I’m giving this book 5 stars across the board despite not actually enjoying it that much. Why? Because I can recognize that it’s a great book despite not being my personal cup of tea. The dialogue (especially banter with Frank) is top notch, the pacing is great, and overall there were lots of cool story developments and a general excitement to the setting.
For me, personally, I just couldn’t get into the MMO setting or sympathize with the MC’s motivation. The MMO restrictions on abilities (pre-determined by the game developers, on cooldowns) made it lose the sense of freedom that I enjoy in a magic system. I couldn’t get that invested in the NPC characters (aside from Frank and House) simply because they’re programs not suffering any real consequences. And the MC’s need to win just felt empty in the MMO context.
Again, this is all just my personal taste and not a knock on the book. Definitely a buy if you’re even slightly interested in MMO settings.
You know it without me saying it: Travis is a beast. I’ve literally started picking books just from his narration list. Frank is pretty great too.