This book however is really great though. Jeff Hays and Annie Ellicott do an amazing job of bringing Hugo’s characters to life, Hugo gives detail on scenery without droning on for paragraphs on end. I think the plot is pretty amazing, and as i stated in my headline, I hate rpg fantasies. The sword art/ .hack animes are silly to me (obviously show and book is different but the genre to me is basically the same) so i was a little hesitant in even trying this book out.
The plot (i’ll try not to spoil too much so i’ll mislead you with the true details) revolves around this guy Edward getting pulled into a video game he and his friends used to play. He finds himself having to adapt in a familiar yet unfamiliar setting as in real life you dont gain xp or level up. And because of his lets say class he finds himself at odd with the government in a land who is ran by a zealot church and has to tip toe and sneak around them as he builds himself up. He happens upon three awesome characters Lavy, Aldur and my personal favourite Klek and they become his closest companions trying desperately to make ends meat and become a more powerful force. Edward brings real world knowledge into this medieval world which has its own set of rules this makes the whole dynamic very interesting as the plot unfolds before you and you see or hear the world (and companions) around Edward changing with some of his whacky ideas.
I’m not a guy who enjoys graphic sex scenes, i think they are an excuse to revel in ones weird ass fantasy. While yes there is sex in the book, Hugo does a great job in letting you know what two adults are doing without turning it into a porno book.
I love all the characters in his book, but Lavy and Klek are who i think are the most humorous. His antagonists are just what you’d expect an antagonist would be, an evil creep, a zealot thinking he is in the right, and others that are in other books.
If you have a credit give this book a try. I ended up flat out buying the rest because i didn’t want to wait a month to see what happens.
If you are the type that cries over too many fuck words, then pass this book up i guess. These characters are adults, and thus they talk like adults. You’re not going to get your arm sliced off and exclaim, “Ah gosh darn it. My arm got chopped off. Golly mister this sure does hurt something awful”…. Are you?