I have enjoyed every installment of this series. This story is not my favorite of the bunch, but it is still very good. The main reason why I liked this one a bit less is that there was not a true antagonist. Oren and his army are marching on to become a great army, with the purpose of freeing all of the players from Shiva and the system. Yes, there is the dwarven player they have to deal with, who really does a number on the army, but unlike the previous books there was not a single entity Oren wanted to get revenge on.
In the previous books he was trying to right the wrong perpetrated by his former guild, and there was a deeper level of sympathy for his plight. Even when Oren committed malicious or foolish acts they could be attributed to his quest for revenge. This time he had to be steered by the conscience of another player, though his goal is significantly more honorable.
Jeff Hays and the SBT crew are fantastic! I have been a bit discouraged by the overuse of sound effects in some books done in late 2019 and early 2020, but they seem to have found the right balance. The effects and music in this book only enhance the listening, rather than overwhelm it as had happened in some of the aforementioned releases. While I am still not completely sold on the need for effects, at this point they are doing them right.