First some good things!
1. The book is technically well written, easy to follow, and generally an engaging listen.
2. The voice actor is EXCELLENT and truly gets into the characters. Each has a distinct voice and I know who is speaking without the book specifically telling me.
3. The game world is unique and fun, the way it is written gives me a good mix of immersion while still including the more technical game mechanics. (Stats, percentages, buffs/debuffs)
The real negative part is the MC!!
Ned is really un-relatable, selfish, and narcissistically oblivious. Like the author wrote a supervillain the whole time trying to treat him somehow like the “hero”.
Our MC here is a multi-billionaire rich kid who inherited his lifestyle from daddy. Despite hating his father, tanking his father’s business so badly he had to come back from retirement and literally die at his desk, Ned still kept all the money from the dirty business to lead a lifestyle of depression and indolence.
The game is pitched as a chance to start over again for Ned. But his first act is to leverage all his money to buy all the “headstart” slots and turn the game into his private world for 3 days.
Later on he buys off a whole guild to come in and complete the quest he desperately needs.
The game isn’t about making friends for Ned- having crazy experiences, or learning what it’s like to be a regular person with ordinary means in a new world.
It’s about domination, being the BEST, being famous. And he is seemingly willing to do anything to achieve that. If you pick up the book prepare to follow the ultimate whale as he buys every possible advantage to stand on top of the world.
The saddest thing- that everything Ned accomplishes is only possible with the unbelievable wealth his father left for him. Even should he accomplish his goal and eventually rule the game world in future, it wouldn’t be entirely his accomplishment. It would be due to the advantage his father left him.