This has been my favorite LitRPG series, and after 5 years I was truly delighted to return to the world of Ivalis and it’s brave Haunted heroes. Unfortunately, Nightmare Kingdom was ultimately not the homecoming I was hoping for. Specifically I’m referring to 2 factors: 1) Soundbooth Theater was allowed to go way overboard to the detriment of the whole experience. They did a decent enough job on the previous books, for the most part anyway, but if your really going to go all-in on the special sound effects, as in this instance, the judiciousness and tact of use needs to improve significantly, otherwise your just killing the presentation not improving it. 2) I was rather surprised by the sudden drop in writing quality during the last half of the book. There is a certain point where I felt like I was now experiencing something written by JF Brink (this is Not a good thing), and to my horror it continues neary to the end. Overall DL5 is a real mixed bag. I currently find myself still wanting to continue this journey, but we are at a definite low point considering the high standard the author set in the previous 4 editions.