a book that wholeheartedly earns my five stars.
== Story ==
MINOR SPOILERS
There are a number of elements that make this story work. The first is the protagonist, Runner Norwood is an entertaining character. He can have dumb moments, but is generally smart and never suffers from plot-induced stupidity. In the virtual world, he’s broken, but even as he takes advantage of his abilities and quickly becomes OP, he never stops being interesting. He’s witty without being grating. It can be surprisingly difficult to find an MC in indie writing, especially harem indie writing, that doesn’t get on my nerves, but Arand wrote a character that you want to read more about, even if he isn’t especially complex.
The story he finds himself in isn’t especially original, at least at first, but this first book—even this first series, sets the foundation for a multitude of settings in his other series—this is there my all-caps MINOR SPOLERS warning comes in. I won’t delve into it here, but the Selfless Hero Trilogy, or the Otherlife series, is an interesting way to connect the disparate worlds found in Super Sales for Super Heroes, Wild Wastes, Fostering Faust, and more.
== Narration ==
Jeff Hays does an excellent job here. He gives each character personality, excellent voice differentiation, and he really brings this book to life.
== Conclusion ==
Some people look for haremlit so they can turn off their brains and just enjoy a pulpy, fun book. Arand shows us that we can have fun, interesting stories as well, so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if people looking for harem lit end up enjoying his fade-to-black William Arand books every bit as much as his explicit Randi Darren titles. He is one of the relatively few authors that I give unreserved recommendations for, and I know I will end up enjoying each book he releases.