TL;DR It is a decent LitRPG.
Problem 1: The Main Character – The first hour or so is indeed hard to get through. Lee, the main character, knows nothing. I suppose it is appropriate that someone would be disoriented after being plucked from their life, but it is exaggerated a bit too much for my taste. If you consider that he is an avid gamer, every gamers dream is to be in an actual game at least once, they should at least be able to cope or recognize the signs quicker.
I suppose the intro is the way it is for the purpose of explaining things to readers who have never touched a game before, but then why would they get this book?
Problem 2 : Narrator – Jeff Hays is a mastermind in voice acting. I love his voice range and control. My problem lies more with the fact that he mixes up the voices. He has a voice for narrating surroundings and actions and one for the main character. The issue is that when the character thinks or has an inner monologue, Jeff Hays swaps between the narrator voice and the MC voice. This presents the problem of not knowing the context of the information provided; If the character is talking out loud or just thinking.
It is more difficult to put these words on paper than to actually experience it. If the narration isnt something that you are avid about or are not a nitpicker, this will likely not bother you.
It is very generic in the sense of being whisked away to a different world, being trapped there, and having to survive or die for real. Nevertheless, after having completed ongoing series like “The Land”, “Dungeon Lord”, “Life Reset”, “Unbound Deathlord”, my standards are extremely high and this book is a place holder while I wait for the next book in one of said series. If you like this, check the others, I guarantee you will enjoy them.