Avoid this one.

Imagine watching someone play a nonsensical video game. Then imagine a tedious text description of the game play. That’s this book.

It’s boring and predictable. The protagonist always wins. The secondary characters exist primarily for exposition and unrequited love interest. The main character is an idiot who is unable to anything on his own. He has no job, doesn’t plan for the future, and seems incapable of making any decision without consulting computer-generated characters.

The text is full of inconsistencies, unfinished subplot threads, and incredulous deus ex machina. The world-building is incomplete, and the economy nonsensical, as gobs of real money appear out of nowhere as if minted on demand. The “RPG” “fights” are against cardboard characters; the protagonist always get to pick the battle strategies, as if the opponent is cardboard.

The story, such as it is could be summarized thusly: Weak-sauce nobody gets everything handed to him, and magically becomes a success over a few days. It’s not credible. It’s not interesting. It’s not worth spending money for.

The sound design and voice acting is the only high mark for this otherwise disappointing text. More like a radio play than an audiobook; the actors did well with the Derek they were given.