TLDR; This book and series is well written, character development is consistent, has LitRPG elements and is Vulgar and funny. A great roller coaster ride and I loved it! And Jeff Hays is brilliant as always.
The most important first point here, this book’s main character is not a good guy that happens to be chest… as in a box. The title is a play on words.
The long version is, this is a great series. First, I’ll cover the pros then the few cons that may bother people. The story is really good. The world doesn’t seem that big, which seems to allow the author to focus on the cast and provide backgrounds into them and the world that shaped them. Because the story is so character driven, the plot seems to progress naturally, allowing surprise and appreciation for all the little quirks inherent to this strange world. I don’t remember many “hand-held forced points” like “This is the list of reasons this next point is the absolute right (direction/decision/whatever) I am taking.” which leads directly to “Oh my god, how did that happen, I’m so shocked/horrified/sad/whatever” which I really dislike. Readers come to know the characters and what they go through, we get to see them Develop! Actual change and development in characters are so underrated.
The book does have LitRPG elements, but they are not the main focus point other than to encourage the character to grow and for comparison. Stat sheets are left to the end of the chapter which makes it easy for people to skip… which I don’t because I like the LitRPG elements.
The book can be vulgar. The main characters are not good guys, so there are loads of reasons why this is not uncalled for, but really it’s one of those cases where either you’re ok with it or your not. You know yourself better than anyone and if you’re not ok with crude humor. And it is crude… but I find it humorous since it’s not placed in a sexual manner. Some of the humor is sexual in nature, but it’s not intended to be like listening to a porno, is the best way I can describe it. More like crude sexual humor at an adults-only comedy club.
So, I could say more, but to be honest I hope many others take the plunge and join us who love this series and give it a try.