Most litRPG quickly finds a way to establish how and why a character or characters are trapped in a game world and must adapt to survive. I was taken by surprise to find this story where the characters are using the game world to escape a harsh reality where every hour may be their last and bringing a desperate wish to try and enter the game permanently. I would happily give more than 5 stars for how well the author created two compelling stories at once, the real world and the game world, where I was equally interested in how both stories progressed. In fact, I can’t recall another LitRPG series where the out game story was equal to or more compelling than the in game story. Perhaps the Dark Herbalist or Awaken Online may be a close but secondary comparison. Definitely worth picking this one up!
*One star taken away from the performance as the female voice ended every sentence with an inflection, as if she was asking a question. I can report this issue mostly disappears in books 2-3.